"Not Normal"

Click the link and read this short article and you'll understand the rest of this post:
Breast Feeding Toddler

Well, apparently according to some people in this article, Alexis is "not normal" because she does this ALL the time. You could just check out an earlier link and see a picture for yourself. While I would not plaster her photo in a hospital lobby or anyone where else like that (wait, didn't I publish it on my blog???). I guess I could consider that "private" space since it is MY blog, but anyone and their dog could go and check my blog out. However, I happen to agree with the author and not those that she is quoting in that "If it is perfectly normal for a toddler to give her doll a toy bottle, it would also be normal for her to pretend to nurse her. After all, that is how breastfed babies eat. They sell toy baby bottles in the store. So, if a toddler nurses or sees her mom nursing her younger sibling, she would clearly emulate her mother." I happen to think it's awfully cute when Alexis does this. She also plays with toy bottles and feeds her babies this way too, as well as putting them in their high chair and feeding them pretend cheerios. She is quite motherly and nurturing. Anyway, I just thought this was an interesting article that I came across.

Chatty Maxy

It is so fun now that Max has begun to talk, but last night we discovered how much his older and wiser sister influences him. To begin, I thought I would chronicle a list of his words since I always forget to write them down, and in 10 years when I want to remember I can look back at this blog post :) Here are Max's words to date: hi, bye, brush, ball, yay, knock, aflac (don't ask), bow (i.e., rainbow), ri (i.e., Riley), ha day (i.e., happy birthday), and the newest word "NO". Last night driving in the car, Alexis was being her darling little self and when Ben told her to stop yelling and be quiet so Max could sleep, she yelled, "NO". Of course we pulled over and she got taken out of the car in the rain so Ben could have a little chat with her. And by the time the car was in park, before she was grabbed from the seat, she was already saying "ok, I"ll be quiet and I won't yell". Anyway, point to the story is that after that, Max started yelling "no" and the top of his lungs. And continued to do so most of the way home. And has continued it this morning. Somehow we didn't have a bad little teacher for Alexis, but Max has the best to learn from. His sister, with a large vocabulary. I guess now that he is a big one year old he thinks he can have a sassy mouth. We'll see how long it takes him to realize :) But he does have an older sister who recently said to me when I asked her to do something, "You are not my boss" to which I responded "oh yes I am". I guess it's still a work in progress!!!! Here is the little bugger on his birthday!

Learning a Lesson

I learned a valuable lesson this past weekend.....CHECK THE VIDEO CAMERA TAPE BEFORE YOU START TAPING AGAIN!!!!! This Saturday was Alexis's dance recital (I will post pictures below) and she was a beautiful little ballerina. She loved getting her makeup put on and dressing up. We thought she might just stand there on stage watching the other girls or us in the audience, but she actually loved being on stage and ate up the performance. I would have a video to show you except that after someone videotaped that night, they rewound the tape to watch some of it. Then, the next morning was Max's birthday party, and someone began taping again without checking the tape. Needless to say, no more recital :( I cried....literally. The silver lining to this cloud is that the dance studio was selling a DVD of the entire recital for $20 so I was able to buy one of these. Not the same, but at least it's something. (FYI, neither of those "someone's" were me, but they shall remain nameless!). So the lesson here people is NEVER TAPE WITHOUT CHECKING THE SPOT! I promise that will never happen again in our house. Here are some pics of the beautiful ballerina and tapper:

A Multi-Cultural Education

Tonight we went to the Marietta Greek Festival, which, by the way, if you have never been, is a total must-go. It was so fun for adults and kids. We got a tour of the church, got to watch Greek dancing, see Greek paraphernalia, eat gyros, eat desserts (baklavah sundae rocked), and Alexis got to jump around on a bouncy. Super fun! Anyway, Ben teaches the son of the priest there so Ben went up to him and reintroduced himself to the priest as his son's teacher. Just to set the stage I will describe the man for you. The Greek Orthodox Priest was wearing a long black robe, had a bushy gray long beard, and long hair tied back in a knot. Ben and Max were talking to him while Alexis, Bubum, and I were eating on the grass. Alexis all of sudden pipes up and says, "I'm going to say hi to the Rabbi". My mom and I died laughing. I guess she is exposed to too many Orthodox (of a different kind).

Speaking of Orthodox, we got a tour of the church inside which was beautiful. It was also totally ironic how similar many of their beliefs and customs were to Judaism. I may be a total dork, but I find that stuff so interesting and how different religions overlap. For example, they refer to a specific area in the sanctuary as the Holy of Holies which only the priest is allowed to enter. This is quite similar and has the same name as the inner sanctuary at The Temple that only the high priest was allowed to enter on Yom Kippur. Another similarity was that they had a candle burning on this alter that burned for a whole year and is then relit, similar to the Nir Tamid (eternal light). They also have a ceremony on the 8th day of life for baby boys and a ceremony for a child who is 40 days old which is similar to the old Jewish custom that a 40 day old child was brought to The Temple for the first time. Additionally, the men and the women sit separately during the Greek Orthodox service. All of their holidays also begin at sundown the previous day. Anyway, there just seem to be so many similarities that I find it very thought provoking.

Second interesting thing of the day: the Greek word that we all became familiar with from the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding....."OPA!". I found it completely ironic that Alexis called my dad Opa because it means grandfather in German, but today we learned the meaning of the word in Greek and it totally sums up who my dad was and what he was about. It truly brought new meaning to the word Opa for us today. According to the Greeks, "OPA" is a Greek word that may be used as an exclamation, or the announcment of a celebration; the celebration of life itself. It is another way of expressing joy and gratitude to God, life, and others, for bringing us into the state of ultimate wisdom; that all that really matters is health, family, and friends.
It is a humorous affirmation that you a€™re the best; that you a€™re where you a€™re supposed to be; and that you need to stop and celebrate. It is the Greek way of stating they have come to a level of serene exuberance able to enjoy life. They also say "OPA" and throw napkins in the air as a reminder that we are as free as the birds; that the sky is the limit so let go, fear nothing and join in the celebration. It is a way of saying don't worry; no matter what has happened you are still alive, don't be harsh on yourself, there's another minute and another day ahead of you to right what is wrong, and we are here together to make sure of this. I just thought that every time they yelled "OPA" it was in excitement and celebration and that is what my dad was all about!

Lastly (I promise I'm almost done), Alexis was totally into the dancing and here is video of it:

Techno Geek & Passout Freak

Apparently, the new generation of kids is highly technically capable even without being taught. Alexis made her first independent phone call yesterday. She wanted to call Bubum, but she was busy so I told her she couldn't call. Alexis asked for my phone just to play so I gave it to her. The next thing I know she is talking on the phone. At first, I thought she was just pretending until I could hear another voice on the other end. Sure enough, she called Bubum all by herself. I guess you could say she is a girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it.

As for Max, well, he just passed out and is now in his crib. Clearly, his pass-outs have not improved. Although, I think yesterday was a pass-out free day. This morning, however, he decided it would be fun to crawl around and tear up a magazine I gave him for entertainment. But then he decided from one moment to the next that he was done and wanted to be picked up. And I'm such a bad mom that I didn't pick him up in the split second he was ready because, you know, I had to walk across the room to get to him, so he passed out. Lately, after his pass outs he decides he wants to take a little rest. I can imagine that holding your breath for that long is a bit winding. So he will probably sleep for an hour while I finish getting ready. I guess in a weird twisted sense, I can now get ready quicker.

Here is a new pic of my Techno Geek and Passout Freak:

Mother's Day

I realized today that I have not posted on the blog in a VERY long time. Either our lives have been really boring lately or really busy. Maybe both.

Anyway, today is my first Mother's Day with two kids. So it has made me reflect on all the changes that have taken place in our lives since my last Mother's Day only one year ago. The most beautiful change is that I have not just one adorable, special, fabulous kid....but two! Maxwell has brought such joy to us in a year full of such sorrow. While a new baby is life-altering for sure, the other change in our lives took our calm, easy, and blissful lives and threw it out the window forever. The day my dad died. This year has been a rocky one, at best. And while today I am still thankful for all that I still have, a giant piece of that once full puzzle I call life, is missing. To bring this back to Mother's Day....I have to say that I always admired my mom because, well, she was my mom. I could have come up with a list of reasons why easily; however, today, they all seem so insignificant. On this Mother's Day, I can say with complete certainty that not only do I admire my mom, but I stand in awe of her. It is only in the worst of times that you can see a person's true soul. And while many people's souls have been highly disappointing to us, my mom's has not. In fact, I revere her more today than ever before. She has withstood the ultimate test and faces a new test each day. And each day she rises again. No doubt, she has had bumps and dips, but she is living a life. I'm sure over time the quality of that life will improve, but she is living none the less. Her true soul has shown strength (in it's rawness), bravery, and power. I've always said that I wanted to be like my mom, but it has a whole new meaning now. Not that I EVER want to endure what she has endured, but to possess those same characteristics that she has dug down deep to show, would be no small feat. Mom, I love you. Happy Mother's Day.

To end on a much lighter note, I thought I'd share a little story about today where I also stood in awe of my daughter. She never ceases to amaze me especially in the things that she knows. She has been known for a while to be able to "read" signs that she is familiar with. You know, she mostly just recognizes the pattern of letters (i.e., Publix, Kroger, Old Navy, Alexis, Max, etc.). But today she totally left me standing with my mouth open. I cleaned the playroom in preparation for Mother's Day events at our house and erased her dry erase easel. I wrote on the easel "Happy Mother's Day". When I wrote it, Alexis was not even in the playroom with me. About 20 or 30 minutes later, I hear this coming from the playroom, "Mommy (in a slow whine), I want to draw, but I can't because it says Happy Mother's Day over here". WHAT? How in the freakin' world she knew that this said Happy Mother's Day I have absolutely no freakin' idea. I mean seriously....what is that Etz Chaim Preschool teaching them??????