Naftali's Nickname

Usually people use nicknames as a way to shorten someone's name, or to make it easier to say.

Well, Yisrael and Bruria have decided that Naftali's name is just too plain and simple- after having a brother named Azriel Shraga (yes, I know its not the easiest name to say) . Which is why they've decided to call him:

NAFTAFTALI !

Cultural Differences

I know that because I'm raising my children in Israel, it will result in some cultural differences between us.

Well its started already- I was singing the song "Sevivon Sov Sov Sov" with them, and I automatically, without thinking, started singing: "חג שמחה הוא לעם - נס גדול היה שם". Yisrael and Bruria both looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces- I totally forgot that here they sing "סוב סוב כה וכה - נס גדול היה פה"

(I know this is just the beginning...just wait until Yisrael starts coming home with short, fat ties- or whatever is in style then!)

A smile from Naftali

Naftali started smiling yesterday- and today I was actually able to catch part of a smile on film...eh...err...disc!

A Menorah made of Clics

I'm sure you've all heard how much my kids love to play with Clics. It is their favorite toy, and it can keep them busy for HOURS. Last week, they decided to make a Menorah (or a Chanukiya, as Yisrael would correct me!)- they did it all by themselves!

NOTE: For all you skeptics out there, yes Yisrael DID make this all by himself! Do not doubt his creative capabilities!

---

Answers to the Guessing Game post:

1) a house

2) a kinor like the one Serach bas Asher used to sing to Yaakov about "Od Yosef Chai"

3) a "chilazon"- complete with "Mechushim" (the little feelers by the head)

4) a helicopter!

A Good Laugh, starring Azriel Shraga and Yon

Yon (Bentzi's brother) was in charge of taking pictures by the bris, and I just sat down to leaf through all the pictures and video clips he took. This cute one was among them- I'm sure it'll give you a good laugh!

The Kissing Monster

Azriel Shraga has become a real big kissing monster- anytime he gets near his baby brother, he SMOTHERS him with kisses (and if his face is dirty, he smothers Naftali with that too!)

He, more than any of the other kids, is crazy about Naftali. Anytime he hears Naftali make a noise, he drops everything - and quickly runs to wherever he is, to cover him with kisses! Its actually very sweet- he loves to kiss him, and to cuddle up next to him and suck his thumb.

And of course he won't give kisses to anyone else anymore- he is saving them exclusively for his baby brother!

Naftali has a belly button!

Yes, his "straw", as Yisrael and Bruria call it, finally fell off! (When they saw it, they asked what it was...at first they thought it was a bug...so I explained to them that when the baby is inside the mommy, there is a straw that brings food to the baby's stomach...)

Now maybe I can convince Bentzi to start changing his diapers...he claimed he couldn't change him until the bris and the belly button were all healed- now he's out of excuses!

Happy Birthday, Yisrael!

Today was Yisrael's Hebrew birthday...which he has been looking forward to with MUCH anticipation (he's only been asking me for the past 6 months when he will be בן ארבע)!

He woke up a bit confused...since it was his birthday, he told me that he needed to have a haircut (I guess he doesn't realize that he doesn't need an upsherin every year!)- it took a while to convince him that his hair doesn't have enough "shaggies" to get a haircut! He was rather dissappointed, and I had to give him Shabbos cereal as a consolation.

He wore a "Tatty shirt" (ie: white shirt) to Cheder, and he gave out treats to all his friends. I even managed to whip up some cupcakes with sprinkles, which we had for dessert after lunch!

May he continue to go מחיל אל חיל, and may we all see much nachas from him as he grows older!


(P.S. For those of you who were starting to make calculations- yes, we did have "4 under the age of 4" in this house for about a week and a half! Ka"H! )

Introducing....Naftali Yunger!!!

We are pleased to introduce you to the newest member of the Yunger dynasty! Our son, Naftali Yunger, was born last Monday, November 17th-י"ט חשון, at 12:25 PM. He weighed in at 6.5 pounds/2.95 Kg. B"H it was an easy birth (relatively!) and both Mommy and baby are doing well. The bris was this morning- and so far Naftali is doing okay (we'll see what tomorrow brings!)
Here's some pictures from his first moments of life:




And here's a picture from this afternoon, after the bris (I hope he'll sleep as peacefully tonight as he did this afternoon!)



May we all be zoche to see much nachas from Naftali and his siblings!

Our model airplane

Yisrael has a new obsession with airplanes. As soon as he wakes up in the morning, all he wants to do is build airplanes with his Clics. And as soon as he comes back from Cheder, he's busy at it again- why eat lunch?! And for a bedtime story, it had better be about an airplane or he will NOT be satisfied.

So the other day when I was in the toy store, I saw a kit to make a model airplane. The price was right, so I figured that it would be a fun activity one afternoon! Yisrael and Bruria got to paint the different parts, and then we glued them together (really the instructions said the pieces were just supposed to click together, but the pieces were not perfectly cut - I guess that's what you get for buying cheap Chinese airplane kits!)

The kids are having fun making it fly- one day I might even give them a thrill, by tying it to the ceiling fan- and letting it soar!

Azriel Shraga comforts his big sister

Its funny how different kids use different things to comfort themselves- some need a pacifier, or a blanket... Azriel Shraga has fallen in love with a baby doll that we have. He LOVES to cuddle it on his shoulder (don't worry, he plays with trucks too!) and shleps it around anywhere I let him.

Yesterday, Bruria got a boo-boo and she was hysterical (I don't remember exactly WHAT the boo-boo was, but she is a bit melodramatic and made it seem quite serious!) I tried to calm her down, but she continued crying.

Azriel Shraga witnessed the whole scene, and ran to the couch to bring her his doll. He offered it to her, as a comfort. She didn't want it and pushed it back at him. So he offered it again. After she refused a second time, he looked at me with a confused face, as if to say "Why doesn't she want my special doll to make her feel better?" and then proceeded to put the doll on her shoulder and stroke it.

He was very proud of the 'mitzvah' he did!

My Amazing Dishwasher

Bruria has become a good little helper (for a two year old at least)- she is very eager to help out- IY"H she should just continue! After Simchas Torah, she helped me do the dishes- and she really did a nice amount (and they came out pretty clean too!)

Yungers in Action: Hitting those Hoshanos real hard!

The kids were a little puzzled when they saw me doing Hoshanos- why was Mommy holding some leaves in her hand while she was davening, and banging them on the floor? But then when I gave them a chance to bang the Hoshanos themselves, they sure had fun (they must have been really strong Hoshanos, because even with all that banging, only a couple of leaves fell off!)

Here's a video of Azriel Shraga with the Hoshanos- he kept going at it!

Our post-Sukkos family trip

Like most years, we took a trip with the family after Sukkos- its a great time of year- the weather is usually nice, and places aren't crowded because most people don't have vacation then- plus, prices are much cheaper since its not high season. Only this year, since Sukkos fell out so late, the weather didn't cooperate so nicely-lots of rain (which we will not complain about, since Eretz Yisrael needs the rain desperately!) B"H we still managed to have a nice time.

Our first stop was Moshav Yesodot- a chareidi Moshav- where they (obviously) kept Shmitta. It was nice to see the empty fields, overgrown with weeds. We then visited their orchards, where they had oranges, pamelits, and grapefruits growing. Since these fruits are still from Shmitta, they are hefker- so we were able to pick some! We all enjoyed!



After that, we headed to Zichron Yaakov, to Eden Inn, where we would be staying. They upgraded our room, so we ended up getting a nice apartment suite rather than a regular room. Supper was delicious (the kids had fun making a mess!)- and then we tried to get them to settle down and sleep (they had a lot of fun jumping all over us!)- but B"H everyone finally fell asleep, so we could be well rested for Day 2 of our trip!


The next day, we decided to head up to Chaifa, to see the port and the water. We stopped by a great lookout spot at the top of Har Carmel, where we were able to get a great view of the port below. We saw some freight trains as well, which made Yisrael VERY happy!


And then, it began to rain, on and off. So we decided play it safe, and headed for the Israel Railway Museum, which was indoors. After getting lost and driving around in circles, we finally got to the museum- just as it began to POUR. And of course to get to the museum, you had to walk OUTDOORS on a huge bridge that took you to the other side of the tracks. And to top it all off, it was almost 1 PM, and the museum was closing that day at 2. So we waited under an awning for the rain to settle down, and ended up getting to see a few trains pass by. B"H the kids were not disappointed, although they were soaked!

By then, we were all hungry, and since we didn't think that eating lunch in a park would be a good idea, we headed to a mall, where we sat down and ate deli sandwiches. We then took the kids to a kid's gym in the mall, where they had slides, balls, and a few different jumping castles.

After that, we headed back to the hotel so we could wash up and rest a bit before supper. We decided to get everyone in bed early, so that we could get off to an early start the next morning.

But of course, the next morning, we woke up to thunderstorms (so forget all our plans of going to a farm which is supposed to have a really nice petting zoo!) - so we looked around in some travel books we brought with, and decided to head to Ramat Gan, to the "Man and Living Kingdom Museum". We walked in, and the first exhibit was a huge, fake alligator (crocodile? I'm not sure what the difference is!)- which really freaked the kids out, until we explained to them that it was just pretend. There were lots of stuffed animals (not the teddy-bear type) which the kids enjoyed looking at. They had an exhibit about sea turtles, and Yisrael and Bruria climbed under the shells and pretended that they were turtles! The kids really had a fun time- they didn't want to leave (Azriel Shraga made the biggest fuss of all- every time we walked towards the exit, he kept running in the opposite direction!)



Then we headed to Yerushalayim, to see our new niece/cousin (Mazal tov to my sister, Menucha Berg!)- it was cute to see the kids' reactions- Yisrael looked for a few seconds but quickly lost interest (I guess Meir Mordechai's toy cars were more exciting!) Bruria was enthralled- she kept pointing to the baby's different body parts "Baby has little hands, baby has little nose..." - she was so excited when I let her hold the baby! Azriel Shraga just wanted to poke her eyes and grab her- he loves dolls and I guess he figured this was just a battery-operated one!


Finally, we headed home- After three days of running around, it was nice to be back in Beitar, and to sleep in our own beds again (although Yisrael complained that he wanted to go back to the hotel!)

Azriel Shraga has shoes!

On Sunday, we took Azriel Shraga shoe shopping- and he is SO excited to have shoes- until now, he's been trying to put on everyone else's shoes- so he is thrilled to finally have a pair to call his own! He loves to play with them, opening and closing the velcro- and if you ask him where his shoes are, he points to his feet!

May he wear them in good health!

Erev Sukkos Pictures

I tried to snap a few pictures of the kids in their Yom Tov clothing (before they would get all dirty, which tends to happen rather fast!)

In case you were wondering what happened to Bruria's eye- she got a bee sting the day before Sukkos, right in the corner of here eye. I must say she dealt with it like a hero! B"H the swelling has gone down, and she much better now!

Enjoy!

Progress Report: Azriel Shraga's walking skills

B"H Azriel Shraga's walking is progressing nicely- he is starting to walk much more, and he is getting MUCH more steady. We take his walker to the park with us, and he has a blast running around the park!

Here's a video of him walking from Motzai Shabbos- I did some shtick with it- enjoy!

A teenager already ?!

So I know that at some point, girls stop wanting to wear the clothes that their mothers pick out for them, and instead wear something that's their "own taste". But somehow I thought that this doesn't happen until they are older, and for sure not at age 2 1/2!

But sure enough, Bruria already has her own taste in clothing! She has a favorite outfit, which she calls the "pocket dress"- since its a shirt and skirt that both have pockets. I think she likes it so much because she enjoys shtupping (did I spell that right?) things inside the pockets. In any case, whenever she sees this outfit clean in her drawer, she refuses to wear whatever else I pick out for her- "No, I want the pocket dress!" she says, as she stamps her foot and refuses to cooperate (oy, what will she be like as a teenager?!)

This morning, the "pocket dress" was clean, so I decided to let her wear it l'chatchila, rather than fighting about it. But of course, as soon as I show her what she's going to wear, she says "No- today I want a sweater with a skirt!" (she has another shirt she likes- almost as much as the pocket shirt- which zips up the whole way, so she calls it a sweater. And of course she knew exactly which skirt she wanted too!)- So much for trying to avoid a fight!

If this is what she is like now, what do I have in store for me in 10+ years from now?! At least then she'll have a uniform in school! (although uniforms don't start until first grade, which is still another four years away! I hope we'll survive until then!)

Starting the new year on the right feet!

Everyone always wants to start off the year on the right foot- but this year, Azriel Shraga made sure to start it off on the right FEET (if you didn't guess by now, he started walking!!)

He finally realized he could let go and walk- on Rosh Hashana! He is very proud of himself, and loves practicing his new skill. He still needs some improvement, but B"H he's making progress!

So if any of you who were starting to worry whether he'd be able to walk to his Chuppah, you can now breathe a sigh of relief!

All "beet"en up

My kids LOVE eating beets- they can't ever seem to get enough! It makes EVERYTHING turn purple, but I guess its a healthy food for them to eat, so I let them have it!
Today Azriel Shraga was the only one around while I was making the beet salad for Shabbos- and he was VERY happy to taste and make sure they were good!

Happy Birthday to me!

Bentzi came home last night with such a wonderful birthday suprise for me- a delicious birthday cake! (I guess he still hasn't lost his romantic touch, even though we're married 5+ years!) I don't remember the last time I had such a nice cake! But I guess that means that now I'm OFFICIALLY in my upper twenties...(my English b-day was almost two weeks ago, but I conveniently ignored it!)

You're all invited to come over and have a piece of cake...its really good!

Yungers in Action: Adorable Davening

The kids were very excited to see themselves davening on the computer...so they actually sang nicely in front of the camera!

Bruria has learned to sing Modeh Ani very nicely- I guess now that she's saying it twice a day (with me and in gan) - she's really got it down pat!

As for Yisrael's Elokai Neshama, I can take absolutely NO credit for that one! (I'm sure you hear the strong Israeli accent!) I actually think he missed a few words, unless his Morah sings a different nusach!

Aren't you proud? May their tefillos be heard!

Too much translation?

Yisrael came home from Cheder today with a nice project about Selichos. He showed it to me, and I asked him, "Yisrael, the Tatty's have to wake up very early to say ____", to which he answered "I'm sorries!"

I guess he thinks that he can speak ONLY English to me- and that he has to translate every last word!

Yungers in Action: Singing "Chodesh Elul" song

As many of you know, Bruria started Gan this year- in Hebrew! She is having a bit of a hard adjustment, but B"H she's starting to like it (she just doesn't like to leave her Mommy!)

This afternoon, she and Yisrael were singing one of the Hebrew songs they both learned in gan (Yisrael sings the words much clearer than Bruria does- that's because he actually understands what he's saying!)

Enjoy!

Taking Azriel Shraga for a ride

Yisrael and Bruria LOVE to pretend that they are driving on a bus/train- I'm sure you remember this game from when you were little- they take all the chairs in the house, and line them up. We have a steering wheel, and they take turns being the bus driver and "punching" each other's כרטיסיה.

Today, they invited Azriel Shraga to join them- "Come, Shaga!" they said, "we are going on a bus!" You should have seen the look of excitement on Azriel Shraga's face- right away, he started zooming for the front door, screaming, "Bu! Bu! Bu!"

When he realized that he wasn't REALLY going on a busride, I had to comfort a very dissappointed little boy!

Yisrael is learning Aleph-Bais in Cheder!

Yisrael only started Cheder last week, and already on the second day of school, he started learning Aleph-Bais with Rebbi Yochanan (he has a Morah for most of the morning but Rebbi Yochanan comes in to teach Aleph-Bais and then takes boys out to learn with them individually)

Today, he was all excited because he learned the letter ב - he told us how since he didn't listen, he didn't get a "candy" like the בּ. I gave him a paper and marker, and asked him to draw the letters he learned. He did a really good job- he wasn't looking at anything while he did this! At first, he forgot the "regel" on his בּ, but then he remembered on his own. His first ב attempt came out a little funny (more like script, which was NOT intentional), so he made a second one, further down on the page.

After that, I gave him a little recognition exercise- I wrote a whole row of letters on the side, and had him circle all the א in red, all the בּ in yellow (which didn't show up so well when I scanned the page), and to make a green line under all the ב (he made a few circles too).


We are VERY proud of our little boy- may he be zoche to keep "shteiging" in his learning, and may he go מחיל אל חיל!

Bruria's newest hairstyling technique

(Don't worry, all you faint-hearted readers out there- this one isn't as gross as the last technique she came up with!)

I was getting the kids ready for bed, and ran downstairs to get Bruria's blanket (she is very attached to it, and is always shlepping it around the house- any advice how to wean her??)

I came back up and heard Bruria and Azriel Shraga laughing their heads off- which is a sure sign that they were up to no good. I came into the room and found Bruria with the hair gel- she had TONS of it on her hands, and was smearing it into Azriel Shraga's hair- he loved it! The two of them were having a great time and were pretty upset that I broke up the party!

Pizza Party!

On one of our "down" days, we stayed home, went swimming in the backyard, and then made homemade pizza! Yisrael and Bruria were so excited that I let them make their pizza by themselves- they got to roll out the dough, spread the sauce, and helped me sprinkle the spices and cheese- they were a little dissappointed that I wouldn't let them put it in the oven by themselves!

All Aboard!

One day we decided that it might be fun for the kids to go on a train ride. There's a train from Yerushalayim, that passes through Beit Shemesh, ultimately arriving in Tel Aviv. There are buses from here that go to the train station in both places, so we figured it might work out well.

Until we checked the schedules- we saw that the trains only come every two hours, and the Beitar bus gets to the train station about 5 minutes AFTER the train we would have taken. So Bentzi and I started thinking maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. But when Yisrael overheard our conversation, he got all tzebruchen- "We're not going to go on a train?"- we just couldn't break his little heart, so we decided that we'll just have to work it out!

So, to make a very long story a little shorter, we ended up taking a bus to Beit Shemesh, and taking a train from there to Lod. We then got off the train in Lod, turned around, and took the train in the other direction, to Yerushalyim. After getting off the train, we walked around the mall nearby, and got drinks, before getting back on a bus to come home! (talk about a lot of travelling!)

The kids LOVED it. I wish you could've seen the look on Yisrael's face when the train pulled into the station. He was THRILLED! The first train ride was very pleasant- about 30 minutes- and the kids were very happy to look out the window at all the scenery passing by.

But by the time we boarded the second train (it came late, so we were waiting outside in the heat for a while) they were a little worn out. We ate lunch on the train, and then they wanted to run all over the place- up and down the aisles, through the entire length of the train. They had a great time, but us poor parents were wiped after the whole day!

A trip to the Kosel

Of course we couldn't let Bain Hazmanim go by without going to the Kosel. Yisrael was really looking forward to it, since he learned a lot about the Bais Hamikdash and the Kosel in Cheder during the three weeks. He was a little disappointed - I think he was expecting a bit more than a wall, even though we kept telling him that that's what the Kosel is.

Bentzi took Yisrael with him to men's side to daven, and I took Bruria, where I had her kiss the wall, and I asked her to daven to Hashem. So she said "Shema", and then I told her to ask Hashem to help her be a Tzadekes, to which she answered, "Only Mommy be a Tzadekes!"

I think the part they enjoyed most was the water fountain in the Kosel Plaza... I hope that BE"H as they grow older, they'll get a deeper appreciation...but I figured we have to start somewhere!

The Mini Zoo here in Beitar

I must give the City of Beitar credit- whenver there's vacation, they really put together some nice activities for the kids, at very low cost. Its gives families something to do without having to shlep too far. Most of the activities were geared for kids a bit older than ours, but they did put together a GREAT mini zoo which our kids loved! They brought in rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, chickens, ducks, goats, snakes, a turtle, a camel and a horse!

Yisrael got to ride on a horse-drawn wagon (Bruria was too scared) and he loved petting the turtle!

Outside, they had a bunch of jumping castles set up, which was also lots of fun- even Azriel Shraga liked it! And of course, they were selling popcorn and cotton candy, which we just HAD to buy!

Too Much Hustle and "Bus"tle

I think that is a great way to sum up our Bain Hazmanim! I don't think I've been on as many buses since we moved to Beitar as I have during the past three weeks! B"H we really had a great time, and we tried to come up with some fun things to keep the kids busy. It was great to spend some nice time as a family, even if we didn't do any "MAJOR" trips!

The truth is that the kids LOVE the bus, I think they'd be happy just to go for a bus ride and then come back! Even little Azriel Shraga loves the bus- he learned how to say "BU" and screams for joy as soon as we start getting on!

Of course Bruria INSISTS on sitting next to Tatty (she has become VERY attached to her father the past few weeks) so the boys sit with me. Yisrael has his eyes glued to the window the entire time, and gives me a running commentary on everything he sees outside. Its a good thing that the ride to Yerushalayim is entertaining -there's three long tunnels- every time we get inside a tunnel, Yisrael exclaims, "It's tunnel time!" and when we get out, Bruria says "Buch Hashem we came out of the tunnel!" Azriel Shraga just tries to climb over all the seats and says hello to the people sitting near us...I guess in a few years he'll be happy to look out the window...

We basically ended up going to Yerushalayim twice a week, and on the rest of the days, we did more "low key" things like going for ice cream, playing in the park, swimming in the backyard, etc.

All in all, it was very enjoyable!

Teaching Good Manners

I try to teach the kids to be respectful, and to speak nicely. Whenever they ask for something, I always remind them, "How do we ask nicely?" and when I give it to them, I always ask, "What do you say?"

The other night, I gave Azriel Shraga a bottle before bedtime, and without even realizing it, I asked him "What do you say?" - and he quickly answered me, "Toda!"

(He must have gotten that from his sister, who always says "Toda" instead of "Thank You"!)

Can you believe it?! My little guy is bi-linugal already! (is that possible, if his total vocabulary consists of less than ten words?!)

"When I'm a Zaidy..."

Yisrael has become obsessed with thinking about getting bigger. He is always asking questions like "When will I be ben Arba?" or "When will I be big like Eli?" (our bar-mitzvah bochur neighbor) or "When will I be big like Tatty?"

He also started asking me when he is going to have kinderlach- will he have kinderlach before Azriel Shraga, will they be boys or girls....

Well now he's really moving along...he asked me when his kinderlach are going to be big like Tatty! I told him that when his kinderlach get big, they will have a Chasuna, and then Hashem will give them kinderlach...and when his kinderlach have kinderlach, he will be a Zaidy!

He pondered that for a moment, and then turned to me and stated, "When I be a Zaidy, I will eat lots of salami!"

Is that all that Zaidy's do???

Fun in the park

I always forget to take my camera when we go to the park, but last week I actually remembered- so I had a lot of fun taking pictures. Yisrael rode his tricycle (and shared it with Bruria) and when we got there, there was no one on the swings, so I got to put all three on at once!

Tzitzis already?

Yes, I know boys are only supposed to wear tzitzis once they are toilet trained, but Azriel Shraga must hold otherwise. Any time he finds a pair of Yisrael's tzitzis lying around, he tries to put them over his head. Usually, he just ends up draping them over his shoulders, but today he actually got his head inside the hole on top! He was SO proud of himself. Of course he had dirty diaper just then, so I quickly took a picture and then pulled them off so I could change him. He was quite upset with me when I took them off- I ruined his mitzvah!

May we be zoche, בעזרת השם יתברך, to see him fulfill many mitzvos, in the proper time!

Azriel Shraga loves junk food

Any time I give out a snack to the other kids (or sneak one for myself!) Azriel Shraga's little junk food radar lets him know, and he quickly comes to me to beg for some! Its pretty funny how kids can detect these things!

One day last week we had popsicles- I gave Yisrael and Bruria their own- and Azriel Shraga was VERY upset. So I shared mine with him (or should I say that he shared his with me?) - he ended up eating most of it- and boy was he pleased!

Bruria has the "tickling gene"

Well Bruria definitely has the "tickling gene" (for those of you who don't know what that is, its a Berlinger gene which makes the carrier have a strong liking for back tickling).

Bruria has fallen in love with having her back tickled. She will wake up in the middle of the night, and instead of asking for a drink like she used to, she cries out "tickle my back!". During the day, she comes up to me, picks up her shirt and say "tickle me"! (Its a great way to distract her when she gets upset or wants to beat up her baby brother!)

Opa, you should be proud of the mesorah you've passed on to your great grandchildren!

Mat vs. Matt: Yisrael gets confused

Yisrael has become VERY curious lately. He has a question about everything he sees- either:

• What's its name?
• Where does it grow? (he usually asks this so he can figure out which bracha to say, but it gets confusing when I try to explain where a cookie comes from)
• What does it eat? (he only asks this in regard to living things, of course)

Its very cute, but sometimes it can get to be a bit much (like when I'm cooking and he wants to know where every single ingredient comes from).

This afternoon, during bath time, he pointed to the bathtub mat and asked me, "What's its name?" to which I answered "its called a mat".

"Its name is mat?" he asked, and after thinking about it for a moment, he turned to me, with a puzzled look on his face, and said "Mordechai's name is also Matt. He's Sabrina's choson!"

(Don't worry Matt, we all like you much more than our bathtub mat!)

Azriel Shraga's new toothbrush

A few weeks ago I decided its time to start brushing Azriel Shraga's teeth (he's got quite a mouthful!) As soon as I showed him his new toothbrush, he right away grabbed it from me and put in straight in his mouth, and (was I imagining?) was brushing the bristles against his teeth!

Of course that night when Bentzi came home I bragged to him about how smart our son is. Bentzi was not impressed- big deal, he said- he's a baby, he sticks everything in his mouth- he didn't actually mean to brush his teeth!

Well I didn't agree, and since then, I've been watching him- and it seems that my little guy knows exactly what to do with everything he finds- if he finds a hairbrush, he rubs in against his head, if he finds clothing, he tries pulling it over his head, if he finds a toy car he pushes it....

So what do you say? Did he mean to brush his teeth or not???

Finger Painting Fun

Today's afternoon activity was finger painting! We had so much fun painting picture frames! We were very careful to put on smocks and made sure not to get any paint on our clothes!

Here's the finished product!

Yummy Watermelon!

You've probably read about how much my kids love watermelon, which we have as a special Shabbos treat. Usually by the time Shabbos is over, there's not that much left. But this week I exaggerated and bought an especially large one (we were having special guests- the Renzer crew- both present and future!) and on Sunday we still had some left.

So here's a pic of the kids enjoying one of their favorite treats!

Bencraft's new hat box is Yisrael-proof!

You may have seen Bencraft Hatters' newest shtick- a hard, plastic hat box, shaped like a hat, which is supposedly "crush-proof". Matt Rosenberg (our cousin Sabrina's chosson, for those of you who don't know) was by us for Shabbos, and had one. I commented on how that is such a cool box, and he said that supposedly you could even stand on it and the hat won't get a single dent!

Well Yisrael overheard this exchange and decided to try it out! He stood on the box, jumped on it, threw it around, and guess what- the hat did not get ruined! So all you yeshiva bochurim out there who are sick of denting your hat everytime you go somewhere for Shabbos, run to Bencraft and get yourself a Yisrael-proof hat box!

My Little Masmid

Motzai Shabbos, Yisrael finished eating Melava Malka and asked if he could read a book before he went to sleep. I was busy putting the other ones to sleep, so Bentzi told him he could get a book and read it to himself, since he was busy learning.

Yisrael went and got "Caps for Sale" and sat down and began studying the pictures. He must have been "reading" for about 15 minutes by the time I came down. I found him with an intense look on his face, studying the pictures with great concentration. I didn't say a word; and he continued to "read". After another 5 minutes of uninterrupted concentration, I decided to get the camera and take a video of him.

Of course as soon as I started the camera, he looked up!