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!

Pool Fun

Erev Shabbos the kids went to the neighbors house and played in their pool- they had a splashy, shpritzy fun time!

Bruria's new bed

Bruria has started giving me a lot of trouble by bedtime (what child doesn't?!)- she says she doesn't want to sleep in her bed- she says she'll sleep anywhere else- on the couch, the carpet, my bed...

Well last night she came out of bed and said she wants to sleep on the steps. I told her no, and put her back into her bed. She must have snuck out again, and sure enough- she put herself to sleep on the steps! (Good thing she didn't fall down before I found her!)

A Rosh Chodesh Treat

We had a yummy treat for Rosh Chodesh- chocolate pudding! Everyone was so excited- especially Azriel Shraga, but unfortunately I hadn't thought to buy one for him- so I said everyone would have to share a little with him- which Bruria did VERY graciously- I think she gave him more than she gave herself (she loves feeding her little brother, as you've seen!)

Yungers in Action: Playing with Play-Doh

Bruria's New Hairstyling Technique

One day I heard too much noise coming from the direction of the bathroom: Bruria laughing, and Azriel Shraga crying. I quickly ran to check it out- and what did I see?

Bruria was brushing Azriel Shraga's hair -- with the toilet brush! (UCH!) In between each stroke, she would dip it into the toilet to get wet. Azriel Shraga was not too happy about this exciting technique.

(Of course I immediately grabbed AS and threw him straight into the bath, after letting his sister know that that is NOT a good way to brush hair!)