Yisrael the biker!

One thing on our to-do list for this Bain Hazmanim was to teach Yisrael how to ride his bike without training wheels. He's been riding with training wheels for a while and we felt it was time to "move on". So Bentzi spent the first few days trying to help Yisrael learn, but he was having a hard time. And then of course we got too busy with Pesach cleaning and didn't have much time to spend helping him ride.

But apparently Yisrael is a very determined little boy, and while we were busy cleaning, he spent HOURS outside, learning how to ride his bike- and he was successful! We didn't even realize that he could ride until Chol Hamoed (as I said, we were busy cleaning!) but when we finally had a chance to go out and watch him, we were shocked to see he could actually ride! (Please don't think I left him out unattended for hours on end- I did keep checking on him, but every time I went out, one of the neighbor's kids was on Yisrael's bike, not him!)

We are very proud of our not-so-little boy- both that he learned how to ride, and that he worked hard at a goal of his and was able to succeed! May he continue to see the fruits of his labor, and may he always show such determination in accomplishing his goals!

(thanks to Dod Yon for the videography!)

Naftalis is bananas about bananas

Naftali is CRAZY about bananas- as soon as he spots one, he can't think about anything else until he eats one! (no self control whatsoever!) The lady in the makolet always laughs how my son begs for bananas, while the rest of the kids all throw tantrums that they want candies!

Right before Pesach, the makolet had a huge box of overripe bananas that they were giving out for free- so I brought a bunch home, figuring its always good to have something else to munch on, especially Pesach time! As soon as Naftali spotted them, he went 'bananas' - he peeled open quite a few, and then once I moved them out of his reach, he started pulling down the tablecloth so he could get more!

Looks like he's following in his big brother's footsteps!

My cutie cleaning crew

I'm putting them to work! (although they sure had fun!)

Matzos Mehadrin from Kita Mechina

Yisrael's Rebbe doesn't cease to impress me- he's constantly got something up his sleeve, to give the boys a "geshmak" in their learning.

A few days ago (just a day after his siddur party!) Yisrael came home from Cheder telling us all about the special Matzah bakery that his Rebbe set up in Cheder- he was bursting with excitement, telling us about all the details- each boy got an apron and baker's hat, and they got to roll 3 matzos, punch holes in them with a real "reddler" and then his Rebbe baked them in an oven that he built in the schoolyard, with bricks, a sheet of iron and firewood!

Today Yisrael came home with his cute little box of Matzos, and a whole booklet of pictures that his Rebbe took while they were making them. He was so proud!

(when I asked Yisrael if his Matza is kosher l'pesach, he said no- and his reasons?
1) because his Rebbe didn't use מים שלנו and
2) because the oven wasn't so hot maybe there's still parts that weren't baked well
....never mind that I'm SURE the whole process took more than 18 minutes!)

Girls will be girls

Yesterday I went shoe shopping with Bruria. I know from experience that if Bruria sees shoes that she thinks is pretty, she'll decide that she ONLY wants that pair, even if they are not too practical (aren't most of us females the same?). So I warned her ahead of time that we are going to buy the shoes that Mommy says are good, and she agreed.

When we got to the shoestore, he had a rack outside of shoes that were on clearance from last year. I found one pair in her size, but they were an ivory colored shoe with sequins, which I was sure would fall right off. Not very practical, but definitely very dainty. Bruria was thrilled when she saw them, but I saw that they were a bit too wide on her, while the size smaller was too small. Plus, I really wanted her to get a darker color.

So we asked the salesman to bring out something else. They were a pretty black shoe, nice, but not nearly as pretty as the first pair. As soon as I tried them on her, Bruria said to me, "These are making a boo-boo on my feet. The other shoes are much more cozy!" even though I could see clearly that the second pair fit much better.

I asked the salesman if he had them in another color- and he brought out the same shoe in a shiny silver-grey. As soon as Bruria saw them, her eyes lit up, and before she even tried them on, she said, "These are VERY cozy, Mommy. The other ones (the original ivory pair) make boo-boos on my feet."

Oh, girls! At least we were both happy with our purchase- they were pretty enough for Bruria's liking, and practical enough for mine!

Cute Quote: Who's "Yunger"?

While Bruria and Azriel Shraga were napping, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time with Yisrael, since he really doesn't get to have me to himself much. I was holding Naftali on my lap, and I read him a book. After the book was finished, we began to shmooze. Somehow we started talking about how Yisrael is the oldest, and that Naftali is the youngest:

Yisrael: Azriel Shraga is also the youngest, right Mommy?

Mommy: No, only the smallest person in the family is the youngest. But since Azriel Shraga is smaller than you, he's younger than you.

Yisrael: (with a big grin on his face) But Mommy, I'm "Yunger" too! (YES pun intended!)

Yisrael's מסיבת סידור

Today was a very monumental day for Yisrael- he got his first Siddur in Cheder! He just finished learning how to read (and he's pretty good at it!) and today his class celebrated their מסיבת סידור- which they've been looking forward to weeks.

Instead of doing a big party for the parents (they will be having a חומש party in a few months when they start learning חומש, to which the parents will be invited) - the Rebbe tried to make it a really meaningful day for the boys. And what's more meaningful than taking the boys to the Kosel and davening there with their new siddurim for the first time? We were very touched by the idea- as was Yisrael. He came home glowing (mabye also because of all the candy he got?!) and was eager to tell us about his special day.

I wasn't really able to get any good pictures, being that I wasn't there, but here's a picture of him when he came home. (I'm sure the Rebbe will send home pictures with his דף קשר)

He did it!

Yup- the moment we've all been waiting for- Naftali learned how to walk! He's been walking while holding on for months, but was too scared to let go. Plus, any time he DID try to let go, a sibling of his pushed him over! But B"H yesterday Naftali finally decided to try his hand (feet?) at walking- and he did a great job! He's been walking all over the house since then- he's been making pretty great strides (no pun intended) and is walking much better than a beginning walker usually does at this stage. I guess that's because he's been practicing for months holding on! He's been getting a lot of attention from his siblings because of it- every time he starts to walk, someone calls out, "Mommy, look- Naftali's walking!"

Here's a little clip of him this afternoon- Enjoy!

Our very own Sefer Torah

This week, Yisrael's Rebbe taught the boys all about the different parts of a Sefer Torah (since we take out 2 ספרי תורה on Shabbos because of פרשת החודש). So that, coupled with the הכנסת ספר תורה in Yeshiva this week, got Yisrael very fascinated by ספרי תורה. To top it all off, he went to daven in Yeshiva today, and got to see the ספרי תורה and say חזק חזק ונתחזק!

So of course, after all the ספר תורה experiences he's had this week, he spent the afternoon building a very elaborate ספר תורה - much more advanced than some of the earlier models he used to make. This one has עצי חיים, with קלף wrapped around, and a מעיל to cover it, with a special כתר on top. He even wanted to make a יד but we decided that its just too hard to make with Clics.

After he finished making his ספר תורה, he pretended to lain from it (yup, that's a real יד he's holding!)

(Yisrael is actually going to start learning how to lain with "trop" after Pesach...so then he'll really be able to pretend to be a בעל קורא!)

Hachnasas Sefer Torah

Tonight there was a Hachnasas Sefer Torah for Yeshiva. Even though it started much later than scheduled (which was much later than bedtime!) it was quite beautiful. The kids really had a nice time watching the "Keser Torah" truck- Naftali was dancing in the stroller the entire time!

Yisrael got to hold a special torch (the older boys got real torches, but the Yeshiva got special flashlight torches for the little kids to hold)- and he was very good about giving his siblings a chance to hold it!

We all got home exhausted and everyone collapsed in bed- except for Bentzi and I- we headed back to Yeshiva to partake in a beautiful Seudas Mitzvah- which I really enjoyed!

May we all be zoche to feel the beauty and Simcha of Torah in our lives constantly!

(The donor of the Sefer Torah is a yungerman from the Yeshiva- a very special person. He actually used to be a hedge fund manager on Wall Street, but had the strength of character which most people don't possess- he was very successful at a relatively young age, and he realized that he had made "enough" and called it quits- he made Aliyah with his wife and 4 kids and has been learning ever since! He was a wealthy successful businessman who "had it all", but left it in order to pursue the ultimate treasure- Torah! Quite an inspiration! It helps us appreciate what we B"H have in our lives- כי יקרה היא מפנינים!)

Happy Un-Birthday, Bruria!

Today, Bruria had a birthday party in Gan. Really, her birthday isn't for another month, but since they do a party for three girls at once, the party never falls out quite right. Bruria was still thrilled to have a party (who isn't?!) but if you'll ask her how old she is, she'll still answer "Three and a half!"

Half of the excitement was being able to go to gan with her Shabbos dress and shoes- she got up at 6 AM and came to wake me up- fully dressed! She was begging to go to gan- and was quite annoyed to find out she'd have to wait another two hours until gan started!Our neighbor Devorah Levine did her hair, and I even let her have a little bit of make-up (I still remember when I was a little girl, how exciting it was to have makeup!) She was so happy, she practially bounced the whole way to gan!

I came to her gan a little later in the morning, for the actual party. Bruria was thrilled to see me, but I think she was even more excited that Naftali came- she had lots of fun showing off her 'baby' to all her friends.

For the party itself, the teachers have a bunch of cute songs and dances that they do with the girls- they dance under arches, they spin a hoola hoop with ribbons around them, raise them up on chairs, and much more. (I am VERY impressed with all the work that her Morah's put into it!) Then the girls gave out cake, and at the end of the day they gave out pekelach (goody bags). It was really quite beautiful!

Here's some pictures- enjoy!