Cute Quote: I don't want to go to sleep!

One afternoon, Nissim took a late nap, so he wasn't at all interested in going to sleep at his regular bedtime. Also not when it was his older siblings' bedtime (which is always later than its supposed to be!)  He was too busy 'reading' a pile of books on the couch, fiddling with my cell phone, and looking for snacks to eat.  When my bedtime was approaching, I finally decided it was time to get him in bed.

(this conversation took place in Hebrew, as Nissim's speech therapist suggested that we stick to one language to help his speech develop, which B"H it has)

Mommy: ... נסים, עכשיו צריכים ללכת
Nissim: !באוטו
Mommy: ...לא, מתוק, האוטו לא פה עכשיו.  צריכים ללכת
Nissim (with his eyes all lit up, not missing a beat): !אוטובוס

(Editor's note: buses are SO much more fun than cars, especially if you own a car so a bus ride is a rare treat!)

I had a good laugh (along with Yael Chava Berlinger, who was visiting with us for a few days) and finally convinced Nissim that we were not going anywhere else except for his bed.  He B"H complied, albeit begrudgingly.

The best dressed babies in town

Actual Date: Erev Sukkos, 9/18/2013

I just love dressing my babies matching- even though they look nothing alike, and aren't even the same size, there's still something so cute about being matching.  As they are getting older, I have less and less matching clothes for them, but for Yom Tov I really wanted something.  I couldn't find anything in the stores, and by the time I thought about buying something online, it was too late.  Oh well, I thought, my babies just won't match.

The next day I 'happened' to stop in a kids' clothing store (which I had been to before) and found the most adorable vest suits, at a bargain of a price.  I ended up buying three sets- one to fit Hillel, one a size bigger for YL, and one the next size up, figuring that when they both grow a bit, YL will wear that one and Hillel will wear the one that YL outgrew.  But when I got home, it turns out that the larger one just-just fit Nissim- so I actually had all three of them matching (Nissim's belly is too round for the vest to button close!)

Aren't they smashingly cute?  I sure think so!

 

Yungers in Action: My little cleaner-upper

Nissim has become really cute about cleaning up - he clears the cups and silverware off the table and puts them in the sink (I often find fleishig spoons in the milchig sink - oops!) and he loves to push all the toys into a  pile using a broom or sponga stick (he actually has pretty good control!) - it is adorable!  I actually managed to capture it on camera (after a few failed attempts where he stopped as soon as he saw me, I got smart and hid in the stairwell, where he didn't notice me right away).  Enjoy!

Three amazing years....

We celebrated Nissim's 3rd birthday this past Erev Shabbos- this year it fell out exactly the way it was the year he was born, with his birthday on Thursday night.  It was a very emotional weekend for me, especially since the timing was the same - I relived the whole chain of events, from the time he was born, to his surgery (which was on Shabbos). Numerous times over Shabbos, I said to Bentzi and the kids- do you know what was happening at exactly this time three years ago? B"H it was so nice to be able to look at this adorable boy, full of energy and good spirit, and to realize how far we've come since that fateful Thursday night three years ago.

I put together a little slideshow, with pictures and videos that most of you have seen already right here on this blog- but when you see them all at once, and you witness how Nissim has B"H grown and developed so much during these three amazing years- it really makes an impact.  Its so easy to forget how sick Nissim was when he was born, how swollen his face used to be, how hard he had to work to be able to walk and run and be the joyful, energetic boy that he is today.

I cried my eyes out as I prepared this slideshow- tears of thanks to the רבונו של עולם that B"H we've made it to this point, and tears of תפילה that we should continue to see Nissim grow and progress, and that Hashem should continue to watch over him and give him- and us- the strength and סיעתא דשמיא that He's given us until now!

Becoming a Big Brother

Lots of people were worried how Nissim was going to react to his little brothers, as he had gotten used to being pampered and treated like a prince.  B"H he's taken to them quite nicely- and he's actually grown up a bit because of them!  One night during bedtime, Hillel was kvetchy (a rare occurrence) so I put him in Nissim's bed while I brushed the other children's teeth.  I kept peaking in to make sure they were okay, and it was really cute to watch Nissim making nice to Hillel, kissing him, and even trying to give him his bottle!  It was a real nachas moment!

A Handsome Little Boy

I've been getting some request for some nicer pictures of Nissim since his upsherin, since I wasn't able to get any nice shots in Meron. Here you go!

Thanks, Menucha, for the adorable Shabbos outfit- 

do you remember when you bought it for me?  

KA"H Nissim is my 4th boy to wear it...and its still in good condition!

Nissim's Upsherin

(Sorry for the delay in posting...)

When Nissim was still sick in the hospital, I remember Bentzi saying to me, "BE"H this little boy is going to get better, and IY"H when he's three years old, we're going to take him to Rabi Shimon to cut his hair".  It gave us chizzuk at the time, to hold onto a hope that the difficult time we were going through would pass.  Its amazing to realize that almost three years have gone by since then, and B"H we were zoche to see that dream become a reality this past Lag B'Omer.

Since Lag B'Omer this year fell out on Motzai Shabbos, we decided to take the entire family to Tzfas for Shabbos, so that we'd be closer to Meron once the Lag B'Omer festivites began.  We kept our plans a secret from the kids until we woke them up that morning and told them "Quick- get dressed nicely- we're going to Meron!"  Aunt Dinah, who had just arrived from the US earlier in the week, met up with us in Beitar to join us for the trip- we figured it would be nice to have another adult with us to help out with the kids (little did we know how crucial her help would be!)  We had a nice (LONG) drive up, with some stops along the way, finally arriving at the apartment we'd rented in Tzfas early Friday afternoon.  After eating a quick lunch, we got ready for Shabbos, while the kids explored the apartment and its surroundings.

Shabbos was beautiful- we really enjoyed the change of scenery and the beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.  Nissim fell off a chair at one point and cut his chin (never a dull moment, even in Tzfas!) but B"H the bleeding wasn't too terrible and it stopped right away, and B"H we saw that he was okay.  Late Shabbos afternoon, once it had cooled off, we went for a huge walk up to the old city of Tzfas, where we got to do a bit of sight-seeing, and were able to enjoy the magnificent views from one of the most highest points in Tzfas.

Motzai Shabbos saw Bentzi and I heading out to Meron much later than expected (I ended up taking Nissim to the ER to get his chin stitched up) and by the time we headed out (thanks to Aunt Dinah for offering to babysit!) the road leading to Meron was completely backed up.  We finally parked the car on the side of the road and walked the rest of the way.  What should have taken us 10 minutes to get there, took over two hours- but it was well worth it, as I was able to get all the way into the "Ma'ara" (building over Rabi Shimon's kever) to daven.

The next morning, after packing up our stuff, we headed out to Meron with the entire family, to cut Nissim's hair.  We got out much later than expected, which worked to our benefit- little did we know that the roads were completely backed up all morning- but by the time we headed out at 1 PM, traffic had settled down and we made it to Meron in a matter of minutes.  With each adult holding onto two children and one pushing the stroller, we battled the crowds in Meron until we found a nice shady spot overlooking Rabi Shimon's kever, where we cut Nissim's hair.

Poor Nissim wasn't very excited about his haircut- I'm not sure if he was tired because of the previous day's events, or if he was sad to see his "kookoo" go- but he cried as we cut his hair.  It was very emotional, watching my baby transform into a little boy, thinking of everything we've been through with him.  To be in such a holy place, on such an auspicious day- it was really beautiful.

As we were leaving Meron, we spotted a cousin of ours- Bentzi's cousin Priva from Bnei Brak, who had hosted me after Nissim was born, while he was in Tel HaShomer after surgery.  It was so special that out of the hundreds of thousands of people who came to Meron, we saw her- it felt that we had come full circle- she had been with us in the very begining of Nissim's illness, and now she was able to join in our Simcha of his Upsherin.

We headed back to the cars, ate a quick lunch, and began our long drive home.  We made a stop along the way to daven Mincha at the kever of Rabi Meir Ba'al HaNes- a meaningful way to end a beautifully uplifting weekend.

Just as we were zoche to bring Nissim to Meron for his Upsherin, so too, Hashem should help us see the realization of all our hopes and dreams for this precious little boy!

Mishenichnas Adar....

Like every year, the kids in גן* came home with costumes on ראש חודש.  Nissim was an adorable leopard (cheetah?) with a long tail in back, and Naftali was מלך האותיות  (they are almost finished learning the א-ב so his גננת decided to make it an educational experience as well).  Aren't they both adorable?

* Yes, once the girls start כתה א and the boys start מכינה, no more costumes.  So while we had 4 kids in Gan last year, this year we're down to only two!  Oy, איך נפלו גבורים!  Good thing we had twins so that we can get that number back up!  (just kidding!)

Nissim on the move!

A few days before Sukkos, Nissim decided to take a few steps on his own- but of course, as soon as I started to spread the word, he promptly decided to stop!  No matter how hard we tried to encourage him to walk, he refused- he was scared of walking without anything to support him - he just wasn't quite ready yet.

So I decided that we're not going to pressure him.  I knew that it would happen sooner or later, and rather than pushing him to walk and making him more scared, we were just going to drop the whole issue until he was really ready.  But when I started to get reports from his gan after Sukkos that "Nissim walked 20 steps today" or "he walked the whole length of the yard" I must admit I got a bit antsy.  But I continued to tell the kids (and myself) not to pressure him...

Well finally, one day last week, while my hands were dirty with paper mache (that's another post), suddenly Azriel Shraga says to me- "Mommy, Nissim is walking!"  - I turned around, and sure enough, my little miracle boy was walking across the living room!  Of course my hands were filthy and I couldn't grab my camera...and I only had a chance to catch him on film today (by now he's an expert at walking!)

Since then Nissim's been on the go- playing games with his siblings, where they reach out for him to walk to them, and then he 'teases' them by changing directions when he's within a foot of their reach, or walking back and forth from the couch to the wall, etc.  Its adorable to watch, and we are full of gratitude to HKB"H for this milestone. May we continue to see him grow and flourish!

Trouble viewing?  Click here to download the video.

Nissim's new glasses

Yes, I know these new glasses look a bit nerdy,

But they are very flexible and sturdy,

For a boy who breaks his glasses almost every week,

Its just worth having him look like a geek!

 

Photo taken at Nissim's מסיבת סוף שנה last week

Happy Birthday, Nissim!

Today was Nissim's Hebrew Birthday- B"H he is two years old!  Its amazing to look back at where we were two years ago...and to see how much progress he has made.  KA"H he is an adorable little boy, full of smiles and laughs, who is learning how to make lots of trouble (he is officially in the "Terrible Two's" now- and he's making sure to live up to the title!)

I joined him in Gan today for a sweet birthday party- they played some cute music while the kids banged on tamborines, waved flags and pom-poms.  The most exciting part was when they put balloons (and then Nissim!) inside a parachute.  Afterwards we gave out ice cream to his fellow gan-mates, which they really enjoyed!

Of course we had to have another ice cream party in the afternoon with the rest of the Yunger Dynasty (shhh...don't tell them that Nissim and I got to have ice cream twice!)

May we be zoche to share many more wonderful birthdays, and continue to see  much Nachas from Nissim!

Nissim: Two posts in one

I've got two blog posts to write about Nissim, but they both apply to the same video- so I'll combine them as a two-in-one:

POST #1:  "I did it all by myself"

I'm so used to the kids coming home with projects that their Morah made, that when Nissim came home with some sticker projects from Maon, I thought, oh, yeah right-  Nissim can't do this- why do they even bother?  Until the kids sat down and pulled the orange stickers off his tree (they are learning about oranges)- and he took them and stuck them back on!

Since then we've been doing lots of playing with stickers- it is SO good for his fine motor skills- he transfers it from his left hand to his right, makes sure to get the sticker on the tip of his finger, and rolls it off of his finger onto the paper.  Each time he sticks a sticker, he claps his hands and looks to his audience for a round of applause.  SO ADORABLE!

(Of course in the video, he decided to make shtick and put the stickers in his mouth, which he NEVER does when we are just playing...I guess he's like some of his other siblings who get silly in front of the camera!)

POST #2:  Nissim's New Look 

By now, most of you have heard that Nissim needs glasses- and a select few have already Skyped with me and saw him live!  He just got them today and has to get used to wearing them- when he's not distracted he tries to pull them off, but I'm hoping he'll get used to them soon!

And now for the video....

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here to download it

Yungers in Action: Reaching new heights!

Nissim learned how to climb up the stairs- and we are all thrilled!  (Don't worry, we're putting the gate on the stairs!)  Its so exciting to see him growing and developing and reaching new milestones!

Trouble viewing the video?  Click here to download it.

21st Century Baby

Its gotten rather difficult to get any work done by the computer with Nissim around- he just reaches for the keyboard and types away!

Can't view the video?  Click here

מים גנובים ימתקו

(or in this case, stolen spaghetti and meatballs!)

Backround:  Nissim is usually very fussy about what I feed him- he doesn't like food that has clumps in it, and whenever I try giving him foods to hold and nibble on (and hopefully chew and swallow), he refuses to touch them (unless its a wafer, then he has no problem devouring it!)  Well today, Naftali left his plate of spaghetti and meatballs in Nissim's reach (why he wasn't eating at the table is another story) and Nissim was more than happy to gobble it up!  Isn't he just delicious in this picture?  I could eat him up!

Sit down, please!

Disclaimer:  I have started strapping Nissim in so he can't stand up in the high chair...
but I let him do it this time so I could snap a picture to share with you...
isn't he adorable?

Yungers in Action: I said no, and no means NO!

He really means it, doesn't he?!

(He did eat most of the bowl...this was at the end of his meal!)

Trouble viewing?  Click here to download this video

My new "Kitchen Aid"

It's been harder to get things done with Nissim around- B"H he's gotten much more curious and he isn't happy to be left sitting in the stroller or high chair while Mommy is busy in the kitchen.  And while I've mastered the art of doing many things while holding a baby in one hand (I've had plenty of practice ), I found it impossible to to knead my Challah dough and hold him at the same time!  So today I plunked him down on the counter, and he was thrilled-- a real front row seat!  He sat, pearing into the pot to see what I was doing, and then began to reach for all the things on the counter- new territory to explore!

What a smile!

Here's an adorable picture of Nissim- with a smile! - that Michal from Shalva managed to snap today!

(can you guess in which direction his Mommy was standing?)

Peekaboo!

I laid Nissim down in his stroller to take a nap, but when I took a look at him, I saw that he was busy peering out the back of the stroller, where someone had lifted up the fabric.  I guess there's too much excitement around here...who wants to sleep?!