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!

A Wet and Happy Purim!

We had a really lovely Purim, B"H. Despite all the rain (B"H its been pouring for days now!) we still managed to have a wonderful time. We weren't able to run around delivering so many Mishloach Manos but we still had a lot of Simchas Purim. Yisrael and Bruria both sat through Megillah (I still can't believe I let Bruria go!!) and our Seuda was really wonderful. The only problem is that since it was such a wet and busy day, I barely had a chance to get pictures!!! (Its a good thing I dressed the kids up a week ago so I could take pictures to send out!)

Here's our cuties, all dressed up (a week ago!)

Aren't they precious?

Bruria and Yisrael sharing an umbrella on the way home from our Seuda

The "swimming pool" in our backyard from all the rain-

I stuck a ruler in and it was about an inch and a half deep!

How's this for a wacky Purim site?

A palm tree alongside a pile of hail- not something you see everyday!

Airplane fun

Yisrael came home one day from Cheder, and wanted to show off a new skill he had learned- how to make a מטוס קרב (which literally means fighter plane, but in this case he means a paper airplane)! Since then, he has been folding up every paper he can get his hands on- and his aerodynamic skills are vastly improving (I've got to make sure to put all my bills, receipts, etc. in a safe place or else they're destined to be flying around the living room!)

Its funny because making paper airplanes is such a simple way to have fun- but I never thought of teaching him how (thanks to whoever did, since its kept him busy for many an afternoon!)

Today I gave Yisrael an envelope that had a window- and he was thrilled! He cut open the envelope, folded it into an airplane, and then proceeded to cut up little 'people' to stick inside the window, so you could see them! He was thrilled with his creation, and I must say that I was quite impressed with his creativity!