Asher and Elie's Stats

Last week I took the boys for their well-check visit. Here are their stats:

Elie's one-year stats:
height 31 1/4 inches (75%)
weight 20 pounds (10%)

Asher's three-year stats:
height 38 1/2 inches (75%)
weight 30 pounds (25%)

Some pics

Asher doing one of his favorite things, drawing.
Asher and Elie watching the window cleaners

Yee-Ha!

By the looks of the picture above I'm expecting him to bust out his lasso!

Have I told you already...

... how dreamy he is?! I know these pictures are nearly identical but I love them both and couldn't decide which one to post.

Burning Chametz

Here we are the morning before Passover burning all the chametz (forbidden grains) that we found during our search.

This year's Passover was fairly quiet. We had four guests at our first seder and the second night was just us. I wanted to keep it fairly quiet and simple because we had Asher's upshernish the week before; I needed a little breather!

My handsome boys!

"Not my feetnails!"

I told Asher we needed to clip his nails. I sat him down and started clipping away at his finger nails. Then he says, "Okay, but not my feetnails!"

The trip to the barber!

The very next morning following Asher's upsherish Babi and I took Asher to get an official haircut. He looks like a boy now! The funny thing is he seems to be acting more like a boy and less like a toddler!

Babi

Babi decided last minute to come for Asher's upshernish. We are so happy she did!

Asher's Upshernish!

I made a chocolate malt cake using this recipe but I didn't like how the actual cake came out (it was a little dry) so I tried this recipe for the base of the cake and it is the best chocolate cake I have ever had!

Asher's upshernish was a lot of fun. We had a house full of good friends there to give moral support in his first haircut! He did amazingly well and I wasn't surprised. For those unfamiliar with an upshernish, it is a Jewish tradition to give a boy his first haircut on his third birthday. Everyone lines up to give tzedakah (money to charity) and cut a lock of his hair!

Anjuli and Tyson visit

Anjuli and Tyson were in town from San Diego for a brief visit the day before Asher's upshernish (first haircut). We would have loved for them to be there but they had somewhere they had to be. Nevertheless, we enjoyed having them.

Finally Buddies

Recently Asher and Elie have been playing together WITHOUT yanking toys out of each other's hands.

Dear Elie,

A year ago today you were born. It was about 11:45 p.m. the night before, when I was woken by a massive contraction and then my water breaking. I flew out of bed so fast and yelled to your dad, "My water just broke! Let's go!" I called my doctor's answering service right away. As I was brushing my teeth I got another contraction. I stopped to crouch down to the floor for it to pass. As I was heading down the hallway to tell my mom we were leaving to the hospital, I crouched down to the floor again squeezing the banister railing to get through another contraction.

On the way to the hospital I had my phone out expecting my doctor to call me back. With every contraction in the car all I could do was squeeze my phone so hard and pressing my face and whole body up against the car door. As we are about 3/4 of the way there I had the uncontrollable feeling to start pushing. In my mind I was beginning to panic that we would deliver you en route.

Finally we pull up to the ER and your dad grabs a wheel chair from the doorway to wheel me in. He tells the ladies at reception we are headed up to the birthing unit. They ask who our doctor is and if they are expecting me. As I'm having another contraction I yell, "Oh my G-d, I have to push! Just go!" I remember seeing two elderly women staring at us with their jaws dropped to the floor and eyes like saucers.

We get up to the fifth floor and they rush me into a room, get me on a bed all while trying to get a gown and monitors on me. As the head nurse goes to measure how far I have dilated she immediately yells, "BABY IS HERE! IS THERE A DOCTOR AROUND?!" And then I push. She told me to push a little less forceful next time. Moments later, I push again trying to keep it more controlled and right then, I feel our baby being born and his beautiful cry! They wrap you in warm towels and hand you to me right away and I say with tears streaming, "Hi baby, I love you!" And I hug and kiss your dad and tell him I love him.

The time was 12:28 a.m. My labor was 45 minutes long.

My little ladies' man

As much of a mischievous little trouble maker Asher can be, he really is a sweet heart and very sensitive. Everyday he tells me, "Mommy, you are pretty. You are gorgeous!"

Well yesterday he gave it a new twist. He said, "Mommy, you are pretty like a song!" Ohhhh, my heart melted!

Como hace Max?

Whenever Max barks, Elie tries to imitate him.

A quintessential picture...

... of a day in the life of a one-year old, curious about everything!

Max and Elie

Poor Younger Sibling!

He gets colored on; he gets clamped by the snowball maker... this is only the beginning of what goes on in our house.

Elie's Birthday Party

For Monday's playgroup we had Elie's little birthday bash. As usual, the kids had a blast running around, playing together while the mommies got to chit-chat and hang out.





Elie enjoying his first birthday cake: he was a little timid eating it at first. But it didn't take long before he got right in it!

Party Food

Elie's party theme was dirt and bugs. I made a dirt cake served in a red wheel barrow, garnished with gummy worms.

• 1 (20 ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies with creme filling
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups of chocolate pudding- I used this recipe (click here)
  
• 12 ounces of whip cream- I whipped up fresh whip cream with a tsp of vanilla (I didn't add any sugar to it) you can use cool whip if you want.
  
• 15 gummi worms

1. Put the cookies in a food processor and process until they become fine crumbs. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the butter or margarine, cream cheese, confectioners sugar and vanilla flavoring. Beat on low speed to mix then beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the chocolate pudding. Beat on low speed to combine.
3. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture with a rubber spatula.
4. Assemble in the ungreased 9x13 inch pan in layers as follows: first layer, 1/3 cookie crumbs; second layer, 1/2 pudding mixture; third layer, 1/3 cookie crumbs; fifth layer, 1/3 cookie crumbs.
5. Tuck the ends of gummy worms in the cookie "dirt". Be sure to have a worm on each piece. Store in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Cut into 15 squares, or serve with a clean garden trowel or a toy sand shovel if serving in the flower pot.

HOT PIZZA DIP (after it was mostly eaten)

This is a great party dish. It's a crowd-pleaser, it's easy and can be done in advance; just pop it in the oven 15 minutes before guests arrive.

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade cut
  

Preheat oven to 350

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, oregano, parsley, and basil.
2. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate, or a shallow oven-safe dish. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese on top of the cream cheese mixture. Spread the pizza sauce over all. Sprinkle with remaining grated cheeses. Top with fresh mozzarella.
3. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese starts bubbling. Top with fresh basil and serve hot with baguette or pita chips.

Note: next time I make this, I am going to add about 1/2 cup chopped roasted bell pepper and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes.
HUMMUS AND BLACK BEAN DIP
To go along with the dirt and bugs theme, I made a "garden" dip with the bottom layer being hummus, and the top layer pureed black beans. I made the carrots by making a whole with a tooth pick and inserted a parsley leaf.