Swimming in the Grotto in Hawaii. First time underwater

D and I have been going to the pool since he was less than a month old and he's taken to the water just beautifully. Up till now I've put him underwater just a little bit and even though he likes the water he would come up looking a bit scared so I didn't do it too much. Yesterday though he really got it. Jeff, Christine's uncle took us to a warm water grotto that was like a bath and was very small, probably room for only 10-15 people. We put the D in the water and I decided to give the submersion a try again after we'd been in the water for a few minutes. This time Dante absolutely loved it! We were passing him back and forth between the three of us and Dante impressed everybody there with his skills. He would put his head in the water or launch himself at someone and FULLY submerge before we brought him up. He came up smiling from ear to ear, clapping and laughing and squirming for more. We played with him like this for about half and hour and he couldn't get enough. December 30th - Dante's official first time holding his breath under water.

Dante in the Mirror

I caught Dante playing and cooing at himself in the mirror. It shows off a lot of his budding personality. He likes to bounce and laugh and stare at himself in the mirror. I'm not quite sure if he knows it him in the mirror because I takes a peek around the frame to see who's behind it playing with him.

Video Highlight of Dante in Paris

I created a four minute video highlighting many of the places we took Dante in Paris. we entered St. Augustine chapel and Dante loved the echo his voice made regardless of the frenchies praying nearby :-) Next is us at Trocadero followed by Rahav and Dante on the Carousel at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Then it's back to Dante talking away at lunch with Rahav's friend and a laughing - yelling match afterwards. Music provided by Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Day in Paris

Dante spent the second Thanksgiving of his precious short life once again in Paris. Click Here to see the photo album. Because of the strike we really got to see Paris by foot - walking for two to three hours at a time - pushing munchie in his stroller as he enjoyed his comfy view of Paris. He even learned how to say Ca va and kept repeating it when we said it. Makes sense because he definitely knows bye bye in English, so why not pick up a French version of hello/I'm well/Good bye. This picture was taken on the Carousel at the base of the Eiffel Tower.


I had to put this photo up because the set up was meticulously crafted by Rahav. It was rush hour and the strike was in full swing around us, yet we still had the quiet calm to stop and take lots of pretty photos of Paris by night. I love the blur and the warm gold color of the pyramid. A great photo like this is why Rahav is an amazing photographer. He had a random try and re-create the photo with the three of us and failed miserably.




Here's a photo of the three of us in front of the fountain at the Luxemborg Gardens. I was hoping the boats would be available to rent - I have images in my head of Dante pushing the sailboats on the fountain. Tant pis because the park was closing when we got there. L'annee prochaine!

Dante in Paris

Dante's second trip to Paris with us. We went to Sainte Chappelle church today with him.He was a huge hit with all the people inside the chapel checking out the stained glass windows



We went to Notre Dame,The Bon Marche, bought some amazing foie gras did alot of walking and got to experience first hand the transportation strike with packed buses and trains and no taxis.

Officially Walking: Monday, November 12th

Monday is the day that we can officially call the "Dante Walked Day" another D-Day milestone. He took his first solo wobbly steps a day before his first birthday on October 6th and voila, a little more than a month later, he's full on walking across the apartment. Ten steps, then twelve, fourteen, twenty but now - counting doesn't matter cuz he's got mad motor skillz.

Dante's newfound freedom and independence makes him look and act like a little boy with his own desires. This morning, he stunned Teresa - quote "OMG. Dante and I were playing on the floor and he grabbed his blanket, stood up and walked to his crib. I followed him and he looked at me like "I'll sleep now, thanks." That pretty much says it all :-)

Daddy took video that he'll post soon to commemorate this monumental day. As my co-worker says - climbing isn't far behind.

Halloween

Our little munchie was a MONKEY for Halloween this year - and oh what an adorable Monkey he is/was. Of course, he could care less as long as we let him devour the nearest pumpkin or gourd that he could get his teeth into. Yes, he now has ELEVEN Teeth - four front top, four front bottom and two top MOLARS.

The Sunday before Halloween, we took Dante (in Monkey suit) and Lulu to the Dog Parade in Thompkins Square Park where everyone snapped photos and giggled at the two of them. Most of the time Lulu was in the stroller and Dante was perching off daddy's arm waving and babbling at everyone passing by.

Dante climbs up on the couch

This morning at Christine's was the first time Dante climbed UP on the couch by himself. He just did it and didn't even realize there was anything special about this. He is close to getting to the point where he also understands that he needs to turn around to get off the couch instead of going head first.

Dante recites "Out Out Brief Candle" in Shakespeare's MacBeth

Ok Ok - One magical delight about kids is their natural ability to make people laugh! I caught Dante on film talking to himself with such dramatic flair it reminded me of Shakespeare. Here is the debut of our budding thespian. (it's two minutes of smiles and giggles)

New stuff - Pointing and smacking things -new word ; Duck

Yesterday the D looked at something I pointed at for the first time. We were rolling a round piece of wood around on the floor and Dante lost track of where it was. I pointed at it and he turned his head and looked and then went and got it.

Also I've been doing what my dad used to do when I got hurt. He'd beat the object involved, which always made me feel better somehow. Deciding to maintain the tradition I've been doing the same thing and smacking the floor, dvr player, table, floor again, couch and various other objects when Dante and they have come into painful proximity. Yesterday for the first time I noticed that the D was doing the same thing and smacking the couch.

Duck's definitely been added to the vocabulary. In the bathtub a couple of nights ago and since then a bunch of times. Today C and I were in the studio and I said duck and he said it right back.

Dante's first steps

Right during the week of his first birthday Dante took his first steps. All this past week we've been practicing together and I can't think of anything that makes my heart more joyful or makes me feel more happy than when D stands up against the sofa and and I call him. " Bo Hena Hamood Katan!!" (Come here little hamood -in Hebrew) I say. He turns to me with the sweetest smile because he knows what this game is and gets ready and then a moment later both his hands go up in the air and he is walking to me! He can take two or three steps right now and by then he'll reach me and fall into my arms and I hug and kiss him because I'm bursting with so much happiness and pleasure. And usually laughing from my belly. He looks like a little penguin waddling towards us when he does this. Christine and I are both awed and humbled by the incredible trust his actions show. He believes and trusts that we'll catch him and goes for even though if we didn't he'd fall on the floor hard.

October 6th: Dante's First Birthday

Wow! Has it been ONE YEAR since our little diamond popped into this world. Crazy how fast and how slow it's passed. I get dizzy trying to hold onto all the baby steps he's taken and how much he's learned and what a wonderfully FUN toddler he's blossomed into. He makes his parents smile hundreds of times each day.

Dante celebrated his first year in style with a lavish birthday party in the Stuyvesant Oval Park with his "best" friend Newton and fifty guests. We hired a music teacher to entertain the babies and parents and followed it up with hat making and a delicious double layer red velvet cake that he devoured and smeared all over his face.

Here's a link to the birthday photos

Drinking Sippy Cup and Spitting: Sept 12th

Dante and mommy were sitting on the kitchen floor - Dante was learning how to drink out of his sippy cup and discovered he could spit and make noises with the water in his mouth :-)

Dante and Newton in Battery Park

Dante and Newton had a play date in Battery Park where Newton lives. They are three days apart in really get along well - and size each other up and then feed off each others vibe when they parallel play. Here's video of them playing in a hollowed out leather ball.

Debra and I set them inside and they loved feeling the leather. Then we turned them on the side and rolled the ball while they laughed and scooted out. The second video is of Dante scurrying across the grass.. Music is by Air :-)

Dante's first words,Singing, Lulu and standing up

So this week Dante has definitely started saying Mama alot. My word count so far is ; Abba (daddy in Hebrew) which started about a month ago. Lulu, Wawa and Mama. He's started to imitate sounds alot and when we took him to his first music class he definitely imitated the sound that a bird he was being shown makes. This morning on the way to the office we were talking with another mom and D stood up all by himself for a while, the other baby was already walking a bit and it was like D decided to do the same.
The coolest was on the 17th . D was walking around the studio holding onto the coach saying WaWaWaWa over and over and suddenly he was carrying a melody. He was definitely singing. I shot this right after. Not sure you really hear a tune in this video but right beforehand there was no doubt it was a song. He was definitely doing call a response in this part.Today in music class there were lots more babies and he had a great time. He loves those shaker eggs!

Another big change has been that in the last week or so he's really interested in Lulu. He crawls around after her and she cracks him up. It was kind of like one day she didn't exist and then the next she was a real object of interest to him. Here he is on the kitchen floor cracking up with her

Burning Man Sans Dante

Dante got to play and bond with his grandma(s) for a week while mom and dad went away to Burning Man. They took long walks daily, splashed in water, visited many parks and went to grandma Allen's quilting store. Grammy got to hear his first word - Water. Dante was busy having so much fun that he barely noticed that we were gone.

Burning Man 2007 was the best of my four burns so far. We stayed (in a tent) the entire seven days and lived off the Phat of the Man. For me, I felt since I chose to be away from Dante that I had to maximize my playa time. It was the year of the God's wreaking havoc with the elements. First there was a lunar eclipse, then an arsonist burned the man early, a suicide, two full days of dust storms, rain followed by a spectacular double rainbow and oh, did I mention it was HOT AND HUMID. Here's a link to Rahav's Burning Man album on Flickr (Warning!! many breasts)

Greg and Dante in Thompson Square Park

My Little (well 22 year old) brother came to visit this weekend. He hasn't seen Dante since Xmas (2 months old) but Dante somehow new he was family and immediately warmed up to him. For a ten month old, this is big, because Dante is in this picky stage where he wants his mommy, daddy and nanny. He's not so eager to let others hold him. But with Greg, no problem. We hung out in Thompson Square Park and enjoyed the warm Summer day.

Paul Van Dyk in Central Park

We met because both of us were on a disastorous Paul Van Dyk bus tour in Miami in 2005 during WMC immortalized as the Poison Vapor Diesel bus. So in a way Paul is responsible for Danted coming into the world. I was hoping we'd get to introduce Paul to Dante (shades of fanboy mania aside) since we've already told him the story of our meeting on that bus but he hasn't yet seen Dante in person. That didn't happen but nonetheless we had a great time at a soggy Central Park Summerstage where Paul played a great live set with guests.

Google 80s Party: August 16th

Google had an 80s themed party yesterday and transformed the cafe into a shiny disco ball. I couldn't resist showing off *The D* so I had Nanny Teresa bring him to the office. I dressed him in a CBGB's onsie and spiked his hair with blue hair gel. He munched on cucumbers, carrot sticks, played with the tinsel and had a blast looking at the shining lights - and so did I - everyone smiled and remarked that Dante should win the costume contest. I found these Yellow Devo glasses and put them on D's face. They didn't bother him at all - he left them on the rest of the night, posing for pix.

14th Street Y Pool on August 15th

Our little water monkey got to try out a new toy that Rahav picked up in Atlantic City. Now Dante can float and kick in the water all by himself. He delighted in the freedom his blow up whale offered as he kicked and cooed and maneuvered himself all around the YMCA pool. Daddy was close by, of course, while mommy snapped photos :-)

Fire Island: August 11th & 12th

Another sunny, beautiful weekend in Fire Island with friends. The water is super warm now and Dante loves loves loves the ocean now. Actually, he's fond of all things water. This past weekend Rahav's friend Sylvana and my friend's Kirsten and Alessio joined us for the weekend. We went to a BBQ and dined on *brownies* kobe beef and other deliciously fresh meat and veggies and fish on the deck. (Click Here for online photo album)It was a perfect Fire Island weekend. As always, Dante enjoyed the crowd and had no problem catching his ZZZs in the middle of the action. I love that he's so mobile and easy to take around!

Fire Island: August 4th & 5th: Ten Months Old

There were a lot of firsts for Dante on Fire Island this weekend. He'll be ten months old on Monday and every day he blossoms and becomes a bit more aware of the world each day.

- First time he picked blueberries. They line the Ocean Beach pathways and D figured out how to pick them instantly and gobble them up in his mouth. Once that light went off, he wouldn't take them from our hand anymore and insisted on picking them himself.

- First time he pet a deer. A mother and baby fawn spied us picking blueberries and came over to partake in the feast. Dante giggled and laughed when they approached and stretched out his hand to pat momma deer on the head.

- First time he went into the ocean without protesting. Little by little I'd put his feet in the sand when the tide approached and eventually splashed in the water and got excited when the tide rushed in and out of his ankles. He wasn't sure if it was him or the water moving to and fro.

- First time he felt roses.

- First time he played in a hammock

Visiting Mom's Office July 28th '07

We stopped into the Google office on our way to the Chelsea water park. It was a unbearable hot and humid July day in New York City. My office is on the chilly side and has yummy snacks - so we stopped in to fill up, cool down and spin on my desk chair. I'm giddy cuz my desk is pimping with the new 8-core Mac and two 24" monitors.

Later that day found this wonderful water park in Chelsea on 24th and 11th Avenue. It was perfect for Dante and Newton to crawl and splash around. the floor was covered in this soft sparkly blue padding and Dante was fascinated by the waterfall. To show you how BIG Dante is for his age - the boy next to him is 14 months old.

Dancing D

Dante loves to dance! lately he's been pulling himself up on the TV stand and grooving and bopping to VH1 hits that I play in the morning. The other day he bounced to the beat while Rahav played Guitar Hero (Hard mode of course :-)

Check out the video

Dante Dancing to Guitar Hero: July 23rd

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July 21st - PS1

This is the first weekend we've been in NYC in quite some time. The weather was perfect too - not humid and low 80s - there was no reason to head out to Fire Island with gorgeous NYC weather like this. When I first moved to NYC in 2001, I spend many Summer Saturdays at PS1 but haven't been in two years. So, I took Dante to PS1 this weekend while Rahav worked the Siren Festival and we had a blast. It was jammed packed for the Martinez Brothers. Of course, Dante loved it and everyone loved him - he hammed and flirted about and stole the ladies attention away from the countless roving men.

Dante in his Crib

D's started to pull himself upright in the last week or so and we've had to lower the height of the floor in both cribs. The first day the height was lowered in the studio a couple of days ago he did THIS and I made a note that photos would HAVE to be produced.

Nine Months is definately a growth milestone - We need to do a major toy overhaul. He's "over" most of his baby toys. Hail to the god Craigslist to out the old and scout out the new. His toy mat used to pacify Dante for hours. Now that he's mastered turning on and off the music & lights - he's bored. Same with the infant swing - now he likes to grab the bars, stop movement and practie pull-ups with a wily grin. His crib mobile has no chance of survival now that he can stand up, grab it and rip it to shreds. I'd give his bouncy seat another month or two tops. Clothes - we'll that needs to be overhauled as well as he's wearing clothes for 12 - 18 month olds. Luckly for me that I loved the clothes in Spain and Morocco and went a bit crazy :-)

The three of us went to a parents party and our new friends Debra and Jon who have a nine month old named Newton. We felt toy envy and realized we're totally out of the loop on what's cool for kids at the moment. Dante has a blast playing with all these super cool toy trains, drums, crawl houses etc. Time for a trip to BuyBuybaby!

9 Month Doctor Visit

Dante got flying colors at his nine month doctor visit. Height 30" / Weight 21 lbs / Head Circumference 46". Gross motor skills wise - Dante has mastered crawling and has his mind set on walking. One thing I see about Dante is that he's a very focused little boy when learning a new task. He doesn't get frustrated with failure and will try and try again until he gets it right. Such as pulling himself up on furniture. Once he discovered he can stand on his legs that's all he wanted to do. In one week he went from pulling himself up in his crib to cruising and balancing on all the living room furniture. His concentration is equally amazing and is not one to get distracted by room noise if he's engrossed in something else.

I call this picture his Moses picture. I took it in Fire Island at my friend Christina's house. We found a laundry basket filled with sheets and put d inside - he loved it and was content staying there all day if we let him - only to be heard every once in a while when he cooed :-)

Marrakesh and Spain: June 28th - July 7th 2007

Each year, mom, Tera and I take an annual girls trip to an exotic location. So far, we've been to Greece, Iceland, Nova Scotia and France. This year we chose Marrakesh, Morocco and Southern Spain. My college friend Shaunna chose Marrakesh as her wedding destination and we couldn't pass up the invitation and tag on a side trip to Madrid, Sevilla and Granada.
photo album from Marrakesh

Last year, both Tera and I were pregnant on our Greece trip. This year we thought it would be fun to bring along our babies to show that having kids would not slow us down. So, Tera brought four month old Megan and I brough nine month old Dante - and it worked. Both babies are easy travelers. This brings Dante's country tally to six (France, England, Jordan, Israel, Morocco and Spain). We ended up renting fabulous posh apartments in the city center - equipped with cribs and elevators to make us all comfortable. We took it easy and spent our days strolling the city streets, hanging out in lush gardens and palaces and museums. We even took the babies to a flamenco show in Sevilla but left them with mom to catch a bullfight.

Dante Started Crawling: June 28th 2997

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June 4th: San Francisco and Yosemite

The first week of June is the busiest of the year for me work-wise. Google has an annual sales conference that I do lots of videos for. It keeps me crazy busy! This year Rahav was our conference photographer. He brought Dante out to San Francisco so I could see him during the few mintues of downtime we had that week. We found a lovely nanny to watch him at the hotel. When the conference was over, we rented a car and drove to Yosemite for an amazing weekend of biking, hiking and sight seeing.

At the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, Dante refused to look at the camera and would turn his head away from the camera, even when Rahav switch positions. I had to capture it on camera - he was totally playing games with us :-)



In Yosemite We rented a cabin in Curry Village in Yosemite Valley and used it as a basecamp for hiking, biking and exploring the park grounds. The first day we rented bikes and put Dante in a bike trailer and pulled him everywhere - he was cruising in style. We biked to Yosemite Falls, El Capitain and and took photos of Half Dome at sunset.





Day two we hiked to Vernal Falls and had a picnic lunch. Rahav swam in the freezing cold water just above the falls drop off.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND - Dante spent his first weekend in Fire Island over Memorial Day. It's a special place to both Rahav and I and where we settled on Dante's name five days before he was born. Rahav spent many Summers on Ocean Beach and introduced me to this peaceful, magical place two years ago. Both of us have been eager to share it with Dante. We know he'll grow up loving this tiny island for its beauty, serenity and wilderness like qualities nestled only a few hours from NYC and accessible only by ferry boat.

The weather was beautiful, breezy and warm and Dante enjoyed feeling and eating the sand. I thought I'd let him have at it and then he'd learn not to eat sand. Well, it backfired as he actually enjoyed and indulged in feeling the sand on his gums. He's also teething and has a stuffy nose. He slept peacefully for hours at the beach. The sounds of the crashing waves and the cool ocean breeze helped him relax.

My friend Ooana grew up on Fire Island and was the first person to welcome Dante. She'll be a great mentor and teach Dante the special nature of being a kid on Fire Island. She had a huge part in my fondness for the island and my desire to share its magical qualities with Dante.

Our Little Pierrot

I Love the outfit that Dante is wearing in this pix - it reminds me of a french pierrot print. Plus he has the cutest smile. Alas, it's probably the last time he'll ever wear it. It's 80 degrees outside and quite a tight fit around his chubby legs.

These kids playmats are quickly making me dislike Mozart all the twanging music over and over gives me a headache. Dante has discovered how to turn on the playmat lights and music - it's cute to watch him get excited about doing a task all by himself.

Dante's Chart

A friend of Christine's put this together.

First Mother's Day: May 13th 2007

Springtime is finally in NYC which brings everyone to the park in droves. I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day with Dante, Rahav and his mum. We BBQ'd chez Rahav and fed Dante lots of new foods.. Yogurt, Avocado and Mango Mango Mango, his favorite. Funny that Mango is the ONE food I craved throughout my entire pregnancy and now Dante can't get enough.. which came first.. the chicken or the egg :-)

Here's pix of our relaxing day in Thompson Square Park on Saturday, May 12th.

Dante on my shoulders makes me Happy

Photobooth rocks.

Dante Eating in the Bouncy Seat May 10

Dante digs banana baby food and has figured out that if he stops bouncing we'll feed him. My mom did this with him and he downed 4 oz. yesterday no problem and did it again today. The preparations for eating are hysterical though.

Dante falls asleep in the Bouncy seat

A big day it's true. I think he may have started teething as he was on a bit of a tear this morning in the office. Even the bouncy seat, his favorite thing, wasn't calming him down. So he was bouncing up and down like a jumping bean and crying at the same time which was kind of strange. As one of those activities usually precludes the other. Nonetheless after a while he quieted down and I looked over and realized he'd fallen asleep in the thing! Lulu stood guard.