A big leap forward in D's vocabulary today.

Today was what I'd have to call a banner day in terms of Dante's speech development. He used over 10 new words today that I'd never heard him say before. They were coming so often I had to write them down so I wouldn't forget them.
We went to see my father and where there for over two hours with my sister Gala. By the end of the visit Shlomo gave Dante a big hug and Dante - who'd been hearing the word all morning - called him Saba (grandfather in Hebrew). At Gala's the day before he had said 'fire' when we were sitting in front of the furnace and said it multiple times today. He said 'Shoes', 'Wheel' for his stroller and his cars. 'Dog' which he'd been trying to say up till now but kept coming out as god. 'Chicken' (!) at Yehudit and Noa's as well as 'Yellow' for the first time (he's been signing that word for months), 'Sea' 'Ma-im' (water in Hebrew) when I gave him his bath and maybe coolest of all, besides Saba, he said 'Par par' (butterfly in Hebrew) which up till now had just been Bee, for any kind of bug. They were coming out of him so fast at Yehudit's that they were almost one on top of each other. I'm smiling writing this.

Our trip to Israel

Dante and I have been here since last Thursday and we have been having an awesome time! Before I get into the trip just wanted to mention that so far today his new words are ; Zebra and Help (which we started working on with him last week with Julian). Anyway we stayed on Friday night at Rona and Alon's house with their kids. I went to see my dad on Saturday morning and that was pretty hard. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. We left on Saturday afternoon with Rona and the children to go the Clil where my sister Gala lives with her husband Edo. Clil is just gorgeous. It's in the mountains near Naharia and they live on a hill that overlooks the coast. You can see Haifa in the distance and the ocean on clear days and the sunsets are spectacular. It rained the night we got there and you could see amazing lightning strikes out in the distance. Clil is just the most laid back place. It's like the woodstock of Israel in my mind. Super laid back, bohemian, artisinal and beautiful (maybe that's not such a good description of Woodstock). Edo and Gala have Grapefruit, Pomegranate, orange, lemon and Olive trees right on their property, besides huge bushes of Lemongrass, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Goldenseal and tons more I'm not even aware of. Within a few minutes of arriving Dante was running around having a blast playing with the other kids like he'd been there forever and the two cats and little kitten. We went to a chicken coop that had a goat running around and the next day we went into Akko and explored the old city and market before heading back to pick up Gala from work. The pix here are a few of the shots I took and a video. The rest are here; and you tube.

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More Pix from Halloween

Here's more pix of Dante and Lulu at Thompkins Square Park. Even though Dante refused to wear his dinosaur costume, his flapping wings and dragging tail put smiles on everyones face

New words

Yesterday D and I were reading a book and I asked in Hebrew what a cow says. "Moo" than this morning what a cat says in Hebrew again " Meow"

Dante's Halloween costume with Lulu

This was a super hit. At one point on Saturday when we were walking around in Tompkins square park with Dante and Lulu - 6 - yes - 6 - different people with cameras were taking pix of the two of them at the same time.

October 6th: Dante Turns TWO

Our little munchie had his second birthday! Crazy how fast and slow it passes. Some days I think he'll never grow up and others I think "wow" where did the time go. I suppose this flip flop feeling will never change. It's been such a wonderful experience, I wouldn't trade it for anything. We're totally in love with him!

We spent Dante's birthday weekend with close friends on Fire Island. My dear friend Christina hosted us at her lovely Seaview home where we cooked, played, laughed, bonded and celebrated Dante's birthday. I put together this photo montage of the weekend. In addition, there are photos from the weekend.

The Red Balloon

I rented the movie "The Red Balloon" this weekend. D and I snuggled in the glider and enjoyed it together. I recently read parents talking about what a powerful story it tells about friendship and loss within a simple context of a boy and his bright red balloon. It was a perfect movie for Dante because there's almost no dialogue, mostly music and it's visually simple and beautiful to watch. Dante enjoyed all 30 minutes of it and wanted me to put it on again. He pointed and said "Baoo" lots and when the mean street boys stole little Pascal's balloon Dante would say "Oh No" like he knew they were out to taunt the boy.

On another note, Rahav hung out with Debra and Newton earlier today and sent me this picture of the boys feating on Pizza in Soho!

Soccer Time

Dante started soccer lessons at Chelsea Piers a few weeks back. It's his favorite thing to do now! Night and day he kicks a ball around and is quite good at it.

He's the youngest in his class of mostly 2 and 3 year olds. But, of course, he towers over most of them. We've noticed that Dante is favoring sports right now, when he's not ewwing and aahing at animals or cars, his other two loves. Plus, he's got amazing hand-eye coordination and super baby strength at kicking and throwing balls in general.

From day one at soccer, he took to it like a duck to water and started following coach Ron around like an alert duckling. He's learning how to dribble, pass, drop kick, score goals and of course run like a jack rabbit.

The Quest for a Nanny

Well, Daycare was short lived as we realized two weeks into it that none of us were ready to deal with the pain of separation. Dante likes his people and only his people and couldn't care less about anyone else. I guess we should enjoy it while it lasts because it will change as he grows up.

So, we pulled him out of Tutor Time and are in the process of finding his next Nanny. We've found some great temporary babysitters for the time being. Sabine is a Graphic Artist from Munich, Germany who has been watching Dante for the past two months. She went back last week and this is the farewell photo.

End of Summer

Summer if finally drawing to a close. The weather is tossing between warm and chill and the leaves will soon be changing color and falling to the ground. Stuyvesant Town has undergone a complete landscape renovation that Dante has thoroughly explored.

On our walk home from the 1st Avenue L train stop, his ritual is to swing and slide at the playground for an hour and then meander home, waving at the basketball players en route to the water fountain at the oval.

Once at the oval, Dante plays in the garden, picks leaves, flowers, hides in the bushes and chases after the many birds and squirrels. Pretty soon snow will be covering the oval and it will be too cold to enjoy the Stuy Town flora and fauna. This picture will hold me through until next Spring.

His name and PeePee

First time we heard him say those - 9/20/08

I found him hiding in the trunk at the foot of my bed with his beloved pet Tiger that grandma gave him at Christmas time. Perhaps I won't need to buy him a toddler bed when he outgrows his crib :-)

New words

Liron and I were giving D lunch today and suddenly he was talking. I asked him if I could have a piece of his toast and he said "Lo Rotze" (I don't want to) then I asked if he liked his bread and he said "Ken" (yes). Liron and I were staring at each other because we were both hearing all this. Then I asked if it was correct that he liked toast with butter and he said "Nachon" (correct). I asked if he wanted this piece or that piece and he pointed at the one he wanted and said "Ze" (this).

Dante sits on the Potty for the first time. 9/5/08

Today was the day. A couple of days after this he wouldn't let me put his diaper and got a tremendous kick out of peeing all over my bed but it was so funny I didn't care.

Dante on the Swing

I love shooting the D on the swing, one of his favorite things. Unfortunately it's been a while since he's gotten to be on one since I'm writing this in December, but these pix from the last year I love.
http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000h6d5xnCKoYQ

Stacking Blocks

Dante was so proud of himself in this photo. He's been working on stacking blocks for weeks. Little by little one, then two and suddenly he stacked NINE of them all by himself, grinned with delight, clapped his hands and confidently stood by the blocks while his adoring mom snapped away.

Discovering Pull Toys

Dante has discovered pull toys and likes to drag anything he can delicately behind him. At first it was his coveted white blankey that went everywhere with him. Well, we found a substitute - anything he can drag behind him. It started out with a cat tail until Rahav took a piece of rope and tied it to a car.
The other pix was taken in an east village doorway on Avenue A and 9th street. Dante and I were on a walk and he decided to rest (with his bus) in the doorway and wave at people passing by. Oh, and his new thing is to say HI and BYE and wave to everyone around. He makes lots of people smile!

PS1: Summer in NYC

Summer has been wonderful this year - not too hot or humid and lots of sunshine! We haven't been to the beach much this year since Dante's dislike of Fire Island and the Ocean. So we've been exploring NYC to the fullest. Lots of bike riding, days at the water park and afternoons at the museum. Here's some pictures from PS1 This year's theme was the public garden. Rahav had Dante on his shoulders in one of the pix. The other was taken without flash while a mirror was rotating overhead.

First Week of Daycare: 22 Months

Dante is 22 months today and officially started daycare this week. His nanny Teresa decided to focus on photography, so I felt it best to start him now instead of waiting for his 2nd birthday. It's hard on all of us but our hopes are that he'll love it soon enough. We chose Tutor Time for it's proximity to Rahav's house. The staff is warm and friendly and his sixteen classmates are his age and quite ethnically diverse. I took this photo while the toddlers had their morning play activity of feeling and discovering the wonders of play-doh. We are easing Dante in with a MWF schedule from 10am - 3pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays he'll still be hanging with dad and his new nanny Sabine who he's already charming and will soon have her wrapped around his finger the same way Teresa was.

DJ One Sock D our Piano Prodigy

The day Dante was born I said he was going to be a DJ. Well, D's taking to music like a fish to water. I'm sure no one is surprised. I wrote about electronic music, Rahav shoots music and all the Allen kids play piano. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Dante signs "Yellow" for the first time

Breakfast. Signing colors....
Strawberries - red
Cream of Wheat - white
Pineapple and Bananas - yellow
Yogurt - Bl.......HELLO!!! Who just signed yellow at me for the first time? Dante!!