Hollywood Sign - Up Close and Personal

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Both Ed's and my offices are closed the week between Christmas and New Year's. It's been nice to have the entire week off and just relax at home. On our first day off we dropped the kids off at daycare and decided to hike up to the Hollywood sign. We started the hike around 3:30pm, which was just perfect to see the city at the top of the mountain in daylight and walk down during the sunset.





Views of downtown LA and Griffith Park Observatory from the base of the Hollywood sign.





It was hazy out, but you could still see the ocean and Catalina.




On the other side of the hill is the skyline view of Burbank and Glendale.





Looking over LA just above the Hollywood sign was amazing. I inadvertently took shots of the city not aware that my house was visible in the shot. Enlarge the picture below and look for the arrow.




When I realized this, I took a close-up of (the backside of) our house.


The sun was setting and the sky was like an orange and yellow Big Stick (speaking of which, do they not exist anymore???).

Merry Christmukkah

We celebrated Christmas and Hanukkah (we lit the menorah - next year we'll go big) at our house. Our house is finally done, but sadly I still have some things packed away in boxes. But I did manage to find most of my Christmas stuff.

I didn't realize how our couch makes people slouch so much. (This is not an exaggeration).





At 31, I still think farts are funny. We had fun with Jack's new book.




Everyone received some pretty great gifts. Isabella got a Dora tent from Auntie Ann.




Ethan got another great outfit and beanie from Auntie Merah.



Ed bought me a new camera!!! I love it. My old had seen better days. Here's a few pics and movies with my new camera.

On Christmas Eve, we hooked up Merah's karaoke machine and sang into the wee hours of the morning. I also busted out a few costumes to give it a more authentic flair. Those pictures of are Merah's camera. We should always have a full set of costumes on hand whenever we bust out the karaoke machine.

Halloween

This is super late, but I wanted to post the pictures of Isabella dressed up as a ladybug.





We went to a nearby neighborhood's annual Halloween Walk where they close the streets for the neighborhood kids to trick or treat. The streets are still pretty hilly and a little spread out so we got to about 10 houses before we called it quits. Isabella had fun and finally got to enjoy a piece of chocolate, which ended up more in her hands then in her mouth.

Family Reunion

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The last few months have been all about the family. In October, my sister and her family flew in from MA for a family visit. It was great to get the two toddlers together again.

And sometimes the toddlers got along and sometimes they didn't.






Jack was really good about spending time with both cousins so neither felt left out.




We went to the LA Zoo and visited the Gorillas.

Then we went out to eat without the kids.




And we went to Jack's soccer game.




It was a fun week.

Super Susan

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Okay, so my sister sent me the funniest video so now I have to embarrass her. Just click on the image below to see Super Susan.

Dress Up

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Isabella received a princess dress-up kit from Susan, Michael and Asher. She loves to put on our shoes and walk around the house. She has perfected walking in my high heels. So I think she is going to love playing princess. At first we took out the necklace and bracelet, which she loved to put on and take off. The princess heels were an instant hit. Then we took out the fairy wings and skirt. She asked for help to put on the wings so I did. Apparently she doesn't like to dress up with clothes on just yet.





I ordered Isabella's Halloween costume early so they didn't run out. When I received it I immediately had to put it on Isabella to make sure it fit. It is so stinkin cute, but she didn't like being in it. I hope she'll wear it on Halloween. (And no, she will not wear the costume with these brown shorts. I got her her first pair of black tights!)




This all reminded me of her first dress-up experience when she was about six weeks old...and it didn't go over well either.

Video: "See you soon"

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of our family reunion, but it seems Asher is sick so the trip has been postponed. We hope you feel better Asher.

On some evenings Isabella and I will sit in front of the computer looking at pictures. When she sees someone she knows she'll scream out their names. She can easily identify Jack and grandma (mostly because she's seen them more recently). She'll usually call out "Mewa", sometimes referred to as "Mema", when she sees Merah or Ann's pictures. And know she's learning to identify other family members like Baba, Deda, Susan, Michael and Asher.

"What's this?"

Isabella is always asking "what's this?". After a gazillion "what's this" it was getting pretty old, but then I realized this was how Isabella is learning new words and identifying objects.

Bath night

I forgot to post pictures of Ethan's first bath night after he lost his umbilical cord. I've been bathing Isabella and Ethan at the same time. I start with Isabella in the big tub. After she's all clean I let her play in the tub while I bath Ethan in the small tub.






Other random pictures:

Do you see the resemblance?