Happy, Happy Hanukkah and a Very Merry Christmas Too!

Happy Hanukkah!

I helped Mommy set up her menorah
on the first night of Hanukkah.

I had so much fun celebrating my first Hanukkah this year!  On the first night I helped Mommy setup and light the menorah.  Well, actually Mommy did the lighting and I just watched, but I did hold on to the menorah while Mommy unwrapped the candles.  It was a little bit heavy for me because I'm still so little.  Mommy's friend Karen came over to celebrate the first night with us while Daddy was at the Caps game.  She brought over a special present for me...my very own Noah's Ark Menorah!  It is so cute.  It has an ark floating in swirly blue water with animals onboard two by two.  Two lions, two giraffes, and two elephants!  Mommy setup my menorah with the first candle and the Shamash up high in the middle...she realized a few days later than she was setting up the candles backwards...hopefully next year I'll remind her to start on the right side.  Mommy took a picture of me with my menorah each night...except the seventh night because she forgot.  Here are the pictures of me on nights two through eight. 



Here I am with my first Hanukkah present...my very own menorah!

Look at candle number two...all lit up with sparkly blue!

Here I am on night number three...with my menorah next to me!

We're only half way on night number four...
but I'm so glad there are four more!

Night number five...three more to go.
Watch my candles glow, glow, glow!

Here are my candles...count them six.
On my stereo...a Hanukkah mix.

Here are my candles on night number eight
We had a party and stayed up late!



Besides lighting my menorah every day, I also did some other fun things to celebrate Hanukkah! Mommy and Daddy celebrated with me on the fifth night.  We baked cookies, listened to Hanukkah music and opened presents.  I got lots of presents but I didn't feel like waking up from my nap in my Sung-a-Bunny swing to open them, so Mommy and Daddy opened mine for me.  Here is a before an after picture of me on night number five. 



I'm sound asleep surrounded by
all of my wrapped presents.

For Hanukkah Mommy and Daddy got me special Washington D.C.
and Virginia board books.  I also got a Hanukkah board book and a
puppy pillow pet.  Daddy also got me "My Pal Violet!"

I had so much fun celebrating the last night of Hanukkah with my family in New Jersey!  Almost everyone was there...Great Grandma Sylvia, Saba, Savta, Aunt Orly, Aunt Beth, Uncle Yariv, Cousin Morgan, Cousin Alie, Mommy and me!  Daddy couldn't come because he had to work. Me, Morgan and Alie wore our matching blue Hanukkah shirts that Mommy bought.  We lit the candles and ate latkes that Saba made.   Alie decided to sing E-I-E-I-O during the blessings but Aunt Orly and Mommy thought it was so cute!  Morgan was so excited to take pictures with me that she forgot about eating her ice cream sandwich for dessert.  Alie didn't really want to take pictures...but they came out cute anyway! 

Alie, Me and Morgan



Me, Morgan and Aunt Orly



Saba and Savta love their girls and we love our Saba and Savta!



Here I am with my Great Grandma Sylvia





After celebrating eight fun filled nights of Hanukkah...I was exhausted... so I curled up into a ball and went to sleep.  Mommy and Daddy couldn't resist snapping one more picture of me in my Hanukkah shirt and fun rainbow striped socks!  Oy vey! Lilah tov everybody and Happy Hanukkah!  And no more pictures please!

Merry Christmas!

This December I also had fun celebrating Christmas with my Nana and Uncle Ned.  Mommy got me all dressed up in my party dress and we drove to Nana's house in Annapolis.  Nana made us a tasty dinner and we had Christmas cookies and ice cream sundaes for dessert! Yummy!  Nana even let me taste a tiny drop of vanilla ice cream when Mommy wasn't looking.  After we ate our dinner, we had so much fun opening all of the presents that Uncle Ned and Nana bought for me!  I got lots and lots of presents but my favorites were the beautiful silver bracelet that Nana bought for me and the rocking horse that makes galloping and neighing noises when you squeeze the ears.  I am going to wear my bracelet when my wrist gets a little bit bigger and I have to wait until I can stand to ride my horsey but I am going to have so much fun with it when I get bigger. 

This is my horse that Nana bought for me.
Mommy loves horses and so did my Aunt Katie.
Nana says I get to name the horse all by myself!

Here is a picture of me with Mommy
and Daddy sitting under the tree.
We took this picture as a joke for my Saba.



Here is a picture of me next to one of Nana's Santas. 
Next year I bet I'll be taller!



This year Nana put up a tree...just for me!  So, Mommy and Daddy helped me make a special hand print and foot print ornament to hang on Nana's tree.  The footprint got some red fuzz in it from my red fleece pajamas but everybody thought it added character to the footprint ornament and Nana loved it!  Here is a picture of Daddy holding me while Mommy pressed my bare foot into the dough for the footprint. 

Me with Uncle Ned and Nana!

After a fun Christmas at Nana's house...Daddy drove us home. Mommy and I were both sleepy so we took naps in the car while Daddy listened to sports on the radio.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy New Year 2012!

After all of the holiday celebrating we did this week for Hanukkah and Christmas...Mommy and Daddy decided to take it easy and have a low key New Years Eve at home with just the three of us watching Dick Clark's Rockin Eve.  I tried really hard to stay up until midnight but I was so sleepy and I couldn't keep my eyes open!  So...I gave up and went to sleep.

I decided to wake up from my nap at 12:04 a.m. because I was hungry!  I guess I'll have to see the ball drop next year.  Anyway...goodbye 2011 and hello 2012!  Happy New Year everyone!