Happy New Year

Thought I'd sneak in one more photo of Elijah before 2009!! Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous year to come!! A special shout out to: Gilia, Savta, Rachel, Marilyn, Anna, Esther, Shelly, Nicole and anyone else who actually reads this blog!! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Oh Hannukah

Elijah loves playing dreidl with Daddy
Deb performs the Ugly Duckling song for the family

Dad jams during our post-prandial family sing-a-long
The Diamond-Steuerman-Kruss family

Lauren, Craig and upside down Ethan

The Steuerman kiddos

Deb thought the Israeli candy was play dough!

Shabbat shalom

We just got home from Shabbat dinner at the Herszages, and I still have a smile on my face. Everything was amazing. Brooke made the best ever squash souffle and the salmon was perfect. There was even vegetarian matzo ball soup! Elijah enjoyed chasing Bailey (the cat) around the house and playing with "Aiv."

Brooke and Aiva bless the Shabbat candles with Bruno
Amiel gazes wistfully at the challah

How cool is this? Pour wine into the top and the little Kiddush cups fill right up
Brooke and the amazing Hannukah cookie

Aiva and Elijah, what a happy pair

Elijah + Snow Pants = Irresistible

I love the snow and sharing it with Elijah is a real treat. The boots, the snow pants, the fuzzy red hat... it takes a little effort to bundle him up, but the result is adorable. I received dozens of smiles during our recent neighborhood photo shoot. Officer Swanson even agreed to model to model with the boy.

Thankful

Deb hosted this year's Thanksgiving feast and what a feast it was. After munching on some spectacular dips, we started the meal off with butternut squash soup (one of my contributions). We then moved on to mouth-watering spread of : mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, two kinds of stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, carrot cake, wild rice with nuts and mushrooms, salad and the tastiest ever sweet potatoes (think marshmallows, brown sugar, pecans and a hint of sweet potato). Dessert was a hit too. We had a wonderful homemade pumpkin pie (thank you, Erica), birthday cake (happy 39th to Sharon) and baked pears (another score for our hostess).

Erica and Bob

Deb, Elijah and Sharon
Deb set a lovely table

Elijah liked the napkin rings

Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than the canned kind

My world is brimming with wonderful family, friends and food -- I have so much to be thankful for.

Milestones

Elijah climbed out of his crib last night. Guess it's time for a big boy bed.

Molasses cookies

Molasses is an excellent source of iron, so I like to think of these cookies as healthy. I have a batch in the oven right now, and the smell is heavenly. The recipe comes from Mollie Katzen's cookbook, Still Life With Menu Cookbook. I bet they'd make to-die-for ice cream sandwiches.

Mrs. Buerschaper's Molasses Crinkles

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp ground ginger

2 cups unbleached white flour

1 to 2 tablespoons additional sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 & lightly grease a cookie sheet

2. Melt butter over low heat and transfer to medium sized bowl

3. Beat in molasses and 1 cup of sugar. Beat egg by itself in a small bowl first, and then beat this into molasses mixture

4. Sift dry ingredients together (except extra sugar) and then stir them into the wet mixture

5. Use your hands to form 1 1/2 inch balls of dough. Place additional sugar on a small plate and roll each ball in the sugar before arranging on cookie sheet

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until firm to touch. Cool on a rack (or just eat them hot, yum).

Cuckoo

A guest post from Amiel --- Amazing that we visited Saba and Savta, knocked on their door the Steuerman signature knock, and Liji has been talking about it for days. He says something to the effect of the "knocks", then Saba and Savta, then of course cuckoo, cuckoo...

Must be the cuckoo, cuckoo part of the experience that just ingrains in him anything associated with cuckoo clocks. He is both fascinated and terrified at the same time of Saba and Savta's cuckoo clock. Very cute that he now knows the Steuerman "knock". Next will be the whistle...

Birthday boy

He may be two, but there's nothing terrible about our sweet birthday boy. He is full of happy energy. I'm not sure how to respond to those who forewarn of screaming fits in which my child may be expected to roll around the supermarket floor, fists clenched and pounding on the tile. It's hard to imagine Elijah making such a scene.
In keeping with a tradition started last year, we had dinner at Stella's on the actual date of Elijah's birthday. Uncle Adam and Auntie Deba Beba joined us, and Elijah feasted on strawberry ice cream for dessert. The following day, we celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating with the Longs. It was fun to see the neighborhood kids in costume. I made Elijah a cuckoo clock costume, but he refused to wear it.

The next Sunday, our whole family came over to continue the celebration. It was wonderful to have everyone together, and Elijah had a blast.

As for Elijah's current interests, his fascination with clocks has turned into a near obsession. He is on a constant mission to discover them wherever we go. Needless to say, Target is a particularly special destination for Elijah. They have a whole aisle of clocks, and I am certain he'd happily spend an afternoon there. I will have to make a video of our next visit. Other favorite things include: using keys to lock and unlock doors, cooking in his kitchen, fiddling at his work bench and walking around the house in mommy and daddy's shoes. When he sees me pulling out the camera, he often say, "No, no, play" and then proceeds to push away the offending lens. "Play" has come to be a commonly uttered word. If I suggest that we eat, get dressed, etc, he often shakes his head and insists that we play instead. Elijah's favorite song is "Daiyenu" these days. He claps and dances when I play it on the stereo and he always wants to hear it again (and again). He also likes "Zum Gali Gali" and "Edelweiss."

For me, Elijah's second year flew by. I often tell him, "Being with you is magical." It really is.

Back in Jerusalem

Our last day in Israel was a happy whirlwind of activity. In the morning, we met Dee and Lou, old friends of the Steuerman family, for a delicious brunch of quiches, salads and homemade banana bread. My favorite part were the baked apples and pears. Dee filled them with cranberries and I can't wait to try the recipe for Thanksgiving!

I then met up with a Diamond family friend, Tyson Herberger, and his wife Rebekka. We poked around pottery shops, visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and enjoyed catching up. Tyson graciously steered the stroller through the bumpy walkways, though Elijah eventually got overtired and soon became cranky. A week of traveling had finally caught up and he was a sad little camper. Thankfully, Amiel arrived and was able to calm him down long enough to be slipped back into the stroller (where he promptly fell back asleep). We then snacked on bageleh (a doughy ring of bread which Amiel loves) and falafel before going to visit the Kotel.

That night, we celebrate Matan's 27th birthday and Tchelet's 24th birthday.

After dinner, we watched a movie (much of it was in Arabic and everyone had to translate the Hebrew subtitles for me) before saying our goodbyes. We left for Tel Aviv at 1:30 am and boarded our plane to Madrid a few hours later.

To our Israeli family and friends, thank you for making this such a special trip!! We can't wait to visit again!

I love this place

On our second day at Amirim, we slept late and then took a short walk to Dalia's for an amazing brunch.I am a huge fan of Israel-style breakfasts, but this one was by far the best... platefuls of colorful salads, homemade jams, omelets with fresh herbs, fresh lemonade and a beautiful view of the surrounding area. For dessert, we were served mint tea, rum balls and a crumbly apple cake which Amiel deemed his favorite ever cake. We asked for the recipe, but Dalia said we'd need to arrive at 5:00 am if we wanted it.

Elijah and Tchelet

Following brunch, we met up with the Krakows on Har Adir. Matan took us to a spot with an amazing view of the border with Lebanon. We sipped hot coffee and shot this great photo of Hagit and Matan.

To the north

While in Tel Aviv, we met up with Amiel's highschool pal's from Savyon. It was a happy reunion.

Amiel and Gezer
Amiel & Eddie

After leaving Tel Aviv, we drove up north to Amirim, a vegetarian moshav near the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The Krakows met us there, and we all stayed at Eretz HaGalil, a group of long-cabin style cottages surrounded by beautiful gardens and cozy hammocks. We arrived in the evening and had a fabulous vegetarian dinner at Stupps. The next day, Matan took us to a Druz village for sambuska (a middle eastern-style calzone). Everyone then headed for a boat ride on the Mediterranean while Elijah and I played in Amirim. That night we dined at an Arab restaurant in the village of Rama.

The Israeli Bagel

Quick update!! Yesterday we visited sweet Aunt Geula and then headed to Tel Aviv. Along the way, we stopped by Amiel's old neighborhood in Savyon. After navigating our way to the hotel Cinema in Tel Aviv, we went out for dinner off Dizengoff Street.

This morning, we met Jamie, new boyfriend Noam and the Krakows for a delicious brunch on Ben Yehuda Street.
Shelly and Aunt Geula

After brunch, we visited Amiel's old friend Eddie and then headed to the port for dinner on the beach.

Israel

It's official, Elijah is now a world traveler. He slept during much of our flight to Madrid and spent the layover happily surveying the airport. The terminal was full of buttons to poke, garbage cans to inspect and clocks to admire. After discovering one such clock, he started dancing below it, singing a happy tune. The airport cafe had cases of delicious-looking sandwiches and pastries. The potato omelet sandwiches on soft baguettes were a perfect prelude to a chocolatey croissant and hot coffee.

Elijah plays with Cousin Orit

The extended Eisentstein family at Shlomtzi and Eli's house

Elijah and Dod Danny

Four and a half hours later, we landed in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport for a happy reunion with Danny and Shelly. After masterfully arranging our belongings into the trunk of his car, Danny drove us to the picturesque town of Gilo. It was even more beautiful than I imagined. Everything is built in milky Jerusalem stone and even the newest buildings match seemlessly with their surroundings. Shelly and Danny's welcoming home was brimming with tasty treats. Hagit and Matan joined us for homemade carrot soup and unexpectedly amazing pizza. Elijah was happy as a clam, opening doors, purposefully inserting keys into their locks and giggling the whole time. Following dinner, we visited Shelly's dear friend and neighbor, Ruti. We then stayed up playing a fun guessing game in which the names of a famous people or characters are written onto scraps of paper. Each player has the name of a character stuck to his head, and we then take turns asking yes/no questions in order to determine our character's identity. I guessed mine quickly (Jesus) and was amazed that Danny figured his out at all (Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle, my idea).
Today was just perfect too. We had a fabulous brunch and visited Amiel's lovely, extended family.... more details to come!

Shana Tova

We just celebrated Rosh Hashana, and this year's festivities were made extra special by a visit from Hagit. We can't wait to see her and the rest of our Israeli family next week!

Savta, Hagit and Elijah

Shana Tova!

Off to see the Gigi

Last week, Elijah and I flew down to Florida for a visit with Grandma Doris aka Gigi.

On our first morning, Elijah woke up to find Papa Fred in the room. Unfamiliar with his surroundings and unable to find Mommy, he clung to Papa like a baby monkey.
Posing with Gigi and Doggy
Papa and Doggy

Real Beauty

Just found this interesting Dove video showing what it takes to create the images we see every day. Definitely worth a look.