Just One Year

One year ago, Adi couldn't walk. She was about to turn two, but walking didn't seem to be on her horizon.

Until something clicked.

Exactly one year ago, Adi mastered walking with a walker.

And now? Adi has recently walked over half a mile in one go. She runs alongside us on our walks. She spontaneously starts hopping in middle of walking.

When I let Adi out of the carriage yesterday and let her loose,

I couldn't help but think back to another day...
A day when her accomplishment wasn't walking over half a mile by herself. But rather a day when she walked over half a block, using her carriage as a walker.

And yes, I was reminded precisely because she is wearing that same outfit!
How we cheered! I took photos and texted them to all of Adi's therapists.

Watching her now, it is hard to believe that she has only been walking for 8 months.

It was just one year, and look how far it took us!

Rosh Hashana is fast approaching, and Adi's third birthday come on the heels of the yomim tovim. Lots of new beginnings. Maybe even the beginning of school for Adi. Life is full of pleasant surprises. The upcoming year is a beautifully sealed gift. I wonder what's inside.

Videos for Genetics

April 2011. Adi showing her words at 2 1/2 years old!

August 2011: More park. Look how well Adi does steps already. :)  (2 years 10 months)

 Adi has a deep and profound obsession with trains. Here we are on the Williamsburg bridge, watching the trains pass really close to us behind the fence.

Video Time!!

April 2011. Adi showing her words at 2 1/2 years old!  

 

June 2011. 2 years 8 months. Park play with the best brothers in the world!

 

July 2011. Awesome stream at Botanical Gardens that Adi couldn't resist.

 

September 11th

I was in my 12th grade art classroom. The teacher got called out of class, and everyone was talking. Somehow, girls started talking about planes and crashes. I have no idea how that information got into the classroom. The teacher had just gone out- she didn't even know until then. And that wasn't the age of smartphones, where a kid could just check the news in 10 seconds.

Girls were saying that two planes crashed into each other and fell on buildings in Manhattan. An assembly was called, and we were appraised of the events. I was only 17. I had lived in Brooklyn most of my life. I didn't really know the layout of Manhattan. I didn't realize the significance of what happened just yet. I remember ashes flying into our school auditorium windows. My mother worked in Manhattan, but I didn't think this affected her. I wasn't worried. She didn't work near the Twin Towers, and luckily she was still on her way to work when all this took place. She saw the second plane hit and a fireball fly out of the tower.

This is definitely the single most traumatic event I had lived through, even though it didn't affect any of my family members personally.

I was too young then, and had limited internet access/knowledge. But now, all the photos and videos are out there, unavoidable. I've been watching clips, last night and today. I now have a whole new dimension of understanding of the true horror.

There are stories of unbelievable courage, selflessness and strength. May our nation always show these attributes, every day.

Just Beachy

Life's a beach.

And that's just beachy!

And over the last couple of months, it literally was a beach.

But today, these two boys are off to school!

It will be Gedalya's very first time. Imagine that.

Zusha will be going into Kita Gimmal, and Gedalya into Kita Aleph. Wow! When did I get such big boys? Unbelievable.

Go off together, boys. Look out for each other. Have fun, learn, and make your parents proud.

And when it will be too cold to go to the beach, I still have three special kiddos who make my life just beachy!

Is it Really Over? Really?

Blog mimics life, or something like that. And just like I am constantly in awe of the speed of time, I am living in the past on the blog.
I am NOT ready for summer to be over, but since I'm not the boss of the world, it's not my say.
BUT- it will be summer vacation for another couple of weeks in my little virtual world here.

A short outline, I'll expand on it... eventually!

4th week of August, 8th week of summer vacation.

Last week of August, first week of September. 9th week of summer vacation.

And the last little calendar page of this year. *Sad*

Talk about sad, I have a funny Adistory to share.
(This post doesn't have much context anyway, so this will add some spice.)

Today I heard Adi screaming, "Ow! Ow!" When I came to investigate, she was holding a rubber fish toy and sticking her finger in its mouth. There isn't much "in" to the mouth, just fishy lips. I couldn't figure out what could have been hurting her.
Then she put down the fish, covered her face with her hands and wept. She only covers her face when she is pretending to cry, not when she is really crying. But this sounded genuine, and I was confused. I asked, "Adi, did the fishy bite you?" "Yeaaaa," she wailed. Then she put her hands down and went on with her life.

It was an act! It was all an act! She didn't get hurt, and I knew she couldn't have gotten hurt from that toy, but she acted so naturally, I believed her! What a little actress.

Fishie, or Weehee

Back in July we went to the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. The boys had gone before, but were too young to remember it. And Adi had never gone before. Everyone enjoyed immensely!

Penguin feeding.

Giant walrus. It kept swimming up to the kids, and they were all in giggles over it!

Star fish.

Really odd and cool looking alien seaweed.

Adi fell asleep right before we went into the aquarium, which was so perfect. She was about to tantrum over the injustice of going indoors when she wanted to play outside when I overwhelmed her with Bamba. We were waiting on line to get tickets, and I was afraid I'd have to confiscate the Bamba once we got indoors (no food and all that), but she fell asleep right on time!

She woke up, tantrummed a bit, and then simmered down when she realized how fun it all was.

"Weehee! Weehee! Weehee!"

My mother called while we were there, and Gedalya got to talk to her. :)

The aquarium is a series of buildings with different animal themes, and it has outdoor animals, too. All that going in and out got to Adi, and I recorded the tantrum for all to see. Luckily for you, I recorded it in still image form, not HD video with surround sound. :)

Figure one

Figure two

Repeat the above scenes 15-20 times. Add screeches.

It was late, and the aquarium was soon going to close. We almost skipped the last building, but luckily we went in. There was the coolest waterfall of all time! Water comes rushing down over this glass, and kids stand under and enjoy!

This is a trip we will be bookmarking for the future! Definitely a hit. :)