happy 4th birthday, naomi rose...

wordless wednesday...

kitchen music

wordless wednesday

what's in a name?

Last week, Naomi decided to change her name. I thought it was cute, as it is everytime she says something that surprises me a little.

"What are you going to change your name to?" I asked.

"Gabrielle. Or Gabriella," she says seriously. "I will answer to both of them."

"Oh," I say. I think of all the Gabrielles and Gabriellas I know and try to wonder who might have recently made an impact on Naomi. I'd really thought that we'd have until at least six years old before she protested her name. "Gabrielle is a nice name," I tell her, "but I really love Naomi. That's why I chose it for you."

"I don't like Naomi or Noemi. There's already another Naomi in my class. I want to be Gabrielle."

"Okay, Noems..."

"No! Mommy! My name is Gabrielle," she says adamantly.

"Okay, okay..."

So this afternoon when I pick her up from daycare, she runs up to hug me and I say, "Hi Baby, how're you doing, Noemi?"

"Mommy! That's not my name!"

At this point her teacher chimes in, "She changed her name to Gabrielle. She's been calling herself that all week."

I can't help but feel a little rejected since I'd spent so much time pouring over the name books and thinking about her name. I love her name. And Gabrielle is a really nice name. But it's not the one I chose. I thought she'd forget about it by now.

Any bets on how long this will last while I take consolation in the fact that at least my three year old is persistent?

three year olds are incredibly responsible...

Last night Naomi stealthily snuck into our bed in the middle of the night, sneaking in between us and snuggling in quietly. I didn't even notice her until I woke up early (to make the lunches I'd put off making the night before) and punched down the snooze button.

"Momma, don't get up," she whispered when I started crawling out of bed.

"It's okay, Noems," I told her. "I'm just going to start the coffee and I'll be right back. Save my spot."

"Okay, I'll do that," she said. Naomi loves a good job.

So I ran downstairs to start the coffee and then hurried back up to our warm bed where Naomi was splayed out snow angel style and taking up as much room as possible.

"Noems, scoot over. You've got the entire bed," I tell her. I think I was probably whining.

"Mommy," she says as she moved over, "I was saving your spot and I think I did a pretty good job. You could say thank you."

It's good to have a stickler for details in our family. We need one.

let the festivities begin...

With only 9 more days until Chanuka, I've finally started my holiday shopping. I know, I know... Chanuka isn't supposed to be a big commercial retail fest. But try telling that to my kids who, despite going to a Jewish school, are fully and completely immersed in American culture. At least Sam and Tali are. Tonight, Naomi noticed all of the xmas lights for the first time and I forget that at her age, she's sort of like an amnesiac.


"Mommy!" She squeals as we were driving home tonight. "That house put up all those lights outside. Why did they put those up?"


"Those are xmas lights, Noems. That family celebrates xmas, " I tell her.


"Oh," she says, and then points to another house with lights. "Mommy! They have lights, too! And so does that house! When are we going to put up lights?"


"Sweetie, we don't put up lights. We're Jewish. We celebrate Chanuka."


"So we're not having xmas this year?" she asks.


"We don't celebrate xmas. But it's fun to look at the lights, don't you think?"


"I like the lights," she says, then pauses. "Are you sure we don't have a little xmas in our blood?"


"Yep," I say. "I'm sure."


"That's too bad," she says. "I really wanted some new scissors."


"Guess what?" I tell her. "I have good news for you. You don't need xmas to get new scissors!"


"REALLY?!!" If she weren't locked into her carseat, she'd be out of her seat. "Wow," she says. "I'm going to get new scissors!"


I hope it's always this easy, but I've got a pretty good feeling it's as easy now as it'll ever get...

portrait of a seattle princess in fleece and boots...

wordless wednesday

when there's nobody younger than you, sometimes you just have to get mad at flowers...

wordless wednesday

the girl who can sleep anywhere...

wordless wednesday

naomi rose is three???!!!

How can it be that my curliest of girlies, my sunny pie o' my sky is three years old already?!

It feels like just yesterday I was doing anything I could think of to go into labor, and not so long ago that she was this caramelly chewy little baby. And now? Well, she's still caramelly and chewy for sure, but she's got this spicy streak that rivals her big sister's. Nothing gets past Naomi and nobody takes advantage of the girl and if you ask her how old she is, she'll stick three chubby fingers in your face and defiantly say "Three" as if she just dares you to challenge how big girl that makes her.

There is something about Naomi that is just sunny and happy, and even though she is typically little sister shrieky when necessary, she can easily be distracted from a bad mood. She loves to sing and dance and the girl can play for hours on her own in the backyard making up her own imaginary stories while her brother and sister run around her, playing their own wild games.

We had a little party for her on Sunday and her two little friends, Sophie and Rina, came over to hula with her. Though the party was dominated by older siblings and cousins, these three just took it all in, hung out, and enjoyed themselves.

Even though she'd been sick all week before her birthday and wasn't really feeli ng one hundred percent for her little luau, Naomi was enthralled with this first birthday that she'd been able to look forward to. When we asked what she thought about her birthday, she replied using her very serious voice and calling me by the name she uses when she's being most serious, "Mommy Rose, I think that was the best birthday ever."

Happy Birthday, Noemi! We love you...

this pic just makes me happy...

wordless wednesday

yummy naomi giggles...

wordless wednesday...

right before a meltdown... (thank goodness she's so cute!)*

wordless wednesday

* Copyright All Rights Reserved 2009 and officially wiped with hummus so as not to mess with the Zohan. (Don't ask...)

in response to the current financial climate, naomi is doing her part...

Now that we've been out of diapers literally for more than a month, I can officially say that Naomi is potty trained. And as a result, we actually do not have a single diaper or pullup in the house. I know this because Naomi had a friend over today who probably could've used a fresh diaper. Alas...

And unlike her older siblings, Naomi seriously went cold turkey on the whole pullups at night deal. I tried to talk her into it because changing a whole set of sheets on a bottom bunk covered with stuffed animals in the middle of the night after an untimely accident is not a reality I'd like to take part in, especially considering the amount of sleep I've lost over the past eight and a half years of parenthood (hey, another post idea!). But the girl would have nothing to do with them, even if they did have pretty princesses on the front and disappearing hearts and flowers to show that yes, she really did need that pullup on.

But Naomi is a considerate girl and anxious to grow up as quickly as possible. So in light of the current economic situation, and in my latest effort to be as recessionista chic as possible, I added up how much we spent on diapers.

During Naomi's 2 years and 8 months in diapers, we've gone through approximately 6,790 diapers (factoring in at about 7 changes a day, though who are we kidding? As she got older, she probably got changed a little less often and quite frankly, this is a third child we're talking about. But for estimation purposes, we'll go with 7.)

• 6,790--approx. number of diaper changes for Naomi


• 251--packages of diapers bought for Naomi


• $3,266.00*--approximate amount spent on diapers for Naomi


• 20,370--approximate number of diapers Boaz and I have collectively changed in our lifetime.


• $9,781.00--approximate amount spent on diapers for all three kids if we estimate that they were potty trained at about the same time, though since they relied on pullups for a considerable amount of time after training, I'd probably call that number $10k even.

I'm figuring that we're saving about a thousand dollars a year having this girl sit on the potty! But better yet, after changing more than twenty thousand diapers during our parenting years, it's incredibly freeing to leave the house without a diaper and baggie filled with wipes stuffed at the bottom of my purse. But I can't say that I don't feel a slight bit nostalgic that the baby days are speeding away from us at such an incredible clip.

Though, I suppose I still have that spare pair of princess panties in my coat pocket. Just in case.

*Not meant to depress those of you about to begin this sort of moving adventure...

spotlight on sienna... (aka naomi)

Because I've been so swamped with life in general, I thought I'd post this little interview with Naomi... Enjoy!

Interview with Naomi:

Me: Okay, Naomi... First, what is your name?

Naomi: Sienna. Girl Sienna.

Me: That's not your name. What's your real name?

Naomi: Noemi Bomi.

Me: What's your favorite thing to do?

Naomi: My favorite thing is about coloring.

Me: What's your favorite color?

Naomi: green marker

Me: What's your fave dinner?

Naomi: macaroni and cheese or noodles

Me: Those are the same things.

Naomi: Noooooooooo!

Me: How old are you?

Naomi: six

Me: How old am I?

Naomi: four and a half

Naomi's other faves:

Fave playmates: Naomi and Alexandra and Aviva or Fifi

Fave toy: pizza

What do big girls like to do? Play dress-up

Fave outfit: underwears

Special talent: Can fall asleep absolutely anywhere at anytime

naomi defends against the dark forces of evil, i mean winter...

I didn't mean to let so much time slip by between blog posts, but it seems like the darkest of winter crazies has hit my family big time.

I know that I complain about Winter every year, and every year it seems unbelievably darker and wetter and sometimes even colder (remember Siberia? Oh wait, that was Seattle in June, which just felt like Winter, but wasn't actually) than any year in the history of anywhere. And maybe I'm still recovering from three weeks of being snowed in during Winter break.

But people, there is not enough coffee in the world to wake me up when the sun won't shine. I am truly a California girl at heart.

And so I've been slogging through these days, not fully awake, not fully tuned in, and slinging back mug after mug of coffee. (Note to self: Despite the fact that there isn't enough sun to fully wake up at any part of the day, you will still get that unfortunate caffeine edginess.)

And really, it's not just me.
The kids are waking up later and later, and coming home from school exhausted. They're also developing dark circles under their eyes (perhaps a sign of early onset rickets?) and they're unusually crabby and whiny.

If not rickets, maybe we're all just coming down off the holidays... In complete darkness.

We're going to have to find some ways to get through this season, considering we're only in January. One of my friends who grew up in Minnesota suggested framing one's face in tinfoil to ensure you get the brightest of any rays possible. I'm sure she was kidding, but um, don't laugh if you see me decked out in Reynold's Wrap.

At least we have Naomi to defend us...

no winter break is complete without a trip to the ER...

After a rough and terrifying early morning spill down the stairs, Naomi and I took a trip to Children's Hospital this morning to patch up her chin. It was all pretty minor in the scheme of things, and I think the sight of blood on her little sister upset Tali more than anyone. But Naomi wasn't all together convinced that her first trip to the ER would be a good thing.

But with a little topical anesthetic, some cheese and crackers, and a cup of apple juice, our girl was as good as gold. She even came home with a little sparkly stuffed bear.

I think we'll abstain from sledding today, though, so that our extreme story climber will have some time to heal.

the zen of parenting a two year old...

See this bag that Naomi is holding?

Just three seconds before this shot was taken, it was filled with outgrown snow clothes that don't and won't fit anyone in our family. In a frenzy of OCD mixed with a healthy dose of procrastination, I'd spent a little time yesterday afternoon organizing our winter gear so that I could take the stuff we didn't need to the consignment shop.

However, the minute Naomi saw the bag stuffed filled with something that could've been potentially very exciting, she quickly began unpacking.

She then made it a point to clearly ask me where were the toys were in the bag.

"There weren't any toys, Bunny. Just old clothes."

"Oh," she says. "I thought there were toys."

"Now that you've pulled them all out, let's see how fast you can stuff them back into the bag," I try.

"No thanks, Mama. I'm going to go look for some toys."

At least she's polite?

faith in books is not a bad thing to have...

Me: Oooh, Noemi! Look at the moon!
Naomi: Oooh, pretty! Mama, who made the moon?
Me: Um, (I pause trying to figure out the best and easiest answer for a two year old) I think that G-d made the moon.
Naomi: No, Erica made the moon.
Me: Erica? Who's Erica?
Naomi: Erica is the Liberry Teacher. She made the moon.
Me: Are you sure about that?
Naomi: Yeah, it's pretty...

mod boots made for walking and a little random dress-up...

wordless wednesday...

a two year old takes things literally...

Me: Naomi, where are you supposed to be drawing?

Naomi: On the table. See?