Dear Zahara: 5 Months

Dear Zahara,

Happy (belated) five month birthday! This has been a busy month for you, dear. You have become quite the world traveler. In the middle of the month we took your very first plane trip all the way to the United States! Actually, it took three planes to get there, but you did so well! The first plane was from Leeds to Amsterdam; it was just an hour long and was the hardest of them all. Your little ears didn't have enough time to adjust to the pressure changes. All told, you've now been on seven flights already! Thankfully, every flight has been better than the first one.

You love interacting with people. Whether it's our friends or people on the street, everyone loves making you smile. You do it freely and easily. Our new favorite thing that you do is pull our faces toward you like you're trying to give us a kiss. It's absolutely adorable. Mummy has to be sure to keep your nails trimmed though. Otherwise, we get scratches all over our faces!

This month was the first time that mummy and daddy went on a date without you. Aunt Bradi, Cheva and Pop-Pop watched you while we got pedicures; Babushka, Dedushka and Aunt Amy watched you while we got a massage and went to a movie. We were so spoiled! I only cried a little when we left you. :)

You still haven't rolled yet, but you are gearing up and it might happen any time now. Same with teething--no outward signs yet, but we're ready. You've just started to discover your feet. You play with them most when you're sitting up and can easily grab them. I love the zest with which you attack them. Don't believe me? We caught it on camera.

I know I said this last month, but I think this is my favorite month so far. You are just getting cuter and cuter. Mummy and daddy love you very much. We can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Baby, It's Cold Outside

My friends Nick and Laura are expecting their little bundle of joy any day now. Last weekend Deanna and I threw them a baby shower to celebrate. Since they are having a winter baby, we gave the party a winter theme: Baby, It's Cold Outside. Nick even dressed for the occasion.

Nick and Laura wanted a small, intimate party, so that's what we gave them. Just good friends and good food. Deanna and I had a blast planning for this party. My favorite thing we did was the cocoa bar. Inspired by Pinterest, of course, we had a big crockpot of cocoa with a bunch of add-ons for people to "make theirs fancy." I busted out my chalkboard paint to give the recycled salsa jars a little something extra. Deanna made an awesome picture frame with chalkboard paint and Epsom salt. We had mini-chocolate chips; mini-marshmallows; crushed peppermint; whipped cream; Baileys; and candy cane stirrers.

The party was mid-afternoon, so we served drinks and a few dessert items. The peppermint bark was a big hit. I also really liked the winter fruit salad with citrus, apples and pomegranate. It was so easy to make, and really tasty.

Beer and sparkling punch 

Deanna made some fun Epsom salt candles, and her husband Tom made a pinecone garland. I made some paper snowflake bunting to hang from the windows using this technique. You can see it behind Deanna and my adorable baby. (Gratuitous baby picture alert!)
         

The happy couple was showered with wonderful gifts. Guests signed a framed maternity picture of Laura, that they can then hang in the baby's nursery. Party favors were baby bottles filled with peppermint hot chocolate.

I had a great time, and I hope Nick and Laura did too!

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

Happy Thanksgivukkah, my friends! What's that, you ask? It's a magical time in history when the first night of the Jewish festival of Chanukah coincides with the American holiday Thanksgiving. According to the Daily Mail, the last time this happened was in 1888; the next instance will be in 79,043 years. So, light the menorah; spin the dreidel; and stuff your face with turkey and pumpkin pie!

Bouncing Around Boston

After an amazing time in Dallas, it was time for Zoey to see the other half of her family. Dan left earlier in the week to go to Washington, DC for work, so he was flying to Boston from there. That left Zoey and me to take our first solo flight. I'm happy to say it went really well! My dad took us to the airport and managed to get a pass to take us all the way to the gate. I think we would have been fine on our own, but I'm not sure my dad was ready to say goodbye yet. It was very sweet.

Zoey's babushka and dedushka (Russian for grandmother and grandfather) met us at the airport. They barely said hi to me before grabbing her and smothering her in kisses :) The last time they saw her she was only five days old! She's practically a whole new person. I absolutely love watching my super manly father-in-law melt to pieces around her.

Our time in Boston was filled with family. We were lucky enough to introduce Zahara to two more great-grandparents. The timing could not have been better. Dan's grandfather, David, was 95 years old and not in great health. We talked to him regularly through Skype, and he always asked about Zoey. I really think he was holding on until he could see her in person. Sadly, David passed away a few days after we left Boston. While we are mourning the loss of such an amazing grandfather, we are heartened that our last memories of him are of him holding his great-granddaughter.

Seeing Zoey with both of Dan's grandparents is something I'll always treasure.

The next day my in-laws threw a fantastic brunch for Zoey. I had the best time seeing all of the aunts, uncles and cousins. It's been far too long since we've been together. And, I finally got to meet our cousins' kids! It's so fun that they are all less than two years apart.

Nina and Sasha (the two babes) are SO squeezable! The Levin genes run pretty strong...don't they all three resemble each other?

Zoey especially loved playing with Jim and Paul.

We had a very, very relaxing time in Boston. My mother-in-law was literally waiting outside our door in the morning waiting to play with Zahara. My father-in-law was carrying her in the Ergo 90% of the time, and my sister-in-law was reading or playing with her the rest of the time. They were so generous with their love and time, in fact, that they gifted us a couples massage and a night at the movies! On our own! Without the baby! (Was that too many exclamation points?)

Our trip to the states was an unqualified success. It was bittersweet boarding the plane back home. I'm happy to be back, but I am already missing the quality time with friends and family. Thanks for all the great memories! Let's do it again soon!

Zoey Does Dallas

In addition to the amazing Fakesgiving my parents hosted, Zoey also got some quality time with some of mine, and my parents' oldest friends. It was incredible seeing some people I haven't seen since high school. Now, all my friends have kids, and many of my parents' friends have grandkids. I feel so old!

I got to spend some quality time with one of my high school best friends, Lee. Lee and I were inseparable for years. We spent more time at each others houses' than anywhere else. I haven't seen Lee for at least six or seven years, so this was the first time I got to meet his beautiful daughter Charlotte. She took a while to warm up to us, but once she did she was non-stop! I loved her sass. At one point she was doing something that Lee didn't want her to do. She put her fingers over her lips and said, "Shh, daddy. Don't interrupt me while I'm doing something." Ha!

I also caught up with two of my oldest friends: Sarah and Jenny. I've known these girls since we were four. We were the three amigos. We did absolutely everything together, including making up stories and pretending to deliver the news to an audience of our parents. Our most persistent news story involved the Chinese government cutting off the pigtails of little girls. What can I say? We were weird. And now we've all got kids. In fact, Jenny's baking number two!

Elias, Emma, Zahara

Sarah and Elias; Jenny and Emma; me and Zoey

Elias and Emma were adorable. Emma and Zoey became fast friends. I was so proud of Sarah who made a special effort to see us. It was her first time driving alone with Elias, and she did so well!

Zoey: "So a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar."

Rounding out our special trip to Dallas was a fantastic "Sip-and-See" that my parents threw for Zoey. It was a wonderful party where people could sip on wine and see Zoey. Get it? They really went all out with fantastic desserts, decorations and wine. So many people showed up. I felt terrible that Zoey slept or cried most of the party, but what are you going to do? Babies are so unpredictable. At least she's a cute crier :)

"Meet Zahara Jane"

Sleeping Beauty

In addition to the parties and visits, we spent some great quality time with my family. It was so nice seeing my mom, dad and Bradi fall to pieces around Zahara. Watching them read and play with her were really the highlights of the trip. The week went way too quickly. Let's do it again soon!

Back in the U.S.A.

Hi, friends! Sorry for the long delay in posting. I've missed you. Have you missed me? It's been a busy few weeks, actually. We finally got Zoey's passport and were able to make our first transatlantic trip with a baby. I was really dreading the flights, but they went really well! Zoey is already such a great traveler :) Good thing, since her mum and dad plan on taking her everywhere.

We made two stops on this trip: Dallas and Boston. We saw tons of friends and family in both cities, and Zoey was lucky enough to meet four great-grandparents! Isn't that amazing? We got some great pictures and movies with four generations. Such a special memory.

Anyone who knows me, or has read this blog for a while, knows that I absolutely love Thanksgiving (see here, here and here). I'm a big believer that the holiday doesn't necessarily need to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but can instead be celebrated anytime you want. My family does a "Fakesgiving" every year since we're rarely in the same place for actual Thanksgiving. This year was no exception. My parents threw one heck of a party and my whole family came. Literally. My entire family--both my mom's side and dad's side--were present. All of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were sitting around one table. It was magical.

Zoey had the best time meeting all her family. It's been a while since we've all been together--probably since our wedding five years ago--so this was really special.

Cousin Larin and Aunt Bradi

Great Uncle Bubba

Cousins Marina and Merrill

As luck would have it, my good friends Sarah and Kyle, and their too-cute-for-words daughter Pearl, happened to be in Dallas the same time we were. We got to hang out with them on Thanksgiving and the next night. Of course Pearl and Zoey were instant friends.

It was a jam-packed week full of good food and good friends. Stay tuned for part two of my Dallas recap tomorrow!