Ilana at 20 Months

Ilana continues to be a super sweet angel. She admires Lev to no end and is always thinking about him. If she gets juice, she wants juice for Levy. When he is at school she asks for him. She copies every gesture and noise he makes. When he includes her in the game it is the highlight of her day. They really do love eachother and make great buddies when they aren't squabbling.

She is still a cuddle bug but she is developing an independent streak. SHE decides when to wear shoes or a jacket, she decides not to brush her hair or change a diaper, and if you cross her a fit will be had. Like Lev who can be sassy with his "whatever, blah blah blah" teenage attitude, Ilana says oKAY when you ask her to do something and it feels like she would roll her eyes if she could at you.

She can speak very well now. Her vocabulary is hundreds of words and she strings together simple sentences so it is very clear what she wants to communicate.

She is also pretty good at pretend games - like cooking in her play kitchen soup that is too hot and she needs to blow on for you. Or putting her heels and purse on and walking out the door for "sushi, bye! have fun".

Ilana is very aware of characters ike Hello Kitty, Sesame Street, and Mickey Mouse.

Some cute things:

• Swings are her favorite thing at the playground and she likes to go high and get butterflies.
• Ilana is very concerned with fairness: "my turn", "stop it", "you went first", and after she goes down the slide she yells "your turn"
• Katy Perry's Roar is her favorite right now and she actually sings "ro-o-o-oar" while Lev's is Katy Perry's TGIF so you can imagine how irritating those two songs can be in heavy rotation all day long.
• She is very concerned with feelings and when Lev is cross she says "Lev ANGRY" and makes a scowl and then wants "Lev happy". She will try to cheer you up by what she thinks are jokes and then says "funny? again?"
• She knows her colors, animals+sounds, and is great at simple puzzles. Lev is trying his best to teach her counting but that might be out of grasp yet.

Lev is beginning to become a very good artist - his drawings are imaginative and better defined. He will also tell you he is a good actor. He threatens to "not be your best friend" when you try to discipline him which happens about 10 x a day, so I guess we aren't besties. That honor goes to Nico Petrigliano and Aidan from school.



He is very excited about Christmas after enjoying Channukah. Every day he asks to open his presents or adds more items to his wish list. It will be a good year for him, I'm sure.

Our neighbors got a puppy that the kids ask to play with every day. Its a good time when we notice the puppy came out.

Spooky Halloween 2013

Halloween this year was the best one yet. It was just really supremely fun. The kids really got into the spirit. There was a Halloween party at Cameo Woods for the kids the previous Saturday and it was super cute with a balloon "artist" and some mini trick or treating.

Halloween Day Lev enjoyed some pregame festivities with his class. he came home with a big bucket full of toys, stickes, and temporary tattoos. Then the parents were invited for a pot luck lunch with the Little Dippers class at Lev's school, followed by a parade. Some parents went overboard and the spread was quite impressive. Ilana was happy to sit quietly and chow down but Lev ran around with the boys in their super hero costumes instead. Then they all lined up to do a circuit of the school parade, waving blindly to the crowds like little reigning kings and queens. It was adorable.

Lev was a knight. We had  bought him a Captain America costume he had promised to war but then got the idea of a knight costume somewhere along the way and refused Captain America. We didn't want to reinvest more money into costume #2 so I hobbled together this outfit from a Goodwill find and a cape. There was a sword and shield too but he lost that priveledge when he used them too roughly on other kids.

Ilana was a Pegasus and I was surprised by her comfort level in the suit. Once it was on, she was game to trot around from house to house with her pumpkin bucket and take a candy here, a candy there. No shyness and she kept up with Lev's ratio, just not his speed. She got really possessive of her stash and wouldn't let me hod it for her, even when it got heavy. Scared I might steal some candy from her?

We had hoped they would nap before heading out to trick or treat in Pam's neighborhood, but no such luck. They were too excited. We got together with the same families we have been trick or treating with for the past few years and it was as good as always. Alec and I cobbled together some random costumes. Pam tried to concoct Halloween inspired drinks and introduced us to chocolate wine. I was again impressed with the finger foods selection she put together for the kids. Pretty amazing - oranges hollowed out and carved to look like jack o lanterns that held fruit. Homemade kale chips. You get the picture. 

Their neighborhood was really happening. Many groups walking around, lots of houses with extreme decorations. The kids love dit so we kept going farther and farther from home base to see more houses and get more candy. We finally made it back and Nico and Lev enjoyed sitting on the stoop and handing out treats too. Lev was mad when we had to wrench him away to go home for bed. The kids were both exhausted and fell asleep right away, leaving us to watch some American Horror Story. A perfect Halloween.

Ilana at 18 Months

Ilana turned 18 months on 10/18 which is pretty special I think. This girl is full of bubbly life and good spirits. She is remarkably intelligent, capable, beautiful, and kind. From her check up we learned that she is 18.5 lbs and 29.5" tall and may be on the verge of being ready for potty training. But it seems a bit early to me.












She has started to really push herself to know the names for things. She points and quizzes herself all day long on colors, modes of transportation, Sesame Street characters, and body parts. I hear "helicopter? "purple?", "eyes?", "truck, weeyoo weeyoo (siren sounds)?" "cheek?", "blue car?" throughout the day. She not only knows Elmo, which she is passionate about, but surprisingly all the Sesame Street characters she chooses to reject and skip their segments to the next one that features Elmo. When she can't see the show, she makes me sing the song and imitate the characters.

She is also very good at mimicking things we say such as I love you "I lufoo" and awesome "saucesome" and once she recognizes things such as pumpkins or butterflys she delights in noticing them somewhere new. What I love is that she makes connections. One day I said it was nice that she we went outdoors and got some fresh air and sun and she pointed to her shirt with a picture of a sun and said "sunshine". She will point to any rock big or small and say "heavy". Delightful.

She also likes temporary tattoos and begs for one daily. She knows what she wants to wear or eat (of course she has her favorites) and will insist until she gets it.


Her day revolves around Lev. Since our trip to Denver she has become even more attached to him. She follows him around all day shouting Levy Levy Levy and when he is not home she asks for him and looks at his pictures as a substitute.


She enjoys dropping him off and picking him up from school and jumps into the tub for loud clean fun.





She is still a snuggle bug and gives great big hugs and kisses. She will share anything you ask of her but will fight for what's hers when there is an injustice. She has learned to stay stop it and no no no and even slap Lev when it is warranted. I really enjoy spending our mornings together. She is game for anything and goes with the flow.


Lev is doing great at school. I feel like he is really learning his letters and numbers and is eager to be studious. One of his favorite games is playing restaurant or store and everything costs $3, always. He is starting to enjoy Ilana's company too. I think he likes her captive audience and willingness to play anything he chooses. She also parrots him which which becomes a silly game on its own and cracks up at his jokes, each and every one.

He has back tracked in his sleeping habits. Since Denver he claims to be scared of the dark and won't spend the entire night without waking up and trying to get into bed with us. It never ends well and we haven't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks.

Ilana at 17 months

The past couple of summer months have been a lot of fun. Although by size she is so small, Ilana insists on doing as much as Lev so people are astounded at her coordination and physical prowess. She runs, jumps, dances, and climbs awkwardly but cutely.

Now that Lev is a bug aficienado - he can spot a lady bug, spider, caterpiller, or potato bug from a mile away and doesn't hesitate to pick it up and examine each little creepy crawler, Ilana delights in finding bugs for him to get his approval. She looks for them everywhere and if she spots one, or you point it out to her, she acts very excited, screams "bug, bug, bug" while dancing around as if she is scared. This little act is adorable.

She says thank you a lot now. It sounds ore like "takku"but we know it ce sfroma  good place. She also has become obsessed with Elmo and asks to watch him at every opportunity. I think its less to do witha  sincere love and more something that she gets excited to recognize and have her own show to ask for since Lev has his long list.

She also loves dogs and cats and wants to stop and pet each one she sees on the street. She waves hi, then kneels down so that they can smell her hand, then trepidaciously pets each dog.What's funny is that when she wants attention from people, she says hi in the same way and gives them her hand to smell too.

The girls is into shoes and swiches them out daily. Wearing ones that are way too big for her and constantly tripping. Her favorite are the pink crocs because Lev has a black pair. She also loves jewelry and is the queen of layering necklaces and fancy bags. Such a girl.

Lev has started Pre-K and he loves it. He eagerly goes every morning and he is very preoccupied with looking cool. We even got him a black fedora that he wears each day. He hasn't made a  lot of new friends yet, but he really enjoys the jam packed day with new games and songs to learn, art and writing exercises, even homework. I am very proud of his attitude about embracing the change.

Ilana at 15 months

Ilana had her 15 month check up today and she is doing well at 17.4 lbs and 28.5 inches tall. She is walking. Officially since July 3, but her first steps happened June 22. It just took her a few days to get the confidence to give up crawling entirely. Now she moves FAST and won't let me hold her hand.





Ilana has about a  20 word vocabulary. Besides her basics of car, baby, no, etc. she has added bubble, cracker, hot, light, eye, head, feet, truck, Lev (leh), peepee, mommy, doggy, kitty, and fish to the list. She loves pointing to the things she recognizes and naming them all day long. She also loudly says "Hey" when Lev tries to take toys away from her or is getting a treat that she wants to. Which is proving useful.

She adores Lev and laughs along to whatever game he has in mind, whether she gets the joke or not. She copies whatever he does and wants a piece of whatever action he is into.

She also is a natural at the pool. As Lev gets his swim lessons, she takes every opportunity to enjoy time in the water. She goes under cheerfully and holds her breath. SHe loves splashing. One morning she got each or our bathing suits, set them in front of us, tried to put her own bathing suit on, and banged at the back door to be taken to the pool. Too adorable.

This girl also knows how to get very dirty. Dirtier than her brother. Requiring several outfit changes each day. Its a good thing she picks her own clothes out - rejecting certain outfits, approving others. She likes pink and baby animal characters on her shirts.



Playing peek a boo behind the curtain.

Telling me the water is hot.

Lev has been home this summer. No camp upon request. He was getting burned out at school and his new PreK starts early (August 13) so we decided to keep him home and let him relax. Lots of playground visits, swim lessons, and we are off to Palm Springs next week too.





He is over Batman (too dark and depressing) and really into bugs now. He finds 5-6 fat potato bugs every day and likes to observe millipedes, lady bugs, and spiders. Give hima  shovel and some dirt and he is happy.

Ilana at 13 months

It seems like once she hit the year mark, she has been determined to catch up to Lev and stop being a "lazy baby". A week after her birthday, she figured out how to stand and she couldn't more happy with herself every time she stands and we clap at the achievement. She also can walk at a pretty quick speed as long as she holds one hand. She has also become a very good climber and problem solvers how to get herself onto and off the couch by working up levels of pillows, poufs, and side tables until she gets to her desired location.


Verbally she is progressing too - mama, bye bye, she waves hi at strangers but gets shy with our friends, she blows kisses, says cheers and clinks glasses, and hi fives. She is also starting to make connections between pictures, objects, and words - recognizing balls "bah" and cars "cah" is a big deal around here. What she cannot say, she points and gesticulates to and clearly conveys her desires.

Its very cute to see her girly side develop. She is intrigued by all things pink and princessy, and jewelry. She watches intently as I paint my nails. She mimics my hair brushing. She tries on my shoes and gets dismayed when they don't fit. She also pets babies and baby dolls, helps to clean by wiping down the counter, and load dishes in the dishwasher. Its really quite interesting to watch the gender differences develop between her and Lev.


She also does these pretty cute little gestures like holding a flower and sniffing deeply, then giving it to you to smell. Trying to feed you. She gets jealous when Lev tries to cuddle with me and will punch, scream, and push him out of my lap. She is my sweet devoted love bug. Her personality is just a dreamy, delicious joy to be around.

She can keep herself entertained for long stretches of time by filling up containers with random objects, then taking them out, then filling them again. Ripping apart magazines page by page. Constructing and deconstructing.

She continues to have a good time. Always looking to be amused and have a laugh. Up for whatever game Lev wants to play as long as he keeps her company. Up for any adventure we may drag her to.

And Lev is really his own little man. He pushes buttons and challenges the status quo a lot which translates to whiny argumentative sessions. I really can't win and its frustrating. Example, Lev: I want a banana. Me: Sure, you can have one. Lev: But I really want a banana now. Me: Yes, here you go, a banana for you right now. Lev: But I said I wanted a banana now (whiny voice). Me: But I gave you one, why are you whining? Lev: cries. These interactions drive me crazy.

At the same time he makes interesting observations, has lovely questions about what words mean or how things work, and we have deep conversations. He can play imaginative games like restaurant, shop keeper, and airplane for hours. He plays nicely and respectfully with his peers when others devolve to hitting each other. And he likes to be an entertainer with funny faces, funny voices, and overall antics.