Pesach 2013

Pesach this year was a true hit in the Lewis household.  Hersh loved the seders.  When I say love, I am not exaggerating.  School did a great job of complimenting the knowledge he had from home about Pesach.  He made a kiddush cup and seder plate at school, both of which he was very excited to use at each seder.  We had the first seder at our house and were joined by both friends and family.  As soon as everyone was seated, Hersh said, "Ok, let's do the Mah Nishtanah."  As the seder progressed he assisted Jacob in the leading of the seder by singing many songs (Where is Baby Moses?, Frogs Jumping, No, No, No!, and the Mah Nishtanah).  He also enjoyed the various Pesach foods, especially the Sephardic Haroset.  The next  morning we hopped in the car and headed to Philly where we enjoyed the second seder at Addie and Craig's house (Mimi was also there).  Hersh did not disappoint on night #2 and proceeded to "lead" seder as he did the first night.

The rest of our week has been mellow and enjoyable, with playdates, and Passover Food, which we are ready to be done with.  Addie and Craig came for a visit this weekend, which was wonderful!  We had beautiful weather on Saturday and spent much of the day outside.  Today we tried to go and see the cherry blossoms--a huge bust, since they have yet to bloom.

On a separate note, we were at IKEA looking for beds and Hersh said, "Abba, let's run fast like the setting sun."  He also told us that something we said was, "precise."  It is also amazing what Hersh recalls from things that happened a year ago.  For example, the other evening we were taking a walk around the block and he was riding his tricycle.  He then proceeded to recount for us how we got the tricycle, "Ima, you bought the tricycle from the man on the computer, then Abba and I went to pick it up.  It was tricky to fit in the car."  How he remembers these details is truly remarkable.

 Our Seder:

Saying Kiddush

The table

Some of the Aplebaums

Needing salt water to dip his parsley.

A, A, and Mr. Tesio

Tammy Sun came to the seder!

Pesach Pizza--not too bad.

Engineering in the sunshine.

Love.

Helping with yard work.

Awesome penguin balloon.

Little Rock getaway

This past weekend we flew to Little Rock for a long weekend of family, friends, and sunshine. I sat with Hersh on the plane ride, which happened to coincide with nap time.  We agreed that Hersh would nap after he received his mitz tapuzim.  The nice flight attendant gave Hersh some delicious Biscof cookies.  I wanted one bite of the Biscof, but he was not in the sharing mood.  In a very weepy voice he told me, "Ima, you can have an apple when we get to Little Rock, and chew on some ice if you want something crunchy." Needless to say, this made his message of no sharing very clear.

Upon arrival in Little Rock, we were greeted by Sabba, Savta, and Bamombelle.  We were all so pleased to be together.  We went out for ice cream, got our teeth cleaned by Sabba, visited the new children's library, and enjoyed the sunny spring weather.  Hersh enjoyed reading Ferdinand and well and many Francis books.  He also made us all his patients as he used his new dr.'s kit and served as Dr. H.Y. Lewis.  Hersh also enjoyed a tea party with Bamombelle, and a drawing session with Savta and Bamombelle.

Getting outside

Being that we are well into the month of March, we are ready to be outside!  Two weekends ago it was a bit chilly, but we bundled up and took a hike at a local State Park.  We walked for about an hour, which is an exceptional amount of time considering the temperature and the fact that we had an almost 3 year old in tow!  We are now adjusting to/enjoying the benefits of daylight savings.  This past weekend the weather was beautiful.  We even ventured into DC and had amazing nachos at Commissary, where we sat outside--both of these things make me happy.

We are preparing to head to Little Rock for the weekend, which we are all looking forward to. While we are away we are having some painting done in the house, in preparation for making Hersh "a big boy room."  Our goal is to have this process (painting, furniture, decorating, etc) complete by his birthday.  Pesach and Aplebaum birthday season is just around the corner.  The other day I asked Hersh what he would like to do for his birthday and he listed all of the details from last year's party in earnest--amazing.  One day during breakfast he even looked out the back door and said, "Ima, I want to sit at that table and have my fish cake while everyone sings to me at my birthday party."  What a kid!

New shades

Purim Mask and crown

The cutest

Kitchen helper

 On the hike: