A New Era!

Today is Ella's 5 month birthday! We took her to the doctor for her shots - she is now 15lbs 12 oz, and 25" long - she is growing like a weed! Must be all that good momma's milk she gets. Anyway, the big news is that now that she is 5 months old...get ready for it...she gets to eat real food! No, we are not ordering her first pizza tonight - by food, I mean she gets some rice cereal mixed with milk twice a day and fruit three times a day. It adds a whole new dimension to mealtimes. Below I have attached some photos of Ella's First Solid Meal.

Ready!

Looks...splendid. Delightful even. NOT.

The first spoon...

...in!

Yum!

"So THIS is what the fuss is all about???"

"Food RULES!"

Merry Christmas!!!

Best.

Movie.


EVER.


Yet another candidate for cutest hat ever.


Cousin Lauren came to visit yesterday!


Smiling with Auntie Melissa! FINALLY!

"Bonding" with Grandpa.

Grandpa Marty, Grandma Karen and the little "G."


Ornament courtesy of Grandma Karen!



My christmas outfit - Ralphie t-shirt, Santa boxers, Jingle Bell socks (complete with actual Jingley Bells!)


Smiling with crazy Daddy!


Smiling with pretty Mommy!


Opening presents - she liked the paper best.


Yayyyyyyyy!

YAYYYYYYYYYYY!


YIPPEEEEEEE!!!

Best. Present. EVER.

Best Christmas Ever...with my REAL best gift ever.

OK, there you have a bunch of stills....now for some video!!!


Here's a vid before the gifts were opened.


Opening gifts.


Wallowing in wrapping paper!


The End!

Ella's First Class Photo!

Grandma's

Ella's 2 grandmas came to see her today, 1 from a mile away and the other from 3500 miles across the Atlantic. Here's some photos:

Grandma Karen, Carol, Grandma Sheila...and Ella (looking thrilled as always!)

Chillin.

The new cutest hat EVER.

"Gimme that camera!! I hate the paparazzi!"

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Today was a very nice, fulfilling day! Let me elaborate...

First, I was startled awake by the sound of what sounded like a cat having a seizure at 6am. I jolted out of bed and ran around the house to see which of my cats were dying, and luckily it was neither. I guess it was some outdoor cats fighting or something. At that point I could not fall back to sleep, because I was all pumped for my latest stupid activity - the 4-mile "Fly With The Owls" run in Lynbrook, NY. I ate my Clif Builder Bar with fervor, and got ready. We packed Ella into 200 layers of clothing, then into the car seat, covered with blankets and into the car. We then picked up Kim and headed over. We met up with Mike and his wife Susan there, got our numbers and t-shirts, and got ready to roll. I finished in 36:30, which was better than the 37 minutes I was hoping for, and considering it took us about 15 seconds to even get to the starting line due to the number of people running, I was quite pleased with these results. Since Ella decided she needed to eat just as I was finishing, we unfortunately do not have a finish-photo, but here's one of Mike, myself and Kim. Oh, and the obligatory one of me and Ella:



When we got home, I quickly hopped in the shower and we headed out to Mt Sinai to visit my college friend Rob, his wife Gina and their little girl Alexa. The incredible Chef Gina cooked an outrageously delicious meal of salad, homemade calzones and linguini with clam sauce, finished off by homemade cookies (and store bought brownies and fruit provided by us...didn't come close to comparing with the home-cooked stuff!). Holy crap, were we full! Ella met her new friend Alexa, and they had a great time together. We just arrived home, and gave Ella her bath, and she is now off to bed. I shall soon follow. Here's a pic of Ella and Alexa:


Next up - Snowflake run in February?? I don't think even I am that crazy....or am I?

Christmas is coming!!!

Yes, I know I am a Jew, and what business do I have looking forward to Christmas? Well...The main reason is the pretty tree with the twinkling lights, exchanging of gifts...and THE RALPHIE MARATHON. That is the pinnacle of my entire year - wearing my Ralphie T-shirt and watching as many showings of "A Christmas Story" as Angela will allow. My record is 7 and a half (They show it 12 times over the course of 24 hours). I aim to break the record every year...I haven't been successful since I have been living with Angela. Because she HATES the movie...simply because I am obsessed with it. Some guy bought the house that the movie was filmed in and renovated it to look like the house in the film, and it is now a museum dedicated to the movie. It is in Cleveland. Someday, I will pack up Ella and take her there on a pilgrimage to the promised land of Ralphiedom. It shall be a wonderful day. Just the thought of it brings a tear to my eye and a sniffle to my sinuses. In honor of Christmas....here's some pictures.

The family in front of the tree. *NOTE - Check out my kick-ass shirt! And the Jew Bear next to my head - Represent!*

Cutest picture ever.

Me at Ella's age (4 months old)