Ringing in the new year!

Happy 2008!

We hope you are all doing well. We've been a busy bunch since our last posting.

We would have posted sooner, but the petri dish that is toddlerhood prevented our general productivity. For the record, when we say that we like to be good hosts, we mean good hosts to people, not germs and other things icky. Alas, we saw few people and lots germs and ick. We are hopefully seeing the end of this round and hope that this is the beginning of a healthy month! (But if our calculations are correct, the next round of sickness should be in a couple of weeks when we all feel great!!!)

Having said that, we also waited for the cabin fever to dissipate before sending salutations, or our tone might have sounded far less pleasant...! For a few weeks, it seemed like we were back in the land of newborn. Lots of late-night fever interventions, lots of random tantrums, and lots of mom and dad pining for random trips to Starbucks by ourselves... somewhere in Mississippi...

But, onto more informative and enjoyable topics:

We are proud to have logged airborne miles on our first family trip to Florida and even prouder that the only reason Carli and Joseph got noticed on either flight was due to their charming presence. Bravo to our traveling brood and we look forward to racking up frequent flyer miles as a family! (we do not, however, look forward to the subsequent traveling bills.) A lot of folks have inquired about the kids favorite part of the trip, and while the time with grandparents and great-grandparents was the most rewarding and memorable , hands down it was... puddles. The Florida weather was typical and treated us to a lot of sunshine with the occasional shower. Said showers yielded large and lovely puddles outside of Bubbie's condo... and a convenient playground! Good thing Carli and Joseph packed their crocs.

(administrative note: please email Jen if you'd like to see our Florida slidedshow. At 160 pictures, we did not want to send it out unsolicited, but we would love to share it if you're interested.)

While this was not our first Chanukah as a foursome this was the first Chanukah that impacted all of us. From watching Joseph giggle while the dreidel spun to Carli happily distinguish the chanukah candles from the Shabbat ones, it was a real family holiday. And somehow they caught onto the "present" concept very quickly.

Ever the musical duo, Carli and Joseph are perfecting their latest duet, "Old Macdonald". You may recall from previous posts that this is no new tune for them, but brand new is their adorable collaboration:
Carli: "Ol don hava farm"
Joseph" Eyayayayayayaya".

As soon as we can tape it, we'll post it for you. But you know how little people are... as soon as the recording device shows up, they manage to locate their elusive mute buttons.

As we are rounding the corner to Birthday #2 (gulp!), we are enjoying the thrill of communicating with Carli and Joseph as they hit new strides each day. We hope to see you soon and you can revel in the experience yourself!

Have a great month and keep those germs away! (Especially away from us!!!!!)