Halloween!

Judah made an appearance as a firefighter at the neighborhood Halloween festival last weekend.

Baby for Obama!!!

I can't say that Judah fully understands the importance of this election to his future, but on some level he seems to share our excitement - he very quickly learned to identify the many Obama yard signs in Silver Spring and proudly says "Bama!" every time we pass one.

Cuteness aside, there is much at stake for all of us in this election, but it's really for Judah and all the little ones out there that we have to hope beyond hope that an Obama/Biden victory is a couple weeks away. I hope I can show Judah this picture in 10 years and say, "this is when it all turned around for us."

Posted by a proud Obama Mama!

In loving memory of Grandma Heifetz

Doug's grandma Heifetz passed away this week at the age of 94. Doug is leaving tomorrow morning for Saint Louis to perform the funeral. Grandma Heifetz was an incredibly inspiring woman and I feel so fortunate to have come to think of her as my grandma as well. I'm very glad that she met Judah and held him in her arms before she died, and I look forward to hearing Doug tell Judah stories about her when he's older and is able to appreciate her strength, her wit, and her kindness. We will all miss her.

Big boy table!

Judah is really moving up in the world. On a recent trip to Ikea we got him his own table and chair for the living room so that he has a place for all his important business. We think he looks like quite a big boy (except for the fact that he can't seem to get in and out of the chair without help yet... at least he isn't growing up too fast!)

Crafts Festival

On Saturday the three of us went to the Crafts Festival. It was completely impossible for Doug and me to actually check out the crafts since Judah was all over the place, pushing his stroller into people and running off in random directions. But it all became worth it when we found the stuffed animal booth. Judah was in heaven. We left with a brand new stuffed Zebra which stayed in Judah's crib last night and when he woke up he was extremely happy to see him there. If only we were all so easily pleased...

Judah thinks he's a dog

Judah has an impressive vocabulary. He has well over a hundred English words, a smattering of Hebrew words, and... well... he also barks like a dog... a lot... In fact, barking is really one of his favorite forms of communication. You see, Judah is quite fond of dogs, especially his two beloved stuffed dogs who he smothers with hugs and kisses every time he sees them. He likes to hold them up to show you and when he does he very enthusiastically barks - "ARF ARF!!!!!!" He'll then do it several more times in case you didn't catch it or if you didn't respond with a sufficiently enthusiastic bark.

The first eighteen months

Although I'm starting this late, I want to capture some of the early weeks and months of Judah's life before I start in with the present. So here's a retrospective of sorts. Let's start with his first few hours.

Judah's delivery was by c-section, since he flipped over into breech position at the last minute, thwarting his mom's plans for natural childbirth in a lovely, homey birthing center. Even before he was born he was calling the shots and exercising his very strong little will! It was tough for me, but he came out with no problem and a perfectly round little head, so there's obviously an upside.

I remember the moment he came out - there was a sheet blocking my view of the procedure, and I was in a great deal of pain. But I heard him cry and I said, "is that him?!?" The doctor said, "um... yeah..." He must of thought I was crazy.

Unfortunately, I don't remember much else about the first few minutes of his life (which is very painful for me), but Doug tells me that the first thing I said when they finally handed him to me was, "I know you." I finally got to meet this precious little guy in person, having felt him in my belly for so long. Amazing.

Here are some more pictures from the first few weeks of Judah's life:

Newborns sleep a lot (during the day, that is... not so much at night...)

Around two months old:

Judah started "talking" early. Starting around four months, he discovered his voice and he hasn't shut up since. Here's a video of one of his early "conversations" with his Abba.

Four-five months:

Judah started sitting up on his own around six or seven months, which opened up a whole new, exciting world for him.

Halloween, 2007 - Judah made an appearance as a chilli pepper! He was, of course, completely oblivious, but it was awfully fun for me.

These days Judah was very fond of his jumpy seat:

And, of course, listening to his own voice:

Judah finally started crawling when he was ten months old. One of his favorite ways to crawl was with some kind of object that made noise. Perhaps he's going to be a tap dancer!

The winter was tough, but Judah continued to love going outside - even if it meant wearing 15 layers of clothing.

Judah was sick on his first birthday, sadly, so we didn't pester him by taking a lot of pictures, but we did have a little family gathering which made it special.

With Judah's increased mobility, he became adventurous and into everything. He was constantly looking around for something to explore, and once he got into something he would examine it with laser-like focus.

Sometimes he approached his "tasks" with great earnestness, and other times he was just plain goofy. It amazed me how seemlessly (and quickly) he would go from one to the other.

Just when we got used to the crawling, Judah started pulling up to stand, and then even started climbing. That's when the childproofing really got going. No cabinet or drawer was safe!

But Judah certainly wasn't all action. He also loved (and still loves) sitting and reading books and, of course, music. This kid could not get enough music. Fortunately, Grandma has plenty to offer!

When the warm weather came, we started spending a lot of time outside.

In July, when Judah was 16 months old, we went on vacation to Vermont with Libby, Nancy and their two kids. Doug found us a beautiful cabin near a great little town. Although the trip was kind of hard for me (Judah refused to sleep in a strange place unless he was in my arms), it offered a whole new set of experiences for Judah.

As the Summer progressed we were wondering if Judah was ever going to learn to walk. He seemed so close for so long, but didn't seem to want to let go of our fingers. Besides, crawling got him pretty much everywhere he wanted to go, so we think he figured, why bother?

But in Vermont, Judah finally went for it. It was amazing to watch - in 24 hours he went from taking just a few steps every now and then to walking a majority of the time. Here's a video of some of his very earliest work:

By the time we got home from Vermont, he was unstoppable. He had transformed into a real, actual toddler - walking around all over the place and very proud of it!

I'll close this retrospective with a few more pictures from the last couple of months so that we're really up to date.