The Life and Times of the Seattle Yanceys

Nona's Birthday and My Goodbyes

2011-08-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

It is nearly midnight here in Boston and I have just finished packing the bags. These last few days have been a whirlwind of crossing things off my list of things to do and saying last goodbyes to family and friends. We have had an amazing trip filled with so many unique and wonderful experiences. But, tonight as the suitcase is ready to be closed, I am ready to go home and I have fresh energy to bring back to Seattle.

Here are some snaps from the last few days. First, here are my little girls, so precious and loving.
This weekend Audrey and Aaron returned to spend time with us and to celebrate Nona's birthday. This rainy Sunday (after Aaron and I ran), Talya enjoyed some snuggle time doing the crossword with Uncle Aaron.
And, Aunty Audrey recruited help baking Nona's birthday cake. Nona needed a little help blowing out the candles.
Our final visit was such a treat - A, L and E met us in Brookline for some kosher food and playing in the park.
Tomorrow, Ron and the girls will head to New Hampshire for some special time with Nana and Grandpa!

Our Girls' Morning At The American Girl Store

2011-08-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

This was a day that the girls and I had been waiting for! We had a reservation at the Natick, MA American Girl Store for story time and tea party. The look on the girls' faces was priceless as we walked up to the store with their babies in hand.

Both of them had a great time, sitting with their dolls, listening to the story, having treats and then of course, shopping a bit afterwards.

I tried to capture their joy in the photos below.

After our morning, we visited Navisky cousins and had more smiles!

Special Time With The Yanceys

2011-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

We were so excited for Ron's arrival, after spending Shabbat on the Cape, we met the rest of Ron's family at a chalet that they rented in Humarock. Over the next 4 days, we spent time with Ron's parents, siblings and their children, playing at the beach and enjoying a lot of time together.

Here is a photo of the chalet from the beach below.
There were a total of 12 cousins to play with (Michaela was missing), ranging in age from 12 down to 3. They had such a great time together.
The view was so beautiful.
And after hours of playing at the beach, the kids played games at the kitchen table.
Here is a beautiful shot of Ron with some of the girl cousins during our walk exploring the military base.
Here are the newlyweds, Mark and Jenny. This visit was the first time I had the opportunity to meet Jenny, it seemed so quick, but was such a treat!
On our last night together, we went to Canobie Lake Park. Ayelet discovered the kiddie rides and she was unstoppable. Perhaps this year, she will do the Puyallup!Here she is with cousin Brenden, they were so precious!

Girl Time

2011-08-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Girl time at the Cape was so special. We took long walks and looked for bunnies.
We read on the beach...
...and with Aunty Nicky.

Our Pace Has Changed

2011-07-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Our pace has changed. This photo says it all.
Talya, Ayelet and I returned to Cape Cod on Monday morning and immediately, upon arrival, calm set in. Our first weeks were filled with fun adventures. We did a lot and saw a lot of VERY special people. With our return to the Cape, we were alone and it was just the three of us, with no agenda and no plans for 4 days. For me, that was exactly what I needed, some time to play with the kids, some time to think and reflect and some time to rest. So, what did we do? Well, more of the same, the beach, ice cream, walking in the evening after dinner - looking for bunnies, of course, a visit to the library to replenish our supply of books... Our pace was just slower and we weren't tied to any schedule. Eric came over this morning so that I could go for a run and then we spent the rest of the day playing.

Here are some snaps from last weekend and the past couple of days.

The Tuesday Beach Club, on Friday, getting ready for birthday cake and ice cream.
All the kids - forced to pose.
We had a wonderful visit with a high school friend and his family. It was so special to reconnect as adults, with families! Here are all the kids together. R and Talya hit it off and became fast friends.
Brian's lovely wife photographed all of us, I just wish she was in the photo, she is a treasure!We had to escape the intense Boston heat, so what better than a trip to the Museum of Science. The water table at the Science Museum - Ayelet was so happy there, I thought we might spend the whole afternoon there.
Time with Nona and Nono in the Discovery Center.
Back on the beach, the Tuesday Beach Club, back in session.

A Boat Ride

2011-07-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends from the Tuesday Beach Club so kindly invited us out on their boat on Thursday. It was such a sweet invitation, Thursday was the day that the heat wave was supposed to hit the east coast. There was a lot of talk of how to get relief from the potentially record breaking temperatures, so we were thrilled to be invited!

The morning of our scheduled excursion, the forecast had changed to include heavy winds off the Cape, but our host went to check the water and things looked peaceful and calm on the ocean and lots of boats were out, so we went ahead with our plans. It was SO wonderful, Sesuit Harbor is beautiful. Our plan was to take the boat out, anchor just off a secluded beach, swim in to shore, play, then swim back to the boat and return to the harbor.

We set out slowly through the harbor, then picked up speed as we went into the open water. I loved watching the different reactions that my girls had. Michaela sat quietly, apprehensive and not sure what to expect. Talya loved being out on the water. When we picked up speed as we left the harbor, she was thrilled. Ayelet hung on tight to me, but seemed to like it. However, we discovered how quickly things could change. The ride out was pretty quick, but as we approached the area that we were going to anchor, we could see that the wind had picked up. Instead of being calm, the ocean darkened and we could see white caps all around us.

Our hosts were phenomenal, quick thinking and sensitive. They quickly decided that we needed to turn back. They gave us instructions on what to do and prepared us for what to expect during the return trip. Thank goodness we had had a calm trip out to get us acclimated. The return was bumpy and wet and felt much like a roller coaster ride. Almost the same reactions from the kids though - Talya had the time of her life, Ayelet hung on for dear life and Michaela looked terrified.

Here is the boat.
Here we are, the crew, windblown but happy, after our adventure.
We spent the rest of the day at the beach!

Visiting with C, H, M and E

2011-07-24T18:16:00.001-07:00

One big difference between this trip and other years is that this year we are doing more visiting than usual. We have done a lot of traveling which has been tiring, but it has also bee so special for us to spend such wonderful time with friends and family.

This particular excursion took us to Falmouth, MA. C & H were such wonderful hosts. The kids played so well and we had a chance to catch up. We went to the beach together, spent the day playing and then ate pizza on the beach!

Here is Ayelet with her new friend - she has discovered the art of finding playmates on the beach.
And here are our wonderful hosts.

Hanging Out With Nicky and Al

2011-07-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

Nicky and Al joined us this weekend for some fun in the sun. We had such a great time with them and hated when they had to leave (I told them, work is so over-rated). My sisters are one of the biggest reasons I enjoy coming to Cape Cod so much, getting to know my sisters as adults is something that I truly treasure and spending time with their partners has been an added bonus.Clearly, my girls (at least Ayelet) feel the same way!

The Tuesday Beach Club Reunited

2011-07-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

I don't think any of us realized how much we missed our friends until we saw them this past weekend. When we were here in the summer of 2008, we met Lisa and her family on the beach. The kids really hit it off, so we started meeting regularly and we called ourselves The Tuesday Beach Club. We had arranged to meet for ice cream and as soon as Talya and Ayelet saw Lisa, they ran right over and gave her big hugs, I guess they remembered. I very quickly remembered how kindly and lovingly Lisa and her family looked out for the me and the girls when we were on the Cape alone that summer, always helping me out when I had my hands full at the beach, inviting us to dinner, meeting us for ice cream, or simply calling us to check in. I suspect that we will see them frequently during our trip this summer, perhaps they will even meet Ron.
Here are the little girls, warming up to each other again.
All the kids, laughing together, falling back into their friendship like no time had passed.
Lisa and I joined in the fun too.

Blueberry Picking

2011-07-16T19:57:00.001-07:00

Such a lovely morning for picking blueberries. and eating them!
So many blueberries, what to do!

Stargazing with Al

2011-07-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky, Al, Nicky's boyfriend and astronomer extraordinaire brought his telescope with him this weekend. It was a full moon, and Saturn was in the house, so we had a chance to see and learn lots! Here, Al is setting up.
This is the moon as viewed with my camera alone.
The moon through the telescope.
Fun had by all!
Saturn, a fuzzy still shot.
And Saturn by video.

A Day In P-Town

2011-07-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

On vacation is exactly how we felt as we set off on a day trip to Provincetown. Provincetown seems so close to the elbow of the Cape, but it really isn't... The highway quickly turned to road and the road slowly took us to the tip of the Cape.
We started our adventure with a visit to Pilgrim Monument, the location where the Pilgrims are said to have actually landed upon arrival to the New World. 116 steps and 60 ramps to the top, a manageable feat, even with a 30 lb 3 year old in my arms. The view from the top was worth it, a reminder of the beauty and magic of Cape Cod.

The monument itself was a fun climb as we wound our way up and then back down again.

After our visit to the monument, we wandered around, eating, visiting shops and playing...
...and the girls got airbrush tattoos.The pace was slow, there was no schedule, it was a wonderful and relaxing day.

Rebecca, Nana and Grandpa and The New Chair

2011-07-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day! Rebecca has arrived and we are so thrilled to have her with us for a whole week! She was tired today, but she rallied to spend every minute with us. She played with all three girls on the beach, holding Ayelet's hermit crab for her, played checkers with Talya, planned our day trip to P-Town with Michaela and experienced Sundae School for the first time.
Last night, we went to Christmas Tree Shop and I bought Ayelet this chair that is "just her size". She is SO excited about it, we even had the chance to sit, have a snack and chill out for a while this afternoon. Having the opportunity to *sit* on the beach made this purchase well worth the $5 it cost!
In the evening, Nana and Grandpa joined us at Sundae School, what a sweet surprise!

A Visit with Liz, Z and J!

2011-07-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

Liz and co. came to visit us for a couple of days and we had a blast together! Liz and I had our hands full (2 adults, 5 kids...), but it was great to watch the kids play together and it was amazing to reconnect with my childhood friend!

Here, Michaela, Ayelet and Z are trying to get close to a bunny during our evening walk (you can see the bunny in the middle left of the photo).
This is my only photo of the four younger kids that turned out, they were playing at the park, but together, they suddenly sat down on the hill to watch the kites being flown below.Ayelet and J hanging out on the turtle.

Getting To Know Uncle Aaron

2011-07-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

One of the most special things about this first weekend on the Cape, was that we had the opportunity to get to know Uncle Aaron, Audrey's husband. It was truly a treat to share special moments with him. I loved it and the kids loved it, we are so lucky to have him in our lives, as well as Audrey's. I managed to catch one of those moments when Aaron and Ayelet were playing together.

Our Favorite Things

2011-07-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

It was so fun to settle in at Cape Cod and reacquaint with our favorite things. We spent the day visiting with family at the beach. Michaela and Talya got right to playing in the water and out of the water while Ayelet stayed close to me, apprehensive yet curious about everything. I played with her. Alot. That made my day.
Audrey and Aaron joined us for the weekend, it was so much fun to see the newlyweds and to initiate Aaron into his role as Uncle Aaron (I think he passed the test).
We went on a lovely walk/bunny hunt. The bunnies were out in full force, during our 45 minute walk, we saw 13!
And, of course, we finished our day with ice cream at Sundae School, aaahhh, that first taste of Sundae School ice cream was heavenly, it is going to be a fun summer.

Michaela Is 14!

2011-07-09T19:26:00.001-07:00

What a way to kick off our summer vacation! We arrived at Cape Cod just in time for a late dinner and birthday celebration for Michaela. But honestly, how did this happen?
It sounds so cliche, but it is exactly how I feel - who knew I would be the Mom of a 14 year old, especially one like Michaela who has a heart of gold, who is loving and compassionate, who is poised and sophisticated, who is smart and creative and a world of other things. I know that she is only 14, a young teenager at best, yet more and more each day, I catch glimpses of the woman that she is becoming...
...and boy, do I like her! Happy birthday Michaela!

I'm Back...

2011-07-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed, I took a long break from blogging...a really long break. It is true, I got busy, but it was more than that. The more time that lapsed since my last post, the more there was to write about, the more there was to write about, the more daunting the task became. Alas, here I am, almost 4 months since my last post and I haven't written anything, yet so much has happened.
As we have just begun our summer vacation, I needed to restart my blogging, I am expecting to have time to do some writing this summer and want to share our adventures, I have to start somewhere. So, I figured out what to do. I am not going to give you the blow by blow of Talya's birthday, my birthday, my big race, Audrey's beautiful wedding, Michaela's graduation or anything else - call me if you want details about those things, I will be thrilled to share. Instead, I am going to start from today, day one of our summer vacation. But first, here are some recent photos.

Talya and Ayelet preparing to be flower girls extraordinaire.

The three of us.
Michaela and Nono tearing up the dance floor.
City girls!

Ayelet's Special Birthday Celebration

2011-03-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Ayelet had such a special birthday celebration weekend, when she went to sleep tonight, she was one happy girl - one happy and exhausted girl!

Her celebration really began on Friday. We hosted a Shabbat dinner for the special local adults in her life. Her favorite food is Matzoh Ball Soup, so we built the meal around that particular food and served other foods such as challah, chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and of course cake. She was so excited as she helped me prepare dinner. In particular, she LOVED making her cake! At dinner, I asked everyone to go around the table and share a favorite Ayelet memory. It was fun to hear some of the special ways that she has touched others. One of Michaela's favorite memories was particularly touching - she remembered when the girls had an overnight at Paul's house, it was our first time leaving the girls for an overnight and at one point in the night, Ayelet only wanted Michaela. Hearing Michaela describe how special that made her feel was moving. Another memory that I loved was how one of our guests described the first time that Ayelet said her name. There are so many transformative moments like that and it is so special to be able to share those moments and to know that others have had them too.

On Sunday, we celebrated with a few of Ayelet's friends. Whew, what a lot of work to throw a party for 3-4 year olds, who knew! We chose Purim as the theme and asked each of the kids to come in costume. Ron, Michaela, Talya and I each did our part.

Ron made the beautiful cupcakes.
Our first activity was grogger making. Michaela was in charge of that highly successful art project. Here is Ayelet working hard on hers.
When the kids were done making groggers, they joined me to make hamentaschen. I had prepared the dough and I had the fillings ready to go. They assembled their hamentaschen and I baked them while they went on to their next activity.
Talya was in charge of their next activity (with some help from Michaela) - a costume parade around the house and then freeze dance. The kids had such a good time dancing and moving their bodies!
With all that dancing, the kids worked up an appetite, so we brought them into the dining room for snack and story time.
And then right after, we went into the next art project - decorating and assembling their mishloach manot buckets (these were also their goodie bags).
While I got things ready for cupcakes and ice cream, Ron took the kids to play. Then we organized them one last time to sing happy birthday to Ayelet. She loved every second of it!
After her guests left, Ayelet enjoyed some quiet time playing with her gifts and I put my feet up and played with her.

Today was her actual birthday and she still had lots of celebrating to do! First on her agenda was a birthday celebration at her pre-school. Here she is leading the kids in one of their circle time activities.
And here she is sharing birthday treats with her friends.Tonight, we went out to dinner and enjoyed time together.Here she is right before going to sleep. Clearly, she had an amazing day.I still can't believe that my girl is three. At her 3 year well check, she weighed in at 27.6 lbs and measured at 36 inches, she is still a petite girl. She has so many words and is very articulate when she doesn't have her bubbie in her mouth (more on that in a moment). She loves to play with her babies and her kitchen. She loves to read books and more importantly to be read to, especially by her big sisters. Mostly though, she loves to do everything that her sisters do and to be included in everything that they are involved in. She is always so joyful and happy and makes everyone around her smile, especially her Mom!

Turning three is such a major milestone. She no longer needs to be carried. She can even walk to synagogue on Shabbat - though I think we will still use the stroller, knowing that she can is a big deal. She can get in and out of the car on her own. Since she is potty trained, we no longer have to change diapers. She climbs into her seat at the dinner table and eats with a fork and spoon (most of the time). She can tell us what she needs, and she does. She can also carry on a conversation, which is so lovely. Now that she is three, we are taking her bubbies away. She went to sleep with all of them either in her hands or in her mouth, she will wait up without them. It is time, all of us feel it. It is a bittersweet end to a very special milestone.

Happy birthday to my dear sweet baby girl. May you have many, many more joyous celebrations ahead and may you continue to bring smiles and happiness to those around you.

Another Magical Whidbey Weekend

2011-01-18T15:38:00.001-08:00

We all agree, Whidbey is the best. Thank you so much to Wendie and Dan for sharing their special house! We had an incredible, relaxing weekend with LOTS of play time!

Apples to Apples of course!
Roller Skating at the Roller Barn - yes, it is true, we were almost the only ones there, everyone else was at the mall (Christmas shopping).
Some of us love eating spaghetti!
Snuggle time too.
Making challah for Shabbos.
And, believe it or not, learning how to knit!

December Fun

2011-01-18T15:12:00.001-08:00

December was a busy and fun month for us. Here are some glimpses of what we did!

Cooking with Daddy was loads of fun! He took lots of time off to spend time with his girls!

Talya and I went to ballet to see the Nutcracker! We were quite the ladies in our box seats!

We helped Paul pick out a new kitty, and we played with it, snuggled it, terrorized it and even helped name it...Mango!

And I made challah... a lot of it for a good cause! Check out the details here!

My Speech

2010-12-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, I was asked to deliver the testimonial at our synagogue's annual fundraising brunch. I was so honored to have been asked and I am humbled by the response I received. Here is my speech.

Congregation Beth Shalom, A Kehillat Kedosha

The first day that we came to Beth Shalom, about 12 years ago, I picked up the Ruach, our monthly newsletter, and during services I read it - cover to cover. I was looking for volunteer opportunities. I figured that if I wanted to get to know the community, what better way than to volunteer. It happened that in that newsletter, there was a request for a neighborhood volunteer for the Mitzvah Corps. Almost immediately, I answered that request and, as they say, the rest is history. All I really wanted was to meet people, we weren’t even members yet. I had no idea of the richness those encounters would bring me. It is because of those encounters that when Jill Cohen asked me to speak to you today about my experiences with the Mitzvah Corps, I was honored - and - I was thrilled. The Mitzvah Corps has changed my life.

At first, I had no idea what I was doing. I was finding my way back to Judaism. It is a good thing that Rochelle Roseman, Edith Horn and Lisa Low, Mitzvah Corps veterans, were there to teach me. I had no idea what Sheva Berachot were until I hosted a Sheva Berachot dinner for some newly weds, and realized that by increasing their joy, I was left a richer woman. I learned that it doesn’t matter if Mitzvah Corps chefs prepare gourmet meals or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What really matters is the love with which the meal is prepared. I didn’t understand what it meant to provide support during Shiva and how coordinating minyanim and meals for mourners helps set them on a path of healing. I had no idea what a meal of consolation was and the comfort that food prepared by loving hands would bring to a family in mourning.

Most importantly though, I had no idea what an honor and privilege it would be to serve the community in this way. The Mitzvah Corps supports families at times of simcha and times of sorrow. Those of you whom the mitzvah corps supports or has supported let Mitzvah Corps volunteers into your lives at times of great vulnerability. You open your doors and your hearts to us and you let us into that intimate space. It doesn’t matter if I know you, or you know me - you trust us to help. Being let in is one of the gifts that you have given me, and one that I can barely describe with words. Thank you.

During my 12 year tenure with the Mitzvah Corps, I have worn many different hats. I have been a meal maker, I have coordinated support in a designated neighborhood, I have led the Mitzvah Corp and I have been a recipient of Mitzvah Corps support. In fact, you may remember, seven and a half years ago, you met Talya, my daughter. Because of the difficulties surrounding my pregnancy and her birth, you were there in full force to support us. You helped welcome her to the community with meals and visits. Not only did you share our joy, with your love and support you increased it.

Currently, under the leadership of Robert Hovden, I coordinate support for the 98115 neighborhood. In other words - when there is a need, I put out the call. Every time I send out a request for support, I am blown away by how quickly and lovingly our community responds. Again, it doesn’t matter if we know the family in need.

We help because we are members of a community and that is what we do. We help because we are needed, we help because we want to, we help because even though we know that we can’t remove the cloud of sleep deprivation from new parents, and we can’t make our loved ones come back, and that no matter what we do, we can’t make the cancer go away, our support envelopes the family in need and lets them know that they are not alone.

This past year, our community has experienced many losses. These losses have been significant and they have cut right to the heart of our community. They have been hard for us.

They have been hard for me.

This fall, I almost stepped down from the Mitzvah Corps. Really, for the first time, in my history as a Mitzvah Corps volunteer, I became overwhelmed. I was coordinating support for my friends and at the same time, I was dealing with the pain of my own losses.

Two things happened that enabled me to continue as a Mitzvah Corps volunteer.

First, I made a phone call and Margot Kravette answered the phone. Without hesitation and without asking any questions, she stepped in and led when I couldn’t, thereby reminding me that I am a part of this community and more importantly, I am not alone.

Second, I was inspired by Ron Dechene’s erev RH speech about community. Again, his words reminded me what it means to be a part of a community and in particular our Beth Shalom community. When we mourn together as a community, the pain of the loss is shared and in sharing it, the pain becomes more tolerable and we are better able to move forward. When we celebrate together as a community, our joy is intensified. We draw strength from each other to get us through difficult times and we allow others to be active participants in our simchas. By experiencing things together as a community, we enhance their holiness.

As a Mitzvah Corps volunteer, I am blessed to witness extraordinary moments in the lives of my community. These moments, while often sad, are a gift and they have changed me. They are the moments when women become mothers, when an otherwise healthy person processes a life changing diagnosis, or when sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, mothers, fathers, husbands and wives become mourners. My initial goal in joining the Mitzvah Corps was to meet people. By sharing in your sacred moments, I have gotten to know you in a very special way.

In conclusion, let me introduce you to some of the people that I have met.

This summer, I met a man. The truth is that I have known this man for a few years, our children are classmates. After losing his best friend and his brother, he became a different man. Because of my involvement with the Mitzvah Corps, I witnessed his transformation, I watched him change. Now, in his eyes, behind the sadness that still clouds them, I see a softness that wasn’t there before and I recognize how wise he is about the things that really matter.

This summer as I listened to our community singing by the graveside of my teacher and my friend, I rediscovered a woman whom I had known for 12 years. I was reminded of her love of learning and her unabiding commitment to Derech Eretz, treating others with kindness and respect. She set an example for all of us of how to live our lives and take care of each other and our community.

This fall, as I spent time with a family mourning the loss of their husband, father and grandfather, I met a man. That man was a founding member of Beth Shalom and a past president. He had devoted his life to serving the Seattle Jewish community and in particular our very own Beth Shalom community. He made sure that the structure was in place to allow our community to thrive and to allow us to grow together. He made sure that for all those who were seeking, there was a kehillat kedosha, a holy community, to be found.

And those are just a few of the people I have met. Those are just a few of the people who have changed my life.

May those whom we have celebrated continue to bring us joy and inspire us to lives of ma’asim tovim. May the memories of those whom we have lost be for blessings and may we follow in their footsteps, stand together and support our community. Thank you.

and Hanukkah came early!

2010-12-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

Before we finished digesting our turkey, Hanukkah was upon us! We had so much fun together.
And of course, we had to take the yearly glasses photos!

Thanksgiving!

2010-12-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Another successful turkey frying Thanksgiving - followed by some much needed snuggle time!

Supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

2010-12-01T14:35:00.000-08:00

I recently started a new blog to go with my latest endeavor. Thanks to the inspiration of some special people (that you can read about here), I am running the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon and raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I have been a bit quiet on this page, so I thought I would link to my two sites.

On my running blog you can stay current with my training progress and fundraising events (check out my latest challah sale!).

On my fundraising page, you can check out my fundraising progress and donate to the cause. I hope that you will support me and in turn this incredible organization!

Cute Kitties!!

2010-11-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Post Bat Mitzvah

2010-06-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend! I will post pictures soon, but first, here is Michaela's Bat Mitzvah Slide show.

Author's Day

2010-06-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

First graders at Talya's school have this great opportunity to write, illustrate and present their own books. This is a huge project for the kids and one that they are really proud of. This morning the kids each had a turn to get up on stage and read their books and answer questions about their stories from their peers and from parents in the room. Talya was so great (not that I am a proud mama or anything). She had such poise and a beautiful strong voice, it was so fun to see a new side of her!

What Have The Yanceys Been Up To? Preview of Coming Attractions

2010-06-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Words cannot describe our last six weeks as well as this photo does. 2 weeks until the big day!

Talya is 7!

2010-04-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

When Talya woke up on the morning of her birthday, she found a beautiful crown waiting for her - thank goodness I had a birthday surprise in mind for her!
My 7 year old girl is almost too old for stats.... but not quite!
Talya is 45 3/4 inches tall and 49.4 lbs. She so happily and proudly rides her bike and loves to spend time in the water. She is always asking if she can go out and ride her bike or she is asking us to take her to the pool. At home, she loves to do "work" and spends time working her way through workbooks for fun. She loves to write, anything and everything and has been known to meticulously document everything that happens to her. She is a great negotiator and works hard to get her way, especially when it comes to her screen time! Her biggest birthday request was for "rock out" music, as another one of her favorite pass times these days is to have dance parties. She adores her sisters - she looks up to Michaela with adoration, Michaela can do no wrong. And, she takes care of Ayelet in a very loving way. I can't wait to see what this next year brings her way!

April Is The Month Of Birthdays!

2010-04-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

First up - Talya!
Birthdays are a BIG deal at the Yancey house and this year, Talya caught the fever! Her birthday weekend began with a special birthday Shabbat, celebrated with her birthday soul sister...
and of course, her bff!

And, lots of others who love her dearly!

She had SO much fun on the eve of her birthday that before she went to bed, she came to me (I was doing dishes in the kitchen) and she said, "Mom, I am going to set my alarm for 9:31 am, so if you have any surprises that you are planning for my birthday, you should make sure to have them ready by 9:30 so that when I come down I will be surprised." Oh, she is too cute!

On Sunday, she and her friend celebrated their birthdays together in style!

When she went to bed on Sunday night, she was a happy 7 year old girl!

The Tulip Festival, 2010

2010-04-07T23:07:00.001-07:00

This week we took advantage of Talya's time off from school and took a day trip to the Tulip Festival in La Conner, Washington. All three of us had a wonderful day. Our first stop was at Country Time Alpaca Farm, a farm that houses more than 40 of these camel cousins. In addition to the animals, one of the owners has a fiber workshop where she turns the alpaca wool into yarn and then into other beautiful creations. Ayelet was enamoured with the alpacas as they are very friendly engaging animals, she loved walking around and talking to them, it really seemed like they were listening to her. I couldn't get her to leave them. I think they were in love with her as well.

After our visit with the alpacas, we went to lunch in La Conner. Sunset Magazine did a story on the Tulip Festival and featured the cafe in the La Conner Fruit and Produce Market. It was a delicious and fun place to be and one that I never would have tried had it not been for Sunset Magazine! After a leisurely lunch, we were off to see the tulips, and boy were they stunning.

Talya liked the flowers well enough and she loved splashing in the puddles that were abundant in the fields. Ayelet on the other hand, wasn't so happy, she really didn't like the puddles at all and much preferred to be in the safety of my arms, scolding Talya for splashing in them.

We just couldn't get enough of the beautiful flowers and of course, we had to take some home. We finally left the fields and headed home, just in time for dinner.

Talya Can Ride a Two-Wheeler!!

2010-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Over the break, Michaela taught Talya how to ride a bike... unbelievable, she is unstoppable!

Happy Passover!

2010-03-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

The search for chametz - for Ayelet, how fun to discover these new activities, for Talya, she is now the teacher!

Life With a Two Year Old

2010-03-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Life with a two year old is definitely different the third time around. Ayelet is loving, funny, expressive. She loves to be with her sisters and her mom and dad and she misses us desperately when we are not around. She always wants to be independent and even tries to dress herself, by herself. She loves to play outside, riding her tricycle, swinging on the swings or blowing bubbles and she loves to snuggle on the couch and watch an episode of Dora The Explorer. If Talya or Michaela are doing homework, she too must be doing her work with her crayons or markers, pens or pencils.

She is also head strong and stubborn and insists on getting her way. She doesn't hesitate to express herself through tantrums. When told no, she is sometimes inconsolable, re-direction doesn't work so well these days. I forgot how difficult some days can be with a tired two year old...

No matter what though, this amazing person has the four of us (and some others) wrapped around her little finger. She is in a constant state of change, learning and growing, and becoming more of a little girl each day. For the most part, I embrace each change, sometimes though, I miss that little baby she was not so long ago.

Here are her two year stats:
Height: 33 inches (25th percentile)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (20th percentile)

Happy Birthday Ayelet!

Happy Birthday Ayelet!

2010-03-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

Childcare or Beauty Salon

2010-03-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

I usually leave Ayelet in the gym's daycare while I work out during the week. Today (and the last few times I have left her there), when I picked her up, she looked like a beauty queen! Thank you Molly and Dana!

The New Dining Room!

2010-02-19T17:23:00.001-08:00

Then, we came home to THE NEW DINING ROOM!!!!

Hearing Eitan Katz

2010-02-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

This morning I took the girls to hear Eitan Katz in concert. The concert was a benefit concert for all the day schools in Seattle, including the Seattle Jewish Community School. The music was amazing and it was incredible to see all the kids together enjoying it. Here is a link to his website so you can get a taste of his music www.eitankatz.com .
Ayelet LOVES to sit in her big sisters lap.

Michaela had fun reconnecting with friends.

More Staycation Fun!

2010-02-18T22:34:00.000-08:00

This morning, I took Michaela, Talya and a friend ice skating. It was a blast, the time passed way too fast!

Our Mid-Winter Staycation Begins

2010-02-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of the kids' mid-winter break, we had decided to take advantage of this week together to do some fun things. This is an important week. Ron is finishing the work on our house and beginning next week, I will kick into the high gear of Bat Mitzvah planning... So, with little talk of the Bat Mitzvah this week, we are having a little fun!

Day 1: Friday morning, before the kids left for school, I told them that we would be having a special Shabbat party that night (just for the 5 of us). We had been working REALLY hard, all of us, we deserved the special treatment, right? I cooked a special Shabbat dinner (spent most of the day in the kitchen), challah, salad, roasted root vegetables, chicken with lemon and thyme, green beans and a cake for dessert. As soon as we sat down to eat, I realized that I was exhausted, I was pure and simply worn out from the week. By 9:00 pm I was asleep, the rest of the family was not far behind. Saturday was restful, again, we needed it!

Day 2: By Sunday morning, we were all rested ready to go! I had a wonderful Mom's morning out while the girls hung out with Ron, then in the afternoon I took the girls to see The Princess and The Frog. We all loved it, especially Ayelet who loves princesses and loves frogs.

Day 3: Monday promised to be a busy day. We went on an urban geocache with friends, ended up making it a double, found the first, but not the second. It was a beautiful morning on the Seattle waterfront, with great company! Here are some shots of the find!

And, as we were down town, we were treated to some other neat sights - check out the airplane making its way to Boeing on the tracks.

Day 4: Tuesday was a work day for me, each of the girls had their own adventures, then in the evening, the girls and I went out to dinner. After Ayelet ate her dinner, they brought out her dessert, a giant ice cream, she could hardly believe it. She almost didn't know what to do with it...

...then she spotted the spoon.

What's on tap for the rest of the week? Stay tuned...

Talya's Sweet Words

2010-02-07T22:01:00.000-08:00

It was a rough day at our house today, in particular for Michaela. Talya felt so sorry for her sister that she wrote this note and drew the picture for her. I love her guess-and-go spelling, but more importantly, I love her expression of love for her sister.

Ayelet Is Old Enough To Shape Her Own Challah

2010-01-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

And so she did!

Homemade Pasta Dinner, Prepared by Ron, Michaela and Talya

2009-12-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

I had a long work day today, so Ron and the girls decided to have a little fun in the kitchen. Of course, I did get to reap the rewards!

The Sleepover

2009-12-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

Michaela happened to be out at a friend's house for the night, so Talya decided to have a sleepover with me. We set the mattress up next to my bed and we got her sleeping bag. I told her to go upstairs and get her pillow and her lovey and lo and behold, she came down a few minutes later with her packed overnight bag! It is always good to be prepared for a night away from home...I mean from one's room.

The Mitzvah of Hafrashat Challah

2009-12-18T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today, I had the opportunity to participate in a great mitzvah, one that has turned out to be more meaningful than I had expected. A friend of a cousin of a friend (did you follow that?) has been trying unsuccessfully to conceive. It has recently become common in Jewish communities for forty or more women to devote their prayers, while performing the mitzvah of hafrashat challah, the separating of or taking of the challah, to a person in need. In particular, this practice is often done to help a couple trying to conceive. A couple of weeks ago, this woman (the friend of a cousin of a friend), put the call out and the request reached me.

There is more to this mitzvah than meets the eye. Of course, there are many of us who make challah regularly – especially in Seattle where the kosher challah choices are limited. However, in order to perform the mitzvah, one must use a prescribed amount of flour – that amount makes A LOT of challah. The dough is formed and left to rise. Before shaping the dough into the braided loaves, prayers are recited; a small piece of dough is removed and then it is burned.

What is so remarkable about this experience is the connection that it creates. It is amazing enough to think that around the world, many others are following the same practice, making challah for Shabbat, reciting the same words of prayer, performing the same mitzvah, for the same or similar reasons. It is even more incredible to think, that in this case, 50 other women around the world, in the past 24 hours, have been thinking about and praying for one couple to conceive. I am so grateful to have been part of that chain.

Winter Piano Recital - Talya's First!

2009-12-17T23:19:00.001-08:00

Tonight was Mrs. Blair's winter piano recital! Since both girls have been studying with her, we had a chance to hear them both perform. For Talya, this was her first recital. She was so nervous before, but she was incredibly focused and very cute. She performed her first piece by herself.
And then her second was a duet that she performed with Mrs. Blair.

Michaela followed soon after.

There were a lot of students performing this winter, as evidenced below. Admittedly, it was a long recital...

Afterward, both girls were very proud!

Hanukkah Lights

2009-12-16T21:58:00.001-08:00

Though Hanukkah got a slow start, it has been really fun this year. Ayelet really enjoys lighting the Hanukkah candles, and is so proud that she gets to light her own menorah. She also loves to play dreidel with her sisters. Here are just a few photos that capture the family fun.

This is one of my favorites - she is concentrating so hard as she is lighting her candles.

Ayelet LOVES Her Daddy's Dogs

2009-12-16T21:56:00.000-08:00

Another Budding Musician

2009-12-06T23:12:00.000-08:00

...and she is only 21 months old!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

For the past years (maybe 5 years?) we have had a most wonderful Thanksgiving tradition. We spend the day frying turkeys, entertaining, visiting, playing, eating, drinking... It is always such a special part of the holiday for us and a highlight of the season. Ron sets the fryer up outside, I prepare appetizers, friends come over, visit and fry. At the end of the afternoon, everyone is off to their own Thanksgiving feasts and Ron fries ours for our dinner with friends. This year Ron set a record and fried 5 turkeys! He has it down to a science, apparently they were all delicious!

Sisters Reading Together!

2009-11-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

Talya was really inspired by a friend of hers this weekend to take big steps with her reading. It seems as though overnight she is suddenly reading everything she can get her eyes on. Tonight, she insisted on reading to Ayelet, reading to Michaela and reading to me. Whew, after an hour and a half of her reading, I am wiped out!

Talya's Classwork

2009-10-26T20:52:00.001-07:00

As soon as Talya got home from school this afternoon, she ran into my office holding this classwork assignment. She was so proud of it and so excited to share it. She told me that her teacher thought she did a great job. Unfortunately, I was still working at the time she came in, so I didn't pay too much attention, until later... I read the assignment, looked at her drawing and I couldn't stop laughing. I love how Talya sees the world and how she always makes me smile, I had to share. In case you are not able to see it, the assignment reads: Design a wrapper and make up a name for a delicious new candy bar. : )

My Girl Has To Have Her Coffee

2009-10-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

Celebrating Ayelet and Sukkot

2009-10-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

Sukkot is always such a special time for our family. Our Sukkah is always so beautiful (thanks Ron!) and we love welcoming guests to our home. On first night Sukkot, we took the time to celebrate Ayelet with our dear friends. Ayelet knew that we were honoring her, she had a really great time. So did the rest of us.
Ayelet listening to blessings made just for her.

The roof of the Sukkah.

The Sukkah, waiting for guests to arrive.

Talya and her BFF at the Torah Celebration at SJCS.

Talya Is Playing Fall Soccer!

2009-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Ayelet's 18 Month Stats and L'Shanah Tovah

2009-09-18T17:22:00.001-07:00

Ayelet turned 18 months this week and it seemed so suddenly that she went from being a baby to being a little girl. Here are her stats from her 18 month check:
Height: 31.75 in (50th percentile)
Weight: 21.1 lb (26th percentile)

She now regularly sleeps through the night from 7 pm to 7 am ish. She communicates well and has lots of words and phrases, she can very clearly express what she wants and needs. She follows instructions that we give her (most of the time) and she uses a spoon and fork (messy though). She walks and runs everywhere and loves to play at the park, swinging and sliding are her favorites. She loves to do everything herself and gets really frustrated when she isn't successful. Her favorite thing in the world though is to hang out with her big sisters, after all, they are the best!

L'shanah tovah, may we all be inscribed for a healthy, happy new year.

Taking a Moment to Thank G-d

2009-09-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I was in a meeting at Talya's school. One of the staff members at the meeting mentioned how everyday, as she begins her work day, she sees the Ner Tamid and she is grounded in her Jewish identity.

At the time, I thought to myself, wow, what a beautiful thing. To have a constant visual reminder of why we are here and why the work that we do is so important. I know that everyday, throughout my day, I am grounded in my Jewish identity and grateful to G-d. From the moment I wake up to the moment I lay my head down at night, I am in constant conversation with G-d and cognizant of the role that my Jewish identity plays in my life. And I'd like to think that my girls get that too as Ron and I have built our lives around our Judaism. But, how often do we stop and get the reminder. Ironically enough, today, we did!

This evening, we were eating dinner, when Talya noted that it was sunny out and it was still raining. I told her to get up and go find the rainbow. She did and she found it and when she did, we all stopped, got up, went outside, made the blessing upon seeing a rainbow and snapped a few shots of its beauty.

Yancey House Construction

2009-09-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone always asks us why we don't move back to Boston. Both of our families are there, not just our parents, but our extended families. It is true we miss them all terribly and it would be nice to have our families be a more significant part of the children's lives. It is also true that we have an amazing community.

Since we bought our house and moved in (December 2001) Ron has been working on the house. At first it was little things, but from the time Talya was born in 2003 the work got progressively more significant. At this point in time, every room in the house but one has been completely remodelled. The projects have included insulating all the rooms, rewiring, putting in new windows and light fixtures, completely gutting the bathroom and the kitchen, increasing the size of the kitchen and reconfiguring it, putting in a pantry and carving out a workspace area, bringing in gas, putting in copper pipes, framing out a new dining room and the list goes on and on.

Ron has been amazing and has done incredible work, but in the last 6 months, our family has really felt the strain. Living for extended periods of time in a house under construction is tough on a family, his down time has been negligible as all his spare time is spent working on the house and it has been hard on me too, as I don't get much of a break.

Over the years, many have asked Ron if he has needed help with the work. He has always turned everyone down. But as things have gotten more difficult and thanks to the inspiration of a dear friend, we finally put out the call. And as soon as the call went out, our community came. Friends came to work on the house, sanding, taping, painting, etc. They brought food with them and supplies. They helped with the kids so that I could work too. And, in two weeks time, our bedroom and living room were completed, the work space area is minutes from completion and the stalled dining room project progressed tremendously. I can almost say, the end is in sight (note the use of the word almost, there is still lots to be done, but the task list is much more manageable).

Here are some shots of our work parties, in the next couple of weeks, as we meet the timeline for work, I will post more photos of the finished products. In the mean time, THANK YOU to all those who have helped us make our house a home. May our home be a place where all our dear friends and our community (and our extended family too) will find hospitality.

First Day of School - Michaela's Turn

2009-09-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

7th Grade!! How did that happen? Michaela was excited, mature and completely ready for her next adventure this morning. Of course, it is her Bat Mitzvah year, she will spend this year not only studying History, French, Language Arts and Math, she will also be learning how to lead prayer in synagogue, chant from the Torah and analyze a Torah portion. AND, on the B'Nai Mitzvah circuit she will be learning how to be a young lady - guess she already has good start.

Talya's First Day Of School!

2009-09-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Talya was SO excited for her first day of school. First Grade at last! Here she is before she left.

And here, upon arrival at school. Thank you Julie and Mitch for taking her to school today and for taking such good care of her!

My 10 Days

2009-08-26T22:27:00.000-07:00

After Ron and I reunited in Boston, I left the east coast to return to Seattle and Ron took over with the kids. Their adventures began as they spent a lot of time visiting Ron's extended family in the Boston area. In the mean time, I returned to Seattle alone.

At first, when we booked the tickets and made the decision that Ron and the girls would stay in Boston for 10 days after I left, I was horrified. I couldn't imagine how I could stand being away from the girls for that long. In particular, I was worried about how Ayelet would do without me for that long, or perhaps how I would do without her for that long.

Well, it turns out, the girls did fine without me. They had an amazing time with Ron and with his family. They played with their cousins and friends. And, in particular, Ayelet had a chance to really connect with her Daddy. He was her security blanket during those 10 days.

As for me, I did fine as well, in fact, I did really well and really value the time that I had to myself. I have been parenting small children for 12 years and as much as I love almost every minute of it, I had forgotten what it is like to do what I want, when I want, without regard for how it will affect anyone else. For 10 days, that is exactly what I did. I took the time to have lunch with girl friends and really spend time with them; I went to the movies to see Julie and Julia; I worked on a (major) house project involving many, many years of photos; I worked without having to rush home to pick up the kids - in other words, I worked until I got the job done; I slept; I ate whenever I wanted, whatever I wanted; I cooked recipes that sounded good to me, with onions and garlic, green things and the like; I exercised ALOT; I slept; I skipped chores if I didn't feel like doing them; and oh, did I mention, I slept - through the night, without an alarm clock?

When I picked Ron and the girls up at the airport, I was SO glad to see them and to hold them all in my arms. And, I don't want them to be away from me for an extended period of time, any time soon. But perhaps next summer, I will really like to do this again...

Computer Challenges... The Rest of Vacation and Beyond

2009-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

About a week before the end of my vacation, my computer decided that it too needed a vacation. So, during the last week of our trip, I unplugged. A good thing? Yeah, probably - of course, I still had the iPhone...

During our last week, the girls and I had some really special times together. Here are the highlights:

A day trip to Martha's Vineyard to visit Liz, Kevin and their extended family.
The ferry ride to the island, anticipating the adventure.
Wandering the shops on the vineyard, buying a few treasures to take home with us.
Reconnecting with the Lucia clan, including Ander and Addison who we hadn't seen in almost 10 years.
Time at the beach playing with the kids.
Dinner with the adults while the kids went to play at the arcade.
Ice cream at the vineyard's famous Mad Martha's ice cream shop.
Barely catching the last ferry off the vineyard.
Carrying Talya and Ayelet in the house fast asleep as we arrived back at the Cape house after 11:30 pm.
A visit to the Cape Cod Hospital ER the next day when I wasn't feeling so good.
Michaela and Talya's amazing help, especially with Ayelet when I wasn't up to the task.
More beach time.
Watching Ayelet make the beach her own, in particular, check out the shots of Ayelet pulling the boogy board behind her, note the board is bigger than she is.
Barbecue with the Wednesday morning beach club girls, Carly and Kelsey and their families.
Birthday dinner and cake with Nona.
A morning of paper shopping with Aunty Nicky in anticipation of Michaela's Bat Mitzvah invitations.
An afternoon visit with Danny, Elizabeth and Asher where all the kids entertained us with a musical concert.
The annual trip to Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge, where Ana made sure that Nicky and I were spoiled with lots of different culinary creations.
Reuniting with Ron on Sunday morning.

Enjoy this slide show, snaps of our last week.

A Day With the Navisky Clan

2009-08-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday turned out to be the perfect beach day which worked well as we were joined by the Navisky family for the day. We spent most of the day playing at the beach. Three generations of Nacamuli's and Navisky's were there (with few exceptions). Talya and Adam had a blast playing together.
Ayelet found lots of arms ready to hold her.

After dinner the entire group of us (15) went on a bunny hunt through the neighborhood, we must have been quite a sight to see.

The two Nona's -

Eventually, Ayelet had to walk like all the big kids.

Visits with Friends

2009-08-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, my two dearest friends from my school years came with their families to see us. Liz, Kevin and their two boys Zachary and Jacob (pictured below) and Craig, Heidi and one of their two boys came over. Because of how spread out we are (Craig and Heidi are in Boston, Liz and Kevin live in Memphis and Ron and I are in Seattle), we rarely see each other together. It was such a gift to spend the morning together, adults catching up, the children playing. We were having so much fun, I forgot to take photos... These are the only ones that were taken.

After our morning of visiting, we left Boston to return to Cape Cod. We had plans later that day to get reacquainted with the Wednesday Morning Beach Club. We managed to get a quick ice cream cone with Carly and her mom, Lisa.

Michaela Is Here!

2009-07-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Michaela arrived on Wednesday night, her first solo flight! She did great and was so sophisticated walking off the plane, it brought tears to my eyes. When we arrived back at Nona's house, we had dinner and a belated birthday celebration.

Today, the girls and I went to New Hampshire to visit Nana and Grandpa, Aunty Debbie and cousins Josh and Morgan. It was so fun for the kids to get reacquainted, the cousins are looking forward to spending more time together when Ron is here.

Poor Talya....

2009-07-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Talya had a sore throat and low grade fever. Since I had so recently had Strep, I got worried and took her to the clinic on the Cape. They ran a Rapid Strep test which was negative (as mine had been) but were unable to run a regular culture because the Sunday clinic can't send things out. On Monday, Talya was still sick, but she still tried really hard to rally and go to the beach.

After talking to her doctor, the decision was made to treat her for Strep. That night, she was still feeling sick, but still took the time to read to Ayelet. Fortunately, by the next morning the antibiotics had kicked in and she was already feeling MUCH better.

So of course, we headed to the beach!

And, we went on a bunny hunt.

Then, that night, Talya and I went to Sundae School and Talya danced up a storm.

Tomorrow - Michaela arrives!!

Settling In At Cape Cod

2009-07-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last few days getting reacquainted with our favorite parts of the Cape. Blueberry picking was a big hit - though Ayelet couldn't understand why her bucket kept emptying instead of filling.
One beautiful beach day, Talya found a friend and Ayelet fell in love with the sand, the water and the sun.

Special time with family -

And of course, Sundae School, what would our vacation be without ice cream.

New York City!

2009-07-23T18:58:00.001-07:00

Talya and I had an amazing (though too short) day in NYC. Aunty Audrey kept Ayelet for the day, and Talya and I set out to see as much as we could of the big city. Talya is so young still, she knows tidbits about New York from some of her books and movies, she hasn't yet learned much more about New York. It was fun to bring the city alive for her!

We started with a train ride to Grand Central Station (which she remembered from Madagascar). We had decided on the train that we would start our day by taking a taxi to Battery Park and then taking the Staten Island Ferry (thanks Margot).
From the ferry, we were able to see the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and of course the New York skyline.

After our ferry ride, we took the subway to Times Square. We paused to look around for the newsstand from The Cricket in Times Square, then we walked up to Mr. Broadway's for lunch. I had wanted a good kosher meat lunch, but forgot about the nine days, instead I had felafel (delicious) and Talya had pasta.

The we really started to explore Times Square. Talya loved Times Square, there were street performers, like this one eating fire and all the glitz and glam of Times Square.

We went to the Ferris wheel there, and caught a glimpse of the life sized doll house and the video gaming areas, then we were off again and headed to the Plaza. (See Eloise post for details about the Plaza.)

After our visit to The Plaza, we hopped on the bus (it was raining) and headed back to Grand Central Station to catch our train back to Connecticut. There was so much more to do, but what a satisfying day.

Eloise At The Plaza

2009-07-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Talya's favorite part of our day in New York was our visit to the Plaza. (Thank you Robin for this great idea!). She was so excited when we got out of the subway and the sign said "The Plaza Hotel"! The look on her face was priceless.

She loved the P's on the doors, rugs, walls, etc.
She tried to pose just like Eloise.

In the Eloise room, she sat down to have tea.

She wrote Eloise a letter and put it in her mailbox.

And, she had a chance to read Eloise's special Plaza Hotel menu.

Talya was SO disappointed that Eloise wasn't there. She asked someone there where Eloise was, they told her that Eloise was out for the day. I think that she would have waited there if we could.

We Made It - Summer Vacation Is Here!

2009-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

The girls and I had a great flight to NYC. Considering how nervous I was, I was so relieved! We were all thrilled to see Aunty Audrey too! Here are a few shots of our first night here.

Ayelet made herself comfortable by walking around Aunty Audrey's house and going up and down her steps.
After dinner we went on a successful bunny hunt.

Here is Aunty Audrey's beautiful house in Greenwich.

And the house across the street that I fell in love with! (Think big!)

Tomorrow, Talya and I are hitting the big apple!!!!!

Schechter Open House - We Miss Michaela!

2009-07-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sisters reunited!

"Mom, I am ready to come to camp, can you tell?"

Ayelet's 15 Month Check Up

2009-07-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ayelet had her 15 month check up (a little late)! In the last couple of months, Ayelet has really blossomed! She has grown a little:

Height: 30 1/2 inches (40th percentile)

Weight: 20.1 lbs (11th percentile)

She has many words now and really appreciates expressing herself. She also understands everything - which makes her a great help when it is time to tidy the house. When asked to put dirty clothes in the hamper, she does; when asked to straighten the shoes on the shoe shelf, she happily obliges. She loves doing everything that her big sisters do and that her mama does, she especially loves "talking" on the phone and cooking. She is walking like a pro and loves to swing and slide. She doesn't sleep so well, but after the past two nights, there is hope. Soon enough, she will be on the beaches of the Cape and she will make the sand and surf her own, just as her sisters did.

So Much Summer Fun

2009-07-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

A trip to the beach to enjoy the low tides,
Michaela's camp out birthday party,

Girls doing yoga in the afternoon.

Sisters - more zoo pictures...

2009-06-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

Talya is taking her role as big sister VERY seriously.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:21:00.001-07:00

We had a great Father's Day, celebrating Ron! It was so wonderful to spend time with him, we had him all to ourselves. After a leisurely breakfast at home (followed by breaking camp, see earlier post), we spent the rest of the day at the zoo!

Camping In

2009-06-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we were supposed to go camping with Talya's kindergarten class. The kids (and I) were so excited to go, but on Friday morning, Michaela woke up with a fever, so at the last minute, we cancelled.

We ended up camping out in the backyard for the weekend, and yes, it was a great trial run. We ate dinner and made s'mores early, then brought Shabbos in late. On Saturday, we played lots of games, played outside, ate, napped, and read. It was a lot of fun to go camping with all the comforts of home readily available: the toilet, shower, refrigerator, clean, dry clothes, etc. It was fun to go to sleep in the warm sleeping bag in the cold night air and to wake up to the sounds of cars driving down 35th and the music playing at Starbucks. We missed our friends, but enjoyed each other.

The Beach

2009-06-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

"The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~ Jacques Cousteau

It is clear, the sea has cast its spell on Ayelet. Cape Cod, here we come!

Talya "Stepped Up" From Kindergarten to First Grade

2009-06-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful evening at SJCS, honoring graduating 5th graders and kindergartners. Talya was so proud and so excited - and so were we!

My Dancers

2009-06-14T20:44:00.001-07:00

What a day!! Today, both the big girls had their dance performances. The two shows were amazing. Michaela's show was in the morning - her dance class was Hip Hop and the kids did a great job. Their dance number was one of ten dance numbers, the show was a mix of little ones doing beginning ballet, adult tappers and others. We had a chance to see some friends perform as well, it made the show all the more special.
Talya's show was in the afternoon, she was part of the Beginning Ballet class. Talya and her friend Annabelle stole the show, they were SO cute. It was Talya's debut, she was nervous and excited and had a great time!

Ayelet Falling Asleep During Dinner

2009-06-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

Girls' Weekend on Whidbey Island

2009-06-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend Michaela, Michaela's friend, Talya, Talya's friend, Ayelet and I went to Whidbey Island. It was girls' weekend away (so that Ron could get some work done on the house). We had a great time!

The weekend started when my VERY full van left school to head for the ferry. With music playing, chatter in the back seat and lots of excitement we set out. Of course, my attempt to make the 4:00 pm ferry failed miserably. Sure, we got to the ferry by4:00 pm, but the line was so long that we didn't get on the boat until 5:00 pm. Not to be deterred, we ate snacks and waited and before we knew it, we were on the boat, over the water and at the house.

The kids had a great time showing their friends all the nooks and crannies of the Whidbey house(s) as I got unloaded and settled. I have always felt that it is a magical place, where the kids play, play and play. The kids worked their way through figuring out where each would sleep, where each would put their stuff, etc. I prepared dinner and got everything ready for Shabbat and together we lit candles and brought in Shabbos. It was so fun to eat spaghetti and chocohotopots (thanks E for the recipe), play a game after dinner and get into bed.

Saturday morning, when Ayelet and I finally got up, we found all four girls sitting around the breakfast table eating cereal and talking. Good morning Mom! Ayelet and I were the last ones up in this house of girls, how luxurious! We spent the morning playing outside, playing in the play house, doing an art project, playing games, eating. Then in the afternoon, we went to the beach and played some more. Talya's friend had to leave in the afternoon, we were so sad to see her go, but memories had been made.

By dinner time, everyone was tired - Ayelet didn't quite make it through dinner (though she made a valiant effort, see video in next post).

After dinner, the kids spent time cleaning up and organizing themselves and their space and as the sun was going down, I sent the girls off to find wood in preparation for a night making s'mores by the fire. They gathered large pieces of wood and small pieces of kindling and 5 long sticks for roasting the marshmallows. They set up the chairs by the fire and swung on the swing while they waited for me to tell them it was time. Soon enough it was, the fire was beautiful and the s'mores were delicious.

Sunday morning we got up early and went to the beach again. Doublebluff Beach in Freeland was the location of choice and it was beautiful. It was quiet as it was a cloudy grey morning. Then it was back to the house to clean, clean, clean. The kids were great, patient and helpful as I worked hard to make the house look better than it did when we arrived. Once we were done and the car was loaded, I took the kids to Langley for an ice cream treat before getting on the ferry.

What a wonderful weekend!

Talya's Oneg Shabbat at School

2009-06-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that Talya is getting ready to graduate from kindergarten. 8 months ago she was so little. Now she seems so grown up. It was fun celebrate this Shabbat in her honor.

Mama, Please Don't Forget To Take Me With You

2009-06-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Chef Ayelet

2009-05-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

Recently, Ayelet has taken a liking to cooking with me. I sit her up on the counter and she "helps" me cook. Here, Ayelet is helping make blintzes for Shavuot.

Ayelet Loves her Yoga

2009-05-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

Downward Facing Dog

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day I had! I started my day a little bit late, Ron got up with the girls and I lounged in bed for a little while. Then I went for a long walk and to my yoga class. When I came home, my Mother's Day Brunch was ready, complete with this fruit appetizer,
coffee cake, waffles and eggs, YUMMY!! Of course, I can't forget my homemade cards and gifts!
After brunch, we got busy on our projects of the day: teaching Talya how to ride a two wheeler -

And, planting a vegetable garden!

We finished the day with dinner, felafel, pita, hummus, Israeli salad, again, YUMMY!

Of course since I am Mom of the Year, there was all sorts of other fanfare, check it out here!

Thank you Ron, Michaela, Talya and Ayelet for making my day so special!

My Beautiful Girls

2009-05-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

Ayelet is walking more and more, today was the first day she REALLY wanted to walk! She had a great time walking before shul, at shul, after shul...
This evening, Michaela went to her first Bat Mitzvah party (without Ron and I). It really struck me this afternoon as she was getting dressed, putting on makeup, choosing her shoes, styling her hair - my girl is growing up. And so it begins.

It's Official, I am 37!

2009-05-01T16:13:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful celebration I have had (and am continuing to have!!). I have received wonderful gifts and well wishes, spent time with my hubby, my girls and my friends, and enjoyed lots of fun times!

Here are just a few of the many ways that I celebrated:

I walked 8 miles and stood in solidarity with more than 100 other members of Team Isaac supporting the NW Sarcoma Foundation and celebrating a friend's life.
I had friends come over and celebrate with birthday cake.
I went out for drinks with some girl friends, enjoyed some great conversation and stumbled home.
I slept in, relaxed, read and let Ron and the girls wait on me hand and foot.
I had take out dinner from Buca di Beppo.
I went for a lovely evening walk on the Burke Gilman Trail.
I went out for lunch with my co-workers and did a little shopping at H&M.
I went out for dinner with my husband.
I went to the spa with a dear friend (check it out it was decadent).

One of my friends asked me what my birthday wishes were and at the time, I wasn't so sure. But then, I thought about it some more and came up with some wonderful inspiring wishes and resolutions for this next year.

My new sweater, thanks JK!

Part of my breakfast - what presentation!

My cake!

The New Dos

2009-05-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Talya and Michaela went to the beauty salon!

Love the scowl on Talya's face!

Princess Talya Celebrates 6 Years

2009-04-19T21:54:00.001-07:00

Talya was SO excited about her birthday! I think she celebrated well! First, a day with Ayelet and I. We sort of ate our way through the day, we enjoyed a lot of chametz. Then, Shabbat dinner with dear friends. Talya loved being the guest of honor. She chose the menu, all her favorites.
Then after dinner, she had her spa treatment thanks to Karen - mani-pedi please!

And, a Saturday night sleepover with HSM3!

Then her pool party on Sunday with her schoolmates (that is her in the pink two-piece).

She had a great birthday - next up, my big day - 37 years old!

Our Visit to the Skagit Valley

2009-04-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

A wonderful lunch, satisfying ice cream and a few tulips! Happy Birthday R!

Recent Photos of the Yancey Girls

2009-04-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

We have been busy, busy, busy, as you can imagine. Immediately following Ayelet's birthday and our trip to Disney, we got right into Pesach prep. It was crazy as Ron was busy trying to finish the dining room remodel and I was trying to clean, kasher, shop and then finally cook. We were so lucky to have Nona and Nono visit us for Pesach, it was such a treat share the holiday with them!

A wonderful visit with Nona and Nono!

Three big girls, eating at "the little table".

In the mean time, Ayelet keeps growing and growing and doing the cutest things. First, Ayelet has a very interesting personality. She LOVES to organize things, in her own way of course. She has certain spots scattered throughout the house where she takes care of her business. For example, in my office, she is constantly reorganizing the books on my bottom shelf. In the living room, she reorganizes the DVD collection and she is forever rearranging the shoes on the shoe shelf. In the kitchen, she works hard to make sure that the reusable containers are in their proper place, and she is an expert recycler, and is always checking to make sure that we are only recycling the recyclables.

Second, Ron put the baby swing back up in the backyard and she LOVES to go out there on her swing - especially when Michaela and Talya take her out there! (Calgon, take me away, how many pages of my book can I read in twenty minutes!)

Finally, she has gotten into the habit of nodding her head yes and no in answer to our questions. It is clear that she understands everything we ask her, and the more she wants something or doesn't want it, the more emphatically she nods.

Ayelet is a Climber and Other 1 Year Stats

2009-03-20T17:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Ayelet had her one year well check with the doctor. Here are her stats:
Weight - 18.8 lbs (10th percentile)
Height - 29.25 in (50th percentile)
She has a few words, but not many. She has added "duck", "uh oh", and a version of "just kidding" to her vocabulary. She also communicates by pointing to what she needs or where she wants to go. She does a bit of signing, "more" and "all done" are her two most frequent. Most recently, she has started shaking her head no when she doesn't want something or someone. She very emphatically lets us know what she doesn't want.

She is sleeping well, going down around 7:00 pm and then sleeping through until 4-5 am, then usually she is back to sleep again for a couple more hours. She is napping once a day for a couple of hours at a time. I had forgotten what it was like to get a solid stretch of sleep - wow.

She is crawling well and pulling herself to standing. She isn't walking yet, but she climbs everything that she can access. She is fearless when it comes to climbing from the floor on to the chair, on to the table, then to standing on the table... I don't know where she gets that from...

Most notably, with everything that she does, she wants to be just like her big sisters. She loves to climb onto the little chair and eat breakfast with Talya. If the big girls are playing with a toy, she wants to be involved as well. If the big girls are singing (or benching), she sings along too. Whatever they are eating, she wants some too. It is very clear who her favorite people are.

I will work on posting some Disney pics after Shabbos!

Ayelet's First Birthday!

2009-03-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that a year has passed already. Yesterday, with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a princess at Disney, we celebrated Ayelet. It is true, until she stuck her hand in her cake, she didn't get it, but I think she had a wonderful day!

After I finished my conference, we spent the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Then, after a quick nap at the hotel (while the big girls swam), we went to celebrate Ayelet's birthday at Chef Mickey's Restaurant. With grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in attendance it was a very special celebration.

Here is Ayelet getting ready to go.

A few photos before dinner...

Then, her celebration dessert, with Chef Mickey himself. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that Ayelet discovered frosting and as we were singing and taking pictures, she kept sticking her hand in the frosting and licking it. She was in heaven!

The Bittersweet Moment Arrived...

2009-02-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Ron finished Ayelet's room and we were all SO excited...
It is so beautiful and airy, with a big picture window, lots of shelves, a changing nook and gorgeous lighting...

And there is space for her stuff, and for storage.

And we love her ladybug bedding that the girls and I so lovingly picked out about a year ago...

And she seemed to love her crib and her room - at first.

.... then it was bed time, I went through her bed time routine, bathed her, read to her, nursed her, brushed her teeth, dimmed the lights and then it hit her. She realized that we were going to leave her in that room, in that bed. She cried. She pointed at the door. And then we lay her down and she rolled over on her side and fell asleep. In her bed. In her room. Without me. And I went downstairs and cried.

Ayelet's First Taste of Ice Cream

2009-02-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Yummy Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream Shop! She ate most of my cone - Honey Lavender.

A Few Clips From This Past Week

2009-02-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

Ayelet is a girl who knows her technology - check out her fingers, she knows just what to do with the iPhone!
Everyone dancing to "Mayim" during our Tu B'Shevat Seder.

Ayelet in her favorite chair that she can now climb into herself...

The Art of Communication

2009-02-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

Ayelet LOVES that she can communicate and she loves to tell us what she needs and what she wants. Most notably:

"Talya" - she asks for her sister upon waking in the morning, when I pick her up from the day care, and she frequently stands at the bottom of the stairs and calls upstairs for her big sister. This is particularly problematic when she is up with me at 5:00 am.

"Aya" - when she is looking for Michaela, usually spoken once she knows where Talya is.

signing "more" - any time she wants more of anything, she signs "more" earnestly. I mean it, anything - not just food.

clapping her hands - when she is happy or excited, and she continues to do it when her claps are greeted with enthusiasm from her sisters.

The Yanceys Have Been BUSY!!!

2009-01-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

...too busy to keep up this blog? Just temporarily, I promise. Here is what we have been up to:

Ron has been working really hard on the house (and at work). He is under a lot of pressure from the Queen (oh yeah, that would be me) to finish both Ayelet's room and the dining room ASAP.

Michaela has been busy with school, dance class, religious school, basketball and friends. She is doing well in school and having fun everywhere else. At home, I have dubbed her #2 in command and count on her for lots of help around the house and with the little ones. She inevitably rises to the occasion.

Talya, aka the Toothless Wonder, has been busy losing teeth. 3 in a row to be exact. In the span of a few days, she came into some serious money as the Tooth Fairy had to visit frequently. I have committed to making lots of mushy foods for her so that we can avoid any more immediate losses.

Ayelet keeps astounding us with all kinds of firsts. She regularly pulls herself to standing. She is cruising (side to side), she waves good bye and she has more words, including "Ayah" when referring to Michaela. She particularly enjoys eating (anything she can get her hands on), pulling DVDs and video tapes out of the drawer and opening and closing doors.

As for me, I am perhaps the busiest of all. I have been working hard at work, on the SJCS fundraising campaigns, planning our Disney trip, reveling in the excitement over the inauguration of our new president and of course, taking care of my three princesses, (Ron and me too).