Monday, November 30, 2009

Back In The U.S.A

Yes, Mommy is singing the tune to "Back in the USSR" as she writes the title to today's post.

The flight back wasn't too bad. Clara slept in a bed Mommy created for her on the floor below the seats. This flight was on a newish plane and Mommy, Daddy, Clara and Emma all sat together in the middle row. Clara slept almost the entire ride to NY. Emma... well, not so much. She enjoyed some dvds and trying to fall asleep. Once she did, she slept for a few hours before waking up screaming in pain. Mommy did master changing a really poopie diaper from Emma (yes, she pooped- first time in a few days) on the plane... why dont these planes have more space for changing children???

The gang arrived back in the States at about 6:45 am. Mommy and Daddy were happy to have a greeter provided by HSBC that guided the crew through passport control, baggage claim and pick up- and basically allowed us to skip any lines! It was fantastic. Clara and Emma got right in their car seats that had been left with the car service and after some singing, fell asleep on the way home. Mommy and Daddy took them in and put them in their cribs and they slept until 12, as did Mommy and Daddy. After a nice lunch together, Clara and Emma helped Mommy and Daddy unpack.

Clara arrived home with a cold- stuffy nose and cough but is in good spirits.

Clara and Emma's First Argentinian Wedding

Clara and Emma attended their first Argentinian wedding on Saturday night in Rosario, Argentina.

The gang headed in a minibus at 830 pm with Grandma and Grandpa Gornstein and some other family members to a site owned by the Jewish Community of Rosario, on the outskirts of town. Armed with OFF (the mosquitoes were plentiful) and it was the "perfume" of the evening, Clara and Emma enjoyed mingling with cousins and meeting family before the ceremony at 10 pm, held outdoors. Emma watched and said "they're getting married." And, anytime music would play - whether the cantor sang or a song was played (it featured some Israeli music), Clara would dance. At the end, they loved hearing mazal tov and got a kick out of the sparklers. Huge grins.

Clara and Emma enjoyed the reception and sat on the couches and enjoyed time with their cousins at the kids table, being entertained by Martin and Damian. Emma had a little fall and got a bloddy lip, but was fine. Clara made sure to check out the dance floor before everyone entered the hall. Then, it was time to go in and welcome the couple with the hora and some other Jewish dancing. All of the kids loved watching the dancing! Then, Mommy and Daddy decided it was time to try and put Clara and Emma down in the stroller to see if they'd sleep. After a few walks around the outside perimiter, both were asleep. Mommy and Daddy parked them in the back of the room and put a couch in front. Grandpa and some cousins even sat there and held watch. And, some other cousins joined the little ladies too. By the end of the nite, kids were asleep in strollers and on couches. They stayed asleep until we left at about 4 am (the wedding lasted until 6(.

After a ride home, it was back to bed for all! Sleeping until 10 ish, the gang woke up and headed to ajoin the family at breakfast and to say goodbye, before getting on the bus and heading to the airport in Buenos Aires (about 4 hours, in the rain).

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Buenos Aires Children´s Museum

Emma woke up in the middle of the nite and slept in Mommy and Daddy´s room. Her stomach issues still not resolved, it was clear she was in pain. She slept until almost 8, which is better than the past few days. Emma enjoyed some tv but still only wants to watch the Gabba episode about Muno´s family and any dvd from Signing Time. She lights up when Signing Time starts, jumps up and down while clapping and loves singing along and doing the signs.

Clara kept on sleeping and Mommy and Daddy woke her up around 9:45. Then, it was off for a stroll in the neighborhood and to pick up some medialunas for Clara and Emma. It was a very humid day which featured clouds, sun and rain.

The spinach pancakes at lunch were a huge hit and the gals enjoyed some steak as well. It was nice to sit at home with Grandma and Grandpa , Tia Raquel and cousin Vanina for lunch.

This afternoon, both ladies took a long and much needed nap. After, the gang headed via taxi to the Abasto mall, which houses the Children´s Museum. First, it was a stop at Freddo for ice cream! Clara and Emma split a light chocolate shake. Clara downed hers in one breath while Emma waited patiently for her straw (Mommy had two take and toss cups in which to divide the shake up). Clara immediately asked for more and Mommy shared her dulce de leche shake and Grandpa gave of his strawberry shake. Grandma and Daddy had cones, and Clara and Emma enjoyed tasting those as well. Nothing is better than watching Emma and Clara take bites out of an ice cream cone at the same time and eating it with a huge smile on their face. Grandpa and Daddy took Clara and Emma and met Tia Raquel and cousin Julieta and their cousins Elizabeth and her four kids. Mommy and Grandma ran some errands and then Mommy went to the museum. It is quite a place, but it seemed that the grocery store and the cars were a big hit with Clara and Emma.

Bath nite featured a bubble bath from hand soap (great idea, Daddy!) and plastic cups and silverware. Emma and Clara made apple pie and cookies in the bath- baking seems to be their new thing. They also enjoyed putting shampoo in each other´s hair and Emma loved saying ökay, ready, close your eyes, I am going to put water on your head¨ -which is what Mommy says. It is funny hearing your words repeated by a 2 year old.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Evening With Second Cousins

Earlier today, we returned from Bariloche, Argentina to Buenos Aires via plane at about 4. Clara literally fell asleep while the plane hit the ground. Emma slept on the way home from the airport to Tia Raquel´s house. A 20-30 minute nap for both, but it was something!

Mommy and Daddy got a kick out of Emma picking up a doll and saying ¨no, you didn´t listen.¨It must mean something is getting through to her! After a walk to get some ice cream, it was back in a taxi to go to Chichita´s house for dinner with lots of Daddy´s second cousins-Diego, Danny, Debbie and Gustavo, and their families. It was lots of fun and Clara and Emma enjoyed pizza and ice cream (yes, for a second time today), even though they were exhausted. It was nice to watch all of the kids play together.

A taxi ride home later, and Clara and Emma stormed in and said ¨hola, tia¨and ran to their bedroom. After a little dress up, the ladies went right to sleep.

Bariloche

On Friday, the gang headed to the airport and met Grandma and Grandpa Gornstein for a flight to Bariloche, Argentina. Mommy and Daddy are grateful that security was easier than flying to Argentina, ie Mommy just walked through and Clara and Emma were rolled around by a guard to meet her. And, the DVD player has been a godsend. Clara and Emma enjoyed way too many cookies and watched lots of tv, but behaved well on the trip to Bariloche.

Bariloche is a beautiful city in the mountains, surrounded by pristine lakes. The Gornsteins stayed together a few minutes outside the main village at a resort, The Nia Condor, in a lovely cottage.

On Saturday, everyone did an excursion together on a van. The first stop was to a place where Mommy and Daddy held Clara and Emma tight as the gang rode a ski lift to the top of a mountain for incredible views. Clara and Emma loved the ¨ride¨ and said they could touch the sky! And yes, there are pictures to come!

Sunday brought a visit to the pool at the resort, which the ladies loved. And, Mommy and Daddy went on a beautiful boat ride to Lake Victoria and the Huapi Forest while Clara and Emma enjoyed time with Grandma and Grandpa. It was incredible!

Monday, after a trip to town for some shopping, the afternoon featured a very special outing to the Llau Llau hotel in Bariloche for tea in the afternoon. What had been a cloudy, cold and rainy morning turned to a sunny and bright afternoon. Clara and Emma acted like little ladies as they enjoyed sitting for their first tea, and then running around the grounds of this beautiful landmark hotel with breathtaking views. Mommy should note that Emma sat in a highchair and said ¨look at me, I´m a queen.¨ Clara didn´t want to separate from Daddy, a feature of this trip, and enjoyed eating all of Daddy´s foods, including her own and first, alfahore (cookie with dulce de leche).

Mommy and Daddy have been faced with tired ladies and typical 2 year old behavior, especially from Emma. Mommy and Daddy know that schedules are great for home and made to be broken, but Clara and Emma haven´t slept as much as they need and it has been tough. Emma has been testing limits by not listening, which is frustrating to Mommy, Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa as well.

Also, Emma´s stomach issues with reflux and constipation have been a source of her crankiness.
All of this said, Emma can walk up to you and say ¨I love you,¨ and give a hug, and Clara can look at you and smile and you forget for a moment all of the bad behavior! Still, everyone is grateful to be with family and friends in Argentina for this visit.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Hola From Argentina!!

Mommy just logged on using a Spanish browser and figured it out! Here is a copy of the email Mommy sent to Grandma and Grandpa Frome, Uncle Adam, Aunt Christina, Lucas, Noah and Auntie Alyssa and Michale earlier tonite.

Hi,
Greetings from Argentina.

Clara and Emma enjoyed the taxi ride to the airport and running through JFK. They had no interest in sleeping during our wait, but like their Mommy, liked seeing the planes and chatting it up with travelers. The flight was okay. We had a delay at the airport and had to switch gates when they found a plane. Then, once we were on, they had to change the flight pattern because it would have interefered with a missile launch in FL- yes, they told us that. They served dinner at around 12 am on the plane and kept the lights on. Clara and Emma were overtired. Finally, they turned the lites off and Clara went right to sleep. Not Emma. Some screaming and crying- which didnt go over with the two guys in front of us and one of the flight attendants. Oh well. Emma watched tv and finally fell asleep for a few hours. Funny enough, even though the dr said Claras ears would be fine, she had the most problems and was crying and holding her ears...

Dannys cousins Irina and Martin and their two kids Julieta and Joaquin met us at the airport with another cousin, Pablo. It was sunny and warm! After a short ride, the gang arrived at the vacation home of Dannys aunt and uncle. We sat down and enjoyed a nice lunch and then all took a nap together. The ladies enjoyed playing outside with everyone and have adjusted really well. They are saying hola and gracias and counting in spanish.

Today, Clara and Emma slept until 10 ( 8 am our time) and enjoyed breakfast, before playing at the playground. They loved the big slide and swings. They enjoyed sitting with their cousins at lunch and had steak and potatoes. Lunch is a big big meal and is around 1230-1. After lunch, it was naptime. In the late afternoon, Clara and Emma went swimming!! The pool is heated and it was just warm enough to go in. At around 630 here, everyone enjoys snack- toast, cheese, mate, coffee, and pastries. They are watching tv now with their cousins, Joaquin and Julieta (who loves playing with them). We will feed them dinner at around 830 (630 our time) and put them down around 9. Our schedule works well here because of the time change of being 2 hours ahead here...

Mommy should note that her favorite thing is the reduced calorie alfahores which are chocolate rice cakes with some dulce de leche- yes, Mommy will bring some home!

More soon.

Love, Arin, Danny, Clara and Emma
              

Friday, November 13, 2009

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Clara and Emma See The Brett Band In Concert

This morning, Emma was playing with her cereal. Daddy and Mommy had asked her to stop playing with it and eat it and suggested that if she did it again, she'd go to the naughty corner. When Daddy said it again, Emma looked at him and said "no Daddy, no naughty corner, get away from me, stay there." Mommy laughed and Daddy cracked a smile. So much for discipling today.

After a brief stop at LIFE for TRPG's weekly playdate, Clara and Emma headed to the JCC in Pleasantville for a special Veteran's Day concert of the Brett Band. On the way there, they kepts saying "concert, concert." Clara and Emma got to see Sammy and Ali (and their Mommy too). Ali hugged Emma on the dance floor and they walked around arm and arm. Emma liked to be up front with the big kids and acted like a little groupie. Clara sat with Mommy for some of the show, but liked jumping and the bubbles.

Both ladies seem to always have a fist in their mouth. Emma said multiple times that "it hurts, my molar hurts." This must come from Mommy of course. But, there is something to it as she is clearly getting her 2 year molars in!
























Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Pajama Party!

Here is today's note from Clara and Emma's teacher. When Mommy asked Clara about school today, she said "guitar and hammer." Guitar must have been for the cantor coming to sing with her guitar and hammer because she likes to go in the loft area of the classroom and bang the hammer.


"Dear Parents,

Your children had a wonderful day. Lauren subbed with me and the class enjoyed getting to know her.

The twos loved painting with blue and red at the easel, and making dot pictures at the table. We played with big cardboard blocks and made tall towers. We also played with our toy airplanes and helicopters today. We enjoyed bananas, pretzels, and dry cereal at snack, and then Cantor Amy came in with her guitar to sing with us. She even sang a song about Brown Bear since we had just read the book! Then she taught us a few songs in Hebrew.

The twos continue to do a great job lining up on our blue tape line to go outside, and then on our red line in the hall to wait for everyone to get jackets on. We're still enjoying the good weather outside. The children played in the sand, on the slides, and in the cars.

See you Thursday.

Laurie"



This afternoon, Clara and Emma got dressed in their pajamas and went to a TRPG event with Citibabes to benefit The Pajama Program. It was a great afternoon filled with play, storytime, and of course, cookies and milk. Clara and Emma drank their milk- and even requested more- from a cup and loved their chocolate chip cookies, which Emma noted had "chips" in them.

Monday, November 9, 2009