Little Singer

I can not get enough of Levavi's little voice. Now that he's up to 5ish words (yes, he's quite delayed in words, yes we think it's partially because his older brother is Eitan "never stops talking" Rozmaryn, and yes he's getting speech therapy/lessons to help move him along) he is starting to really understand that sounds/words work in getting him what he wants.

He recently started saying "HI" and "BYE" and the only thing cuter then that is this video of him singing blabbers. Only this cutie boy would sing before speaking.

And I can only video him when he doesn't realize he's being filmed. It's an additional challenge that I'm losing. Hard. So enjoy for a few seconds before he realizes the phone's out. Sorry for the quality of the video, the cuteness should make up for it, I think. And yes, this is what things are like around here.

The Week of Tweaks

A couple weeks ago I started getting the "fix things up" itch again. I don't know why. Maybe because things were too easy? Maybe the spring bug a few months late? Either way, I challenged myself (slash Ami...who does not get that itch, ever) to do something everyday to improve our home. Here's a week of house tweaks, nothing huge, but little things that I think we have to keep doing every once and a while.

Day 1: Cleaning the Range Hood

This actually took DAYS (and we're not done yet, but have exhausted the home depot of brasso, the miracle product). Scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing we found that under the black-brown hood is actually beautiful gleaming copper. Seriously we have gone over this thing with brass, water and soap, plain water, vinegar and salt, plain vinegar...we have one layer left, just need a final coat of our beloved brasso. Once Home Depot restocks it...

Day 2: Living Room Pictures

This wall always bothered me and never seemed quite "right". I thought it was because we didn't get an area rug yet, but as it turns out the 5th picture up there made the difference (at least for me). We added the one all the way on the Left Bottom, by the way.

Day 3: Eitan's room

These pictures have been hanging out just leaning along the wall since we moved in last June. No more! I want to do another row of pictures above, but we'll get there when I find something hang-worthy. No reason to rush, it only took a year to get those 5 things up...

Day 4: Our Bathroom

See a trend? Hanging things? This is a super close up engineer print of a photo that Ami took last winter of a bizzare section of tree stump outside. It's cool. Staples will super enlarge any image on very thin blueprint paper in black and white for like 3 dollars. Ami says the photo looks terrible, and that my camera didn't do a good enough job to enlarge it to that size, but from where I sit, I think it's such an interesting image that it works.

Day 5: The Guest Room

Just another picture hung up! Really basic stuff that I'd just put off...

Day 6: Brasso Strikes Again, Stairrails
I love this product. Took the rusty looking blackish rails to disco awesome shiny brass. Beautiful!

Day 7: The Bar

This is the bar that goes on the bottom of the sliding door to the screened in porch when the doors locked, an extra insurance. Ami's brother pointed out that it was an eyesore of metal amongst newly (okay, not so newly, but still) painted white trim, and I figured a quick coat of spray paint- quick fix. It was, until I ran out of spray paint so only did the right side one, and it needs another coat, but I'm waiting until Home Depot restocks their brasso to head over and get more.

That's it 7 little things I did to kickstart the summer DIY bug. Returning to our regularly scheduled pictures of cute boys next time!

Last Day of School

Today was Eitan's last day of school! This has been a great year for him- he's learned so much, made great little friends and we have loved his morahs. I he's even inching towards become a little mensch, but let's be real, he's a three year old who thinks saying bathroom words is the funniest, throwing sand is the best, and sometimes his brother is a punching bag. Good thing he's cute. 

And for comparison, here's a shot from the first day of school back in late August! He lost his babyface this year my guy!

Kids vs. Food

The food won. 

Photoshoot

While Ami and I paid a shiva call yesterday, Jackie and Esther took the boys for a couple hours and figured why not take fabulous pictures of them on that glorious not-too-hot spring summer day!

I love them all. These boys!