Happy Passover

Last night Ben, Dexter, and I were treated to our first ever Passover Sedar thanks to Elissa and her wonderful family. It was a truly wonderful experience! Elissa did an incredible job preparing all the food, the table, the sedar plate. Grandpa Larry put together a play telling the story of Passover (this was very helpful for Ben and I who were pretty close to clueless). Everybody had a part in the play and I got to voice God's words to Moses: Tell Pharoh to let my people go! Dexter got to play with Ian and his cousins. Ben and I got to partake in some grown up conversations with interesting people. We ate and ate and ate. The food was amazing! I tried gefilte fish and charoses - Dexter could not get enough gefilte fish until he discovered the matzoh ball and then couldn't get enough matzoh ball! I couldn't get enough of the carrot kugel! I feel so honored to have been included in this special celebration with a such a lovely family. My "first time" couldn't have been any better.

Of course, I brought a camera and forgot to take pictures (par for the course). If Elissa has any good ones, I'll post them.

How Much Is Too Much?

Lately, Dexter can't seem to get enough food. He wolfs down just about anything we put in front of him and then asks for more. Ben weighed him on Saturday - 27 lbs even. After lunch at the Olive Garden on Sunday (lots of minestrone soup and some lasagna and bread), Dexter weighed in at 28 lbs even! My sister reassured me that he would poop out a good half pound in the next day. He did a super-sized poop this morning but I just weighed him again and he's 28 lbs 2 oz! Granted, I weighed him immediately after a big dinner of crunchy green beans, swedish meatballs, and fresh strawberries but still...

I'm guessing we're in for another growth spurt soon.

Up Close and Personal

Dexter's Delight

He can't contain his enthusiasm for his new furry friends.

Up and Down

A week ago Friday it was a gorgeous, sunny 70 degree day and Ben and I took Dexter to the park for the first time this season. He enjoyed the swings and the slide and ran around in a huge sandbox. But what really got him going was a two-inch curb. He carefully stepped up onto the curb, delighted and proud. Then he turned around and stepped down from the curb. Again, beaming with joy. He did this for about 10 minutes. Up and down in the same spot, mastering the skill. When we got home, I suggested we see if he could climb the steps into the house. Sure enough, he put his hands down on the third step, put his foot onto the first step, lifted his weight onto his foot, and straightened himself up. He repeated the process until he had climbed all the stairs into the house! Two days later, I was working at the computer and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Dexter's head peeking over the swingset we still have in the living room. For a minute I was completely confused about how he could be so "tall". Then I peeked over the swingset and saw that he had somehow gotten himself onto his rocking chair and was standing up there, quietly looking at me. He had discovered how to climb up onto the chair all by himself! Then it was 10 minutes of up and down onto and off of the rocking chair. The next day, he pushed the rocking chair over to the couch and used it to climb onto the couch! He's fearless.

Table Manners

OK, he's not quite ready for tea with the Queen but we're making progress on the utensils front.

Honored Houseguests

We are babysitting a colleague's sweet pets for spring break. Everyone is loving the new energy they bring to the house. Here is Andy's introduction to Dexter and My Bologna.