happy anniversary to us. elad and i have been married for 5 years. to celebrate we headed for the mountains to enjoy one of our favorite hobbies, skiing. fortunately, our amazing little girl, noa, loves her aunt moran so much that she hardly noticed we were gone. i am certain it was more difficult for us than for her. it was the first time, we left noa for a few days, and every baby and little kid we saw on the slopes led to, "oh, i miss noa." but we reminded ourself how important "alone time" is in order to nurture our relationship. we returned home refreshed and anxious to see noa. while we were gone, she refused to drink formula, and lately she is a bit more discriminate in her taste. or in other words, she has become a bit less predictable and more colorful.

noa woke up to more snow sunday morning, and she was very curious to look out the window. she seemed to like the snow until we took her outside. she was not too crazy about the temperature. i think she is also annoyed with all the extra clothes you have to wear when the white stuff or snow is outside. noa, like most babies, prefers the less inhibited option of no clothes. the following day, noa hosted her first hanukkah party on the second night of hanukkah. leah, olivia, and sydney joined her to celebrate the miracle of hanukkah. the girls surprisingly lasted for over an hour with no breakdowns. considering they were out so close to bedtime in a less familiar setting, we were very proud of them.

Danbury's first snow storm of the year arrived yesterday, so we went sledding after noa woke up from her nap today. she was a trooper as usual, but you could see in her eyes that she thought we were a bit crazy. as the front rider on the sled, she bore the brunt of the snow splash as we slid down and neared the bottom. she was nearly covered in snow. in the festive spirit, the shmulevich family headed off to the mall to brave the crowds and traffic after our sledding adventure. we made our usual rounds at the mall: play area, pet store, and toy/mechanical ride-ons. we strolled with our lattes, breathed in the holiday ambiance, and felt like the day couldn't be more perfect. but our euphoria was abruptly interrupted by the red brake lights congesting the parking lot. it took us an hour just to exit the parking lot, but it was more than worth our fun winter day as a family.

yesterday was a big day for the shmulevich family. we removed noa's helmet for the last time. she put in the time and graduated. we celebrated at our favorite italian eatery called sinapis. noa sampled tiramasu for the first time. she wore the doc band or helmet for nearly four months. we are happy we chose this route of treatment, and we are very proud of noa as she was so brave and patient throughout the entire treatment. she also wore it well, and we will miss how cute she looked with it on. we are, however, happy to see her entire face and her pretty hair, which has grown so much since she started wearing the helmet. i am also happy she now has unobstructed vision, and she doesn't need to raise her head to see things. we drive out to clinton on friday, weather permitting, and officially graduate from the helmet. as much as we have not enjoyed the long drive to clinton, the office has always greeted us so warmly that noa and i will miss them all, especially lynn and cathy.

Noa does not like the cold

I wrapped our comforter around her and put her on our bed after she crawled into the bathroom crying. When I shower, I put her favorite video on and put her on the floor with a few toys. She is normally fine for at least the length of the shower, but on this particular day she was not content to stay in the bedroom. After I picked her up, I realized she was shaking a bit. Like her mom, she does not like to be cold and the winter has arrived, so I jokingly bundled her up with our comforter just to play with her and calm her down. I realized she was quite comfortable and content, so I set her up on our bed. Leaning against the chair pillow and surrounded by the comforter she sat there like a big girl until I finished getting ready. This week I also gave her some bread for the first time. I gave her a frozen eggo to chew on, and she actually ate part of it. Choking scares me, so I am very cautious when it comes to introducing solids. She also scares me with her dramatic responses to chunks in her mouth. I could describe it in eloquent detail, and it would not be sufficient. You have to see it for yourself. And if you ever spend any time with her, even limited, you will likely witness her frightful response or aversion to anything she dislikes inside her mouth. On Wednesday, we joined the group for a demo at Gymboree. Apart from Sam's famous and always entertaining Opera renditions, Noa pulled herself to stand for the first time. She was enjoying the big floor drum on her knees when she decided she needed to stand in order to fully appreciate the instrument, so she stood. She really seems to like musical instruments (or maybe she just likes to make noise). Noa and Rylee wore outfits from the same line of Gap clothes, so they sort of matched. I am surprised it doesn't happen more often. Today, we returned to Gymboree for an open gym and met others from the group. Abba joined us today, so it was especially fun.

Noa is quite the host. She had Rylee over for Sunday football and then hosted friday play date. On this play date, she shared her table as the others looked on. While the moms talked about book club, upcoming holiday party, and other provocative sujects, the kids moved around as they are becoming more and more mobile. Elad and I definitely need to put up gates and other baby-proofing gadgets.

We attended one of the endless number of demos (free classes) that one of our resourceful "boob" group members found. Noa really enjoyed the class. She loves instruments. She always gravitates toward them. In this class, she would not leave the keyboard. One of Noa's favorite activities at home is playing the piano on my lap and dancing on the keys while I hold her.

Noa's first Halloween was loads of fun. We joined Sophia and Layla (and their moms Ali and Keri) in Ridgefield to trick or treat. The weather was great, there were still enough leaves on the trees to create a picturesque setting. Noa is our sweet little munchkin, so we thought she would be perfect as a bee. When she reached in the basket to take candy, she surveyed all the options forever before she would finally choose one. She took so long at one house that the woman said we needed to move on. The day after Halloween we went to a party and Sydney and Olivia's house (jody and mike), and we went as noa's bee keepers. Noa was terrific. She played with all the kids on the floor and patiently smiled for all the pictures. During the photo shoot, I stopped taking pictures to admire all the doting parents. We looked like the paparazzi.

Noa is crawling

Noa started crawling on October 30. It was a bit unexpected because she has been on her knees moving back and forth for quite a while, so I was beginning to think she might go off to kindergarten before she crawled. I was changing her clothes, and before I could put her pj's on her she started scrambling a bit. She seemed to still have a little energy in the tank, so I just moved out of her way. And she was off just like that: hand, knee, hand, knee. She has great technique.

This October, we travelled to Israel for the Jewish holidays. It was Noa's first trip to Israel (she has already been to Arizona twice and Barbados once- she has more frequent flier miles than abba), and she was quite the trooper. She was all smiles. As some of you know, flying with infants is an adventure. Noa was great, but she was not interested in sleeping. On the flip side, we were so tired when we arrived to Israel that we had no problem sleeping and adjusting to the time change. Noa's savta Ruthy planned an amazing party for Noa. The theme was bedouin inspired, and around 100 guests came too meet Noa. She did not disappoint as she pretty much smiled the entire party (except for when a little boy bit her). While in Israel, Noa finally started eating solids. Moran and Savta Ruthy went to great lengths to persuade Noa to eat. Savta made her homemade soup and fruit combos daily (in addition to a little chocolate on the side). One of Savta's strategies was to sing "Yossi bakinor" and use a pot as a drum (see video in picasa). We took Noa from house to house for visit after visit, and she really enjoyed all the attention. As a result of the solids in her diet, she experienced her first real "poop" (hard vs. soft), and I will never forget the expression on her face. A look of surprise came over Noa as her face turned beet red, and she looked as I felt when I pushed her out of me while in labor. Noa also learned a very important lesson. Many of the kids were a bit older than her, and they would take toys away from her until she learned to pull back. It was quite the epiphany.

Jaundice, Second Trip to Hospital

At our very first check up at the pediatrition, the doctor immediately commented on her color. She resembled a "mango" in her words. Noa was too jaundice, so we had to check her bili rubin count, which requires a blood sample. I cried when they pricked her little foot. When the doctor called to give us the results, she said Noa needed to be hospitalized. I was quite scary, but the hospital staff was very accomodating and Elad and I were able to stay over night with her. They put her under the blue lights to reduce her bili rubin count. Every time Noa had a bowel movement, her bili rubin count would go down, so we cheered every time she pooped. She struggled to latch, so her breast feeding sessions were pretty long, so they had a special blanket with blue light to drape over her while she ate. When the doctor explained the danger of jaundice, she went into great detail but Elad and I only heard blah blah blah mental retardation. It was an emotional beginning, but she was sent home with a clean bill of health.

Noa's Arrival

2/06/08

Eleven days prior to Noa's due date, I woke up at about 3 am to use the restroom. I stood up and realized I leaked a little. My first thought was "wow" I havn't done this since I was a little girl too busy to go the bathroom. Then it just came gushing out, so I looked over at Elad to say I didn't make it the restroom. And then I shouted, my water broke call the hospital. We called and they said we should come in the morning unless the pain is unbearable. So, I jumped in the shower to shave my legs and Elad was instructed to start cleaning the house because guests would now be arriving earlier than expected. Towards the end of my shower, I felt a little pain, and I told Elad it must have been a contraction. It didn't hurt very bad at all, so I thought labor wouldn't be so bad after all. Elad then rushes in with a paper and pen, "how far apart are they?" They seemed to be close together already but that didn't make sense, and then suddenly the pain was "unbearable." I told Elad we must head to the hospital immediately. He tried to persuade me to stay longer, but I was not interested. We arrived to the hospital a few minutes later. We live 1.5 miles from the hospital on the same road. When we arrived, I ran in telling everyone I was pregnant and they instisted on a wheel chair and remained calm (which i couldnt understand). We finally arrived to the labor and delivery floor and they directed me to a room. I couldn't understand, however, why everyones faces greeted me so nonchalantly. I don't know if I wanted them to seem more excited because I was in pain or because I simply expected a different response. On tv, at least, they always jump up and rush you into a room. I arrived to the room, stripped of my clothes, threw my feet in the air, and started pushing until a nurse with a very raspy voice reprimanded me. She asked me what i was doing and told me to stop pushing. She and her voice confused me. After what seemed to be ages, a doctor (finally a doctor) came in and said I was 9 cm dialated and I was ready to start pushing. Oh ,and I left out a small part. When I entered the room, I immediately and decisively communicated how much I wanted medicine (not an epidural but"medicine). The doctor said I was very close and asked if I wanted to try without it. I agreed because I wanted a natural birth from the beginning. I wasnt doing so well, though. It was uncomfortable and I kept turning to the side. Dr. Barry then suggested I take a spinal tap in order to relax and push more efficiently. That sounded good to me. I didnt need much persuading. The anasthesiologiest, however, seemed to take forever. He finally arrived, and I will always love that man. I then pushed for maybe 20 minutes and little Noa arrived. Elad was beside me the entire time. He did think, however, he would have been a better pusher. He kept explaining how I need to push from the bottom and not my face. And in the end the smell caused him to feel a bit faintish, so he took a breather for about 15 seconds. As he leaned back to sit down, out came our perfect little Noa Ella Shmulevich. She weighed 6 Ib and measured in a 19 inches.