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.