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.