Party! Party!

The rest of our visit with Bubbe was as exciting as the beginning. When I woke up Friday morning, Mom said we were going to do something fun. Boy, was she right. We went to the Jewish Community Center where I go to camp, but instead of going to my classroom, we went to the big swimming pool. We have been there before but not in a while, and this time we met up with the folks from the Parenting Center and had Tot Shabbat outside. It was really a great time and Mom was very happy to finally have a chance to play with me in the pool. We agreed that it was nice Bubbe could hang with Hazel and we could have a little special time together, like the old days. Of course, it was nice coming home to everyone too.

When we came home, I went down for my nap. I was too excited to sleep, and since I am now two years old, decided to try something new - jumping out of my crib! It wasn't such a good idea though. I scared the heck out of Mom and Bubbe and bumped my head. It made a loud thud, but by the time Mom and Bubbe made it upstairs to rescue me, I was already back on my feet, standing in the middle of the room crying. It didn't take too long for the lump on my head to go away.

That night Mom put me to bed on my mattress on the floor because she knows it's only a matter of time before I do it again. It worked out great, but at nap time the next day, I didn't want to stay down on the mattress or in my big boy bed, so Dad put me back in my crib. They said they decided I am not ready to give up my crib yet, so today we bought a crib tent, which will keep me inside the crib, safe and sound.

An exciting evening followed our exciting afternoon. We had Hazel's baby-naming at our temple. It was rescheduled from a few months ago, when Hazel got sick. Mom and Dad were worried about how well we'd behave during the services, but we both did great. The Rabbi welcomed Mom, Dad, Hazel, myself, and Bubbe up to the front of the congregation, said a nice prayer, and announced the Hebrew name for Hazel that Mom and Dad picked out - Chasya Bina. It means protected and wise, which Mom and Dad hope are characteristics Hazel has one day. After the service, Dad and I ran around the social hall - I really love having the wide open space to run around. Our friends Ken, Lara, and Clark came to cheer us on as well.

We got to see Lara, Ken and Clark again, as well as our other friends we get together with sometimes for Shabbat - Josh, Karen and Benjamin - when they came to help celebrate my second birthday Saturday morning. We started out by playing in the pool. Not just my little pool, but a giant pool our nice neighbor Candace let us borrow. We also played in my sandbox and on our new playscape. It was great spending so much time outside. I also rode in my tree swing and spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs on the deck. It has a railing, so I was able to walk up and down the stairs without crawling by holding on to the railing. Mom and Dad thought it was pretty funny, but they didn't realize that I was actually practicing my stair-climbing. That night I surprised everyone by walking all the way up our inside stairs! I just held on to the wall for stability. I'm still a little bit shaky, but pretty fast. For now, I'm still crawling when going down the stairs, which everyone is happy about.

In the little bit of downtime we've had, I have been playing with all my great new birthday presents. I have a fun new cash register like the one I played with at Grandma and Grandpas, a cool travel tray and game from Aunt Lauren, fridge gears from Clark, Lara and Ken, a bubble blower and bulldozer from Benjamin, Josh and Karen, some pretend food and dishes from Aunt Susan, Uncle Stuart, Aunt Pat and Uncle Neal, and a new kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa. I also got lots of nice cards, checks and gift cards that will be fun to use.

Sadly, Bubbe had to leave today. It was so fun having her around, but she said Papa needs her around too. Hazel and I miss her already. I spent a while looking around for Bubbe this afternoon, but she is nowhere to be found. I heard we will get to go see here in September though; I can't wait.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier this week is Tuesday our friends Megan and her dad Russell took me, Mom and Hazel to the Austin Children's Museum. We had a fantastic time and wanted to thank them for taking us. We hope to hang out with them again soon.

Mom and Bubbe took some great videos of me and Hazel this week. There's one of me playing with pillows, dancing, driving my new car, and one of Mom and Hazel.

Here are lots of pictures from my party and Hazel's baby naming.