The Dentist

Samuel had his first dentist visit yesterday. Steve and I get an A+ for teaching good dental hygiene. I get a C- for my possible involvement in passing on teeth that are far too large for the mouth they were matched with.

On the other hand, I get an A+ for choosing possibly the most awesome pediatric dentist on the planet.

The toys and sports paraphernalia that decorate the office were expected, and I wasn't at all surprised by the clever use of flatscreen TVs that were hanging on the ceiling above every dental chair.

But the staff were amazing. They didn't just "let" or "encourage" Samuel to sit on my lap, but insisted upon it. Each time they brought out a new tool they showed Samuel how it worked, had him touch it, used it on his hands, and when he got scared, stopped and waited, and had him look at it and touch it again, until he was ready to have it in his mouth.

Ok, so when I first saw Dr. Kelly I had some serious questions about what decade he belonged in. All I can say is, he must REALLY REALLY have identified with "This is Spinal Tap". But I couldn't hold that against the guy. His chairside manner was amazing, and he put both Samuel and I at ease.

Yay! For our first successful dentist visit!

PS no mention of cavities or concerns other than the clear crowding of teeth and less noticeable overbite. sigh. definitely my genes on those last two... at least i can also (try to) take credit for his gorgeous hazel eyes

Superbowl Sunday

I am happy to report that we have such good friends that when at 5:30 (over halfway through the game) I asked which teams were playing, and which colors were which, no one in the room batted an eye, made a disparaging remark, sighed heavily, or told me to be quiet.

But I'm jumping ahead.

The day started with our Sunday shopping expedition to the farmer's market. In order to distract Samuel from bouncing off the walls while Shira finished her morning nap, I suggested we ride to the market. Samuel instantly made a beeline for the front door in order to prepare the bikes.By the time we reached the market, I had already forgotten that today was the Superbowl, until our local dairyfarmers/cheesemakers asked if the 5.5 lb block of jalapeno cheddar (dubbed "spicy cheese" by Samuel) that we had requested they bring for us this week was for a Superbowl party. I sheepishly responded that no, the three of us (no cheese for Shira yet!) is perfectly capable of eating 5.5 lbs of raw cheese before it goes bad all on our own, without sharing.

I'd say as a tally of our family members, Steve watched the vast majority of the game, with Samuel and Shira coming in a very distant 2nd and 3rd. I can't recall watching any of the game at all. I'd call that a successful afternoon for me :)

Clearly the company was excellent:
Mason graciously shared his toysAnd a big thank you to our hosts, Becky and Gil, two of our favorite people

Is this for real?

Or are we just staging this ridiculously happy family?

Friday Lunch at our house

Sebastian is becoming one of the active participants nowadays. No doubt he will be climbing onto the tramp in no time.

The trampoline was a big hit, and not just with the kids.
Sometimes it seems the inmates are running the asylum

Our new easel made its Friday Lunch debut today.
Four kids could paint at the same time without too much drama.
Art projects are becoming center stage with all of the almost three year olds.

When Samuel gets hyped up, he loves to be the daredevil. He was excited to show his diving off to anyone who would watch.

Parental Leave Pedal Boating

Samuel had a fever on Tuesday, so no school on Wednesday
Steve just started parental leave so he was home with us
What do you do with a kid who is recovering from a fever?
Why, you go pedal boating on the local lake, of course.Do you think Samuel is excited about going on a boat?Samuel tries to pedal... umm not quite big enough... maybe next time...
Daddy does it all
Don't you wish you lived here too? (not to be mean, FDR family)
Still a little sick...

Happy Birthday Sara and Lena

The Silberman family minus Daniel, celebrates Sara's and Lena's birthdays.

Why can't you keep your eyes open Steve? The Kafka picture curse.
When do you know you're not an inlaw, but a full fledged family member?
When you are handed a plate of food and told to cook it.
Food, for me? Uncle David, you are my new best friend.
Cousins
Samuel is blessed to have older cousins who can teach him the important things in life.
This year, Lena demonstrated the important tradition of how after you blow out the candles you need to remove each one and lick the bottom. Samuel picked up on it very quickly.

January Potluck

I almost let the month of January go by without a post. But as luck would have it, our new camera arrived today (yippee!) and Kathy and Rob hosted the potluck tonight (yummy!). These were just the two things that I needed to get back to the family blog.

The thing that has been keeping me from blogging for the past month is my realization that, while my iphone camera is as incredibly convenient as it gets, it also takes as incredibly low quality pictures as it gets. So, last month, when I decided to make a photo album out of my blog posts, I was disappointed to find that all of the candid photos I have been taking for the last 6 months are virtually useless for anything other than web photos.

That depressing revelation led me to refuse to take any more pics until I had a new camera. A little silly, but true.

But tonight, with our new digital SLR in hand, Steve, Samuel and I, had a lovely social evening and very yummy time at Kathy's, Rob's and Jessie's.

while the adults ate...

and drank...
and ate some more...
the kids played

Word on the street is the martinis were quite potent, but they were absorbed nicely by Chris's lemon lime coconut cake

Thanks Kathy and Rob! We had a great time.