"Cause That's What Brian Boitano'd Do..."

We took Henry ice skating last week with his cousin Natalie (an expert ice skater, btw...don't ever challenge her to a best two-out-0f-three races across the ice...just sayin'). You may recall that Henry's been pretending to ice skate since the Winter Olympics, so this was a pretty big thrill for him. It was also the perfect opportunity to wear his new scarf!

There was a lot of slipping and sliding...

...and a couple of falls (that were as much fun as remaining upright)...

...but by the end, he was doing pretty well as long as we held on to him.

In the video below, Henry shows his off his double axle / triple lutz / double loop / double toe loop / triple Salchow. It all happens so fast, you really can't even see it.

Eight Crazy Nights

This month, we celebrated Claire's first Hanukkah -- and the first in our new house! Claire briefly paid attention to the candles and that was about it. Henry, on the other hand, was all in.

Here, he takes an opportunity to study a toy catalog. This is not a staged picture, I promise. He really does like to take his time on the potty. He comes by this trait honestly.

Ryanansky came over to light the candles one night (while his new baby sister was being born). He got a guitar, so now he and Henry can jam.

One of the biggest things on Henry's wish list was a scarf. (Yes, a scarf...we think because his stuffed bear wears one.)

21st Century Shabbat: Henry says the blessings while Pop and Gran Gran join in via Skype.

Claire enjoys one of her gifts -- Sophie the Giraffe. What's the difference between Sophie and a dog toy, you ask? Marketing. But she does love it.

Apples and Oranges?

Henry and Claire don't look very much alike now. But we were curious to see how Claire compares to Henry at five months. So...this first picture was taken of Henry in June 2007. The second picture is of Claire two weeks ago. Other than smiley faces and general cuteness, I don't see a lot of similarities. But you may disagree.

Five Spot!

Giving Thanks

We traveled to Chapel Hill again this year for Thanksgiving--Claire's first! As the picture above shows, she was often the center of attention.

Of course, sometimes she shared the spotlight with Javy.

We didn't make it to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year...so why not dress up like one of its biggest attractions?

Even though we had a very casual Thanksgiving meal, Claire decided to dress up for the occasion.

She bonded with Aliza and will no doubt be asking her for fashion advice soon.

With Grandpa Marty

Uncle Scott thought he had told a funny story, but Claire disagreed.

* Thanks to Emmy for helping with this blog update!