The Ayla & Adilyah Adventures

More Photos

2008-06-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Updated photos have been added to amir's facebook account. If you are not a member, just sign up to facebook and request friend from Amir Taller.
New photos from father's day are also available here
Here are just a couple of photos from Amir's phone camera - of Ayla and Adilyah playing with Adilyah's arches

Adilyah - 12 Days Old

2008-03-17T19:07:00.001-07:00

Adilyahs First Week

2008-03-17T17:32:00.002-07:00


	The Midwife - Cathy


Adilyah and Ayla when she was the same age

First Week

2008-03-17T17:32:00.001-07:00

Adilya Alma Taller - just an hour new ~

2008-03-17T14:45:00.001-07:00

Pregnant

2008-03-17T14:44:00.001-07:00

Midwife Cathy checks my blood pressure at 36 weeks.

Devotinoal Gathering

2008-03-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

Ayla's Birthday Party

2008-03-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Window Painting

2008-03-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ayla's Birthday

2008-03-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

We spent Jan 9 2008 with a day packed full of Ayla activities. In the morning we went to a playgroup and in the afternoon the whole family along with Ayla's best friends, Kalindi and Anisha, went swimming. In the evening Dziadek came over for some chocolate cake.

Birthday Gift from Babcia H.

2008-03-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

At the Window

2008-03-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Holidays

2008-03-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ayla and Una

2008-01-21T05:09:00.000-08:00

Hanukkah

2008-01-21T05:00:00.001-08:00

Winter in Edmonton

2008-01-21T04:47:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2008-01-21T04:41:00.000-08:00

A Large Collection of Ayla from Summer - Now

2008-01-21T03:58:00.000-08:00

Babcia Hanna's visit
At The Beach

Summertime


Saba Benny and Savta Nurit's Visit

Baby Sister on the Way

2008-01-20T23:39:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, Ayla is finally about to become an older sister. The due date is March 9. Ayla is very excited, and we believe she understands what's going on with Mama's belly. The working name for her unborn sister is Aditi, and Ayla often points to her mom's belly and says 'mama stomach aditi' (in either language). We will know only for sure after the birth how well she understands what is going on if, as many other kids her age with a new sibling, she will still point to her moms belly and say there is a baby in there. We have a very good book which explains with illustration the birth process, including a drawing of a labouring mother with the head of the baby coming out of her (its done quite tastefully). Ayla likes that book very much and is often to name all the characters in it by people in her life - 'this is Abba', 'This is Mama', 'This is Ayla', 'This is Kalindi', 'This is Anisha' etc. (did we mention she is very smart?) We are now reorganizing the house. The current plan is to have Ayla be in her own room with her own bed before the birth. After the birth Amir will probably be in there with her while Ania will be in the main bedroom with the newborn, at least in the beginning. This a plan in progress. Meanwhile, here are more photos of Ayla

Ayla wearing her Chinese outfit (photo from the summertime)


Ayla with Laika

Ayla in the fall

Ayla speaks!

2007-12-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I know we have been delaying this for a while, a lot has changed since last we wrote in this blog, but many of the changes are gradual and slow - we don't have an exciting update every couple of weeks like we did when Ayla was just born. Ayla will turn two in a couple of weeks. It's been an exciting year. The biggest development is in her mental capacity. She is becoming smarter as she grows and amazes us each time. She hears only Hebrew from her father, and only Polish from her mother. Currently she probably understands more than 300 words in each language, and can speak almost 200 in each. Twice a week she goes to day home with our downstairs neighbour, Niko, which speaks to her in German, so she can also understand German sentences. English is her weakest language (though that will probably change once she goes to a public school or kindergarten). She knows a few words here and there, mostly from talking to her three year old friend Kalindi. Basically she can communicate her wishes, and understand what is basically going on and what is asked of her. around 19 months she said her first basic sentence (Bye-bye Abba), and a month and a half later her first complex sentence (Laika rotza ochel - Laika wants food). She knows that objects have different words in different languages, and that you say one word to abba, and another to mama. She doesn't really get confused between the languages - she knows which word belongs to which language, though she might sometimes forget which language is appropriate at that moment. As for sentence structure - she knows that there are different types: 'this is' 'thoos iz' 'tu est' 'ze shel' , and occasionally needs to be reminded which belongs to which language. She sometimes just says a generic 'tdza se' which everyone understands, but that's more from wanting to conserve words than from not understanding the difference. Okay, now for some photos, and we'll get back to observations on her development in the next post: Around August we were invited to a celebration in the local Hindu temple by Niko and Kumar (parents to 3 year old Kalindi and 1 year old Anisha). Ania dressed in her Sari, and ayla got her own special bindi!

Ayla Art

2007-08-08T14:59:00.001-07:00

Ayla has been doing art for a while now. We got her a drawing table for her size, which comes with a special place to hold scrap paper and finish drawings. She enjoys it so much she occasionaly experiments with other forms of art - wall painting, floor painting, carpet painting, and body painting among others. Ayla Rose Taller's (Initials A.R.T.) first attempt at art was around May, while sitting on her dad's lap and seeing him write some notes on a peice of paper. She insisted on trying herself, so she was supplied with a marker and scrap paper. The result of the event can be seen here:

Her artistic achievements have only gotten better since. We can see her talent blooming and wish the best for her, as she continue to grow and experiment, even if it requires us to carry bulk supplies of 'wall art removals'...

Banff and Jasper

2007-08-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

On late June, Aylas grandma and grandpa came to visit her from Israel. We all went for a few days trip to the rockies - Calgary, Banff, and Jasper through the Canadian day weekend. For part of the trip grandpa Mike joined us. We all her a wonderful time. The (many) pics from the trip have been posted up in flickr

Shoes !

2007-06-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Ayla loves shoes. In the morning she will bring me my shoes and hers. When Gramps comes over for lunch, she will bring him his shoes while we are eating. She has a keen memory for who's shoes are who's. And she loves to put on my shoes and any other shoes she finds.

Pot Luck from April

2007-06-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Helping Mama Make Salad

2007-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Ayla loves to help me cook. She is great at tearing salad and adding tomatoes and cucumbers.

Laika

2007-06-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

March 13, 2007

2007-06-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Playing with water bottles
"Maaaamaaa... Put my boots on .... "

Asleep with Aba.

2007-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Naw Ruz Celebration

2007-06-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Better late than never. Here are pictures of the Naw Ruz Celebration on March 21.

Ayla is the cutest!

2007-06-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

Ayla is the cutest! She is getting smarter and more resourceful every day. What surprises us is how independent and wary she is. Several weeks ago she learned how to climb on the table. The table can hold her weight. She knows exactly where her body is in relation to the table’s edges and even if she is crawling in reverse on the table, knows exactly where to stop. Climbing on the table is easy for her. She even knows to drag a chair from across the room up to the table, climb it, and from there – to the table. Hurray!! Her climbing capabilities (inherited from both parents) is evident in almost any flat surface just barely past her reach – Aba’s table, the chest in the living room, and any chair she can find. She has started her artistic years. A couple of months ago she discovered the wonder of drawing – you take a pen/pencil, move your hand above a paper and there is a trace of your movement – amazing! She loves it so much we bought her a drawing table, where she can sit and draw with her water-based non-toxic markers. Mama is still struggling to teach her not to draw on the carpets or on the walls … She loves to mimic. It’s enough that she sees us doing something a couple of times for her to be able to mimic. We have a water delivery service and a big water bottle holder. She saw us using it, so she would find a bottle or a cup, take it to the water device, put the cup on its tray, pour herself some water, and then take the cup to some other place in the house (without spilling a drop) and sit down to drink it. The problem is, that sometimes she finds it more fun to just play with the water as it pours (keeping one hand on the faucet to keep the water flowing), or to spill intentionally the water on the floor , sit in it, and splash water everywhere. Resulting preventive actions were taken and the cooler was toddler-proofed. Right now, while I’m writing this, she just ran to find the backpack we use for her stuff when we go out, grabbed her doll stroller, and attempted to put the backpack on (she almost succeeded – she got one arm on, and almost got the second one in the strap). If she would have gotten it, she would have probably done what she does once she gets her shoes on (she can put her boots on by herself) – grab the stroller, walk with it to the door, take the keys if she can find them, and yell behind her to anyone listening ‘bye-bye, bye-bye’…. She’s just the cutest…

First Birthday Video (Thanks Grandpa Mike!)

2007-04-12T22:22:00.001-07:00

First Birthday Video

A Little Bit of Ayla in My Life (by Ania)

2007-03-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Ayla is a gem, a jewel, a treasure. She has a passionate personality, giggling as she dances to her music box, or hides behind a curtain, guffawing wildly when others around her are sharing a laugh, delighting in running around our living room in the afternoon sun, instantly moving to panic if I leave the room at a playgroup and plummeting to despair and rage if her will is thwarted. She is a wonder to observe as she matures and develops, learns new skills and moves towards independence.

Helping Mama Cook

2007-03-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ayla crawls in and out of the cupboards or diligently removes all the tupperware from the cabinet, thus behaving herself and keeping busy - allowing Mama to get some food ready !

Purim in Persia

2007-03-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Purim. Ayla & Amir went to a Purim carnival, where she saw many kids, a clown, lots of places to play, and many many balloons, which she longed for. She had a great time running around, going up and down the miniature slide, and participating in the games as much as she could. She didn't want to go back home. That evening she went out again to a community feast, with 400 members of the Jewish Community in the Fantasyland hotel in West Edmonton Mall. She loved the stage and went up and down it looking for more opportunities to have fun. The band and dance floor were a hit and Ayla enjoyed stomping around with her cute smile. There was an inflatable baloon/playhouse which she went into with her Aba and had a giggle of fun. The juggler/performer was a real treat. She was reminded of her Aba and the joy she has watching him juggle as well. Ayla didn't dress up, but her Mama and Aba did. Amir has a baby sling tied around his head. Ania put together a "Persian" ensemble from various pieces of her wardrobe.

Sharlene's Kids

2007-03-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

Just chillin' with Bjorn.
Karina and Ayla sharing a story in the afternoon sun.

Lijen and Kai

2007-03-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

11 month old Kai and his Mama, Lijen.

A Housewarming Celebration

2007-03-07T11:22:00.000-08:00

A week and a half ago we had our housewarming celebration. Ania prepared many delectables and enlisted help from friends and family as well. Thanks to all who prepared enough food to feed the starving guests ! 30 adults plus children were in attendance. Ayla was not happy with so much action going on around her in her space an dinsisted on being with Mama or Aba at all times. Once Mama sat down to eat in the playroom/livingroom Ayla settled down as well. The mood was alive with warmth and joy. Here are some pictures thanks to Grandpa Mike, the "official photographer". A sincere thank you to everyone who came to bless our new home !

At the AGA (Art Gallery of Alberta)

2007-01-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

We all enjoyed the AGA and they have a kids room where when Ayla is a little older her Mama will begin to introduce her to the wonderful world of art ! You're not actually supposed to take pictures inside the gallery... but we didn't know until after we took them, so here is one of Ania and Ayla enjoying the artwork !

Winter Wonderland

2007-01-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

Ayla is developing into quite the walker. We took Laika for a walk the other day

and made it almost all the way around the block with Ayla doing the walking.See video below!

Ayla and Laika both running towards me.

Laika.

Bye-Bye !!

Signing

2007-01-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

We have been teaching Ayla sign language. Ever since we started it has been a great joy for us all. She can tell us what she wants and we don't need to guess it. It has saved frustration from all of us, and Ayla definitely seems happier ever since she learned that she can communicate with us, and knows that we can understand her, even when we can't give her what she wants immediately. Right now she is consistently doing signs for 'milk', 'food', 'water', 'more', 'book', and 'bye-bye'. She knows a few more which she occasionally does, and she is getting better at signing every day. We are teaching her sign language despite the fact that she has started talking for several reasons. First, we really started sign language even before she started talking, and this is just an extension of that. Also, she has been taking her time learning to speak, and bi-lingual children are generally expected to take longer time speaking than single language children do, and she still wasn't saying the basic 'milk' 'food' or 'drink' words which are so essential to her communicating her needs to us. Research has repeatably shown that babies who learn to sign actually learn to speak faster and have better verbal skills than babies who don't, that's probably because their mind is already wired for language by the time their motor ability and oral control are able to start speaking. Also, sign language is a great language neutral way for her to communicate with us if she gets confused between the two languages she is being taught. She has recently started a growth spur. She is eating more, and needing to breastfeed less. She is developing mentally every day, and is learning new abilities and new skills all the time. She is getting more social as well. Several times in playgroup she will hug another child. She often comes up to us or to Laika for a hug (with us, it's mostly our thighs that get the hug). She loves to hand out things. She would go through a box of toys, take them out one by one and hand it out to whoever is next to her (sometimes that could be Laika). We re-encoded the video of Ayla with the musical box and re-uploaded it, this time to youtube. The new link is available here. Hopefully you will find it to be of better quality than the previous version. We also have a new video of Ayla helping her dad clean the kitchen floor here. And now for some latest pics of Ayla:
Ayla petting Laika

Ayla playing in the living room

Ayla, after she crawled into a bowl of spinach to help her mama cook

Ayla sweeping the floor

Musical Ayla

2007-01-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

Ayla's favorite toy right now is her little play box. If you press a small button on the side of the box, it'll play a song, press it again - and it will play a different song. Ayla like to dance to the songs. She will go through the songs, till she finds one she likes, and then go dance to it... until the song runs out... Watch the video...
Musical Ayla

Ayla Turns One!

2007-01-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

January 9, 2007 Ayla had her one year birthday. In order to celebrate this joyous occasion we got Ayla a whole new apartment, filled the living room with balloons, baked her a rice/quinoa flour, honey and cranberry fruit cake and invited Grandpa Mike, Dorota and Ola over to eat it with us. To fill the evening with due honour Ayla wore her pink silk suit which she received last year from dear Uncle Mike. Ayla had a great time playing with the balloons as did we all. However the stucco ceiling proved to be too much for them and there was a lot of popping to be heard. Ayla was not the least bit bothered by it, but our dog, Laika, hid in the farthest reaches of the house behind some boxes to escape the popping. Ayla tested the candle’s flame on top of her cake to make certain that it was hot enough. A few cries later she decided that it was. She enjoyed her cake very much and generously shared her piece with Laika, who wasn’t too interested. Dorota and Ola played balloon volleyball and entertained us with their antics, while Amir showed off his juggling moves; thereby, no doubt, starting a tradition of clowning for Ayla and guests during upcoming birthdays. Grandpa Mike filled the role of the videographer and we will have a clip of the event soon for your viewing pleasure.

Ayla and her Dziadek

Ayla relaxing after the big day in one of Ania's old inflatable chairs !

(Check out the cool textured 70's wallpaper in the back!)

Scenes of the party: Ola Dorota and Dziadek Mike

Ayla and her Daddy

Happy Birthday to Ayla', 'Sto Lat' and 'Ha yom yom Ooledet'

The little imp

Organizing balloons

Ready to party in her new pink silk suit from Hong Kong - thanks Uncle Mike!

Testing (or is it tasting) the balloons. Videos: Ayla playing with balloons Ayla sharing her cake with Laika Ayla getting excited while playing with balloons

New Pics

2006-12-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

This was a very eventful christmas for Ayla. She got many presents from her extended family. As well, Ania got as a present a new camera, which Amir and Ania were eager to try out with Ayla, and update all her family and friends with her. She is growing up everyday. She walks now much more than she crawls, and gets into everything. She is very curious and very intelligent. She is already saying some basic words, mostly 'bye-bye' 'mama', 'laika' and 'orr'. She loves playing with new toys, and figuring them out. We enjoy watching her develop and turn into an independant (and insistant) individual. Here are some new photos and videos of her...

	Ayla in Laika's Crate (watch the video to see how she got there...)
	Ayla standing next to a chair
	Ayla playing with her new big stuffed dog
	Ayla and her dad
	Ayla walking and shaking her doll
	Achat Shtaim Shalosh - Yad'aim Al Harosh!!
Playing with the new stuffed dog

Videos Ayla petting Laika Ayla walking towards camera Ayla getting into Laika's crate

Ayla Walks!

2006-12-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ayla has started to walk!
She recently has discovered the magic of walking, but is still not fully into it. She regularly walks along furnitures with much delight, and can walk with as little support as just holding the sides of our pants, but she is still reluctant to take full unsupported steps by herself, probably because she still doesn't see the need for it.
When she does though, she is just as surprised as we are. Her record is 7 unsupported steps. Mostly small steps, but she is getting better at it every time she tries. We are waiting eagerly for our world to change.
She is getting used to the weather. Grandma Nurit sent her some beautiful clothes from Israel, and we got her some winter gear. We have a special jacket which is fitted with an opening on the back so it can be worn on top of the baby carrier.
She is babbling much more, and can formulate simple words like 'bye-bye' and 'Orr' (light in Hebrew). We are trying to get her used to baby sign language. Right now we are just doing 'hello' 'goodbye' and 'milk'. Once she picks up on them we will expand her signing vocabulary.
A few weeks ago we went to the local museum to see the Lego exhibition. We had a nice time there. Ayla played with the cubes and was delighted to see her parents rekindling their own childhood.
She is a regular at a local playgroup - where parents and babies meet and play. She loves watching kids and animals, and is a real flirt with strangers, which makes her dad worrisome.
Here are some of the pictures from the Lego exhibition:



	Ayla sometimes likes to visit Laika's crate, much to Laika's dismay. Yet Laika is very tolerant of her, and Ayla reciprocates by allowing Laika to play with her toys, even though her parents don't allow such sharing

Swimming

2006-10-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Ayla has been taken weekly swimming lessons. The lessons are short, 20-30 minutes each to suit her and her lesson mates' attention span, and are mostly composed of games in the water with mommies. Ayla is a very astute student, and enjoys the games and dances very much.


Videos Swim Class 1 Swim Class 2

More Ayla Standing

2006-10-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ayla can almost stand without support! occasionaly she does it for a few seconds, and she is showing more and more interest in doing so. She can already stand with minimal support, and walk along furnitures. She is very curious about her own capabilities, and is eager to learn new abilities all the time, which keeps her parents very occupied with her. Here are a few pictures of her standing with minimal support:

Dancing with daddy

2006-10-10T23:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Canadian thanksgiving. We all dressed up and had a very nice thanksgiving dinner with Mike, Dorota and Ola. Afterwards we put on some Salsa music, and danced a bit. Ayla had a nice time dancing with her daddy.

Last Tuesday we were invited to a Simchat Beit HaShoeva party, which was held at the house of one of the richest person in town. Ayla had a great time. She fell asleep on the way over, and woke up to find some babies her age, and lots of excitement. She was very sweet and received lots of compliments by everyone who saw her. Her father made some great connections, which hopefully would lead to some job offers. We all were celebrately dressed for the occasion and enjoyed making new friends in the jewish community

Ayla in Edmonton

2006-10-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Amir has finally arrived in Edmonton, and was gladly rejoined with Ayla and Ania. The reunited family is now settling in in the cold city, and enjoying each other's company.
The digital camera was unfortunately lost recently, it might still be recovered, but for now, it will be difficult to get some pics out. These are a couple we did get to take with Ania's dad camera.

	Ania preparing dinner, with Ayla in her new baby carrier
	Ayla loves to climb stairs now. And since we sleep in the basement, there are many stairs for her to climb. We installed a baby gate to make sure she doesn't go on them without close support and supervision. But when we are there to make sure she doesnt fall, she has a great time and climbs them with increasing proficiency
Ayla being cute in a bath

Edmonton Video Adventures

2006-09-17T01:12:00.000-07:00

Some latest videos of Ayla:
Ayla climbing a step
Ayla on top of the step
Ayla going for camera
Ayla climbing mount mommy

Auntie Ashley's Visit

2006-09-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

In the Park

2006-09-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Flying to Edmonton

2006-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Helping Mommy Pack Chicken Bone Teether Arrived! With Grandpa Mike

Ayla Stands!!

2006-09-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

Ayla is growing bigger, and can now pull herself easily to a stand. These are two videos of her pulling herself up, standing supported, falling, and then standing again. Notice how she doesn't even fret after she falls.
More description is available after following the links:
Ayla Standing (part 1)
Ayla Standing (part 2)

With Dziadek Janusz

2006-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Ayla struck a pose in the arms of her grand-uncle, John.

With Uncle Idan and Auntie Karen

2006-08-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Amir's cousin and his wife & Ayla enjoying the atmosphere at a Mississaugan Tex-Mex restaurant.

With Milad, Karolina, Maya & Baby

2006-08-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

With New Friends, Sophia & Juli

2006-08-31T17:32:00.000-07:00

Grandma Hanna & Ayla

2006-08-25T17:41:00.000-07:00


Singing songs with Babcia

Playing with a ball, actually, trying to eat the ball

Driving the PT Cruiser convertible

First driving lesson

A walk in the park

Beautiful scenery and interesting cell phones

Ayla and Grandma Hanna

2006-08-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ayla and Uncle Mike

2006-08-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Grandma's Visit

2006-08-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ayla's grandmother, Hanna, came to Canada to visit. She and Ayla are getting along together extremely well as can be seen in the following video

Videos and more

2006-08-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

Ania took some really nice short videos of Ayla, which can be viewed via the links below.
Also, for those of you who want to be notified when we update the blog, you can use this RSS feed. You'll need some kind of RSS reader, contact us for more info.
Ayla Eating - Ayla in her high chair trying to figure out an apple
Ayla Crawling - Ayla crawling on the floor towards Ania
Ayla Laughing and crawling - Ayla sitting on the floor laughing, then tries to crawl towards Ania as she moves away.

Eating Chicken Sushi

2006-08-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Sittin' in My High Chair

2006-08-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

Some cute ones

2006-08-17T10:04:00.000-07:00

With Babka Danka

2006-08-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here's Ayla with her Grand-Aunt, who's lovely hospitality we are enjoying in Mississauga.

With Auntie Caitlin

2006-08-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

In the Tub - Standing

2006-08-13T07:48:00.001-07:00

Starting Solids

2006-08-13T07:35:00.000-07:00


Ayla happily busy on an apple, her favourite.

Ayla eating her organic barley baby cereal

A Trip to the Zoo

2006-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Ayla and I were invited by Ashley and Derek to the Metro Toronto Zoo. The zoo is spread out over many acres of parks and forests. The paths wind through paddocks, animal enclosures and picnic areas and various exotic beasts await viewing through the foilage. There are many tour options available, we decided to take the Around the World Tour and get to see all the animals of the globe.


Zebras - Ayla's favourite	Flamingos - "Pink Ostriches" (as one kid exclaimed !)

Polar Bears - chillin' out by the pool	Tiger - Cat napping in his den

Emus - Cousins of the Ostrich, they are the second fastest birds	Auntie Ashley with Ayla

Riding a full grown Komodo Dragon - a bronze one	With Derek in the forest

Ayla and Alex

2006-08-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ayla loves Alex, her first cousin once removed. Here he is carrying her in the sling, while Mommy eats ! 20 year old Alex is receiving good schooling for the years ahead.

Ayla the Sailor

2006-08-07T04:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went for a cruise on Lake Ontario on my Aunt and Uncle's boat, a 32 foot sail boat. Ayla slept and then hung out in the sling. Since the boat was providing a steady rocking motion I was spared having to sway :) I don't know if we will make a sailor out of her, but she definitly has shown a good start !

Ontario Early Years Center

2006-08-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

We have an Early Years Center close to my Aunt and Uncle's place. It's a center geared towards increasing literacy in children, designed for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. THey have activities for the babies, like music classes and they have books and puppets and toys, as well as a padded baby room. For the older kids they have arts and crafts and also many activites, like stories and singing and music and movement classes. It's wonderful, and a great place to meet other moms and babies. The pictures are from a "Mother Goose on the Loose" class for babies and some shots of the center.

Heading Back to Canada

2006-08-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Ayla and Ania have gone back to Canada. They left Israel via Tel Aviv on July 29. Amir will be joining them as soon as possible. Ania and Ayla will be staying with Ania's Auntie and Uncle in Mississauga for the time being. Here are some pics of the plane ride. The first picture shows Ayla being entertained and amused by Dillon's mom and a puppet while sitting in the basinet on the airplane. In the second picture Ayla is asleep next to Dillon in the basinet. Both babies were about 6 months and we managed to arrange them diagonally next to each other in the basinet ! There was one basinet in our row for 3 babies, Mica, Dillon and Ayla ! Ayla was a super star on the plane, she didn't cry during take off or landing and she slept a lot. Her mom, on the other hand had a stomach bug and vomitted and felt awful.

Fleeing Southward

2006-07-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Similar to many of our friends, recent events had forced us temporarly away from our wonderful home in Tivon. On Sunday the 16th, at a late hour, we finished packing and made the 3 hour drive down south to Amir's sister's place in a Kibbutz called Revivim, about 35 minutes south of Be'er Sheva. With us were Amir's parents, his sister and her family, and two twin cousins. Luckily, they were able to arrange for us to have a small studio apartment for ourselves. The place is ok, and supplies us with all our needs, but it's not our home. On Wednesday, Amir went up back to Tivon till Thursday evening to bring more stuff down in order to settle for a longer stay. From here Amir works remotely every day on his laptop, so at least he is not losing work. We are trying to make the best of being down south. A kibbutz atmosphere is definately much more relaxed than a city one, which is a blessing in these very stressful times. Unfortunately, Laika is not allowed, and so we had to put her in a kennel in a nearby kibbutz. Ayla seems to be taking the move fairly well. She even made the drive down without much problem. She is responding to our moods mostly, so if we keep it calm, she enjoys the situation, and if we get stressed, she gets more anxious and agitated. Being in the south, we decided to make the best of the situation and visit some of the local attractions in the area. On Tuesday we went to see relics of the ancient city of Shivta. We came in the afternoon, and since it's not yet fully open to the public yet, there weren't many signs or any instruction boards, so we got to walk along the city's barely preserved roads, houses and churches. A few days later we went to see the Alpaca farm. Alpacas are south american mammals, similar to Lamas, and like them related to camels. The largest Alpaca farm outside of south america is near here. Along side with Lamas, horses, sheeps and dogs, the farm allows feeding, petting, and riding some of the animals. Ayla was fascinated by them. Her delight made us wonder how much more she would enjoy this at an age where she could pet and feed and ride them herself. We really need to go back there in a couple of years. We left a few hours before sunset and stopped to overlook the Mitzpe Ramon observation point overlooking the Ramon crater - an immense beautiful crater in the middle of the desert. All in all it is not easy for us, being so far away from home, knowing what is going on, not knowing when we can go back. If things continue, Ania and Ayla might just go from here directly to Canada. In the meanwhile we are trying to manage the best we can, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of our relatives, and hoping that the situation will end as soon as possible.
	Ayla splashing in Banana in her new temporary apartment in the kibbutz
Shivta views
	Amir and Ayla on the Shivta relics background
	Shivta roads

the Alpaca farm


Mitzpe Ramon - overlooking the Ramon crater

The Beach and its Castles

2006-07-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Just before events had us go to the south, we took Ayla with friends to see the sand sculpture exhibition at Haifa's beach. We first stopped at the beach for a quick swim in a small inland pool, and then walked to the grounds where the sand castles were. The exhibition was created over the span of several weeks by international sand sculptures who came especially for this event. The sand itself was also imported especially for the exhibition. The theme was "Fairy Tales" - each section of the exhibition was centered around a different famous fairy tale. All were made with just sand, water and sculpturing tools - no glue or cement was used, and the results were amazing. We'll take the opportunity of the blog to share them with you...
	Ayla playing in a small pool of water

Growing Ayla

2006-07-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Well, lots have happened since we last updated about how Ayla is actually doing, and a lot has changed. As mentioned below, Ayla celebrated her 6 month birthday recently, and with that she has had a flury of development. A little after her 5 month birthday she started showing signs of crawling. We encouraged her to continue, and within a couple of weeks she started to advance by herself. She can now move herself around the house, enough that if we leave her in one room she can make her way to another. When she crawls, she lifts herself up with her hands and semi-drags her feet forward. It's not a complete crawl yet, where she moves with alternating hands and feet (lift left arm together with right leg etc.) which means that she hasn't got to high gear yet. It's fascinating though seeing her learn new things every day, and seeing her progress towards full mobility. In the meanwhile, she is in this very unique developmental stage where she is can be at times left (supervised of course) on the floor to entertain herself without her being able to get in to much trouble. We know that this won't last long, so we try to enjoy it as much as we can. Her amazing advancements (comparatively of course) is showing up in other areas as well. She can sit and sit up without support, she can stand with only little support - if given a surface to lean on she can hold herself up for a substantial amount of time. If we hold her up and advance with her she can also 'walk' i.e., she'll moves her legs in a walking pattern, supporting her own body weight and angling her movements towards where she wants to go. She's still has a lot to learn, and her body is still not ready for free walking, but she is definately learning with each time she tries, and seems to enjoy the prospects of it very much. A few weeks ago she started teething, which was at the beginning an unpleasant experience for her and us as her gums were hurting her. Now she has two lower teeth clearly visible which she is just starting to learn how to use. We are now slowly introducing her to the world of solids, starting only with crushed bananas. So far she seems more fascinated by the texture and the feel of it in her mouth, and sees it less as a source of hunger relief. We are taking it slow, making it available for her if she is interested and letting her set the pace. She also started babbling. In the beginning it was just 'Ba' sounds, now she's into 'Ma' sounds. It almost sounds like she is trying to talk, but so far we havent heard her make a clear intentional word, though there were some close calls.
	Ayla sitting without support
	Standing with little support
	Ayla sitting on a high chair on a dinner table
Ayla Laughing	This is a link to a home video of Ayla after she had a nice shower. She is seen chuckling in her most unique laugh as Ania jumps in and out of her view.

Grandpa's Visit

2006-07-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ayla was very fortunate to get a visit from her grandfather Mike for a whole week, starting early July. This was Grandpa's Mike first visit to Israel, and so with the excitement of meeting his granddaughter, he also used the time to visit the country, accompanied often by Ayla and her parents. The visit itself was very pleasant to everyone. Ania and Mike enjoyed spending time together, and Amir's family was very pleased to meet him. On his first day over, he went with Ania and Ayla to see Beit She'arim - the tombs and park next to our house. As you can see, Ayla has grown a lot recently:


The next day, everyone went to Acco, to visit the beautiful Bahai gardens there (Bhaji), and the city itself. In Bhaji:

Mike and Ayla next to Acco's city walls:

That evening Mike got to meet Amir's family:

The next day we all paid a visit to Haifa - We got a tour in English of the Bahai gardens, which are beautiful as always. It's always a pleasure being there, and Ayla seems to be extra calm in that peaceful and holy place



Next, we met with Amir's parents to celebrates Aylas 6 month birthday!!! Happy birthday Ayla. We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite German Colony restaurant (a neighborhood near the Bahai gardens) called Doujan. At the peek of the evening (which Ayla proudly slept through most), we got a desert on the house with a nice flaming candle on top.
	Ayla's Birthday cake and candle
	Ayla was curled up sleeping on the couch in the middle-eastern style restaurant while the rest of us celebrate her arrival into the world
The next day, on Sunday afternoon, we got a private tour guide to take us around Nazareth. We had a very insightful visit. Ayla was nicely curled up in her sling as her parents and grandfather were led around the city. The tour opened with an overview of the city from above, and then continued into a long walk through the city's most famous churches, located over the site of ancient Nazareth, including Mary's house, Joseph's house, and the orchard at which Mary had her first visit from an angel. The churches, especially the Basilica of the Annunciation (located over Mary's house), were majestic in their size, spiritual depth, and content - full of contributions from nations all over the world.
	Overlooking Nazareth with our guide Kayad
	Ayla and Ania in front of the Basilica of the Annunciation
Inside the Basilica...

	Polish nuns praying across from the main alter in the basilica
	In Joseph's house, Ania took the time to feed Ayla at the excavated major room, where supposedly Mary would feed the baby Jesus.
After the churches we went strolling in the city's bazaar. The day was getting long for Ayla, so after she was transferred to her father (and was rocked a bit), she took a nap, and enjoyed the bazaar, the rest of the churches, and the succulent spice shop which followed through her dreams while nestled comfortably in her sling.


	The next day, as Amir went to work, Ania, Ayla and Mike went to see the ancient Roman relics in Cyseria. Ania is here in the famous Amphitheater
	Mike in front of ancient Roman relics
After the Cyseria, they went to the beach, where Ayla had her first swim in salty water. The next day Mike left Israel. Soon afterwards the regional turmoil began. A possible connection is still being investigated. (jk Mike) We had a great time seeing him, and we wish his visit could have been longer, but alas. We're sure the next time we meet, be it here, in Canada, or somewhere else will be longer and at least as pleasurable

Daddy's Graduation Ceremony

2006-07-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

On June 22nd, Ayla joined her parents to celebrates her daddy's graduation from the Technion University with honours. She sat very nicely with him on the grass while the University dean gave a lecture, and later cheered with her mom as he got his diploma. The ceremony, on it's two parts, was short and concise, and offered everyone a nice opportunity to share together a joyous event.
	Ania and Ayla getting prepared for the ceremony
	Daddy at the ceremony
	With Daddy on the grass, listening to the lectures
	The Ceremony
A week prior we all celebrate Ania's Birthday. This is a picture of Ayla's grandma' Nurit the next day, when she came to visit and play with Ayla

Upsidedown is Cool

2006-06-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

I love to arch by back, it's my new thing and so much fun. At times, while in the sling, I even like to hang backwards and upside down ! I know people think it looks bad for me, but I can bring myself back up again, no problem !

Many Views of Me and My Mat

2006-06-04T02:35:00.000-07:00

Asleep in the Car

2006-06-04T02:33:00.000-07:00

Mobiles are so much better than pacifiers !

In the Pool ! With Mica !!

2006-06-04T02:21:00.001-07:00

With a New Toy (and My Friend, Yuval!)

2006-06-04T02:02:00.000-07:00

Dog Show & "Finally Found My Feet !!"

2006-06-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

Ayla loved the dog show. Here is a pic of the obedience and defense maneouvers class. Amazing things these dogs are trained to do. I wouldn't want to be a criminal !! We also bought a dalmatian balloon - Ayla adored it as it floated above her and tantalized her. You can see in the photo of her in her bed, the legs of the dalmatian. At that particular moment, though, her feet her much more interesting !

Picnic at the Beach - 4 months old

2006-06-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

Dead Sea, Acco & 4th Month

2006-05-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

Around the Third Month

2006-04-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

2 Months Old

2006-04-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

A month ago.

2006-04-11T05:20:00.001-07:00

What follows: The Purim Party - Vikings and their Angel. Mom's and babies. A trip to a farm. Ayla in her new sling - what a little monkey !!

Pictures from the Britha

2006-03-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, We just posted some of the pictures from the britha. They are available here.
Also, we put up a small page which has quick links to this page, the britha pics page and to the presentation we had running in the britha. It's located at http://amir.tlr.googlepages.com
Have a happy Purim to all those who celebrate it, and an easy fast to all those who are.

The Latest

2006-03-05T02:40:00.000-08:00

Here I am wearing a shirt that my Daddy wore when we was a baby !

And this gorgeous outift comes to me all the way from Italy. Thanks Grandma Hanna!

Here I am with Mommy in Bahji. It was so serene walking around the Gardens and being in the Shrine that I had a really refreshing nap !

Naming Ceremony and Birthing Class Party

2006-03-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

Hello !

Pictures from my naming ceremony at the Kabbalh Center. In the second one, I am up on the podium with Daddy.

Here I am with all my friends who I learned about birthing with while we were still in utero ! And with my lovely teacher, Wendy.

Been a while !

2006-03-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

Hello ! It's been a while since we posted anything! Things have been, as I am sure you will understand, rather busy around the Taller Home. First off, Ayla had a naming ceremony at the Kabbalah Center. I was expecting something formal and stiff and boring. But when Amir took Ayla up to the podium and they said some prayers and announced her name the entire congregation broke out in applause and cheering and whoohooing and singing ! It was great ! So festive, a real celebration. As well, last weekend Ayla had her welcoming party. We had a gorgeous location and about 100 people come and celebrate the joy that is Ayla. We had a professional photographer too, so there will be good pictures of that event posted soon. Her party was a great success and Amir and I made a powerpoint presentation to run during the party. If you'd like to download it and give it a looksee, click here Also, we had a reunion with all the couples and their new babies from our birth and newborn preperation class. That was so great to see all the new babies ! Finally, Ayla had her first trip to the Baha'i Shrine of Baha'u'llah in Bahji and the surrounding garderns. It was a lovely and spiritually refreshing trip for the whole family. More pics of these events and more coming soon. Ayla is growing more and more charming ! When she smiles (which she is doing much more often recently) it's like she's the keeper of a delicious secret which is bubbling mirth up within her. Her eyes blink and her lips widen into a cute toothless grin. She looks up at me flirting and charming, eyes bright with joy. Such a treasure.

4 Weeks Old !!!

2006-02-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today, (from left to right) Anat, Claire and Mica (4 months old) came over to celebrate Ayla's 4 weeks of life outside the womb. We all went for a nice walk in the woods (at Ayla's insistence of course).

Ayla, enjoying her party :)

Today Ayla is 4 weeks old. She has changed so much in this short time and is developing very rapidly. We are enjoying every minute of her as this phase will pass all too quickly. Yes, we are even enjoying not sleeping and rocking and dancing and walking at all hours of the night. She makes gurgles and grunts and has "sleep grins". She stares wide eyed when carried in the forward facing position. Ania took her to the grocery store and she was transfixed. She has started being awake for longer periods after her meals, sometimes lasting even 4 hours. She's so incredible ! And after having one, we just want more - we are hooked ! As Ania said, "I can't believe I have been trusted to care for something so precious".

More Pics

2006-02-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

Amir still has a final project he has to finish for his degree. While Ania takes a few well earned moments to herself at night, Ayla hangs out with Amir learning the basics of programming and engineering.

After working late with Dad, one of Ayla's favourite sleep inducers is to lay on Amir's chest and have him hum lullabies at a very low pitch. She enjoys the vibrations passing through his chest ... and the songs as well !

Due to her late hours, Ayla enjoys sleeping late into the mid morning. Thankfully, Ania sleeps with her then.

2 weeks ago, we had Inbal, Amir's sister, come over to visit with her 6 month old daughter, Ayella. Ayla was very pleased to host her cousin.

More on Britha

2006-02-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Hello, The previous post covered most of what's been going on. We saw our natural doctor yesterday which told us that she is fine and that she might just need to cry for a few minutes a day to get it out of her system. Nontheless, she prescribed some homeopathy and some massage oil for her. We are getting used to the routine. On thursday she will have her first month birthday. Usually colic lasts till about 2-4 months. We love her very much and are very proud to be her parents. As Ania puts it - she is not really ours, we are hers. And as Amir puts it - I can't believe we are owned by something so beautiful and cute. We're posting a few more pics. Unfortunately we haven't been able to post videos, we'll try to later. Many of you will be getting the invites soon to the Britha. Again, it's on the 24th at 12 noon. We're also posting a map to the place in hebrew and english just in case. We're hoping for for a pleasant memorable event. Feel free to consult with us about anything regarding the event, Ayla's parents

	Ayla practicing being an angel
	Ania Holding Ayla to the mirror in one of her favorite passtimes - staring at her reflection

In another position which she sometimes likes, called 'The Football hold' in one of our books, she rests on her fathers forarm, as he walks about the house. Her stare says it all...

Here Are the maps to the britha...

2006-02-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ayla is growing and getting more and more adorable. The white overall in one of the lower posts doesn't fit her anymore and her little foot is no longer the size of Ania's middle finger! Here is some info on her name. Ayla in Turkish is the light around the moon and her mom thinks of her as a moon princess calling her Lunia and Luneczka (pronounced with a ch) for short (yes it's not really "short"). The archaic Turkish meaning is related to a pagan moon goddess. In Hebrew Ayla means a type of proud and strong tree, similar to an oak, and also a female diety. The last meaning we are aware of is literary, the heroine of the Clan of the Cave Bear book series' name was Ayla. She generally cries a lot, and we think she suffers from colic. True to her name she is nature lover and luckily for us, loves to be strapped into the sling and taken on a walk. This will settle even this most heart breaking shreaks. Ania goes for 3-4 walks a day, at all hours, even at 1 am trying to get the little cutie to settle down. Laika (our dog) is well pleased with this arrangement, she is also taking advantage of the relaxed authority recently, as often we wonder "where's the dog?" and she's to be found gallavanting in the woods around the house! We will post more pictures soon!

Britha

2006-01-31T22:43:00.000-08:00

Hello to all our friends and family, We'll post up some pics (and maybe even videos) later. For now, we have two announcements. The first, is that our daughter finally has a name in hebrew. Its עם צרה מתחת לאלף) - אלה) . It means goddess and also a terebinth tree (Pistacia). We made the final decision after consulting a name expert from the local Kaballah center. She also has a middle name, which we chose I think even before she was conceived - Rose, after Ania's grandmother who died two year ago. The second announcement is about the britha (it's like a baby shower, only much larger). We will be having it in the national park mentioned in the previous post. It will be on Friday noon, February 24th. Invitations will be sent soon. We have people coming from all over, so if you need a ride, please contact us so we can arrange one for you. It'll be also under a tent, so the weather is not an issue, but we would recommend coming early so you could enjoy the park as well before the event ends (its a Kosher restaurant). Thank you all for your comments and love, they are a great source of support in these sleepless days, Ayla, Ania, and Amir

A walk in the park

2006-01-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Hello to all Ayla fans out there!
We are very touched by the concern and interest shown in all your emails and comments. We too are amazed and happy. Ayla has started to set into a routine - Being cute and sleepy during the day and a bit fussy at night. Every night she has a bout of energy lasting around 2 hours during which she demands to be entertained. Failure to do so results in dire consequences. For her amusement we become for two hours every night a singing-dancing-hoping-babywearing-diaperchanging-sillyfacemaking-redeyed amusement duo, and put up a daily show. She has trained us well.
We’ve been using more the sling with her, and have been getting comfortable with it. She seems to really like it, especially when we move with her in it, and take her out for walks in it. She seems very comfortable also being worn by her dad, which also gives her mom a much needed respite – to relax do things alone, or to catch up on some sleep.
Wearing her with a sling also leaves both your hands free, which make it much more comfortable to do other things with her on you.

Grandma Nurit is a blessing as usual. She made her some beautiful patterns from a thin spongy material, which Ayla loves to stare at.
Here are some of our latest pics:


	Ayla in one of her favorite positions...
	In Grandma's arms
	Awake at night
	In Daddy's arms
	On a Sling
	Ayla got a visit last Friday from a girl friend. They shared a very pleasing nap
	A peaceful sleep
Last weekend we went for a trip around the house. We have a national park right next to us which leads to a site of ancient burial tombs and caves. In the 2nd century CE Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi lived, died, and was buried there. In the following centuries Jews from all over the Middle East traveled thousands of kilometers to be buried there beside him, thus creating a labyrinth of caves with sarcophagi... These are some of the pictures taken there: The National Park from the outside:

Inside the tombs:


Outside, on the way back, we stopped for some feeding...

We probably will be holding the Britha in a restaurant which does events in the National park. More details will be disclosed at a later time.