Trolley Car

Just wanted to write down Tani's trip for ice cream at the Trolley Car Diner.  I was late getting home from a business trip so missed dinner at the Trolley Car with Melissa, Grandma Susan, Manel, Deborah and Lavana.  But got there in time for the ice cream.  Well, Tani had already eaten half of his ice cream and was walking around the old trolley car that is an ice cream/water ice stand next to the diner.  I ordered a water ice and walked around the car with Tani - he loved this trolley car - he would tell me all about it - these are the wheels, this is its nose...  It's a fun place to go for ice cream.  I hope we go back soon.

Fun Labor Day Weekend

It's been way too long since our last blog entry and Tani has been doing many fun things. Last Labor Day weekend we went to NJ to see our friends Miriam & Mike and their children Ariela, Rafi, and Tamar. We arrived Friday afternoon and Tani immediately went to their playroom off the kitchen and played with their ample selection of trains, Thomas and otherwise not to mention trains, cars, trucks,... you name it. Miriam prepared a wonderful Shabbat dinner and after dinner all but Mike headed over for the 7 pm childrens service that Miriam lead. Tani loved it - there were songs and a big birthday card for the world that Miriam had drawn in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Everyone wrote down a wish for the new year and stuck it on the card. Tani got to carry our wishes to Miriam to place on the card. There was also a cake to celebrate the birthday of the world but Tani was having so much fun playing in the hallway and sanctuary he didn't even notice kids eating cake and cookies after services. Mike lead the adult service at 8 pm and Ariela and I (Neysa) stayed for that. When we got back the children were still up (Tani was too excited to go to bed). Everyone did eventually go to bed. Miriam lead services Saturday morning - Melissa and Ariella went to services while Mike, the remaining kids and I stayed back intending to come later. By the time everyone was dressed and ready to head out Melissa and Ariela were returning --- we had missed services! After lunch we rested and played. Although we tried to get the kids to take a nap, only the adults ended up with naps. That evening after the 3rd Shabbat meal the kids got out their bikes and helmets and went for rides around the block. Tani borrowed Tamar's tricycle. Everyone had fun! Tani enjoyed opening the garage as well as the bike ride. We got up early the next morning to head to Ocean City on the Jersey Shore. While leaving a bit later than we intended we got to the beach at 9:45 AM which was early enough to easily find parking and a nice spot on the beach. Tani played in the sand with Ariela, Rafi, and Tamar and enjoyed knocking down a sand castle they made for that purpose. Then Melissa took Tani into the water. They splashed around near the shoreline while I watched. There were two life guards who were blowing their whistles from time to time warning swimmers not to go too far out. Tani was having a blast in the water when a wave knocked him over. Then Tani was ready to come out but he talks about wanting to go back to the beach sometime. Melissa and I took the kids out for pizza to give Mike and Miriam a few moments to go have lunch themselves. The kids were great - very well behaved. Afterwards we all joined up together and got ice cream. By this time it was time for us to go home although Mike & Miriam and family stayed a bit longer. We drove back to Mt. Airy and did four loads of laundry. Sand was everywhere! Tani needed a bath!! During his bath he said he wanted to use the potty. I thought he just wanted an excuse to get out of the bath, but he got out and sat on the potty and actually went in the potty!! A first!... The next day on Labor Day we went to the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill with Deborah and her daughter Lavana who is 4-5 months younger than Tani. They had a model train exhibit with the trains moving through various garden displays. Tani spent two hours watching the various trains on the different lines. Eventually though he wanted to go right up to the trains which wasn't really allowed. However, one of the trains was having problems and the woman who went to fix the trains let Tani examine one of the cars while she was fixing the track and working on the engine. We were heading out to the car when Tani discovered fountains in the garden and ended up sticking his feet (with shoes on) in the water. Then Tani wanted some of Lavana's snack of goldfish pretzel crackers. Actually he wanted all of them and when Lavana wanted six (out of about 20) for herself Tani had a big meltdown, crying all the way out of the park and towards home that he wanted *all* the goldfish. That usually doesn't happen but he was tired. We decided to stop by Melissa's new office in the Mt Airy USA office building - Tani fell asleep on the way still talking about the goldfish pretzels. So I got some Chinese takeout near her office and we sat in the car while Tani slept. When Tani woke up we went in Melissa's office and Tani enjoyed looking out the window while Melissa unpacked her books. There were buses, ambulances, and fire trucks going by on Germantown Avenue. Her office is across from a dialysis center so most of the ambulances were transporting patients to and from the center. There's a fire station a couple of blocks away who welcome children to stop by. Overall Tani had a wonderful week!