One Year! Two Parties!!

Shalvah turned one on April 17, 2008, and she dressed for the occasion! Her extended family celebrated both in her home park in DC, and at her grandfolks’ place in the North Country. Highlights included cakes you don’t see every day, baked in DC by Mama, with Shalvah’s favorite carrots and peas:



And in NH by Grandpa Walter, commemorating Shalvah’s first word:





Shalvah recognized it, and it was a big hit…



but she did get a bit confused when we carved it up and offered her a piece.

No birthday without balloons, of course…









… or presents, lots of them.



(she’ll grow into it)

Good thing Grandma Rozzie got her the backhoe to carry home all the loot…



Showing remarkable maturity for a one year-old, Shalvah did not just rip open the wrapping paper—she read every card:



…and she REALLY cared about the sentiments expressed therein.



Thanks for all the love, she really did feel it, and you can see it was truly a happy birthday…

Ten and Eleven Months: JERUSALEM

At ten months, Shalvah started walking!



and walking, and walking....



She didn't stop 'til her feet tapped the ancient cobblestones of Jerusalem's Old City,



and she didn't even stop there. She kept right on walking, to Tel Aviv,



and Haifa,



and the Separation Barrier couldn't keep her out of Bethlehem.



She met her aunts,







and uncles,





and cousins...







Along the way, she enjoyed a lot of MIddle Eastern traditions, like flirting with guys wearing cellphones,



the Friday newspaper,



acting in self-defense,



(a lot of people feel this way the first time they meet Tomer, but he grows on you)



sandstorms,



good food and good company,



and dressing up for PURIM!



Shalvah didn't let any barriers keep her from making new friends. Thanks to all our Israeli and Palestinian old friends for taking care of our daughter just like you always took care of us, and thanks for pronouncing her name correctly with no help from us! You made her feel right at home, as you can see...

Year in Review--Nine Months

At nine months, Shalvah kept saying CAT!, and started saying all kinds of stuff. DOG! (but it sounded like Gag) BIRD! (sounded like bd) And DUCK! And it sounded like DUCK! And when we asked "What does the duck say," she even said quack quack quack quack (but it sounded like da da da da da da). But she did it on command for friends and family, who were thoroughly entertained.



So it's no surprise that this month, Shalvah got much more interested in the animals at the zoo,



and they reciprocated...



On February 8, Shalvah took her first two unassisted steps. She kept pretty cautious about walking, but having perfected standing and balancing on her own, she got her game on,



she got her groove on,



and she got on the white horse...



Nine months old and riding high!

Year in Review: Eight Months

At eight months, Shalvah said "CAT!"



Her official first word! She said it on December 18, but some people didn't believe it, so she said it whenever we saw cats --or small dogs, or babies, or squirrels, but especially cats--for the rest of the month. And she's still saying it today!
She also learned to feed herself,



to climb in and out of her chair,



and to fly!



And fly she did, up to New Hampshire for more snow,



where she achieved a personal record high fever--the first of six this winter--learned to climb up the stairs, and started doing Edvard Munch impressions,



and most important, participated in the d/Democratic process!





Guess who Shalvah supports? Well, she's in the young voter demographic, and she tends to prefer candidates whose names rhyme with "Mama." But demographic analysis aside, she went to the polls together with three generations of elders who voted like her. I guess we were all young, African-American and sipping lattes that day...