Hannukkah 2006 - Continued - Part III - The Piano

Today we finally gave Isaac his Piano from Uncle Billy and Aunt Joanne. Needless to say he loved it. Here are some pictures and videos.

Our Trip to Mexico (Part V of V) - Monday (12/25) - Wednesday (12/27)

Today we drove over the mountains and out of the valley of Mexico City. It was an incredibly beautiful scenic drive through the countryside. We arrived at Tia Georgina's vacation house and set up the small play pool for Isaac. Then Miriam and David snuck away to take a nap. Meanwhile Isaac, Abuelita Edith, Abuelita Tina, and Tia Georgina enjoyed the sun and warmer weather of Miacatlan. Isaac's favorite game was getting the grownups wet. After La Comida (early dinner) we headed home....were the curvey mountain ride induced Isaac's vomiting. We headed to Tia Georgina's house to change, clean up and obtain some medicine and Pedialite. Unfortunately, Isaac got worse before he got better and managed to share his good fortune with his father.

On Tuesday, Edith, Rodgrigo and Julia were kind enough to take us to their Pediatrician and buy us all our medicine. We spent our last day in Mexico, sleeping, doing lots of laundry and writhing around in agony.

Wednesday, Tio Hector picked us up and drove us to the airport and we enjoyed luch with him before we headed back home.


You can see a few (we did not take many since we were so sick) pictures here.

Our Trip to Mexico (Part IV of V) - Sunday (12/24)

Today we visited a traditional Mexican cemetery, it was founded in 1898. Miriam's Abuelito Gustavo and Tio Gustavo have a small tomb there. Miriam's Abuelita Tina visits it every Sunday and we were happy to join her on this one.

In the evening we headed over to Edith and Rodrigo's house to spend Christmas Eve with the entire family. Edith hosted a beautiful dinner of Turkey and Spinach Lasagna and topped it all of with a spectacular Chocolate cake!



Isaac ate an entire tower of the cake.



Julia and Isaac enjoyed playing together until bedtime snuck up on them and the party was suddenly over.

You can see more pictures here.

Our Trip to Mexico (Part III of V) - Saturday (12/23)

Saturday we met Miriam’s friends from elementary school, Veronica, Sylvia and Alejandra for breakfast. Isaac was extremely cordial and accepted his gift of a Medieval Lego collection from Veronica gracefully. Daddy and Isaac excused themselves to slay dragons on the outside patio of the restaurant while the girls did their catching up. Then we met up with Edith, Rodrigo and Julia in Polanco. We had lunch at Aceitunas (Olives) and Isaac was served a Worchester sauce Martini loaded with olives which he enjoyed the entire day. Next we went to a great park, the climbing structure was the best and most elaborate we have ever seen. Isaac ran his dad ragged going up and down the stairs, slides, rock climbing walls, through tunnels and over bridges. Afterwards Isaac and Julia took their first drive in the park in their cherry red convertibles. Later David and Isaac traded up to the Super-Gas-Powered-Four-Wheeler, because the convertible did not have enough umph to keep up with the 4 year olds in their electric powered Jeeps. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Polanco window-shopping and enjoying a delicious dinner at the trendy Garabatos restaurant. This time we made it home via the Periferico with out incident….we were very focused this time!

You can see more pictures from breakfast and the park here.

Our Trip to Mexico (Part II of V) - Friday (12/22)

Friday was Periferico day. Periferico is the main highway which connects all of Mexico City(In some places it is 3 levels). On the way to Tia Georgina’s house we missed our exit off of the Periferico . This sounds like a minimal inconvenience however it is extremely difficult to cross over/under the highway to double-back. Thirty minutes later we arrived. At Tia Georgina’s Julia and Isaac danced and then we visited El Bosque del Pedregal (The Park) where we all played on the trampoline, seesaw and took a small hike. The rest of the afternoon and evening proved to be difficult. Leo, Julio and Isaac fought over the small piano, a balloon toy was mysteriously broken and when the toy machine guns came out we decided to head home. Miriam and I thought we would do a little shopping along the way, but the Lubin boys got extremely cranky(due to hunger-we think) so we picked up some flautas and headed to the parking lot. There David did not want to share his dinner with Isaac. As we tried to exit the parking lot and insert the ticket into the machine we realized we were supposed to have pre-paid in the shopping plaza. By then three cars were behind us waiting to exit. Miriam had to get out of the car and direct traffic so David could back up and turn the car around. On her way back into the plaza Miriam commented, “Come on David we’ll just pay the parking.” Much to David’s dismay, Isaac decided to repeat this over and over again for the next ten minutes . We almost made it all of the way home on the Periferico but we missed our exit - again! This detour absorbed 45 minutes, due to the fact that we could not cross over the Periferico to double-back - again! We decided to pull into one of the largest shopping centers in Mexico city two days before Christmas to look for a turn around, so David pulled into the parking lot only to get to the parking machine and obtain a ticket which Miriam quickly pointed out that we needed to pay inside - again!! At this point we backed out of the parking lot down a one way street back on to the Periferico and called for help from Coquis in Monterrey to guide us home, which she did.

You can see some pictures and videos from the park and Tia Georgina’s house here as well as a few shots with Coquis and Octavo in front of their Christmas tree.

Our Trip to Mexico (Part I of V) - Tuesday(12/19) - Thursday(12/21)

Tuesday Miriam's cousin Coquis met us at the airport. Octavio and Coquis live in a beautiful two story apartment with an amazing patio on the top floor. We are staying here for the week (only downfall – 6 ½ flights of stairs - which means you do not want to forget anything on your way down or up for that matter....). We spent most of the day getting settled in and catching up. I pretty much slept since I was not feeling well.

Wednesday Miriam, Isaac and I went to the Park. Isaac really enjoyed playing on the jungle gyms and slides. Miriam and I had a nice relaxing lunch with a live pianist, while Isaac napped. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. This is wear Isaac got to ride "Dino" from the Flintstones. He loved it and kept saying "Yabba Dabba Doo!!". Then we met all of Miriam's family at her cousin Edith's and Rodrigo's house in Polanco. When we arrived Isaac was asleep. So he joined Julia (Isaac’s newest cousin) in her crib while she was napping as well. When Isaac woke up he played with both of his cousins Leo and Julia (there was lots of running around and learning to share toys). Then the adults had dessert and exchanged gifts. Eight out of the twelve gifts were scarves….

On Thursday we went to "Granja de las Americas” with Coquis. This was a small amusement park for young children very similar to a petting zoo. This is where Isaac got to play with: sheep, bunnies, dogs, goats, donkeys and cows. One of the sheep actually tried to nudge Isaac over which was funny...it was a lot like how Cosmo plays. They also had a mini-movie theatre where Isaac saw his first movie. It was an old Disney - Mickey Mouse cartoon. Now he understands where Mommy and Daddy go on Saturday nights when we say we are going to the "movies". We all really enjoyed the park. Thursday night we went to Isaac's Great-Grandmother Abuelita Tina's, house. This is where; Miriam's mother, Edith, her Tia(Aunt) Georgina and Tio (Uncle) Hector grew up. The house was a very traditional Mexican house with a beautiful garden and patio. We had dinner and dessert there and the kids got to play around again.

You can see all of the pictures and videos from our first few days here.

Hannukkah 2006 - Continued - Part II

This morning Miriam's last Hanukkah gift from David came special delivery from Zabar's New York. It contained all kinds of great food and snacks (bagels, cream cheese, chocolates, coffees, breads, cakes, salmi, pastrami, etc...). Just in time for breakfast!!! We all enjoyed a fresh bagel and cream cheese.

We could only take a few pictures and a quick video because the camera was totally full from Mexico.

Hanukkah 2006 - Continued!

Natania was nice enough to pick us up at the airport last night and we retrieved Cosmo on the way home. We arrived around 10pm and began to got settled in. Immediately, Isaac wanted to play with all of his toys which he seemed to have missed. Then about 10-15 minutes later he was walking around saying something which Miriam and I could not decipher. We finally realized he was saying "Hanukkah?.....Chocolate??" it turns out he remembered that the last few nights before we left we celebrated Hanukkah and he got a piece of Chocolate (Gelt) along with his presents. Well we decided to open a few more presents before bedtime, however he could not have any chocolate because of his upset stomach (you will hear all about that and all of the great things we did in Mexico when I have a chance to get all of the postings up from the trip).


Anyway, we opened up several presents. From Mom and Dad, Miriam received a sweater, I received a check to pay for my new jacket which I bought on my last trip to Chicago and Isaac received a Violin which doubles as a guitar that he loved. He also received some crayons for the bath tub. Stacey and Josh bought Isaac a Puppy Playland which of course Isaac wanted to play with right away. Unfortunately, Daddy was too tired from the trip to blow it up....so maybe we will set it up over the weekend when everyone is well rested and feeling better.

We still have a few more presents to open and I will try to get some of the pictures from Mexico posted as well, so stay tuned....

Hannukkah 2006 - Fourth Night

The fourth night of Hannukkah was very exciting. Again Isaac was so into his first gift we decided not to distract him and will give him his other gifts when we return from Mexico. He opened his books from Nadine, Michael and Brendan and especially liked the Dora book which you can see him playing with. I received a beautiful brown suit from Miriam which goes with the ties from last night.(exactly what I had wanted!!!) and a gift certificate from Nadine, Michael and Brendan to buy a shirt or another tie. Miriam unfortunately, did not open anything tonight her last gift will arrive when we return...she will have to wait in suspense.

Take a look at the pictures and videos.

Hannukkah 2006 - Third Night

Tonight we opened a lot of our gifts since we will not be celebrating nights 5-8 here. You can see most of the gifts we received in the pictures and videos.

Isaac was so excited with his helicopter we did not want to give him any more toys to distract him so we opened most of the gifts for us tonight. Miriam gave me two great ties and she received some new "M" clothes.

Thanks to Nadine, Michael and Brendan for the glasses, stationary, gift card, cell phone jewelry and luggage tags.

Thanks to Stacey and Josh for the gift card to Home Depot (for my tool set) and the sweater and jewelry for Miriam.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for the great clothes for Isaac he really needed them for Mexico! Perfect timing. He even wanted to try them on tonight!

Well....gotta go lie down again...and get some rest for tomorrow...back to work.

Hope everyone had a great weekedn and enjoyed their Hannukkah as much as we did!!

Hannukkah 2006 - Second Night

Well last night was the second night of Hannukkah. We opened our gifts at home and then went to a holiday party that our friends were having. There are a few pictures and videos from the party but it was pretty crowded with all of the kids so we did not take too many pictures. Plus I was still under the effect of the pain medication so was not really feeling up to it. We will try and post again tomorrow before we head to Mexico...but we may not have a chance things are pretty busy around here.

I may be able to make some entries while we are there if we have time and an internet connection. However we will not be able to upload any pictures or videos until we return.

Click here to see some of the pictures and videos from last night...

Hannukkah 2006 - First Night

Well we celebrated the first night of Hannukkah here tonight. Edith and Natania came over for dinner and Miriam cooked avery tasty meal. Instead of the traditional Latkes we had steak au pouvre (David can't eat potatoes anymore and we all remember the "Great Garbage Disposal Debacle of '05") .

Isaac received a great rocking chair and an animal calendar and he loved both! Ever we time we went to IKEA he would sit in this chair and say "Buy it, Buy it!"....so now he says this when he sits it at home, which is pretty funny. You will also see some vidoe of him looking at the calendar and ths stickers which came with it.

Miriam received some pajamas which Isaac seemed to enjoy as well! He wanted to wear them during the lighting of the candles and the prayers...as you can see in the picture.

Cosmo was not left out, he also received a gift, a new green ball! He was so tired from his day hanging out with the "Big Dogs" at Doggy Day Care (they gave him a "hannukkah" collar as well) that he could not get out of bed to play with it, though. I am sure while we are in Mexico next week, he wil enjoy it while with Uncle Tony and Uncle Gus.

All in all a great first night, especially since Miriam and I spent the better part of last night and this morning in the ER due to my back. I seem to be doing better (another Hannukkah Miracle!).

Click here to see some of the pictures and videos I took.

Isaac got his first Haircut

Today Isaac got his first haircut with his mom at the Barber shop. He actually enjoyed it and can not stop taking about it. I heard second hand that he sat on Miriam's lap while the barber put a bowl around his head and gave him a sharpening. Actually I made the part about the bowl up....the barber did however use the electric razor and Isaac said that it tickled....here are a few pictures of him with his new haircut. It is hard to imagine that for almost a year and half he had essentially no hair!!

Isaac "chases" Cosmo

Isaac tries to chase Cosmo....then Miriam and Isaac chase Cosmo. Not quite an episode of the "Keystone Cops" but still humorous. I am not sure who is the funniest, Cosmo, Isaac or Miriam??

Click here to see the video. This may take a few moments.

Isaac's Impression of Samuel L. Jackson

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Isaac and Miriam spent the day in the hosue today since it was so cold here. Isaac wanted to try on Miriam's hat and luckily Miriam had the camera around.

Number 2

Thanks everyone for the nice comments, congratulations and humor upon hearing about #2 via the blog. Sorry you had to hear this way but, it is 2006 - welcome to the age of not actually having to talk to anyone....in person. Isn't it great?

Isaac - 112606 - Singing with Jack's Big Music Show

Isaac is singing along with his favorite show. The show is called "Jack's Big Music show". He watches it almost everyday and usually either sings or plays one of his instruments. Here is a
video....

Thanksgiving 2006 at The Lubins'

Well this year (yr3) Ricky, Hillary and Rene drove all the way from Albany for Thanksgiving. Miriam did not cook her special cinnamon Turkey but Edith cooked a great bird which we all enjoyed. Rene bought Isaac a tunnel/tent toy from Costco which he absolutely loved. The videos are rather long, but hopefully you will be able to see them.



Click here to see the pictures and videos. This may take a few moments.


Click here to see pictures taken by Grandma Hillary....this will definitely take a few minutes to load...there are hundreds of pictures!!

For those of you who do not already know....Surprise....We are Pregnant!!!....

Well it seems Isaac is going to have a baby brother or sister in a few months. Miriam is due 6/5/7. Here are our first photos of the newest addition to the Lubin family...so far I think s/he looks more like me.

Jenn's Wedding - 11/12/2006

This wknd we all went down to Naples, FL for Jenn's wedding. It was great to see everyone. Isaac had a great time and was quite the dancer at the party. I have included pictures which I took and a few of those sent to me from; Jessica, Stacey and Mom.


Click here to see some of the pictures I took. For the professional photos click here. Use the password Kipfinch.

Lace Visits - 11/17/2006

Lace came to visist Miriam and Isaac while David was in Columbus for the UM vs. OSU game. Here are some pictures and videos.

Pumpkin Carving 2006

Isaac-101606 - Pumpkin Picking Videos

Isaac-101606 - Pumpkin Picking Pictures

Videos coming soon stay tuned!

Isaac-101106 - Happy Halloween

Isaac - 101106 - Happy Halloween

September 2006

Miriam, Isaac and I went to St. Louis for the Jewish Holidays and stayed with Uncle Josh and Aunt Stacey.
Click here to see the pictures and videos. This may take a few moments.

David's Birthday Party in the Park - Movies

David's Birthday Party in the Park - Pics

Pictures of the party...videos to come later tonight or tomorrow.