Its been a while since I posted an entry, and I'll lay blame with Renee who'd rather not sleep between 9 pm and midnight, Matthew who has been sick and teething, myself for having lots of job interviews and the reality of life. So here are my favourite anecdotes from recent weeks.
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As Jews, we formally remember our loved ones who died by lighting a candle and saying a prayer on the anniversary of their death - it's called a Yartzeit. My mom's parents, Renee and Dick died in 1982 and 1990, but 4 days apart in the Hebrew calendar so their Yartzeits come very close together. This year, at my nephew's request we light both candles on the same night. We all had dinner at my parent's, lights the candles and stood together while my mom said Kaddish for them. We ended the night with a rendition of a children's song and dance that we used to do with Dick and Renee as kids - A La Rueda de San Miguel. My mom holding Renee (who is named after her mom of course), my Dad holding Matthew and all of us singing and dancing in a circle in the front hall way. It was the perfect way of honoring their memory and making them come alive for the new generation. Cuqui, Mateo, Ricardo y familia - lo menciono especialmente para ustedes - que bella manera de celebrar a Dick y Renee, no?)
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Samuel choses his clothes in the morning and on Tursday, Inaguration Day, he chose his "Future President of the United States" t-shirt. How he knew that Tuesday was the day to honour his American citizenship, I don't know. Despite the freezing weather, he wore it all day. I'll post a picture when I have a minute.
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Matthew has a tooth. My dad was the first to spot it, or more accurately, feel it. He also has a sore throat and hoarse voice. Poor guy. He's still super smiley and happy though.

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Renee's had her first illness requiring antibiotics. She got a fever of 104 last Saturday so my mom and I made the trip to the ER while Marc stayed with the boys. After ruling out all the usual suspects (strep, ear infection, etc) the doctor thought she might have a urinary track infection. It's a good thing my mom came with me because they needed to insert a catheter to get a urine sample, and had to do it twice. The first time didn't work, then she wet herself, then they did a second catheter and got a few drops of urine, enough to test. Poor girl. She hates her antibiotic too.
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As for me, I have a job. I start Feb 2. It's a good job with a good company, and it's 5 minutes from home. We'll be introducing Matthew and Renee to daycare, which is 2 minutes from my office, on Monday. Here's hoping for a smooth transition.