Before yesterday it had been awhile since you heard from us.  Sorry about that!  I’m trying to catch up.

I’ll start with the rest of Bruce and Peter’s visit.  On Thanksgiving Walter, Ian, Bruce and Peter took all the kids to Sugar Sand Park.  They had a great time!  Kate and I stayed home and watched the Macy’s Parade.  Walter managed to get a few shots -

Jaimie                                                                     Olivia

Noah                                                                      Ian and Amy

Here’s Noah the day before at another park.  I picked this one out because I wanted to show you a photo of him in this same tunnel awhile back.  What a difference two years makes!

Then in December…

Remember our girlfriend Lauren who let us do her (amazing) pregnancy photos?  Well she had her little guy Max a few days after the shoot.  He was born on December 3rd and is just too cute for words.  We were originally supposed to do photos on the 6th, it’s a good thing we didn’t wait! 

Here they are in the hospital -

Isn’t he too cute?  Beth and I actually dragged our whole gaggle (of three kids) to go see her.  It’s amazing she even let us in the door!  And then we dragged the new mom of two to a playdate the following week -

Noah                                                                              Kate and I – my sister made me this great sling!

Aaron loving the swing - as always!

Max

Alex, Lauren’s older son and Max’s brother

And then we sent Kate and Max on their first date.  They are only two months apart (although she looks about 6 months old next to this precious 9 day old baby) and already enjoy each other’s company.  Just kidding, they’re probably sharing stories about how their older brothers torture them when no one is looking.

Kate and Max holding hands -

Kate with the “yes!” or “score!” fist pump, Max thinks she’s boring -

Too cute.  Is she mocking him?

And then my little bipolar princess -

And our attempt to get all the kids in a picture.  Alex refused so here’s everyone else.

Beth and I fought over, I mean took turns, holding Max.

Whoever taught my son the concept of “why?” needs to be stoned!  My God, EVERYTHING is “why?…but why?…” and after awhile the answer is “BECAUSE I SAID SO!”.  For the most part we try to answer all of his questions, which we require to be actual questions, hoping he’ll retain a little bit of the information but after awhile you just want to hit your ahead against the wall.  He is just too curious – or nosey!

“Why are these lights on?”
“Why are these lights off?”
“Where is our house?”
“Why do we live there?”
“What’s that (total stranger) man’s name?” (that we’re standing within earshot of)
“Why are we going?”
“Why are we stopping?”
“What are you thinking?”
I am not exaggerating even a little and the questions don’t ever stop, not even for him to breathe!  Any idea when it stops?  Is it to late to ask Santa for a mute button for him?

Kate is doing well.  She just yells at us so far but luckily her needs are still simple.  She loves to smile and flirt now and it’s so much fun getting her to grin.  She has found her hands and thinks they are the coolest thing ever.  We often find her liking her fist or doing tai chi when no one is looking.  We’ve also discovered that she has a dimple!  The ying to Noah’s yang.  Each of them have just one, on opposite cheeks, like they share a pair.  Today is her 3 month birthday!

Walter and I are very well also.  He’s off until the end of the year – which I love!  We are trying to do fun things, catch up with friends, take trips to attractions we don’t get to often, and generally just spend time together.  We’ve been doing quite a few photoshoots for friends, family and clients.  It’s been a long time since this was something we did so often and to be honest we didn’t think it was something we would every do with regularity again but we enjoy it so much that we’re making it work.  We charge just enough to cover the babysitter and our time to do the shooting, editing, and airbrushing and we’ve really been having fun.  Maybe when the kids are older we’ll set the studio stuff back up and play with that again.  For now only our kids get studio shots.

We hope you all are well and are enjoying the holiday season.  I will try to blog about our adventures since Walter’s been off, we have been diligent about taking photos!

Here is part two of decorating the house for Christmas -

I told Noah he had to wear his Santa hat if he was going to help decorate the tree.  It was the rule.  He was thrilled.

He loved hanging ornaments though.  This year we invested in an entire collection of shatterproof ornaments.  It’s a good thing too, Noah has tried to spin the tree a few times.  Lovely.  He couldn’t stay focused on which set we were hanging at the time and went back and forth between all the choices.  He loved putting the hook on himself and hanging them.  I couldn’t help myself, after he went to bed I rearranged some of the ornaments.  Who needs six hanging off the same branch?!

The next evening the kids and I were going to hang lights outside in the bushes.  What a disaster.  I think they were both crying before the second strand was up.  I did them another time, by myself, and they look fabulous!  Of course Noah likes everyone else’s lights better but at least we have them up this year.

This was before we started hanging them.

And when I realized my car was in all of the photos I dragged them to the front door.

I just realized I don’t have any photos of the final products.  I’ll work on that, and my Christmas shopping!

Noah got his very first case of brain freeze today and boy was it funny!  We went to Rita’s to get treats for later and the manager gave him a sample milkshake that was just his size, the straw was even cut to be kid (or sample) sized.  He took one sip and was hooked!  He started inhaling it and then all of a sudden started crying!  I thought something had happened but he started screaming “it’s too cold!!!” and grabbing his head, and then he begged for me to pick him up.  I started cracking up!  Maybe it was more funny in person but I chuckle every time I think about it.  The staff looked really concerned and then I told Noah that they call that a brain freeze and everyone started to laugh.  My poor baby.  It took him a while to want the milkshake back and as he was cautiously sipping it the shopping cart hit a bump and he dropped it.  He was equally hysterical over losing his drink as he was when it tortured him.  Some days you just can’t win.

That’s all I have for stories but I wouldn’t dare post without photos so here are a few shots of us setting up for Christmas -

Noah wanted to help very badly.  The first few sets of branches were almost bigger than him so he waited patiently until they got small enough for him.

He loved trying to lock them in but wasn’t very good at it.

One of the biggest reasons he had so much trouble was because Mickey Mouse was on TV.  He gets heavy after awhile and we had to keep telling him he either needed to work or get down.  I wasn’t a fan of holding him over the tree while he caught up on the mouse!

I’ll post another day about Noah’s “help” in decorating the tree.  We invested in shatterproof ornaments but the fun never ends here at the Yap house!

And a little later we took photos of Kate for Aunt Lindy because she loves this outfit – thanks for the cool duds, Raven!

She loves to smile and she’ll flirt with anyone!  She’s already more outgoing than her brother!

My girlfriend Lauren is about to have a baby!  She’s expecting her second son, to be named Maxim (“Max”), most any day and is anxiously awaiting his arrival.  She happens to be one of the most beautiful women I know and Walter and I were lucky enough to do her maternity photos today.  Here are a few shots from the day, all published with her permission.

Alex wasn’t really sure he wanted his picture taken.  He warmed up fast though and pretty soon we were coaxing him out of photos!

Is he not the cutest kid ever?  Noah and Alex are about 6 months apart and they are both all boy.  When we get together, especially at the waterparks, it’s double trouble!

We “borrowed” the ultrasound idea from a friend and fellower photographer.  Thanks Virginia!

Lauren is gorgeous and has the most perfect baby bump!  I know how awkward and uncomfortable it is to be nine months pregnant but I think if my pregnant body looked anything like hers I would have complained a lot less! 

Lauren’s husband, Rob, put up with a lot today!  He was such a trooper and didn’t complain once!

Wednesday night I attended my first bris!  I know everyone thinks I’m crazy for being so excited about it but I had never been to one and it was amazing!  My friends, Gena and Josh, had their son Spencer on the 19th and Jewish tradition is that boys are circumcised on their 8th day of life.  Let me just tell you that he is the sweetest, most perfect little boy.  He’s a little guy, born just under 7 pounds, and he’s so beautiful you can’t help but melt every time you see him.  He’s also the first baby I’ve ever seen with platinum blonde hair! 

The bris ceremony was beautiful!  Not the actual procedure, but the prayers, songs, tradition, and heartfelt dedications – like nothing I’ve ever seen.  It was also my first time meeting a lot of Gena and Josh’s family and friends, who were all very lovely and welcoming, and I was touched by how open and friendly they all were.  You never would have known I was a total stranger until that night, I really felt like a part of the festivities and their circle of loved ones.  It was a great night and other than a few whimpers Spencer did very well.  A few drops of the Manischewitz made sure he was very comfortable and once everything was over he slept like a perfect angel.  He was a gracious host, letting everyone hold and snuggle him.  Hopefully he wasn’t too well rested for the night ahead because I’m sure mom and dad were looking forward to a good night’s sleep!

Here are a few photos from the ceremony -

I have a thing for babies in yarmulkes!

Spencer was named for his grandfather who had a thing for M&M’s

This is all homemade and all amazing!  Aunt Marcia taught me how to properly say rugalach.  I wasn’t able to hide my schikza ways from her!

Mom, Dad, Spencer and the Mohel, who they call Seif the Knife – yes, really.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!  This is one of my favorite holidays!  When I was young we would get up early and watch the entire Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while my dad prepared dinner.  Mom always made the pies and dad took care of the rest.  Then in the late afternoon we would feast like kings and pass out early.  Those were the days!  Now I’m lucky to catch pieces of the parade on TV and most years we spend our entire day zig-zagging across Palm Beach County so we can hit all of our families’ homes and end up keeping Noah up way too late.  This year will be different though.  I’ve put the boys on warning that I am watching the parade (darnit!) and if they want to watch anything else they’ll need to find another TV.  We’re also only going to one family on Thanksgiving, Walter’s parents.  On Friday we’ll go to my parents’ for leftovers.  Hopefully we can keep reasonable routines, naps and a decent bedtime schedule for both kids.  Here’s to hoping!

One really nice thing about the holidays is that it brings family to town.  Our cousins, Bruce and Peter are here from Atlanta with their daughters Olivia and Teagan.  We went to the beach with them on Wednesday.  It was Kate’s first trip and she enjoyed it as much as any two month old might.  Noah was loving the water and the weather was amazing.  I leave you with a few shots from the day.  Happy Thanksgiving!

The weather was perfect!  I wouldn’t have wanted to sunbathe with the breeze we had, which is probably why it was empty, but the kids had a great time!

Peter with Teagan                                                    Olivia

Bruce and Teagan making sandcastles

It was early.  Don’t mind my “look”.

I may be biased (maybe just a little) but aren’t my kids so freaking cute?  Kate looks more like an angel every day.

I know – I’m a horrible blogger!  I’m sorry.  We’ve been so busy trying to keep up with these kids of ours that a few things have fallen by the wayside.  I will try to do better!

Kate and Noah are doing pretty well.  Noah has finally realized that he doesn’t have to be nice to his sister.  It doesn’t earn him any brownie points but he gets plenty of attention for acting out.  We’re working on this.  Kate has proven to us that her digestive system (or could it be her taste?) is more delicate than we would like.  We’ve tried so many formulas, gone from her sleeping all day to not at all and back again, called in the reinforcements (our wonderful families), and just generally been very frustrated.  We think we’re turning the corner with this (we hope we are), please send us happy, restful thoughts!  She has managed to pack on the pounds just fine.  At her last visit (last week) she was 12-ish pounds.   That’s half of Noah’s weight!  She is also taller than he was at this age.  Tomorrow she is two months old, it’s hard to believe.  And today, Noah officially turned two and a half.  It’s crazy.  I’m so glad we’re half way through the “terrible two’s”!  Please tell me this attitude issue magically disappears on his third birthday!

I finally got a new camera to replace the one that Noah threw in a pool.  Hopefully this means I will have a lot more photos in the future.  A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having someone else volunteer to take our photos.  Virginia met us at the beach early in the morning and got some amazing shots.  Here are a few of our favorites -

And to show how fast a baby can change in four weeks, this is her now -

We always used to joke that our family was the Griswald’s.  Do you remember those movies (National Lampoon’s)?  We so had a Griswald mobile!  Anyway, my sister Lindy is in town and we’re all together again.  It doesn’t happen very often so we try to make the most of it when we can.  We’ve done a lot of shopping, visiting, we’ve had babysitter and have been relieved of night duty – TWICE – it’s been great to have her in town!  We even got together for a child free lunch at Seasons 52 which was such a treat!

Last night we had a family dinner at my parent’s.  We took a few photos.  Please excuse my hair!

Lindy hasn’t seen Noah since the month before his first birthday.  This is the first time she’s seen him walk!

And of course the first time she’s met Kate. 

Can you see Kate sticking her tounge out at them?  LOL!

My niece Julia and Kate.  She only holds happy babies.

Here are all the sisters.  I would like to put a caption at the bottom of this stating I’m 7 weeks post partum.  We need to do this again next year when we can all look fabulous and well rested!

We have a lot of history with this green couch.  Here we are in 2004.  Why do I always have bad hair on family photo day?

And then here we are a few years before.  I’m not sure how many but I think a lot is a fair guess.  And yes, we’re shocked about the weight roller coaster too.

And for entertainment purposes we made one more person squeeze onto that poor couch!  Just kidding – mom and her girls.

Yes, really, New Kids On The Block.  My sister, mother, best friend, and I went to their concert 17 years ago for my 13th birthday at Joe Robbie Stadium.  I was an avid fan!  I just knew I would someday marry Joey McIntyre, and I knew he was as excited about our future as I was.  Yes, really – what do you want? – I was 13.  I also knew that someday I would own a Chrysler Lebaron because that was his dream car.  Gag me.

Anyway, as a surprise my sister thought it would be fun to go to a concert on their comeback tour.  So she bought us tickets and gave them to me at my baby shower.  At first I wasn’t really sure what to expect and even joked about how lame it would be but you know what, we had a good time.  Lady Ga Ga opened (she is such a freak), followed by Natasha Bedingfield (who was amazing) and then the original fab five took the stage.  They played a lot of old songs as well as their new ones.  It seems only Jordan can sing their original songs since he’s the only one with any sort of range (read: the only one who can still sing like a pre-pubescent boy).  There is some sort of debate over whether or not they can actually sing.  If any of them can it’s Jordan (who by the way was looking VERY good).  We had great seats down on the floor of the arena and had quite a view.  I took a few shots with my phone and while they aren’t very good they are worth sharing with other NKOTB fans (hello, anyone out there?).  Speaking of fans, the people watching was INCREDIBLE!  It was a mix of women who were still 13 deep down inside, those who were still pining for the love of the singers and the curious ones just looking to see how much had changed in those 17 years.  I was shocked to see how many were pregnant but I guess a lot of us 30-somethings are having kids these days.  The outfits were crazy, the place was packed and our ears hurt from all the screaming.  We had a blast though and relived a fun time in our childhood.

Lady Ga Ga

Natasha Bedingfield

NKOTB

Halfway through the show they popped up behind our seats.  This was our view.  They had a million outfit changes and for this portion they wore clothes similar to how they dressed last time we saw them.  I got a good laugh.  I wore a shirt with a giant smiley face on it to the first concert of theirs (because that’s what Joey used to wear).  Can you see what’s on the back of his leather jacket? 

Notice how crowded it was!

This was our view of them on the main stage.  Pretty decent from every angle!

Nikki, thanks again for the trip down memory lane!

Happy Halloween!  Walter took off from work on Halloween so we could have a fun day and so it wouldn’t be a huge rush to the festivities once he got home.  Unfortunately we spent “family fun day” hanging around the house with a crabby toddler and fussy baby.  One thing that made Noah happy was the sheet of stickers from one of his Halloween cards (we have the best family who send the kids cards for every occasion).  Noah was feeling very generous and decided to share them with poor Kate.

Look closely -

And here’s another cute shot from our lazy day -

Later when it was time to put our costumes on things got really cranky and Noah was super crabby.  My sister Nikki stopped by to show us her costume and it really iced the cake by freaking Noah out.  He’ll do anything for candy though, even pose for a photo.

Once we got them dressed we took these -

Kate was supposed to be a teddy bear.  I bought her costume months before she was born.  It’s size 0-3 months but as you can tell it’s a little ridiculous and might fit her next Halloween.

Then we were off to the Friedman’s hoping for the best.  We had very unfortunate weather, it rained all day, but we managed to catch enough of a clearing for the kids to do some trick or treating. 

Ayla and Noah dressed up in coordinating Dolphin’s costumes (a cheerleader and a football player), Kate played along in a Dolphins sleeper and Aaden was a lion.  We had a great time and enjoyed watching Noah actively participate for the first year.  He rang doors bells and even managed to say “trick or treat”.  Anyone who knows him would be shocked at that (including us), the thank you’s were a little coaxed.

If you look closely you can see Robby on the floor behind the ottoman waiting to catch a clumsy toddler.  Luckily no one was harmed in the making of this photo.  Doesn’t Rachel have the most amazing decorations?

The Linder Family

To finish off Ayla’s costume my sister Lindy made her a diaper cover that says “#1 Dol-Fan”.  She looked adorable!