The Festival of Lights

As luck would have it Elley actually got to celebrate Hanukkah twice in her first year of life. Due to the Jewish calendar Hanukkah started on December 16th in 2014 and on December 6th in 2015, which meant her December 11th birthday really worked out. Although this year's celebrations were quite a bit different from the last.

1st NightShe was actually quite good at ripping off pieces of wrapping paper and handing each one to us.

2nd NightI also think one present a night was much more her speed. She was able to open something each and immediately play with it, instead of having the burden of more presents to open.

3rd NightWe brought the Mensch out this year, and while it may have been a little short on miracles this time, I'm guessing next year it will find its way all through the house each morning that we're celebrating.

Our Mensch on the 3rd NightElley got to try latkahs, the traditional Hanukkah potato pancake. First at her daycare's Hanukkah party, which was actually pretty cute. They had an obstacle course set up, games of dreidel, art projects, and cookie decorating. Although Elley and I mainly stuck to the snack table and the fishing game. The point of the game may have been to use a fishing pole to catch felt fish in a box, but she may have had a blast catching fish with her hands. (Which if you think about it, is quite a bit harder.)

4th NightIn addition, we also had latkahs at home with my dad who was visiting for Elley's birthday.

5th NightOf course her birthday fell right in the middle of the holiday this year, which I imagine as she gets older will be more difficult to handle, but with her being as little as she it wasn't an issue yet.

8th NightTo wrap things up, here's a photo of me and Elley celebrating on the 6th night, which happened to be her actual birthday.

Hanukkah 2015For a fun comparison, here we are just a year before which is kind of crazy to believe.

Hanukkah 2014It was definitely a fun holiday, although considering how different this year's holiday was than last I can only imagine how different next year's will be.

The Case of the Missing Cell Phone

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Published: April 23, 2013 by Dial Press Trade Paperback
First Published: October 31, 2011
Reading this book I remembered why I stopped picking up Kinsella's books as soon as they came out. And yet, it also reminded me just what I love about her. Talk about a love/hate relationship.

First for the negative, it's that the girls in all of Kinsella's books feel like the same character. They always make these slightly ditsy decisions, and then spend the rest of the book attempting to fix it. While there are some differences between the characters, this book could have easily featured the girls from any of her other books.

Now for the good, these books are a lot of fun! I found myself actually having to stop reading because I was laughing too hard to continue, and I don't remember the last time that happened. Yes, it's easy to predict what is going to happen, but that's kind of what's fun about this.

After reading this, I can't say I'll be running out to read every Kinsella book the week they come out again. But I do still have found feelings for her and know I'll eventually get to everything else she writes.

4.5/5

Show & Tell Tuesday: Intro and Resolutions

I'm continuing my current trend of getting my posts up a day late and posting my Show & Tell Tuesday post today, on a Wednesday. This link-up is hosted by Momfessionals and today we're introducing ourselves and sharing our resolutions.
I'm Shoshanah. I'm originally a California girl from Long Beach, part of L.A. county. After graduating from a tiny liberal arts college in Maryland, I wasn't quite ready to move back home and instead went to grad school at Louisiana State University. (Hence my very clever blog name!) Little did I know I'd meet my husband in a math class and still be in Louisiana almost 10 years later.
The boy and I have been married 4 years. Just over a year ago we welcomed our baby girl, who goes by Elley on the blog, into the world. She is pretty much the most awesome, most adorable baby in the world, although my opinion might be just a tiny bit biased.
As for me, I love desserts and baking, although lately can't seem to find the time to make that happen. My husband has converted me into a LSU fan, but I think it's hard to live in Baton Rouge and not be brainwashed that way. I love to read pretty much anything, although tend to prefer historical fiction. I do still manage to get my reviews posted on the blog, just maybe not as timely as they used to be. My movie reviews have pretty much disappeared, although I do still love going to the movies when possible. (I've actually never written an about me section for the blog, but with a little work this post could easily turn into one.)
As for resolutions, besides writing an about me section, well I don't normally make them. I can't actually think of the last time I have. But this past year has been crazy and I still feel like I'm catching up. Which is why I'd really like to simplify this year as well as get a little more organized. For example, while I may have enjoyed watching Galavant last week when I was on maternity leave, doesn't mean I have to watch the new season. That's simplifying right? Especially since it comes on the same time as Downton Abbey which is definitely the priority.

Part of the reason that I want to simplify and organize myself is because I really want to get back to blogging more regularly. It's definitely taken a hit this past year and while I'm happy with so many of the changes in my life, I kind of miss it. So here's to kicking things off on the right foot!

What are some of your resolutions for this year? Also, it's you're stopping by from Show & Tell Tuesday, be sure to say hello!

Mailbox Monday (125)

I don't normally get my Mailbox Monday posts up actually on Monday. So maybe I'm normally early, but posting today I'm still only one day away from Monday, so I think it works. As promised last week, these are the books Elley received for Christmas. Next week we'll go back to normal and I'll share the books I, myself, received, which have definitely been piling up!
Gifted
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss

Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss
These four books all came in their own carrying case. Elley seems to be a big fan of board books lately and loves turning the pages, so I'm sure these, as well as the rest, will be lots of fun for her.

Sing-Along Songs by Roger Priddy
We haven't yet taken the cd out for this, although I'm thinking I may wait a little longer until she asks for it herself. Ha!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
I actually never had this one growing up. I know it's an alphabet book, so I'm at least a little familiar with it, but it will be fun discovering this one.

I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti-Shustak

The 12 Days of Christmas Learning to Count by Johnny Yanok

The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Another classic I'm not really familiar with.

Learn Numbers with Little Red Penguin by Angela Muss

What did you find in your mailbox this week?

2015 in Review

Happy New Year! We're already a few days into the new year, and yet there's a few things I'm still meaning to recap from 2015 (Hanukkah, Christmas, and someone's first birthday specifically). I do still plan on getting to those eventually, but first here's a look back at the whole year that just ended, 2015.
We started off the year with a baby who was only 3 weeks old.
While I was still on maternity leave my bff, who is Elley's godmother, paid us a visit, on which Elley had her first Starbucks trip.
Before my maternity leave ended and I headed back to work, we spent the long Mardi Gras weekend in Atlanta visiting friends and family.
Spring came, and we spent most weekends out watching the boy play baseball.
Keeping with the baseball theme, we took Elley to her fist LSU baseball game at Alex Box Stadium,
and then went back and celebrated Mother's Day there as well.
While it never actually made it into a blog post, we saw Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood in concert, which also wound up being the first, and still only, night we spent away from Elley.
We spent about a week visiting California where Elley first went swimming,
saw the ocean,
and met Anna and Elsa at Disney's California Adventures.
We celebrated my birthday by taking Elley to see her first Tiger football game where they beat South Carolina.
Also in October, we visited a pumpkin patch
and celebrated Halloween.
While it never made the blog, at least till now, we took our first family photo session with Melissa V Photography.
We invited friends over to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.
And again, while it didn't make the blog, at least not yet, we celebrated Hanukkah,
Elley's first birthday,
and Christmas.

What were some of your highlights from 2015?

And if you want to see how this year compares to years past for me, here are my recaps from 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

12 Months Update

12 MonthsHappy birthday Elley! You are officially 1 year old! Or at least you were, almost 2 and a half weeks ago, at your first birthday. You had a doctor's visit this month, which sadly means shots, but also official stats.

Novemeber 15You weight only 15 lbs 15.5 oz, which drops you down to the 0%ile. You're still supposedly 27 inches, which drops you down to the 4th%ile. Not too surprising considering your size, but you're still wearing 6 and 9 month clothes, still in size 3 diapers, and still wear your bumgenius diapers the same way.

Novemeber 21Now onto things that have changed! You learned to clap this month and are a big fan. You can say uh oh and hi, and appropriately. I may have taught you to say uh oh as I was trying to entertain you in the bathroom and showed you it was the correct response as you knocked every shampoo bottle into the tub. And you love saying hi back and forth with us.

November 27You can definitely take steps on your own when necessarily, but instead still prefer cruising around the living room holding onto something or crawling when there's somewhere you really want to go.

December 8Even though last year was your first Hanukkah, based on the way the calendar works, the holiday started before your birthday this year. You got pretty good at opening your presents and handed each piece of paper you tore off to me our your daddy. You received a few puzzles as gifts and are surprisingly good at taking the pieces out. Of course then they wind up all over the floor. You've also gotten good at turning pages in your books lately, something Mommy is really excited about.

December 9It's so crazy to think that you're not really a baby anymore and are approaching full toddler-hood. This is also your last monthly update, although I still plan on writing updates every other month for the next year, so we'll see how that plays out. This year has been so much fun and has gone by so quickly. And yet, I can barely remember what life was like before you arrived. Here's to you baby girl. Happy birthday and to many more!

Breakfast Cheerios on Your Birthday, December 11
1 Month ~ 2 Months~3 Months

4 Months ~ 5 Months ~ 6 Months

7 Months ~ 8 Months ~ 9 Months

10 Months ~ 11 Months

Return of the Movie Review

The Force Awakens
It's been a while since I've posted a movie review. Granted we're seeing less of them, but there are a few we have seen in theaters that haven't made it to the blog (Ant-Man, The Martian, Spectre, Mission Impossible, Creed, Concussion,... to name a few... and by that I mean most of them). But I couldn't let the new Star Wars movie go by without commenting on it.

I've been so excited about this movie, but a little apprehensive as well. My mom raised my on Star Wars and I've been a fan as long as I can remember. When Episode I came out I dressed up as Padme. (Which was fun until I ran into the high school baseball team walking to the theater.) When Episode III came out I was in France and saw it next to the Arc de Triomph. I even used the Throne Room Theme as the processional to our wedding.

As for the movie I absolutely loved it! Although it's a little disappointing it doesn't match the Expanded Universe exactly, there are some similarities. I guess we'll see what's to come and if they use any of the other characters. (My hope is that Mara Jade appears, who was always my mom's favorites.)

There were some surprises that I wasn't expecting, although could have seen coming, especially if I hadn't been able to avoid spoilers. And once I was finished my main thought was when we'd be able to see it again. I'll likely wait till it's out on dvd (or I guess now blu-ray), but it's one I'll definitely own, which says something since we rarely add dvds to our collection.