THE TEDDY BEAR LOUNGE

Pop Pop Day 2010

2010-07-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

Bath Time - Quack Quack Quack - Guess Who is Who...

2009-07-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Ari has a gift for you, well maybe not, no definitely not.

2009-07-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Rafi, Beautiful Rafi, "That's enough now"

2009-07-22T19:22:00.001-07:00

Happy First Birthday Ari y Rafael

2009-07-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

Turning one year old - the first year of firsts ends to begin a second year of firsts...round & round we go in the circle of life!

Gay Pride Day

2009-07-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

We has fun playing in the park after the parade (that we missed because the boys were sleeping....ahhh naps, they are the best! But, they would NOT hold the parade for Ari & Rafi.....but why?

Breakfast at Our House

2009-05-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sweet Rafi and mamas

2009-05-23T14:10:00.002-07:00

Our First Mother's Day

2009-05-09T19:29:00.001-07:00

After ten years of trying to have a baby our first Mother's Day as mothers is infused with a poignancy that is beyond words.

Cynthia wrote a Mother's Day article for a NAACP website The Defenders Online and it was chosen to be published!

Check it out - the web site is: www.thedefendersonline.com

Click on the link to "Heart of My Heart: Mothers' Eye Views of Love"

Cynthia's article is the fourth one down and is titled

"Our Gay/Jewish/African-American/Latino/Caucasian Family"

Who's Crawling Now

2009-04-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Both Ari and Rafi crawlled on the same day! It first happened about a month ago, they are experts now.

Taking Turns with the Laughter

2009-03-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

So a lot of taking care of Ari and Rafi is making sure that they each get equal attention. Here's video (taken by our friend Alison) of me entertaining the boys. They had been making each other laugh, but at a lull I took turns leaning in towards each of them to continue the chuckles. The best part is how patiently they wait while the other is having screeching/laughter time (Rafi left, Ari right)...and also how Ari's arms whip up on cue. This video has become a family favorite.

Jumpy Jumpy

2009-02-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

Ari and Rafi LOVE their new Jumping device!!! ARI top, RAFI bottom.

Guess Who Rolled Over?

2009-01-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

Our Talented boys have mastered the art of rolling over! Rafi (bottom photo) was first, the precocious little brother, January 7, 2009! Ari (top photo) followed on the January 18, 2009. We are proud mamas! And scared...we GOTTA baby proof and soon!

"Studio Shots"

2008-12-27T01:24:00.000-08:00

Ari Isaac

Rafael Te'om

It's not just me, right? These are the MOST adorable boys on the planet!

A Tale of Two Sleeping Boys

2008-12-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

THE Boys usually sleep with us - they like to hold our hands, lay on us, or next to us - be in contact with throughout the night.

EVERY morning they have some time in their crib... they ususaly fall asleep after talking/laughing/screeching to the mobile, animals leaning all around the edge of the crib, or their face in the mirror. We separate them with a big blanket rolled up like a bolster.

THIS morning for the FIRST time they wiggled their way around so they could be next to each other, touching each other while they slept....Such smart and beautiful boys they are!

ARI is on the right in orange, RAFAEL on the left in blue.

Baby Bjorn boogie

2008-12-11T02:07:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of this week was getting to spend Monday with the whole family, walking around with our baby carriers. I *love* the Baby Bjorn and did a special jig with Ari to prove it. I might have been a little more excited about it than he was...but he was smiling and laughing more when the camera wasn't on.

2008-11-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Second-Parent Adoption - Cynthia's adoption of the boys became final on November 19, 2008! Who looks more happy - us or Judge Yu? Rafael is in stripes, Ari is in white with little doggies. We have always been a family but now, we are legally for sure, for sure a family!

The boys are ours and we are theirs!!!

Halloween Night!

2008-11-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

What can I say? We had a blast!!!

Rocky & Bullwinkle surrounded by their pals Boris & Natasha (Mamas Julie & Cynthia), Dudley Do Right (Pop Pop Jason) and Nell (our friend Jayda).

How cute are they?

Ari as Bullwinkle in the making. He was such a trooper sitting for his
moose hat fitting for Mama Cynthia.

Rocky J. Squirrel (aka Rafael). Our little squirrel sacked out in the basinette and looking adorable. He just fell asleep mid-evening in the middle of one of the many photo sessions.

Boris and Natasha. Need I say more?

Our very own Pop Pop embodies Dudley Do Right.

Horse is the ever faithful steed.

And the swooning, lovely Nell. Oh what a night!

Beautiful Faces!

2008-11-02T01:15:00.000-07:00

Our boys have the most beautiful faces!!! -- Ari (top) and Rafael (bottom).

Rafi Franken-Fish and Ari Sweeeeet Monster

2008-10-29T15:35:00.000-07:00

These shirts were a gift from Judy and Anna. Ari would NOT smile despite my best comedic efforts.

Don't they look like two old men waiting for coffee and cigars after dinner?

Video: Babies in Motion

2008-10-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Cynthia (aka Mama) caught our guys on video just playing together in the crib. The game is called, "I See You...You Lick Me". Rafi is very good at the licking part.

Twins for Obama

2008-10-23T00:55:00.000-07:00

Two months old and already registered Democrats!

Ari finds this amusing. Rafael strikes an Obama-like pose.

Doesn't he look Presidential?

Rafi says VOTE OBAMA!!!

2008-10-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

We figured our activism will consist of dressing them in their Obama t-shirts every day until the election.

Adoption Day!!!

2008-10-18T22:22:00.001-07:00

Walking in to the courthouse atrium -- it looked like a tree of life to us. It seemed fitting since this was the first day of Sukkot. What a beautiful day to celebrate the finalization of the adoption.

Judge Yu holds our babies after she declared the adoption approved. So happy!!

Our happy family with the judge...

...and our inclusive happy family with Jason (aka PopPop)!!
We loved having Jason there to be a part of this -- he is so important to the boys and to us.
So much love!!!

Babies in the crib

2008-10-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ari (left in stripes) and Rafael hang out together in the crib. They love to "talk to the face" -- the middle piece above them on the black & white mobile. Rafi does a little jig kicking his legs with excitement.

The boys and their dolls

2008-10-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

They always have their dolls in their carseats.
Ari has a lion of course (his name means lion in Hebrew) and, Rafi has the doll with the healing green heart (his name comes from the Hebrew word for healing - r'fua).

My First Post

2008-09-05T23:07:00.000-07:00

Early Days -- Ari (with an "A") and Rafi (below); they were just 4 days old when I took these at our hotel.