Elmo Goes Global

Uncle Noah and Aunt Sara went to Israel and brought me back a Hebrew Elmo shirt. Ayze Yofee!

Ellie Like Birthday!

Karina and Matthew came over to visit me for my birthday. They're back in Chicago so I'm looking forward to hanging out with them again. I still remember some of the Spanish Karina taught me -- mas, agua... yeah, that's about it.



Fortunately, I have Dora to help me keep my Spanish up. She was the wrapping paper du jour at my b-day dinner with the Goldmans.



As per usual, Bubbie snagged me first.



And, as per usual, I was the center of attention.



Until the food came.



Waiter, waiter. There's a fly in my soup. Oh, that's a wonton?!?



Great-Grandpa Irv (who was one of the first to embrace the computer age) got me my very first computer. Now I can blog by myself. Hope you like everything in third-person!



Aunt Karen's mom, Sheila, joined the festivities. She has grandkids of her own (no thanks to Uncle J and Aunt K!) but none that eat like me.



I may be getting older but opening presents never gets old!



In leiu of birthday cake, I made a wish with a straw in lo mein.



When we got home, I tried on my birthday suit. (JK, I have a sweater on under there, somewhere.)



And then I used my computer to type my very first blog post title.

V-Day

Finally, after all the suspense (and, by suspense, I mean months of blog lag-time, not any last minute bride/groom cold feet or anything), Uncle Noah and Aunt Sara's wedding day arrived! After putting on my flower girl dress, I got some practice in at the hotel so I'd be ready to walk down the aisle.

At the temple, I posed for a quickie with my other aunts (Goldman aunts, that is) before the ceremony that would officially make Aunt Sara my last aunt. Unless, of course, Auntie Em marries a woman.

Zayde got a little warmup in before the hora!

I helped Uncle Noah clean the floors a bit before the guests arrived.

When I first saw Aunt Sara's beautiful dress, I was mortified. I thought I'd be the only one wearing white!

Great-Uncle Phil takes the best pics!

Bubbie and I kept Aunt Sara company while she greeted her guests during the Tish. Even though Aunt Sara is beaming, I couldn't help wondering if the men were having more fun on their side.

Aunt Sara let me borrow her throne for a few pics. Pay no attention to the $2 sandals.

Aunt Sara taught me the meaning of "tzneus" -- it means modesty. Silly me showing up in a sleeveless dress.

The cardigan didn't last long though (gotta show off the pipes!) and I began my search for something to carry down the aisle.

Hmm, maybe this will do.

I got in a few last practice walks.

When it was time for the real thing though, I got a little stage fright.

So Mommy had to help me make my way.

Uncle Noah and Aunt Sara were hot on my heels. I ducked off to the side and they made their way up to the Chuppah. Then I think they got lost cuz they walked in circles for 7 times before deciding where to stand.

After the ceremony, it was time to boogie. Bubbie and I did a hora-fying dance.

After an hour of dancing, I was worn out and Mommy and Daddy took me to the playroom.

Uncle D stopped by to size me up for some nicer looking shoes than my cheap-o sandals. Geez, Uncle D really is obsessed with my feet.

After a while, even Aunt Sara needed a break from all the dancing.

What an amazing Valentine's Day. As much as it pained me to be away from Leo J on his birthday, this was one VD I'll never forget. (That sound you hear is Daddy biting his tongue.)

After the Party, It's the Hotel Lobby

After a few fun-filled days in Orlando, we drove down to Fort Lauderdale for Uncle Noah and Almost-Aunt Sara's wedding. Aunt-T didn't waste any time breaking out the champagne...



...and, sure enough, a Girls Gone Wild video broke out!



Oh this must be one of those wierd toe fettish vids!

Luckily, Uncle D was able to contain himself from going for Mommy's toes!

ADD it up

Today was Uncle Noah and soon-to-be-Aunt Sara's wedding shower in Skokie. Once again, I tried to steal the spotlight from the bride and groom (not to mention, steal some gifts for myself).

Over the course of the party, I went through the 4 stages of attention-deficit-disorder. (In my case, that's not an inability to pay attention to any one task -- although I have that too -- it's an inability to NOT be the center of attention.)

1. Anger.

2. Confusion.

3. Dizziness.



4. Sleepiness.

Booty-full

Check out this video of Uncle D butt-ering me up and getting me to shake my booty (verbally, that is).

The Goldman Bunch

For Bubbie and Zayde's anniversary, we decided to put together a Brady Bunch spoof. This was supposed to be the "normal" pic. Guess this is as normal as Uncle Joshie gets.



This was supposed to be the "look at Ellie" pic. Aunt-T didn't get the memo.

And this was supposed to be the "crazy" pic. Aunt Karen could barely contain herself. Aunt Sara wigged out. And Aunt-T got real crazy and closed her mouth. Meanwhile, I just gave my mean-while face.

Hate to let my adoring fans down but this is gonna be the last post for a while. Daddy needs to focus on writing his book so he won't be able to help me update the blog for a few months. He promises to put some pics on my Facebook and update my Twitter every now and then so you can keep up with me but, if you want to see the latest, you'll just have to book a visit!

Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I Made A Lot of Pay!

Today we had our annual family Hannukah party -- aka Dreidel for Dollars. Yes, I know Hannukah is over but we Goldmans have always been a little behind. Before getting into it, we posed for a pic with all the girls. Apparently stripes are in with the under 25 crowd!

Then it was time for one with the boys +1. Looks like Uncle D is trying to grow on his head what Uncle Joshie has under his chin.

I decided to go in for a closer look. Yep, Uncle D's got some something growing under there. He always did like his fuzzies.

Mash-ups all the rage these days thanks to Glee, so Grandpa, Mommy and I rocked out to James Brown and Dean Martin -- I Feel Good/Everybody Loves Somebody.

Uncle Joshie, Uncle Noah (or just Unkie as I call him), Uncle D, and Cousin Ryan got into the act and a dance-off ensued. I busted out my best robot.

Soon it was time for presents. I waited patiently for my turn.

And then I laid into them. Cousin Sara helped me unwrap. And Daddy helped me rap.

Finally, it was time for dreidel. We all broke out our singles. Not sure why Uncle D had so many on him.

Elmo and I surveyed the action to make sure there were no false gimels.

The stakes were too rich for my blood (and Aunt Karen was cleaning up) so I decided to quit while I was ahead. If only Daddy had taken my lead before getting suckered into the high-stakes spin-off with Cousin Rob.

After dreidel, it was time for surgery. Great-Grandpa Irv started by extracting an outlet plug from my stomach. It was an electrifying experience.

Then Dr. Ryan gave me my shots. I was not so patient this time.

I was left to recover on my own in the waiting room. Where's health care reform when you need it?!?