Noa Green Photography – New Jersey Photographer » Contemporary portrait photographer based in Bergen County, NJ

My darling, amazing, daughter.

Sweet little Aviv. Little did I know, this time, two years ago, how much you were to enrich my life. Little did I know how little I knew. This time, two years ago, my dad had just arrived from Japan a couple of hours ago, and I was in bed reading an article named “how to know when you’re in labor” when my water broke. Just like that. No contractions yet. The eve before your arrival. I remember so clearly, your father and I standing dumb founded in front of the irrefutable evidence that labor was imminent, and could not believe it. Regardless of the nine months we had to prepare ourselves, we could not believe we were to be parents.

And now? Now, I cannot remember a moment in life where we were NOT your parents. My little Viv’chuk, you have transformed our lives beyond recognition. You have changed me. I never knew a tiny being as yourself could teach me so much, and yet you do – every day. You teach me patience. You teach me laughter. You teach me appreciation. You teach me sadness. You teach me mischievous. You teach me love. You teach me how little I know, how little I’ve paid attention to the small things in life, how much I miss out on by tuning out the small details.

Last week in France, when you were disoriented with jet lag and continent changes, we got into the bad habit of you falling asleep in my arms every night. I knew it wasn’t a habit we could keep, yet it was so sweet. It was before you weaned (this week), and that week after nursing I would hold you in my arms, tell you Laila Tov (good night), and you would simply close your eyes and drift off to dream land in my arms knowing you were safe….. Those moments were so magical to me – hugging your warm body close to mine, smelling your sweet scent, twirling little curls in my fingers. With every breath you took I would melt into a billion molecules, washing over you in happiness and and generating power from your innocent, even breathing. Every little thing you do is a miracle to me. Every new thing you learn means you are a genius (obviously). And you only grow more beautiful. So beautiful, my heart aches when I gaze at you. You are glory beyond my comprehension. You unmake me and make me all at once.

Tonight on the eve of your second birthday, my gorgeous daughter, I sit and immerse myself in appreciation for having you in my life. I am so thankful for you – even through your tantrums, your decisive and stubborn nature, your teething, your potty training. I am thankful for you because life would be devoid of color with out you, devoid of meaning. Whenever I feel pity for myself or complain about anything, I sit back and bask in the realization that I have the most perfect daughter I could ask for…. And for that — for that, my darling Aviv — for that, I am eternally grateful.

Adoringly yours,

Ima (Mom)

I had an amazing weekend — full of fun, beautiful views, family time, a photo shoot and watching LOST episodes over a glass of wine with Shira. The only thing missing was Emiro (I miss you honey!!!) but otherwise it was perfect.

Saturday morning we decided to head north to visit a…. get ready for it…. Australian Zoo. It was an almost 2 hour drive, so we stopped on the way for lunch at the quaintest local restaurant called “Dag Dagan”. Honestly, the food was decent but the atmosphere was out of this world. When we entered their outdoor seating area I was sure they were preparing for some sort of event. Look, so pretty!

Shira perusing the menu the fish-centric menu:

After a leisurely lunch, we continued to “Gan Guru”, an Australian zoo I never knew existed in Israel. I loved that it was super small, had well educated workers, and lots of personalized attention (and question answering) for the guests.

My sister Shira completed a Master’s degree in Australia, so she wasn’t very impressed by the kangaroo’s hopping around us (freely!!!). However, as I had never been down under, I absolutely loved being so up close & personal with these gorgeous animals. 

This is my sister Leore, HUGE animal lover, and a volunteer at the Haifa Wildlife Animal Center (chai-bar):

Some serious ass kissing from Aviv *wink*

Look at that cute little kangaroo baby hanging out with mom!

Leore enjoyed some up close and personal time with a gorgeous snake

While Shira took my camera for a while and proved that in fact, I was also actually there! Finally some photos of myself in here

Aviv seems to have a thing with grabbing my nose lately. Hmmmmm. 

In the afternoon my parents and Leore headed back home, while Shira, Aviv and I drove to the Golan Heights for a family portrait session I had booked…. Pictures from the shoot to be posted tomorrow!

Aviv and I have been enjoying our time here in Israel so much. Lots of condensed quality time with family, lots of 70-80 degree weather, lots of jaunts to the park/mall/playground. I think the good weather, which enables us to spend time outdoors every day, has such an affect on our moods. Things are just — happier. Not having to struggle with layers of coats, gloves, hats or running in the rain are also huge pluses. While I do love the east coast 6 months out of the year, the other 6 months turn me into a moody gal.

I wanted to post some shots I took last Saturday around the house. While they may seem random, its a precious collection of memories for me to look back on after we leave. Aviv is really flourishing under the abundant amount of attention she’s getting from the family.

A typical Mediterranean lunch – lots of salads, pita, maybe a quiche, chummus etc

Aviv is absolutely enamored with her aunt Shira’s jewelry. She always hones in on her necklaces until Shira lets her play dress up with it

Of course she immediately runs to the nearest mirror to check out the goods….

I love stopping down my aperture to 1.4 since shallow depth of field + buttery bokeh (blurry background) = *MELT*. But honestly, her big brown eyes make me melt even more.

Hanging out on the verandah…. I LOVE having an outdoor space, something we lack back in the states sorely.

The best thing about Shira is that she always has some sort of treat for Aviv. Case in point: a delicious chocolate cake (or was it  cookies?) which we all quickly devoured.

My British grandparents came over for a visit, along with my cousin Carmel. They absolutely adore Aviv and have even already babysat her so I can go sit at a cafe with a friend quietly!

With great-grandpa and Carmel (there are some incriminating photos of Carmel, but I will save those to embarrass her on Facebook…. hahahah)

This photo should be titles: ” YOU HAD ME AT CELL PHONE”.

I just *LOVE* my family. Spending time in Israel, and with them, nourishes me. Now if only Emiro was on the same continent right now!

Here’s a weird fact about me: I love vacuuming. Like, its my favorite chore. Or better yet, I don’t consider it much of a chore. There’s something so therapeutic about sucking up all the dirt and lint and cat hairs without getting your hands dirty. Afterward I always feel a deep satisfaction. See, I’m weird like that.

On a side note – I would like to suggest to Mr. James Dyson who invented the Dyson (“which never gets hopelessly clogged” in his sexy British accent) that for a vacuum that costs an arm and a leg, a retractable cord would be a pretty cool addition. ‘Kay? Just sayin’.

Anyways, yesterday morning before work I had a whiny/clingy toddler and a dirty house. And I don’t know about you, but when my home gets cluttered and dirty I get ridiculously agitated. So with Aviv clinging to one leg and doing the opposite of whatever I asked her, I decided to roll out my boyfriend Mr. Dyson and use the white noise to drown out her whines. Oh, and to clean. The moment I turned on the vacuum Aviv ran to the other room, stared at me pushing the vacuum around the living room carpet, and then started playing by herself. SCORE! I continued to vacuum the carpets, then used the wand attachment and went all over the house vacuuming all of the nooks and corners of each room. 45 minutes later I had a clean home, a quiet toddler playing by herself, and a strong sense of accomplishment. Yup, I’m a dork. *wink*

And some pictures to spice up a boring post about vacuuming….. Taken with my point & shoot camera at Coney Island:

What happens when you tell her we’re leaving:

I dreamt about Fanta last night. In my dream she suddenly appeared in our home, and I was surprised yet happy to see her. When I reached down to pet her she rolled over, and I saw that her stomach was beginning to heal. That’s all I remember from the dream, but in a (weird) way I feel like she was telling me she’s feeling better now. I feel horribly guilty saying this, and I miss her terribly, dammit for me having to make such a decision such as putting her to sleep. I see her usual hang out spots and I can’t help but feel this hole inside me.

On to happier subjects….

Today we had our third blizzard in less than 2 weeks. Its already been a long week with Aviv cooped up inside, so after she woke up from her nap we decided to take her out for some snow play time.

These pictures were taken at 2500 ISO, 1.4 F and anywhere between 1/35-1/60 shutterspeed. It was taken at near dark, so it was hard to let light in without using flash, and trying to keep the image as sharp as possible (which is tough with a slow shutter speed and a fast moving subject!).

It was snowing pretty hard, so Aviv was interested in the snowflakes falling around her:

Emiro made a snowball for her, but she was much more interested in eating it than throwing it….

And all I can say is, thank God tomorrow is Friday. I feel like I really need this weekend….