Fauxhawk

As we all know Rafi has a gorgeous head of hair. But what many don't know is that Rafi's hair has transforming abilities: when he's just out of the bath, it's very curly. Then it dries perfectly straight (see pics below of his clean cut, Beaver Cleaver look). And sometimes his hair is wavy, landing somewhere in between the two extremes.

Rafi is amenable (most of the time) to my hair brushing and styling. The look in this picture -- hip, urban casual -- occurred naturally after Rafi woke from a nap. I fluffed it a just a bit to make it into a semi-fauxhawk.

Lech Walesa comes to visit

Texas friend (now a landscape architect in L.A.) Lech (aka Alexa) visited Rafi and his moms in mid-July. This photo is from an outdoor concert. I love this shot of both of them -- power to the people.

A later occurance: my computer DID crash; RIP to the iBook. A new one is on the way and, hopefully, the computer tech guys were able to back up all our files (including those 800+ pics of Rafi!). Then, once my final LBJ project is done, I'll be back with lots more photos of the Houston visit to see the family...

RAFAEL HENRY SMILES

Not much else to say except here's the boy, finally showing his big grin and a couple of shots of him in various stages of smiling. Heartbreaking, really.

The smiles come fast and furious now, so I will try to rotate the Rafi smile photo often.

Two months old today!

Happy birthday to Rafi! He turns two whole months today. Here's a photo of him at the ripe old age, already looking very wise.

We've been enjoying the summer (thank God the heat has broken and we are now enjoying the summers as they should be, which is mid-70s and no humidity.) -- taking long walks at the lake with Stella and Rafi, eating ice cream, sitting in the hammock w/ Rafi while he naps. Pretty nice.

Aunt Kimmy was here for a visit and we had lots of fun. Here's a shot from her stay.

Documentation of the smile coming soon...I can feel it.

Summertime (and procrastination)

It's summertime in the Berkshires! I should be working on my final LBJ project but instead I'm writing about Rafi.

It's HOT today -- 92 degrees -- which doesn't sound too bad for July, especially if you're from Texas, but if you don't have A/C (which we don't) it's pretty toasty.

Here is a pic of Rafi in his summer gear -- his diaper and that's about it. He would probably prefer to lose the diaper as well, and we do occasionally give him a break from wearing it. But for those of you who have baby boys, you know this can be a dangerous venture.

In other news: Rafi took his first road trip last week to Philly. We drove down for my b-day and to see dear friends Christian, Sunila, and Sahil. He had a good time. Rafi will take his first plane trip to Houston to meet the whole Bartels family including all his cousins, aunts, and uncles at the end of the month -- he can't wait! He's especially excited to meet Grandpa Ralph and see Grandma Wanda again.

Aunt Kimmy arrives tomorrow. More fun for Rafa (another nickname I like).