Happy Sukkot

Happy Sukkot! I'm not sure it's technically appropriate to say this, but I'll go for it anyway. Sukkot is sort of like the Jewish Thanksgiving, a harvest holiday. And since you say Happy Thanksgiving, I figured why not Happy Sukkot. Katie was very lucky and got to celebrate Sukkot twice this year. On Saturday we went to our friends' Darcie and Jonathan's to celebrate in their sukkah. Katie got to color a tree that they had cut. Very cute. And she got to smell the etrog (it's a really sweet-smelling, yet inedible citrus fruit) and watch while we shook the lulav. We had a nice time and they had a beautiful sukkah in their backyard. There were lots of kids there around Katie's age, and many of them were boys, including their son Eli. It was funny to see Katie a little apprehensive with the boys. She doesn't spend too much time with a lot of boys and I somehow think that, at this age, she already knows that there is a difference. This, of course, is endlessly fascinating to me. Anyway, there was one girl there around her age and Katie befriended Sasha immediately. And once she was with Sasha, they both started running with the boys. And Sasha, who just turned 3, uses the potty and this really impressed Katie.

Today we celebrated Sukkot at Kevin's house. Their building has a big patio where some residents put up a sukkah. It was quite a deluxe sukkah with lights and windows. So we prepared dinner for the kids and they ate it outside. You may recognize the cast of characters by now - Jill, Karen, Jamie, Kelli, Erika, and Kevin. Since outdoor space is difficult to come by in Manhattan, to celebrate a holiday where you build a temporary outdoor dwelling twice was really great.

Here's Katie with the lulav and etrog at Eli's house.