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Thanks!
Emily

Another Berman Girl

Sweet baby Maya was born into this world on July 30, 2009. After visiting her in Tulsa this past weekend at only two weeks old, I am convinced that the Berman girls are the sweetest girls in the world. I couldn't feel more lucky to be the auntie of two amazing babies who light up any room they are in.

Although the trip was short, I got some great one-on-one bonding time with Miss Maya. She is such a good baby and boy does she love to sleep! I actually got about eight hours each night, which was totally unexpected, or actually the opposite of what I expected to experience! Ben and Nadja figured out a great schedule for her that doesn't always go as planned but it's pretty good for only two weeks in!

So far this is what I have observed about Maya...she is going to have the deepest, most beautiful blue eyes. She has THE cutest sneeze I have ever heard. She is working on focusing her vision, although she hasn't quite mastered it yet. She can sometimes hold her head up. She has many amazing reflexes you just don't expect to see in a two-week old and she LOVES LOVES LOVES to snuggle. She likes to position herself into what we call the "tree frog" position and her head nestles right into your neck. She'll wake up every so often and make an adorable sighing noise, nestle her head a little more into your neck and then fall soundly back to sleep. When she is awake, she is very quiet and just finds things to look at and stares. She's a good eater and you definitely know when she's hungry by the type of cry or by her frantically searching for something to put her mouth around. She has a very sweet demeanor, just like her cousin Sasha. And last but not least, she has brought so much joy already to her new parents. I don't think I've ever seen my brother so happy and it makes me so happy to see the amazing daddy that I always knew he would be.

Of course, I enjoyed catching up with Ben & Nadja too. It had been about two years since the last time I visited them in Tulsa. We talked a whole lot, watched a lot of movies and enjoyed some good food (I cooked for them Saturday night). They seem to really know what they are doing with Maya. It's like its the most natural thing in the world to them, which is very refreshing to see.

Congratulations Ben and Nadja on a beautiful and lovely baby girl. I can't wait to see you all again. Until then, give Maya plenty of kisses from her Auntie Em!

Update on wedding details

Hello everyone!!! I know you have been waiting patiently to find out when and where our wedding is. I think a lot of you have already heard by word-of-mouth, but in case you haven't....

Wedding Day: May 1, 2010 (that's right, exactly one year from the date he proposed!)

Ceremony location: Beth Israel synagogue

Reception location: Omni Houston Hotel

We are currently working on our web site, which should debut very soon. We are also planning on sending out save-the-date cards within the next few months. Everything you will need to know will be on our web site.

We do want to warn everyone well in advance to begin looking into flights as soon as possible because there is a worldwide oil and gas conference in Houston the week of our wedding and there will be several airlines escalating their prices as it gets closer to the date in order to make more money on the thousands of people that come in for the conference.

For those of you who don't want to/would rather not pay for a guest room at the Omni hotel, we will be providing a couple other hotels in the same area that are a little more cost-effective. We promise to provide those options very soon as well.

Oren and I are already in the full works of planning and we're getting really excited. The date and location were the biggest accomplishments and we feel great about those decisions.

We hope this finds you all very well and stay tuned for the launch of our new web site!

An Engagement Story

Once upon a time, there was a tall, dark and handsome young man named Oren. Oren, being the hopeless romantic that he is, decided to take his lady on a vacation and ask her to marry him at a beautiful winery in Napa Valley, California on their one-year anniversary.

After arriving at the first winery, which was the famous Robert Mondavi winery, it had suddenly begun raining. Fortunately, the rain only added to the romantic feel as it lightly fell upon the vineyard and flowers and trees in the distance. There were beautiful mountains in the background with mystical clouds hovering over them. The setting was as if it was taken out of a storybook.

As Oren and his lady walked along under the covered portion of the open area, Emily pointed out a beautiful rose garden. The couple walked over there and stood staring at the pretty scenery. As they stood there, Oren was building up the guts to say some important things. He finally began and it went a little something like this:

"Well, it's been a year since I first asked you to be my girlfriend. And I knew on that day that this was the start of something really special. Emily, I love you. I am so in love with you. There comes a time in each person's life when they have to decide who they want to spend the rest of their life with. I have made that decision and want to spend the rest of my life with you. [Oren gets down on one knee and pulls a ring box out of his pocket and opens it]. Emily, will you marry me?"

[Emily shaking and having an out-of-body experience looks at Oren and the ring and back at Oren smiling] "Of course I will! It would be an honor." [Emily bends over to hug Oren and he gets back up holding on to her. They stand and hug for a long time and after a minute or so they both start crying. They tell each other how happy they make each other and how excited they are to be the other's life-long partner. After several kisses and hugs, some photos are taken and the cell phones come out. They take turns calling parents, siblings and best friends for the next hour or so.

The rain doesn't let up once, yet the newly engaged couple begin their wine tasting journey. They only get to go to three wineries before closing time, but at most places, the employees found out about the engagement and gave the couple an extra free souvenir glass with extra wine or champagne to express their congratulations.

Later, the lovebirds went to a lovely french bistro in downtown Napa Valley called Angele. They were led to a more private, quiet room where they were given yet again another two glasses of champagne to celebrate the occasion. Oren ate the steak and Emily had the halibut. It was rich and delicious. They were both pretty exhausted from such an emotional day so they returned to their lovely Marriott hotel and day spa in Napa and retired.

The next morning they awoke and ventured over to the day spa for a one-hour couples massage. The spa was so relaxing and peaceful with steam rooms and jacuzzis and other fun amenities. After a blissful experience, they returned to their room and ordered room service breakfast. It was very tasty. They soon departed and made their way to Sausalito where they were to spend the rest of their vacation with Emily's brother and family who also helped make the occasion super special and enjoyable.

THE END

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We are so very excited in this time in our lives and have many people to thank for being instrumental in helping with the proposal, the ring, and accommodations. This was an unforgettable and beautiful experience that we will forever treasure. We promise to inform everyone of a date as soon as we get it finalized. Until then, we are trying to enjoy a few weeks in engagement bliss before all the planning gets under way. There will also be an official web site for the wedding, where all of the pertinent information and photos will be provided. We love you all and can't wait to share such a wonderful experience with you.

Oren's birthday surprise

So...many people have asked me the details of Oren's birthday surprise and I ended up just summarizing so I thought I would go into detail here, along with some fun photos.

He turned 27 on March 15, but we celebrated the night before on the 14th. Oren once told me that he had never been in a limo (other than when he was 3, and it doesn't count because he can't remember it). I stored that little fact in the back of my brain knowing I would do something to change that one day. :)

So, I rented an 8-passenger limo (it ended up being a Dodge Magnum limo, which isn't quite what I was told I would get but it was still nice) and invited his sister and 6 good friends to come along for the ride. I had everyone meet at his apartment complex but stay outside in their cars until the limo arrived. Then, they all hopped in there to wait for us. I blind-folded Oren and slowly led him down the stairs. He kept saying he heard an engine and I kept saying "well, it is a parking lot!" So finally I took his blind fold off and he got to see his long-awaited surprise. He was very shocked and thanked me immediately. Then we had the driver take this picture:



He saw heads inside so he knew it wasn't just us. As soon as he opened the door they all yelled, "Surprise!" Our first (and only) stop was at the wonderful and delicious Melting Pot fondue restaurant. Oren had also been wanting to try that for almost as long as I have known him. I kept telling him it was much more fun to go with a big group so that we should wait until we can arrange that. This was the perfect occasion to go!



The only downside to the awesome meal, was the amount of time it took. I believe we were there for nearly three hours! We only had the limo for 5 and had spent a little while in there before dinner so time was whittling away. The original plan was to go to Midtown and do a little bit of bar hopping, but with an hour and change to go with the limo, we all decided to stay inside the fun vehicle and party it up in there. We shared a bottle of champagne and another bottle of wine (Yaniv was the professional limo wine pourer), listened and danced to music and had a really good time.







After our time was up in the limo, everyone went back to Oren's apartment and played Guitar Hero for another hour or so. Oren was very happy with the evening and said it was his most memorable birthday yet! So I did good. :)

please let me win a trip to Hawaii

Dear Ellen DeGeneres,
I know you are going to get tens of thousands, if not millions, of submissions from fans trying to win that glorious trip to Hawaii. But if you ever got to know me, which oh my God that would be so great if you did because I think we could be best friends, then you would know just how much I am aching to go! Here is my very short story you requested of why I deserve to go to Hawaii:

To be surrounded by beauty. That is all I wanted after my world turned upside down one day almost exactly two years ago. I came home to my boyfriend of three years to find him sitting on the bed and telling me our relationship was over. The man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with completely broke my heart and left me there to pick up the pieces. After quitting my job and moving back home to live with my parents (and after lots of crying) I knew I wanted to travel. I had always wanted to go to Hawaii. It was just so beautiful in every TV show and movie that I ever saw. My mom reminded me that I was once there...in her womb. She was about six months pregnant with me and my twin brother when she went on vacation with my dad. I remember asking her when I was little, "Mom, why didn't you make a window in your belly so I could have at least looked out at the beautiful scenery?" She would just grin and tell me I would get back there one day. After buying the Fodor's guide to Hawaii and lots of research, I decided that I simply could not afford to go. Also, I was told by many people that it's not really a place to go as a single, depressed girl. It would hurt to see all the happy honeymooners there. So I decided to do a six-month work/study program in Spain instead. I had the time of my life there, but I have never let go of my desire to go to Hawaii. Now with an awesome new man in tow, I think it's about time I see that beautiful state. Without any windows.

*The deadline for submission was today and the winner will be chosen next week.

Writer's block

I'm having trouble following up the Hanna Montanashevitz post. Nothing is nearly as captivating that I can currently think of at the top of my head. In case you don't know, I rarely have this problem...