Craig's First Bat Mitzvah

Craig attended his first ever Bat Mitzvah this past weekend. We went to Miami Beach to see my cousin, Stefany, undertake this important Jewish ritual. I think I did an OK job prepping Craig for the service itself… other than a brief panic when called to the bimah for an aliyah (witness to the reading of the Torah) with Howard, Maya, and me, he seemed comfortable and rather enjoyed getting a taste of a different culture.

On the other hand, he was somehow under the impression that the reception would be a small, Confirmation-like party and was a bit blown away by the lavish affair. It was held at Parrot Jungle Island, in their treetop ballroom, and was complete with live parrots.

It didn't take him long to get into the swing of things. He even danced his first horah and gave out many a "Mazel Tov." His favorite part of the day, though, was photographing my brother with the parrots. It would appear that hilarious facial expressions run in my family. :)