This weekend was the first of what will be many, many Herman family bat mitzvah’s.  For those of you that don’t know it, Darren has an enormous family on his Dad’s side so there are many celebrations ahead of us.  On Saturday morning, Samantha, the first of all of Darren’s cousin’s children was called to the beama in honor of her bat mitzvah.  The weekend celebration of this incredible milestone began however, on Friday night with a beautiful Shabbat dinner hosted by cousins Peter & Fran at their magnificent home in Wilton, Connecticut.  It was so fabulous for the entire Herman family to get together with many relatives traveling in from all over the country and Canada.  We had not seen many of them since our wedding almost two years ago so spending time with everyone was extra special.  It was also a thrill for Darren and me to introduce everyone to the newest addition to the Herman family.  As usual, David was all smiles and dazzled the entire family.  He graciously went to everyone and was happy as can be to meet his great aunts/uncles and cousins.  He can’t wait to grow a little so he can join the rest of the kids running around.

For the actual bat mitzvah on Saturday we left the little guy at home with my parents while we all attended the service and luncheon.  We arrived just as Samantha was going to begin her torah portion and she was remarkable.  She was poised, confident and truly rocked the shul!  She is going places – that is for sure.  We were all incredibly impressed by her sophisticated command of the service and expect nothing but amazing things are in her future.  After the service we all went back to cousin Caron and Johnny’s house to continue the celebration.  Cocktails were flowing and everyone was eating, dancing and enjoying the afternoon festivities.  Darren and I had a great time talking with family members that we don’t see very often and enjoyed some time without the baby to mix and mingle.  A great time was had by all and we look forward to the next celebration which is in September.