Happy anniversary

One year. I have been writing this blog for one year. I never thought I would enjoy updating it as much as I have. So much has happened during the year and I am sure I would have forgotten most of it. I have taken thousands of pictures to help document the daily milestones and I am almost positive that the blog has helped our extended family keep up with our growing family. It was completely fitting that on the first anniversary of my blog that my sister-in-law Tanya gave me a printed and bound copy of the blog! I could not have asked for a better gift- EVER! I am trying to keep it safe and away from the girls but they love looking at all the pictures. I am actually amazed at how thick the book is!
In the next year I hope to add some other things to the blog, like recipes. I figure what better way to preserve some of the family recipes that have been passed down from my grandmothers, that way I don't have to call my mom every time I make rock cakes! I also want to add some pictures and stories of our family prior to the blog to fill in the blanks. I also plan on ranting about the things that bother me or the things that I find interesting a little more often. Those posts always make me feel so much better and are so much fun to write. If anyone else has any suggestions, just let me know and I will do my best.
Happy anniversary to me and many more.

Sleep

This is what I should be doing right now.

Camp

Today was the first day of camp. When we were walking in all the parents were complaining that the three weeks off was too long. I kept my mouth shut! I thought the time went by way too fast! We were having so much fun together.

Saturday fun

On Saturday we took the kids to Lion Country Safari because Miss Sydney wanted to ride the "caraself". We were talking about taking them to the zoo to run around in the fountain but when she told us she wanted to ride the carousel we decided it would be easier on the pocketbook to take them to Lion Country where they could ride anything and everything they wanted for "free".
We actually did several new things with them and things we have not done in a long time. Matt took Sydney and Jordan for a ride on a boat.

Jordan was initially afraid of the life vest but she let us put it on her. When she got off the boat she could not wait to rip it "OFF, OFF, ME DO IT!!"
Lior decided she did not want to go, later she told me there was no room for her. She did not seem to care that the other kids were on the boat, she was fine watching. Maybe next time.
Poor Akiva just wanted to know when he was going to eat!

We took a boat ride to see the monkeys and some birds.

We fed the Lories this time the birds did not land on our heads but they did kiss our necks!
And of course, we rode the carousel! We had a great time even though it rained several times while we were there. The girls can not wait to go back with our cousins, they want to show them how brave they are when they feed the goats and the giraffes!

Blooming

Our cactus has had no less than thirty blooms ready to open several times in the last few weeks. I have never made it outside to take a picture until tonight when Matt dragged me out of my cozy bed to see it. I love that this cactus blooms but hate that it only blooms at night and the flowers do not live for any length of time. By the time we get up those beautiful flowers will be dead.
Matt did not want to move this cactus from our town house and I made him. I also made him plant it on our front yard when it started to outgrow its pot. In the four years we have been in this house the cactus has grown several new arms and several feet. Now we hold our breath every time the girls walk around it and hope they never fall into it.
Aren't the flowers beautiful? We are so lucky we live in paradise!

Stirring things up

I caused a stir today on the cul de sac! There is always something going on on our street and today I was the one who stirred things up!
On Monday, the big news was that at least four cars were broken into, including ours. They only broke into the cars that were left open but we think the cars/homes were targeted. I was shocked to find out that my neighbors leave money in their cars. One person lost one hundred and fifty dollars and another fifty! Isn't that crazy??? I think Matt would explode if we lost that much money because I left it in the car. We were shocked to find out that one of our neighbors left a gun in the car and that was also stolen. We have a good idea who the thieves were and the idea that those kids have a gun is a scary proposition. Hopefully it will not be a problem soon because the family is moving.
Do you want to know what I did to cause a commotion with the neighbors? I hired a lawn service to take care of the lawn so Matt did not have to do it on his days off. One of my neighbors called me to find out why I had a service cutting the lawn and I said "Matt works hard enough and does not get any time." "Now he has one less thing to do and he can enjoy his weekend." Matt was also shocked by my spur of the moment decision but happy and perhaps relieved. It is something he would NEVER do for himself and something that he deserves because he works like mad! Now I am glad that I did not do a thing for Father's Day because this was the perfect gift for the guy who is always looking for more time in the day.

Nap time

Nap time at its finest!

Does life get any better than this?

Waiting game

I am compulsive. I told Matt to shut down the computer because I was going to take a shower and go to bed. But when I was in the shower my mind started to work and I began thinking and now I am forced to write.
Initially I sat down to e-mail my brother Danny to pass a message on to my nephew Eitan who is celebrating his Bar Mitvah this weekend in Israel and it turned into a blog! I can not believe we were supposed to be in Israel today helping him celebrate but I got pregnant and we decided to stay home. The good news is that they will be coming to America a week from today and we will have three weeks to celebrate with Eitan (and the rest of his family).
I know the girls can not wait because "Danny's kids are coming". Lior and Sydney actually have fights about who is going to sleep in their big girl beds "Adina will sleep in my bed", "No'am will sleep with me", Eitan and Liely will sleep in my bed". Poor Jordan has no idea what or who they are talking about but pipes in with "Me too, Adina!"
I know they are looking forward to eating ice cream, the messier the better!



I know the girls want their cousins to come to their house NOW and they will have to wait but they can have all the ice cream they want while they are waiting!

They are growing

I do not have a lot of time because my mom left for Israel yesterday and now I am back on laundry duty. Matt is already complaining about the mound of laundry on his side of the bed and she has only been gone one day!
I took Akiva and Jordan to the doctor today for a check-up. Akiva now weighs eleven pounds and one ounce and is a whopping twenty two and three quarter inches, which puts him in the fiftieth percentile for both height and weight. He is of course in the seventy-fifth percentile for head circumference, since he is the spitting image of his father he should have a big head- just like dad. He has a blocked tear duct which I have been unable to clear up so he is now taking prescription eye drops.
Miss Jordan weighs exactly twenty two pounds and is thirty two and three quarter inches long. I believe she is on the fiftieth percentile as well. The pediatrician spent some time trying to figure out who Jordan looks like and we decided that she looks a little like everyone! My poor Jordan got four shots today, she was so sad but she got over it quickly! Akiva got two shots today and one oral immunization so both little kids are wiped out. Jordan actually fell asleep during the kids camp meeting tonight, she never does that!

It's gone

My son must really love me! After nursing for about two hours straight last night, Akiva slept ten hours straight! That is right ten hours! I really needed it, I felt very bad yesterday and my throat is gone. I have absolutely no voice. Matt thinks it is a riot and is teasing me constantly. The girls have not even commented about their voiceless mother.
I discovered how much my kids love books today. All morning long they brought me books and I tried to read but my throat hurt too much so I just pointed to pictures. By late afternoon Jordan was hitting my lap with books saying "Tiger, read please!", "Otto, Read please!", and "READ IT!!" When I told her I could not she started to scream and would walk away crying. That is when the "big girls" stepped up to the plate and started reading to her. I can not tell you how cute it was to see Sydney and Lior sit next to Jordan with a book open on their laps. Sydney tried to teach Jordan her colors and Lior pointed to pictures and asked Jordan questions.

That's it!

That is it we need to have another baby. My husband has some pretty bazaar logic but after hearing "Oh, you finally got your boy, now you can stop!" from every person we met tonight, I think he might be on to something.
When Matt tells people he would have been happy with a girl, they do not believe him and think he is saying that for my benefit. We did not care if we had a boy or a girl we wanted a healthy baby and a happy baby. We got our wish!
We may wish for another baby but then we would need a new car, a new house, a new dining room table... the list is endless but most of all I would need new feet and I think we definitely can not afford those!

Looking to the future

Today as I was chasing Jordan around "baby jail" trying to get her to put back on her diaper I began to wonder what she would be like as a teenager. Will she be as stubborn? Will I have to chase her around the house trying to get her to put on some clothes?
I often wonder what the teenage years will be like in this house. Three teenage girls with hormones raging telling me I am wrong, all the time. Matt actually can not wait because he figures they will like him better. I can just imagine Lior having a yelling match with me with her hands on her hips telling me that I could not tell her what to do just like she tries to now. Sydney is so super sensitive and follows the rules ALL the time that I can not imagine her misbehaving but I know she will. I think she will try to fly under the radar and use her partner in crime as her decoy. And then there is Jordan, I think she will show Sydney and Lior how to climb out of the window to sneak out. Jordan reminds me a lot of Matt and he was not an easy teenager. The verdict is still out on my cute little Akiva but if Jordan is any indication he will be up to no good in no time.

Party weekend

The girls spent the weekend partying. They love birthdays! The party on Saturday was at a park and they had a great time on the playground. Sydney is a climber and has no fear! It was nice to have Matt with me so I could take pictures, since I am usually spotting!
Here she is after she climbed to the top.
And on her way down.

Jordan is following in her footsteps.

An interesting thing happened at the party on Saturday. Maybe interesting is not the word but Matt's reaction was. Lior got burned by a cigarette. There was a woman smoking at a picnic table within a very close proximity to party goers. Apparently close enough that Lior walked into it. When I heard Lior screaming I assumed she got stung by something and then I saw a woman walk up to Matt with a worried look on her face and they were searching for something on her arm. I looked at Matt's face and knew instantly what had happened. He handled it beautifully, remained calm and did not make a scene. He calmly told the woman that if she was looking for him to say it is ok, he was not going to because it was not ok! I think I would not have handled it as well because I was ready to kill her. I walked over to Lior took one look at her arm and put Akiva in his car seat because I was going to kill the woman who burnt my baby. Then I took a deep breath and decided to pack the kids up and take them home. Then I stopped took another deep breath and decided that I could not and would not punish my children because of one person's stupidity and took them to the playground to play and then let them eat cake. I also took my husband away so he could blow off some steam without busting some heads.
Note to self if we ever have smokers at a party they are smoking in the middle of the street far-far-away!

We start them young

Akiva is nine weeks old today. So he must be old enough for Super Baby...

A cuddle with his big sister...

And a big smile!

Gym time

I have spent the last three days shuttling the girls back and forth to the gym between their regular class and make ups we have been to the gym seven times in the last ten days. The girls love it and it keeps us out of trouble but I am glad we are taking some time off.
The girls have really gained some fabulous skills and have become so strong since we started there. Lior has mastered the basket hang on the bar, does forward rolls from a stand, walks across the beam without assistance and is starting to do forward rolls on the beam! Her ability to follow directions and stay with the group really improved as well. She learned to take risks, safely.
Sydney is no slouch either. She also does forward rolls from a stand, crab walks on the parallel bars, walks across the beam and did a basket hang for the very first time yesterday. The picture is not very good but she had her feet up there! Sydney has really started to listen to directions and follow along with the group and will do things without Lior.
Jordan is amazing. I think the child is one huge muscle. I really do not know who she takes after! She is always eager to swing on the bars and is the first child at an apparatus when they are looking to demonstrate a skill. She holds on to the bar and pulls herself up like a super star. I was planning on taking the summer off but she has really opened up to all the instructors in the past few weeks and is making such progress I might just take her to the gym once the big girls start camp.
At the end of class this week the girls each received a certificate of accomplishment and they could not have been happier.

The name game

People say the weirdest things to me all the time. Today was no exception except it bordered on bazaar. The conversation followed the introduction at the Little Gym where I introduced Jordan, Akiva and myself. The woman next to me named Efrat turned to me and said:

"Akiva, why did you name him that?"

"We have always liked the name... so that's why we named him that."

"Akiva?!! Do you know what that means?"

"Yes I do"

"You do?!! Tell me what does it mean..."

My puzzled look must have explained the following comment...

"It is a very important Rabbi, you know that? Most people don't know that"

"Yes I do."

"How do you know that, are you Jewish?"

"Yes I am. My children have Hebrew names, my other daughter is named Lior and her name is Hebrew (pointing to Jordan)"- At this point I wish I had just ended the conversation and am now kicking myself for continuing this dialogue.

"Lior, do you know what it means?"

"Yes"

"Tell me what it means"

Believe it or not she continued to badger me about the kids names until I just stopped talking to her. I am glad today was the last class at the Little Gym for some time or she might want to know what the origin of my last name is and we just do not want to go there.

A winner

While Akiva sits on the sidelines in the bouncy seat or in the stroller the big girls have been taking full advantage of our new pool. Sydney loves when we throw her across the pool and she goes under. Lior loves dunking her head and Jordan will let us dunk her head although she is not that happy about it. I am happy because they are having fun, getting exercise and NOT sitting in front of the television.
The pool is a winner, hands down!

Eight weeks

Akiva is eight weeks old today and I am unable to formulate sentences for some reason. Maybe it is because even though he is sleeping up to ten hours at a shot I am staying up until the wee hours of the morning blogging!

Bye bye little potty

I might not need another arm, Sydney has been using the big germ infested potties the last two days! Hurray for Sydney and hurray for us, no more little potty in my diaper bag! That is until Jordan decides she is ready.

Rant about gender

You should hear some of the things people say to me on a daily basis. Just today when I was checking out at Target the cashier said "It is a good thing you finally got the boy". Does that mean that girls are not good enough? My usual reply is something like "A girl would have been good too." Believe it or not people do not get the hint and say something like "Well your husband must be thrilled you finally had a boy." Actually Matt never once said he hoped Akiva was a boy. After people tell us how happy we should be that Akiva is a boy they feel it necessary to tell us we can stop having more children because we got the boy. Believe it or not we did not get pregnant with Akiva because we wanted a boy, we wanted another happy healthy child and we got it.
When the twins were first born people would gravitate towards us because they wanted to see the twins. They would ooh and aah at them and then tell me how sorry they felt for me. Why feel sorry for me, I had two beautiful healthy little girls, why feel sorry for me? I know they were trying to be funny but eventually kids understand and hear what people say and begin to take it to heart. I never want the girls to feel that they are less because of their gender. Why am I ranting about gender today? Why not and I am sure it will not be the last time.

Why I need another arm

Last Wednesday when I was out the gym I overheard a nasty comment directed at me and it bothered me. I let it go because it was not worth getting into and it was the right thing to do. Let me set the stage and let your imagination run wild.
I was at the kid's gym at the end of their class when Sydney walks over to the bathroom and says she has to go. I follow her in to the bathroom as does Lior, Jordan, and another child. Did I mention I was also nursing Akiva on my right side (I am very right handed) without a sling? As I walk into the bathroom Lior starts whipping off her clothes and climbing onto the toilet just as this other child starts heading towards the toilet and sticks her hands into the bowl. Jordan is moving the stool towards the sink saying "hands hands" and Sydney is standing by the door saying she has to pee but needs her little potty. I am trying to keep Lior from peeing on this child while I am nursing the baby and crouched down on the floor. By the time the grandparent realizes his child is in the bathroom with me he is annoyed that I did not get his kids hands out of the toilet (I guess he expected me to grow another arm to help his kid). By the time I realize what is going on Lior has dropped her pants into a puddle on the floor (thank goodness they clean the bathroom right before the girls class) and has peed right out of the toilet onto her panties. Sydney has opened up the door some kind nanny has closed for me because the grandfather did not close the door when he ran out of the room and she has turned off the light. I get Lior dressed, while begging Sydney to turn back on the light, without putting her panties back on and ignore the wet spot on the back of her pant leg and hope nobody else notices it as well. She insists on washing her hands by herself which is usually fine but the bathroom door was open and that little girl was headed back in our direction. Jordan is still running loose in the bathroom carrying the stool around so she can play with the light. I finally get everyone back into the gym just in time for the closing song and try to get Sydney into the other bathroom so I can grab her little potty. By the time we get to that bathroom, it is occupied so I put Akiva back in his baby carrier which pisses him off because he was still nursing! I start instructing the kids to get shoes on and that is when I heard it "If that woman had better control of her kids she would not have gotten her hands in there".
EXCUSE ME???!!!! If I had better control? My kids were in the bathroom with me, peeing. It was not my kid with their hands in the toilet. Maybe if he had been watching his kid instead of chatting his child would not have followed mine into the bathroom. I said nothing. I said nothing because it was the right thing to do. I said nothing because my kids were with me and it was the right thing to do. I said nothing because Sydney still had to pee and it would have only made matters worse if she was standing in a puddle so I said nothing.

It's up

The pool is up, it is not perfect but it is up and running. We had a lot of fun helping Matt set it up yesterday. Matt may not have had fun because his head way going to explode between Sydney playing with the hose and Lior trying to climb on the edges. Jordan went in with a regular diaper and I have never seen anything get that big! Her butt was so big she could barely walk.
We played in the pool all day today and took the girls out when their teeth started to chatter. Matt had Sydney inside when he went to change and when she saw him drop his pants she asked him "That your penis?" He said yes and then she said "Is it cold outside?" I think Matt nearly passed out from laughing so hard. Out of the mouthes of babes.