It begins

A day at the cheese

I took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese today. We have not done anything really "fun" in a long time. I think I need to get in trips to the Cheese now because once school is out it will be packed! Today we were the only people in there for two hours. It was quiet and I did not have to worry about Akiva getting trampled by some unruly "big kids".
A great time was had by one and all! Akiva decided to play Wack-A-Mole. The mallet was bigger than he was. He was bound and determined to pick that mallet up, the string was really frustrating him!
Jordan, ever the two year old, was bound and determined to get her feet on those petals and would accept no help.
I tried to help her and Sydney tried. She needs to grow a few more inches before she can use that bike by herself.
Sydney and Lior are now interested in "big kid" games. When did they grow up?
They also need to grow a couple of more inches before they can successfully play this game.
I was so thrilled to have them all ride the same ride at the same time.
They must have sat on that ride for a solid ten minutes. What a joy for me! They even belted themselves into it so they could not go anywhere! It was a mini vacation! Look at those faces! They loved every minute of it.

Under the water

We tried out the new camera on Sunday. Underwater photos!


Lior thinks we need a lot more practice use the camera underwater. She does not like going under, Sydney on the other hand had no problem helping Matt take pictures.

She is a little fish.

Sydney loves the camera!
I think we will all love the camera this summer.

Fun in the sun

New camera

My camera started acting up right before Akiva's party so I was forced to get a new one. Matt is convinced that the new digital cameras are meant to last a year, especially the way I use them. One of the new features I love is that it shoots about fourteen or sixteen pictures in succession.
Like this:




And like this:





It also takes pictures and movies under water too! Now I just need to learn how to use the thing! I attempted to read the manual and I could not understand a thing. It's a miracle I figured out how to turn it on!

Growing a garden

Matt has been threatening to start a garden with the girls for about a year. Well today he actually did it. He cleared an area in our yard and if all goes as planned we will be eating a variety of beans, cucumbers, lettuce, squash and cantaloupe in a few months. Since we have no idea what was planted where, it will be a mystery garden until some vegetables pop up. If not we will have assorted weeds and mud for the kids to water and watch!
It was a lot of fun and the kids were definitely excited about planting their garden. Even Akiva got in on the action.
He found one of the girls spoons and decided to start digging in the dirt and then he ate some. I think I might be spending my summer keeping him out of our new garden and trying to convince him that just because it's on a spoon does not mean it's food.

The princess and the potty

Princess Jordan Toes has found a potty that pleases her. Hooray for Princess Jordan Toes, she is now wearing pantalettes a.k.a "panties" as beautiful as the other princesses in the kingdom! She does not need a pink potty, a polka-dot potty, or one that glows in the dark- any potty will do.
Can you tell that we have spent the last week reading The Princess and the Potty by Wendy Lewison? Well it worked because on Wednesday Jordan was not peeing on the potty and on Friday she was diaper-less at the gym. On Saturday we were outside all day and Jordan was going inside by herself and using the potty. Jordan potty trained herself in a day. Way to go Jordan!
Needless to say we have spent the weekend cheering for Jordan and spoiling her endlessly. Yesterday my dad took her to Target and bought her the treat he had been promising her. It is a good thing Jordan is as generous as she is because her siblings each got a treat as well. Everyone got ice cream last night and a trip to their community pool today. Hail Princess Jordan and goodbye diapers!

Table dancing

Who does this remind you of?
Akiva is now climbing on tables just like his sister Jordan did when she was small. The girls can not work at the picnic table without Akiva climbing onto the table and into their work.

He climbs down without help.
And goes on his merry way. I can't wait til we are outside all day this summer. I think it will be a matter of days before he climbs up the slide without assistance.

Party day

We had Akiva's first birthday party today and like all first birthday parties in our household, it was a big one! I think Akiva knew this day was all about him. His cake was a huge success. I think he liked his cake also! If I can figure out how to get the video on to the computer I might actually post a video of him and his cake!

I have to tell you I am disappointed that he did not dive into his "smash" cake. The big kids were more than willing to help him and give him pointers but he was not biting.
He did show more interest in the cake after we gave him a fork, he is his father's son! No dirty hands for Akiva!

Fearless

Need I say more?

Ready to swim

Matt really had to hold him back. He was ready to go swimming today!

I was wrong

I guess I was wrong, his milestones are still food related. Yesterday he was eating cotton candy and today he held his own juice box and drank away. This is a major accomplishment because prior to today he would have taken the straw out and squeezed the juice all over himself.

One

My one year old is eating cotton candy. Akiva thinks being the fourth kid has it's perks!!

Let him eat...cake

No birthday would be complete in this house without cake. Everyone gets a cake on their birthday- even if your cake falls on the third day of passover! I tried a flourless chocolate cake for Akiva's birthday tonight and it wasn't half bad!
Of course I got caught up in decorating it and dinner was delayed but that is what happens when your mother is a nut job!
Singing Happy Birthday to him was a real treat because he was so excited, it was like he knew we were all singing to him! His sisters were a real help blowing out the candles.When Akiva showed absolutely no interest in his cake and actually spit out his piece. I placed a small blob of whipped cream in front of him. He was far more interested in the can. Right now he is simply daring me to spray that can in his mouth. You can see it written all over his face!

"Go ahead, I dare you mom! Put it on my head!"

"SHE PUT IT ON MY HEAD!!" My mother is a nut job!!!

"I CAN NOT BELIEVE SHE PUT WHIPPED CREAM ON MY HEAD!!" My mother is so embarrassing!

"Talk to the hand!"

Happy First Birthday Akiva!

Birthday boy

Akiva is a year old today. I am in denial! Can it be that my baby is a year old now? Where did the time go? Wasn't it just yesterday I had to swaddle him? It goes by so quickly.
I remember a time when I thought all of his major accomplishments were about food, not anymore. Our boy has moved beyond all the food accomplishments onto the motor variety. He is walking more and more everyday. He can now make it from our bedroom to the front door without falling and I often see him toddle from our bedroom into the kitchen. He still falls but he is getting better on his feet every day. He can also pick up small objects and believe me with three little girls around we have plenty laying around. He likes to help clean up by putting toys into boxes and dumping them out.
Akiva will sit through a book, a short book, but he likes to look at the pictures and I think I saw him trying to turn the pages the other day. He plays beautifully with his sisters and tries to follow right after them. They adore him and try to cheer him up when he is sad. Wen they are playing upstairs Akiva uses every trick in the book to get up those stairs to get to them. His face simply lights up whenever he sees them or hears them. He plays nicely by himself as well. Right now his favorite toys are balls or things he can climb. He can climb our stairs without issue and has been able to for months. When he is on our bed and wants to get off he turns his little body around and slides down on his belly.
Meal times are still an adventure with him. He is STILL screaming and screaming and screaming. It is driving me nuts! We are still trying to teach him the sign for more but screaming is far more effective as far as he is concerned! I think we can not get the food in fast enough and sometimes he just does not like what we are offering him. He hasn't learned our motto of "this is what is for dinner" yet, but he will!
Akiva is a wonderful sleeper. He takes two naps a day, one quick nap in the morning and a long nap in the afternoon when the girls nap. He goes to bed at the same time as the girls and does not cry when we put him down, most of the time. Best of all he sleeps through the night and wakes up at about seven every morning, sometimes he falls back to sleep when he is nursing but those times are few and far between. When Matt jumps out of bed for the morning Akiva wants to go with him for a real breakfast and some male bonding!
Our baby is growing up and changing daily, hourly? He recently sprouted a new tooth bringing the grand total up to seven. If the fingers in his mouth and the drool are any indication more are on their way.
I am sure his communication skills are the next skills we will see explode in the coming months. He is already answering yes and no questions, much to our delight. He is able to tell us if he wants more of something or if he is all done which tends to ease the screaming a little. He waves goodbye, says "hi" and "bye", says banana "Nannna", and loves to sing. I find him singing to himself all the time and he still likes to sing while he nurses, so very cute! He actually reminds me of Sydney who sang all the time also. He has a great sense of humor and a terrific belly laugh which is quite contagious!
I always thought that no child could love our dogs more than Sydney does or did when she was a baby, but I think Akiva may loves those dogs more than she does. He sings to them. He lights up when those stinky dogs come around. I think he sneaks them food! I always find Akiva sitting next to Cyrus just hanging out. I am sure those two will be great friends!
Happy first birthday Akiva! We can not imagine life without you.