Adventures of Super Mommy

It's getting closer!

2010-10-06T13:49:00.000-04:00

Our favorite time of the year is getting closer and closer. Sydney continues to be brave and loves the spooky house. The other kids do as well but Syd continues to amaze us by her fearless nature.

Les this one is for you!

2010-10-06T13:47:00.000-04:00

Look at what I found in my backyard... Look closely Les...

Simchas Torah and The Torah

2010-10-06T13:46:00.000-04:00

I can not tell you how much I did not want to go to Shul for Simchas Torah. I was tired, the kids were tired, Matt was tired, it was raining, and the kids had school the next day. I could rattle off about ten more reasons why I did not want to go but Sydney did and she MADE us go.
She wanted to dance with the Torah and dance she did. She was dancing when the other kids had stopped dancing and moved on to playing. She danced around that Beama with her little stuffed Torah over head and an expression of sheer joy. People stopped me and said "Look at her face!".
So we went to Shul because Sydney insisted and I'm so glad she did because we had a wonderful time. They even gave the kids the Torahs to take home. Sydney fell asleep cuddling hers and she has kept it on her bed ever since.

Potty Training My Monster

2010-09-22T13:38:00.000-04:00

Akiva has been ready to be potty trained for at least the last four months, maybe more. I have not pushed the issue. I have ignored the signs. I have put a diaper on him as he has said " I pee on potty mom". He takes off his diaper sometimes and uses the toilet. He likes to poop in the potty! He even uses the toilets in public restrooms. Why am I ignoring the obvious signs? Because I. Know. My. Life. Will. Change. I will have to stay home for a few days and that's all it would take. He is so ready. His poor old mom isn't. She knows that car trips will be slower, we will have to stop more frequently. Shopping trips will be longer because he will have to visit each toilet twice.
While diapers are just gross to change and I can't wait to never have to do that again, they are easy. There I said it. They are just so easy. I'm going to have to suck it up in the next few weeks and say goodbye to diapers and hello to every toilet in south Florida.

End to a fun day!

2010-09-20T09:02:00.000-04:00

After a fun filled day we went to Uncle Danny's for even more fun (and food). We topped it off with a trip to Rita's for ices. Yummmmm

Sick boy

2010-09-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

You know you are not going to have a great day when your ALWAYS happy two year old wakes up crying at four in the morning. That is how my Friday started. Thank goodness he napped and that he us all better today.

Hula Jordan

2010-09-17T23:56:00.003-04:00

Jordan leaving school, all dressed up with nowhere to go!

Disney in May

2010-09-16T21:44:00.007-04:00

I forgot to bring my computer to the carpool line today and I was forced to play games on my iPhone. The entire time I was playing mind numbing games I was thinking "Now I will have to blog tonight, I better not be too tired" and I am way to tired to be blogging. I am going to try not to forget the computer again so I won't have to play games. Somehow I can't seem to find a good book to read. I need a good romantic comedy so I am open to any and all suggestions.
I had a request for pictures so here you go Ann, pictures! These pictures are from our trip to Disney in May with Eric and Sue.
Here is our very happy Jordan who is almost three and half in this picture and smiling away on It's a Small World.
Here is our very very big boy at two years and one month old. He LOVES this ride and here he is singing and dancing along to the music. He is just delicious and very happy!

Here is little miss Lior, who also likes this ride but will not crack a smile for all the money in the world. It is hard to believe that she is four years and eight months old.

Sydney. There is nothing else I need to say because Sydney is always happy at Disney World and not afraid to show it! She loves this ride and unlike her twin is oozing excitement!

Jordan is very funny and very silly and a lot of other things too! Here we are trying on hats and trying to take pictures and I get this:

and this from little miss Jordan.
The next day we spent the entire day wearing Sue and Eric OUT. I think they needed a major vacation when they were done playing with us!

The kids loved spending time with them and fighting over who was going to sit next to Sue at every meal and on every ride. They LOVE Sue and Eric too.
Here is our beautiful little guy. He's hot and sweaty and adorable.

Here is a good picture of his baby blues. He looks so tired in this picture and so little. He still has the same face but he has matured in the last four months and doesn't look like that to me any more. I just realized why these pictures are so bad, I left my beautiful Nikon camera on the kitchen counter. By the time I realized that I left the camera at home it was too late to drive back to get it so we stopped at Target and bought the cheapest digital camera that had a rechargeable battery. I promise much better pictures from now on!
Face painting is always a favorite activity at Disney. They do an amazing job with the kids. Akiva always picks out what he wants and you can never change his mind so I do not even bother! This time he picked out a tiger and he could not get over himself he stared into the mirror for a long long time. I do not blame him.

ROAR!!!

Sydney.

Our very own Minnie Mouse, Jordan.

The group. Sorry Eric but it was the only picture I found that all the kids were looking at the camera. We know what you look like...

Ooops... Here is Lior and I believe she is closing her eyes so we can see that the makeup is on her eyelids.

Here she is on the carousel having a marvelous time. Ironically I am wearing the same shirt as we speak. What are the chances? (I guess pretty good since I only have about 10 t-shirts I wear regularly)
Here are my two little guys out cold on our way back to the car. Disney is such hard work.

We parked at the Polynesian (a hotel on the monorail at Disney) and we decided to explore the hotel before we headed back to our low rent hotel. We wondered by this beautiful pool and I told the girls to hike up their skirts and stick their feet in. They must have miss heard me because the next thing we knew their heads were under and their skirts were floating around their heads. What a great way to end a great vacation. Too bad the little ones were sleeping and Matt and I could not go in in our skivvies.

Lets Try This Again...

2010-09-15T23:09:00.001-04:00

I’m trying to figure out why I haven’t blogged in eleven months and I can’t. I’m going to dig deep and try to figure it out. I think it was much easier to have all the kids in my possession each and every day. Sending them to school every day is much harder than having them all all over me each and every day. Sydney and Lior went to school five days a week from nine to one. Jordan started going to school two days a week from nine to one in a different school and Akiva hung out with me. Having the kids in two different schools is extremely difficult and Sydney and Lior’s school was a major cause of stress for me. Maybe that’s the reason why I didn’t blog, I didn’t want to complain.

Perhaps it was because I hate my computer but we got another little laptop so I could blog and that was way back in February while we were on vacation in North Carolina. I’m not that crazy about it either but at least I can sit with it on my lap and type away. I’m not sure how I am going to post pictures because there are no pictures on this laptop but at least I will be able to write about what the kids are doing and saying because I plan on blogging again starting today.

Believe it or not Sydney and Lior have started kindergarten, yes my babies are GROWING UP! Now that we have transitioned into elementary school I have discovered the joy of the car pool line. Can you believe that people start to line up for car pool at noon? Maybe you will find it more unbelievable if you knew that students are not dismissed until two. That’s right they wait out here for two hours. You want to know what is crazier than that? I get on line at twelve thirty and wait along with them. I do this not because I want to but because I have two sleeping kids who need to sleep and waiting in the car for an hour and a half lets them take that nap. Yesterday I decided that I was going to write my blog again while the kids sleep. Lets see how long this lasts. Wish me luck and pray that Jordan continues to nap a minimum of three times a week.

Ok, I know!

2009-10-12T00:38:00.002-04:00

I know, I know! I know I have not been posting. I have no real excuse. I have not been happy with the picture quality so I have not wanted to post. Matt tells me to post without pictures but most of you do not want to read the blog you want to see pictures of the kids. I know my audience!
I have been unbelievably busy. The kids were home the whole summer and that was a complete change in routine. I managed to work as much as possible which kept us busy. I am not really sure why that kept me from blogging or if it did. I think I am going to blame my disappointment in the picture quality because it will justify me purchasing a new camera (again). I spent the better part of tonight reliving my summer. Matt's birthday, Sydney and Lior's birthday party, their school celebration, our vacation celebration (day one, two and three), and another beach photo shoot. I have provided links to all the posts that I wrote tonight so you do not have to search for them. They were all posted in August except Matt's birthday which is in July so if you do not feel like following the links just click on August and they will all come up. When you look at Matt's birthday cake forgive me, I was saving all of my cake decorating skills for the girls birthday cake!
Enjoy the posts and come back soon because I will be posting SOON!

Writing

2009-09-17T11:44:00.002-04:00

Jordan just started calling for me a few minutes ago. "Mommy, Mommy, come here quick!". "I wrote a "j", I wrote my letter... And it's a beautiful one!"

The good news

2009-09-11T16:18:00.001-04:00

Baby jail is finally clean! And they saved the dog!

Apparently

2009-09-11T16:15:00.000-04:00

Baby jail is on fire and the have saved their toys.

Akiva bowls

2009-09-06T12:45:00.000-04:00

Need I say more?

Imitation

2009-08-27T13:29:00.002-04:00

What's that they say? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
Today at nap time Sydney called downstairs to me and told me she was taking care of Jordan. When I got there I found Sydney cuddling her and asking her what her favorite part of the day was. Jordan's reply "cuddling you!". That's usually Sydney's response at the end of the day when I tuck them in at night.

First day of school

2009-08-25T22:28:00.002-04:00

Today was the first day of pre-school for Sydney and Lior. Lior was really excied to get started. Sydney not so much! She was happy this morning but I think it is hard for her knowing that Jordan is home and that we are bound to do something fun without her. The teacher said she had a great day but when I asked her about it she said that it was not so great. She told me that the day was too long. I am sure that once she gets into the swing of things she will be fine and asking me to pick her up at three.

Posting in July

2009-08-17T23:01:00.003-04:00

I am trying to catch up on my blogging. I have two vacations, two birthdays, four doctors appointments, Home Depot Saturdays, Art class, my Challenge (I cleaned out the laundry/pantry) and several Milestones to blog about. Unfortunately there just isn't enough time in the day to get it all done. So I have started in July, keep checking back but be sure to scroll down or click on "July" to see all the posts; you might miss something.

"Jordan pooped a j"

2009-08-16T10:55:00.002-04:00

I am demonstrating great restraint today. A few minutes ago, I heard Jordan screaming in the bathroom. "Mommy come here, come here!". I walked into the bathroom to find her standing in front if the toilet smiling from ear to ear. "I did a big poopy!". Lior followed me in and exclaimed "Jordan it's huge! And it's a J!". She wiped quickly and ran out of the room to go and find her daddy, she knew he would appreciate it! Sydney came running in to check it out and then Matt who gave her the reaction she was looking for.
Right about now my brothers, at Matt's insistance, are staring at a picture of Jordan standing next to the toilet smiling proudly. I have decided to spare the rest of you.

Movie night

2009-08-15T20:55:00.001-04:00

On our most recent trip to Naples, the girls crawled into our bed to watch a movie. We loved it so much we decided to try it at home. Tonight we are watching Enchanted and hopefully we can have everyone safely tucked into bed by eleven.

He is one of the big kids now

2009-08-14T11:13:00.000-04:00

He's riding all the rides he can, especially the ones the big kids like.

Right of passage

2009-08-10T16:02:00.001-04:00

I remember playing with my moms makeup when I was little and today was little miss Sydney's turn. "Don't I look beautiful mommy?"

Vacation day three

2009-08-08T23:30:00.004-04:00

We spent the last day of vacation on the beach as well. We spent a majority of the day in the water because it was hot, really hot. We swam the kids out to the sand bar where we could stand comfortably and the kids could barely touch.

Akiva loves his grandma and posing for the camera.

My dad loves doing stuff with the kids and they love doing things with him.
While we were out on the sand bar Sydney was diving down to the bottom and finding Sand Dollars. She gave this one to Lior who gladly held it up for the camera.
We brought the Boogy Board that Scott and Lisa gave us on our last vacation and Sydney decided to surf.

She has amazing balance.

I guess all the time she has spent at The Little Gym has paid off.
After we swam back to the beach the kids decided to build a sand castle, Lior's favorite activity. She just loves digging in the sand.

So does her father.
And this little crab who came to visit and did not want to go back into the water. The kids were very excited to see this crab, we had never seen one so close before.

Of course Akiva spent the day eating, he is good at it so why not?

I can not believe I finally got a picture of Jordan giving me attitude. She looks really pissed off and I can not for the life of me remember why. Even mad she looks cute!

I know that some day Sydney will be really mad at me for publishing this photo of her. She is absolutely stunning and this picture does not demonstrate this fact at all. It does illustrate how much Akiva looks like her.

Can you see the resemblance? Fortunately for him he looks much better soaking wet and wearing orange goggles.
As we were getting ready to go Sydney decided to cover herself in sand after we dug a small hole.

We had to dig a much bigger hole to fit Matt. The kids had fun covering him in sand a walking over him. He is such a good sport.

I decided he was missing something and added some big boobs and drew a Mermaid tale. He love The Little Mermaid so we turned him into his own girlfriend. Isn't he lucky?

Jordan, who does not usually participate in sandy activities got into the spirit and let us cover her as well.

We had a great day on the beach. Everyone loves vacation so much it is hard to say goodbye.

Vacation day three- part two

2009-08-08T00:11:00.003-04:00

After our last vacation I decided that I wanted to try and get more pictures of the kids on the beach. This time I charged the battery the second we got home from the beach. I was not going to have a dead battery this time. What I did not count on was the impending rain. It was going to storm any second, the sound of thunder was booming in our ears as I was trying to take these pictures.
As usual the kids we cooperative.
It probably did not help that Matt and I were screaming at them to hurry up and look at the camera between booming claps of thunder. Sydney was the only one who really cooperated with me.

She loves having her picture taken.

She is just stunning.

I have a lot of pictures of Lior with her eyes else where. Perhaps she was looking at the bolts of lighting over the Gulf or turning toward the booming thunder.

Jordan was busy telling me we needed to get off the beach because of "da thunda".

My attempts at a group shot. You decide which one is the best. At least they are all looking at me. Please take note of the sky, it was getting darker and louder by the second.

Lior looks like she has been hitting Matt's scotch.

This one is my favorite. They are a good looking bunch of kids, if I do say so myself!
I love this picture of Akiva and Sydney. I am sure he was screaming at the top of his lungs right after I took this picture because she was touching him.

I love this picture of Akiva. His eyes are just so blue.
I can get lost in those eyes. He really needs a haircut, I have never had a child with so much hair!

This photo is sweet as well. They were playing ring around the rosy while thunder clapped over our heads and the darkest skies you have ever seen rolled in.

This was the only picture I got of Lior where she was actually looking at the camera , she is just so beautiful.

Vacation day two

2009-08-07T22:48:00.004-04:00

We spent the second day of vacation on the beach. It was a very overcast day that looked like it would rain any second but I insisted we head for the beach and hope for the best. I think we stayed for hours because it never rained and it was not too hot.

The kids just love the beach, playing in the sand, the water and posing for pictures.

And in Akiva's case his favorite pass time is eating anything that is not nailed down. I don't know who has more fun; Akiva eating or my dad feeding him!

Finding Sand Dollars is a favorite distraction, almost as good as looking for treasure on the playground at school.

These two have fun sitting and eating while watching the sites.

Especially when the sites are as cute as little Lior's rear end sticking up!
Sydney started diving down for Sand Dollars on her own.

Akiva had a blast digging in the sand.
Our celebratory dinner was fantastic! Everyone had a great time and a fantastic meal.

The birthday girls and their Grandma.
It was the girls actual birthday so they had a candle in their ice cream sundae's.

Jordan was an honorary twin today and got to blow out her own candle. She could not have been more thrilled.

Everyone had a great time, even Akiva who had a hard time sitting through the meal.

Sydney really enjoyed dessert! She and Lior were feeding each other their ice cream. They can be so nice to each other sometimes. I love it!

After dinner we walked through an outside shopping area where I tried to get them all to sit for a picture. I am always very optimistic that I will get a good shot. In this one Sydney and Akiva are adorable.

In this one Sydney and Lior are actually looking at the camera.
And in this one Jordan is acting like a two year old who does not care how optimistic her mother is!

After a very long day our son passed out cold on his exhausted father who needed to sleep as much as his son did and Sydney who does not like to miss photo opportunities.

Vacation celebration

2009-08-06T22:41:00.002-04:00

We decided to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary, my parents forty eighth or forty ninth wedding anniversary (sorry I can not remember how long they have been together) and the girls fourth birthday by taking a long weekend to Naples.
My parents enjoyed watching those kids have a great time splashing around until the pool closed.
We decided to

Party time again

2009-08-04T22:28:00.000-04:00

The girls have been going to a a drop off art class all summer. I should say that Sydney and Lior have been going, the teacher has been allowing Jordan to stay, even though she is not three- yet. It has made Jordan feel like a million bucks and me a little sad because I miss hanging out with her. Well we celebrated the girls birthday with cupcakes and tuns of junk food. FUN FUN FUN!

Are you all wishing I could take a picture that was not out of focus? I am!

Does it look like Lior is flipping me off here? I thought this would happen when she was fourteen not four!

Party time!

2009-08-02T21:38:00.004-04:00

We had the girls fourth birthday party at The Little Gym and they had a blast. It was the best birthday party because I did not have to do a thing but show up with the cake.

They started out on the "Big Red Mat", where Jordan and Akiva joined the festivities.

Sydney walked the beam with ease.

And of course little Miss Jordan did the same.

Lior got a lift from her dad.
The kids had a blast jumping on the air track.

The cousins had fun, sitting around with their friends and cuddling the girls (and Akiva too!)
Look at those two! I remember when they could not hold up their own heads! Now they are almost doing cartwheels and head stands!

One day I would like all of them to look at me, maybe that will be my birthday wish along with a camera that takes a decent picture!
At the end of the party the kids were called up and they were supposed to run up to the cheese mat and slam it really hard with their bodies and land on it. You can see Lior managed to knock it over but did not land on it.

The cake was a huge hit and I had a great time making it and the sugar cookies which I forgot to take a picture of, oh well!

This was the back of the cake. The girls just loved it!

Happy Birthday Sydney and Lior!

Matt's birthday

2009-07-28T21:14:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Matt! Matt loves coffee so I decided to make him a cup of coffee. Not my best effort, but the cake itself was good, banana with mocha frosting.
We had the cousins over for dinner so the cup was not going to be big enough, enter the Homer Simpson donut. Sydney decided on the wording for the cake.

We love birthday's! Blowing out candles is always a high point!

Can you see it?

2009-07-28T12:02:00.000-04:00

Can you see the bruise on my poor boy's lip? I tried to multi-task at
the library today, only to have Akiva fall off the chair and wind up
with a bloody lip. I thought the librarian was going to pass out!
He's a trooper.

Vacation; day three

2009-07-19T22:04:00.004-04:00

Our last day of vacation. We decided to throw the kids in the pool before we drove home. We wanted to exhaust them for the drive home. the girls really did not want to go home, it's a good thing we have plans to come back in a few week to celebrate all the birthdays and anniversaries.
Lior mastered her "CANNONBALL" on this trip. I remember a child who just about refused to jump in the pool at the beginning of this summer. I wonder where she went?

Sydney also mastered "CANNONBALL!!"

Akiva is starting to be a real daredevil.

Sydney is just about fearless and willing to try anything Matt wants her to do.
She was really proud of herself the first time she balanced on his shoulders and jumped.

Jordan is not much of a daredevil. She is very cautious. Jordan is a great swimmer but does not feel very comfortable swimming the way Sydney and Lior do. I am sure that by next summer I will not be able to keep up with her.

Not the best picture of our little Jordan but she is cute anyway!

Vacation; day two

2009-07-18T22:22:00.002-04:00

I should have said that this vacation was rather spur of the moment and was not an overly planned vacation. We decided to head over to the West Coast after Lisa contacted us about their trip to Sanibel. Much to my delight Matt wanted to meet them and I quickly found a place to stay before he could change his mind. We had originally planned on leaving Friday morning, early but on Thursday at about five Matt called and asked if we could leave that night at about nine when he got home from work. "sure" I said as I glanced around the house and realized that NOTHING was ready to go. I was not even sure what we were going to have for dinner! Thank goodness my parents were over and graciously took us out for a very quick meal and I was able to pack up four kids in an hour without forgetting anything important! We were packed and ready by the time Matt got home from work.
The kids were so excited! As we were pulling out of the driveway I heard Sydney say "I can't wait to see vacation!" We drove and drove and drove and the kids slept until Matt pulled into a convenience store for beer and then all hell broke loose. The kids had a great nap and were excited because we were staying in a hotel and we were on vacation. they were up until two and Matt and I were defeated. They were very lucky they slept until nine because we needed it!They slept late after our very busy day with Scott and Lisa and were ready for a day at the beach, but not the "far beach", Sydney was not up for another hour and a half car ride to Sanibel!
The beach in Naples was very peaceful and much cooler than the water in Sanibel and the water was very refreshing. We spent the day playing in the sand.Carrying buckets of water, and drinking coffee.
Matt spent a ton of time in the Gulf trying to find some wild life.
They found tons of fish and Matt was so excited when the kids actually saw the fish this year. They found a Conch shell with an actual Conch inside. My super brave Sydney was an excellent model and loved holding the "living shell".We decided to put it back into the Gulf so we did not kill it.
Our next discovery was a Sand Dollar.

We put it in a bucket which Lior filled with sand and water.

I felt the need to put it back into the water ASAP, before we killed it.
Akiva, what did he do? He ate all day long!

Vacation; day two- part two

2009-07-18T21:19:00.002-04:00

On the second day of vacation we decided to go out for an early dinner and watch the sunset on the beach, For me it was a great photo opportunity and I think I got some really great shots, when the kids were cooperating.
I love this picture of Sydney because it really shows her adventurous spirit. She tried really hard to keep her skirt dry.The next few photos demonstrate how hard it is to get three kids to look at the camera. Chances are it is just not going to happen.

It is probably not going to happen because Akiva can not sit still!

I did get some really cute pictures of Sydney and Lior who were loving each other.

Too bad the color is off in these pictures, because I really like them.

This picture may be my favorite of the girls.

Then they started to goof off again and the camera battery started to die.
The pressure was really on and the camera was not really cooperating.

I think these pictures are the only pictures where the kids are actually looking at the camera.

I love these pictures of Jordan.

She is such a big kid now.

Too cute!

This one of Sydney, her eyes are so beautiful!

Lior looks so serious but I think she looks like a knock out!
Believe it or not it is hard to get a picture of the front of Akiva's head! I happen to like this picture because it shows how good the girls are with him.

I love this one for the same reason. Sydney loves Akiva and he loves her.

We brought a kite down to the beach and Akiva loved it.

Finally a picture of his face.

Vacation; day one

2009-07-17T21:51:00.004-04:00

We traveled over to the west coast this weekend to visit with my cousin Scott, his wife Lisa and their beautiful daughter Julia. They had their nephews Brenden, who loved getting his picture taken and Levi who was great with the kids. As I was strapping Jordan into th car seat she said "That Levi is a nice boy!" and she was right he was a real charmer! He had his hands full trying to hold onto Akiva for a picture! That boy will not stay put for a second.
Akiva got to check out someone his own size but was not sure of what to do with her.
I tried to get a picture of "the girls", they are all so cute.
All the kids had a great time playing with each other.
We played on the beach where I decided that Scott has cloned himself, Julia is his "mini me!"
The kids had a blast looking for shells and digging in the sand.
Believe it or not the gulf was too warm and swimming was not as refreshing as it should have been. Last year when we were there the water was chilly and the waves were huge.
We ate terrific meals by the pool, thank goodness for the BBQ! and had a wonderful wonderful time invading our cousins vacation. Lisa is such a great mom and Julia is an absolutely beautiful baby! It is great to see my "little" cousin Scott so happy with such a beautiful family. I'm glad we had the chance to spend time with them and hope we can do it again next year!
Thanks Scott, Lisa and Julia!

Akiva clock

2009-07-09T22:38:00.005-04:00

We were at Chuckie Cheese this week when Akiva walked over to the clock and pointed to it and then himself. When I asked him if he wanted to ride he nodded his head deeply and hopped on. For a boy who does not talk he sure does get his message accross!

Monsters!!!!

2009-07-09T21:58:00.006-04:00

About a month ago Jordan had a major "freak out". She decided that there was a monster in her room that was eating her feet. She decided that she was not sleeping in her bed. She decided that she was not staying in her room. She screamed and screamed and screamed some more when I tried to leave her room. I stayed and comforted her as long as I could but I decided that she needed to scream it out and that is exactly what she did. She screamed and cried until she fell asleep and because I was concerned about her I checked on her about forty five minutes after she fell asleep and the second I looked into her crib she started to scream and shake. My poor baby was drenched and shaking from fear. The second I picked her up she started to scream about the monster who was going to eat her feet and did not stop until I deposited her on her sisters bed.
For the next several weeks Jordan had a major meltdown every time I suggested she sleep in her room. Nap time was tough but she really pulled it together and stayed in her room with the help of a big stinky dog who would sleep next her crib each and every day. It was about this time that Jordan decided that she needed to sleep in a pink pillow case, and the pillow case needs to be pink and she can tell when you switch it out for the other pink pillow case. Now Jordan needs to sleep with her "Doggo", her pink Pigelet blank and her coveted pink pillow case.

Once we let the little monkey out of the crib there was really no turning back. She is now sleeping in the same room with the "big girls", which is not without its pitfalls. Jordan and Sydney play when they should be sleeping which leads to crying, lots and lots of crying. Although, its usually Lior who is crying because when the girls get separated Lior has to sleep by herself which she does not like. Having all the girls in the same room is nice because it lends itself to great pictures like this one;

We moved a toddler bed into the girls room so Jordan could have her own space in the room.

Now when they are playing instead of sleeping I can separate them and still have Jordan in the same room, which means she can come down in the morning by herself and does not stand in her crib and yell to be picked up. She is such a big girl!

A day at the beach

2009-06-28T23:50:00.005-04:00

The kids wanted to go to the beach and because we asked them where they wanted to go, we went to the beach and had a great time. It was Akiva's first "real" trip to the beach. He was not sure about the surf at first but it did not take him long to warm up to it.
Playing in the sand was definitely a huge hit. I am not sure who likes it more Matt or the kids.

Akiva really liked playing in the sand. He must have played with that shovel the entire time we were at the beach. He would let it go into the surf, complain when it would get carried away and clap when it came back.

Jordan had fun with the bucket. She really is that cute!

Lior and Jordan had a great time "swimming" in the surf.

Jordan was certainly in her element!

Akiva just loved the whole day.

Sydney thought the water was a little cold at first.
The cold water did not stop her from swimming at least thirty feet into the ocean to her beaming father who promised her an ice cream for doing it!

Whale pool

2009-06-25T22:54:00.006-04:00

We set up our pool earlier this summer but Akiva just does not love it. He does not really like the float we have for him. He probably hates it because he flipped in it the first time I put him in it. I think he would have been fine had I actually been in the pool when he flipped but I was standing on the outside. I had put him in it so I could climb in safely, in retrospect not a good idea. By the time he flipped he was in the center of the pool and out of arms reach. Thank goodness Lior was in the pool and was able to push him towards me and I pulled him out.No wonder he does not really like the float.
After that incident I decided that Akiva needed a pool he could really play in and Target happened to have a really cute one on sale. I love a sale and Akiva loves his pool! This whale pool comes equipped with a sprinkler, how great is that?
He likes filling his pool and playing with the hose. I was a little worried initially because he was so thrilled with the hose but once he discovered all this pool had to offer, my worries were pushed aside. Almost as much as his sisters like playing in his whale pool.I had a hard time getting Sydney back into he big pool, if only that pool had a sprinkler!

She is a big girl now

2009-06-22T23:25:00.008-04:00

It was a day for firsts. Akiva is finally taking a class at the gym and our little Miss Jordan is no longer in a parent child class. She is in a class with the big girls, without me! I have to tell you when she walked into that class without me and did not bat an eye I was sad. She does not need me anymore! She followed directions like a big kid.

She does so much more without me in the gym.

It helps that she LOVES the instructor.

She would not have done half the things she attempted if I had been in the class. The last few parent child classes had been torture for me because all she wanted to do was hang on me. She was ready to jump all by herself.

She has some really excellent role models in this class, like our very own Sydney who is thrilled to have her little sister follow her around.

And copy her.

Another first

2009-06-22T12:03:00.002-04:00

Akiva had his first class at The Little Gym today. He's a pro already.
He walked across the beam, hung from the bar and tumbled down the mat.
Another gymnast in the making.

Fathers Day takes the cake

2009-06-21T21:04:00.007-04:00

Looks good doesn't it. A nice hot plate of thin and crispy freedom fries.

A huge tray of sliders with ketchup, mustard and lettuce.
All put together in a cute little tray with your own side of ketchup.

A nice cold beer. It is just what every father wants for his special day!

YUMMY!

It's as good as it looks!

Sydney is diving into it with gusto and Noam is dipping those delicious fries.

She is really loving that burger.
Lior is sharing hers with Akiva, she is such a good big sister!
Jordan is sharing with Grandpa.
Even Uncle Danny is sharing with Akiva. He was just licking Danny's burger but it looks like he is taking a big bite.
Those fries sure were tasty!

Lior is thinking about taking a bite.

Liel is my best customer. She LOVED it.

Looks good!
It just might be my best cake yet, it is certainly my cutest!

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

What a great day!

Spiders

2009-06-21T20:23:00.000-04:00

Happy Fathers Day Matt! You would pick the park with the BIGGEST
spiders!! We all know how much you love spiders.

Sunflowers

2009-06-18T16:27:00.001-04:00

The sunflowers are growing. Lior is the tallest and the largest one is
taller than her. It looks like a flower is sprouting, I can't wait.

Holy green beans Batman!

2009-06-18T16:24:00.002-04:00

Look at what our garden gas produced!! I think there are probably ten green beans in our little garden. Lior found them today and is itching to eat them all. They are waiting for daddy so he can enjoy them too.

Purple ones too!

2009-06-18T16:19:00.000-04:00

Who knew we planted purple ones too??

Couch potato

2009-06-15T18:10:00.001-04:00

Look at my little couch potato. Akiva loves to sit on the couch with
my big couch potato, Lior. He's actually eating blocks, not corn on
the cob. Too cute!

Wouldn't you know it!

2009-06-14T21:31:00.002-04:00

It is just my luck, I sat down to write, write, write and I have no pictures! Matt downloaded all the pictures at work so I would have room on the camera to take pictures and video of the swimming lessons. Stay tuned and keep checking because I am posting and have been posting but the dates are in May and early June.

Akiva is fourteen months

2009-06-10T21:34:00.001-04:00

Akiva is fourteen months old. Where did all the time go? He is amazing! I can say it because it is true and I am his mother! He is such a good baby, if he did not let out ear piercing screams when during meal time life would be good. Actually he screams a lot, not only during meal time. He screams when he does not get his way or when he wants something that the girls have. I beg the girls not to take things from him because I just don't want to hear him scream. He is actually getting much better, most of the time, he still has his moments but he is a keeper! Akiva wants to do whatever his sisters are doing. Rough housing with Matt is no exception!
Up, up up he goes!
My heart is in my throat.
I just wish I had video of the screams of joy.
Akiva doesn't mind he comes back for more each and every time.
At fourteen months Akiva has eight sharp as nails teeth that he sinks into my shoulder when I am not paying attention. He also sinks them into my toes or the girls feet because he thinks the reaction is funny. We do not. I hear the girls tell him at least three times a day that "we do not bite." "No biting Akeev..."He loves to follow the girls around and he tries to do whatever they do. He likes to sit on the couch next to them and watch movies, only he sits for five minutes and runs off. He likes to push the doll stroller around, especially if Sydney is playing with it.
I think Akiva's favorite pass time is eating. He loves to eat and he eats well. My dad says he would eat the table if we would let him. He drinks from a regular cup, uses a spoon and a fork with ease and has stopped throwing his plate on the floor. He has actually been using utensils and drinking from a cup for almost two months now. He needs to be just like the big girls. I have recently started to give him snacks in a snack bag, he dumps them occasionally. I am ready for him to eat without dumping.
His gross motor skills are great as well. He can climb the stairs with ease and started going down the stairs without assistance about a month ago. He has been trying to buckle himself into the car seat. He is great at putting objects into things. I am going to get him started on some simple shape sorting activities/puzzles as soon as I can. Unfortunately his sisters have lost all of the pieces to the shape sorting puzzles we have. That is what happens when you are the fourth kid!
Akiva is constantly vocalizing and singing. He started saying "dude" yesterday. Can you tell who taught him that? Matt has all the kids saying dude and it is driving me crazy! I am focusing on "mommy", he'll say it eventually. He sings all the time. The girls learned a song for Passover and the chorus goes "ooh ah, ooh ooh ah" and he is constantly doing it and the girls sing the words for him. Sydney was the same way, singing before she could talk. I know that once he starts talking the screaming will decrease, I can not wait for that!
Akiva loves to dance, clap his hands, and point at things he finds exciting. His piercing blue eyes cause strangers to stop and talk to him, which he eats up. He has a wonderful personality that draws you in. He is just a great great baby who is not much of a baby any more.

Under

2009-06-02T22:31:00.000-04:00

The camera has been a blast. The kids love it. Actually I don't know who loves it more Matt or the girls. The camera has come in handy because Lior was refusing to go underwater. Once she saw the pictures of Sydney she wanted her turn.
If she only knew how "far under" she was she would flip out.
Look at that face!

Right now Jordan is happy on top of the water. She needs to get comfortable in the water again
Sydney is a fish. She loves swimming under the water!
Look at that face!
That smile is just contagious.

Goodbye old friend

2009-05-19T21:43:00.006-04:00

A week ago today, Matt and I took Kaya to the vet and had her euthanized. We had been putting it off for months, hoping she would die in her sleep or at home with us. We knew it was coming, she was wasting away in front of our eyes, she was loosing control of her bowels and she was afraid to go outside without us. She was old and she was sick. Ultimately I know we made the right decision, but it was tough.
We had been preparing the girls for months. "Kaya is really sick girls, she is going to die soon." "Be gentle with Kaya guys, she is really old..." Sydney would tell everyone who walked through the door that Kaya was old and going to die soon. As it became more apparent that Matt and I were going to have to make the decision we started to talk about it more. Death is not a topic that we have shied away from. We talk about Linda, who died before the girls were born, all the time. The girls know that Linda was very sick, so sick in fact that not even the doctors could make her better and she died. They know how sad that makes us and uncle Eric because we all miss her. I explained to the girls that Kaya was going to be with Linda and that Linda would be very excited to have a dog to love and massage. We talked about this idea all the time, Sydney was comforted by it and so was Lior until the day I made an appointment for Kaya to go to the vet.
I warned the girls before I made the phone call to the vet, "Kaya is going to die today or tomorrow." "Mommy, not today, not tomorrow, not ever!" "My dog is not going to die!" replied Lior. Lior was adamant that I not take her dog away and reminded me about it all day long. "Mommy I don't want my dog to die, not today, not ever!" We talked through it and she sat with Kaya and we had a good conversation:
Lior: "Mommy Hashem is everywhere right?"
Me: "Yes Lior he is."
Lior: "If he is everywhere, how will he take Kaya to Linda?"
Me: "He will leave her body here and take all the things we love about Kaya and bring them to Linda and then she will be everywhere too."
Lior: "Oh, but Kaya will be with Linda and her bunny right? and Hashem will bring her to Linda?"
Me: "Yes Liorie"
Lior: "Mommy I don't want my doggie to die."
Me: "I know Lior"
It has been a week and the girls are still asking for her. Today as I was bringing Jordan up for a nap she asked me why Kaya had to die and I just do not have a really good answer. I miss her, the house feels empty without her. Cyrus misses her. Today one of my neighbors yelled down the street that she was sorry to hear about Kaya. When Cyrus heard her name he came running with his ears up looking for her. I thought my heart would break.
I know Matt and I made the right decision. When we took Kaya to the doctor we weighed her and she was down to twenty nine pounds, she was so sick. I think she knew how much we all loved her and she could not let go. She did not want to leave the kids who loved her. She did not want to leave me, we had been such good friends for sixteen years. She did not want to leave our little family. I held her head while the Vet administered the drugs and looked in her eyes, I saw the pain leave her eyes. I believe that she looked at me and said thank you. I believe that she had had enough and was finally out of pain. Goodbye my friend, we love you, love you, love you!

Not enough?

2009-05-19T12:05:00.001-04:00

Four days in Disney was not enough for us, we needed to go to Chuck E. Cheese today. Fun fun fun!!!

Sleeping beauties

2009-05-17T08:11:00.002-04:00

I think we could send a marching band through the room. They are out!! I wonder how they will be at Animal Kingdom today?

Four hundred and forty four

2009-05-17T00:21:00.002-04:00

The number of pictures taken today. I should say pictures taken by us because uncle Eric took a ton also.
Plenty of great photo opportunities, especially when we met the princesses and ate lunch with our friends Tigger and Pooh!

Disney: day three

2009-05-16T22:51:00.000-04:00

On our third day at Disney we had a great time. All three of the girls rode on the kiddie roller coaster and LOVED IT!!! Jordan was finally tall enough and was not left behind. I'm actually not sure she LOVED the ride but she did it every time we asked her to. The kids got their pictures taken with the princesses. They loved it. It's a shame Sydney was so wiped from the heat. Next time we will head there first.
Lior and Belle bonded because they both like to read books.

Akiva was trying to make a clean getaway, way too many princesses for him!

They were all completely entranced by Belle who engaged them in the nicest conversation about reading. They were more than thrilled!
Cinderella and Sydney-rella, no words necessary!

Jordan was thrilled to meet Aurora, Jordan is really not particular she likes all the princesses.

Faces were painted. Jordan picked Minnie Mouse, a shock I know, but it's hard to want to convince her to be anything else. She is Minnie Mouse!Grandpa thought she looked spectacular. It's hard to tell because once again hi head was lobbed off the picture. I'm starting to wonder who this trip was for... it seems like it's all about the kids. Hmmm...
Look at that face, she loved looking at herself! I don't blame her she looked spectacular!

Sydney decided to be a Mermaid. Sydney was so excited by the face painting. She could barely contain herself! Those dimples are just popping out!

The process just excites her.

And the end result is just breathtaking. She is just so beautiful!
Lior decided to be a unicorn, again. Lior doesn't really like change. I can't blame her when you know the end result is going to look great. Why change?

And she does look great! Believe it or not she was really excited about the face painting!

Our three faced painted beauties! Next time Akiva is going to have to get in on some of this Disney Magic! He wants everyone to know his name is NOT Skip!

We ate Lunch with Tigger and Pooh again. Akiva really enjoyed this dining experience. He is just getting cuter each and every day! He bonded with Pooh.
And got up close and personal with Piglet. Watch him get closer and closer!

He gives great kisses!
The meal would not have been complete without a birthday cupcake for Grandpa, who managed to keep his head and his body in the picture. It's a good thing the girls were helping him blow out his candle, it gets harder to do the older you get!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Too much fun

2009-05-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

The car ride to the park did him in today.

Disney: day two

2009-05-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

Hollywood Studios was our Friday destination. Danny's family was leaving at about two so we spent the morning with them. We all got out picture taken with Minnie Mouse, poor grandpa was cut out of the picture. It is a good thing there were some Disney photographers taking pictures also or we would not have any pictures of him on his celebratory trip. We tried to get Jordan to take her picture with her but she was just overwhelmed by the prospect of standing that close to her namesake. The kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins.
The uncles had fun too! Lior took a real shine to Uncle Eric this trip. Lior actually likes both of her uncles, as long as Danny is not closing anyones fingers in doors!
Akiva was sad to find out that Tanya was leaving, he found someone who was interested in holding him non-stop.
It was back to the stroller for him!
After Danny and his brood left we stayed at the park and did everything the kids wanted to do including getting our pictures taken with Mickey Mouse. Sydney of course ran right up to him and gave him the biggest hug imaginable. She loves the characters.
Lior and Jordan are more cautious but I managed to capture the "high-five".

Disney day one

2009-05-14T21:36:00.000-04:00

Our first day in Disney was great, by the time we arrived parking was free and we were able to park close enough to the ticket and transportation center that we could walk. To top it off we did not have to pay for parking. The only downside was that it was raining, really really raining but because we were in the happiest place on earth it just did not matter! We met up the rest of the family and began celebrating Grandpa's seventy first birthday.
We went on as many rides as we could, with our favorite cousins.

We watched the castle turn every color imaginable.
The parade was a huge hit, especially when Cinderella passed by and looked at our very own Sydney-rella. Seeing the Little Mermaid was a big hit too, she is Matt's girl friend after all.
The fireworks were a hit again. Akiva loved them! I thought he might be scared of them but he just looked up at the sky with those huge blue eyes of his and pointed. He was very vocal about it too.

Trike a thon

2009-05-13T22:08:00.000-04:00

The girls had a trike-a-thon at school in the middle of May. It was adorable! All the little kids on their bikes raising money for a scholarship fund. Sydney and Jordan rode around the track but Lior refused because she is stubborn. I actually do not know who is more stubborn, Lior or her father, who picks the battle with her. I had to work the day of the event and met my little brood there and I had forgotten to tell Matt that Lior wanted her scooter and so did she and her refused to go home for it, so she sat on the side and watched.
By the time I realized what had happened Lior had missed it. Hopefully she will stop picking these battles and join in on the fun!

Yup!

2009-05-06T18:52:00.000-04:00

I wonder who she takes after?

An evening out

2009-05-02T21:53:00.000-04:00

It begins

2009-04-29T17:04:00.000-04:00

A day at the cheese

2009-04-28T23:44:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-28T23:34:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-28T16:59:00.000-04:00

New camera

2009-04-26T21:31:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-26T21:10:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-26T20:44:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-26T20:30:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-19T21:34:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

Need I say more?

Ready to swim

2009-04-12T23:56:00.001-04:00

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

I was wrong

2009-04-12T19:14:00.001-04:00

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

2009-04-11T13:26:00.001-04:00

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

Let him eat...cake

2009-04-11T00:11:00.006-04:00

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

2009-04-10T23:28:00.006-04:00

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.

Balloons

2009-04-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

You would think that since Matt prints balloons for a living that my kids would have their fill of balloons but they do not. We went out to dinner last week for "kids eat free" and there was a guy making balloon animals for the kids. They were in heaven!
Sydney went first and picked a butterfly hat.
Lior was next and he suggested a princess crown. She just loved it and when she was not wearing it turned into a purse. Who needs more?
Then it was Jordan's turn and I guess he saved the best in his arsenal for last because Jordan's princess crown was bigger than she was!
I was so impressed with the girls because everyone agreed that Jordan's was the best yet nobody threw a fit and nobody complained. They decided that the next time we went they ALL wanted one just like Jordan's.
When you get reactions like this;
How can you argue?

Sleeping beauties

2009-04-07T01:10:00.000-04:00

I put the girls in the same bed tonight to make room for their cousin
Adina. How absolutely adorable is that. It reminds of the picture of
them when they were ten days old and they cuddled in. Priceless.

Reading books

2009-04-06T23:30:00.002-04:00

We read books every day. There are days when we do nothing but read books. I can not tell you how many times I have woken up in the morning to find a child standing next to my bed with a book requesting a story. We have a few stories that we read all the time and the Rattletrap Car is one of them. The kids love it and so do we. Matt reads it a few times a week at bedtime. In that book they use marshmallow fudge delight to stick things to the car and Razzelberry Snazzleberry Fizz to keep the car running. Can you guess what we made?
Lior and I made the fudge last weekend and we made the "fizz" on Wednesday after nap time. I did not have raspberries so I substituted grape juice. I can not trick my kids because as soon as I opened up the un-marked jar of grape juice Lior said "it smells like grape juice", "it looks like grape juice" and as soon as Sydney took a sip she said "and it tastes like grape juice too!". I have to get raspberry juice the next time we make it to see if they notice the difference.
The kids loved the fudge too.
Even Akiva got in on the action. He does not like to be left out!

Slaying dragons

2009-04-05T22:40:00.003-04:00

I took the kids to the park last week to blow off some steam and of course I left the camera in the car. By the time I got the camera I had missed all the good photo opportunities. After eating everything I brought, they finally went and played. Sydney decided to climb the rock wall and once she got to the top she declared it her castle. The other girls joined her and all of the sudden they were fighting dragons and saving the Princess Jordan. I have a wonderful image in my head of Jordan running up to the "tower" and screaming and waving her arm "I kill, kill, kill you dragon." "Mommy, I killed the dragon!" and then running away.
I did take offense to the girls using the word kill. It's just not something we encourage them to say so we decided to say "slaying the dragon". I must give them credit because they really tried to change their vocabulary. While they were in the heat of play Lior would stop and ask "Mommy, what am I supposed to say?"
After a rough day slayin' the dragons the girls decided to take a little rest in the tunnel. Akiva thought it was great because he had spent at least ten minutes gathering all of his courage to climb into it. Once his sisters were parked directly in the middle climbing into the tube was a breeze. Getting through the tube was another story all together, every time he tried they covered him with hugs and kisses and had to start over.
All activity stopped when a new little girl showed up. Ella was her name and she was a princess also. Imagine the coincidence! She also enjoyed slaying dragons and needed rescuing.

Adorable

2009-03-30T00:38:00.001-04:00

He is just adorable. He is adorable awake. He is adorable asleep.
He's even adorable when he's cranky and tired. He is just adorable.

Youth

2009-03-29T23:14:00.002-04:00

We went to Lion Country Safari yesterday and ate lunch in front of this water slide. Doesn't it look like fun? We watched a few kids go down this slide and it just looked like so much fun. When lunch was over, Matt decided that he was going to do it. It was great, the kids were watching and laughing. Matt thought it was a blast. I did not get the picture I wanted so I made him do it again. He really caught some air the second time around! It still looked like fun at this point too! Until Matt got off and was limping and holding his shoulder. Apparently if you are about thirty six inches tall it is not a big deal to go down the slide more than once. If you are closer to thirty six years than you are to thirty six inches high going down the slide a second time is a really bad idea.The poor guy has been limping ever since. It sucks getting old!

"It" factor

2009-03-29T22:44:00.005-04:00

At the start of the winter session at the gym I asked the owner if Jordan would be able to join the girls in their class during the summer, six months before she should be able to. I think he thought I was nuts and gave me a song and dance about pushing her and her not being age appropriate for the class. Last week I signed the kids up for the summer session at the gym and brought it up again. He turned to me and said in the summer won't she be three months away from being three? I reminded him that she would be two and a half next month. He shook his head and said "I think she will be fine". He wants me to be more hands off, which I am since I have Akiva hanging off my chest to get her ready to be in a class without her mom.
She sits, runs and gallops through the entire warm up on the "big red mat" without prompting from me.
She participates in skills that blow my mind.Somehow she was supposed to go from sitting on the bar to this
and then wound up like this?

I may have missed a step but she thought it was great fun, even when she bumped her head (and he almost dropped her).
Apparently Jordan has the "it factor", at least that is what the instructor told me. She has great skill. Maybe it comes from her willingness to try new things, like walk across the beam backwards.
Or do a straddle roll from sitting, which she is close to mastering. I always knew Jordan was spectacular, its nice to hear that someone else thinks she is too.

Exploritorium

2009-03-29T21:55:00.010-04:00

Last weekend we took the kids to a free science exploritorium (yes, it's a real word!) at a local park. The kids had a great time pressing buttons and making stuff work.

Lior was in all her glory! Matt says she is destructive. I say she is curious and likes to see how things work. We both may be right. She was pushing buttons with all her might. The level of concentration was amazing. It matched the intensity level of her father who was pushing the buttons right along with her.

I think her favorite part was the "here to there" exhibit which explained how the tube we use at the drive-thru bank worked.
All the kids finally understood how it worked after they put their ball in on one side and it wound up on the other side of the room and back again.
They were thrilled to see and feel the air that was being forced through the tube.
Sydney also loved every minute of it. She has such a zest and intensity to everything she does, much different than Lior. Sydney's excitement level is all consuming, she tries things with all few reservations and her excitement level is written all over her face. She is also curious about how things work but does not seem to have the destructive streak that Lior has. In this picture she is launching a rocket which shoots across the room. She watched us launch that rocket and saw how we were watching the pressure gauge to the side of the button. With no explanation Sydney walked over and launched that rocket over and over again, much to Akiva's delight!
Who could have watched it launch over and over again!

It's a photo

2009-03-29T21:35:00.002-04:00

So on Wednesday after Sydney had her concussion I really wanted to blog about it but I could not. I could not get out of bed to turn on the computer to set up a post. I needed to remain vertical, so I looked through some old pictures of our little Sydney on the phone and found this one.

and used it to "hold the spot".
This picture is one of my favorites of Sydney when she was an infant. She was perfect! I took this picture the first time Matt held her. I took one look at her and one look at him and said "Oh no!" Matt had a little freak out, thinking something was wrong with the baby I reassured him that there was nothing wrong but that she had "broken him". From that moment on he would never be the same, she had wrapped herself around his heart and he has never been the same.
It is funny, this picture generated a lot of interest... and no we are not expecting another baby (even though my nutty husband wants another one!).

She's a risk taker

2009-03-25T23:32:00.005-04:00

Today my baby Sydney was goofing off in Akiva's room and fell. She fell hard, Matt said he just saw her fall backwards off the bed and land flat on her back. I heard the thud, a very loud thud but I did not hear much else, it was eerily quiet upstairs and after the thud I heard, I expected a lot of noise. I heard Matt say "breathe Sydney, breathe!" and I heard nothing from Sydney. By the time I got upstairs Matt was blowing in her face and shaking her and still nothing. She was good and winded. I was about to run next door to get our neighbor when Matt layed her down on the floor and she started passing some air. She never cried, we did.
She ate some breakfast and went and layed in my bed. I just thought she wanted to stay home from school so we made her get dressed and go. We warned her teacher, who must have thought we were being a little over protective, to look for any weird behavior or vomiting. I was working at the school so I was going to check on her every once and awhile so we felt comfortable leaving her. I was just finishing up with my first client when her teacher came in to tell me that Sydney threw-up. I called Matt, who was on his way to work and he turned around and came home. We changed her clothes and Matt threw her into the car; straight to urgent care. I went back to work.
Matt said she was very brave at the doctors office because lets face it who likes to go there? She threw-up a few more times at the office which got them seen right away. They diagnosed her with a mild concussion at that point and sent her to an imaging center for a CAT scan. It was a good thing they sent her with a container to throw up into because she needed it. She threw up again at the imaging center, which once again got them pushed to the head of the line. The CAT scan was clear and by the time the process was over Sydney felt better.
When I got to the imaging center Sydney was excited to tell me all about her trip through the big camera so that the doctor could look at her head. Matt said she was excellent and he was able to stay in the room with her and hold her hand. He even sang her a song (the poor technician!). When I asked her what song he sang, expecting a song she sings all the time she said he sang her "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Isn't that cute?
Needless to say Sydney is fine. She had to remain calm for the rest of the day, which was not easy for me. I had her lay down and let Jordan examine her, which worked for a little bit. Our Sydney is certainly a spit fire. A risk taker. I do not think she will be jumping on Akiva's bed for some time. She told me that she does not want to go for a ride in that camera again.

We are in costumes now!!

2009-03-23T17:39:00.002-04:00

I do not know how it happened but our peaceful afternoon of painting turned into body painting. They are polka dotted monsters, covered from head to toe. Good times!!

Yummm

2009-03-17T23:18:00.001-04:00

Look at my big boy!! He's already holding his own ice cream cone in
addition to a fork and a spoon. He gets everything into his mouth!
I don't know what's better ice cream or Akiva eating it.

Space shuttle

2009-03-15T23:40:00.001-04:00

We watched the space shuttle take off tonight from the comfort of our front yard. Living in Florida has it's perks. The girls really saw it tonight, which made the experience more exciting.

Parade

2009-03-15T22:42:00.004-04:00

We met Matt's brother and sister-in-law yesterday afternoon at the St. Patties day parade. I think the kids had fun meeting their new cousin Ireland.
She is really cute, Sydney was enthralled with her. She is so good with babies, she just stood there and talked to her. Of course, we tried to get a picture of all the girls together but Lior would not stand still to get her picture taken.
Ireland was kind enough to share her shamrock headband with Jordan.

Sydney loved the headband and hamming it up for the camera.
Akiva got to show off his new trick.
And Matt got to show off his ability to hold four squirming children at the same time.

Spider girls

2009-03-15T22:17:00.003-04:00

Lior has a mind of her own. On a good day she will let me brush her hair. On a really good day whe will allow me to put a pony tail in her hair. Yesterday she decided that she wanted to be "spider girl" and she has five ponies in her hair.
Today Spider girl turned into a girl with Princess ponies and fairy dust after a trip to the new princess store. I think she looks a lot older than three and a half in this picture.

Once Sydney saw Lior's spider "do" yesterday she decided that she needed one also.
She had a ton of fun playing in the mirror and modeling with her spider girl hair. Today after a trip to the new princess store, she was miraculously transformed into a princess covered in fairy dust!She was so excited about the haircut she insisted on going first. She is becoming so grown up!
Jordan needs to be different and only wanted three ponies in her hair. Because I am no hairdresser her ponies were crooked and standing up straight. She looked adorable. When it was her turn for the princess haircut, she raced up to the chair and climbed up like it was an everyday event.
She loved her new look and the fairy dust was simply icing on the cake.

Akiva month ten in review

2009-03-15T21:43:00.003-04:00

I seem to start all of my posts about Akiva the same way, "It is hard to believe..." but Akiva is growing and changing so quickly it seems like he is taking huge leaps everyday. In this past month he has sprouted another tooth bringing his grand total up to six. His teeth are still sharp as ever and he bites everything and everyone in his path. I think he is working on a few more because his finger is in his mouth constantly. When his fingers are not in his mouth we have to give him food quickly or he screams. He is still screaming those high pitched shrieks when he needs food. We are trying to teach him the sign for "more" but he has created his own sign which looks like he is revving a motorcycle when he wants more. Jordan is really trying to teach him to sign, which is funny because she is the only child who did not sign. She will stop eating when he starts screaming and show him the sign and say "more" very slowly and clearly to him.

Akiva started to walk last Saturday and he has not looked back. I think he prefers to be up on his feet rather than down on all fours. He stands up in the middle of the room and takes three to five steps without falling. He is so proud of himself, his face is beaming! The girls cheer and scream (think high pitched) "Akiva is walking, look at him!!" I think the screaming actually makes him realize he is walking and he falls down. Right now he will see one of the dogs and start babbling, stand up and charge toward it. I know that it will be a matter of minutes before his careful steps are replaced by running and bruised knees. My baby did not stay a baby long enough!

I wonder what steps he will be taking in the next month.

Tuesday's

2009-03-10T22:45:00.006-04:00

I love Tuesday's. I think Tuesday's are my favorite day of the week, everyone is home and we have no plans. Today was no exception. We all slept in today and cuddled in bed until Sydney forced us out of bed! I can not tell you how excited the girls were when they found out that it was a "mommy day" and they did not have to go to school. They decided that they wanted to go outside to paint. I think Akiva had the best time. He was covered from head to toe.
Lior had a great time today and actually painted something! It is a picture of Disney World complete with Cinderella's castle and fireworks. She is very creative!
The girls made an amazing discovery today, they tried painting with a flower.
Jordan was the first to try it and as soon as she put the paint on the paper she said "It looks like fireworks!" it really does. She is just so smart. Lior was the next to try and wound up writing her name. Sydney decided that she would incorporate her flower into her painting, brilliant!
The fun did not end there! We decided to wash the water table out and it turned into something completely different. Lior was having the best time playing with the hose. She sprayed everyone and everything she could. At one one point she even promised me that I could walk by and she would not spray me and that wise guy soaked me! She really had a great time. Akiva did also when he woke up from his nap. He even got a sponge bath from his sisters. Jordan also got a sponge bath. For some reason Sydney had a blast cleaning everything today. I wish she would clean our house as well as she cleaned the toys today.

Purim princesses

2009-03-10T22:23:00.002-04:00

We have been celebrating Purim for what seems like weeks but in reality has only been two days. We had a Purim parade at school yesterday where our little monkeys dressed as animals. Lior made it to school in her costume but ripped it off the second we got there. Jordan, our little monkey, dressed as a monkey! She could not have picked a better costume. Sydney decided to be a dog but refused to put on the hood so she was an earless dog but cute none the less!
Last night they were princesses, beautiful princesses, unfortunately I could not get a picture of the four of them together. Lior decided that she did not want to pose with the other princesses. It must be nice to be three!You can not tell by looking at her but I spent time doing her hair, just the way she wanted and even put make up on her but she was not happy about having to share her charriot with the other princesses. Even Mickey Mouse was disappointed to be blocked by such a beautiful princess.

These princesses did not mind sharing the spot light with Mickey Mouse. They were more than happy to walk to shul to hear the Megillah reading and scream when they heard Haman's name.
We went to another Purim party today. Sydney shocked me and went as the Little Mermaid and Jordan went as Minnie Mouse but I did not take a single picture!
The kids had a great time this Purim and so did we!

Silly

2009-03-10T10:38:00.000-04:00

"Mom I can't paint another picture because I might get dirty!"

Cats

2009-03-09T00:10:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe but our girls are lobbying for a cat. I have explained to them several times that we are dog people not cat people, yet they still insist that they want a cat.
" Mom, if we get a cat then I will love it all the time" said Lior.
"If we get a cat what will we do with Cyrus and Kaya?" I asked.
" Kaya can stay inside and Cyrus can stay outside. Don't worry he will be very very happy dere, he will." said Sydney.
"We can bring the dogs back to the pet store and get a cat to cuddle" added Lior. Where is the loyalty? Where are the girls who can not take a nap unless Cyrus is asleep right next to them? Don't our girls realize how lucky they are, who wouldn't want two furry stinky dogs to eat their food, slobber on their toys and shed on everything in their environment?

New tricks

2009-03-08T23:56:00.001-04:00

While this is not the best picture of Akiva's new trick, it does
illustrate how Matt spends his free time.

Our boy

2009-03-08T23:53:00.002-04:00

Our boy decided to hike up the stairs this week, so he did. Our boy decided to walk this week, so he did! He is upholding the family tradition and walking at ten months. Way to go Akiva.

Open apology

2009-03-04T23:03:00.004-05:00

I realize I am a slacker. I do; but you must understand I am tired, I have four kids under four, I am working three days a week, I cook dinner every night, my husband works late sometimes, we have two large dogs, I could come up with a million reasons why I am a slacker but I am not going to. I have just not been blogging. I should say I have not been blogging on the computer but I have been blogging in my head at least three times a day.
I have been enjoying myself and the time we have been spending with the kids. Akiva has officially joined the ranks and has started flying through the air like the rest of the monkeys.
At first Matt started off slowly.
Then he got more comfortable and threw him a little higher.
And a little higher.
Akiva's smile grew every time Matt threw him up in the air. You can only imagine the squeals that were coming out of his little body.
His squeals were so infectious that all the little monkeys needed a turn to fly.
Sydney did not know if she should laugh or cry after her flight.
She recovered nicely and flew through the sky with ease, the next time.
Lior, who is enjoying her calling as a nudist, had a spectacular time flying through the sky.
Jordan has discovered her cheesy grin but did not let it stop her from flying through the sky with ease.
So while I may be a slacker, my kids are still soaring and enjoying their time with their slacker mother.

Akiva: month nine

2009-02-16T22:19:00.002-05:00

Poor Akiva, his posts have been neglected. It is a good thing he has not been neglected. He is growing by leaps and bounds. He is amazing! He is eating everything in sight.
When we are not moving fast enough he screams. His screams are not your run of the mill screams, they are the ear piercing variety.

We can not keep up! We find ourselves having to give him spoonfuls of food while he shovels food into his mouth by himself.

He is crawling everywhere and anywhere. No more army crawling for him, he is up on all fours chasing after his sisters and the dogs. When he is not crawling, he is pulling up on anything and everything in site and cruising around using our furniture as his crutch. I think he will be walking in no time.
Did I mention he talks? Yes he babbles and giggles like most babies his age but he says "hi!". He really does. When ever the dogs walk into the room you can hear him say "Hi!". I get it every once and awhile when I have been out of site. He is just a very yummy baby!

Hijacked

2009-02-16T22:17:00.001-05:00

My life has been hijacked by the auction at the girls school. I eat sleep and drink this auction. I will be glad when it is over and I can focus on my family again and updating my blog! There are so many wonderful things that I have neglected to blog about. It is just not like me, so I am going to do my best tonight and try very hard to keep up from now on.
There was another trip to Lion Country Safari where the girls rode the train by themselves nonstop for ten minutes.Lior allowed me to hold her while I fed the giraffe,

and then she allowed me to get close enough for her to get a close-up of that purple tongue.

Sydney loves every minute of feeding those giraffe's, she has no fear. There are no pictures of Jordan anywhere near a giraffe, she wants no part of them.

Akiva loved riding the "caraself". I do not think it was his first time but it was the first time I remember him squealing with delight.

The girls went on a paddle boat with Matt. They were so excited and very cute.
Poor Sydney, her life jacket was too big and she could barely move when she sat down. I was terrified she was going to fall into the lake.

They were climbing all over that boat while Matt was paddling around.

Another milestone! The girls were able to ride without a parent, for the very first time. They were so proud of themselves.

Jordan was happy to hitch a ride with dad.

We had a great day at the end of January and I am just getting around to it today!