Official big kid now!

Where did she go?
Jordan is finally officially a big kid complete with a matching nightgown and equal time rough housing with daddy. Whenever we ask Jordan if she is a big kid or a baby, she replies "big kid" with a huge smile on her face. She eats complete meals with the appropriate utensils, something her siblings often forget how to do. She is kicking balls, standing on one foot for at least three seconds, taking her clothes off and putting them back on, handing me wipes and telling me when she is poopy, using two and three word phrases and craft activities with her older sisters. She is starting to point to colors and shapes and can name green, pink, and purple things with about seventy five percent accuracy.

Where did our baby girl go? It seems like just yesterday I was struggling to stay awake while I nursed her in the middle of the night. She has an amazing sense of humor that keeps us laughing all of the time and occasionally has her sisters crying as well. We can only imagine what she will be like when she is actually two and not just trying to be two!

Mother's Day

After a weekend of missed photo opportunities and tons of fun I can safely say we had a great Mother's Day weekend. The girls bought books, swam in Julie's new pool, slid down the biggest slip and slide, picked veggies and made brownies. A great weekend was had by all.
Akiva who has decided to nurse every hour on the hour starting at around seven every night and ending at about eleven. As time consuming as that sounds it really works out to be the best present I have ever gotten because I can not do dishes or other work around the house and nurse a baby at the same time. It looks like every night is Mother's Day! Thanks kids (and Matt) for the best Mother's Day yet!

Bath time

When you are the fourth child there are less pictures of you, a baby book is completely out of the question, you cry a little more often and a lot longer and you do not get as many baths as the other children did when they were your age. Tonight Akiva took his fourth "real"bath. Coincidentally, it was the first time we were able to take pictures of him in his bath. As eager as I am to get pictures of everything the kids do, I am not capable of taking a hand off him in the tub. So while we do not have pictures of Akiva's first real bath, at least we have pictures of him in the tub!
The good thing about being fourth and getting your bath after your sisters are in bed is getting to cuddle up in a fluffy new towel and comfy robe.

Four weeks

Four weeks. Akiva is four weeks old today and I can not believe that he is that "old" already. Time is just flying by and I am so sad because my baby will not be my baby much longer. I know how fast this time flies by and I want it to slow down. I see him becoming more and more alert every day. He spends more time awake staring at me and his very affectionate sisters. He is demonstrating more head control every day.
I do not even mind waking up with him every three hours. I know that he will start sleeping for longer stretches and we will not have that time together in the middle of the night. The girls are enjoying him also. Today Lior asked me if we could have another Akiva or a girl baby named Lucy. Sydney wants us to have two babies because I think she thinks I do not let her hold Akiva enough. They love him, they love hugging and kissing him, they love having him around and doing things for him. Sydney changed his diaper today without much assistance from me. She was so proud of herself, I wish she were a little older so she can take over the bulk of the diaper changes.
I am planning on enjoying every minute of this baby. Matt says that he smiles every time I kiss him so I spend a lot of time kissing him. I actually can not kiss him enough. Jordan kisses him just about as much as I do, unfortunately Akiva does not smile every time Jordan kisses him. There is an occasional smile but most of the time I see a grimace or a look of total surprise whenever she comes near. He is loved.
I hope the next four weeks do not go by as fast as the first four weeks. I need more time or another baby and if I have another baby there will be even less time to enjoy that one!

A question!!!!

Someone posted a question to me on the comments... I am so excited! I love when people post comments and I don't get a lot of comments. I know people read the blog because I hear about it when I do not post enough but I do not get many comments.... hint, hint, hint!!!
To answer the question Jordan(18 months) is fifteen months younger than Sydney and Lior (33 months) and Jordan is seventeen months older than Akiva.

Shopping

I am so sad. The laptop is dead. I might be over reacting a little bit but the screen is dead and the battery does not work so I can not use it. I am going to have Matt transfer all my pictures and files on to the computer in our bedroom and I will have to drag my rear out of bed to blog an play on-line. I am so sad!
I had a great day with the girls today, which is a little surprising because it was the first time I took all four of them shopping by myself. I am sure we were a sight to see. Akiva was safely placed into the B'jorn where he was at exactly the right height for a kiss every few minutes. Jordan rode in the cart and gladly placed all the items we purchased in to the basket. Sydney and Lior walked through the store and placed everything they wanted into the cart including three bright orange Shrek shirts which were on clearance so at least I am teaching them to be smart shoppers! Lior walked around touching everything at her level saying "How cute is this?" "Sydney do you like it?"
I overcame my fear of taking the kids into the bathroom with a full cart of merchandise when they had to pee. In the past I had taken Jordan out of the cart and into the bathroom. Having Jordan free in the bathroom is no fun, she is everywhere and touches everything. It is enough to drive you crazy so today I decided to break the rules and take our cart loaded with clothes into the bathroom to keep Jordan contained. Thank goodness I did and I would do it again. I decided that if they said anything to me I would leave them in a room with Jordan alone for two minutes and see how they liked it!
I think I may brave the grocery store next, I'll keep you posted!

A day of cute photos

We had a good day today. The girls let Matt sleep until nine which made him very happy. We played out in the sprinklers and Matt let the girls play with his water gun.

Sydney got in some quality time with Kaya all before nap time.
After nap time we took the girls and went to a farm with miniature donkeys, goats and horses. They took Drizzle the miniature horse for a walk. She tried to take a couple of bites at Sydney's dress but she took it in stride and Matt managed not to freak out.
The girls had a blast at the farm and we can not wait for their next fundraiser so we can go back and play with all the animals.
Sydney was truly in her element playing with all the animals. When she went to pet the miniature horse, she told him "don't bite me horse!" Jordan was very shy with the animals and took a long time to warm up to them. She did pet some of the animals but she had more fun flirting with her new boyfriend Barry.