Last saturday

It was very cold last weekend so Matt decided it was the perfect temperature for camping. I can not believe how cold it was outside, Akiva was completely bundled up and I think he was still cold. I know that I sat dangerously cold to the fire after the kids went to sleep, I'm becoming a Floridian and do not fair well in cold temperatures anymore.
Like their last camping "trip", this one included s'mores and I do not know who enjoyed them more! This trip was much more successful for Jordan. She calmed down beautifully and slept right next to Lior who told Jordan to sleep next to her so she could cuddle her.
A great time was had by all.

January thirty-first

It all started back in December when we were in Disney World, the first time. Jordan saw a Minnie Mouse purse and really wanted it so I decided to use it as motivation towards potty training. We told her that when she peed and pooped in the potty all the time she could have her Minnie purse. Well our very smart three year olds wanted purses too so we needed to create a goal for them to work towards.
Since Sydney was obsessed with writing her name. I decided that when the girls wrote their names they would get there purses. Lior was the first to achieve this goal and I can not believe it. She has demonstrated absolutely no interest in writing her name yet when she mentioned that she wanted that purse and I reminded her all she had to do was write her name she said "Okay, I will" , walked inside picked up a marker and a piece of paper and wrote her name like she has been doing it for years "L- I- O- R can I have my purse now?". You know she has not written it since, I wonder what she is holding out for now?
I am going to go on notice by saying that bribing her to write her name goes against my better judgement because I really think kids write when they are developmentally ready to do it. I guess Lior was ready and just needed a little encouragement in the form of a sequined purse.

Letter game

Guess who wrote her name today? Our very own Sydney wrote her name
today after weeks and weeks of trying. Way to go Sydney!! You did a
great job and your name is not easy!

Ooops!

Anyone who knows my husband knows that he is clumsy. They might not know just how clumsy until today when I present some pretty compelling evidence.
This was once a window in the kids play room. Now my window looks like this:

Matt slipped and does not know how exactly the window broke. Either his elbow went through the window or the dollhouse did. I am happy to report that he does not even have a scratch. Jordan and Akiva, who were home with him are fine as well. Words can not express how relieved I am that all we need is a new window!

Show time Sydney

It's been two weeks but I finally got my act together! Sydney and Lior had a show at the Little Gym and they were WONDERFUL!!! Sydney was so proud of herself and we were beaming just as brightly as she was!
Here is her future back handspring.

She was really into following instructions and completing her routine. We saw straddles, pikes and some other skills I can not remember, but they were all amazing!


We even saw a forward roll. Matt's photography skills were a little lacking.

Her amazing beam skills.
A backward roll down the cheese mat.


Followed by a forward roll.
Look at those straight arms and a terrific front support.

Ta da! Look at my gymnast. She was wonderful! What a great show.

What show would be complete without a group photo?

Sydney was wonderful and showed such enthusiasm. She enjoyed every minute and so did we. We could not be prouder of her.

Show time lior

Lior's turn. Words can not explain how proud I was of her. She is so shy but she warmed up and performed beautifully.
Here she is going over the "hotdog" and getting ready for a future back handspring.

She's getting ready to "pop" up.

Backward rolls, it's not as easy as it looks!

She was so excited to show Grandma and Grandpa her monkey jumps.


Here she is on the uneven bars. She is very strong.
She is great at her front supports. Look at her concentration!

They practiced all of their skills on the beam. Lior can walk across unassisted but with all the people looking at her she was a little nervous and shy!


Look at that leg up!

Look at my little super star!

Way To Go Lior!!!!

Poor jordan

My poor poor Jordan, she has the worst diaper rash I have ever seen. I do not even think it is a rash I think they are actual burns caused by a very upset stomach. The poor thing would cry every time she pooped or peed "OOUUCHHH my butt hurts me!!!" It was so bad on Friday night that I actually made her bleed when I wiped her. That is when I decided that she was not going to wear a diaper any more.
Now Jordan is by no means ready to pee on the potty. She has peed on it before but the times were few and far between and she has not really shown any interest in it. We have no choice, which means Jordan has no choice. Her rear end needs a break and it needs air. After two days of limited diaper use (she only wears one for sleeping) her bottom looks better but not great. My plan is to keep her out of a diaper until Thursday when we have to leave the house.
So far we have cleaned up a lot of accidents but we had some major success yesterday when she peed once on the potty before bed. Everyone was in the bathroom when we heard the telltale sound. Jordan stood up and said she peed and sure enough there it was. The big girls were so excited for her. She got hugs and kisses and the pee-pee dance from her daddy. She was so excited she looked up at me and said "I wanna do it again".
If you ask me today went much better, if you ask Matt it was a disaster (she did poop five or six times today and I was out for two of them). He expects more, he expects her to pee on command. I expect accidents and thats what I got. I also got her to pee on the potty three times today. We are celebrating! We will continue her crash course in potty training until her butt gets better or Matt puts his fist through another window!