Drips and drabs

Before August is over I want to post a few vacation photos. I only have a few on this computer because we are getting ready to change the operating system and Matt is afraid the computer might explode or something like that. I have been waiting patiently for him to bring home the work computer or give me access to all the pictures but he has not, so will have to make due with some drips and drabs. We went on a nature cruise that included a visit to a touch tank where Sydney touched a star fish,

Jordan touched a star fish,

and Lior touched a star fish. While on the boat we saw tons of birds, dolphin, and a shark! It was a great day to be out on a boat and we were just thrilled to see the dolphin.
Later that afternoon while the girls were sleeping Matt and I saw a manatee while we drove through the nature preserve.
The girls played on the beach
and the pool where Matt threw Sydney in the air, Lior in the air and well he tried to throw Eric too!
I think I took about a thousand pictures on vacation so keep checking back for more pictures.

Solid food

We did it! I should say I did it because I was the one who was not ready to give Akiva solid food. Apparently I was the only one who was not ready because the second I put the spoon to his mouth he popped it open and gobbled the food down. He liked it!



It is funny, the first time I gave Sydney and Lior cereal I read the package directions and measured out the cereal, measured out the formula to mix it and monitored how much they ate. This was not the case with Akiva, I poured some cereal in the bowl mixed in formula until it was a nice mushy consistency and fed him. When I was all out of cereal and he looked like he wanted more, I made more. How things change for the third and fourth child because she did not have carefully measured portions of cereal either. Now I think he is ready for a sandwich!

Magic

Apparently there was some fairy that visited our house this week. Lior woke up the other day and came into our room and asked to hold Akiva. I explained that I had to feed him but that when I was done she could hold him.
"Mommy I can feed him now"
"Lior you can't feed the baby, only Mommy can."
"No Mommy magic happened and now I have milk in my boobie's to feed Akiva too."
I guess she knew I needed the help!

Mommies

Today while I was laying down with the big girls for a much needed nap Sydney and I had a nice little conversation that went something like this:
"Sydney, you are such a good Mommy to your babies."
"I'm a good Mommy?"
"Oh, yes Sydney you are a very good Mommy!"
"I am a good Mommy to my babies."
"Am I good Mommy?"
"No you not a good Mommy, I am a good Mommy!"
"Sydney I am not a good Mommy?"
"No Mommy you not"
"Why aren't I a good Mommy?"
"Because you don't let me drive! My babies like it when I drive the pink car and you don't let me drive!"
...and she is not even a teenager yet!

One hundred things

My cousin Ann (my favorite commenter!) sent me a challenge today. She and her sister Joan are planning on throwing away one hundred things during the month of September and they invited me to play. I am so excited I can not stand it! I was planning on throwing tons of stuff out this month but now I have people to play with. I am going to have Matt ship off the three boxes of baby clothes to assorted friends and family next week so I get credit for those items leaving the house. They have only been in his trunk for a few days, what are a few more?
I am going to give Dan and Tanya some furniture that has been cluttering the house. Now they can clutter his. I just hope they do not give any of it back. I want the stuff to leave the house and never come back!

School

The girls started school again on Monday. They were less than thrilled. They want to stay at home with me, they want to go to a different school, they want to go back to bed, they want to be anywhere but there. I hope this passes soon!
Matt is convinced that the girls learned more in camp than they did during the entire school year. This may be true as they really excelled this summer. I found a list of benchmarks for three and four year olds that I am using to assess the girls abilities. I want to make sure that they are where they should be developmentally and targeting areas that they may be deficient in.
Lior has really taken an interest in writing her name this week so we have been practicing that. Sydney is interested in drawing every member of our family. It is funny, in her pictures Matt has far more hair than he does in real life. She really loves her daddy.
Jordan is not ready for school either. On Wednesday she turned to me while we were dropping off and said "Don't yeave me, take me wit you!" January should be tons of fun!

Akiva

I took Akiva to the pediatrician yesterday for his four month checkup. I was a little late but at least I got him in during the fourth month of his life. Jordan never got in with any frequency and is still behind on her shots. Akiva has mastered his developmental milestones. He is rolling when we put him down on his belly and has rolled from his back to his belly. The only problem is that he does not get tummy time very often because I am afraid his big sisters might mother him too much.
When the doctor walked in she asked me if I had any concerns about him. I replied "Yes, he is broken... do you think you can fix him, today? He started sleeping through the night at six weeks and stopped. Can you make him sleep again?" She had several suggestions and pin pointed one problem that we always suspected but are now treating with medication. He has acid reflux and it is really bothering him which may or may not be impacting his sleep. He is now taking Zantac twice a day to help prevent any damage. She also suggested starting him on rice cereal twice a day. The rice helps keep the food down and it will also add some weight on his frame.
His weight was another problem. He weighs thirteen pounds. Apparently he should weigh more because he is in the seventh percentile for weight. "He is falling off the charts." The words every mother wants to hear. I feel so terrible! She reassured me that he is fine and did gain two pounds from his last visit. I think he should have doubled his weight by now and has not. She decided that rather than start formula, which I do not want to do, that we would introduce cereal twice a day. I really do not want to start cereal either. I think he is too young and not ready. Because I do what I am told I will be starting Akiva on cereal soon. I am going to give him some time on the medicine to make sure he can tolerate it and then I will start the cereal.
He was twenty five and a quarter inches long which puts him in the fiftieth percentile for length. I can not get too caught up in these percentiles because when I look at him he just looks huge to me. He is growing and absolutely engaging. He has a sense of humor already. He watches his big sisters constantly and coos in absolute delight when they come close to him and talk to him. In the last month he has started using the Bumbo chair which allows him to sit up and look at the word. He has started sitting in the exercauser, when his sisters are not sitting in it, so he can stand and play with toys. He has discovered his feet and gets great pleasure from grabbing them and singing!