This and that

I went to the doctors office twice today. Can you believe I planned it that way? Akiva went in the morning for a nurse visit. He needed to get some shots, which I hate! They weighed him and he weighs eleven pounds and fourteen ounces. I could have sworn he weighed more than that. He has grown so much, I cannot believe it! He is smiling and laughing all of the time. I can really get caught up staring at him and talking with him. He sleeps like a champ. With all the chaos, he still wants to eat his final meal for the day at nine and sleeps through the night. He typically wakes up between seven and eight in the morning. You can not beat that.

The big girls were my second trip to the doctor today. I kept them home from camp today to spend time with their Uncle Eric and we started the day at Lion Country Safari and ended at the doctors office. They had a blast feeding the giraffes and the goats. The cousins were not as brave as our fearless Sydney who did not want to stop feeding the giraffes. I think Liel will eventually warm up to the purple tongued giraffe but in the mean time we will just laugh at her. Uncle Danny fed the giraffe although he was a little squeamish at first. Eric fed the giraffes and loved every minute of it. We made a stop to feed the Lorries where they landed on several heads, I was very proud of Tanya when the bird landed on her head because she did not pass out. Adina was very brave and fed the birds without screaming or freaking out. Sydney asked me if she could touch the bird and when I told her she could her eyes lit up and she did it. Eitan even held a bird. Lior and Jordan enjoyed getting close up to the birds.


Sydney's bravery continued at the doctors office where she was thrilled to pee in a cup, stand on the scale and have her temperature taken orally. At two years eleven months Sydney weighs twenty seven pounds and is thirty four and a half inches tall and she will be the first to tell you that she did not cry at all. She will also tell you that when they pricked her finger it "hurt terribly."
Lior, at two years eleven months weighs twenty eight pounds and is exactly three feet. She continues to be one pound and at least an inch taller than Sydney. She helped Sydney by going first to show her that it was not scary and when she flat out refused Sydney stepped up to the plate to help her. She was not as happy when they pricked her finger and was mad at the "Doctor nurse" who gave her a boo-boo. They got a clean bill of health and are ready to start school in the fall.
That is right, Debbie the procrastinator brought her children to the doctor before she absolutely had to! Are you impressed? Well you should not be, we are getting ready to change health insurance and I am just being cheap. Maybe I can get Jordan in before we switch...
Jordan was ready to get examined today along with the big girls. She took off her dress and climbed up on to the table to be checked out along with her sisters. I wonder if she will be as eager when it is her turn? She is really ready to be a big kid, on Saturday she peed on the potty for Matt. He was changing her diaper and she kept pointing to her bottom saying "pee potty" so Matt took her and after a long wait she actually peed on the potty! She went again today when Liel was baby sitting her. Maybe she will be fully trained by her second birthday. A girl can dream!
Liel came with me to the big girls appointment today and she earned her money! Jordan was all over the place. That child is wild! If Liel was not with us she would have been strapped into the stroller the entire time screaming her little head off.

Adult supervision needed

This is why Matt needs supervision:

Example one- Sydney


Example two- Jordan
Example three- Lior


Example four- No'am

Need I say more? No wonder Tanya wants to go to Barnes & Noble the next time we take the kids in our swimming pool.

Imma's

On Friday the girls were Imma's for the Shabbat celebration at camp and both Matt and I were able to attend. When I arrived the girls were still sleeping, they looked so cute sleeping on their mats. When they woke up it was time to start (Sydney was a little groggy!)and Lior was happiest sitting on Matt's lap far away from the Shabbat festivities. Matt tried to get her to warm up by wearing her crown but it did not work. Sydney was eager to participate and it is great watching her interact and participate with the other kids in the class. I think she is really having a great time at camp. The verdict is still out on Lior but she says she is having fun. Maybe if she got a little more sleep she would be happier.
There was also a birthday party for their friend Gabriel and it is funny how Lior perks up when there is cake involved. Jordan, who slept through the Shabbat party,
had a great time at the birthday party. She just sat right down at the table and fit right in. She is so ready to be a big kid just as long as I am within arms reach!

Fast friends

Jordan has a new boyfriend and his name is No'am. She has been following him around screaming his name for days. It is truly amazing how well they play together and get along. No'am is learning the lesson all of my kids learned at a very young age, "love hurts!" Jordan has given him a bloody nose twice since he has been here. It seems that every Saturday Jordan (a.k.a "the brute")has either head butted him or stuffed something up his nose hard enough to draw blood. We hope that she does not draw blood this weekend!
Jordan loves sitting on No'am's lap to watch television and sometimes lets Sydney join in the fun.

Tamagotchi time

Today was Adina's eleventh birthday and we had a mini party for her tonight. Dinner was a complete bust because once again Danny broke my oven and the lasagna did not cook.
I decided to make her a cake of her Tamagotchi toy that she is playing with constantly. That thing eats more often than my kids do! It was a hit even though there were a few structural problems and I did not decorate the sides. Not decorating the sides saved me hours which is a good thing because I have a baby who does not let me do anything for hours in the afternoon.
Everyone enjoyed Adina's birthday, especially Akiva who made the rounds sitting on any available lap, and eying beer bottles (just like Daddy).
Eitan spent some quality time tickling Lior.
Jordan had fun posing for the camera.

Everyone else had a good time hamming it up for the camera and teasing Grandpa about reading Hebrew at Shul on Saturday.
Happy birthday Adina, we love you and hope to spend the next three birthdays (at least) celebrating with you.

Bowling

We took the kids bowling for the first time today. Not only was it their first time but mine as well. I bowled three strikes and I had no clue what I was doing. We tried to take all the kids bowling on Thursday but there were no available lanes. When I told the girls that we could not bowl Sydney started to get upset. "I want dose people to share wit me!" "I want to bowl today, dose people not bein' nice, dey need to share!" It worked out well for me because Matt was able to join us today. He is really great with the girls and helped them each and every turn. Bowling with kids as little as ours is not a sport that they can be completely independent at. Since Akiva needs to eat every five minutes having Matt with us was a huge relief for me (and my feet!).
The girls had a blast. Jordan took a few turns to warm up but once she got the hang of it she was Miss independence. She insisted on carrying the ball by herself to the ramp.
Sydney really got into it and liked watching her balls roll down the lane. Matt told her to lean in the direction she wanted the ball to go when she was watching it so the ball would go in that direction. Of course she believed him.
Lior had a great time rolling the ball down the ramp and picking the balls up from the return.
Adina had a great day bowling and beat everyone the first game after she got two strikes in a row. Way to go Adina!!
No'am was very patient and had a good time making sure all the balls were ready for the girls when it was their turn.
Everyone had a great time and we stayed cool in this Florida heat.

Invasion

I know, I know! Where have I been? What have we been doing? What has been going on?
I actually do not know where to start or what to say except we have been invaded. The Israeli's arrived first, then our cousins from Colorado, and then the cousins from New York. Can you say full house? Last Thursday we had eighteen people for dinner and we had a great time.
The girls are getting to know their uncle Danny (better known as a Monkey's Uncle), their cousins Jenna and Rachel. Jordan is getting over her initial bought of being shy and reserved and sitting on Lisa's lap. Lior is also coming out of her shell and sitting on Eve's lap.It is funny she likes sitting on her lap but does not really talk to her. Akiva is growing by leaps and bounds and once again I find myself extremely grateful that he is nursing so I get to hold him every two or three hours. Every once and a great while Adina will let me old my baby!
Sydney is also loving all the attention and having a cousin who is close to her age.We are having a great time and best of all the kids are getting to spend time with their cousins.