Four Months

Happy Four Month birthday to Kira! It's amazing how quickly time goes by...even though it feels like Kira has always been a part of our family, at the same time it's hard to believe she's already out of the newborn stage and into the infant stage!

So what is Kira up to at four months? Well, first of all, and most importantly, last night she slept through the night for a second time! She went down around 8:15 after we got home from dinner at Miri and Opa's and didn't get up until 6:15 this morning. We're hoping this becomes permanent soon...typically she's been going from 7 p.m. until 7/7:30 a.m. with one feed around 1-2 a.m.

Over the past week, Kira has really developed into an infant (as opposed to a newborn). She is now holding her own in the exersaucer, which makes it much easier for Mommy to keep her entertained while she's busy with Alex and Ari or chores around the house. She smiles and coos constantly-- everywhere we go, people remark about how happy Kira is. She sits up well and enjoys sitting in the high chair, watching what's going on around her and being part of the rest of the family. She laughs a lot, especially when tickled on her chest. She loves having her big brother and sister entertain her and she lights up any time she sees their faces. She also gets very excited when Mommy goes into her room to get her up from her nap- she gives a big smile and laugh. She's trying very hard to roll over and has even started holding her own bottle. Kira has her big four month appointment at the pediatrician's on Tuesday so we'll have all of her latest stats then.

We celebrated Kira's four month birthday with a non-stop day. First we went to Alex and Ari's friend Shara's house for her second birthday bash. And by "bash," we mean "bash." Complete with Elmo and Cookie Monster, a dance floor with strobe lights, playrooms with a trampoline, swings, teeter totter, play kitchen, play house, ball pit and much, much more, pizza and cookies and a delicious (and gorgeous) cake made by Shara's mommy. Alex and Ari were having so much fun that they weren't even tired, even though it was well after their typical nap time of 12:00. We finally dragged them out of there around 1:30 and got home for a late, late nap at 2:00. Here are some (ok, more than some) pictures from the party:

Alex gives Elmo a hug

Ari's not so sure about Cookie Monster

Alex with Elmo and Cookie

Kira gets in on the action

Ari jumps on the trampoline

Ari and Shara play in Shara's awesome playroom

Ari checks herself out in the princess mirror

Ari and Shara share some party food

Kira and Daddy share some pizza

Alex discovers the school bus...

...and the neat scale in the bathroom

Shara and her family- and the amazing cake her mommy made

Alex gets jiggy on the dance floor with Elmo and Cookie

Ahhh, not much rest for the weary, as we woke Alex and Ari up from their late nap at 3:30 so that Daddy could take them to a "Daddies and kids" play date at our neighbors' house. This gave Mommy some time to take Kira on a shopping expedition to Target. After a quick pit stop back at home, it was back out to pick up Daddy and the older kids from the playdate (a good time was had by all, at least that's the report from Daddy) and head out to dinner with friends at California Pizza Kitchen. Mommy and Daddy hadn't seen their friends Tammy and Bruce since before the arrival of all of the kids, so it was fun to meet their girls (Avery and Lilly) and for them to meet our clan. Amazingly, it was a pretty chaos-free dinner and the waitress didn't seem to hate us too much by the end of dinner. Alex and Ari started with a pizza but when Ari saw Lilly's pasta, she had to have her own (it had her favorite veggie- edamame- mixed in to the mac and cheese). We wrapped up afterwards with a quick walk by the ducks before heading home for baths and bed time. Needless to say, all three kids conked out quickly after their whirlwind day.