Third Birthday In Pictures

Ari and Alex's big "oh-three" in pictures...because Mommy is too tired to write anything:

Nana and Poppy's gift (given on Saturday night) was a puppet theater!

Mommy decorated Ari and Alex's room while they were sleeping...

...and they woke up to find balloons everywhere!

Kira gives Alex a birthday hug

Ari got a stamp set from Mommy and Daddy

Alex got a recycling truck (his only birthday wish!)

The instructor starts the party at the gym

Ari takes a turn on the trampolineAlex's turn!Alex and JoeKira gets in on the funAri, Riley and SharaRian and AlexAri runs down the long trampolineFriends wait for cake!!

Mommy and her birthday kidsThe cake (Ari and Alex each had their own round of "Happy Birthday" even though they shared a cake!)

Opening presents from way too generous friends!

A tiring but incredibly special day- thanks to all of our friends and family who made it so wonderful.

Dear Alex

Dear Alex,

You may be younger than Ari by a minute but you are certainly our big boy...at three years old you are the height of an average four year old and most people can't even believe you and Ari are twins. You tower over most of your friends, but you are a gentle giant and always ready with a hug and kind words.

You are emotional- you are quick to cry out in frustration but even quicker to explode with joy and love with exuberant passion. You are impatient, but you probably got that from Mommy. Whereas Ari is Daddy's Girl, you're Mommy's Boy. When you wake up in the morning or from a (now rare) nap, you tell Mommy, "cuddle with me." It's one of Mommy's favorite parts of the day.

You love (ok, are obsessed!) with trucks and everything related to construction. You can name all of the different kinds of trucks (even correcting Mommy's general moniker of "tractor" with the more technical name, like a backhoe or payloader) and can spot a truck a mile away, even before Mommy or Daddy has seen it. All you wanted for your birthday was a recycling truck which, luckily, Mommy found two days before your birthday.

You have an incredible memory for both events and locations- you remember places we've been long after we have visited just once and can recall details with astounding accuray.

You adore music and singing. You make up words to familiar tunes and remember lyrics quickly. You also love to dance and know how to turn the CD player on to your favorite music. You're less likely than your sister to jump into adventures like the moon bounce or going underneath the parachute, but (thankfully!) you are better about trying new foods.

You can spend all day riding your tricycle around and around and around the house. You have a great talent for physical activities like climbing and balancing and also for building and design. You build great masterpieces from blocks and lincoln logs.

You have always had a knack for meeting new people and aren't shy about speaking up. You love dogs, especially Sammy and Izzy's dog Billy, and don't mind asking neighbors walking their dogs if you can pet them (you know always to ask first!) You love your friends and give them lots of hugs and are always concerned if you see someone crying.

You're our big, lovable teddy bear. Mommy knows there will probably come a day when you no longer ask to cuddle, but for now she's going to savor every single day.

Happy Birthday, our lovebug Alex.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Dear Ari

Dear Ari,

Three years ago today you and your brother came into our lives and with you brought us long-held, tough-fought dreams come true. It is truly incredible to see how far we have all come in three quick years.

You are our creative one, the observer, strong-willed diva, Daddy's Girl, brave soul and sweet angel (when you want to be). You love to paint, draw, use watercolors, cut shapes with scissors and read. You can even write some of your letters. You tend to be quiet and shy around others, prefering to stand back and observe others with a quiet intensity. Around those you know and trust, though (which includes Mommy and Daddy, your grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and close friends) you can be totally silly, loving and affectionate. You are the first to jump into the moon bounce at a party or get on a space flight simulator with Mommy- you're really not afraid of daring adventures. You got a perfect "report card" in nursery school this year, no doubt a reflection of your intellectual curiosity.

You're a very picky eater, which is probably reflected in your slight figure or, as you like to say, "my pants fall down because I'm too skinny!" You love mac and cheese, bread, fruit and everything sweet (hmmm- taking after your Mommy) and, interestingly enough, lox. You hate veggies (again, like Mommy). You won't ever try anything new, even if it's something sweet and yummy, but once in a while you'll take a small taste and profess "I like it- I DO like it!"

You may be small, but you're tough. You let Miri take out a splinter without even wincing and were a champ when you had to have stitches in your forehead earlier this year. You will probably be a gymnast- you love jumping, flipping, hanging and are insanely flexible.

You are a loving and adoring big sister to Kira, always looking out for her and offering her some of your snack, sitting down to read to her or helping her learn to walk. It is heartwarming to see how you dote on her and how much she looks up to you and Alex.

You're a total Daddy's Girl, asking every weekday morning "where's Daddy?" even though you know the answer (at work!) You love it when Daddy rubs your head and are always asking us to scratch your back. You know how to press our buttons, especially Mommy's, but at the same time you know how to say exactly the right words to wrap us around your finger.

You are beautiful and strong and we are certain no one will ever push you around. You stand up for what you want, even if it is to the point of frustrating Mommy and Daddy from time to time. We are so proud of you and can't wait to see what new and exciting things you discover and bring to our lives in the years to come.

Happy Birthday, dear Arielle.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Almost the Big Oh-Three!

It's hard to believe, but in just two days Ari and Alex will be THREE years old! The celebrations and preparations already began this week after a bit of a rough start...

Ari and Alex both came down with a stomach virus that kept them out of school on Monday. Mommy was hopeful that Kira escaped the same virus, but it now looks like she contracted it almost one week after Ari and Alex. Luckily it was relatively minor (fever and some yucky tummies) and only lasted 48 hours for Ari and Alex, so hopefully Kira will be on the mend quickly and definitely in time for the big birthday bash on Sunday!

Tuesday Ari and Alex had their official 3-year check up at the pediatrician's office. Alex weighs 33 1/2 pounds (60th percentile) and is 40 inches tall (95th percentile and average height for a 4-year old!) Ari weighs a petite 26 pounds (4th percentile...she is closer to Kira in weight than her twin brother!) and is 37 6/8 inches tall (70th percentile). They acted very silly for our friend Dr. Mindy but at least they were giggling and not crying like Kira was until she realized we were there for Ari and Alex, not for her. Then she got all cute and started playing peek-a-boo with the doctors and nurses she wouldn't even look at a few weeks ago during her appointment! There were no shots this time but Dr. Mindy did do a strep culture just to make sure the earlier viral-like symptoms were not strep. The culture was negative and given the fact that Ari and Alex seemed completely recovered, we chalked up their symptoms to an intestinal virus.

Wednesday Ari and Alex were happy to return to school and Kira got to do a make-up My Gym class that we missed on Monday while Ari and Alex were sick. Thursday we ran some errands which included looking for the one and only gift Alex has requested for his birthday- a toy recycling truck. He had seen it at Target before but to his great disappointment when we went to get it on Thursday they had no more left! Alex was depressed for the rest of the day, explaining to Mommy that he really wanted that truck and was sad the store no longer had it. Mommy promised to try to find one in time for his birthday.

Last night in the middle of the night, Kira woke up and seemed to have come down with the stomach virus mommy thought she had been spared. It appears that the incubation period for this virus is almost a week, though...but we're hoping that Kira's case is as minor as Ari and Alex's and that she'll be over it as quickly as they were (within 48 hours).

This morning our friend Savannah came over to play before school and then Mommy took all three big kids to school (along with Kira) so that Savannah's mommy could go to a doctor's appointment. Mommy dropped off the big kids and then went to a PTA meeting with Kira before running out to another toy store to look for the coveted recycling truck. Luckily a nice man at the store helped Mommy find the KING of all recycling trucks- a huge, motorized truck complete with recycling truck driver and recycling bins. What Mommy won't do to make her children's dreams come true! She also bought Ari a stamp set with Ari's favorite shapes- hearts and flowers. Ari has been asking for "a heart and a flower" for her birthday and Mommy can't quite understand in what form Ari wants these shapes, but assumes that on stamps (Ari's favorite arts and crafts project) will be sufficient!

After the quick shopping expedition it was back to school to serve as Shabbat mom and sister and to celebrate Ari and Alex's birthday with donuts. Although Kira was feeling a little under the weather, she sat nicely with her big brother and sister as they celebrated their big "oh-three" birthday with their school friends, teachers and Rabbi Jacob:

Tonight Daddy, Ari and Alex will be celebrating Uncle Jason's birthday and their own pending birthdays with the extended family while Mommy and Kira rest at home so that Kira can get better. Sunday is the BIG day and the BIG party so we're all excited and hoping everyone is in good health by then!

Multiples Mania!

It was another very good week here with a lot of our friends, especially our twin friends!

At the beginning of the week, Kira had her second My Gym class and showed a marked improvement in her walking, as she was willing to walk pretty far distances and much more frequently than she had been in the past. She is clearly making progress and we're sure she will be running around very soon. It's interesting- both Kira and Ari started walking after beginning My Gym...we're not sure if it is because they started around the same age (16 months) or if it's because gym class has given them the confidence to start walking, but whatever it is, Ari and Kira seem to get a lot of benefit from My Gym. Not to mention the teachers always want to call Kira by Ari's name because they think she looks just like Ari did at that age, only with brown hair. One of the teachers has even taken to calling Kira "mini Ari."

On Tuesday we had our neighborhood playgroup at friend Sydney's house. Ari, Alex and Kira had fun playing with their friends and snacking around the big table:

Wednesday Kira had her own playgroup at friend Micah's house and showed off her new strut to her friends. In the afternoon Mommy had booked the private play room at one of our local libraries so we had a playdate with our "summer friends"- twin friends Rina and Celia, along with their little sister (and Kira's pal) Eliana and Izzy and Sammy and the token singleton, "the other Ari." Yes, it was Alex and seven girls! It was great to all be together again and it made us look forward to the upcoming summer days when we hope we'll all be able to repeat the fun we had last summer. After playing in the fun room at the library and reading some books (Alex again managed to find the "truck books" all on his own, including Digger Man, Dig! and Trashy Town), we all headed over to Moby Dick's for an early dinner. On the way over, all of the kids insisted on holding each others' hands- it was very cute! The mommies (and the workers at the restaurant) were all very impressed with how well-behaved the kids were.

Thursday morning Miri came over to play with Ari and Kira while Mommy took Alex to the ENT to figure out why he might be snoring so much at night and sounding congested quite a bit. It turns out that Alex has a very enlarged adenoid that is blocking approximately 95% of his airway and it looks like Alex will need surgery at some point in the near future. The good news was that Alex's hearing checked out perfect and everything else looked great too. He was a champ, even enduring having the "spaghetti camera" put down his nose so the doctor could see his adenoid!!

When we got home we headed to "twins plus one" friends Gregory, Lilli's and Jessi's house for a playdate and lunch. Ari, Alex and Kira were in heaven playing with all of their fun toys, including an awesome ride-on Thomas the Train that goes around a circle on a track. The kids devoured a lunch of grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and strawberries before heading home for a nap for Kira (no nap for Ari and Alex, who seem to be napping only a fraction of the time these days).

Yesterday morning Mommy and Kira ran around doing errands to get ready for our Parents of Multiples club's HUGE consignment sale this weekend. Once Daddy got home in the afternoon, Mommy headed off to set up for the sale while Daddy took the kids to Miri and Opa's for dinner.

Mommy headed back to the sale at 6:00 this morning, leaving Daddy on his own with the kids. Daddy decided to try out his new camera at a local park so he took the kids and met up with all of the grandparents, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jason and Cousins Naomi and Jonathan. He took some beautiful pictures that Mommy will try to upload here at some point. After the park, Mommy was just wrapping up at the sale so Daddy came by and followed Daddy, Nana and the kids home after a long but successful day. We had over 140 sellers and 800 shoppers today, our biggest (and highest-grossing) sale yet! It was an EXHAUSTING 24 hours for Mommy but well worth it and so much fun to work together with all of her multiple mommy (and daddy!) friends. Here are before and after shots of the room where the sale is set up over the course of Friday afternoon/evening:

No rest for the weary, though...this week promises to be very busy as we get ready for Ari and Alex's big "oh-three" birthday!!!

Hag Purim and More Steps!

We celebrated Purim this week, first at our synagogue's Purim carnival on Sunday, then at the Megilla reading on Monday night and finally at Ari and Alex's nursery school's Purim parade on Wednesday. Monday night all three kids dressed up, including Kira (as a princess!) Wednesday Ari and Alex were excited to wear their costumes to school and parade in to see Mommy, Kira and the other waiting family members!

Dressed up for the Purim Service

Alex at the Nursery School Purim Parade with pals Jessica and Rian and teacher Morah Kseniya
Ari with Morah Pat

Shayla and Ari

This week was also a big week for Kira. Monday she had her first gym class. All of the teachers, who remember Ari and Alex, remarked at how much Kira looks like Ari. Mommy likes having the one-on-one time with her and Kira is practicing her confidence in walking, which seems to be paying off as she has taken more and more steps unassisted this week. Ari and Alex are sweet big siblings, helping her learn to walk.

Kira tries out the gym equipment

Kira is very adept at climbing UP the slides!

Ari helps Kira with her walking

Thursday we had a fun playdate with one of Mommy's friends from law school (who also worked at the same law firm out of law school) and another friend from high school. Ari, Alex and Kira had fun playing with all of Mommy's friends kids, although Alex, who seems to have given up his naps for the most part, was pretty cranky towards the end of the playdate.

Friday was picture day at school so Mommy dressed all three kids up and had a picture of everyone taken before Ari and Alex had their individual and class pictures taken later in the day. Mommy was shocked when the photographer got all three kids to look at the picture AND smile, all within two frames. Mommy also managed to get a few decent pictures of everyone looking pretty:

Tonight we had our monthly neighborhood get-together and Mommy and Daddy realized how much easier it's getting now that Ari and Alex run off to play with their friends. It's actually possible to relax (relatively speaking!) and have adult conversation while the little ones keep occupied amongst themselves. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed hanging out with their friends while the little ones were content (mostly) playing with all of the toys.

Just two weeks from tomorrow Ari and Alex will be three years old!!

From Snow to 75

It's been a weird week, weather-wise at least. We started out on Monday with the biggest snow storm of the season, a total of at least 6 inches of snow! The snow nixed all of our plans for Monday, including Ari and Alex's parent-teacher conference (a make up of the original conference, which was also cancelled due to snow!), Kira's first day of My Gym, her follow-up doctor appointment to get the shots she missed last month, and Mommy's board meeting, but we made the best of it and got out to play in what we HOPE is the last snow of the season.


By Tuesday the snow had started melting and the weather warmed up. It was back to school on Wednesday and on Thursday we headed back to the Indoor Soccerplex with Mommy's high school friend Lauren and her two girls, Vanessa and Danielle who are around the same ages as Ari, Alex and Kira. We had forgotten that nursery schools were out on Thursday for a conference so we saw a TON of our friends from school and the neighborhood. Like last week, Ari, Alex and Kira had a blast riding around and playing with all of their friends. They were even treated to a special visit from the mascot for one of the teams that plays at the Soccerplex:

Alex hugs his new friend

Alex and Vanessa play with the trucks
Alex found a digger!

Ari riding her tricycle around the SoccerPlex

Kira scooting around

Friday Mommy finally got to have Ari and Alex's parent/teacher conferences that had now been rescheduled twice due to snow. Mommy left the kids with Poppy Jack while she went to the school for the conferences. We're happy to report that both Ari and Alex got rave reviews and the teachers gave us some positive feedback on how they're doing. The only small concern brought up was Alex's speech, in particular the clarity of it. Mommy has been having some questions about his speech anyway so she decided to make an appointment with a speech pathologist for an evaluation in a few months just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, the teachers said that Ari and Alex are a joy to have in class, play nicely with their friends, follow directions well, set an example for the others who are potty training and otherwise are excelling in every area. Friday was also an exceptionally warm day- it was hard to believe that just a few days prior, we had snow on the ground!

Friday night we had Shabbat dinner at Miri and Opa's, where Kira took several steps unassisted. She's been walking well as long as she can hold onto something, so this was the first time she took unassisted steps NOT towards Mommy. We're hoping that means she's close to "really" walking!

Saturday we all celebrated friend Shara's third birthday at a big party at her house. Shara has a very fun house and it's always hard to drag the kids out of there...Saturday was no exception. Between all of the fun things to do and see (a moon bounce, face painter, video games, pinball, air hockey, Minnie Mouse) and all of their friends, the kids were bouncing off the walls! As always, Shara's mommy made a gorgeous castle cake for her party...we're always so impressed with her creativity and talent:

Alex and Ari pose in front of the cake

Ari and The Birthday Girl

Alex tries his hand at pinballAlex and Minnie cut a rugMinnie says "hi" to Ari and Shara

Ari tries out the pinball machine

After long naps, some of Mommy's sorority sisters and their families came over to play outside (in the gorgeous 70-degree weather!) and go out to dinner. After dinner we came back to our house to eat dessert and play. Ari, Alex and Kira enjoyed meeting new friends and were really great about sharing all of their toys with so many kids. Mommy and her friends enjoyed catching up and meeting each others' families. It was a late night as we all lost an hour of sleep as we moved the clocks an hour forward- it's hard to believe that it will now be light out so much later. Coupled with the warm weather we're having, it feels like summertime already!

Kira and (little) Alex swingAlex and Jake- boys and their sticks!Alex and Rory play in the ballpitMatthew, Kira and Jake try out all the toysMommy and her sorority sisters (and some "mini APhis"!)The guys- probably totally bored

Speaking of summertime, today the temperature reached the mid-70's. What a change from less than a week ago. After Mommy got in her weekly long run, she headed to the synagogue to help set up for the Purim Carnival. Mommy helped set up and then served cotton candy for a half hour...and swears she will never eat any of that stuff ever again, as she ended up COVERED with pink sugar and sick from the smell of it! Daddy brought Ari, Alex and Kira to join Mommy at the carnival before leaving for his Junior Maccabi soccer tryouts. After the carnival, Mommy took the kids to Nana and Poppy's house where they played and had dinner while Mommy went to help with the Junior Maccabi tennis tryouts. Nana and Poppy reported that all three kids were great and ate "like champs" at dinner.

We're hoping that this warm weather sticks around for good. Now that we have had a taste of summer, we definitely don't want to go back to winter!!