Finally Fall?

It seems like our Indian Summer finally came to an end this week, with our warm weather giving way to blustery, yet sunny, days. Today was a bit of a reality check as the temperatures started out near freezing!

Before the cold weather set in, we enjoyed a few final days outdoors. On Thursday we hung out with pal Andrew and his mommy, first outside in our yard frolicking in the newly-fallen leaves and then at the nearby lake, feeding the ducks and playing around the small fountain.

Today we bundled up and went to watch Daddy coach a soccer game, where the kids got to play on a really nice playground near his field. Before that, though, Alex got a special visit from a friend of ours who is a Battalion Chief in our fire department and who brought Alex some fireman hats to go with his Halloween costume. Alex was so excited to meet a "real fireman" and see his Battalion Chief truck.

In the afternoon, Cousins Alan and Nicole (who are in town visiting this week) came by for a visit. Ari, Alex and Kira loved playing and reading with their Cousins.

After their visit, we headed out for a nice afternoon and dinner with Mommy's sorority sister and her family. We had a great time, and Alex found a kindred spirit in his new buddy, Jake, who is just a few months older than him. After a Japanese dinner, we went next door to Ben & Jerry's for a treat. Ari almost didn't get to partake in the ice cream, as she refused to try any of the chicken or potatoes at dinner (and instead just ate a whole plate of white rice!), but she finally realized we were serious when we told her she had to at least have a taste to have her dessert, and she ended up eating a bite of the chicken out of the take-out box so she could have some ice cream with the rest of us. The lady behind the counter treated all the kids to special crowns, which Alex, Kira and Jake wore proudly but Ari proclaimed she'd rather "wear it next week."

Tomorrow is jam-packed with birthday parties and a Halloween party, so stay tuned for pictures and a sneak peek at Ari, Alex and Kira's Halloween costumes!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we had a treat, as Daddy was home for Columbus Day and he got to see a typical school day, including dropping Alex and Ari off at their classroom this morning. We then enjoyed a family afternoon, along with good friends Sammy and Izzy and their mommy, at a local farm that has a big pumpkin patch. We rode the tractor/hayride out to pick our very own pumpkins. It was a gorgeous (hot!) day and didn't feel much like Fall, but we had a good time for the most part, with just a few tears from Ari when she got temporarily grumpy during the pumpkin picking and ride back. Getting a picture of all three looking at the camera was impossible, but we did manage a few cute pictures to capture the experience:

Jess & Josh's Wedding Reception

This weekend we went to New Jersey to celebrate cousins Jess and Josh's marriage and the birth of their baby, Davidson, who is just a few months younger than Kira. Jess and Josh were actually married a year ago but decided to wait until now to have the reception. It was a beautiful celebration and made even more special by the presence of baby Davie, who was on his best behavior (and dressed in a mini-tux to match his daddy's!)

It was a very nice chance for all of us to see lots of relatives and for the kids to spend time with aunts, uncles and cousins. We also took a lot of great pictures (some sort of funny):

We are sure Alex isn't looking at what it looks like he's looking at here...

The highlight of the evening was our dancin' fool, Alex, who jumped right out on the dance floor by himself to show off all of his moves. He was the hit of the party, and actually danced so much that by the end of the night he got a little sick (nothing serious, just overheated and too much jumping and swinging!) His favorite move was getting swung around by Mommy, but most popular with the crowd was his own style of dancing:

Alex starts going......and going...and going...and going...still going

After a happy, exhausting celebration, we packed everyone in the car for a long ride home...only to become a little longer by an unfriendly cop on the NJ Turnpike and an accident closer to home that closed the highway. We eventually made it home, and luckily the kids all slept on the way home so they didn't miss out on too much sleep.

This afternoon we took advantage of some beautiful weather to attend a local Oktoberfest. Ari, Alex and Kira enjoyed seeing all of the festivities, including Bavarian music, horses, balloons and especially the funnel cake Daddy bought them (for the kids, really, not for Daddy...of course). We also had a special treat when we met up with twin friends Sydney and Alex and their mommy and grandma. Syd and Alex were actually at Ari and Alex's bris/naming ceremony while they were still in their mommy's tummy, as the mommies have been friends since they were both pregnant with twins. In fact, Syd, Alex, Ari and Alex all attended the same Oktoberfest together two years ago, when the kids were all just six months old!! Check out the "then and now" pictures:

Then:Now:
Then:Now:

Another reminder of how fast time flies...

Ch- Ch- Ch- Changes

Lots of changes around here this week. Seems like all of a sudden Alex, Ari and Kira are all grown up!

First, Alex and Ari made the official transitions to "big kid" beds on Wednesday night after Mommy and Daddy's new (awesome!) King-size bed and new bedroom set was delivered. Daddy supervised the delivery (he telecommuted to work on Wednesday) while Mommy kept the kids busy in the basement with a "school friends plus Andrew" playgroup since Jewish schools were closed for the holiday. Now Ari has Mommy and Daddy's old bedroom set and Alex has the bottom half of the bunk beds that the former owners of our house left us and that Mommy refinished last month. Mommy and Daddy also had fun redecorating the kids' rooms. Mommy hand painted letters spelling out each of their names and even painted two canvases for Ari and Kira's rooms. Here are the finished products:




Second, Kira has almost totally given up her bottles. Today she drank her morning milk, along with a breakfast of oatmeal cereal and apple sauce, from a sippy cup like her big brother and sister. At dinner time she was cranky so Mommy gave in and put her milk back in the bottle (upon which she downed the entire thing) but it seems like we're moving towards no more bottles by the time Kira turns one in a few weeks.

Yesterday was Yom Kippur so we spent a quiet day at home after attending Tot services at our synagogue in the morning. We broke the fast with our good friends and neighbors, and Ari and Alex had a chance to play with some of their neighborhood friends and meet some new friends, too. Today while Ari and Alex were in school, Mommy and Kira ran some errands before Kira's music class.

This weekend we're looking forward to a belated marriage celebration with cousins Jess and Josh and to meeting new cousin Davie!

An Athletic Weekend

This past weekend was filled with many athletic endeavors.

Friday night, after Daddy got back from a business trip to Chicago (and after Mommy was the Shabbat Mommy at school, along with Shabbat Baby Kira!), Mommy left the kids and Daddy at Miri and Opa's house for Shabbat dinner to drive to her first Century Ride, the Sea Gull Century in Salisbury, Maryland. This is one of the largest Century (100 mile) rides in the country, with 6,400 riders!

Saturday turned out to be a cool fall day, but almost perfect for riding 100 miles. Mommy ended up riding the course in 5 hours and 24 minutes, finishing (with rest stops included) in a little over 6 hours. After a quick shower, it was back home to see Daddy and the kids, who had spent a nice day enjoying the sunny fall weather.

Sunday morning it was Mommy's turn to watch the kids as Daddy ran the Army 10-miler. Despite a chest cold and a nagging knee injury, Daddy ran a spectacular time of just under 1:21.

The athletic theme continued Sunday afternoon when Daddy coached his girls' soccer team to a 1-1 tie. Ari, Alex and Kira got to attend their first game of the season and ate up the attention of the girls on the team while they paid careful attention to how the game is played for future reference!

And big changes are brewing in the Reichmann household. First, Kira (who is nearing her first birthday!) has now transitioned totally from formula to whole milk, as we ran out of our last big can of formula and couldn't see buying another one when Kira is so close to one year anyway. She's now on a feeding schedule almost identical to her big brother and sister, with "real" meals and snacks. Mommy is now working on getting rid of the bottles in the next few weeks. Also, tomorrow Mommy and Daddy are getting their new king size bed (which will better fit all five of us when everyone climbs into bed!) which means that Alex and Ari will have their new "big kid beds." Exciting stuff!!

11 Months!

It's hard to believe, but in just one month, our baby Kira will be turning one year old!

So what is Kira up to at 11 months?

Kira is holding up her reputation as the "happiest baby on the block." She's almost always smiling and even strangers remark on her sunny disposition. She is also quite the talker- she says several words already, including "Mama," "Dada," "Bye-Bye," "Hi," "up," "doggie," "ball," and "uh-oh!" She also signs "more" and "thank you," and throws kisses. She imitates almost any sound she hears so she's picking up more and more words every day.


Kira is a good sleeper and takes a quick morning nap (usually from about 8:45-9:15) followed by a longer afternoon nap with her big brother and sister from 12:30-3:00 or so. She goes to bed at about 7:30 and even though she sometimes wakes up on the early side (around 6:00), she just talks and laughs until she either falls asleep again or Mommy goes in to get her at 7:00.


Kira still has four bottles a day but we're getting ready to transition her to whole milk and off of the bottle. As it is, she already prefers to drink out of a straw cup (something she mastered very early on) so hopefully that transition will go smoothly. We're also weaning her from the baby foods and starting to give her whatever we are eating- pasta, corn, edamame, peas, hamburger, turkey, banana, bread and even avocado. She also loves yogurt, cheerios, pretzels and her oatmeal cereal.


We're working with a physical therapist on Kira's gross motor skills, namely her crawling and cruising, but in the last week Kira has definitely mastered the art of scooting around on her tush. She is very quick and can cover much distance in a short period of time, which is proving tricky for Mommy, who is used to leaving her in one place! The physical therapist came today and was impressed with Kira's progress, as she is now very good at standing up (from sitting on a lap or a chair) and can even make some forward progress on her belly with a little help.


Kira loves playing with her big brother and sister, and especially enjoys playing in the ball pit, "peek a boo," and singing songs (along those lines, her weekly music class is a favorite!) Every day her personality is evolving and we're constantly amazed at how quickly she's growing.

Birthdays and a New Year

Yesterday Alex and Ari officially turned 2 1/2 years old! To celebrate, we went to a big park in another neighborhood with friends Andrew and Mitchell, where we ran into "another Ari," Alex and Ari's friend from our summer concert series.

Also celebrating a birthday this week was Aunt Lori. Happy Birthday, Aunt Lori!

Today was the first day of Rosh Hashanah, so we went to services at our new synagogue for the first time. Since Nana is with GG in Florida this week, Poppy joined us at our services. Ari, Alex and Daddy went to the tot services while Mommy, Kira and Poppy went to the main services until the tot services were over, when Mommy took the kids home and Poppy and Daddy stayed for the remainder of the regular services. After a quick nap, we all went to Miri and Opa's house for Rosh Hashana lunch and the annual family photos.