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!!

Visit to Baltimore

Thanks to Nana for this great picture of Mommy, the kids and Aunt Bess from our visit this weekend:

Snow in March!

How is it suddenly March? Kira is now 16 months old and we're hopefully on our way into Springtime, although with the weather around here you would never know that (more on that later...)

We have had a lot of fun over the last few weeks. The last weekend in February we celebrated friend Adam's birthday at a beach party at his house, complete with beach balls, shells and a picnic lunch! Ari and Alex were so excited to see some of their old school friends, especially Adam and Abbie, who they ask about all of the time.

Last week was "silly week" at Ari and Alex's school in anticipation of Purim. Monday they wore their pajamas to school. Wednesday was "buddy day" when the kids were asked to bring in their favorite stuffed "buddy." Lucky for Alex and Ari, the day before Mommy took them (and Kira) to Build a Bear for the first time as an activity to keep us all busy while Daddy was away for the week in Las Vegas on business (really, he was there on business!) So Ari, Alex and Kira all made their own "buddies" at Build a Bear- Ari picked a pink monkey she named "Piggy," Alex selected a doggie he named "Billy" after his favorite doggie, and Kira selected a bear that Ari and Alex named "Teddy" for her. They had so much fun helping the man at the store stuff their dolls, put in a special heart, give the animals a "bath" and print out a birth certificate for their new buddies (who Alex and Ari took to school the next day):

Wednesday afternoon, after school, we had a playdate with Izzy and Sammy and Alex got to introduce his new "Billy" to the real Billy!

Thursday Mommy decided to try something new and took the kids to indoor play at the local Soccerplex, which has a huge indoor soccer field area that is open to kids on certain mornings. Mommy had heard that it was a good idea to bring something for the kids to play with- bicycles, balls, scooters, etc. so Mommy somehow took all three kids, two tricycles and helmets and a ride-on toy (for Kira) to the indoor play where Ari, Alex and Kira rode around for two hours with some of their school friends, including their classmate Chase. Ari and Alex LOVED having a huge open area to ride their tricycles safely and Kira was happy just scooting after them on her ride-on toy. Afterwards, Mommy treated everyone to a lunch of mac and cheese at Noodles and Company before heading home for long naps after a morning of so much activity. In the afternoon we took a trip to the playground to take advantage of some warm weather and also went to Target where the kids got to spend the money GG sent them. Ari bought underwear and watercolors, Alex bought a toy tractor (of course!) and Kira bought a pink ball. They were all excited with their purchases and insisted on calling GG to tell her about them and thank her.

Friday, the last day of "silly week" at school, was "hat day" at school. Ari wore a baseball cap to school and Alex wore a new sun hat that Nanny and Poppy brought him home from their visit to GG in Florida.

Saturday night was a big night for the kids and for Mommy and Daddy. Ari, Alex and Kira had their first non-family babysitter so that Mommy and Daddy could go out to a fancy party for our synagogue! Lexi was on the soccer team that Daddy coached for many, many years and is now a high school senior who is getting ready to go to college. Ari and Alex had met Lexi at Daddy's soccer games and were very excited to find out she would be babysitting. Before she got here, Alex somehow came up with the nickname "Sexy Lexi," although we doubt he knows exactly what that means...or maybe he already has a crush on his babysitter! Ari and Alex showed off for Lexi, dancing and running around, and asked her to read them books. They didn't even care at all when Mommy and Daddy left. Kira, on the other hand, was experiencing some "stranger anxiety" and was not at all happy to be put down to go to bed with a stranger in the house. Luckily she stopped crying quickly and Lexi reported that Ari and Alex went to bed perfectly after she read them some bedtime stories. We were all happy to have Lexi babysit and hope she'll come back again soon. The pictures show Ari and Alex were very happy to have Lexi come babysit, while Kira had her reservations:

Sunday morning Mommy woke up bright and early (5:00 a.m.!) to compete in an indoor triathlon, her first triathlon of the season. She got #1 as her bib number, which must have been a good omen as she ended up placing first woman and fourth overall! After the kids woke up from their naps, we loaded into the car and picked up Nana and Poppy Jack for a trip to visit Aunt Bess and Cousin Jake. Bess treated the kids to some fun toys that they played with at her house before we all went to an early dinner at a very yummy Italian restaurant. We drove home just in time for a big snowstorm...yes, a big snowstorm on the first day of March!!

The snowstorm that started last night continued into today, bringing us over 6 inches of snow and closing schools (and practically the whole city) for the day. We had a big day planned, but those plans were nixed by the snow. If it had not snowed, Mommy would have had Ari and Alex's parent-teacher conference this morning (already rescheduled from a previous snow day!), Kira's first My Gym class and a doctor's appointment for Kira to get the shots she didn't get at her last appointment due to her ear infection. Instead we spent the day mostly indoors except for a brief outing to shovel the driveway (Ari and Alex helped while Kira watched from her stroller in the garage) and to the grocery store once the roads were clear later in the day. It's hard to believe that Spring is around the corner with weather like this, but forecasts are calling for 60 degrees by the end of the week so hopefully this snow will melt soon and warmer weather will arrive!

Time Flies

Wow-- time flies when you're having fun...which must be why it's been so long since we last updated our blog! We've been up to a lot of fun activities the past week and a half.

A week ago on Friday, Mommy was the Shabbat Mommy at Ari and Alex's school so she and Kira joined the class to read a story, help with the Shabbat prayers and visit during lunch and play time. Kira even sat at the table with the rest of the kids. It was fun to watch Ari and Alex play with their friends; it's clear that some of them think Alex talks too much:

Friday night we had our good friends and neighbors, the Millers, over for Shabbat dinner. Ari enjoyed spending time with older friend Emily, and Alex liked having his friend Justin over to play. It was a great chance for all of us to spend some time together and celebrate the end of the week.

Last weekend we took a trip downtown to the Building Museum to visit with Mommy's friend from college and his family, including his twins who are just a little older than Ari and Alex. Ironically, Mommy's friend's name is Dan and they also have an Ari (a boy Ari, though)! It was so much fun to catch up and to meet new friends. The kids LOVED the museum- it's actually just a huge building and inside they have a special area for kids, plus they put out all sorts of building materials for the kids to play with. There is also a huge fountain, which was very popular with Ari and Alex. After playing for a while, we all went out for sandwiches before we headed home, and the two Aris sat next to each other, making it a little confusing for them:

Saturday was also Valentine's Day, and Nana stopped by with special gifts for the kids (Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday!) Ari's gift was her first nightgown:

Saturday night Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Ozzie came to babysit so Mommy and Daddy could go celebrate Valentine's Day with their friends Vanessa and Eric (Sammy and Izzy and doggie Billy's parents) and other adults. Ari, Alex and Kira had fun with their aunt, uncle and Ozzie while Mommy and Daddy were appreciative of a night out!

Monday of this week, Ari and Alex's school was not in session for President's Day so Mommy took them, along with Kira, to see a magic show put on by their nursery school. It was a great show- complete with appearing birds and disappearing objects- and all three kids were mesmerized! Tuesday we had our neighborhood playgroup at friend Ryan's house and Wednesdsay Kira had her playgroup at Ella's house. Thursday we went back to the library's Penny Theater where all three kids enjoyed watching the miniature puppet theater. Friday night we had Miri, Uncle Jason and Cousins Naomi and Jonathan over for Shabbat dinner.

Today we all went to an event for our Parents of Multiples club at Kidville, a "child enrichment center" that typically holds classes for kids but today was party central, complete with a concert, gym time, arts and crafts and pizza. Over 200 parents and kids from our club were there. Ari and Alex passed on the music and gym in favor of crafts and food. Alex was excited to see his buddies Sammy and Izzy and paused in the gym room for long enough to give Sammy a big hug:

After the event, we all went for a sushi dinner. The kids were delighted when we were seated next to a big fish tank, which kept them entertained most of the meal. Ari, Alex and Kira really only ate rice and fruit, but Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a yummy sushi buffet. Ari and Alex did learn how to use special chopsticks, though, that are rigged just for kids with a rubber band around one end:

Fun times, and we're looking forward to a birthday party tomorrow and a busy week ahead!

Fun Inside and Out

This week has been unseasonably warm- today reached almost 70! Unfortunately, it's been quite the tease because this weekend is supposed to be cold and even possibly snowy again. Nonetheless, it was nice to have a taste of springtime while it lasted.

Monday Kira visited with her own friends at her playgroup while Ari and Alex were in school. Tuesday we hosted our neighborhood playgroup and were happy to have a great turnout, including some of the original members of our playgroup who don't get to come that often any more due to hectic schedules. Ari, Alex and Kira had fun playing in the ball pit, making music and running around with their buddies.

Today after school got out, Mommy's friend Donna called to see if we might want to meet up with her and Rina, Celia and Eliana at the zoo to take advantage of the warm afternoon. Mommy thought that was a great idea so she woke the kids up a little early from their naps and we headed down to the zoo, which was very empty because it's the middle of the week. We had such a great time- Ari was most excited to see the elephants and Alex liked the Prairie Dogs and the construction crane working on the elephant habitat. All of the kids loved seeing the lions, too, just before the lions went inside for the evening. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we had so much fun with our friends.

Happy Birthday Marleigh!

Today Mommy took Ari and Alex to celebrate Marleigh's birthday while Daddy and Kira spent some quality time playing together at home.

Marleigh's birthday party was at a local puppet theater, which, aside from the library's "Penny Theater" time, was a first for Ari and Alex. Mommy was SO proud of how well they sat (on their own, apart from Mommy with the rest of the kids close to the stage) the entire show. The theater has strict rules on behavior during the show, and Mommy was just so impressed at how well both Ari and Alex paid attention and refrained from talking. Ari sat with her buddy Laylie and whispered and giggled together before the show, while partners in crime Alex and Chase sat with each other but Alex did a good job resisting Chase's (well-intentioned) attempts to get Alex to engage in some antics. After the show, the kids got to meet the storyteller/puppeteer and one of his puppets, Jemima Puddleduck (the show was a series of Beatrix Potter stories). They also got to ride in an old bumper car and check out the old trolley car, much to Alex's delight, after sharing cake and lunch with their friends.

After naps, we all went outside to enjoy the unseasonably warm (60 degrees!) weather, a welcome break from the bitterly cold weather we've been having. We hope this is a sign that springtime is near!

Milestones

Despite the radio silence on the blog, we have had lots of milestones in the Reichmann family in the past week (maybe it's an indicator why we haven't had time to update the blog in a week!)

First, Kira turned 15 months old and had her 15 month appointment with the pediatrician. Overall her appointment went well, with just a few minor concerns. First, we found out that Kira's uncharacteristic cranky attitude this past week wasn't just a change in attitude, but the first ear infection for the Reichmann children! Mommy was surprised, as Miri had checked just last weekend to make sure her cough and cold hadn't led to an ear infection, but it seems as if the infection came on some time after Miri checked (good thing we had a doctor's appointment planned anyway!) With some antibiotics, Kira has been back to her normal happy self this week.

Kira also only gained one ounce between her 12 month and 15 month appointments. She now weighs 20 pounds, 3 ounces and measures 33 inches long (she was 20 pounds, 2 ounces and 32.75 inches at 12 months). The doctor wasn't too concerned, as now Kira is on Ari's growth curves- 97th percentile for height and 15th percentile for weight. We'll keep an eye on her to make sure she's eating and growing appropriately, but given the fact that she is the best eater out of all three kids, we're chalking up the small gain to her new found mobility and the consequential burning of more calories.

Finally, Kira's head circumference was above the 100th percentile so there is a slight concern there, but because she is otherwise acting normally, we are on the fence as to whether or not to do a precautionary ultrasound before her soft spot in her head closes and we'd have to do a CT scan (with sedation) if there are future concerns. Dr. Miri is going to re-measure her head this weekend and we'll consider whether it is worth doing an ultrasound when there are no other signs of anything that would cause concern. Given the fact that her brother and father both had large heads as infants, this is probably (like her weight) genetic, but we'll defer to Dr. Miri in deciding what to do.

Because of her ear infection we decided to hold off on the three vaccinations until next month, but even that news didn't cheer Kira up while she was at the doctor's office. She screamed bloody murder any time the nurse or doctor walked towards her. It was interesting to see how her memory works at this young of an age!

Alex has also had a momentous week- we can now say that he is just about 100% potty trained. He is still sleeping in a diaper but has woken up dry the past two mornings (in fact, he woke up and asked Mommy to help him go to the bathroom in the middle of the night last night) so Mommy is tempted to let him sleep in underwear but holding off a few more days just in case. Mommy is DELIGHTED to have just one baby in diapers- it has already made a big difference in our monthly expenses, and it's not as difficult as Mommy had feared to take the kids to the bathroom while we're out and about, as Ari and Alex are really good at going quickly and waiting for each other.

This week Daddy worked late every day but we kept busy by spending a lot of time with friends- on Tuesday we had a fun reunion with twin friends Ellie and Thatch, who we hadn't seen since the kids were all under a year old. Thursday we played with friend Sam and his mommy in the morning and then had dinner with the Arking clan at night. Tonight we had friend Shara and her parents and baby sister over for Shabbat dinner.

Ari, Alex, Thatch and Ellie at 10 and 6 months, respectivelyThatch, Ari, Alex and Ellie at 2.5-3 years

Things are really changing around here- our "babies" are growing up before our eyes!