Ten Months

Happy 10-month birthday to Kira! It's been a busy week, capped off with a long weekend and a celebration of Kira turning 10 months old.

Going all the way back to last Sunday afternoon, we got together with our "neighborhood gang" for our monthly family gathering. Lots of fun catching up and watching the kids run around with each other.

On Monday, we had a playdate at Sammy and Izzy's house with several of our twin friends. Alex talked about seeing their doggy Billy all the way to their house but once we got there he wasn't quite sure if he liked Billy or if he was very scared of him. That's weird for Alex because he loves all dogs- we think it's because Billy barks quite a bit when we first get there, because once Billy (and Alex) calmed down, he was happy to pet and play with Billy...just as long as Billy wasn't trying to steal his food!

Tuesday we took a trip to the library to get some more books. Alex and Ari are very good at finding books that suit them perfectly- Ari checked out some alphabet and number books, and Alex managed (again) to find the tractor and truck books.

Wednesday Ari and Alex were so excited to have a reunion with last year's classmate Adam. And as an added bonus, Adam's mommy invited a friend of hers who has a daughter, Savannah, who will be in Alex and and Ari's NEW preschool class. Kira met lots of friends her size who will be in our new Wednesday morning playgroup while Ari and Alex are in school. And she enjoyed extra special attention from Adam, who has always seemed to have a little crush on Kira, even when she was just a few weeks old:

Thursday Alex and Ari met even more of their new classmates at a playdate at our house. They met Chase (or re-met, as they actually met him when they were just around a year old at a mutual friend's house for a playdate), Laylie (who they also had seen this summer at the outdoor concerts), and Jessica. They did very well sharing all of their toys with their new classmates and are excited to see them when they start school this coming week.

Friday was rainy so Riley and her mommy came over to play inside, and Alex and Ari celebrated their 29-month birthday.

Saturday we joined Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Ozzie at Poppy's boat for an early celebration of Poppy's birthday. Alex and Ari asked to go up to the playroom in the clubhouse and met new friend Jessi. The kids are getting very used to the boat and feel free making themselves at home while visiting:

Sunday we had an exciting outing to buy mattresses for Mommy and Daddy's new bed and for Alex's new bunk beds. After dinner, we took a family walk around the neighborhood and stopped at a "new" playground (new to Ari, Alex and Kira, at least). Once the kids were in bed, Mommy tackled her project of refinishing Alex's bunk beds so that they will match the furniture in his bedroom.

Today we're enjoying the extra weekend day and celebrating Kira's 10-month birthday. What is Kira up to at 10 months?

Kira is talking up a storm this month, mastering "mama," "dada," and "ball" (her favorite toy). She is down to two naps a day, as she dropped her third late afternoon nap while Daddy was out of town for Maccabi. She is still sleeping really well, usually waking up around 7:00 in the morning right before her big brother and sister. She's such an easy baby, always smiling and laughing and she will entertain herself while Mommy is busy with her "higher maintenance" big brother and sister. She also goes down for her naps and bed time without much of a fuss at all.

Kira still isn't mobile yet, and does not roll or crawl. She does scoot a tiny bit on her tushy if she wants a toy out of reach, but she's not showing much progress on this front so she will be evaluated next week by our local Infants and Toddlers program to see if she needs a little physical therapy. We're not too worried- she has great tone and is otherwise very strong, but better safe than sorry. It's actually easier for Mommy when she doesn't crawl but we all know it's coming soon!

This month Kira learned how to give kisses- she opens her mouth wide, says "ahhhh" and leans in for a big wet kiss. Daddy also taught her how to give a "high five." She loves the swings- when her big brother and sister will let her take a turn- and she loves being entertained by Ari and Alex. She also started eating yogurt, which she seems to love. She still won't chew/swallow finger foods like Cheerios and puffs- she'll eagerly pick them up (with excellent fine motor skills) and put them in her mouth, but then she spits them right back out. Mommy is hoping she'll learn to eat something other than mushy baby foods soon!

Mommy had been complaining that Kira would not hold her own bottle yet- surely out of stubbornness, as she holds and drinks water from her sippy cup (and knows Mommy will hold her bottle for her). This point was proven when, last weekend, Daddy put Kira's bottle on her high chair tray while he turned away for a second and when he turned back, look what little Miss Princess was doing:

She still won't hold it when Mommy is feeding her, but apparently this Daddy's girl is happy to hold it for him.

So we all enjoyed the last "official" week of summer- we're sad that the pool is closing and summer is over, but we're all looking forward to the start of school and other exciting times to come!

Iron Girl

Over a year and a half ago, Mommy made a resolution to compete in her first triathlon. She had signed up for the Iron Girl triathlon (an all-women sprint distance triathlon) in 2007 and was excited to do it with Aunt Lori, but shortly thereafter found out that she was pregnant with Kira and obviously would not be in a condition to do a race (especially one that involved riding a bicycle) at 6 months pregnant. So Aunt Lori did it on her own and inspired Mommy to sign up for the 2008 race.

Well, this year there were no surprise pregnancies so Mommy trained over 15 weeks for her transition from running to triathlon, trying to get in a couple of swim sessions a week in addition to a long bike ride and a few runs. Daddy was the only reason she could do this, watching the kids while Mommy got in her training.

So this past weekend Mommy finally realized her goal. It was a long weekend filled with lots of exciting times for everyone.

Saturday afternoon Mommy headed up to the race site to check in her bike (bikes have to be left overnight and are guarded by security until the race in the morning) and check into her hotel, which was just a few minutes from the race site. Ironically, the kids were invited to a birthday party for friend Kareena (the daughter of one of Mommy's high school classmates!) just a mile from the hotel (which is about 45 minutes from our house) Saturday afternoon so Daddy brought the kids up to meet Mommy at the party. Ari and Alex were in heaven when they entered the party- it was at a place that has lots of huge inflatable moonbounces with slides, ladders, etc. Even Mommy, Daddy and Kira got in on the fun.
We left the party a little early to join up with a group of women Mommy did some of her training with for a pre-race pasta dinner. One of the women in this group is the wife of one of Daddy's co-workers so Daddy hooked Mommy up with her and the group so that she could have people to train with. All three kids behaved beautifully (with the exception of one little tantrum by Ari when she didn't immediately get the chicken nuggets she wanted for dinner) and charmed all of the other racers and their families at dinner. Mommy was so proud to have her whole family there to share in part of her race experience.

After dinner Daddy took all of the kids home while Mommy went back to her hotel and prepared for the race the next morning. She woke up at 5:00 a.m. to head to the race start, set up her transition area and meet up with the rest of her training group. At 8:01, her swim wave went off and she began her triathlon experience.

With the MS Society team before the race

Ready for the swim start!

Transition from bike to run

When all was said and done, Mommy finished her first triathlon just a minute or so short of her goal time of 1 hour and 45 minutes. Her official time was 1:46:31 with the breakdown of events: 1000m (1K) swim: 22:43; first transition (T1) 2:33; 17.5 mile bike: 55:31; second transition (T2) 1:45; and 3.4 mile run: 24:01. She placed 5th in her age group, 47th overall (out of 1600+ athletes) and 2nd overall first-time triathlete. Mommy was buoyed by the sight of Aunt Lori, Nana and Poppy when she got off the bike and transitioned to the run and by the thought of seeing Daddy and the kids at the end of the race. It meant so much to her to have Nana and Poppy, Lori, Daddy, Ari, Alex and Kira there to celebrate.

Just after crossing the finish lineFuture Mother/Daughter team

Daddy again was the best support crew, getting the kids up and bringing them to the race early in the morning, pushing them huge distances (and uphill!) in the enormous Reichmobile stroller. Mommy couldn't have been happier having her family, a beautiful day, and realizing one of her goals of finishing a triathlon.

And the next day, Mommy signed up for another (longer) triathlon. Looks like Mommy has caught the triathlon bug...

What a Week!!

It was quite a week in the Reichmann household. While Daddy was away, Mommy continued to keep the kids very busy with fun activities.

Wednesday morning we met up with one of Mommy's college sorority sisters and her son Jake (a little older than Ari and Alex) and newborn daughter (also an Alex!) We went to the lake to feed the ducks, made a pit stop for smoothies and played on the playground. Alex in particular was very happy to have a new buddy who seemed to enjoy playing "tag" as much as Alex does.

Later in the day we headed back to the pool with Andrew, Justin, Mitchell and Jason for a long afternoon of splashing and swimming. We're trying to get in as many days at the pool before it closes next weekend!

Thursday morning we had a big outing to the local fire station, where we had a tour and the kids got to see the trucks in action. Andrew, Justin, Mitchell and Jason joined us again as did Sammy and Izzy (Ari was glad not to be the only girl for once!) Because of a miscommunication in the start time for our tour we had somewhat of an abbreviated visit (the fire fighters had to be somewhere shortly after we got there and also got a few emergency calls) but none of the kids seemed to mind at all. They learned all about the different trucks- fire truck, ladder truck, water truck and ambulance and got to see the fire truck pull out of the station on an emergency call.

After the fire station, we went to a new playground which was a lot of fun but a little too sunny so we didn't stay for too long before heading back for nap time. Thursday afternoon Alex got a haircut. Typically, Alex hates getting his hair cut and cries the whole time. This time, though, Alex cried a bit at first (actually, he put a hat on his head and refused to take it off...clever!) but then he calmed down and thought it was neat that that lady cutting his hair was using a razor (clippers) like Daddy uses. He ended up sitting nicely through most of the haircut and came away with a very handsome cut! After Alex's haircut, we met up with friends Rina and Celia and their sister Eliana for dinner and a trip to a nearby park for more fun on the playground.

Friday we got together with another set of our "twins plus one" friends, Charlotte and Eislen and their sister Tally at open play at Musikids. Kira and Tally played with each other while the big kids ran around and explored the new toys and climbing equipment.Finally, Friday afternoon Daddy got home from his long, tiring week at the Maccabi Games. He had a great time but was pretty exhausted after spending 15+ hours a day with 10 13-16 year old boys. The kids were so happy to see him and find out what treats he brought home from his travels. After he unpacked, we took a ride to pick up Mommy's number and packet for her triathlon this weekend and then headed to Miri and Opa's for Shabbat dinner and a celebration of their anniversary.

So it was a great week but a tiring one...we're all just happy to be home together again!

Nonstop

Daddy left at the crack of dawn Sunday morning for his annual trip to coach soccer at the JCC Maccabi Games, so Mommy has been keeping the kids constantly busy in an effort to keep them entertained while Daddy is away.

Sunday morning Mommy took all three kids to celebrate friend Zack's fourth birthday at a pool party. This was one occasion when Mommy was very happy that Kira isn't crawling yet, as she could put Kira down on a blanket by the pool while she took Alex and Ari in the water. The kids were having such a blast that they didn't even realize it was way past their nap time until we finally got home at 1:00 after a yummy lunch of pizza and ice cream cake.

After a solid (albeit late) nap, Mommy decided to continue the pool fun by taking a trip to our neighborhood pool where we ran into lots of our neighbor friends. Alex and Ari are true fish and didn't even want to get out of the pool to go home for a late dinner.

Monday morning we had a playdate with twin friends, including Madeline and Hannah, who are Kira's age, and Ari and Alex's friends Celia and Rina, along with their younger sister (and Kira's friend) Eliana. It was probably the first time Kira had more friends her age present than Ari and Alex!

Monday afternoon Miri and Opa came for a visit, as Miri just got back from Chile and hadn't seen the kids in a week. We then joined (more) twin friends Izzy and Sammy at their neighborhood pool and Alex and Ari were in pool heaven! In addition to a traditional baby pool, they have a pool that has a graduated entrance (like a beach) with fountains. Mommy practically had to drag Alex and Ari out of the pool to go home for dinner.

After dinner, Nana and Poppy came by for a visit and to help the kids get ready for bed.

This morning we had a big adventure planned- since Alex loves trains so much, Mommy decided to take the kids on the Metro subway to visit Aunt Lori and Uncle Sam, who live near a Metro station. It would have been quicker to drive but Alex and Ari (and even Kira!) had such a great time on the train that it certainly was more fun this way. We had to park on the top level of the parking garage that, to our surprise, had NO ELEVATOR, but other than that, it was a pretty easy (and doable) trip and the kids had a blast. Ari was quick to jump out of the stroller to sit by the window, but Alex, as much as he loved the "Metro train," preferred to stay in the stroller. Kira took it all in from her perch in the Baby Bjorn.

After a visit with Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Ozzie (which included a trip to the bookstore and two new books for Alex and Ari), we returned home for a nap and a return visit to the neighborhood pool where Alex and Ari got to play with bud Jacob and see his baby brother Asher. The kids (and Mommy) have been exhausted at night after our jam-packed days but we're having lots of fun and the time until Daddy returns is going by quickly!