First tooth

All this drooling...

And all this chewing...

Has yielded a tooth!

Admitting you are wrong...

It's not something Scott or I are good at.  We have been known to pull out maps and check sources to find out who is right.  And, whoever is wrong there will, no doubt, be a lengthy explanation of how we were partially right.  It's just who we are.  See Do Babies Have Teeth? So, the other day when Ilan came to me and said, "Ima, you were right.  Gnomeo (from Gnomeo and Juliet) does say 'a hat for a hat' " I was floored.  This had been an ongoing debate between the two of us.  He thought Gnomeo said "A hat for that!"  I asked him how he discovered it and he said he listened very closely. 

Immediately I recognized that this is behavior to be encouraged and told Ilan how proud I am of him and how important it is to admit when you are wrong.  It's not easy to do. 

What am I? Chopped Liver?

Oh, dear.  This is the trouble with being the third baby.  Neshama just rolled over and no one saw it.  Ilan was a foot away "playing" with her, but he was not watching at the moment. 

Four Months

Neshama turned four months and celebrated by welcoming her cousin Ari into the world.  Ok, she didn't actually meet him, but she did spend all day at the hospital with Oma waiting while Ima was the doula.  What a trooper.  She has turned over a leaf when it comes to flexibility.  Ideally she is not dragged all over the world, but when she is, she doesn't shut down like she used to.  I don't know if it is a survival mechanism all my children have developed, but for the most part they manage life pretty well when they are tired.   

I thought at first Nes was going to be an introvert because she was so bothered/overstimulated by the sounds her brothers generate, but as it turns out she is just as social as her brothers.  The number one comment we get is "look at her eyes!"  She draws a lot of attention to herself that way.  I suppose if the world compliments you at every turn, you'd like people, too!  Seriously, I think she expects it.  But she is very smiley and if you give her some attention you'll probably get her crooked little grin.

This week we saw the pediatrician and Dr. Sklanky, the Cardiologist.  She is 11 lbs, 11 oz and 24 inches and her health is great.  Oxygen is 100%.

The Paci, The Paci, Oh I Want the Paci

 

If you've spent any time with Aitan, you know he loves him some paci.  In fact, he has a variety of pacis that come in and out of his favor.  Star paci, blue paci, green paci - he requests the paci that he desires and God forbid, really, that his chosen paci is not available.  

I read a friend's post about how her son recently turned in his pacifier and I thought "Aitan is never going to give it up!"  But then he started teething and one by one his pacifiers were being rent in two as he gnawed upon them.  Finally, April 11th came.  The day he finished off his final (well, aside from a back-up or two) pacifier.  He was warned that when he chewed it up it would be gone and he would have no more pacis and when he went to bed that night he took it like a man.  

 

I'm actually quite proud of him and how well he handled it.  It seems like he's had a little spurt of maturity since then as well and he's on his way to being a big boy.  In memory of some of his favorite pacis I've posted some pictures of him with pipe in mouth.

A Totally Different Kind of Yoga

I don't remember exactly when we started Yoga, but I know it was a week or two prior to learning I was pregnant with Neshama.  I had never done Yoga with a live instructor - only Rodney Yee and Shiva Rea via yoga videos and probably felt a little intimidated by the thought of going to a Yoga class.  I'm not really in to the meditation part of it (although I'm sure the peace and quiet would do me good) and I'm not the glamourous yogi type, so I was a little unsure when Mandy sent an e-mail inviting friends and colleagues to join her for yoga in the backyard.  She worked a deal with a local instructor to offer classes in her backyard at an amazingly low price (as low as $6/session if you prepay for the month) and we could bring the kids to play while we do a little something for ourselves.  I wasn't sure about it, but I thought I'd try it for a month and see if I liked it.  Over a year later I am still doing it and loving it.

I don't remember our first session, but I do remember coming home and being sooo sore later that day!  I don't think I realized how much yoga is about strengthening your core and utilizing ALL of your muscles at one time.  After just a couple of weeks my chiropractor asked if I had been doing something different because he said my body was more stable than it had been since I started seeing him (three years ago). 

There are varying levels of experience and skill represented, but we all seem to have an area where we excel and we all try.  It's a lovely group of mostly crunchy ladies and their kids.  We've watched most of the the kids start walking or talking.  I feel very grateful to these ladies for being so supportive and patient with me and Aitan throughout the pregnancy.  Diane (Dee-ahn), our wonderful teacher, is the perfect fit for our class.  Between instructing us and guiding us to the best possible practice we can have she is soothing crying babies (seriously!), breaking up toddler fights (usually over snacks), and keeping our kids from harming themselves and each other!  And, she is super forgiving of our lack of focus. 

This isn't yoga for the super serious - there have been days for each of us where we barely get any of the poses in because our kids need us or we have to modify a pose so we can nurse a baby, etc.  But we all get it and it is amazingly fabulous to have your kids come and try the poses with you or find their way to cuddle up against you mid-pose. (There is nothing quite like lying in Savasana and having a toddler jump on you!)  But, for me it's perfect and it's something I always look forward to.  A little time to do something good for myself without having to worry about Aitan (too much).  Thank you Diane and Mamas for providing me a little bit of special time during the week!  Love you!!

This was taken December 13th.

On rainy days we go inside.  Notice little N in Diane's arms as she is teaching.

Ilan doesn't get to come very often, but he joined in last time.

Passover

Since we've been back in LA we've done two 20+ person Seders at my parents' house each year.  Strange to think I was pregnant two of those three years!  Part of my sanity-keeping strategy is to cut corners and just say no to a few things that cause stress and keep me from being present with my kids.  So, we invited a Messianic couple we don't get to see often enough and had a nice quiet (er, as quiet as it gets with these kids) Seder.

My kids eat Matzoh like it's going out of style

Oops!  Did I get the atomic horseradish?

Strawberry Picking

Strawberries at the Farmer's market have been quite amazing lately, so I figured it was time to get in on the action.  For the past several years I've gone to the farm store at Cal Poly Pomona.  Ilan had spring break last week so Bobbi and I took the kids.  It wasn't a good start when the women before me in line was told that there weren't any strawberries.  I gulped.  But we came from West Los Angeles.  The women told us we could look, but nature wasn't kind to them this year.  It was true (notice Aitan's basket of half-ripe strawberries).  At least the kids had a good time running around.

Three months and then some

 I can't believe how quickly these last three months have gone by.  I sincerely feel that the adjustment to three has been pretty smooth.  Don't get me wrong there are those moments - but I'm pretty well used to having them because they happened with just two kids.  I find the standard that I set for myself is lower and I'm really ok with it.  I think it bothered me more when I only had two.  I'm not sure Scott feels the same way, but the PhD adds a bit to the mix for him.  Between late-night study sessions and early morning wake-up calls he's pretty beat.  

Neshama has managed to avoid the flu and all of the sniffles that have come home with the boys.  I'm pretty sure that is a act of God.  Aitan can't keep his hands off sister's pacifier and he likes to lick her head and pretend to eat her.  Cute, but germy.  She's nursing and sleeping well and her health is good.  We keep hearing that they wouldn't know she only has one lung if they hadn't had the abnormal ultrasound.  Aside from occasional doctor appointments with specialists, life has been normal.

She is generally very happy, but gets pretty mad when she's over-tired.  Unfortunately, we've started the chauffeuring stage of parenting and her naps are not always timely.  Poor girl.  The afternoons when everyone is home are hardest.  Seems like she'll get quiet and settled and then one of her brothers throws something or wacks something and she startles.  Usually she will fall asleep on her own (something neither boy did), but when she gets to that over-tired stage there's no dice.   And, she just doesn't seem to like a lot of commotion.  Actually, I find myself wanting to take her and retreat to a very quiet place.  Not that I don't love the boys, but our house is anything but quiet.  Ha!  My chiropractor got on my case because I had bruises up and down my shins.  He said it looked like someone took a mallet and wacked me several times.  I told him that I don't remember what any one of the bruises were from, but when Ilan jumped on me this morning, landing knee first on my shins I knew I was on to something!  I digress.

Her brothers adore her and are very eager to help.  Ilan fell asleep in our bed the other night and I wanted to take a picture of him because he was positioned at the edge of the bed overlooking his sister.  Wouldn't you know that he moved by the time I returned with the camera.  Oh well.  He's had a bit of a rough spell since Nes was born.  Admittedly, we were not getting up with him as early as we had been before she came and he's been feeling left out a bit.  I've tried to have a date with him every other week or so just to stay connected and it's helped a lot.

Aitan is just growing up.  He's gone for two nights without a pacifier and has done really well.  No tears or anything.  I didn't expect this.  He's shown more interest in using the potty (thanks to Nana) and he'll probably be moving to a big kid bed soon.

her hair gets super curly after baths

First Picture with the Hollywood Sign