Sense of smell

I have a crazy sense of smell. Really, really acute and strong. I can smell the instant chicken soup has boiled, I can smell when it is about to snow, and any artificial smell drives me crazy. I walk into a house with those air fresheners plugged in, and it completely overwhelms my nose. I have very strong memories and associations with smells, too. The smell of fresh vegetables stir frying takes me back to my childhood instantly, to the point that if I close my eyes, I am actually in my parent's kitchen, hearing my mother chop the vegetables and listen to NPR. The smell of the ocean relaxes and calms me. The smell of my mother's perfume makes me happy and feel comforted. The smell of lanolin takes me to my father's hand cream that he used in the winter. The milky smell of my baby's breath first thing in the morning is my absolute favorite smell ever. It was with Amira and Yaakov, too, and I am always sad when that ends.
Yaakov seems to have inherited this "gift," as well. A couple of weeks ago as we walked the two blocks to Shul, Yaakov suddenly said, "Oh Mommy, it smells so good, it smells like a pomegranate" and I thought, huh, it actually does, and then 2 seconds later he wrinkled up his nose and said "Uch, now it smells like wet newspaper." Right again, little guy.
This morning I opened up a new face cream (a sample that came with my latest Sephora order, oh do I adore that store) and instantly I thought-this was my Bubby's smell. My beloved Bubby, who died four years ago, and who I still think about every day, and wish that she could have known my children, and even more that they could have known her. She was the most amazing grandmother. Funny and stylish and giving and loving and just indulgent enough. And I put the cream on, and I am smiling and I feel elegant and beautiful and optimistic, just like my Bubby was.

OT/PT

Aaron/Aharon started PT this week. He is the only baby I know who crawls and pulls to stand, but still (at 10 months) can't sit without falling over. So physical therapy it is. He screamed for pretty much the whole thing (which means it is working, according to my therapy experienced friends) but I have absolute confidence in the wonderful therapist. He didn't qualify through early intervention, since a baby needs a 33% delay in one area or 25% in 2 areas, and he didn't meet those criteria, especially since they count him as a month younger than he is, because he was born under 36 weeks. Since we had him evaluated at 9 months, and they counted him as an 8 month old, and he does everything else that he should be doing at this age, he didn't qualify. But since sitting seemed like kind of a vital skill, we decided to do it privately. Meanwhile, he said his first words two weeks ago (Abba and Hi) got his second tooth yesterday, and we think he says "Ah-Ra-Ra" for Amira! I am convinced that this "sleep through the night" is a myth, though, since that has yet to transpire.

Amira is loving third grade and the only issue we have had so far is that her substitute (her teacher had a baby about a week ago!) has them read every night and bring the book into school the next day to show her, and I have had to list every single possible time that Amira may not read. For example: At Lunch, while walking, during recess (no reading, only running), during snack, really any time at all, because the first time she was allowed to bring a novel to school, she came home having read all 397 pages. Academics are not a problem for her, thank G-d, but I want her to socialize, too.

Now Yaakov...well, Kindergarten is going well so far, he is certainly learning a lot. But his teacher seems to have already decided that he has "sensory issues" and needs OT. After about a week of school. I know that he doesn't really sit still, and that he doesn't like loud noises (although a friend of mine commented, when I was telling her all this, that we have a quiet house, which really is true) and doesn't like glue dried on his hands (these were her examples of reasons he might need to be evaluated for OT) but I am wondering why it is that we need to rush every single child into some sort of therapy, and not just let them be children....granted there are places where therapy is very important (see above PT situation for the boy who won't sit) but maybe it is just maturity? Maybe not, and I am sure I will be hearing much more about this, but I am feeling worried and a little sad about this. Last year his teacher told us many times that he never looked like he was paying attention, that during circle time he would be standing on his head, playing with his shoelaces, but that he was always able to repeat everything they learned back, and was clearly grasping all the material. Before Succos this year, he was telling us the story of Yonah and the Whale and what his teacher told them, and then said, I remember a poem that (his Pre-K teacher) taught us last year, and proceeded to recite the whole thing perfectly. And last night after dinner, I was testing Amira on the translation of Hebrew verbs for a test that she has, and when she got stuck on one, we heard, quietly from under the dining room table where he was playing with his lego's, Yaakov pipe in with the correct answer. He remembered it from last week when I was testing her. If they tell me that he needs to be evaluated, I will do that. And if they tell me that he needs OT, I will do that as well, but part of me just feels frustrated that we can't just learn to work with how he learns, instead of just assuming that everyone needs to learn the exact same way.

July? Really?

The last time I blogged was July? Well, much to catch up on then, isn't there?! We are happily back in school now after all the Jewish Holidays (and after a fantastic summer of camp and a super awesome LA vacation) and off on all the exciting adventures that THIRD grade and KINDERGARTEN will G-d willing bring. Little tiny baby Aaron/Aharon (sigh, long story, but if you care to voice an opinion as to the spelling of the cutie's name (henceforth to be referred to as AY) please do so in the comments section!) is now 9 1/2 months old. He crawls like crazy baby, climbs in and on everything, but does not yet sit without toppling over after a while. I was worried enough to call early intervention, but since he is not delayed in any other area, and since technically he CAN sit for a while, he did not qualify, though I am thinking of just going private. He has one little tooth and loves to eat- I can't believe he is already at the eating cheerios stage (and that I am in the finding little cheerios all around the house stage) and is happiest "playing" with other babies. I just scheduled his one year well visit for December...and THAT is just plain crazy.

The big brother continues to keep us all in stitches. Over the holidays I asked him if had gotten a lollypop at Shul and he said no, I just had zero. I said, what's a zero (assuming it was some sort of fancy candy) and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "A number, Mommy!" Heh.

Yaakov loves Kindergarten, loves his teachers and is slowly making new friends. He is still not with his "best friend in the whole universe" and finds that very hard, but is learning a ton. We read a book before bed tonight about math grouping and he really got the concept (3 groups of 10 and 1 left over is 31...just like Mommy!) which surprised and thrilled me. I always compare him (I know, I know) to Amira and assume he will just be behind her, but I think I need to stop assuming.

Amira loves third grade. I love that when I tell stranger that I have a daughter in third grade they all tell me I don't look anywhere near old enough to have a child that old. I certainly don't feel old enough to have a child that age or to be parenting one, either. Her teachers are fantastic, she transitioned beautifully and when I had a whole talk with one of her teachers about how in every previous year it has taken a while for her to warm up and be able to participate, she looked at me with surprise and said that Amira was eagerly participating from the first day!

Hopefully I will be able to get back into blogging more regularly, now that we are back in a routine!

Hearing vs. Listening

I cannot believe we are already halfway through the summer. I am not ready to start buying school supplies and it drives me crazy that the displays are already out in full force. Why can't we just enjoy what we are currently doing? Currently, the kids are very much enjoying summer camp, and I am enjoying the more relaxed summer schedule- later bed times, no homework. We are very excited about our two trips that we will be taking in August- first to MA to celebrate my Grandfather's birthdays (85 and 90, Ka"H!) and see my brother, sister in law, nephew and brand new niece who are in from Israel and enjoy being with my large and wonderful family to celebrate happy things. Then we are off for our LA Trip to see the other side of the family! In the meantime, Amira lost her second tooth (on her own, no dentist pulling!), learned to swim the crawl, and is practising her part in the camp's production of "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat!" Aaron started eating food (doesn't love it yet), still has no teeth and doesn't sit or sleep unless he's being held, but started to creep across the floor and gets up on all fours and delights friends and strangers alike with his huge smile.

And Yaakov had the big 5 year old Karate party and it was a blast for all of us! And now, the story that inspired the title:

At camp after swim, Yaakov's bunk was changing from swimsuits to clothing, but Yaakov was running in circles naked. His counselor called him a couple of times and he didn't listen and she went over to him and said "Yaakov, I was calling you, did you hear me?" And he answered "I heard you, I just didn't want to listen."

Oy.

When I was little

The scene:
Pre Tisha B'av Fast, sitting on the floor eating our sad little meal.
Yaakov looks at us and says, in all seriousness:
"Abba, did you know that when I was little, Gatorade wasn't even Kosher?"

It's a good thing we were already sitting on the floor, and not exactly the proper mind set to go into such a serious day with, not to mention that I had already drank 3 liters of water...
Gatorade did in fact become Kosher within the last couple months (when Yaakov was little) and Yehuda and I drank some (not so much my taste, too sugary) in preparation for the fast, and Yaakov was thrilled to partake.

The Five Year Old

Some quotes from the five year old:

How do Mommy's know EVERYTHING? (We just do.)
I wish five year olds were really big- bigger than their Mommy's. Why can't we first be big and THEN get little? (Because then it would be really hard to carry you around)

I think I burped my orange juice. (Um, thanks for sharing)

I wish I could be a baby with Aaron. Then we could wear matching clothes every day and be really cute. (You are really cute and you are wearing matching clothing today!)

Me: Go find your sister, she will build the legos with you.

Yaakov: No she won't, she's just a really grump today. (True...)

The birthday celebration continues with the birthday party next Sunday, G-d willing. In the meantime, here is the birthday boy doing what he does best and the baby "russling" on the ground with Yaakov and his best friend (who happened to be wearing the same outfit that day)

Summer Birthdays=A lot of parties

Yaakov will be 5 tomorrow. And in honor of this momentous occasion (one year closer to 13!) he will have an equal number of parties to celebrate. First there was the "summer birthday party" in school, for all those who are unlucky (or lucky? I'm going to go with lucky since poor Amira only had the one measely celebration this year) enough to have their birthdays not fall out during the school year, where we celebrated with ice cream and balloons. Then, his Hebrew birthday celebrated with family. Next, he will have his camp birthday party tomorrow, where we will celebrate with cupcakes and warm apple juice. Then we will have a block birthday cake party tomorrow night, followed by his choice of dinner (I'm curious to see what that will be!) Then, his real (as in, a birthday is not real to a 5 year old unless the actual party has been held) birthday party (A Karate party, pictures will absolutely follow) later in July. So, yes, five celebrations. And what does the birthday boy wish for his birthday:
A BIG Lego set. A really, really big one. (Anyone surprised?)

And then, he asks:
Mommy, when can I get an iPod?
Me: (distracted) Um, I don't know?
Yaakov: How about when I am six. Or Thirteen.

Summer!

The big ones are off to Day Camp! Amira was up, dressed, hair done, shoes on, bed made at 6:30 this morning, that's how excited she was! Yaakov is really thrilled to be going to "Big Kid Camp with a Real Pool" and Aaron and I are enjoying a clean, quiet house, though I kind of wish I could go to camp and swim and play all day long, too!

Here is a poem that Amira wrote for her last school assignment about the end of school that I just love: (As always, spelling, punctuation and grammar are all as she wrote it!)

My School Year

My school year was so much fun,

There was always fun for everyone.

I'm sure the teachers enjoyed it, too.

I always liked to play with you.

I'm sad to fade,

From second grade.

I think the teachers will miss me.

Because everyday the teachers I was very glad to see!

Both Amira and Yaakov accomplished so much this year. I am excited for them to have wonderful and fun summers and to see all that they accomplish in Kindergarten and Third Grade!

Here are some happy summer pictures, hopefully more to come!

(Ephraim didn't want to sit for the group picture, so here's a cute one of him!)

Well...that didn't last long

Must go back and read last night's post post haste...Yaakov decided to take a pair of scissors (you can all see where this is headed, right? Get it? Headed?) and gave himself a trim.
Which lead to a very stern talking to in front of his sister and cousins, all of whom were silent, then began to discuss how they had all given themselves hair cuts as well. Amira at age 3, in the bathroom one Shabbos lunch, cut her (very fine and thin) hair to the scalp and then again, in first grade decided to give herself bangs. Ahuva, also at age 3, and Chezzie, well- his hair still shows his handiwork.
Thankfully Aaron is too small and too bald to attempt such a thing, but oy, this thing seems to be genetic.
The 5 bigger ones are in the basement playing Star Wars (I wonder if that, too, is genetic?) and I am hiding with the small naturally bald one, very grateful that camp starts tomorrow.

Yaakov-isms

Yaakov has been giving me a real run for my money for the past couple of months. I don't know if it's a belated reaction to Aaron's birth (my baby is 6 months already!?!) or the stage that he is in but he has been throwing some pretty epic temper tantrums, and there's been a distinct lack of listening and way too much crying and screaming.
Phrase often repeated: Yaakov, do you really think that screaming is going to make me change my mind? Has that worked well for you in the past? No? Well, then please tell me why are you doing it again? Sigh.
Anyhow, thankfully, every so often he will come out with something so amazing that I remember that this tantrum throwing, grumpy and demanding side is only a small, little part of who he is, and that he really is funny, sweet, loving, creative and a pleasure to be around.
Some examples:
Friday night, as I was putting him to bed (I try to put him to bed alone every night. I think he genuinely needs the time alone with me, and I find that it is really good for me to have it as well) he put his arms around me and said:
Mommy, do you know what my best day was? (He had just been telling me something about Legos, and the Lego set that I bought him this week for a week of great behavior (aside- I bought him a set that was labeled ages 7 and up, and assumed that Amira would put it together for him as she usually does, but was shocked to see that he sat at the table quietly, for a good hour and a half and followed the directions and put the entire thing together by himself!), and finishing Pre-K, so I was thinking that would be it) I said no, what was your best day? And he answered:
The day that I came home from school, and Savta was there and we walked in and she said "Guess what?" and Amira said "Mommy had the baby!?" And Savta said yes, and it was Aaron.
My eyes filled with tears and I hugged him tight and I said, well Yaakov, that was one of my best days, too. My other best days were the day that I had Amira and the day that I had you. He hugged me and smiled.

He loves his brother, that's for sure. He loves to lie on the floor and roll around with him, he loves to play with him and make Aaron laugh. One day, they were lying on the ground together and Aaron grabbed the closest thing to him and shoved it in his mouth (as he generally does these days) - and Yaakov laughed and laughed and said Mommy, Aaron put my leg wrist in his mouth! Leg wrist?? Um, you mean ankle? Oh yeah, that's right, ankle.
And he loves his sister, too. He was trying to get Amira to play with him, but she had her head stuck in a book, so he said to her, Amira if you don't stop reading all the time you are going to get sick!
And on Friday, he came into the kitchen holding a piece of paper on which he had written: MOM. He said, that spells Mom, for mommy. I said, yes, that's great Yaakov! He walked back to the table and said to me, Mommy, how do you spell thank you? I spelled it out for him. After a while he said, how do you spell: for buying me a lego power miner set?
Thank G-d for those moments.

Amira takes a survey

I found this so fascinating and adorable that I had to copy it down for posterity (since she plans to mail said survey off to Highlights Magazine, from whence it came):

Highlights Magazine, State of the Kid Survey, all answers in blue, exactly as written by Amira today.

How old are you: 8 1/2
Are you a boy or a girl? (She circled girl)
Which state do you live in? I live in New Jersey.
What job would you most enjoy doing when you grow up? I would enjoy being an author.
What do you like best about yourself? I like being a girl because I have nice friends.
What do you like to do when you spend time with your parents? I like to play Monopoly, Rummikub, Apples to Apples, Uno or War.
How do you stay in touch with your grandparents? I call them on the phone.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change? Why? I don't want there to be pollution. Pollution is bad. It makes the air dirty. Garbage dumps are spreading across the land. It will make animals extinct. It might make people extinct. We don't want that to happen.
Do you get allowance? Yes. Do you earn it? Yes.
What new inventions will happen in your lifetime? I think that someone will invent something to stop pollution and to prevent animals from becoming extinct.
Do you think you will visit outer space some day? (She circled Yes.)
On school nights, what is your bedtime? 8:30
What rule do you wish your parents would change? That I don't have to go to bed at 8:30. I want to stay up until 11:30. I want to go to bed at 11:30 because I like to read. I want to finish the "Lord of the Rings!"

Creative writing (and some quick updates!)

In reverse age order:
Aaron is doing beautifully, thank G-d! He now laughs when he thinks something is funny, or when we tickle him, he rolls over both ways, grabs for toys and scootches around on the floor. He is a smiley, happy baby (at least when he is being held, which is pretty much all the time) and while he doesn't even come close to "sleeping through the night" (what is this sleeping through the night anyway? Do kids really do that??) he really is just a joy to all of us. Favorite game of the week: Wiggling and rolling away while we try to change his diaper, and chortling away as he doe so.

Yaakov is as funny as always. Last Shabbos, we went to a friends house in the afternoon and Yaakov very happily helped himself (along with his friend and co-conspirator) to Popsicle after Popsicle (a low estimate would be 6) and sour twizzlers (along with a plate of salad to balance it out) all afternoon. As we walked home, I gave him a little talk about the evils of too much sugar. As we neared our house, we saw a man jogging and he asked me "Mommy, why is that man running?" I answered, for exercise, I would assume. He thought for a second, then said "Well, maybe he ate a lot of sugar." I laughed, and said, yes, maybe he did. He was quiet for another beat, then in a truly rueful voice said "Maybe I should run." I laughed so hard, I'm STILL laughing about it. He finishes Pre-K next week and that means, on to Kindergarten. Zoiks.

Amira is loving, and I mean LOVING softball. She has learned to throw (and aim and actually have the ball go a distance!) and catch with her (pink!) mitt, and hits like a pro! She has the lingo down, practices dutifully when on deck, and is really enjoying (as are we) the wonderful team spirit. Her team even made the championships, which is pretty exciting! The big championship game will G-d willing be this Sunday morning! She is finishing up second grade next week (how on earth did that happen, I want to know. I feel like *I* just finished second grade) and has done beautifully this year. She has grown in confidence and it is amazing to see her progress in every way. She is an incredible writer, really. Last week she had an assignment in class to write a story that was based on an event that actually happened, but turn it into fiction. Here is what she wrote (I have not changed the spelling, punctuation, or grammar at all):

The Flying Birthday Party

by Amira

One day Amira went to her cousin's birthday. There names were Chesi and Ahuva. Amira drove to the party with her family. The party was in Fair Lawn. When they parked in front of the house, Auntie Atara greeted them. They came in to the yummy smell of different foods. It made Amira's stomach grumble. A lot of people were there. Among them Amira saw Ahuva and Chesi. Amira walked to them and said hello. Amira sat down, Kayla sat down next to her. All of a sudden, Kayla's hair started flapping like wings. Kayla flew into the air! One of the girls shrieked. Amira laughed so hard that she didn't realize that Kayla had landed on top of Savta Doris's head. Then everyone except for Savta Doris started to laugh. "Get her off me me! Get her off me now!" Savta Doris shrieked. Finally Kayla flew back to her seat. While they ate the cake, Kayla tried to apologize, but they were too busy laughing. After that, Amira and her family went home. But then, Amira realized it was a dream! But Amira new it was a funny dream. The funniest dream ever.

Backwards driving

I always love the scene in Cars where Mater shows McQueen how he can drive backwards (You mean you DON'T know the entire movie by heart?! Horrors!) because I can do that, too. The first time my father took me out to teach me how to parallel park (my father, never my mother, I think she is still scared to get in a car when I am driving, despite having had my licence for, oh, 15 years now) we were both shocked when the first time I tried, I did it perfectly, and then again and again...I'm guessing it is related my aptitude for spacial relations in some way, but seeing as science isn't so much my thing, I couldn't possibly explain why that is. At some point I also figured out that, oddly, I am easily able to drive a car backwards.

Anyhow, the reason I bring this up is not because we watched Cars for the two hundred millionth time, (we didn't, it was a cold but beautiful weekend, so we were outside as much as possible) but because of the SCARIEST DRIVING EXPERIENCE I have ever had, and hope to ever have.

On Thursday I went into NYC to meet a close friend who was visiting from out of town, and since I had limited time with her before running back for carpool, I decided to not waste too much time looking for parking. So, after the requisite 15 minutes of circling and getting honked at, I pulled into one of those underground city lots. I drove all the way down the narrow tunnel, underground, into the lot and at the end of the driveway was a car, parked horizontally across the entrance to the lot. I waited 5 minutes and no one came, no one was in the guard booth, and no one was moving that car. I got out of the car and yelled "Hellooo, anyone here?" and heard from far away a faint "Lady, this lot is closed."

And so, I had no choice but to drive BACKWARDS, up a steep (and I mean steep) incline that exited onto a sidewalk before ending up on a busy New York City Street. Yes, backwards up a steep incline in a minivan with a four month old baby in the back seat. My heart was pounding, I was shvitzing and tears were running down my face and I got out of the car (with the emergency brake firmly on) and ran up to the street where I asked a mail carrier walking by to make sure that no one tried to cross as I came up because I was petrified of hitting someone, especially since I knew I would have to be going pretty fast to get up that incline backwards. So, thanks to the kind mail man, and my weird driving skills, I made it out of that parking garage. And then drove around the block to another lot, which was thankfully open and no backwards driving was needed, and spent a lovely 2 hours with my friend and her adorable niece.

In other news, Amira's baseball team won again, 13 to 8 (this time they actually fielded well, too!), and she made it on base twice. Yaakov very sadly missed his first T-Ball game due to a thankfully brief throw up bug of some sort and very happily got to try Gatorade (it just became Kosher and I let him have it after he threw up), or as he calls it "Gagorage." And last but not least, Aaron now giggles and it is the cutest sound in the world and is guaranteed to make all of us laugh, too. He also had his four month check up and now weighs 12 lbs and is 24 inches tall, and when I told Amira that, she asked me how tall Yaakov was (39 inches) and then very excitedly told me that now in our family we had: 2 ft (Aaron), 3 ft (Yaakov), 4 ft (Amira), 5 ft (Mommy), and 6 ft (Abba)! Loll!

2 ft, 3 ft, and 4 ft

Game 1: 21-18 Angels Win!

Doesn't really seem like a baseball score, does it, but that's what it is! Amira's first ever softball game, and they won! It really was an exciting game. She plays on a girls league for girls from 2nd through 4th grade from all the local day schools, and her team (The A-1 Appliance Angels) is mostly 2nd graders and the team they played was mostly 3rd and 4th graders and yet they managed to come from VERY far behind (they were down by 8 coming into the 8th inning) to win! Amira got on base every time she was up, which I was frankly shocked by since this is her first time playing in a real (ie real pitching, no T-ball, 3 strikes and you're out, 3 outs per inning, foul balls, etc) game, but she really hits well! She made it home twice, too! All in all it was a very fun 3 hours (yes, really 3 hours!) and we are very excited for next week! Yaakov starts T-ball next Sunday and then our Sundays will really be packed but I really love watching them play (and kind of wish I could play, too!) Some pictures:

Note to self

Yes, yes, Hello. It's been a while, I know. I've been enjoying my "babymoon." I didn't fully appreciate the newborn stage with #1 or #2, but I am truly enjoying it now, lack of sleep and all. I can't believe that it has really been 12 weeks (tomorrow!) since baby Aaron was born. He is really a joy. He is sweet and cuddly and smiley and adores his siblings. His biggest, full face grins and almost giggles really are reserved for them.
So, back to my note to self. Trust my Mommy Instincts. Really.
I was so upset after both Amira and Yaakov's parent teacher conferences back in November because none of the teachers seemed to really get my kids and they all seemed to choose to focus on the negatives rather than the positives, which really worried me. Yaakov's teacher was very focused on his slowness, and the fact that he wasn't writing as well as the rest of his class. Nevermind the fact that he is a) in Pre-K, b) very young for the class and c) had only learned to recognize all his letters in the fall. She was concerned that maybe he had some issues that might requite occupational therapy (bad scissor cutting, letter writing, and the fact that he doesn't really sit still) but she said that since none of the issues were really effecting him in the classroom, and he was clearly a very bright child who was learning a lot, we would wait another couple of months and see. I was very worried that having a new baby in the house would just exacerbate the issues, but thankfully that does not seem to have been the case. In fact, when I spoke to his teacher right after January vacation, she was thrilled with his progress in all areas. He not only knows all his letters (English and Hebrew!) but writes them beautifully and really is starting to sound out words. He loves coloring now, and loves to sit with Amira and color and write! He is still fidgety, but she said that he might be sitting backwards and fiddling with his shoes, but he can repeat back to her every single thing that they learned that day! So, big relief. I know that I just need to remember for future teachers and future conferences that this is his personality, and he is very much like Yehuda, and that if he grows up to be just like Yehuda I will consider myself extremely blessed and very successful, really.
So, Amira. Every single year the conference in November is the exact same thing: "she is so shy and quiet and nervous, we didn't even realize how smart she was until just recently." This year, though, her English teacher didn't even mention anything about her academics, she was so focused on the fact that Amira was nervous and wouldn't raise her hand ever, though if the teacher would call on her she would always know the right answer, and that she has this little quiet voice and just seemed worried all the time. And she didn't have anything positive to say about her academics, and while I know that I am certainly biased, I also know that she is very bright. She breezes through her homework, reads 700 page books in 2 days and can repeat back the tiniest details of a story, and remembers everything. So, I was really worried that this teacher was just not a good match for her. And her Hebrew teacher, while not quite as negative, was also concerned with the same thing- that Amira never participated, was so quiet and shy and worried. We told the teachers that it just takes time for her to warm up, and that every year it is the same thing, but since both teachers were really focused on the same thing, I ended up calling the school psychologist to observe Amira in the classroom to see if she could give any suggestions for helping Amira warm up. Well, I wish Yehuda would have come to conferences with me last night, because it was completely different story. The Hebrew teacher said that Amira has really blossomed. She is now the first girl to raise her hand, participates in everything with confidence, is friends with all the girls in the class and is happy to eat with and play with all of them. She said that she is doing beautifully in every way and is truly a pleasure to teach. I then went to the conference with her English teacher, somewhat buoyed by the positive conference, but still worried since I know that her English teacher is tough and expects a lot. Well, I walked out in tears, again, but this time happy tears. She, too, couldn't believe the difference in Amira. She teachers her for reading as well (reading in tracked and Amira is in the highest group) and she said "This child is going to breeze through school for the rest of her life and is a teacher's dream." She said that Amira has warmed up completely, happily participates, is able to explain things to the class in such a clear way that the teacher never needs to add anything, writes beautifully, never has any trouble with any of the work and yet, is never bored. She told me that she could praise her for hours and that she foresaw a lot of Nachas for us from Amira. Well, thank G-d and please G-d. I was just hoping for a little something positive, and instead she told me that there was not one thing negative that she could think of at all. So, come next November, conference time, I need to remember all of this and just trust that I know my children.

And, speaking of trusting my intuition, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that when I put Aaron down for his tummy time, (which is now known in our house as torture time, since he hates it so much) he couldn't lift his head up, and I was pretty sure that he was supposed to be able to do that by this stage. Thankfully, I have many very awesome friends, one of which is a super talented PT, and I called her in a panic, and she came right over to see. And she agreed with me, but told me that he wouldn't qualify for early intervention at this point. So she told me exactly what exercises to do with him to help. I think it's helping a little, and it is beyond adorable watching Yaakov lay on his tummy on the gymnini with Aaron trying to get him to lift his head, and beyond adorable to watch Amira lay on her back with Aaron on her tummy- in fact, that is the only way to guarantee that he does lift his head!

In other news, we still have yet to make a decision on our housing situation (move or add on) and I really wish Mommy Intuition would help here, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Glasses!

Not much time to post, but had to put up a picture of my big girl in her new (gulp) glasses!