The New Champion in all Things Baby

Brotherly love!

Won't I make a great babysitter?

I've been bested again! And even Lucas' records have been blown away. A little baby - a little girl baby - has dethroned both of us as the new Champion in the War on Sleep and in other baby matters.

Raia has managed to scoff at the night and turn darkness into light, staying alert and awake through the night watches, particularly 2 to 4 or 3 to 5 a.m. I was once the Founder and General in the War on Sleep (see this link too), but Raia is Commander in Chief! 

This has turned my world and Lucas' upside down. We don't even want our titles back if this is what it takes to do so, to stay away for hours on end at night. I have to cede the victory. Again.

First drama (with her ridiculously early birth and hospital stays). Now sleep. Oh, and accidents.

Raia has positioned herself in no uncertain terms as a viable contender in this family. I suppose she had to come on strong since there are two other babies in her life, formidable male toddlers, barging through the apartment like unstoppable wrecking balls that garner attention whether we want it or not.

The portrait of peacefulness

Raia is still a baby, a deceptively peaceful and quiet baby during the day. She puts on the preemie act to sucker all the adults around her. Impressive. And as babies are wont to do, Raia keeps a low profile most of the time. But she already has mastered and honed her baby powers to get attention at opportune times whether through drama or sleep deprivation torture. It is a survival skill babies develop in order to ensure equally distributed attention amongst the babies. Raia is a quick learner.

Raia also gets the crown for "accidents." You could count on one hand the number of times Lucas and I only managed to pee during diaper changes, even though we are boys. In her mere two months, Raia has obliterated the family record for peeing during diaper changes. Mommy and abba stopped counting in fact. Just yesterday she earned the Triple Crown as she pulled a hat trick of baby excretions: 1. #2 that leaked out of her diaper onto all her clothes; 2. spit up while waiting for someone to discover that she had done #2 all over her clothes; and 3. #1 while getting diaper removed so she could be whisked into the bath. And all of this on the sofa. The cherry on the cake for a baby.

I must give credit where it is due. Raia has made it clear that she can hold her own with the boys!

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The Sea of Swirly Twirly Gum Drops

It looks like my little sister has a mission in life: to wrest all sorts of attention from yours truly. Even down to my trademark swirl!

It is vague at the moment, but if you stare long enough you will
detect the beginnings of a swirl on Raia's forehead

My own swirl was quite pronounced at birth
and has been with me ever since

Living with a little sister hasn't really affected our lives too much yet except for the new characters in our play: Fatigued Mommy and Tuckered Abba. But otherwise, Raia seems to emerge only to eat and then she quietly tucks away for another winter's nap all swaddled and meek.

Except at night.

But still, the night part doesn't affect Lucas and I. While Raia still has yet to join in our baby games Mimi and GongGong have! They just arrived this week - in time for Raia's birth, which was scheduled for some time next week. Apparently she didn't get the memo.

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Perspectives

Perspective in Photos:

Bigfoot. Little foot.

What was once thought small is now considered monstrous

Action: Reading

Action: Squeezing oranges

Action: Staying awake

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Happy New Year! And for our First Resolution...

Raia Resolved: To drink more coffee

Mommy and Lucas Resolved: Eat more cake (and for mommy,
pick up running again due to said cake) 

I Resolved: Continue to look cool for various photo shoots

I, as a baby, resolve this year to retain many of my useful baby qualities and to raise up my younger brother and sister in the same way. Despite the fact that we are all growing up and outgrowing some baby stages at various paces, I believe many of the things I've learned as a baby will serve me well throughout my life. And I wouldn't want to forgo the Royal Treatment we as youngsters receive. Not yet.

Abba meanwhile, has a different resolution. After three consecutive years of mommy running the Jerusalem marathon she has passed the torch: Abba is going to represent the family this year and take on the 10K on behalf of Shalva!

This year, since she was supposed to have a baby in January (not November, Raia), mommy assumed she would not be ready for a race by March 21. And accordingly, abba picked up the slack.

I hear that 10-kilometer races are challenging, but remember, even before I was walking I crossed the finish line of a full marathon! (Remember this?!) That would be 42.2 kilometers, abba. I suppose this year abba figured that running a 10K would be much easier than herding three kids to the finish line!

He is probably right.

Nevertheless, abba needs your financial support. (Mommy needs your moral support.) If you choose to donate to abba's cause, you are helping Shalva, the Association for Mentally and Physically Challenged Children in Israel, help others. Just this once I will allow abba to put this in his own words in my blog:

Hi There,

I am going to be running the 10K race in the Jerusalem marathon for an organization called " Shalva". Shalva is an organization that helps special needs children in Israel and provides, free of charge, therapies designed to develop the skills to be able to function in today's society.

My son, Daniel, has Down Syndrome and has been receiving the care he needs from this wonderful organization since he was born over three years ago.

Today I give you the opportunity to pour into the lives of these children and their families by sponsoring me in the Jerusalem marathon.

To visit the Shalva site please click on this link: http://www.shalva.org/

To sponsor me please click on this link: http://www.run4shalva.org/view_profile.php?id=1065

 Thank you and may 2014 be a blessed year for you and  your family!

Sincerely yours,
Tony

Christmas day!

Abba running means that mommy drew the short straw. She somehow has to hustle three babies to the finish line, which is a good 3 miles from home. But we absolutely must be there to welcome abba, so she is going to have to figure out a way.

And that should probably entail some marathon training of its own. Good luck to both parents!

And Happy New Year to everyone!

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