Believe it or not we made it to Israel and back for Gal’s bar mitzvah. We had a great time although the flights were difficult with the two girls. Ella got into this funk with the noise of the airplane, disruption of sleep and being stuck in a cramped chair for about 14 hours. She became very obsessive with the airline magazines. She had to flip through them without stopping. She would see one from about a meter or two away and then moan/cry until she had it in her lap. That wouldn’t have been too bad except that the magazine would keep falling and then she would moan/cry until we picked it up. And they fell all over the place — between the seats, in the aisle, under the seat in front. So it became unbearable. The solution was to hide all the magazines in the entire row so she couldn’t see a single one. Then I had to forceably get her to sleep with a blanket over our heads for darkness and I had to hold her head down. On the way going, she screamed for about 45 minutes until she finally relaxed enough to fall asleep. (Netta was much easier on the plane.) Apparently when Ella gets fatigued she ruminates and exhibits that repetative behavior. Anyhow, highlights of the trip where “splash, splash” swimming at the hotel on the Dead Sea and general time with Emma/Abba.
Ella did amazingly well on the potty and she ate well too. No problems whatsoever. I think she was very cooperative b/c she loved having no therapy and almost constant parent-time. Since we’ve been home and Beth is back (yay!), Ella has been striking. She’s not cooperating on the potty and refuses to eat her mid-day meal (mush with vitamins).