Brigitta's April POTD

April 1: We call this the "Annie" outfit and all the girls have worn it. 

April 7: Smooshing her face up against the mesh of the Pack n Play. 

April 8: Until she masters solids, she loves sucking on pickles!

April 9: Nakie bum!!!

 April 15: To our shock and amazement, Brigitta started teething. Considering both older sisters had nary a tooth when they turned 1 year old, we weren't prepared for the loooong nights of cutting teeth. All things considered, Brigitta did very well and now she has two bottom teeth to show for it. Well, she doesn't really like to "show" them as you can see from the video, but they're there nonetheless.

April 23: Exploring the play land at the mall.

This month Brigitta also mastered sitting. She still "swims" on the floor more than officially "crawling" on hands and knees. When she does attempt to crawl, she manages to get her foot under her. It's like she's trying to walk before she crawls! Brigitta is also trying hard to pull herself up to standing when she's in the Pack n Play. She hasn't quite got that one down but when I help her up the last bit of the way, she squeals with delight at seeing the new view on her feet. For that matter, whenever I retrieve her from a nap, she likes to look around and take in the sight of her room from higher up. Getting Brigitta on solids has been a battle but we really turned a corner when I asked Liesel to put a couple of green beans from her plate onto Brigitta's tray. Oh my. Brigitta grabbed those like they were the elixir of life! We discovered she's actually rather keen to get on solids, but she wants what everyone else is eating. Scrambled eggs are another favorite. She's generally a happy happy baby who laughs like no other when you use your feet to tickle her belly. No lie. I had a video but it's too big to upload. Maybe next month? 

Picture Perfect

Brent was squarely against them. He insisted school photos are done with little care and ultimately aren't worth the money. But I wasn't entirely happy with the professional photos we had done for Liesel's 5th birthday. The photographer didn't seem to get my vision of a child in a grown-ups wedding gown. She kept telling Liesel not to smile which made half the photos look creepy... like we were selling her off as a child bride. I examined the packages for spring portraits and opted for the cheapest one that included an 8x10 which would be more scannable. On the day of the photos, I carefully laid out her clothes and styled her hair. Just before I sent her off to school, I swiped a tiny bit of lip gloss on her chapped lips.

When I picked Liesel up from school today, one of her teachers brightly told me, "She has something in her backpack for you!" I gasped when Liesel showed me this:

Her teacher jumped in, "I know, we were all talking about it. Even her outfit matched the background!" Liesel proudly emphasized, "I told you I smiled big!" I snapped a pic with my iPhone and sent it to Brent. One of Brent's strengths that's highly desirable in a marriage is how quick he is to apologize and forgive. Here is his response:

"I eat my words (in this case)! I'm impressed. They have reopened my mind re: school photographers. Money well spent. It's a beautiful picture."

I couldn't agree more!

Favorite Boston Tributes

In the wake of the Boston bombings there have been commentary, cartoons, tweets and moments of silence. Here are my favorites which (of course) include a bit o language because hey, it IS Boston:

A tweet from Adam Sandler (PG-13 version): "Boston is probably the only major city I know, that if you "eff" with them, they will literally shut down the whole city... stop everything... and find your a**"

The Yankees played Sweet Caroline during one of their games in honor of Boston. When I found out I was strangely touched... by the Yankees. It was an odd feeling to say the least.

My absolute favorite was from The Colbert Report. I can't seem to get the embed to work but this is the link and here's the PG-13 version of the transcript:

"Tonight! Hey look, before we begin I just wanna take a moment to talk about the attack in Boston yesterday. Obviously our thoughts and our prayers are with everybody there. As the President said we don't know who did this but they will be found and they will be brought to justice. But whoever did this obviously did not know s---- about the people of Boston. 'Cause nothing these terrorists do is going to shake them. For Pete's sake Boston was founded by the pilgrims. A people so tough, they had to buckle their hats on! It is the cradle of the American Revolution. A city that withstood a 86 year losing streak. A city that made it through the Big Dig: a construction project that backed up traffic for 16 years. I mean, there are commuters just getting home now. Even their bands are tough-- it's the hometown of Aerosmith, who in their 5th decade are still going strong. Even Steven Tyler looks fantastic... for an 73 year old woman.

But here's what these cowards really don't get-- they attacked the Boston Marathon: an event celebrating people who run 26 miles on their day off until their nipples are raw for fun. They have been holding it in Boston since 1897 and do you know how tough you have to be to run in a whale bone corset? When those bombs went off, there were runners who after finishing a marathon kept running for another 2 miles to the hospital to donate blood. So here's what I know: these maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston but all they can ever do is show just how good those people are. Now, this is the Colbert Report."

How I Love That Dirty Water

After dropping Liesel off at school, I started thinking about my day and realized it was Marathon Monday in Boston. Brent and I scoured the internet to find a way to watch since it's not easily available outside of New England. I watched this video about the Hoyts:
and cried all over again. I found this article that talked about the statue that has been erected in their honor and decided to download the song by Mercy Me because it gets me every time. I shooed the girls away from the computer so I could watch the marathon in the background while I went about my morning routine. Then the horrible news came.

It's been a Facebook frenzy getting updates from our Boston friends on the happenings since the bombings. I'm so proud to have a history with this unique and beautiful city filled with some of the most wonderful people in the world. Our prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Hunger Games

Ireland has laser-like focus when she's hungry which has produced some entertaining conversations around here. Yesterday she mentioned she wanted to eat and we told her we'd be making lunch soon. Then Liesel asked for a pencil so she could draw and Ireland said, "We can't eat pencils!"

Today Ireland again asked for dinner a bit ahead of schedule. Brent told her she could have dinner once he made it for her. She responded very philosophically, "See, but I don't see any food..."

Sooo funny!

Liesel is FIVE!!!

 For Liesel's five year photos I swiped an idea from Pinterest and had her photographed in my wedding gown. I found myself arranging it so as to hide the many shadows and stains (where did those come from BTW? I know I had it dry-cleaned) while Brent sat on the side with Ireland and Brigitta. I heard him utter "Oh wow" under his breath but it wasn't until I stepped back that I realized what he meant. Even though I had pictured the whole thing in my mind, I wasn't prepared to see my baby as a bride. My heart stopped for a second and yes, I started to tear up. Even now these pictures are hard for me to look at. Let's just say I'm happy Liesel is only turning 5 and not 25.

For her breakfast in bed, Liesel requested pancakes and chocolate milk. While Brent was cooking those up, an impatient little girl yelled from her bedroom, "What's taking FOREVER?" She was pleased as punch once we finally made it in there. For our "something nice" I said I like Liesel for her happy outlook on life and for what an amazing helper she is to me. Brent talked about how smart she is. About a week ago Liesel puked in bed, blaming it on Dad who "gave me too much cake!" After sheets were rotated and we were about to put her back in bed, she mentioned she'd had a lesson at church about how men can put their hands on your head when you get sick and it helps. It was the sweetest way of asking for a blessing. Ireland said she likes Liesel, "because it's her birthday." Brigitta took the 5th on the matter... fitting wouldn't you say?

To her delight and amazement, I told Liesel she could wear whatever she wanted to school as long as it was clean and warm enough for the weather. Without fail, our mornings are a battle of "that doesn't match" or "wear your pink shoes, they go better" or "you wore those jeans yesterday." I know her favorites items of clothing as well as those that are persona non grata. Getting her to wear something she doesn't like is torture for both of us. So Liesel was over the moon to dig into her wardrobe without my interference. While I don't love her outfit choice, the elation on her face is so worth it!

Rather than something desserty, Liesel took glowsticks as a "treat" to her class. We got a bunch of them from the dollar store which was so much more convenient than making cupcakes! By all accounts Liesel had a fantastic day at school, temporarily obtaining the moniker "Birthday Girl." Liesel picked out her own ice cream cake from Coldstone's. Her classroom has a lot more boys than girls and somehow Batman has become a big thing. She's elated when she's chosen to be Batgirl at recess. I saw these pajamas at Target and picked them up for her. They are now her honored pajamas that she carefully folds and keeps at the back of her drawer. Liesel only brings them out on special occasions  In fact, her birthday is the only time I can remember her wearing them.

I get a lot of comments about Liesel and I've tried to figure out why. In general I try to keep my girls clean and well-dressed. She has that light skin, blonde hair and blue eyes that can make her stand out as well. But more than anything, I think it's her innate cheerfulness that draws attention. She can be as dramatic as the next girl but by and large she's just happy. Liesel has taken dawdling to a whole new level and can take an eternity to eat a meal. But she wears responsibility well without complaining. Liesel knows full well she is in charge of her own backpack and she's been incredible about packing it herself with the things she needs for school. Her sisters absolutely adore her and while I love all my girls, the days I can sneak away for a lunch with just my eldest are just golden. The conversation is always interesting and I can't get enough of Liesel's burgeoning questions about the world around her. The other day she asked me what kind of a food a coconut is. I was stumped. So were all her teachers. For the record, it's considered a fruit, not a nut.

We love our little Liesel Lu and look forward to seeing her grow!