Brigitta's May POTD

Okay, so I slacked on these this month. But Reagan did too. And we got a metric ton of 9 month photos. So that makes up for it, right? For whatever reason, I did manage to get some videos which are just as good. Right? Right? Okay, here we go:

May 5: Really not into church. 

May 10: Practicing her walking with Daddy.

 May 21: Giving "kissah's" which is Ireland's word for kiss. 

 May 22: Getting into Dance Party just as much as her sisters.

Latest developments for Brigitta are not only the kisses, but she has now mastered pulling herself up to a stand! She discovered her hands this month and waving is a new way of communicating for her. When she's ready to get out of the Pack N Play she not only yells for me, she waves her little arm to really get my attention. If someone waves to her from across the room, her face nearly cracks in half with a smile an she waves back in kind. I once told her, "Mmmm, mmmm" to let her know something was not okay and she lit up. Now she says this to herself all the time and it's so cute. She's cutting more teeth which hasn't been fun. At night when I put her down, I can tell Liesel has crawled to the end of her bed and is entertaining her because they erupt into giggles now and again. It's one of my favorite sounds in this house. With the long Memorial Day weekend, Brigitta was determined to spend as much time with Brent as possible. Her naps lasted just 20-40 minutes and I always saw her in his lap where she was very content. Once he was back in Chicago and I was the one answering her wails, she suddenly went back to her longer nap schedule.

Belly Photo

Hands down one of my favorite pieces of jewelry (aside from my wedding ring) are the Portuguese earrings my sister Katrina bought me. She picked them up while serving her mission there and sadly, I lost them (at her house no less!). I mourned their loss because they were just perfect. Hoops with little charms: one was a heart for luck in love and the other was a figo which wards off evil. When she visited me in Boston, we happened to stop in Fall River which is like Little Portugal and she replaced them, adding a third charm--an anchor. I read somewhere (Moby Dick maybe?) that sailors consider anchors to be somewhat religious because the cross is part of the design. I was beyond thrilled to have these earrings back in my jewelry box!

Today was a parents breakfast at Liesel's school where they also presented a slide show of the school year. Stretchy yoga pants and one of Brent's nerdy accounting t-shirts just wasn't going to cut it so I pulled out this dress. Yes it has horizontal stripes which isn't a good look for me as I get bigger, but still fits and is incredibly comfortable. I threw on the earrings last and suddenly I didn't feel so much like a frumpy mom.

It's amazing what a little accessory can do, eh?

Brigitta's 9 Month Photos

Time for the traditional bathtub photos! When Brigitta caught sight of that huge duck, she fell in love. Whether or not it's in the actual photo, you can bet that thing was nearby.  

"Whatever happens here, you are not touching the duck."

 We've thought of so many captions for this one. "Gooooal!" "Everybody do the wave!" "Cabana boy! Over here!" "I'm open! I'm open! Throw me the football already!!!"

Really, she loved that duck!

You can tell Brigitta's energy was waning near the end of the shoot and she hit a point where she flat refused to smile anymore...

 ...unless she saw the huge duck.

Disclaimer: The color scheme for this part of the photo shoot was wholly and completely stolen from my sister Reagan. I'm grateful she's so chill about things like this because it was one less thing to think about in my crazy life right now. I'm also grateful to my husband who tolerates my endless love of Gymboree. 

 Which do you like better? This one (Brent's pick)?

 Or this one (my pick)?

 The best accessory for any picture really is sisters.

Notice her wide stance for balance

 And while we're at it, why not capture some individuals of them as well?

 Ireland was giving frozen harmonica smiles when the photographer got her to honestly laugh.

And for some reason Brigitta ended up looking like she was chillin' in a hot tub. I love that you can see her baby arms. I know all too well how soon those will become long, lanky limbs that no amount of Oreos and Yoo-hoo can chunk up. It's wise to capture them while you can!

Influenza

Ireland got it first, then Brigitta, then Liesel and then me. After two days of wiping noses and calling in school absences, I felt a tickle in my throat. By morning I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. One of the perks of being far away in Chicago is all of this skips Brent. Just when I was starting to feel better from 2.5 months of first trimester misery I get slammed with the flu. I asked Brent if I was a glutton for punishment because it feels like I just can't catch a break. He admitted it certainly seems that way.

Our nightly ritual of stories and dance parties has been replaced with administering medicine, rubbing Vaporub on feet and chests, slathering dry and cracked lips with chapstick and warming milk to soothe sore throats. Taking care of Ireland is particularly heartbreaking for me. Because she inherited my asthma tendencies, any tiny cold turns into a bout of that lovely little disease. I remember hating the inhaler when I was a kid and forcing it on her while she grimaces and tries to pull away just makes me want to cry.

Doing all of this alone has been as horrible as you might imagine. The few times I've managed to connect with Brent, all he can do is sympathize over the phone. Call me crazy but I've occasionally gotten the impression that he's trying to multitask while I lament my situation. Then I feel bad that he doesn't even have time to hear me complain and the loneliness sets in even deeper and darker than it was before I called.

I had to take the girls to the store today. Had to. We're on our last rolls of toilet paper and Liesel has diarrhea. We're quickly running out of medicine for both the girls and myself, so we needed to restock before I have a middle of the night crisis on my hands. I thought I'd give the girls a break from their BRAT diet and grab lunch at Chick-fil-a. Liesel and Ireland only ate 1 chicken nugget each. Typically they scarf those down but there they sat, glassy-eyed, staring at the little lumps of chicken in front of them. Ireland finally told me she was saving hers for Daddy and I knew it was useless to push it. Brigitta played with my car keys and repeatedly dropped them on the floor. Picking them up hurt. Carrying her on my hip (which is much lighter than carrying her in her car seat) hurt. I hurt all over. If someone offered me a massage I'd refuse because my body feels completely bruised and broken.

Oddly enough, the girls looked adorable in spite of their ailments. The fever made their cheeks rosy and of course their lips are bright red from the dryness and licking. They opted to wear their tulle pink skirts and white tank tops since it was 90 degrees out. I leaned on the shopping cart for support as I threw in the items from my list. One older woman smiled at the girls. As she briskly walked by me she chirped, "Enjoy them while they're little!" I very nearly fell to my knees and bawled my eyes out right there next to the kitty litter. Just surviving the day with everyone intact is SUCH a Herculean task and she had the nerve to throw one more impossible thing onto my to do list. As it was, I just held back the tears as I looked for the best deal on toilet paper.

Ireland Logic

Brent and I tackled a lot of yard work today. The new lawnmower blades came in so we put those on, installed the mowing deck on the tractor, raked leaves out from the borders of the fence, picked up large branches that had fallen during the winter and spring storms, cut the grass, spread fertilizer and hit the weeds with Roundup.

Liesel and Ireland were inside happily watching movies in their panties but Ireland's rabbit ears perked up the second she heard the mower running. I'd run inside to grab more lawn bags when she pleaded her case to take a ride with Dad. I looked at my little girl standing in her skivvies with her big blue eyes and told her it was too cold out. "See? I have a hoodie on!" Ireland apparently saw my logic and ran with it. After grabbing some gloves from the garage, I found her merrily sitting with Dad on the mower... with a hoodie on:

And pretty much nothing else.

Pregnant...

...and if you're a little surprised, that's okay. So were we:

Due November 10th. What do you think? Is this our Sydney Pippa or Preston Michael?