Sydney's May POTD

My little monkey. The bottle was so big she held it in place with her hands AND her feet!

Sydney had been rolling around on the bed when she apparently got tired and just rested her head on my belly. Somehow, it caught me off guard so I put down my book and just stroked her little noggin for a while. 

Sydney's little tongue comes out when she's really excited about something.

I know this photo looks like it's sideways but it's not. Sydney twists herself around to look up at me and flash me her cute smile.

I took the girls to Olive Garden and Sydney started to fuss so I gave her a bread-stick to gnaw on. She looooved it!

Part of my job as Sydney's mom is to keep her sisters from smothering her to death with love. 

Oddly enough, I feel the weight of motherhood the most when I see my children sleeping. They look so delicate, so innocent, and so beautiful. When I see them like this, I'm overwhelmed with a desire to not screw it up. But of course, I'm totally screwing it up!

Sydney in the blanket my dear friend Natalie made by hand. Wrapped in love, you might say.

Tardy

Remember how once upon a time I managed to get Liesel to school on time? She was never late, not even once. Then Sydney was born and the weather turned insanely cold. If I put Sydney in her snowsuit while I bundled up Brigitta, she was dripping in sweat within minutes. If I tried to get Brigitta bundled up first, she would take everything off and leave it all strewn about the house. And they seemed to have an agreement that one or both of them would have an acid blowout just as we headed to the car.

My hands were so full, Liesel had to take responsibility for getting ready for school on her own (dressed, lunch packed, backpack ready to go, etc.). My life changed when she learned to tie her own shoelaces. However, Liesel can be a dreamer and many times I found her prancing around in her room as the clock ticked by. Despite my warnings she'd be late if she didn't hustle, she often took her sweet time. I decided to take the tough love approach and just let her be late.

Liesel's teacher knew all about our situation and understood completely. At our parent teacher conference she told me it really didn't seem to bother Liesel in the least and mentioned I might receive a letter about it from the office as they are required to send them. She urged me to not worry about it and just throw it away. Well, the letter arrived detailing Liesel's 20 tardies. 20! If you take out all the times she was late by 2 minutes or less, that number goes down to 7. I glanced at the reasons Liesel had given the office secretary for her lateness:

Oh how I got a laugh out of this! For the record, I never made Liesel late because I "had to put on chapstick." And the time Liesel was late for "jet lag" she was actually on time, but she purposely dragged her feet going to the door just so she could use the term "jet lag." She thought it was fun to say!

New goal for next school year: get my act together again.

Happy Memorial Day!

Can I get a WHAT WHAT for a shot of all four girls, nicely dressed, looking at the camera and smiling?

The two sailor girls. I absolutely adore this photo.

Sooo sad to pack this dress away! The tights with little red hearts and navy blue anchors are just the perfect touch.

Love, the Wuehler Girls

Goodbye to Kinderfarm

With a heavy heart and a wistful sigh, Ireland's year at Kinderfarm came to a close. Oh how she loved that place! She learned loads of stuff, made a ton of friends and she grew... literally. Mrs. Lehman measured her at the beginning of the year and then again today and Ireland went from 3'1" to 3'3.5"! I couldn't be more grateful to her teachers and the staff who gave her memories she will cherish for a lifetime. Really, there's no preschool like Kinderfarm. It was a perfect fit for our sweet, rambunctious, curious, little preschooler.

Ireland with her afternoon teacher Mrs Lehman and her morning teacher Mrs. Rogers.

I'll never forget pickup on her first day of school when she burst into tears at seeing me because she wanted to stay. Over the course of the school year, pickup became my favorite part of the day. I could usually find her down on the swings, proudly wearing her "chore boots" and when she said goodbye to her friends, they'd all close in for a group hug. Ireland was once terrified of Lucy, the tiny dog that roams the classrooms, but now she pets her absentmindedly as she walks out the door.

Saying goodbye to her favorite animal- Pearl the Pig.

I think the best part of Kinderfarm is that when Ireland told me about her day during the ride home, Liesel was just as eager to hear about it as I was. Being the oldest, Liesel usually has the most interesting stories but Ireland was able to brag about her own day without Liesel dismissing it as a been there, done that. Anytime I didn't have either of the babies with me, Liesel always wanted to physically go and meet Ireland so she could see a bit of Kinderfarm herself. I loved that my girls were having separate but equally exciting educational experiences.

With Diana- a member of the staff who is always this cheerful

I decided to stop by Scratch and let Ireland pick out a cupcake. Of course she picked out the one with lots of little M&M's on top. As she licked away at the frosting, she momentarily forgot about all the sad goodbyes.

I'm sooo sad to see this school year end! 

Mother's Day

First of all, I have to post this video because it makes me laugh every time I see it.


Secondly, I have to show off my Mother's Day Haul:

When Ireland gave me this magnet, she apologized for not writing out her full name. I told her that's okay, I know exactly who it's from!

I love it when Liesel does this rainbow effect in her drawings. 

Can you tell we are in full throttle with the house hunt? That would be why my job is to "buy a house." The reason I like to take Liesel to the mall is she's old enough I can still get through my errands quickly while getting one on one time. It's our thing.

Ireland handed this to me a bit rumpled and I mentioned it was a little sad that it was ripped at the top. Undaunted she said, "You know what? WE CAN TAPE IT!"

I'm such a sucker for anything from my kids made with their hands! Ireland made this butterfly in her Sunbeams class.

I've been wanting this calligraphy family tree for years and it arrived just in time for Mother's Day. Sorry for the glare from the wrapping, but I snapped a pic, admired it for just a couple of days, and then carefully packaged it up again. I'm sure it will be one of the first things I hang in our new home. 

Thirdly, I'd like to debunk the myth that Mother's Day makes mothers feel inferior because of all the stories about the perfect, angelic mothers out there. My own mother is absolutely fabulous but it's actually her flaws that make me love her the most. As such, I'd like to honorably mention some of Mom's most endearing peccadilloes.

• Mom loves to converse more than she loves to drive. That combined with my father's penchant for stick shifts has led to some of the more harrowing experiences of my life. The way Mom drives a manual has been dubbed "Pick A Gear" by the family and for good reason. One moment the poor engine would be grinding away at being in 4th gear going 20 mph and the next moment we'd be thrust into the windshield when Mom downshifted into 1st. I have a healthy respect for seat belts. Any well-meaning comment on which gear might be appropriate was met with an exasperated, "Do you wanna get out and WALK?!?!" Don't call that bluff. Mom will make you get out and walk. She dropped me off on the side of a highway once. And I kid you not, I've seen her shift like she was mixing batter in a bowl. 
• Mom has some interesting ideas when it comes to fashion. She believes she has "long gorilla arms". For the record, a perfectly proportioned person's arms will hang so that her wrists hit right at her thighs. Mom is therefore, perfectly proportioned but she insists she has freakishly long arms. I think she just likes her sleeves extra long to cover her wrists but there is no convincing her of that. When shopping with Mom, if she doesn't like something she just gives you a terse, "It's not what I would have chosen." This is code for- there is something horribly wrong with that choice that's so painfully obvious a cursory glance by any sane person would deem it a bad purchase. To this day sometimes I put clothes back just because I can hear her voice in my head. "It's not what I would have chosen!"
• Once upon a time I was horribly embarrassed by the way Mom would constantly dicker with people. Whenever she was told at the fast food drive-thru her order would take a while (because hello, she was ordering for a small army), she would always say, "Well I'm very disappointed, but I'd feel better if you throw in a free cookie!" I'd beg her to stop doing that... out and out asking for free food was just the lowest of the low. And usually someone from my high school was the one dealing with our obnoxiously large order. "Well... do you want the cookie?" Yeah, I wanted the cookie. But I was still embarrassed. Now I dicker ALL THE TIME! Yes, I've even asked for a free cookie.
• Now and again Mom would dance in the kitchen. It was something so uniquely her. She would shuffle and bounce a bit while clicking her tongue (my siblings will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about). It's her own little happy dance.
• I can't remember if Mom had a calling as a chorister or what, but she went through a phase of conducting music while she drove. It was a little odd to see her counting out the beats to Bon Jovie's Livin' on a Prayer which, for the record, is apparently in 4/4 time. Strangers on the street would wave to her because they assumed that was what she was doing. Throw this all in with the Pick A Gear method of driving and well, let's just say I was grateful to make it home.

Who wouldn't love a person like that? Seriously, my mom is the best and the best of her best are the little imperfections. I miss her terribly but I know she is where she needs to be and she is working hard as a missionary to represent the church. Happy Mother's Day Mom!!! Can't wait to see you again.

Sydney's 6 Month Photos

We had a rather negative experience shooting Sydney's 3 month photos so we decided to try a new photographer for her 6 month photos. Although there was no sitting fee, the prints cost an arm and a leg and there was no way we could afford getting the digital images. He did a beautiful job though, so here are the few photos we did get: 

This is my favorite photo of Sydney to date. Her crossed ankles, her chubby hands grasping the chair (sitting up is still a challenge), the pursed lips and the perfect view of that swirl right on the top of her head are just perfect, perfect, perfect! Even if I'd only been able to get this print, I would have been happy.  

This one is Brent's favorite and I agree it shows her naturally cheerful disposition much better. 

Sisters!

Feet! This one I'm framing and hanging next to the picture we made Brent for Father's Day. It's nice to see a picture of the feet that made all the sun rays... and they'll never be this tiny again! I'm glad we recorded it. 

That little girl is such a blessing in our lives!

Tidbits

Apparently I haven't posted a Tid Bits in a while because there are 3 of them in my drafts. I'm compiling them together so this one will be a bit long. Ready? Here we go:

Liesel was thrilled when her recital costume arrived. She couldn't wait to show it off to her daddy and after oohing and aahing over the fluffy tutu, she told him she wanted to wear it to church. Brent countered, "No, you can't wear that to church because it's..." as he reached for his explanation, she quietly offered, "...too beautiful?"

Ireland had "Wacky Wednesday" at Kinderfarm. Basically, I just let her dress herself and then braided one of her pigtails with streamers and a hanger. She loved it and was definitely the wackiest person there!

Liesel and I did some shopping with me at the mall but everything took longer than expected. As we briskly headed towards the car, Liesel asked to stop and play for a while at the play land. When I told her we didn't have time she said, "But how will I ever get any exercise?" I have to admit, it was a pretty strong argument.

This is a daddy's version of "packing heat".

The other day we were driving by the bank where the girls have their savings accounts. Ireland gleefully pointed it out and then added. "That's where Jesus made the water." I'm still trying to trace that back and the best I can do is a story of Jesus on the banks of the river Jordan where he was baptized.

I was having a particularly frustrating morning with the girls when Brigitta started making faces at breakfast. It turned my whole day around. 

Brigitta has made it clear she is not a fan of the sippy cup. It is either a bottle or a straight up cup. One evening for dinner I gave the girls some raspberry ginger ale. After handing Brigitta her cup, she looked inside, smiled and said, "Bubbles!"

Remember how Liesel was so fascinated by the face painters at Mike's Kitchen in South Africa? Apparently she saw a career in the making. Ireland ran up to me all excited after Liesel did this to her with dry erase markers. Stunned, I said, "What HAPPENED?" and she burst into tears. They both thought I'd be thrilled with her artistry. Good news, dry erase markers wash off easily. 

 Brigitta was fussing for Brent to hand her something in the car. When he realized what she wanted was on the floor he said, "You dropped it!" to which she responded, "Uh OH!" So cute.

Me: Why did you eat my cookies?
Ireland: Actually, they're Girl Scout's cookies.

I told Brigitta to give her daddy a kiss and she heartily landed a juicy open-mouthed one on him! Ireland was next in line.

Usually Brent makes the Costco run but we were dangerously low on essential items (diapers, formula, Cinnamon Toast Crunch), and so I did it. After picking up Liesel and Ireland from school, we quickly did our shopping and then settled in for a feast of cheap hot dogs and pizza for dinner. While we ate, Liesel spied a woman with twin boys about 9 months older than Brigitta. She also had a girl a couple years older than Liesel, and another boy a little older than Ireland. I completely identified with the woman pushing her gigantic cart with an expression that said she hates being at Costco with all her kids. Excitedly I asked, "Ooooooh, who do you think has it rougher, that mom or me?" Liesel looked at the family and then said, "She does. She has 4 kids... and 2 of them are twins!" Intent on making my case for the Challenged Mother at Costco award, I pointed out, "But my babies are younger than her twins!" Liesel became very serious and she slowly said, "Yeah, but she has FOUR kids Mom." I'm guessing Liesel doesn't count herself as a kid.

Liesel and Ireland sharing a chocolate shake in Nauvoo, IL

In the middle of the night, Brigitta got sick. Of course, she was upset over it and crying a bit while I pulled off her soiled clothes and changed the sheets in her crib. I took her into my bathroom to shower and wash the yuck out of her hair. En route, she caught sight of Sydney sleeping soundly in her Pack N Play. With her chubby little finger to her lips, she looked at me with those big, blue eyes and said, "Shhhhhhh." It was the sweetest thing! Here she was not feeling well herself and she was concerned about waking her baby sister.

Ever since South Africa, Brigitta is constantly pulling her swimsuit out of her drawer and trying to put it on. Here she's succeeded with the cap but is struggling with the actual suit. No surprise given the overalls, necklaces, headband around her neck and baby Chuck Taylors.

Things I never thought I'd say at a baptism: "Ireland, don't take your clothes off!" I still have no idea what she was thinking. We weren't even near the font! We were in the RS room singing hymns for sobbing out loud!

Only kids can be inexplicably happy just playing with oven mitts. 

Brent put Chasing Mavericks on our Netflix queue and while I don't know much about surfing, I really loved the phrase, "It's okay to be scared, but it's not okay to panic." I say this over and over to my girls. When I was signing Ireland out from Kinderfarm, a little fly made its way through Liesel's open window and landed near her. I came back to the car to find her rigidly still, with tears streaming down her cheeks. After shooing the fly and explaining they don't hurt, they're just annoying, I began reiterating, "It's okay to be scared, but it's not okay to..." when Ireland piped up from the back, "...BE SCARY!"

Ireland loved getting all dolled up for her recital so much, she decided to try it on her own. Not quite as successful... and I can't get that stuff out of her pajamas!

Grandparents

Our girls are so fortunate to have two sets of grandparents who absolutely adore them. They loved having the Wuehlers in town! There were dance parties with some Ring Around the Rosie:

Grandma dusted off the piano that never gets used and played some Primary songs:

There were lots of cuddles:

Lots of nonsense:

Plenty of play:

 Every child should have a memory of just rolling down a grassy hill, right?

The Wuehlers were wonderful to us while they were here. BJ worked like a galley slave helping me to whip the yard into shape. Jeanne watched the babies so I could focus on Liesel and Ireland during the recital frenzy. They even took the 3 oldest so Brent and I could spend a day house hunting in the Chicago area (I wasn't ready to part with Sydney just yet). They were dearly missed when they left.

Dance Recital

Costume fitting, dress rehearsal, makeup, hair and photos, oh my! It seems like Liesel and Ireland have steadily been attending dance class when everything shifted into high gear and suddenly we were scrambling for the big recital. Although Brent wasn't able to attend the actual recital, he caught the studio dress rehearsal. 

With their teacher Karly Davis

Liesel's hair is still a tad short for a high bun. However, the ends stayed in nicely if I braided up the back. Her routine was a tap number to Elvis' Teddy Bear

Ireland's routine was a ballet number to Josh Groban's Believe in Your Heart (from the movie Polar Express). 

This is a more typical picture of Ireland. I have no idea what it takes to get her to look at the camera... there's always something else that captures her attention. 

My girls. They absolutely loved wearing makeup. I accidentally swiped a brush at Ireland's eyeball and she immediately said, "It's okay! I can take it! Keep going!!!" 

Just before the recital began, I sat in the theater and my eyes unexpectedly welled up with tears. Brent was against the idea of putting the girls in dance this year, gently reminding me that I had enough on my plate. When I signed them up, I had no idea I'd be pregnant or that the weather would be such a challenge. But I doggedly determined that my girls will be physically active and socially cultured. All those Monday nights of heading out in the freezing dark and chasing babies came back to me.

Official studio portrait.

 Even before they touched foot on stage, I was crazy proud of my girls. I fell for the stage mom thing hook, line and sinker. The funny thing is that neither of them is particularly good at dance! But Liesel and Ireland learned classroom dynamics, dance terms and made loads of friends. Seeing them in their leotards and tights giggling with the other dance girls always made me smile. Whitney told me she still benefits from performing on stage. I'm SO glad we did it!

I love how the tights wrinkle around her knees and ankles because she's so small!

The class mom for Ireland's group told me she had some stage fright just before they went on, bursting into tears. I never would have known because that seemed to melt away when it was time to perform. She happily skipped on stage with her class and did her little dance. Midway through, she was tapping her foot when she stopped watching her teacher and looked at the audience. While the rest of her class moved on, she just kept tapping her foot as she looked at all the people. It was hilarious. Afterwards, I asked Ireland how it felt to dance in front of so many people. "I was a ROCK STAR!" she exclaimed.

My parents had me pick up these lovely bouquets for the girls. At home, they each had two pink roses from me and their dad. Liesel asked me why she was getting flowers and I told her it was tradition, pointing out all the other parents holding flowers for their girls. She insisted, "But WHY?!?!" I don't know, it's tradition! She was also thrown by the "break a leg!" comments. It's bad luck to wish good luck so you tell them to break a leg instead. "What if they actually break a leg? Wouldn't you feel bad for saying that?" She has a point.

 Really, I was crazy proud of those two! I could not stop grinning.

Grandma and Grandpa Wuehler treated us all to ice cream at Culvers. I'm so very happy they were able to come and that they genuinely enjoyed themselves. These girls are spoiled for love in this family!

As I drove home my heart was so full I practically floated. I am a perfectionist and the night was absolutely perfect. The next morning the girls had school and they were none too thrilled when I woke them up. Both of them had fallen asleep in the car so I wasn't able to take off their makeup. As adorable as they look all dolled up in their costumes, this is actually my favorite photo. It makes me laugh every time I see it!