First Food Fun

"Fun" is not a word I would ordinarily use to describe the introduction of solid food to one of our babies. In fact, I'm not sure that "fun" would make the first 10 words I would use!  It's the official end to the not-as-disgusting-as-they-could-be diapers, an additional serving to prepare at mealtime, an additional surface to clean after mealtime, more frequent baths for the messy new eater, a higher grocery bill, etc. etc.  Plus, worst of all, it's a sign that the baby is growing.  That's always hard to stomach when I just wish time would stand still. 

But, like all of of the unpleasantries of parenthood,  this food thing needed to be conquered eventually with Mary.  At six months old, Mary has been eyeing everything being consumed around her for a little while now.  She's even smacked her lips on occasion.  I think she's been eagerly anticipating this day as much as I've been pretending it wasn't coming.  So, we finally broke down, bought some rice cereal, and sat our little Mary at the table for all to witness her first taste of food.  Megan had just returned from a play date where she and her little friend had been feeding their baby dolls, and her excitement at feeding her real, live baby sister was beyond cute.  The other girls were equally into this event (when they should have been a little more into their own food!).  Imagine a full-on cheering section for your first taste of mush.  Mary's going to have it made as she walks through life with those four adoring big sisters.

We were all just assuming our little chunker would devour anything we put in front of her, but to our surprise, she didn't really appreciate what we had to offer.

 

That's okay, Mary.  It gets better.  Just ask your cheerleaders.  There's a whole world of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese out there, just on the horizon.

And anyway, Miss Mary is doing just fine, thank you very much, without that pesky food.  Today, at her six-month checkup, she weighed in at 17 pounds, 3 ounces (75%) and measured 26 1/2 inches (75%), which is setting some records in this house of little girls.  (Each of the other girls weighed between 1 and 3 pounds less than that at six months.)   So, I'm not too worried whether this little moosette likes her rice cereal or not! 

Devotion

I'm so proud of both Megan and Bridget for initiating the hanging of their little crosses on the wall next to their bunks. Megan even said, "Mommy, can I hang my cross on my wall by my bed so I can say special prayers to God every night before I go to sleep?" She is just a big ball of sweetness dropped from heaven.

Most of the time.

I was equally impressed with Bridget's devout intentions, until I checked on her about an hour after the cross hanging. It appears, in Bridget's little bunk world, that her bag of Squinkies should be just as revered as her cross. She spent quite a bit of time, and used quite a bit of tape, to fashion this little holder of her tiny friends/gods.  Hmmm...maybe this one isn't nun material after all.

Sisterhood is...

enjoying the ride together.

Party Like it's 2011

New Year's Eve isn't the same as it used to be, that's for sure!  Most notably, Matt and I met on New Year's weekend in 1999.  I've really aged myself there!  I never could have imagined our life now, although I wouldn't have it any other way :) 

We started the celebrating this year with some morning lounging, before Megan headed off to a friend's birthday party.  When I talked with others moms at the party, I was a little relieved to discover that we weren't the only ones with no plans!

Well, we did have plans, but not of the adult variety.  We had a little kid fun planned for the evening.  Since Megan and Bridget are old enough to know what New Year's is all about, I wanted to celebrate a little bit. We brought the girls' easel out and played a pint-sized version of Win, Lose or Draw with them.  It was a blast, and just a peek into how much more fun we'll all have playing games together as they get a little older.  Of course, Megan and Bridget were all over this, but the twins were surprisingly good at it too. 

Fish!

Lefty Tessa shows what she's made of.

Circle!  Right!  (Geometry is not a strong suit for her...yet!)

Annie's people continue to resemble strangle little aliens.

Snowman!

Then, our Chinese food came.  This part really was fun for us, since we didn't cook :)

Next, out came our blowers and poppers, and the girls watched the ball drop in eastern standard time, and that was definitely pushing the bedtime envelope around here.

It was fun.  Bridget's expression here suggests she's less then impressed.  I'm thinking they will all have slightly more exciting New Year's parties in their futures (like when they're about 27...) and I don't want to know anything about them!

Christmas Spoils

We have five lucky girls who made out like bandits this year with everything they wanted, and some things they didn't even know they wanted.  From Grandma and Grandpa Stecher, they each received an adorable doll wearing pajamas, and then matching little girl pajamas.  Of course, their annoying mother could not resist taking a picture of this cuteness!

These girls love nothing more than adding to the menagerie of animals and dolls that keep them company in their beds (which is another reason the dolls seen above were such a big hit).  Santa added to this problem by complying with the biggest requests on their list.  We now have four Pillow Pets (yes, we resisted this trend for a long time!), and the girls couldn't be happier.

As for the rest of their loot --- well, it was hard enough to pin the girls down  for these pictures.  I may try to catch pictures of them playing quietly with their new things, or I may just enjoy the peace for as long as it lasts!

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas week was busy this year!  The week began with a nighttime trip to see Santa at the library, an extra-special trip for Megan and Bridget who really miss the library visits when they're at school.  Nighttime at the library means you get to wear your pajamas!

Every year, on the 23rd, we meet all of the Stechers for lunch downtown.  It's always a fun adventure with the girls.  We're in and out of the city every day, but don't really have a reason to go downtown very often.  We decided to take BART again this year, and the girls loved it!  Our little commuters were not quiet, and we did not fit in with the crowd, but I know they were the cutest passengers that afternoon :)

After lunch, we walked around Union Square and looked at the displays in Macy's windows,

and even managed a family shot, with only one kid falling (Annie) right as the picture was snapped.  Those aren't bad odds.  And I'm pretty sure this was the worst place to attempt a family picture. 

We spent Christmas Eve with the entire Raley clan, meeting up for a late afternoon mass where cousins were just a little excited to see each other!

We headed back to our house after mass and celebrated with a Mexican feast that was a little too spicy for these kids, so we were lucky to get a shot of them actually sitting at their kids' table.

They spent more time watching some quality Christmas classics while the adults finished eating.

Once it was time to open presents, Mary got an introduction to mad unwrapping craziness!

And, miracle of Christmas Eve miracles --- this germ-ridden family managed to keep their flu to themselves! 

After all of the presents were opened, and we'd said our goodbyes to the rest of the Raleys, and before they went off to bed, Megan and Bridget made sure to leave a treat for Santa and his reindeer.

Fast forward to Christmas morning, when we only got a few pictures.  Annie shows just how much two-year-olds understand of Christmas morning.  She was so fixated on the Reese's cups in her stocking that she didn't notice (or care) about actual presents.  Note to Santa: scale it way back for the under 3 set!

Even for our older and oh-so-much-wiser crowd, they were easy to please.  Santa came through with the "big" toy that each girl so desperately wanted: a Pillow Pet!

Meanwhile, Mary slept in and missed the morning action.  But, we made sure she saw her stocking when she woke up.  And, she turned five months old on Christmas!

The best part of Christmas this year was just relaxing on Christmas morning.  We had a mess from the night before, but we had all morning to leisurely get to it before we left for the Stecher Christmas in Burlingame.  The girls all wanted to wear their new outfits from the Cecchins, and so of course I needed pictures :)

The kids table situation looks a little different at the Stechers'.  Our girls made up just one of the kids tables at this party with 20+ kids. 

There are enough kids in the Stecher family to put on a pretty entertaining Christmas pageant every year.  Each kid gets a costume, even the tiniest in the family...whether or not they stay awake for their part.

Megan and Bridget were each angels, and they had been looking forward to this play for weeks.

Tessa donned a Santa costume, too.  Annie wasn't as game, and not because she was shy.  When offered a costume, she scoffed, "No way! Yuck!"  and settled into the audience next to me.  I think Annie will come around next year. Who wouldn't want to be part of this crew?? 

I'm always sad when Christmas is over.  But, I loved the sight of our happy, sleeping girls in the back of the van at the end of the night. 

Equally telling signs of a good Christmas here were Matt jumping up and down inside our recycling bin to make room for more recyclables (read: lots of toy packaging!) and the quiet that came with happily entertained children.