Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Little Borrowers

It's spring break! There's no place we need to be, and lots of things we want to do, all at our own pace. With nothing more exotic on our itinerary, our girls were more than satisfied with a much-anticipated trip to the library for story time. (See what happens when you set the standards so low...it doesn't take much to impress this bunch!)

Megan and Bridget usually miss this Tuesday tradition when they're at school. So, it was exciting to see all of my girls enjoying this today. The older girls didn't miss a beat, literally, with all of the same old songs.


And, of course, we colored...




Our lovely librarian has been reading stories and singing songs to these girls since Megan was old enough to appreciate good literature :) Today, we got a picture with her!


Mary was an angel, as always.


But, by far, the most exciting activity was getting library cards for Bridget,


and Megan! What big girls! I'm hoping these cards get abused and cherished for many years.


Hopefully, the massive pile of new books and ancient videos we checked out will keep these girls occupied a little. I'm on my own this week while Matt is away on business (read: baseball tournament), and I'm left to my own devices for four days. Yikes! Yes, I'm very spoiled that this happens very rarely.) I'm also lucky that this solo time coincides with spring break, too! No rushed mornings or harried evenings for these girls.

Now, on to our next leisurely mommy-time activity. Snuggly reading, painting everyone's fingernails and toenails, and watching a straight-to-VHS Princess Jasmine relic from the 90's. Good times :)

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Friday, April 6, 2012

She's 8 Months!

I've been lax in updating details about poor little Mary. Admittedly, her baby book has not even been purchased, never mind filled in. So, this blog is the place her life is captured for eternity...or until I buy that baby book...yeah, probably eternity. Sorry, Mary!




Aw, just look at that smile. This picture was taken just now, while three big sisters are sleeping, and she doesn't seem too bothered by the fact that she doesn't have a baby book, or that I'm blogging and not giving her my undivided attention. What neglect!

And here's a few more from my "real" camera:






Actually, her babysitter just showed up, so she's not being neglected now. Her babysitter is six, after all (that's another post that requires pictures, which are trapped in my camera), so I could probably just run off on a few errands and they'd be fine ;)





Or, I could stay here and say just a few things about Mary, before someone wakes up!

Mary is sitting up now, rolling all over the place, but not crawling. Her two little bottom teeth are getting bigger, and she's putting them to work on everything in sight. She also seems a little perturbed to be dished out purees while everyone else enjoys real food. I don't feel too badly for her at the table, though. She has a show with every meal as she watches the antics of her four sisters.

Mary's biggest news is her lodging upgrade. While she isn't Tessa and Annie aren't ready to sleep three to a room as they make the adjustment to their toddler beds, Mary does have a bigger bed now. Unbelievably, she was still pretty content in her bassinet until a week ago. But, it was time for more space, so she's now a happy sleeper in the pack-n-play, which is still in our room. When Tessa and Annie are less squirrelly at bedtime, we'll add Mary to that room. For now, we're loving having her close to us...and safe from two little monkeys upstairs.


Speaking of those monkeys, I can't believe we ever had any reservations about adding a fifth child to this family. As crazy as it gets here, the girls have never once shown jealousy towards Mary. In fact, she's the very center of their world, especially as she's becoming more mobile, and interesting :).

Tessa and Annie love to play with her during the day while the girls are at school, and Mary's seat in the van is a prime spot to witness twin antics while out and about all of the time. I think she's more content in the car than anywhere else, and that's got to be because she's always entertained in there.

I didn't have to dig very far back on my cell phone to find these glimpses of sisterly love.








As for Bridget, she's Mary's other very responsible babysitter at a crucial time of day for me. While I sit like a warden in the room with Tessa and Annie while they drift off to sleep for naptime, my four-year-old is in charge of the baby in the older girls' bedroom. Down the hall, I can hear sweet baby talk and loving assurances that "Mommy will be right back. Don't worry, baby Mary." There is nothing that lifts Bridget's self-confidence more, or reaffirms her "big girl" status as much as being trusted with this baby-watch. She "reads" books to her and showers Mary with attention, sometimes while "orzagizing" her room and her bed --- she's perfected multi-tasking very young! When I return to the room, she proudly updates me on what I've missed.





I guess this became more about your sisters than you, Mary.

Suffice to say, you are loved.




- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress