Six Stechers

First Food Fun

2012-01-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

"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

2012-01-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

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...

2012-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

enjoying the ride together.

Party Like it's 2011

2012-01-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

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.

Belatedly Grateful

2011-12-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas isn't quite here yet, I still have time to slip in a road-trip-to-Thanksgiving-in-the-OC post. I'll blame my tardiness on both my camera and my computer, but I'll spare the details. Suffice to say, neither is an over-achiever these days.

And, neither are we when it comes to road trips. I'll just get these first two pictures out of the way, and you(all ten of you) readers can decide if you ever want to read this blog again. First, I present our completely unsafe alternative in the portable entertainment world. We've taken your standard dual screen DVD player that normally attaches to two headrests, and entertains your standard two-kid family, and snazzed it up a bit...by dangling it precariously on some bungee cords stretched from one side of the car to the other. Why? So all of the girls can see! Basically, the small chance of a collision hurtling this screen directly into Annie's face can not compete with the larger chance, nay, guarantee of more damage being caused by three girls in the back seat fighting to see the screen. What can I say? We're gamblers like that :)

And, if you're going to get judgy looking at these photos, I would urge you not to notice the pajamas that everyone is wearing (and continued to wear for the entire eight-hour trip!) or the offensive item in Megan's hand in the picture below. Look away if you can't handle kids eating french fires!

But, you can look at this cute face. Happy 1st Thanksgiving, Mary!

I don't have any pictures of the adults eating our scrumptious food, but I do have some (poorly lit) pictures of the kids scarfing down their feast...

while watching Home Alone! Somewhere along the way in the Raley household, we started watching Home Alone every Thanksgiving -- not during the meal, but usually afterwards -- as a fun way to kick off the holiday season. Maybe it's just us, but that movie just never gets old :) So, we figured we would introduce the little ones to this uber-sophisticated flick, and we did let them watch while eating their dinner! This whole set-up just blows Grandma Raley's Thanksgivings of the past out of the water. These are some lucky grand kids...or our old Thanksgiving kid table left a lot to be desired!

Lest you, dear reader, think that our Thanksgiving this year was all french fries and movies, we also introduced the kids to another great tradition -- fighting over the wishbone! (Boy, I sure am painting a pretty picture of my side of the family!) Do other families do this? I'm not even sure!

Megan and Joey were the lucky contenders, and Joey was intent on learning the rules of this game, while Megan flirted with the camera.

Some wishing and tugging ensued,

and we had a winner!

We're working on fulfilling Megan's wish: to live in a castle!

But, first, we're grateful for another amazing Thanksgiving, and thankful for a year full of good health, happiness, little girl giggles and a baby!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2011-12-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here!

We got our tree,

decorated it, over the course of a few days,

stuffed and mailed our Christmas cards (with lots of help!),

unpacked the audience that has now patiently viewed many the impromptu play or concert,

dressed like Santa (times two),

acquainted ourselves with our very own elf!! (the girls named him Henry Jolly, and he is always watching!)

and allowed a bigger elf to put up our outdoor Christmas lights for the first time in 6 years!

We also made sure to introduce this newbie to all things Christmas!

And we got all of these crazy cousins together for a photo shoot,

indoor and outdoor.

We got festive at preschool,

hung our stockings with care (notice Vanna Annie showing these off),

and experienced our very first Christmas pageant with Megan starring as a dove. Okay, maybe not so much starring as featuring...and forgetting that she was supposed to sing...and adjusting her wings and looking around while the rest of the class was singing...

but, she sure was a cute dove!

That same week, we brought the girls with us to Matt's faculty dinner, and we left so late that they changed into their jammies. We had to get a picture of them in front of the tree at SI. If you look closely, you can see Tessa's frown because it's so chilly. Sorry, Tessa!

The next day we were back at SI and the faculty kids and grandkids got to see Santa. The Cecchin cousins are faculty grandkids, so this is always a fun day. Here are some of these cousins goofing around on Santa's chair before he made his entrance.

Once he made his entrance, our girls were more than happy to accept what he had to offer!

The twins both yelled. "I'm Santa, too!!" when Santa came in the room. And, they sang a couple verses to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." No Santa fear in this house this year!

Five more days - yikes!! I hope everyone is enjoying the last few days before Christmas as much as we are!

Mary is 4 Months Old!

2011-12-10T15:50:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'm a little behind on this one -- mostly because I don't want to admit that Mary is already four months old! Despite the "la la la" I have going on in my head, there is no denying she's growing. She had her four month check-up at the pediatrician this week, and she weighed in at 15.5 pounds, which puts her in the 80th percentile. And, 95th for height at 26 1/4 inches!

Mary continues to be a super easy baby for us...when we're with her. Or, more specifically, when I'm with her. She does not like taking a bottle, so she's not winning any favorite granddaughter prizes yet. She's most happy when she can happily observe her big sisters doing what they do best --- creating pure chaos for her entertainment. So, maybe they'd do that anyway, but she's the happy audience!

She's also loving her little playmat now, and just beginning to reach for her toys and explore things with her hands and mouth. Her favorite combination of these two things is sucking her thumb. She's become a pro in the last week, and she usually finds her thumb in the middle of the night too, although this habit has not fully replaced her other habit of waking to nurse. But, that's perfectly okay. It buys me some extra cuddle time with her.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find that "pause" button I've been looking for on Mary. I'm sure it's there somewhere.

Freckles, Fashion and Friends

2011-12-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

It's been too long since I've documented some good Bridget stories, or pictures. I'll start with her recent self-portrait on the easel in our garage. Nope, she's not sick with the measles or anything. Those are her freckles. Or, her "dot skin," as cousin Clara (lovingly?) refers to it, like Bridget's another rarely seen ethnicity.

Those freckles will be Bridget's distinguishing mark for her entire life. I just know it. She gets comments every day on them. Everything from, "You've got the map of Ireland on your nose," (my personal favorite) to "Each one of those freckles is an angel's kiss." Even if people don't remember her name, especially as they all get older and there will be less of a height difference to distinguish them, Bridget will always be The One With the Freckles. She doesn't seem to dislike them, for now, and probably regards them as another accessory in her ensemble every day.

Speaking of ensembles, in Bridget's mind, every day is an opportunity for a new outfit. She strongly dislikes wearing an outfit twice (boy, will she LOVE to wear the same uniform every day next year!!), and enjoys mixing and matching items from her wardrobe, as well as Megan's and the twins'. I can never guess what she'll want to wear, so she's left to her own devices in her closet every morning, and comes up with some crazy stuff. I present a few exhibits:

I can not forget her hair either! This is a project every morning after we drop Megan at school. Once we've all scrambled back into the car, we have an hour to kill between the two drop-offs, and the two most important items on the agenda are feeding Mary and doing Bridget's hair. Sometimes these two things can be done at the same time, depending on how nimble I'm feeling. Her hair is so fun because she has a different request every day, and I always have time to do it. Tessa and Annie wait patiently while Bridget details some hairdo she has seen in a book, or better yet, brings the book along for me to look at. She doesn't want me to screw it up, after all. Take this ponytail for example:

I totally screwed it up. It's not a perfect "little r." Don't ask me where that idea came from, but she wants "high, high" ponytails that look like a little "r" on her head. This picture was taken at her request so that she could survey my handiwork. It wasn't "high high" enough. I really can't wait for the girls to start doing each other's hair every morning!

And she is a shoe lover! Currently, she is wearing right through some open-toed patent yellow flats that Mop and Pop gave her. They are completely inappropriate for preschool, but they make her happy. This is her happy face:

These are some other emotions I can't quite label. But, that's Bridget. And, it was her idea to take these pictures, and then inspect each one afterwards. Ah, technology.

I'm pretty sure she's going to be The Actress With the Freckles before we know it.

Until then, though, she is trying very hard to master preschool. It's hard to be four. The art of making girlfriends is proving to be a tricky road for Bridget. Her concept of friendship was a little skewed for the first few months of school, while she was "friends" with a rather manipulative little girl who told her what to do, when to do it, and even hit her and pinched her! Bridget kept wanting to play with her, too. Even after many long conversations about what friends are and how she's too special to have anyone hit her, it took a little while to sink in. A few days after the pinching incident, she was about to hop out the car to head to school for the morning. Before saying goodbye, she proudly proclaimed, "I will not be playing with Jane* today....(dramatic pause) ...if she's not at school today." Baby steps, I guess. (* a name has been changed to protect the identity of Bridget's "friend," even if she doesn't deserve it!)

In keeping with Bridget not quite getting this friend concept, she very eagerly reported that she did have another friend. "I was washing my hands in the bathroom, and Greta* came in and asked if I was done." And...that's it. There's nothing more to that story, but in Bridget's mind, the fact that Greta* spoke to her is proof enough that they are friends. (*Once again, I'm protecting Bridget's "friend," -- this time with Bridget's favorite name, and my guilty pleasure girl's name.)

So, it would seem that we have a long road to hoe before Bridget is ready, socially, for kindergarten next year. I'm happy to report, though, that just this month she had her first solo playdate, and we have another one in the works. There is hope for her yet, especially since she came back from the first playdate talking a hundred words a minute about her new friend, and even more about the layout of the house. She is my daughter :) Her self-confidence was through the roof!

When she's not worrying about her friends or fashion, this little freckle face is my little buddy when she's home from school. She loves being the oldest kid in the house between the hours of 12 and 3, when she dictates any games and helps me with anything that needs to be "orzagized." I think this is really her stall tactic to be able to go down for a nap a little later than the twins, but she takes way too much pleasure in cleaning up her room before naptime, and likes to surprise me with what she's accomplished when I return from putting the twins down in their room. I am not discouraging this!! She's also our go-to table setter. I'm going to ride this helpful train as long as I can :)

As the one kind of stuck in the middle, she, very stereotypically, is pretty sensitive and dramatic. We really try to give all of the girls individual attention they deserve, but especially Bridget. This morning, she jumped at the chance to go grocery shopping with me, and reminded me that it would be just like our little date a couple months ago. She wanted to sit in the baby seat of the grocery cart, and of course, she was accessorized to the max in a princess crown, clip-on earrings and a huge jeweled necklace. She glowed when people passed us and called her a princess.

I'm hoping this freckly princess remembers us when she's on Broadway someday!

Super Twins at Two and a Half

2011-11-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

This post has taken a while to come to fruition, mostly because I'm lazy, but also because it's so hard to pinpoint these little personalities in a few short paragraphs, especially since they're changing daily.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago. They like each other...a little bit.

Being a twin is a lot of fun. I can attest to that. However, raising two-year-old twins comes with certain, ahem, challenges. (Sorry, Mop and Pop!) The mild "terrible twos" we experienced with Megan and Bridget in no way prepared us for this amped-up, doubled version! They feed off of each other, bicker over the most ridiculous little objects, mimic the not-so-great behavior of their older sisters, act like crazy cribbed animals at nap time and bedtime, and require twice the attention (as they should), all while still perfecting their potty skills, which is enough to keep us on our toes.

The good outweighs the bad stuff, though. The connection they have with each other is amazing to witness. I think it's tempered a bit since they have Megan, Bridget and Mary in the mix, but they do have a special bond. I see it more clearly while the older girls are at school. They are a mellow pair, these two, when they're on their own. And their little conversations are so cute! Since they're the only vocal kids in the car for much of the day, I often listen to little conversations like this:

Annie: "Mommy, are we almost to Bridget's school?"
Me: "Yep. Almost. We have to wait for the light to turn green."
Annie: "OK, green means we can go. Red means we stop. Tessa, did you hear that? We're almost there, okay, Tessa?"
Tessa: "Okay, Annie!"

And. lately, their vocabulary seems to be building exponentially, with the daily use of words like "actually" and "instead." "Last night" and "remember that one time" are popular, too. Just today, I was inundated with "Mommy, I know Bridget is going on a playdate after school, but what is she doing after that?" from Annie. I think she might be more nosy than I am! More disturbing. though, is Annie's recent attempts at acting like a little teenager. She now says "Thanks, Mom" and "I told 'ya!" all while strutting around in her favorite pair of shorts with her hands planted deep in the pockets. I'm hoping "Mommy" makes a comeback. While they don't have their own little language, they do understand each other, even when we can't. It's pretty useful to ask Tessa to explain what Annie was trying to say, and vice versa. Of course, they also have their own funny words. If they are ever collectively referring to themselves, it's always "we guys." For example, who took down the big basket of shoes and scattered them all over the room?? "We guys did it."

They are also enamored with everything school. I feel a little guilty for even considering keeping them home an extra year, which would give them just one year of preschool (gasp!). I want to keep them home longer for a few reasons, but mostly because I really feel they get so much socialization at home that they don't need to be there next year. Plus, selfishly, I've realized how fast these years go, and I have no desire to send them any sooner than I need to. But, they drink up every detail of the girls' school days. As soon as Bridget hops back in the car at noon, the twins are asking 20 questions about her morning. They know her friends' names, and they give knowing nods when she tells them what she played with. "Oh, okay, Bridget. You played with Ainsley, with the dollhouse?" They're filing that info away somewhere. As for their own "schooling," they love love love to color and "draw" and we're looking at a strong possibility of Tessa being a lefty! We'll see how that pans out, but I'm so curious, because that may mean that they are mirror image twins - kind of cool!

Annie, with her right hand, has quite suddenly started to draw people! I love it!! I'm pretty confident Megan and Bridget didn't draw anything that actually resembled something until 3, maybe 3.5 years old. Apparently, that's me on the left. She's very meticulous when she adds the eyes, a nose and mouth. In typical Annie fashion, she acts like she's been doing this forever. She is two.

I feel like I've given more examples of Annie's personality than I have for Tessa. In a word, Tessa continues to be the cuddlebug. And very sensitive. "I got my feelings hurt," or "That's not fair" are common utterances from this one. Every morning carting the girls in to drop off Megan, Tessa wants to be carried. It's not always possible, since she has a little bit of competition. So, she's also prone to making a very compelling frown, much like I did when I was little. I wish I could always scoop her up and cuddle her, but alas, she is one of five kids. I'm hoping she won't be too damaged by that fact! Lest I paint her a sad, sad child, though, I have to add that she is also very silly -- definitely our silliest. She breaks out in songs and giggles many times a day, and especially loves when we notice and tell her what a good song that was! She has one deep dimple in her right cheek that makes an appearance a LOT, so I think she'll turn out all right.

In the coming months, we're planning to transition the twins to twin beds and make room for Mary in their room. We'll see how that goes, and hope that little trio will be peaceful roommates for a little while. I'm slightly worried about the mayhem that may ensue without the benefit of crib rails, but we'll worry about that later! At that point, I may really have to stop calling them the "babies." Even with a newborn in the mix here, I still can't break that habit. Even at two and a half, they're still my babies!

We Have a Thumbsucker!

2011-11-22T16:09:00.001-08:00

We just needed to have five babies before we had one that wants to suck her thumb!

Although, she also loves her parents' pinkies. Try to give her a pacifier, though, and she'll act like she's gagging.

For the record, our soothers have been:

Megan: her "pappy" aka pacifier. She needed it until she was 3.5 years old - gasp!

Bridget: She used her "pappy" until she was 26 months old.

Tessa and Annie: nothing. No pappy, no thumb. They were so deprived.

We'll see if Mary's fondness for her thumb lasts. I have a soft spot for thumbsuckers, and since she's likely already got an orthodontist's dream smile, I'm not worried about her doing any further damage.

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Trick-or-Treat 2011

2011-11-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

Our Alice in Wonderland ensemble hit the streets of Westlake Halloween night, and we had a lot of fun! Matt made a pretty impulsive decision to make some alterations to his cowboy hat and transorm into the Mad Hatter. The girls loved it. Of course, right before we left, while I was busy doing some girly hair (this process is not to be underestimated. Anyone with boys -- well, I guess you have your own challenges, but I'm sure you don't have this one!), he suggested that I find something "stripey" to wear and maybe we could make a cat headband for me. I guess I'm the Halloween party pooper because we did not have a Cheshire Cat in our crew!

We did have some cute trick-or-treaters, though! We brought our wagon along for the twins, who hit one house for every three that Megan sprinted to. Bridget wasn't far behind, and they took turns with the doorbells. Megan, especially, had so much fun, and her enthusiam was contagious! For the first time in recent history, I was really into Halloween, and wanted to stay out longer than we did. It was just so much fun to watch Megan confidently run from house to house, all by herself, and help her sisters when they were hesitant. It was especially fun, and a little less stressful, to be trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood, which was surprisingly busy and full of kids.

Thanks to these cuties, we're stocked up on chocolate for a while, and they've (almost) forgotten about it! Now, we're dreaming up costumes for next year. A basketball team (since everyone says that we have one now)? I'm open to suggestions :)

While the Twins Were Away...

2011-11-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Well, Tessa and Annie are safely home from their trip, and are house is full again. That's probably the reason I'm so late posting these pictures. Life gets in the way of blogging :).

This trip was major deja vu for my parents, who had two little towhead twins once upon a time. Tessa and Annie bear a striking resemblance to Sara and me at the same age, so I can't really fault my parents for the number of times they called the twins by their mom and aunt's names (I hear from the girls that Tessa=Shawna and Annie=Sara).

This trip down memory lane included lots of coloring,

And Mop and Pop agreed that Tessa will probably be a lefty, which I'm unprepared for. I'm so curious to see if that's how it plays out once she's writing.

Of course, a trip to Mop and Pop's house is not complete without a jaunt to Disneyland!!

The girls apparently loved the teacups,

and the carousel. I just love that they are reaching for each other in this photo.

Because Mop and Pop live so close to Disneyland, and because they have season passes, we never feel a ton of pressure to stay all day or hit every ride. It's always a very relaxed, pleasant adventure that lasts as long as the little ones can handle it. On this day, Tessa and Annie were back when it was still light outside, and they played on the little bridge in the front yard.

What follows is just creepy and weird. But, hey, being an identical twin and having identical twins is creepy and weird, so, I guess this is just par for the course. (And "creepy" happens to be a nickname that my dad always called me and Sara, so of course, Tessa and Annie are also now little "creepies," too.)

Apparently, when Sara and I were tiny, we used to throw very interesting "tantrums" that didn't involve any screaming or hysterics. (Oh, how I wish this was a genetic trait. Obviously not.) Instead, when we were unhappy or wanted to express just how angry we were, we would both crouch, head down, in opposite corners of the couch, and just stay there. What rebellion!!

So, Mop and Pop got a big kick out of recreating this scene more than thirty years later by teaching Tessa and Annie the "Mommy and Aunt Sara Game."

Repeatedly. Notice the change of costume.

Tessa and Annie (or is it Shawna and Sara??) talk constantly about their next trip down south. Usually, it's "tomorrow," so it's safe to say they had a good time!
- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Soccer Girls

2011-11-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

Soccer season has come...and gone again in this house. Megan's kindergarten class formed two soccer teams, and she happened to be on the team with all of her little girlfriends. It made such a difference to have other girls on her team (she was the only girl on her team in the spring), especially her friends. They giggle on the field and horse around on the sidelines. It's neat to get a glimpse of the friendships she's creating. Although, the YMCA coaches are not as fond of the girly banter that goes on during both practices and games. "Come to the party, ladies!" has been directed at this group of girls more than once! She doesn't quite grasp the idea that she needs to kick the ball when it gets near her, but she's having fun! A Mia Hamm she is not, but that's okay. Megan did get to ride her bike to her games this season, though, since they happen to take place in our neighborhood. That may have been the highlight for her, and that's okay :)

Meanwhile, Bridget hopped onto a team comprised mostly of kids from her preschool class last year. Soccer skills aside (which there are none to speak of), how cute does she look in shin guards?

Our Saturdays have been pretty full for the last two months as we've juggled the two soccer schedules, foregone naps on some days (gasp!) and occasionally split up to make both games. Since we only have two kids in these kind of activities now, and it's already crazy, I'm really scared of what our future activities calendar will look like. Yikes!

On the sidelines, I was usually in charge of Mary, while Matt was either holding someone,

or a few girls, depending on how many of them needed Daddy!

Uncle Kyle was the lucky guy who accompanied me to the last game of the season. He's pretty handy with strollers, wagons, picnic blankets and little girls. He even has a way with Mary.

See? Bridget made contact with the ball -- at least once.

And while snacks were the highlight of each game,

these girls managed (somehow) to entertain themselves while a sister was playing.

Now that soccer has come to an end, we're taking a breather and enjoying our Saturdays for a bit before the next round of activities. We have sign-ups for Megan to play basketball in the winter -- that should be interesting. And Bridget has been begging for a few weeks, "Can you please sign me up for gymnastics?"

Stay tuned.

Mary is 3 Months Old!

2011-11-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

I has to get my 3 month ABC block picture, but it didn't turn out the greatest. Here are a few more shots of Mary that turned out a little cuter, if I do say so myself.

We get plenty of smiles, but the expression below is still pretty common, too. I think she's almost always wondering exactly how she ended up in this family. I don't blame her most days.

Despite that often-furrowed brow, though, Mary continues to bring us so much joy! At three months, she is becoming very aware of her surroundings -- namely, four little girls who are constantly providing her entertainment. And she doesn't let out so much as a whimper before I have all of the girls calling, "Mommy, Mary needs milk!" They are so cute with her, and her presence is enough to diffuse even the most vicious fights or temper tantrums. As complicated as our days are, and as busy as we are meeting everyone's needs, she is just the perfect antidote, especially after dealing with a certain five-year-old's temper, a four-year-old's misbehavior, and two-year-old's being...well, two. I may not get as much done during my downtime any more, but I can definitely get lots of baby smiles and cuddles, and try to remember that the older girls really were that cute and lovable at one point! She is also a beautiful reminder of life! I know it sounds sappy, but to think that we could have been "done" at four kids just makes my heart physically hurt. I just look at her and remember how blessed we are to have another healthy baby to love -- and hope that she can just stay this tiny and cute forever. I think that's realistic.

Picking Pumpkins

2011-11-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

After our first trip of the season to a gigantic pumpkin patch that we left without any actual pumpkins, we knew we needed to get them somewhere else, so, after school one day the week before Halloween, we made a quick trip to the oh-so-authentic patch on 19th Avenue in San Francisco.

This was a whirlwind trip. We were on a mission to get five pumpkins, and get back home in time for lunch and naps, but we still had to document this adventure with pictures, especially since Megan was wearing her super-cute school uniform.

First, we loaded up the wagon with girls, which Megan pulled exactly two feet to the nearest cluster of pumpkins. Did I mention how small this patch is?

Each girl picked a pumpkin (and then we ditched the green one when Mommy found out how expensive it was),

and Mary even hand-picked a baby one. She looks thrilled with her selection.

Then we plunked them on our front porch.

Sadly, these pumpkins are still in the same spot, and they were never carved. Some things really do go by the wayside when you have five kids. Unfortunately, the pumpkins were neglected this year. Maybe next year we'll see some crazy jack-o-lanterns on that porch!

Parading

2011-11-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Our Alice in Wonderland ensemble cast had plenty of opportunities to strut their stuff before the actual trick-or-treating. We had a busy schedule on Halloween with two different school parades, but we had a bonus parade the previous week at Bridget's school. A bonus parade calls for a bonus costume, right? Especially if your "real" costume is still en route :) Bridget was more than happy to be Belle for her first parade.

The morning of Halloween was the real deal! We all got up bright and early to don costumes (and when I say "we," I definitely do not mean to imply that I was costumed!), which added to the normal morning chaos. But, it was worth it to see Megan so happy, and eager to show off her little sisters. She sat with her class in the school yard when the parade started,

and then posed with her crew, after they all marched in the parade with her. We're looking forward to many more St. Stephen parades!

After each girl was dropped off, the twins, Mary and I made a rest stop back at our house, where Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee put on a little show on our front porch.

and then humored me for one more picture inside.

We dressed Mary in her flower costume, and before we knew it, it was time to head back to Bridget's school for her parade, where she very regally showed off her Queen of Hearts costume.

And, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum surprised me when they took the hands of Teacher Maria and agreed to march, too.

Our little flower was unfazed by the noise, and slept through the whole thing. I'm sure she was dreaming about who she can dress as next year, and hoping her mom doesn't come up with an embarrassing theme again.

I'm not making any promises!

Halloween Cast 2011 - Alice in Wonderland

2011-10-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Megan: Alice in Wonderland

Bridget: The Queen of Hearts

Tessa: Tweedle Dum

Annie: Tweedle Dee

Mary: a flower

I managed to sueeze one more "theme year" out of these girls! This probably isn't a desirable result for most people, but I love having them all coordinate with each other when they're this small. Apparently, my persuasive powers are pretty good, because they're all in love with their costumes. Even better, Alice and the Queen have pretty equal footing in this house, so neither big girl felt upstaged by a better outfit. In fact, these leading ladies are still having way too much fun acting out their parts from the movie. "Yes, you're highness," with an appropriate curtsy, and "Off with your heads!" are their favorite things to say right now.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, on the other hand...well, they're way cuter than the movie version. And, I'm sure I'll feel guilty someday about making one of my daughters dress as Tweedle Dum (Tessa chose Tweedle Dum, for the record), but I'll worry about that later. For now, I'll just enjoy my full cast of little characters.

Little Pumpkins

2011-10-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trek to Wheatland for our little friend Lorelai's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. This party was at Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. It's in the middle of nowhere, and it has got to be the biggest pumpkin patch in the world, or close to it. Definitely bigger than our local patch in San Francisco, where I took the girls a few days ago to get pumpkins. Somehow we neglected to buy pumpkins the day we went to Wheatland. But we made up for it with other fun activities, like:

Napping in the car on the way there,

Riding on Daddy's shoulders, and Bjorning (is that a verb?) around the patch,

Holding hands with a favorite cousin, comparing pumpkin colors, and carefully avoiding any "smooshed" pumpkins,

Enjoying the birthday treats,

Grinning from ear to ear, so glad to spend time with her Joey,

Sliding three at a time,

Riding on Daddy's shoulders again,

Taking it all in,

and celebrating in style on a train ride with the birthday girl!

While we didn't think to buy pumpkins that day, we did remember to get a family picture. There's a whole lot of craziness going on in that front row!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2011-10-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

Tessa and Annie are officially world travellers now. They flew for the first time today, down to Orange County to spend five days with Mop and Pop. Mary and I accompanied these girls for the journey south, and we were quite the sight I'm sure.

In my (albeit twisted) mind, this outing was just slightly more adventurous than a trip to Target with these three little ones. I wasn't worried about the logistics of this trip. As it turned out, we have three good flyers. Of course, Tessa and Annie will probably always assume that, no matter the airline, Max and Ruby will be airing twice in a row at the exact time they depart. Let me tell you, this was beyond fortuitous, despite the fact that these episodes were watched with no volume since I didn't spring for headsets for them. Have I mentioned how easy to please they are?

We began our airport adventure watching (other) planes fly away.

And once we made it to our plane, these two announced to all of our fellow passengers, "We're going to Mop's house!! We're flying in the sky!!". Mary was less impressed, but she was awake for the entire flight, which I hadn't counted on. I also didn't count on a bottle of water being poured in my lap. Thank you, Tessa. I think I planned for every other contingency -- changes of toddler pants, more Dora undies, extra outfits for Mary -- but didn't bring extra pants for me. So, it did appear that I was the one to wet my pants on the flight. Nice.

Annie was not the least bit cramped in her window seat. Tough life.

After a fun lunch with Mop once we arrived (during which both twins repeatedly asked if they could just go to Mop's house already), it was finally time to say goodbye. I've never seen such half-hearted waves as I saw from Mop's car all loaded up with my girls. I guess undivided attention (and Disneyland!) beats out their "normal" days at home. I hope they miss us a little!

I sit here at the airport ready to make the return trip home. I've shedded a duffle bag, a double stroller, and, oh yeah, two toddlers. Mary and I are enjoying some peace.

I think I'm as giddy as the twins for this change of pace. (Okay, they're slightly more giddy, but c'mon, they're going to Disneyland, and I'm still going home to three kids!) I'll take these next few days to soak up some one-on-one time Mary, and miss my munchkins a little!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Joey's Park Without Joey

2011-10-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

Before our beloved Cecchin cousins moved (oh so far away) across the Bay Bridge, we made a pretty frequent habit of playing at their neighborhood park - Parkside Playground. The girls have always lovingly referred to this popular spot as "Joey's Park." Sara and I met here on countless mornings for more than four years, coffee in hand and kids bundled up (I wonder why they moved to the sunny East Bay!), and prepared many a picnic lunch here, in the hopes of returning to our respective homes with sleepy kids and clean kitchens. The older kids all perfected their sliding and swinging here, manned their pirate ship, and dug to their hearts' content in the sand pit. While I don't frequent this park nearly as often now, we do still play here occasionally, especially since it's so central to both of the girls' schools. And even though Joey doesn't live down the street anymore, we will still always call it Joey's Park!

I hit up Joey's Park with the twins and Mary a few days ago when we had a couple hours to kill, and they had a blast! They are almost self-sufficient at the park now. (Oh, how this has changed in the last year!!) It's a lot of fun to watch them chase each other from one play structure to the next, and it's extremely handy that they always have a buddy at the park (and everywhere they go!).

Mary was content (as always!) to watch the action, and to make some cute little expressions for me :)

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Blessed

2011-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Mary was baptized almost two weeks ago! We are definitely blessed to have another healthy, happy little girl to love, and expecially blessed that she has such a big, loving family to welcome her and guide her in life, and especially in her faith.

Okay, if I look at this picture objectively, I can kind of see how poeple think five kids is...a lot! We kind of look like a big family here. Yikes!

The older girls behaved pretty well during the baptptism itself, and they looked pretty cute, too :)

Mary behaved while everyone took turns holding her,

including Grandma and Grandpa,

and Mop and Pop.

Since this blog doesn't go as far back as the girls' baptisms, and because I never blogged about the twins' big day, here's a little walk down memory lane, blog style:

Megan's Baptism 2006

Bridget's Baptism 2007

and a bonus picture of Bridget snuggling with Ma afterwards

and then there were four!

Tessa's and Annie's baptism 2009

My Recipe for a Cute Kindergartener

2011-10-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Take a big heap of this adorable ingredient...

add just a little of this...

and voila! You get this cute little girl!

Controlling Our Emotions

2011-10-16T11:14:00.001-07:00

Raising five little girls is akin to riding a roller coaster. The emotional drama here is unpredictable with it's ups and downs, and the situation isn't going to get any better as they get older. Plus, Mary isn't even really swimming in this pool of estrogen yet. I pray that she's not as "spirited" as some of her sisters.

We talk a a lot about controlling our emotions, and making a conscious decision to be good girls. Well, of late, I have been having the hardest time with this. While I'm a pretty even-keeled gal most of the time, I turn into a crazy lady when it comes to messes, especially pee and poop messes, which are a frequent occurrence in this house. I think my reaction to messes like these has rubbed off on the girls. Yesterday, after we discovered that my coffee had leaked all over the quilt we were loading up for a soccer game (a mess that didn't bother me at all, I'm ashamed to say, considering how I react to other accidents) Annie put her hands on her hips and announced, "Mommy, I am so mad at you right now!"

Oops. Apparently, I'm the one who needs to be controlling my emotions.

I will not lose my cool when someone poops in their bed.

I will not express my disappointment when someone "forgets" that they needed to pee.

I will not freak out when someone poops in their pants in the middle of someone else's soccer practice.

I will be a good girl.

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

So you want to date Bridget...

2011-10-15T22:12:00.001-07:00

This post is about 13 20 years too early, but after my delightful little lunch date** with Bridget on Friday, I thought I should set some ground rules that are not likely to change before then.

1. Hold her hand. She's a lot of fun to hold hands with. Plus, as you stroll along, you'll definitely want everyone to know she's with you.

2. Treat her to whatever she wants to eat. She'll surprise you with some quirky choices, and then savor every bite...at her own pace. Build in time in your date for this excruciatingly slow activity.

3. Be prepared for some sweet conversation, but don't be offended if she spends the majority of the meal not-so-subtly people-watching. And don't blame her --- this is an unfortunate genetic malady she inherits from her mother.

4. Take her shopping. She will want everything, most notably shoes, jewelry and accessories. Humor her and tell her she may get these items for Christmas. Although, if you're smart, you'll get her whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. (I am not smart at all, incidentally.)

5. Give her a kiss and promise to take her out again. If you know what's good for you, you won't keep her waiting for the next date.

**Our lunch date was a surprise for little Bridget when I picked her up from preschool. Matt had the twins, Megan was still at school, and we were chaperoned by Mary sleeping in her sling. I loved every minute of this one-on-one time with her, and it's something I'm determined to schedule for all of the girls now!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Big M and Little M

2011-10-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

The oldest and the youngest in our family have a special little bond. It's not just because both of their names start with "M," although Megan gets way too big a kick out of that. In fact, so far, they seem very similar in personality. Megan was an easy baby, which is probably why Bridget came just 16 months later - we weren't too traumatized by our first experience! Mary is just as good-natured as Megan was, if not more. Mary also seems to be taking sleep advice from her big sister. Megan started sleeping through the night at three weeks, and Mary sleeps through nearly half the time right now.

Beyond those similarities, big M and little M have a sweet little connection. Megan is old enough now that she can hold Mary for a few minutes while I run to the next room, quiet a brawl between the twins, or help someone else get dressed. She is also the only big girl awake in the afternoon after school while the others nap, so she gets some quiet time with her baby sister. And, she loves to show off Mary to all of her little friends at school. Having a baby sister seems to be a quick route to winning kindergarten popularity contests. If Mary didn't have enough adoring fans at her own home, she certainly has a little entourage of uniformed, squealing girls in Megan's class. "Oh, Megan, she is so cute!!" makes our five-year-old beam with pride.

Today, Megan, Mary and I stayed home during Bridget's early evening soccer practice. With the more, um, rambunctious kids out of the way, I took some pictures of these two cuties:

Megan spent some time "reading" Mary a few books that she's memorized. This is the cutest thing ever! (She loves to play games that revolve around reading and writing now, so she'll often play the librarian, teacher, or waitress - writing down the girls' orders.) Today, she showed Mary every picture as she was reading, and waited for an appropriate coo before she turned the page.

I love the interaction between all five girls when they're together as a group, but it's extra special to witness the individual bonds develop when they have some one-on-one time. (Similarly, Tessa jumped to Bridget's defense earlier today with, "Don't worry, Bridget. I'll be your buddy. You're my best friend!" after Annie had hurt her feelings. Don't ask me how a 2-year-old is capable of hurting a 4-year-old's feelings. That's just one tiny slice of the drama that goes on here all.day.long.) I expect these relationships to change constantly, but it's so comforting to know that they each have four sisters that they can turn to, rely on and be sisters with forever. Maybe, thirteen years from now, I won't be so glad we have five girls/hormonal teenagers. But, for now, I'm trying to love every minute of it.

But She Has a Great Personality...

2011-10-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

Isn't that what you say when someone's on the chunkier side? ;)

Well, Mary is officially a little chunker, with a great personality! This is uncharted territory for our little Stecher girls. Mary is over a pound heavier than any of the other girls were at two months, and 4 pounds heavier than Tessa!! She weighs 12 pounds, 14 ounces, which puts her into the 90% percentile! For comparison, these were the girls' weights at the same age:

Megan: 11 pounds, 10 ounces
Bridget: 11 pounds, 7 ounces
Tessa: 8 pounds, 14 ounces**
Annie: 9 pounds**

**I had to search for quite a while for these stats since, a whole 2.5 years into their lives, the twins' baby books have not even been cracked open. Must get on that. Must get on that. I figure this blog is a suitable stand-in in the event that those are never finished, though :)

She does, however, inherit some baby fat from Matt. He was such a chunky baby that his nickname, for a long time, was Vasili, a big wrestler from the 70's? So, we've been half-expecting some rolls with our babies, but it's still a little surprising that it finally happened with baby five.

I'm enjoying every thigh roll, and loving her big chubby cheeks, in which she holds at least 25% of her weight!

Art From the Heart

2011-10-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

I just love the amount of artwork that Megan generates in kindergarten. (I don't love the quandary of what to do with it. My grand scheme involves making a coffee table book for each girl's work, but we'll see if that happens.) I also kind of wonder if her style is influenced by the way other kids draw things. For example, does she draw faces the way she does because her best little girlfriend draws them that way?

As it happens, I should also be just as curious about the subjects of these pieces of art.Take this little gem she brought home today:

You might be wondering a few things. First, who is the mother figure with the brown hair? Oh, wait, that's me. I still can't get used to the fact that my hair is brown. Believe it or not, my hair used to be as blond as the girls'. Every time Megan and Bridget draw our family, I am the only brunette. Sigh.

But, the more important observation is: Who is that smaller brunette figure? I see a mommy, a daddy, five little blond girls (including one in a diaper - too cute!), so who is this mysterious interloper? Megan was quick to solve this mystery. "Oh, that's Brendan. He asked me if I could draw him in our family, so I did." I guess we should just get used to accepting sons-in-law in the family now.

Cowgirls and Nail Polish

2011-10-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Cousin Clara turned four this month, and celebrated cowgirl style, a girl after her mom's heart. Her party was at a little ranch in the east bay, and our little city kids had a blast learning about farm animals, collecting chicken eggs and playing in a huge teepee with Clara.

The girls had the chance to play with Uncle Kyle, who was a huge help that day (and the night before when he babysat for me and Matt!).

They paid him with kisses;

attempted to look cute, even while getting dirty;

they held chickens;

pet bunnies;

and made some very interesting (gross!) wool bracelets;

But, the highlight of Clara's little farm party was, hands down. getting ready to,

and then...riding a pony!!!

What else could these four girls ask for? Well, more rides ("Why did Clara get to go around four times?" Thanks Megan. Gratitude is a work in progress.)

After the dust settled, literally, our little cowgirls needed a bubble bath back at the ranch, er, house. And, because I'm a mom of five girls, I realize I have a responsibility to do "girly" things with them. As un-"girly" as I am, I want to make sure this is an equal opportunity household; while I almost never paint my own nails, I painted all of the girls toenails that night. It was a first for the twins, and they are still strutting around barefoot whenever they get the chance, and proclaiming, "Nail polish!"

Cute feet, right? Even cuter girls that go with them!

This is how most attempts at a group picture end.

Baby Mary is 2 Months Old!

2011-09-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably, Mary is two months old! She continues to be the easiest. baby. ever. Hands down. I realize this whole post is just one big jinx, but she is just so, so good. She's sleeping through the night most nights now, sometimes waking once around 4, but she nurses and goes right back to sleep. She's easy to please. She doesn't need a pacifier, a swaddle blanket, or a swing to go to sleep (go figure! I didn't know babies came that way!), and is the best car companion, thankfully! She happily falls asleep in her car seat while out in the morning shuttling her sisters all over the place. She only cries when she's hungry, or really tired. She tolerates being roused, changed and stuffed into her car set at an ungodly hour for a brand new baby every day, and she does it all with a smile. I've only nearly forgotten her once in the rush to get Megan to school - oops! I blame her easy nature. Since she doesn't make a peep in the morning as she watches the girls get ready in the morning, I forget she's there! I really do need to start counting heads, or just confirming that the van is entirely full before we go anywhere. That's an indication that we've got all of our kids :)

We really could not ask for a more mellow baby. And she's so happy, too! When she's awake, her favorite activities are smiling, getting talked to, and having her chin tickled. We're happy to oblige. As are four big girls. Oh, wait, excuse me, two big girls and two big babies. You don't want to mistakenly call Tessa and Annie big girls, or you'll get a glare, arms folded across their chest, and a "You talk me big girl. I'm a big baby!" Did I mention how easy Mary is? Maybe because she can't talk yet...

Good Help is Hard to Find

2011-09-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

In this house, we take all the help we can. Often, it's from a willing and eager two-year-old, who is always nearby (unless she's not, and then I'm really worried, since she's probably doing something very unhelpful!).

When it comes to helping Mary, they jump at the chance. Like today, when Tessa informed me that Mary had spit up on herself in her bouncer in the kitchen. I was in the middle of washing breakfast dishes, so I tossed Tessa a towel, and she went right to work gently wiping her sister's chin.

This kind of help is free, so I'm not complaining. But, it would be nice to not have to scold that same help for being too helpful. "Don't sit on the baby!!" is what I found myself yelling not one minute later. These helpers try very hard, though, and only want baby kisses in payment. Those kisses are gentle, most of the time...

Poor Mary!

But, look -- she's still smiling!

And she has a little lamb :)

These little helpers are slightly more qualified:

and Bridget has come a long way since her own 2-year-old antics while helping Mommy :)
- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Attention Shoppers!

2011-09-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

I think I've become immune to the barrage of comments I get on a daily basis when out with the girls. It's very normal for strangers to feel the need to point, make a beeline to talk to us, and usually ask lots of nosy questions, all while I'm trying my best to make my errands as quick and uneventful as possible. It's typical that a 10-minute stop at Walgreens will turn into a 30-minute adventure, as we politely answer questions from cashiers, shoppers, and even homeless people. A few days ago, I even had a random older Filipino man pull out his wallet and offer me $20 to go get the girls a nice treat because he thought they were so cute. Let me tell you, it took a lot to hand that back. Who turns down $20?! I don't normally, but that was just way too weird. (The homeless man sitting nearby with his grocery cart full of recycling had to pick his jaw up off the ground as he muttered to me, "I would not have given that back!")

The twins definitely get the most attention, and I might be especially used to the questions in this arena. Maybe my lifetime's experience responding to the "Ooh, are you twins?", "Who's oldest?", "Are you identical or fraternal?", and "Who's the evil twin?" was really just preparing me for my current attention-drawing situation. While most moms of twins (or more) list these types of questions as a major frustration while shopping, I don't mind as much -- it's all very normal to me.

And since it's all so normal to me, I've never thought the girls were either listening or paying attention as I made small talk with curious fellow shoppers. Obviously, I wasn't giving the girls enough credit.

Recently, while at Target with all five girls for a grand total of about five minutes, Megan turned to me and said, "Mommy, why is everyone asking you if they're all yours?". I guess she was paying attention after all :) (I'm not sure why this question is so popular. Who rounds up extra kids to take to a store like Target?? I'm usually in favor of as few children as possible on errands like that. I certainly wouldn't be volunteering to take my neighbor's kids, too!)

And a few days ago, after picking Bridget up at preschool, I recounted what we'd done while she was at school. When I told her I went to the drugstore with Mary and the twins, she said, "Oh, did the lady there ask if they're itwentical?" Leave it to a 4-year-old to turn the most ~~annoying~~ asked questions into a delightful combination.

And since I can't end this without some pictures, here are my little attention-getters. I'd probably stop to talk to them too :)

(these "coffee-store" loving girls were the near-recipients of that $20)
- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

The Fruit of Our Labor

2011-09-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to really get into the spirit of Labor Day last weekend, and do some hard labor around the house. And when I say "we," I mean Matt! Since he made the mistake of asking me if there was anything I wanted to get done over the weekend, I immediately suggested that he do a project that's been on our to-do list for a while: creating frames for our bathroom mirrors. (Matt was super excited about this!! This was going to be way more fun than watching football!)

Although we finished remodeling this bathroom shortly after the twins were born, we never quite finished the mirrors. I had wanted framed mirrors, but we got these large ones with the intent that they would be temporary, and that we'd buy nicer ones when we had the money. Well, over two years later, they were still bugging me every time I walked into the room. They just looked so boring and unfinished to me, and there's always something more important to spend that money on in this house!

So, while I occupied our dress-up crew with coloring, Matt got to work.

Actually, they "helped" him a little.

We're all pretty happy with the result. Even Matt, who thought they looked "fine" before, admitted that it was a good idea.

And, the girls are in love with their handy daddy's work. Or, in love with looking at themselves in the new mirrors...

some more than others!

Tessa

One Month Old

2011-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Mary: "What is this? I hope you're not suggesting we do this every month."

Unnamed Photographer: "Yes. That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

Mary: "We'll see about that."

2011-09-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

One of these kids is doing his own thing.

Summer Fun, Continued

2011-09-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. Enough already witht the hot tub pictures, right? But they're just so cute. I can't help it! Plus, years from now, how else will we be able to prove to the girls that they weren't deprived children? We need as many pictures of them having fun as possible. And, these days, fun = playing in the water. Although school has started, there's still plenty of time left in the afternoon for a little dip in the hot tub!

Megan has been swimming from one end of the hot tub to the other. Yes, it's a hot tub, and she's swimming all of the way across. We've got an athlete on our hands!

This one's more of a sun bather. Too bad she lives in the wrong city for that!

Annie's full of something. I'm not sure what she's plotting here, but she thinks it's pretty funny.

A little more serious here. Tessa's on the right.

Of course, fun in the hot tub should not be confused with this variety of water fun:

I think these days are numbered, since I'm not sure there's room for Mary here.

I guess "fun" is relative.

Smiley Face

2011-09-07T17:19:00.001-07:00

She eats.
She poops.
She sleeps.
And now...

She smiles!

Mary caught me off guard today when I took her to my OB appointment for my post-partum checkup. She was all smiles in the waiting room, and I was so glad I had my phone handy to catch this new skill that has eluded the camera until now.

I love this little glimpse of her personality!

Bridget's Turn

2011-09-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

This back-to-school wreath made it onto our front porch in time for one child's first day, thanks to a random burst of creativity on my part, and inspiration from my new favorite time-suck Pinterest. (I highly recommend if you're wanting to feel inadequate and unproductive. There will be plenty of projects and ideas posted there by crafty strangers to make you feel both of those things, and more.)

(Megan helped with the writing, and they all helped put crayons on the wreath)
Look, not only did I make a cute wreath; I also managed to get Bridget to school on time with her hair done, and take a picture! Maybe I'm productive after all.

Although Megan started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago, Bridget has been (not so) patiently waiting for her big day. While she's been anxious to make her debut in the big-kid Starlite Room (and not so subtly detailing what outfits she'll be wearing while Megan wears the same uniform every day), I've secretly enjoyed having her at home being a little mommy to Tessa and Annie. She plays with them in a totally different way than she does with Megan around. It's much quieter and there's much less drama without two kids who think they're the boss! Bridget relishes any opportunity to be in charge, and has created many games that, coincidentally, leave her playing the principal, the mommy, the bus driver, the queen...you get the drift. She's lucky she has two willing participants!

Yesterday was Bridget's orientation and a parent meeting. I wasn't worried about Bridget playing nicely in the Starlite Room during my meeting, but I was worried about wrangling the twins and Mary while getting to know the other parents. As it turned out, the twins were fairly quiet, only occasionally coming out of whisper mode with their, "No! I'm the mommy! You're the baby." Back and forth while shoving graham crackers in each others' mouths :) And Mary cried -- gasp! So much for all of my bragging about what an easy baby she is!

Of course, we couldn't leave without a picture. This is Bridget we're talking about, after all. And she needed to have a picture of her block creation. So I took this while I tried to keep Tessa from stuffing little wooden bears in her pockets. Little klepto! Meanwhile, Annie is already earning a reputation from all of the teachers as the Stecher spitfire. I can't really disagree with that assessment!

The 3 middle kids :) It doesn't look like too bad of a gig.

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Already?!

2011-09-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Nowhere in our kindergarten handbook did we receive information on how to handle a situation like this.

In the middle of dinner tonight, after Megan filled us in on what she did away from the house for 6.5 hours, she suddenly became extremely giddy but shy at the same time, and then dropped this bomb:

"Okay, I'm not sure how to really tell you this, so I'll just say it right now. Well, Brendan asked me to be his girlfriend, and well, I said YES! Do you believe that?!"

Homeschooling is looking pretty good right about now.

I guess I'm being kind of a killjoy considering how excited she was at this little conversation (I mean, if she could write, she'd probably be under her covers with a flashlight right now documenting this in her diary), but in kindergarten?? I don't even want the words boyfriend and girlfriend to be part of her vocabulary.. Maybe when she's, oh, 21. Maybe. Since when is 5 the new 21? And, how young is too young to enter the convent?

There's Something About Mary

2011-08-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This will not be the last post with a cheesy Mary title. It's just too fun and the possibilities are endless.

Mary is a month old!! I wish I had some great photos of her in cute little outfits, documenting how she's grown over the last few weeks. But, my reality leaves me very little down time with my camera. Especially this past week when school started, I'm lucky if I can change her out of her pajamas and keep toddler hands away from Mary while I go about the day. The camera is usually not close by, and taking pictures is the last thing on my mind!

However, I do find myself taking pictures with my phone, since I usually have that handy. And, most of the shots I've taken of Mary this past month have been during our quiet moments in the evening after the big girls are in bed. I love this time of night!!! No matter how busy we are during the day, and how much Mary is largely ignored and schlepped around, she has Matt and I all to herself after about 8pm. Cuddling with a tiny newborn is the sweetest way to end your day, I'm telling you!! Especially this baby. There's just something about Mary (I warned you about the cheesiness) that makes her sweeter, easier and more patient than her sisters ever were.

I realize many of these pictures are very similar looking, and that's because most were taken while Mary was on my lap, or on my shoulder, although there are a few with her in the girls' laps too. And even a sleepy smile too :)

Did I mention how mellow and easy she is? Well, in the event that she's ever unhappy, she's a sucker for a little foot massage. And I can't resist obliging :)

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

3 Days In...

2011-08-24T09:41:00.001-07:00

We're only 3 days into kindergarten. It's going to be 12 LONG school years for Megan if our experience yesterday is any indication of the emotional drama in our future. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise to me that raising school-age girls pretty much equals drama, but I really felt the weight of it yesterday afternoon.

Our day started well. Matt was home to take Megan to school, and I was left with the other four. I decided to take the younger girls to Target, and I was feeling so proud of myself. They were all amazingly well-behaved and we got everything we needed. Now, I should add that a key part of my winning strategy at the game of shopping Target with toddlers in tow is Starbucks. Not for me -- for them. Before we even start throwing unnecessary items in our shopping cart, each kid gets a little bag of coffee cake to keep them fed/entertained. And yesterday, they even had a little bottle of OJ to share.

Fast forward to picking Megan up from school. Not only am I on time -- I am early! I know, this is turning into a banner day!! The little girls were running around in the schoolyard, playing nicely, making me look like a pretty ok mom.

And then, Megan's class was released to the yard. Megan was all smiles when she saw us, and i could tell she was about ready to burst with details about her day...until she saw the OJ bottle still in Bridget's hand. And then, all hell broke loose!!!

I can't believe something as innocuous as a juice bottle ultimately had me dragging a screaming, crying Megan back to the car, all the while juggling Mary in the sling and trying to propel three other little people across the expanse of the school yard as fast as possible. Megan was...hysterical!! Just crazy. A No-talking-rationally-with-her kind of hysterical. All because she didn't have a juice as well. I did not see that one coming.

Of course, Megan was overly tired from her first real day of school, but she continued with the drama (door-slamming, tears, demanded privacy when she changed out of her uniform) until she was fast asleep at naptime.

Oy! Are we really staring down the barrel of 12 years of this multiplied by 5 girls??

Pray for us.

p.s. My secret weapon in negotiating with this crazy kindergartner? I very nonchalantly told her that I needed to go call her principal to tell her that Megan wasn't ready for kindergarten, and that she needed to go back to preschool.

I know, this was pure evil, but it worked like a charm :).

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Let the School Daze Begin!

2011-08-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's official! We have a kindergartner. I know I should be happy and proud about this, but all I can do is gasp at how quickly the last five years have passed, and worry that the next several years will pass just as quickly...

But, I'll just focus on the cute right now. Like this. I'm pretty sure Megan had the biggest fan club in her schoolyard this morning.

And, speaking of mornings, I'm not quite prepared for this school year that will require me to be up and out of the house with five kids, one of whom needs to have a lunch that I will supposedly pack at some point, by 7:30am. Yikes!! Not only do I have a kindergartner, but I am suddenly a bona fide MOM!! The lunch-making, car-schlepping, permission-slip signing type. Can't they just stay home with me forever? OK, I guess they can, but then I'd be the homeschooling mom, and let's face it, that would be even more work for me! Catholic school it is.

(Mommy is the guilty party responsible for these bangs.)

Tahoe 2011

2011-08-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, 9 days old is an ideal time to take an infant on vacation! At least, that's what we're telling ourselves now that we're home from a quick trip to Tahoe to give the girls some much deserved beach time. Mary was along for the ride, and has proven that she's a Tahoe baby! Some babies don't do very well with the altitude there, but Mary had her best nights of sleep so far there, giving us a six hour stretch one night! I think she decided she needs to go with the flow with this crazy family -- she is our most mellow baby yet. I really hope I'm not jinxing us by writing that here!!

We spent four days in Tahoe this year, a lot less than our normal two weeks, but it was just enough time for the girls to build some sandcastles,

go snorkeling (or at least try the snorkels on),

don their "floaties" for some dips in the lake,

ride Daddy the Whale a few times,

and soak up some sun.

In the past, we've always prided ourselves on getting the girls to nap on the beach every day, more for our own sake than theirs'. It was always nice to be able to relax for an hour or two, and maybe play a card game or read a book. Well, our napping tent didn't see much napping this year. Tessa did take a nap one day,

but otherwise, it was just another play spot.

And, Mary was there at the beach with us! She was as relaxed as can be in her car seat most of the time, parked under an umbrella.

She, and the other girls, made it into a big Stecher cousin picture, too. And even though we stayed with Cecchin cousins at our cabin in South Lake Tahoe, we forgot to get a group shot of all of the kids.

Maybe the trip was worth it. These girls look like they had an okay time.

Can someone rescue this baby from excessive petting?

And this family picture won't be hanging on our wall anytime soon. Maybe we'll position ourselves a little better next year, and not have us all look right into the sun :)

Megan is a Cougar!

2011-08-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Not that kind of cougar, people! She's only five, after all :)

She's a St. Stephen Cougar! An official little Catholic school girl, she now has her school uniform. I guess she really is about to start kindergarten, as much as I would like to pretend it's not happening.

Megan, Mary and I set out yesterday to buy her uniform at her new school, and then headed to the mall for a new backpack and ice cream. She's pretty easy to please! Actually, I had my two easiest kids for the afternoon :) Mary slept the entire time and Megan played quietly on my phone during our one stop to nurse the baby. Without two two-year-olds peeing their pants every 5 minutes, I was in kid heaven!

Here's Megan sporting a new-to-her St. Stephen polo that was handed down to us. She insisted on wearing it yesterday. Happy girl...

and even happier here!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Bridget's Digits

2011-08-01T20:51:00.001-07:00

As much as we'd like to bask in Newbornville over here, these big girls of ours just keep getting bigger. I'm not sure how four years has passed since Bridget was born, but it must be so because she just had her 4-year check-up -- at the same time that Mary had her 4-day weigh-in. Bridget was elated (is that a strong enough word? I'm not sure) to go to the doctor with Mommy and Mary!! Leaving the other girls home and walking out the door with our resident superstar baby had Bridget on cloud nine!! No matter that she had two shots coming -- she didn't even cry at those!

Petite Bridget weighed in at 31 pounds and stands 38 inches.

And, thanks to a cooing baby in the audience, she sailed right through her hearing and vision tests with a smile on her face.

There's something about that little Mary. She's got her sisters wrapped around her tiny fingers. We hear "Where's my baby sister? I neeeed her!" from the twins, along with a chorus of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" all day long. And Megan and Bridget aren't tired if holding her yet. We'll see how long this spell lasts!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Mary's First Bath

2011-07-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Having a singleton after having twins is such a sweet experience! Don't get me wrong, taking care of Tessa and Annie as newborns was it's own kind of fun, but it's hard to enjoy little quiet moments with one baby while the other is waiting for their turn, usually not so patiently. No wonder so many daily activities with the twins were not as enjoyable as they should be. Most notable this time around is the joy in holding Mary after a feeding without hastily putting her down to move on to her sister; and the pleasure in changing her diaper or her clothes without continually glancing over my shoulder to entertain the baby wailing for her change; or just being able to hold her as much as she wants to be held, without feeling guilty for neglecting her sister.

Bathtime with the twins at this age was not a fun experience, so it was an unexpected joy to give Mary her first bath yesterday while all of the big girls were napping. I truly enjoyed her every grimace and sigh. Focusing all of my attention on her while she relaxed in the water was such a treat. What a difference it makes to have one baby at a time - go figure! :)

Babies No More

2011-07-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

It's funny how these little girls were the babies four days ago :(

Welcome Home, Mary!

2011-07-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Since Mary's delivery was our fourth, and my recovery has been a breeze, we decided to high-tail it out of the hospital as soon as we were cleared, which meant we were let loose when she was only 1.5 days old. I know that sounds crazy, but we really wanted to be home! I mean, if I'm going to be up in the middle of the night nursing a baby, I want to watch my DVR'd shows, not something random on the hospital TV :) And Mary needed to be introduced to her crazy household sooner than later -- we wouldn't want her to get used to the quiet or anything!

Before leaving the hospital, we dressed Mary in her coming home outfit (who were we kidding even packing a boy outfit in the hospital bag??) and took some last pictures before she came home.

More than anything, we wanted to get home to all of our big girls, and relieve some of the workload for Mop, who was working overtime. So, we came home late Tuesday night, and the girls were all thrilled to wake up to see their new baby sister on Wednesday morning. They took turns sneaking down to our bedroom for a chance to sit on our bed and hold Mary for a picture. It was really sweet that they each had a few minutes to really meet her.

Later that morning, while Mop and I took Mary for a weight check at the pediatrician (still 7 pounds, 15 ounces - holding strong very close to her birth weight of 8 pounds, 7 ounces), the big girls proved

that they're still our babies too, and that they all used to sleep in the same bassinette, some longer ago than others!

Mary, Meet Your Sisters!

2011-07-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Adding a new baby to a family is a tricky propostion, especially with four big kids to impress! Luckily, everyone has nine months to adjust to the idea, and all "big babies" can be reminded daily that a "tiny baby" will be coming along soon. You never know how they'll react when they encounter their squirmy, pink, little sibling for the first time, though. We were a little worried how the first encounter with Mary would go, but it was a lot of fun, and there were no tears. They didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl, so they came running into the hospital room on our second day, dying to know. After the initial surprise, they were all genuinely excited for a sister!

These four little mommies all wanted to hold her immediately, and couldn't stop touching her hands and exploring her umbilical cord.

They also explored every last inch of the hospital room:

and even roamed the halls showing off their sister to anyone who looked our way. We were quite the procession.

Mary looks like she'll fit in perfectly with this crew!!

Freshly Hatched

2011-07-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday started innocently enough. We were still waiting for "Five" to arrive. We went to church, where at least five older ladies informed us they were praying for a boy for us. (This proved to be the most annoying aspect of this pregnancy. The assumption that we were only trying for a boy, and would be disappointed with another girl. It couldn't have been further from the truth. But, I digress.) We came home and let the girls go swimming in the hot tub,

and I happened to get one more photo of me pregnant! Who knew it would be on the last day of my pregnancy?

When the girls all went down for their naps, Mop and I headed out to the mall. We parked in the most distant parking spot we could find, and then proceeded to walk the mall from end to end. Despite all of the walking, I only felt a few mild contractions all day. It definitely wasn't looking good on the labor front. And, as much as I wanted to go into labor on my own this time, I was beginning to feel guilty that Mop was waiting...and waiting.

Thankfully, I didn't need to worry about keeping her waiting much longer. At 10:45pm that night, just after we had all gone to bed, Matt and I were up watching a new episode of "Breaking Bad," and I immediately started to contract every two minutes. It was kind of surreal. There's nothing like being in your pajamas and glasses, knowing you really should be getting your butt out of bed and getting dressed again. So, we waited until the end of the show just to make sure this was the real deal, and then began to get dressed, put contacts back in, and get the essentials in the car. The contractions really started to pick up in intensity, and by the time we arrived at the hospital a little after midnight, they were less than two minutes apart, and taking my breath away. I measured 4cm in the OB triage, so they allowed me to be admitted, but I had to be administered a four-hour round of antibiotics for testing positive for strep B, so they were hoping I wouldn't move too quickly. We were transported upstairs where the anesthesiologist performed an epidural just as things were getting even more uncomfortable. And, in an effort to wait things out, they decided to not break my water, and hope that I could relax and sleep for a few hours to get the full round of antibiotics. About five hours later, I really felt like the baby was coming, and in my first round of pushing, my water bag broke, shooting water in a huge rush across the room. It was very glamorous, let me tell you!!

Two more rounds of pushing was all we needed for Five to finally appear, at 7:27am, and she was a GIRL!! Even though I fully expected her to be a girl, I was still really surprised! Matt was shocked, since he'd started believing the baby to be a boy too. She was perfect! I had a chance to hold her for a few minutes and nurse her before the nurse weighed her. She seemed so tiny, but she weighed a very healthy 8 pounds, 7 ounces. (Somehow, Tessa and Annie each weighed nearly two pounds less than her!! And Megan and Bridget each weighed an even heftier 8 pounds, 10 ounces.)

Then it was bath time, and I'm so glad Matt took pictures, because I was sooo sleepy, I drifted off for most of this activity.

Next, she was diapered and bundled up!

Welcome to the world, Mary Adele!

July 25, 2011

7:27am

Mary Adele is Here!

2011-07-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

Five girls!

Our little surprise baby has arrived, and she's a girl!!

Weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces, Mary Adele is 20 inches long and the jury's out on who she resembles. It changes hourly, but today, at nearly 3 days old, she now looks the most like Megan at the same age.

As for Megan, who was adamant we were having a boy, there have been no hard feelings about not having a "boy sister."

We've been home 24 hours now, and Mary is pretty popular around here. The girls are in love! We've got lots more photos to share, just as soon as I have a chance to sit down to the computer. For now, these phone pictures will have to do.

And, finally, all of our girls!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Transition

2011-07-22T22:03:00.001-07:00

Nope. I'm not at that stage of labor yet. We're patiently waiting, but also appreciating the time we have left as a family of six before the baby arrives. Things will change, for the better in many ways, but there will definitely be a big transition for all of us.

So, to document our relative quiet household (no newborn cries or sleepless nights), and our everyday moments, I thought I'd clear some photos off my phone.

Some good ol' iPad entertainment:

"Buddies" Bridget and Tessa bonding on the water table:

One of Bridget's many interesting outfits:

Our little fish Megan:

And our babies who won't be the babies very much longer. This might be the hardest transition!

Is there room for a fifth on there?

Or here?

And these babies are fascinated with all of the "new baby" things sprouting up around the house. They've succeeded in peeing on a freshly washed infant car seat (I'm looking at you, Annie!) and playing Mommy and baby with the infant bath tub that just came out of hiding.

At least the baby bath tub is a little more water, er, pee-proof.

Maybe Five is waiting for Tessa and Annie to be totally potty-trained before he or she adds to the chaos. I may set a gestational record if that's the case!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Fun in the Sun

2011-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

In our effort to find some true summer heat last week, I headed down the peninsula to the Rinconada Pool in Palo Alto with my friend Dana and her kids, and succeeded in enjoying some heat, the best toddler pool ever, and, even better, no water birth! Managing seven kids five and under poolside was a major feat for Dana and me, but it worked wonderfully. It helped a little that her 15-month-old can swim a few feet underwater on her own!!! So, we kind of didn't need to worry as much about her :)

It was my first time wearing a swimsuit in a while. In fact, as we were getting dressed for the day, the girls were a little thrown off by my attire. Or, maybe they didn't know swim suits were made that large. Either way, me going swimming with them was pretty novel. Novel enough that I agreed to a picture, as long as the girls completely surrounded me :)

Megan and Paige were little fish at this pool! They never got tired of jumping in and out of the water, or of the little water slide that shoots kids into 3 feet of water. It was the perfect height for Megan to land under water, but still right herself on her own and touch the ground. She was so confident in this pool, thanks in large part to her lessons!

Bridget and her buddy Jimmy were more content taking breaks now and then. It wasn't a big surprise to see Bridget behave like this around the water, but I'm glad she found a kindred spirit in Jimmy!

And, the twins were pretty happy all day, sliding and wading in the water. I did make them wear life jackets for most of the day, which wasn't the biggest hit. The "gobbles," which I only had one pair of, of course, were a bigger hit, though! Tessa's a little happier in this picture :)

If I wasn't worried about going into labor so far away from the house, I would be heading to this pool mach more often!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-07-16T00:03:00.001-07:00

Today was my birthday, and while it's hard to carve out time to appreciate that at 38 weeks pregnant, with the normal goings-on of four little ones, Matt and the girls made sure it was pretty special. I woke up to a round of "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" even from Tessa and Annie, who definitely grasp the birthday thing. They even get that Sara's birthday was today too, and that we're twins like them.

So far, my favorite present has been not delivering today!! Although, since the day is not over yet, and everything points to a very quick delivery this time around, I'm hoping I haven't spoken too soon on this point.

I actually had an appointment with my OB this afternoon, which is always a nice break. Hey, it's not a massage or anything, but it is time alone in the car and peace and quiet. I love it :). She examined me, and I'm 2 cm dilated, which means the baby could come any day, but she'd be surprised if I went any longer than a week more. Yikes!!

This will be our first non-induced (is that a word??) delivery, and I'm excited to see how it goes -- specifically, how fast!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Bridget's Big 0-4

2011-07-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

We seem to have a knack for having babies right after our other little one's birthdays. Megan's 3rd birthday was 10 days before the twins were born, and Bridget's 4th was days before Five is due to arrive. In both cases, I was not prepared to host a big party at our house! I was so grateful to Grandma and Grandpa Stecher for hosting Megan's party, and now am indebted to Matt's Aunt Anne (Auntie Anne, if you ask the girls) for offering to host a Stecher July birthday party at her house, complete with swimming for the kids. We all had a blast, and Bridget still felt like a little princess.

We did make a cake for our birthday girl, complete with a rainbow, her current obsession. ("Mommy, when are you going to buy rainbow nail polish for me?" "Mommy, if the baby is a girl, we can name her Rainbow." "Can you knit me a rainbow blanket?" "We should paint the kitchen rainbow." I could go on.) Rainbows are also pretty fascinating to the twins, who are now experts at colors, too! So, Bridget was delighted with her (very amateurly decorated) cake made by Mommy, and even posed with it on the morning of her party.

Once we arrived at Anne's, the girls wasted no time getting lathered in sunblock and jumping in the pool. But, true to form, Bridget demurely exited the pool after about 20 minutes. She's just not as into the water as the other three, and can often be found sitting poolside, quietly waiting for the next activity,

or hamming it up for the camera.

Meanwhile, Megan stayed in the pool for the entire afternoon, taking long enough breaks to scarf down little hot dogs (this was a Stecher party!!) and baby carrots. Her swimming lessons, while not shaping her into an Olympic swimmer - yet! - have completely transformed her confidence in the water. She loves it, and her enthusiasm has managed to spread to Tessa and Annie.

Finally, Bridget's favorite moment arrived - present time!! She was dressed again and ready to tear open some gifts,

and blow out some candles.

I think she had an okay time. She looks just a little happy in this picture, doesn't she? ;)

But, the fun didn't end there. She woke up the next morning for her actual birthday. We gave her presents that night, along with some rainbow sherbet left over from the party, but the highlight was definitely the robe she received that day in the mail from Aunt Jenny. As if we didn't already suspect we had a little movie star in the making...

Happy Birthday, little Bridget!

Happy Birthday, Bridget!

2011-07-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our little Bridget is four today! On honor of our "Wish Baby" (born at 11:11pm on the 11th) getting so big, I wanted to post a trip down memory lane. Here she is at birth, and every year for the next four!

Happy Birthday, sweet Bridget!!

Our Little Swimmer

2011-07-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so she's not quite swimming independently yet. But, Megan's made a lot of progress in the last few weeks of swimming lessons at SI. No one is more excited than me to be done with the daily trek for her 30-minute lesson each weekday. Four weeks of running out of the house with all four girls, keeping the other three from drowning while outfitting Megan near the pool with her goggles, observing the lesson for a very short half-hour, and then shuttling everyone home afterwards is too much for this pregnant mom right now. And, for the last two weeks, since we began potty training, we've worked in at least one trip to the fun bathrooms at SI each day, whether or not anyone really needed to go ;) So much for a relaxing summer break!

After four weeks of daily lessons, Megan has proved that she:

loves the individual attention of being the only one to go swimming!
loves her "stripey" swimsuit! Thanks, Aunt Sara!
doesn't mind the frigid temperature of the water at SI
is definitely mature enough for these big kid lessons. Thanks to Daddy working at SI, she snuck into a program that is really just for the 6 and up set.
can't wait to jump off of the high dive!
has mastered putting her head under water, both with her trusty goggles and without.
jumps from the edge, kicks, floats and "swims" like a pro, all with assistance from one of her high-school age instructors (most notably her favorite named Megan)
Of course, while all of this swimming was going on daily, the little girls and I got to watch from a glass-enclosed observation area above the pool. The twins had a blast knocking on the glass constantly, yelling, "Hi, Megan! I see you!" Bridget enjoyed dressing up each day and bringing a different toy to share with another swimmer's younger sister. She can't wait to join in the swimming fun herself, though.

I think the highlight for all four girls, though, was just being at Daddy's school daily, and running around like maniacs on the stairs and ramps outside of the gym before finally getting back in the car. Here they are playing on the ramp to the tennis courts.

Maybe we'll make swimmers out of these city kids after all!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Summer In (And Out Of) The City

2011-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Summer in San Francisco.

This is usually the time of year that we head out of the city as much as possible to escape the fog and find some nice, dry heat and water! I've been here for over 10 years, and I'm still not used to the fact that we never have a true, hot summer. I really miss the sprinklers, backyard pool, hot pavement and 100+ temperatures I experienced as a kid, even more so now with our own kids. We usually spend a few weeks in Tahoe to get out of the fog, but this summer will be a little different due to my delicate condition :). So, we're forced to stay a little closer to home.

We have been lucky in the last few weeks, though, to head out of town to both the east bay and then Sacramento, and we enjoyed every extra degree in temperature!! We soaked up the sun at Brandon and Brianna's birthday party in hot, hot Loomis,

where we also managed to get all of the Raley cousins together for a picture.

These girls were pooped by the time we left for the drive home!

Amazingly, though, we've had a few of our own hot days at home, too. It's always a very pleasant surprise when the fog burns off and it's actually nice. Nice enough for water balloons,

playing outside on our slide that's too small for 3 and 5-year-olds,

but perfect for little ones playing with the hose,

and even a backyard picnic and swimming in the baby pool.

We bought this pool the other day day on a whim. It will be worth it, even though it will probably only make a few appearances in the yard. As much as I love taking the girls anywhere with water, it can get a little dicey if it's anywhere besides a splash park. Actual deep water with all four is a little past my capabilities, even for this former lifeguard, who happens to be as slow and as big as a whale right now.. So, water in our backyard it is!!

Here's hoping for some more hot days in our own backyard!!

Waiting on Five

2011-06-30T17:44:00.002-07:00

This may be one of our last family photos as a family of six. Matt and I enjoyed about 24 hours away from home (kid-free!) for our friends' wedding in Carmel a couple weeks ago. We got this shot before we left the girls with Mop and Uncle Kyle. We had a great time at Carla and Tyler's wedding, and appreciated the chance to get away before we're homebound again for a while after this baby arrives!

Four Girls at Play

2011-06-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just being sentimental as our era with four little girls is nearing an end, but I can't resist collecting pictures of all four girls playing together, and putting them all in one place. We're so lucky that they do play together nicely (most of the time), and seem to enjoy almost all of the same activities. There's something very unique about them being all girls and so close in age. They all even get a kick out of the same cartoons (no eye-rolling at "baby shows" yet, although I'm sure that is coming soon). They all love everything princess, playing school, playing doctor, reading, playing with baby dolls, coloring, tea parties, and dancing -- really, everything girl! In no particular order, these are the things I've captured them all doing lately:

Reading books (in various states of undress)

Huddling in some sort of secret club on the front walk

The beginning of a tea party

Playing with Little People post-bath

Hard at work coloring in the kitchen

Getting some use from our long-neglected treadmill

Having a dance party on the hot tub cover

Playing "train" on the slide

Of course, we'll have many more pictures of our five playing together, hopefully just as nicely. I'm really wondering whether there will be cars and trains in those pictures, though!

More Zoo Fun

2011-06-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

We hit up the zoo again recently, and relished one of our last outings as a family of six. It's funny how my perspective has changed so much. Suddenly, four kids is very manageable, and five will be a whole new kind of chaos. Our annual passes are still valid at the zoo for a few more months, so we're taking advantage, especially since the girls really enjoy it there. Tessa and Annie even got into their checklists this time. Annie was very serious about checking off each animal.

The children's farm was a bigger hit this time with the twins, too. They loved petting and feeding the goats, which was a big change from our last trip that involved hysterical crying when the goats came close.

By far, though, the highlight of this trip was the unlimited carousel rides for zoo members on the day we went. Score! Yes, the girls love seeing the animals at the zoo, but even the baby gorilla's somersault show can't compete with the irresistible carousel. So, when it's free, we're there! They were able to ride maybe 4 or 5 times before we had to head back home for naps. Of course, 5 times is not enough when they were pretty sure they could go "infinity times." Another wonderful outing ended in tantrums. But, there were smiles, which is what we took pictures of!

Soccer Comes to an End

2011-06-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

Our first soccer season is over, and we've had fun! I have to say that the biggest challenge to this first activity of ours was getting there on time. I had to wake up all four girls from naps to get to practice on time (We paid for an activity to cut naptime short?? What was I thinking??), and I always underestimated how long it would take to gear up two sleepy, cranky kids, change two more kids' diapers, and load all of those kids in the car. Invariably, we were the last to run onto the soccer field. I really need to work on my time management before I'm juggling five kids' activities!

Time on the sidelines during practice often looked like this. The twins were pretty occupied with sippies and their own soccer ball while we watched Megan keep up with the boys on her team, and Bridget play sharks and minnows with her team.

Games on Saturdays were a different variety of chaos.

The first step before getting out the door was getting dressed, Megan's favorite part. This was especially true when her game days coincided with Matt's baseball games. He'd be rushing out the door, and missed a few of her games because of his baseball schedule, but his absences were completely made up by the fact that they coincidentally shared the same number. Thank you, uniform gods! :)

The next step on game days? Getting there. It would seem like an easy task, especially since the games were played on a field in our neighborhood, a short five-minute walk from our house. Of course, like everything else, this simple task was always harder in our case. When Matt was free, it was great! He would help Megan on her bike,

and I would pull the girls in the wagon. Why couldn't they walk? Good question. Pure laziness on their part, I guess. Why walk when your very pregnant mom can pull you? All you need to do is act like you could run out into the street at any moment, and she'll jump at the chance to contain you, even if it means that she may go into preterm labor from the workout.

Sometimes, Megan was willing to help me out.

But, there was more than one time that I carted all four girls back from the game in the wagon. Megan can definitely squeeze herself in there when she's tired enough!

As for the games themselves, Megan officially made contact with the ball twice! She also played goalie once. And, she did lots of running! Even though she was teamed up with some boys that had been playing soccer for a while, this little beginner wasn't discouraged. She fell more than a few times on the field, and got right back up for more each time. I'm not sure if she'll be overly eager to play soccer in the fall with her kindergarten class, but we gave it a whirl.

We're already on to the next activity - swimming lessons at SI! Megan loves it, and is slated for four weeks of lessons, with lessons four days a week. So far, we've survived week one. There's no wagon involved on the sidelines here, just lots of holding hands and preventing toddlers from jumping in the water. Three more weeks to go, assuming I don't go into labor before those three weeks are up!

We Have a Graduate!

2011-06-02T23:10:00.000-07:00

Megan graduated from preschool today!!

Part of me is very sad that this year is over and that she's going to be a kindergartner before we know it. That part of me should also have cried at the cute little ceremony the kids put on. Even the teachers were crying! I was just too busy trying to get my camera to take a decent picture, all while holding a coughing, fidgety Tessa, that it didn't even occur to me to get weepy. What kind of mother am I? I guess too busy to even shed a tear at my own kid's momentous occasion. Maybe #5 will get my undivided attention as they are handed their tiny diploma, and I'll have a moment to feel sentimental.

The other part of me (and this part won out) is just overjoyed at the fact the year is over, and I'm really glad that it's summer vacation!! Running out of the house five days a week with these four girls in tow has become more and more exhausting, especially as this pregnancy has me becoming less and less mobile. I am more than ready for some lazy summer days around this house!

Our little graduate was all smiles today, and was so happy to finally show off the dance moves her class has been rehearsing all month. She's been asking for months, "When am I going to be done with the Starlite Room?" I think it was clear to her today that she is now officially done!

Here she is in the middle of the line-up, yawning, just to show what she thinks about preschool now :)

I couldn't resist getting some pictures of Megan with her closest buddies that will be going to kindergarten with her in the fall. These girls are among a handful of kids that she'll know from preschool and church, and she'll be in the same class with them for the next eight years, since our parish school has just one class per grade. I'm hoping they get along!! It'll be fun to compare these preschool graduation photos with their 8th grade poses.

Megan and Arianna

I promise that Megan is a very average height and Arianna is a very tall girl, but, oh my gosh, Megan really looks shrimpy here!!

Megan and Bryn

These two have been making little notes for each other for the last few weeks. They have a really cute little friendship. Bryn is the youngest of four kids, and Megan is (temporarily) the oldest of four kids. Maybe they can compare notes over the years and see who's worse off!

This next picture could simply be entitled "Jealousy." Actually, Bridget was upset that Megan got to hold the flowers in this picture. This makes me want to cry. Poor girl.

She was much happier in the next few pictures!

Since Megan's graduated, we decided it's high time she start pulling her weight, er, maybe pushing some weight around here.

The OC, continued

2011-06-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

Before we head down to Orange County yet again in less than a week (these girls are spoiled!!), I need to get the remaining pictures on here from our Easter trip. We had an amazing time, and while the girls may be spoiled by their Mop and Pop time, I'm also pretty spoiled down there. For this Easter trip, I was alone with the girls for a few days while Matt's baseball team played in a tournament in San Luis Obispo. Normally, I would be terrified of multiple days alone with all of the kids (yes, did I mention how spoiled I am? Obviously, Matt rarely travels for work so I'm not often exposed to this horror), but Mop actually met us in San Luis Obispo to help me with the rest of the drive (and with the girls!). Having her in the van with me to crawl in the back and break out the potty, fetch dropped lovies and reload the DVD player made the trip way faster and more enjoyable!! Of course, having Mop's and Pop's help once we arrived was appreciated, too!!

Before we left San Luis Obispo, we loaded up on hamburgers and hotdogs and the girls burned some energy on the outdoor deck of the burger joint.

Our first activity, once we were settled the next day, was hitting up Pretend City in Irvine, a children's museum that looks like a little town, complete with street signs, little cars for the kids to drive, stores, a fire station, a post office, a construction zone, a restaurant, a little house, and an arts and crafts area. The kids could "work" in all of the different locations to earn pretend money, and even stamped their time cards at each job. They had a blast!!

Megan and Bridget are working at the grocery store here,

and Annie (left) and Tessa are driving their little car.

The house under construction kept Bridget and the twins busy for a while,

and all of the girls made themselves at home in the completed house.

We all had a great time until we were walking out. We were under the impression that there would be an area for the kids to buy little trinkets with their pretend money, and that turned out not to be the case. Instead, we were herded right through an overpriced gift shop, where the girls each wanted to pick out something to buy with their money. Pretend City quickly became Tantrum City as we had to forcibly remove four crying, cranky kids.

Luckily, the crankiness didn't last too long, and the girls were pretty well-behaved the rest of the trip. Everything is fun at Mop and Pop's house, from the "fort" at the top of the stairs that Megan and Bridget sleep in, to feeding Charlie ice through his dog run gate, over and over again. Even the barstools in the kitchen are neato :)

Playing dress-up still ranks pretty high on the to-do list for the girls. They love to raid Mop's closet for all of her fancy shirts (that become dresses on little people), jewelry and shoes, and then put on a fashion show.

Bridget's even sporting some extrta hair here, courtesy of a fake ponytail in Mop's fun stash :)

As always, we managed to squeeze in some swimming, despite less than ideal weather conditions. It rained every day we were there, but the sun came out briefly one morning, and Tessa and Megan proved that they are definitely the water babies in our family. Unheated pool water does not bother them in the least!

Annie was much more comfortable in Pop's arms later that night :)

With my downtime, I even managed to get a photo of me pregnant! Here I am at 27 weeks:

The fun always has to come to an end, and on our last morning, the girls busied themselves playing with the old Fisher-Price toys. Annie surprised me with a little imaginative play I overheard that morning. She's talking so much now that she has little play talk between people, princesses, and even her own fingers. She has a lot to say, and can't be bothered to find a sister to share it with.

In the final stages of packing the car, we resorted to a Diego episode to keep these two occupied.

The drive home wasn't as traumatic as it's been in the past. We even scoped out a little playground and had a picnic lunch to break up the drive. Not a bad trip when you can look into the back of the van and see kids either smiling or snoring!

This Mommy's Hands...

2011-05-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

are full.

Being a mom to four (and a half) kids is challenging, but doable on my best days. Of course, those "best days" don't happen very often. Controlled chaos describes most other days. And then there are the days that have me questioning why I even leave the house. Like yesterday.

It's no secret that I'm usually cutting things close. The girls' preschool teachers will tell you that ours is almost always the last car to screech up to the drop-off zone in the morning. Girls not attending school that day may or may not be still pajama-clad. And, I put most procrastinators to shame with what I manage to put off on a daily basis. Filling up the gas tank in the minivan is one area I could improve on. There's just never a convenient time to do it. So, it's usually the flashing warning light of a too low tank that finally forces me into a gas station these days. And, that warning light will have been on a for a few days, too. I know, it's an irresponsible postion to continually put myself (and my little passengers) in. I mean, what would happen if I ran out of gas with all of the girls in the car??

Well, I can now tell you. It's fresh in my mind and not pretty. Of all places to run out of gas, I managed to do so on the maybe 1/4 mile stretch of freeway we take on the way home from the girls' preschool. (I know I would have made it home, and beyond, if not for how long it took two chatty, distracted girls to buckle themselves in at pick-up. Apparently, the only thing that drains faster than my patience is my idling, comfortably air-conditioned car's gas tank). Luckily, I was able to coast to one side, but I still had hundreds of cars careening by and honking. Not an ideal location to stop, to say the least. When I turned around to explain this litlte snafu to the girls, they took it pretty well. They each asked for a Starburst, which I was able to deliver, and Annie stated, pretty matter-of-factly as she expertly opened her Starburst wrapper, "The policeman will help us." No one seemed worried, except me. I called our roadside assistance, explained our situation, and tried to convey how major this interesction/freeway entrance was to my Geico rep, and how nearly every driver coming our way was flipping me off. Even after being patched through to the highway patrol, no one was in a huge rush to help us out in less than an hour.

At that point, even though we were technically waiting for a tow truck to arrive with gas, I decided I couldn't just sit there waiting to be rear-ended. And, since there were gas stations within sight, an actual sidewalk on the side of the freeway at that point, and crosswalks a little ways back, I unloaded the double stroller and all four girls, and we set off on our gas-getting adventure. In my mind, it was way safer and more practical than sitting, waiting for someone to hit the car. It took about 10 minutes to walk to the nearest gas station, and we were definitely the sight, between the waddling pregnant lady pushing twins and two preschoolers decked out in their beach attire for "Beach Day" at school. But, we managed to buy a little gas tank, fill it up, and make the return trip back to the car, all before any assistance arrived. I was halfway done pouring the gas in the car's tank by the time the first CHP officer arrived, and buckling the girls back in their seats when the tow truck drove up.

I'm making a vow now to never be in that situation again, and kind of hoping that at least one person reading this has had this happen to them. I can't be the only one, I hope...

After that adventure, french fries were definitely called for. We don't make a habit of frequenting the Burger King drive-thru too often, but I was not going to be cooking lunch after all of that. And, Bridget must have questioned my ability to handle the dishes, too, since she volunteered to spend her cherished five minutes of post-lunch, pre-nap free time doing them for me.

My hands are full, and things slip through the cracks -- a lot -- but I think I may be doing at least a few things right when I can still get a smile like this occasionally.

Easter 2011

2011-05-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

***Wow! I'm so frustrated with Blogger! I published this post a week ago, but late last week it was deleted without any evidence it ever existed. I guess this happened across the board with many, many blogs. Obviously, I have enough trouble keeping up with blogging as it is. The last thing I want is to have to redo a post. Anyway, here goes Version B of Easter 2011 ***

Easter was a big treat for us this year! We woke up on Easter morning at Mop and Pop's house in Orange County, where the girls mysteriously had twice the loot they would normally get at home :) As soon as they donned their new Easter dresses, they were let loose in the living room.

Tessa, ever the candy hoarder, thought she was pretty sneaky with goodies. We even had a moment right before we left for mass when we couldn't find her anywhere. Sure enough, she was tucked behind the living room sofa, unwrapping a Starburst.

Meanwhile, Annie was equally happy just holding hands with Mop during the walk to mass.

After mass, we headed to brunch at Mop and Pop's country club, and I'm not sure what the bigger hit was -- sitting next to Uncle Kyle or seeing the Easter Bunny. Megan and Bridget loved goofing off with their uncle!

What I didn't get a picture of, though, was the twins' reaction to the Easter Bunny. They had their eyes on him during the entire meal as he floated around the room, and whenever he came within 30 feet of our table, their lower lips jutted out and the waterworks started. And Tessa employed an interesting defense: she put her head down on the table, and didn't flinch for at least 20 minutes. We had a lot of people wander by with comments about the "sleeping baby" at our table. I'm sure she was never asleep, though. This is just her well-honed defense mechanism for pretending someone unsavory is not there. She also uses it when strangers approach her and Annie in their stroller to chat and coo at them. She has always been sooo shy with strangers, and will turn her head to the side and bury it in the stroller, waiting for people to walk away. Maybe she was expecting the Easter Bunny to ask which one was older, if they were twins, if they run in the family, how they were delivered, or if they were "natural." All of these seem fair game for the average fellow shopper, cashier or passer-by, so why not the Easter Bunny? ;)

Of course, now, when Annie relates the story of seeing the Easter Bunny (because she is a chatty one!!), the details have changed a little. Her version goes something like this: "I see Easter Bunny. I say hi Easter Bunny. I like Easter Bunny. Tessa no say hi. Tessa put head down on table!" Hmmm. I seem to remember Annie being pretty scarred as well. I must have that wrong...

We did manage a family shot, too, complete with my 27 week belly!

Annie

Annie (left) and Tessa (right)

The girls were pretty tuckered out after brunch, but perked up right away for an impromptu Easter Egg hunt orchestrated by Uncle Kyle!

Tessa

Annie

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful Mother's Day with Matt's family at The Olympic Club today, and managed to get a shot of me with our crew. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever get a picture with everyone looking at the camera and smiling. On a bright note, though, the girls did a great job disguising my nearly 28 week baby bump! It's always nice to have a pile of little girls to hide under :)

And, another failed attempt at a group shot...

Contrary to how it appears in the pictures above, the girls did have fun. Although Matt gave up his membership to the club almost a year ago, half of his family still belongs. We're lucky to frequent it often enough that the girls are well-acquainted with it's many kid-friendly perks. I still remember what a treat it was to join my Aunt Adele at this club when we were kids, and I'm sure the girls will have similar fond memories.

They had fun running around on the grass outside after brunch,

and Tessa savored her big girl glass of orange juice!

Annie didn't cooperate for the camera, but they all had fun making buttons in the "button room" for themselves and for me.

The best thing about The Olympic Club, though, in their eyes, is the immense dance floor that's usually deserted when we go for a non-holiday brunch. They love to pretend they're at a fancy ball, and Bridget and Megan begrudgingly take turns being the prince. Today, most of the dance floor was consumed by the brunch buffet, but they still managed to find some space to dance, with Prince Daddy to boot!

I know it's Mother's Day, but I can't resist posting these daddy-daughter dance shots. Somehow, I missed capturing Bridget's turn, though :( Maybe these will make it into some wedding slide shows in our future!

Tessa

Annie

Reading in Bed

2011-05-06T16:35:00.001-07:00

Curling up with a book in bed is one of life's many pleasures...as an adult. This is not something we've ever encouraged with the girls, though. The idea in putting them to bed is for them to go to sleep, right? So, no books in bed. End of story.

But, like most seemingly clear-cut parenting techniques, this "rule" went out the window when we had twins. Quiet and in bed currently trumps immediate sleep in Tessa and Annie's bedroom, where they each have a menagerie of small objects that have taken up residence in their cribs, including tiny figurines and stuffed animals. And, they are permitted and even encouraged to "read" in bed. Of course, down the hall, in Megan and Bridget's room, books are still not allowed. Yep, we're inconsistent like that :)

Dora books are the current naptime and bedtime favorite, and this is how I found the twins about an hour into their nap today.

Whatever works!

- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Deja Vu! (sort of)

2011-05-06T16:09:00.000-07:00

I think my mom (Mop) has been plotting out this photo re-creation since the news sunk in that she was having twin granddaughters, or at least when it first became clear just how similar Tessa and Annie are, in appearance and mannerisms, to Sara and me when we were little. It's pretty freaky, really. I think it's probably very surreal for my parents to experience this "twin-ness" all over again, especially this toddler phase! Having identical twins is not proven to be hereditary at all, so the random splitting of an egg that produces identical twins just happened to occur in back-to-back generations for us. I still believe there's something genetic there. Either way, it's very special!!

So, in an attempt to commemorate this weird little branch of our family tree, Mop actually recreated the long-lost sailor dresses that Sara and I wore for the picture below, taken when we were two years old. (All twin stuff aside, isn't she a talented seamstress?? She just whipped them up from looking at the photo!)

Once she'd finished sewing, and Tessa and Annie had received these adorable dresses for their second birthday, the ball was then in my court to recreate the original photo. Should be an easy task, right? Umm, no. Anyone with more than one child can relate to the struggle to get them to both smile for a photo. Add to that the difficulty in getting them to sit still. When they are both the same age, and you can't exactly have one hold down the other (like a toddler holding a baby), they both go running in opposite directions before you can snap even one photo. Never mind the difficulty of getting them to seat themselves in the exact positions you have in mind.

Naively, I thought I could pull this off, though. I set a date and a time to show up to Picture People with my little sailors, freshly napped, and sister-less. I even paid for said sisters to stay longer at preschool to accomplish this crazy trip to the nearest Picture People 20 miles away. Suffice to say, it did not go as planned. These sailors were a smiley hit in the waiting area, where I took the opportunity to confidently show everyone the picture I was attempting to recreate. I even had a plan for where each girl was going to sit -- Tessa behind Annie. But once the camera came out, all smiles disappeared and shyness and squirminess set in. I had granola bars, candy and milk in my arsenal to motivate them to say cheese, all to no avail. Tessa was either looking down and avoiding eye contact (her defense mechanism with strangers -- finely tuned and practiced daily when strangers accost their stroller with incessant questions and conversation about twins) or crying for the entire shoot. And, Annie kept high-tailing it out of the shot and exclaiming, "I want Mommy's camera!!"

Considering how poorly the session had gone, I didn't have high hopes for a picture to turn out, and had entirely ditched the idea of ending up with anything remotely similar to the "inspiration" photo. Luckily, one (and only one!) was halfway decent, and since I had a coupon for a free print, I "purchased" it. (Obviously, Sara and I were angels. I mean, how did we both smile like this for this photo??!! I really would like to know. Not that I'm likely to attempt something like this again. But, in the event that I do, I'll tighten up their ties and cut their bangs so they don't look quite so unkempt in comparison.)

Here are all four little sailors!

Me (left) and Sara (right)

Annie (left) and Tessa (right)

School Pictures!

2011-05-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

School pictures are in! This is highly anticipated in our house (okay, it's just me - I'm pretty sure Matt wasn't losing sleep over this), mostly because we get no proofs of the pictures before we buy a package. I know -- it's a racket! So, we buy the smallest package at $29, which is an expensive gamble considering the likelihood for a cute shot. Megan had a cute shot last year, so I was hoping for a similar outcome this year for both girls. I'm pretty happy with our cuties, and since the payments are non-refundable, I've decided it was totally worth the $29 for each girl. (I can't not get the school pics. I just can't. I guess I'm sentimental like that.)

So, without further ado, here's the last school picture of Megan without a uniform on until 2020! Since she's entering our parish's grammar school in the fall, she'll officially be a little Catholic schoolgirl next year. I think we might get tired of Megan's school pictures in the same navy sweater every year. For now, she loves picking out her own clothes every day, and especially loves wearing pink!

And, little Miss Bridget. This picture pretty accurately portrays the "School Bridget." She's as goofy and outgoing as can be at home, and is a ham for my camera, but is still a shy observer at school. I'm not surprised that she looks so shy for this picture. Still a framer, though :)

Happy Birthday to Three!

2011-04-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

With three little girls' birthdays in March, we're lucky they all seem agreeable to combining their celebrations. Tessa and Annie don't have much of a choice, but someting tells me they'll survive sharing their birthday with each other. I know someone who's a twin and she said it's not too terrible ;) As for Megan, she's just pretty agreeable by nature, and was more than happy to share her day!

Even Bridget, the odd girl out, was all smiles :)

This picture sums up Tessa's obsession with everything Dora and Diego. At two, one of her most common expressions is, "Oh, man!" complete with a dejected face and tone of voice. She's pretty picked on, obviously.

Annie was all smiles with "Clar-Clar."

And they both got the party started with some synchronized "upside downs" they'd been rehearsing for weeks.

We sang three different renditions of "Happy Birthday" so they each had their turn. And, of course, Bridget was on stand-by should anyone need some help blowing out their candles. Although we didn't have a kids party this year (and have assured Megan that those start in kindergarten in our family, despite her many detailed plans for her party this year), we had a lot of couisns there to celebrate.

Come July, Bridget will have her own party. But, she'll soon be sharing her month with Five, who will conveniently even out our family calendar!

Cuties

2011-04-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Now Hiring: Activity Director

2011-04-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

With nearly five kids, I knew my quiet, organized days were numbered. Soon enough we'd be trekking across town from one activity to another, figuring out which parent would be where for each child, our schedule brimming with everyone's individual activities. Well, it's not exactly Grand Central around here (yet!), but we did just dip our toes in this new world of kid chaos. After a lot of talk about what activity to get the girls started in, we finally signed both Megan and Bridget up for soccer! This is the very first real activity (read: not free!) for either girl, so this was a milestone -- and one that they were very excited for!! Best of all, their teams practice at the exact same time on the same field. How's that for convenient?!

Something tells me we won't have any trouble spotting Megan running up and down the field!

I wasn't expecting her to be the only girl on her team!!

And no, she's not a diaper-wearing five-year-old. Those are scrunched up shorts under her pants, hastily covered up by some pants from my diaper bag when we realized how chilly it was.

Suddenly, we have new words in our vocabulary like "trapping" and "dribbling." Megan caught on pretty quickly with all of the drills. I think every boy on her team has played before, hence some serious shin guards and cleats! I think she'll hold her own, and so far, is non-plussed with being the only one in pink!

Meanwhile, a few yards away, Bridget got acquainted with the soccer ball, too. Her team is all 3 and 4 year old kids, and there are a few more girls. They also don't play any games, which is the perfect speed for this little daisy-picker. She spent a lot of time waving to Mommy and Daddy, and keeping her hands in her jacket pockets while she kicked the ball back and forth with her little partner.

I'm so excited to expose the girls to a sport, and to see how they like it!

And, Tessa and Annie were taking notes, too. Although, Tessa took full advantage of Daddy's empty arms to get some snuggles.

There are crazier (and more expensive!) times to come when these two get in on the action!