This Month in Girls-May 2013

I have been neglecting this monthly themed post, but I am going to do it for May. This month I am going to talk about each kid and what I love about them. :)

With the baby F, I delight in her little face and happy smile. I love how she curls up into my lap when she nurses to sleep. I love her little way of grabbing food off her tray and trying it out with her mouth. Her sisters talk about how she is angry when she tries a new food, because her expression is always a quizzical frown. I love when she can't stop smiling whenever one of her sisters is looking at her and how they make her laugh more than M or I do. I even love how she needs me and how being worn in a sling is all she wants. I love how when her sisters play games with her, she can't stop giggling and then all three are giggling together. I love waking up with her squealing next to me every morning. I am not sure why I disliked co-sleeping so much with the other two, but with F it is really sweet.

For L, she is my sweet 2.5 year old. I love that she is cuddly now that she is older, and will behave in Church if she is able to sit on my lap and be held by me. I love that her favorite breakfast is a piece of bread with butter (we were fighting her for weeks to eat cereal and milk before we discovered this). I wish I could take her to a store without her escaping the cart or screaming to get out, but that is not the two year old way, so I suppose I love the humility of having a screaming child whenever I shop. I love the way she does the Sign of the Cross (it is too random to describe in words) and how she does the "mea culpa" chest pounds perfectly. I love that whenever she talks about the past it always starts with, "Yesterday..." even when the event was weeks ago. I especially love her cheeks; they are so squeezable! I love how she knows just how to torment her big sister, but does it because she loves her. I love that she loves to play with G and wants to participate in all the pre-school activities.

And my first baby, four year old G, I find myself reminiscing about our time when she was the only baby. She was always good at the store, because she had my full attention. We took two naps a day together (or I would just lay next to her with a good book). I think F looks a lot like G as a baby and that must be why I am remembering her babyhood so much. I love that G is becoming more confident in drawing. She draws bodiless people, just heads, faces, and limbs and very detailed flowers; she had a lot of trouble with the fine motor skills when she was a toddler, so I love it whenever she draws or writes anything. I love how she is a good helper (when she chooses), and can clear her own place. I love how she is developing her own ideas and telling us what she thinks, "Sleeping Beauty is quite the story." I love how she memorizes most stories, poems, and songs she hears. I love how she sings to herself whenever she is alone.

I am not sure exactly what changed or when it happened, but I am finally happy again. With my three babies I have gone into a post-partum funk, this last one it was a diagnosed post-partum depression, but besides that where I just do not feel like myself. I am fairly certain it is not a lower level of stress, because this whole moving thing is stressful. It is not the ease of taking care of three kids, because I definitely do not find that easy. But I am focusing on trying to love them and let go of my ideas of how things should be. I am learning greater patience and self-sacrifice. I am so happy I have my sweet girls, and so happy that I am finally able to enjoy them.

Moving, Late Quick Takes- Saturday May 25

M was sad I did not do Quick Takes yesterday, so here I am linking up with Jen late.
 
1. This is what my living room looks like and I am trying to ignore it so it does not drive me nuts:

 2. But then again our toys have never been so organized.

 Bedtime cleanup has been a breeze.

3. On the bright side, moving day is Monday. So maybe we will be able to live in order again soon. It also is not snowing in Minnesota anymore, so that is good. I also have fresh, hand picked, locally grown dandelions daily from my sweet daughters:

They pick only the most exquisite dandelions.

4. My new double-oven/range is at the store and will be delivered on TUESDAY! Hooray! M is going to attempt a self-installation since the installation quote I received yesterday was a little bit insane. Hopefully the youtube videos he watched will suffice since we will not have internet for about a week after we move in. Thus, I will not be around for any posting those days, but hopefully it will not be too warm out to try out my five burners and two ovens...

5. I know I promised pictures of the new house at some point, but here's the thing. No room is entirely complete yet, and I hate to post pictures of an unfinished product. So I will post each room as I put the finishing touches on them. Mostly it is curtains and then rugs that need to be done.

6. Baby-o is working on that first tooth fairly consistently these days, which means naptime trouble and lots of crankiness. However, we also started her on solids and this time I am skipping the purees and doing Baby Led Weaning, which basically is giving the baby finger foods which she can pick up and feed herself. ("Weaning" is what the Brits call feeding babies things besides breastmilk). I tell you it makes baby feeding a lot easier since all I have to do is throw food on her high chair tray. Yesterday she ate three steamed broccoli "trees"and loved them! 

7. M is at his university's graduation today. The house we are renting is adjacent to a house full of seniors apparently. I was explaining to the girls what graduation was and about the robes they wear when a whole group of our neighbors trooped outside with their parents and were taking photographs outside. We have been calling the house next store the "party palace" since they tend to play loud music at night at least once a week. As the girls were looking at the graduates out front I heard G say, "No L, it is called the Party Palace because they play bad music all the time!" I am glad we are instilling a love of good music in our children with orchestral and chant Masses and other good music in the home... :)

With Greater Knowledge Comes Greater Culpability...

I am posting at Truth and Charity today... Check it out!