Sydney February POTD

Because we also had professional photos this month and our house was gripped by the bubonic plague, I didn't take quite so many. Enjoy what I have!

Sweetly sleeping

Discovering her hands

Another shot of Sydney engrossed by her hands. They really are pretty amazing when you think about it!

Ireland and Sydney. 

This one kills me. Sydney was due for a whole load of immunizations so I made Brent take her to the pediatrician. He sent me this picture just before the nurse came in with all the needles. Poor little lamb! She came home with 3 band-aids on her legs. 

Ahhh my darling girl! I also wanted to upload a video of Sydney cooing and grabbing her hands but alas, it appears to be too big. When we wind down our nights together, she gets very chatty... as if she needs to get some things off her mind before she goes to sleep. Lately I can't get enough of her button nose and I give her Eskimo kisses often. She's starting to hang on to her bottle and pull the binkie out of her mouth with deft movements. The way her little mouth and tongue move when she's trying to tell me something are just adorable. I also love her sighs when something isn't going her way but it's not a big enough deal to cry about. The swirl on the front of her hair keeps it pretty smooth against her head while the hair growing at her crown goes straight into the air. The effect is a perpetual halo of strawberry blonde. She's just a doll!

Sydney's January POTD

Bubble bath!!!

With Mom

This is the quilt given to her by Katrina. Initially she was rather gregarious...

...then she started to get a tad bored...

...which turned into outright irritation!

Brent's mom gave her this adorable hat for Christmas. I literally squealed when I saw it. 

I received the sweetest little package from my dear friend Natalie. It was the kind of package it hurts to open because it was wrapped up so beautifully. Inside was this lovely little afghan she crocheted herself. Once the other girls are in bed at night, I put a fire in the fireplace. Then I wrap Sydney up in this and cuddle with her until she falls asleep in my arms. 

I adore these pajamas! It's rather hard to find things for baby girls in blue. The cupcakes and sweet little bows make me smile. Before Sydney grew out of them, I had to snap a pic. 

I love this age. Sydney still thinks I'm funny. She lets me hold her as long as I want. Because she can't speak yet, she doesn't sass me. After every nap she smiles at seeing me. Oh this is a glorious time! She's cooing which makes for some fun conversations. I love how expressive she can be even though everything she utters is nonsensical. Sydney's also gaining much more control of her arms and hands. When I nurse her, she clings to my shirt. If she's really fussy and wants me to know it, she can knock the binkie out of her mouth so her wails are much more effective. When I unwrap her from a swaddle those arms pop up as if on a loaded spring. I talk baby talk to her and kiss her cheeks until she's clearly annoyed. I want to squeeze her SO tight to let her know how much I love her!!! Her tiny body can only withstand a gentle hug and I find it so unsatisfying to let go after she grunts a bit. I especially love how she smiles with a binkie in her mouth. It bobs up and down lopsidedly as she continues to suck on it a bit while she grins at me. Oh so sweet!

Tidbits

Ireland: They're boogers. (burgers)
Liesel: No, boogers are gross. You have to say cheesebooger. (no correction)

Thanks to Brigitta we have been using a toilet paper pile rather than the traditional toilet paper roll. In case you are curious, a brand-new roll of toilet paper will stretch all the way from the master bathroom into the den. I was catching up on email when she toddled up to me holding the end of it. I glanced back thinking it was from the much closer middle bathroom. Nope. I had to literally follow a paper trail around the house.

Speaking of Brigitta, here are some photos I simply have to share:

Rock star hair

Let's see that 'do from another angle

On (yet another!) freezing, cold day when school was cancelled (again!) and we were shut-ins (for the millionth time!), I bribed the girls with donuts in exchange for keeping the house clean and being nice to each other. Here is Brigitta getting her just desserts.

Mr. Potato Head glasses and that crazy hair again

Blue eyed and bundled

Even on Saturdays and Sundays Brent does bits of things for work here and there. His company has been so generous in letting him do a work from home on Fridays, Brent's very diligent about making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. One Saturday he was working on his computer when I told him I had the girls in the car and we were all waiting on him to run errands. He acknowledged me and then going back to his spreadsheet said, "Where is that dollar? Hmmmm, let's just put it here." Then Brent flashed me that dashing smile that made me fall in love with him and assured me he was just joking.

Liesel to her Aunt Julie: I made you a birthday card and it says, "Merry Christmas!"

Ireland had a playdate at the Children's Museum with her friend Eleanor and her father caught this sweet picture of the two of them inside a tree:

I picked Liesel up from school the other day and she announced, "There's no school tomorrow so we can make COOKIES!!!" I was a bit skeptical considering I receive an email and voice-mail whenever there's a cancellation or delay so I tried to downplay it much to Liesel's consternation. Even when she described in detail how they announced it over the speaker I doubted the veracity of her story (she really loves making cookies). Imagine how sheepish I felt when I received the email and voice-mail a couple of hours later.

We are beginning our house hunt and I spent a goodly amount of time plotting train lines and ward buildings in the greater Chicago area. I was just about blind by the time I was finished!

From Ireland while we drove I-80 this week:
*gasp* A accident!..... *bigger gasp* A RAINBOW!!!

These little beauties arrived in the mail and were met by much glee from the little girls. Liesel proclaimed that NOW she could go to the playland at the mall. Ireland corrected her by saying passports were only needed for going somewhere far... like Disneyland. I was just relieved to have finally cleared every obnoxious red tape hurdle and have them in hand before another possible government shut down. There's a reason minors have to get updated passports every 5 years-- that's how long it takes to get through the application process.

After months of price watching, we bit the bullet and purchased our tickets to South Africa. Now that we have a solid itinerary, the real planning begins and I couldn't be more excited! My apologies to friends and family who have listened to me jabber on endlessly about it all. I gave up sugar a few weeks ago and feel like I have nothing else to live for.

Brent and I recently had one of the best dates in the history of our relationship. It wasn't meant to be anything special, really. We realized we'd never been to Outback Steakhouse together so we went  for dinner. While we settled on something to order, we chatted with our waiter. Turns out it was his last night at Outback so he could focus on his PhD program in Psychology. We had some really great conversation with him in between munching on the Bloomin' Onion, our steaks and the dessert he threw in for free.

Twinkie Detox

At the encouragement of my sister, I am giving up sugar. This is all coming on the heels of a Twinkie binge. Who eats Twinkies? Right? They are cellulite wrapped in cellophane. But to understand how the binge began you have to understand my childhood. 

My parents have a display case which they use for their valued historical and family items. One day when I was very young my mother added a Twinkie to the collection. Not because Twinkies are all that important to us historically, or as a family, but because she'd heard they contain so many preservatives that they will never disintegrate. Initially it looked extremely odd amongst the other items. It was a joke. Then it became a conversation piece. Then it became a phenomenon. 

We often had missionaries over for Sunday dinner and then they'd provide a spiritual thought for us afterwards. More than one missionary noticed the Twinkie in the display case and apparently, its existence spread by word of mouth, until the entire mission knew about it. When an Elder was transferred into the ward, he was excited to receive an invitation to dine with us and make his pilgrimage. There next to the trowel my grandfather used in building the Oakland temple (signed by the prophet), was the famous Twinkie. That Twinkie sat there year after year, decade after decade, looking exactly the same as it did the day Mom bought it. I'm not sure what eventually happened to it but I can tell you I was never, EVER tempted to eat one and neither was anyone else in the family.

Recently a good friend of the family was by the house and mentioned we needed to replace the lost Twinkie. For sentimental reasons I picked up a box the last time I was at Target. It was then I realized that the display case is locked and I have no idea where the key is. I looked at that happy, brightly colored box which proudly proclaims to be "The Sweetest Comeback in the History of EVER!" and tried one. Then another. Then another. I felt a little more sick and a little more depressed with every bite of that spongy sweetness but I couldn't stop.

I started eating them in the corner of the kitchen like a freakish Twinkie fugitive because I made the mistake of giving Brigitta one. She changed from a pleasant toddler into a raging lunatic who's only purpose in life was to get her hands on another Twinkie. Eventually even this method failed... she could hear the crinkle of the cellophane as I opened the package behind the refrigerator. Brigitta started screaming at me from across the kitchen and violently straining against the 5-point harness in her high chair where I'd safely strapped her down. Then I hit rock bottom... otherwise known as 6 Twinkies in one day.

Initially giving up sugar was penance for what I'd eaten-- as if the guilt, shame and pound of unnatural food dragging it's way through my intestines wasn't enough. Right after my workout at the gym my thighs were screaming for a Twinkie to replace the one I'd just burned off. It's taken some time but I think I can safely say I'm in remission. 

A word to the wise: Twinkies are better left in display cases.

Cheating

The family was hanging out in the kitchen when I came across something I didn't recognize.

"Where did this come from?" I asked Brent. 

"Uhhhhh, it's probably from one of my dates," he said absentmindedly.

I examined the singularly important yet indescribable object more closely and scanned my memory for a date with Brent that would explain it. I came up dry. 

"I don't remember this."

"Well that's because it wasn't on a date with you. You know I'm dating 4 or 5 other girls, right?" 

Of course, this came as quite a shock and as my jaw dropped Brent was surprised by my reaction. 

"You didn't think that when we got married that meant we were going to be exclusive did you?"

Another wave of shock came over me and I couldn't muster an answer.

"Wait a minute, do you mean to tell me that in seven and a half years you've NEVER dated another man?" His tone was one of surprise, amusement and worst of all, pity. Brent was mocking me. He was flaunting the fact that in the wake of our nuptials, his dating life remained robust whilst mine had shriveled into oblivion. Then came the worst part. 

Brent frownsmiled at me. 

Clearly I had read too much into our eternal marriage. Like so many women do, I'd given it more meaning than reality afforded. He hadn't led me on by slipping that ring on my finger! I'd done all this to myself! All the horrible thoughts of how stupid I had been came crashing down around me and then, and then, AND THEN... I woke up. 

I furiously texted Brent to let him know he dream cheated on me again. His response? 

"Stop having insane dreams. You're my companion. I love you."

He didn't really refute the idea of dating other women though, did he?

Jesus Wants Me for a SuuunBEAM!

As Brent helped Ireland get dressed for church, he reminded her she was starting Primary today. Her friend Kique (short for Enrique) is also starting Sunbeams and when Brent told Ireland he'd be in her class, she emphatically stated, "Kique will say that I'm beautiful!"

"Oh yeah?" Brent said, highly amused.

"Yeah," she continued "he's going to say my dress is just beautiful." She said it in the most innocent of ways. Not full of vanity, flirtatiousness or superiority, just full of excitement that she was wearing a pretty dress and would see a good friend at church.

How I hope she never loses that sweet self-confidence!

Smile

Looking back on my one word for 2013 I can say without a doubt I completely failed to just "breathe". I didn't cut down on projects. I wasn't easier on myself. I didn't conquer relaxation. However, I learned quite a bit about myself and decided to just accept the list-making, ambitious, uptight person I am and not fight it. It actually stressed me out more knowing I wasn't relaxing as much as I should.

As for my list of 2013 resolutions, I've never had a year where I failed so badly at those as well. I am not back to my pre-pregnancy weight (owing to the other pregnancy). I never took Liesel to see a live performance because I was too tired and just didn't make it happen. I didn't learn the moves to the Lilo and Stitch hula (although I feel compelled to learn that for 2014... don't ask why because I couldn't tell you). I've heard something like only 8% of Americans actually make and keep New Year's Resolutions. This year I want to earn my spot back into that 8%. So without further ado, my one word for 2014 is....

SMILE. I want to smile more at my kids. I want to smile more to strangers. I want to smile more to my husband. I want to smile more to myself. That's it. Just smile. Not be happy... that can be a tall order, but smiling can be done no matter what the circumstances. So here goes, 2014 here I come!