School is IN!!!

Getting the girls launched for school went surprisingly smoothly this year. Liesel, Ireland and Brigitta are returning to their old stomping grounds this year, so there wasn't too much of an adjustment to be made. The girls also seemed ready to get back to class, back to the old routine and back to their friends they'd missed all summer. 

I'm really excited about Liesel's teacher, Mrs. Beaudoin (pronounced buh-doin like coin). I get the feeling she just really loves teaching. Liesel's best friend is in a different class this year and I'm really hoping she will expand her horizons and embrace new friends.

It was raining like crazy on the first day of school so you might see the reflection of our huge, rainbow umbrella. As if the overgrown bush reaching over the front step isn't distracting enough! Ireland was getting impatient for her turn so you can see her peaking through the glass there on the right side.

This girl is almost too cool for school. She was really ready to go, which is kind of a miracle because Liesel tends to drag her feet and make everyone late.

As always, Ireland cuddled right up to her new teacher, Mrs. Salas.

I was excited to find her locker is next to a little girl named Laney, which happens to be the name of my last mission companion. 

Girls named Laney tend to be fantastic people and amazing friends, in my experience.

Ireland begged to wear a skirt to school. She would wear a prom dress everyday if I let her!

Ireland boarded the bus with loads more confidence than last year when she was a lowly Kindergartner.

In the pouring rain, these two were off.

A few days later, it was Brigitta's turn. I've always felt things are a little drawn out at the preschool level. First, there is the parent orientation. The first day of class is only an hour and again, a parent is present. The next day is still just an hour, but a parent must walk them to the door. Then they finally go for the whopping 2.5 hours but a parent still has to walk them to the door. After what seems like an eternity, they are there full-time and the valet drop-off is in full swing.

Brigitta has always grabbed life by the horns... and then torn it into pieces to eat it along with lipstick, play-doh, and salt from the bottom of her shoe. She's just not a shrinking violet, so I felt all the precautions to ease children into preschool were a bit much. I was surprised to find Gita pressing herself into my legs on that first day. She barely spoke to the kids and teachers she knew from the previous year and she kept furtively looking at me as if to say, "I'm scared." Normally in this situation, I stand against the wall to let my kids integrate themselves into the environment as much as possible, but I found myself holding Gita's hand and sitting her on my lap most of the time.

Luckily Brigitta has two fantastic teachers who clearly love working with little kids. Ireland had Mrs. Martin and loved her, and it turns out Mrs. Manthey's daughter is in Ireland's class! Small world.

I know the first day of school can be hard on a lot of moms. With my older girls tucked away at school, and just Sydney by my side, I headed out for some errands-

I'd almost forgotten how much easier it is to get just a few things accomplished with just one child to contend with! I wonder if I'll ever be that mom who sobs when her tinies are in school... for now, I'm ok with it, I guess.

Once everyone was home from school, we ate warm chocolate chip cookies and chatted about their day. I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

So Long to Summer

The remaining items on our Summer Bucket List were all downtown and all in proximity to each other. My OCD wouldn't allow this list to remain incomplete, so I decided we would take care of them all on the last day of summer. We may have to make this a tradition because it was a pretty fantastic day.

First we stopped by Buckingham Fountain where I gave each of the girls a nickel to make a wish for the coming school year. Turns out the distance between the fence and the fountain is a bit prohibitive to this kind of thing (even I had to throw pretty hard) and everyone's change ended up in the grass. Then I noticed how my tiny girls could easily fit through that fence...

...and with no authorities in sight, I sent Ireland on a mission to find the lost nickels so we could have another try. She scampered around on that grass and gathered our errant nickels along with some more change that apparently didn't make the trip for other people. This time, we all made sure our wishes made it into the fountain. 

It's such a beautiful fountain, and with the city in the background, I wanted to capture this moment. Unfortunately, the sun was a little too bright for the girls facing full on east.

We went around the corner so the girls were facing north and well, the sun was still a little too bright.

Ooohkay, facing west put their faces in shadow, so I was finally able to  get a shot of them. It's not the one with the cityscape in the background, but you can see a blue sliver of Lake Michigan if you look really hard.

From there we went to Maggie Daley park which is huge, so it's easy to get lost. I always get looks when I dress the girls identically. Sure, it's cute but I actually do it for safety reasons. I can pick the girls out of a crowd more easily when they are dressed the same. Should one get lost, I can ask strangers if they've seen a little girl just a little bigger or smaller than the one I have with me. Other parents immediately identify which kids are mine so if someone gets hurt, they can direct them more quickly to me. In situations like this, I'm constantly counting children: 1, 2, 3... where's #4? Okay, there's 4. Again: 1, 2... 3 and 4. A few minutes later: 1, 2, 3, 4. I may look like I'm just enjoying the weather and chatting with other moms, but I'm always, always scanning and counting.

We met Brent at Cloud Gate for lunch. I wish I'd caught a video of the moment he topped the steps and the girls caught sight of him. With no inhibitions, they simultaneously cried out, "DADDY!!!" and ran their little hearts out towards him. All action in that little part of Millennium Park positively stopped as everyone watched Brent scoop up his little darlings in turn and greet them with a hug and kiss. Liesel made it to him first and Sydney with her short legs trailed in last.That moment is burned in my memory forever. Seeing him in the middle of a workday is a treat for all of us. After lunch, we snapped a few photos by the Bean. 

For some reason, I thought jumping shots would be fun and again, I think we will have to make that one a tradition. Eventually, Brigitta and Sydney will be able to try it but for the time being, their jumps are more little hops than anything that catches wind. Liesel and Ireland were determined to get some good shots mid-air.

I love the Bean. It's such a simple sculpture but so fun and interactive!

Just down the steps from the Bean is the Crown Fountain which is one of those Chicago attractions I've heard of and driven by, but just never made it to. Brent wasn't in a terrible rush to get back to work so we let the girls kick off their shoes and run around in the water. It's so funny how just a couple inches of water makes life a party for these little girls. Brent and I chatted while they (quite literally) cooled their heels.

Liesel really loved the spouts in the middle of the fountains that would occasionally spurt water like a hose. She became positively soaked as she scurried to throw her arms into the spray, later chiding me for not bringing their swimsuits or towels. Next year!

Everyone was bummed to leave, but Brent was able to walk us back to the car and then we dropped him off at work on our way home. The girls were so exhausted, they all fell asleep during the car ride home so I was able to drive in sweet silence.

I can't believe we made it through the summer!

Summer 2016 Recap

A couple of days ago I was running some errands out in Wilmette when we happened upon a SnipIts. Liesel and Brigitta's hair was looking scraggly and I'd told myself I'd take them in for a cut just before school starts. Then it hit me, school is just about to start. Summer is winding down, and as I sit by a stack of school forms begging to be completed in time for Meet the Teacher, I can't believe all we've done these past few months. 

Oh how I love me a list! Most of the remaining items on this list are being saved for the very last day of summer.

 I was able to take Liesel to The Cheesecake Factory on a little date. S'mores cheesecake is a revelation.

There were play dates at play places. 

We finally made it to the Lincoln Park Zoo. 

We discovered an ice cream pavilion with "Superman" flavor. 

I've always had some trepidation about the rickety play structure in the backyard. Lately, I've had an increasingly bad premonition about it and I told Brent we needed to tear it down immediately before someone was hurt. As you can see, that was a good move. The wood was completely infested with termites and snapped like a toothpick. Sooo glad we took care of that!

 I took the girls to Finding Dory with enough movie snacks to feed an elephant... or one Sydney.

For the first time in years, we went to see fireworks on the 4th. We've skipped out because of the crowds, the late hour, and the booming noises. The girls had ice cream for dinner and as we hoped, the sugar rush kept them awake into the late hours. We ran into friends from our ward and it was actually a pretty great night.

This sweet lady invited all these kids over to make their own wands. Here they are all doing a "swish and flick".  

They love their wands! 

 We had a surprise visit from Uncle Joey who quickly became a favorite with the girls.

 Joey's hugs really are the best.

 I'm sure the pediatric dental office has to brace themselves for our crazy crew. We schedule them all at once and it's a bit of a circus.

 There were studies at the University of Chicago which meant visits to the Museum of Science and Industry.

I know I've said it before, but we really love this place. 

The girls especially enjoy watching the Tesla rings fire. We tried a place down the street called Medici that we drive by en route and always catches my attention. Oh man, thinking about the mexicana shake is making me drool. We will definitely be back for more! 

We stopped at YUMZ for some froyo after a pool party. There were pool parties and beach parties and birthday parties galore this summer!

Liesel really enjoyed Activity Days (here they made their own pillowcases) and made serious progress on her Faith in God.

Every day the girls had time to read books from their extensive summer reading list, and to work on workbooks. Ireland was extra motivated and finished her thick workbook early. That sucker is supposed to last a year and she did it in about 2 months!

Aside from reading, the bulk of this summer was spent swimming. The girls had lessons in Iowa City and here in Crystal Lake. 

They really worked hard on their swimming and each of them leveled up. I spent a lot of time washing chlorine out of their blonde hair to keep it from turning green. They swam so much, other swimmers naturally gravitated to them... just kidding ;)

The girls played with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, they dressed up for talent shows and plays they created, they rode bikes and razor scooters in the driveway, they played with the neighborhood kids and shot some hoops with Dad, and they got sun-kissed and bitten by mosquitoes from all their time outside. Sometimes they napped for hours out of exhaustion and sometimes they snuck out of bed to get into trouble downstairs.

Aside from basic cleaning and laundry, household projects were put on hold so I could completely focus on the girls. I lived in my messy mom bun and yoga pants. It's been a whirlwind, but as I look back at these photos I'm really proud of what we accomplished. I hope we made some memories in there somewhere.

Brigitta is FOUR!!!

I have to give mad props to Reagan for this photo shoot. It was sweltering hot and humid. All I cared about was having one good photo to capture Brigitta in all her fourness of life. Somehow Reagan managed to maintain her positive energy to get many, many beautiful shots of my girl. I feel like I always post too many of these, but I can't help it- I love them all! Ready? Here we go...

Gita adores this dress. I think Liesel wore it for her 4 year photos as well.

Twirling

Egads I love this one! It totally captures her features.

Doing an arabasque

Aurgh, another favorite! If you look carefully, she is doing the most perfect little curtsy.

Laughing, Reagan really makes photo shoots fun.

I love this detail. Brigitta's got the sweetest little legs!

Sentimental. Her hair isn't as perfect as I would normally make it but Reagan is always urging me to let the girls be imperfect- it really makes for a better picture.

Oh! Oh! Oh! I love this one too!!!

Profile shot.

This exact same scene is played out almost every Sunday as Brent takes a fussy little one out during Sacrament meeting.

After the shoot Brigitta made a beeline for the park and it didn't take long for her to muddy those pristine white tights. Ahhhh Reagan is right, imperfect makes a better photo. This is the real Brigitta.

While in Maryland, we celebrated both Brigitta and Rockwell's birthdays with cake and song. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but we sing absolutely every birthday song we know and always end with a rousing rendition of Sixteen Candles. This has been a Nielsen tradition for generations and yes, we've set a couple of cakes on fire upholding that tradition.

Good thing Brigitta and Rockwell had an ice cream cake!

 I have to say I think the cake itself was a beautiful combination of those two kids. She was able to take the Elsa doll home with her while Rockwell added to his car collection.

Back from Maryland, Brigitta was in her very own bed on the morning of her birthday and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast in bed. This is a bigger deal now that we've had new carpet installed and food is normally absolutely forbidden upstairs. 

Another tradition is that the birthday girl gets to pick out her own outfit for the day and Mom can't voice any objection. Brigitta spent the day in a dance leotard and skirt. She asked me to put her hair in an "Elsa braid". It's a little tradition, but the girls love it and really look forward to it.

We stopped by Portillo's for her free slice of chocolate cake. Her older sisters were breathing heavily down her neck as she ate and then looked crestfallen when Gita announced she was full and would have to save the rest for later.

While the girls were playing downstairs, I quickly made up Gita's bed with her present- a new duvet and cover. She rooms with Ireland over the garage and in the winter that room just gets downright chilly. There's also something about a well-made bed with beautiful bedding that starts and ends the day on a good note, ya know? When I saw there was a large bolster pillow to be had, I instinctively opted to get it. That "hot dog" pillow is Brigitta's very favorite.

Oh this girl! I always say Brigitta is the middlest of middle children. With 2 1/2 years between her and Ireland, she's just young enough to get a little left behind on the fun stuff. With just 15 months between her and Sydney, she's really not allowed to be a baby in any way. Sydney generally commands more attention. The two are so similar but Sydney is just younger and smaller that she gets noticed a bit more. When Brigitta has a meltdown, it's not ice cream on the sidewalk in August, it's Chernobyl. I'm constantly reminding her to change her tone (her whiny voice is octaves above middle C), and reminding her she can control her emotions. Sibling rivalry abounds in this house and poor Brigitta often gets stuck right smack dab in the middle. 

With that said, she's also incredibly sympathetic. This summer Gita has made a practice of pulling a Cherry Coke out of the pantry and placing it in the fridge in the morning. Mid-afternoon, often when I'm working on YW stuff, she quietly slides that cold can over to me with an impish smile. If I mention I have a headache, a few hours later she will ask if my head feels better yet. She's incredibly affectionate and tells me she loves me all day, every day. If she's misbehaved a lot, she assures me tomorrow she will try to be my "gold star". Brigitta tells me I'm beautiful- even when I'm in yoga pants, one of Brent's t-shirts and I'm on day 3 of a messy mom bun. Strangers constantly comment on her blue eyes which really are stunners. I have a feeling she's just going to take off this year and shake off the last bits of toddlerhood as she becomes a bona fide little girl. 

Happy Birthday to my Gita girl- I love you with all my heart and soul.