Saturday, May 14, 2016

Liliana Lately
















Liliana, at four and a half, is probably the most spirited of my children.  Nothing she does is halfway.  When she is happy, she is the happiest girl in the world.  When she is sad, she is in the depths of despair.  She is passionate about, well, everything.  She is incredibly loving, a wonderful sister, and quick to make others laugh. Here is a little bit of what she is up to these days:

--She is slowly but surely figuring out how to read and spell on her own.  As her mother, this is fascinating to watch.

--She currently loves for me to read her the Amelia Bedelia books.

--She spends a fair amount of time sounding out and asking me how to spell words so that she can write lists.

--She enjoys dressing up in fancy dresses, but is equally happy to be in scrubby play clothes so that she can make mudpies and splash in mud puddles.

--She has little treasure hoards all around the house.  She collects little things and hides them together in any empty drawer or cabinet space she can find.

--She has an alter-ego named Bubblegum Girl

--I overheard her talking to Little Ish about Saints the other day.  After Little Ish told her that he has always liked Saint Michael a lot, Lily told him: "I always look up to Saint Mary; she's my girl!"

--She has an unrivaled enthusiasm for glitter glue

--She loves to pick and gift people with wild flowers and dandelions.

--She will get Little Ish to play house with her by asking him to play Ninja Turtle's house.  It is just house where they call eachother by Ninja Turtle names and occasionally bust out the ninja moves to prevent Shredder from disrupting dinner.

--She is starting to demonstrate some facility in basic addition and subtraction.

--She finally has long enough legs to pedal the tricycle.

--She asked me to do a photo shoot of her so she could wear a flower crown I bought as a photo prop.  The photos above are a result of that shoot. 

Friday, May 13, 2016

Sisters






When I was pregnant with Zélie, I was absolutely convinced that I was having a boy.  And while I would have happily welcomed another sweet little boy to the family, my heart ached for Liliana who spent much of the pregnancy telling me how she was really hoping for a sister.  I spent a lot of time trying to prepare her for the possibility of a brother and the ensuing 4 yearold heartbreak.  It clearly turns out that was all for naught. 

Liliana couldn't be more excited to have a little sister.  She loves on her constantly.  Lily has become a pro at calming Zélie down when she is fussing.  She wants to hold Zélie frequently--even when she is screaming.  I am very encouraged by how she has grown into her big sister role this time around.  [She is an excellent big sister to Atticus too, but when he was born she was in the throes of being a two yearold.]

Zélie loves Liliana already.  She smiles when Lily walks into her field of vision and often starts to fuss if Lily walks away.  I am excited to watch these girls grow up together.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Zélie--The First 6 Weeks

























Just a few quick notes:

Zélie reached the 6 week mark on Friday, and it is honestly difficult to believe it has been 6 weeks already.  On the other hand, it feels like she has been a part of the family forever.  The kids love her.  She and Atticus are especially good buddies; I think this can in part be owed to them nursing together--as my friend said, "they are breast friends".  Tandem nursing continues to go well (Sylvia, I promise to write about it more in depth soon!)  Zélie has a pretty sweet easy-going personality, but like Lily and Atticus, she is plagued by reflux.  Medication has helped a lot, but since she is growing so fast, it is easy for her to outgrow her dose which turns her into a miserable baby. 

You may have noticed the dearth of photos with me and Zélie together.  Most of the photos I have of the two of us together are from the hour after her birth (thanks to my amazing doula Melissa who doubled as the post-birth photographer!) or they are of me tandem nursing on the day Zélie and Atticus first met.  Due to the lack of clothing, I am keeping these photos, as beautiful and cherished as they are, off of the blog. 

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Alas! Sun.












The weather this week has been nothing short of dreary, and with the addition of rain, the kids were spending an awful lot of time indoors.  They quite happily spent some time splashing in puddles and making mudpies during a break in the rain yesterday.  This afternoon's sun was met with great excitement.  All of us went outside after the kids woke up from naps and just soaked up the nice weather and a bit of vitamin D.  If you are wondering what Atticus is doing, you should know that the T-ball tee is his pretend lawnmower/snowblower.  To indicate which it is he chants the activity he is performing over and over again.  Today he was, "Lawn mowin'! Lawn mowin'!"