Last Day of Five!

Today is Paprika's last day of being five years old. Tomorrow she will be six. Six seems so much bigger than five. I thought I was going to be fine with it, but I guess I am a tad emotional about it.

We have spent a lot of time at home this week. Ginger is potty-learning. Well, more like Ginger is determined not to go on the potty and I am determined that she will. It has been interesting. ;-) You would think that someone who was on Law Review at Berkeley could figure out how to potty train a three year old. But, you would be wrong! Haha. I am trying every trick in the book so we'll see what happens. I think it's going to come down to who is more persistent...and I hope it's me! :-)



So today, I decided we all needed a few hours at the park, away from home...so off we went! At the park, we played Goldilocks and the Three Bears together. Paprika was Goldilocks, I was Mama Bear, Violet was Papa Bear, and Ginger was Baby Bear (her choice)!



I took the girls to McDonald's drive-thru for lunch (I know, I know...it's become a rare treat now, which is progress because I used to rely on it a lot). Once we had our meals in hand, I took the girls to my favorite little spot - there's this house that I adore up on a hill overlooking the ocean. You can see the sea from all sides, and it's just an amazing panoramic view.

So, I drove up to the house and we parked outside (no one was home at the house, in case you are wondering!) We all sat in the van with the doors and windows open and felt the breeze from the ocean and took in the five million dollar view (literally) as the girls ate their Happy Meals. I let the girls pick the music (they picked Wee Sing)- and I was so happy as I listened to them sing along. :-)




After that, Paprika had her piano lesson. I entertained Ginger and Violet in the lobby while Paprika had a 45 minute lesson - they were only supposed to go 30 minutes, but I guess her teacher was feeling generous! Violet was into everything and tried to empty the contents of every trashcan in the whole place. Ginger was tumbling down the halls and trying to keep Violet out of trouble (or maybe getting her into more trouble). Haha.




Then we came home for a quick wardrobe change and we were off to Pre-Swim Team practice. I watched Paprika through the fence, and she looked so tiny compared to the other swimmers. Well, there is one girl smaller than her, but I know for a fact that little girl is 7.



They warm-up before practice, and the funniest part was when they were doing push-ups. Everyone (except Paprika) was doing pretty decent push-ups, but Paprika was in a V-Shape exactly like yoga "downward dog" the whole time. I was laughing, thinking to myself, "Who does she think she is fooling?!" Haha. She makes me laugh every day.

So, tomorrow is the big birthday day. I have a lot of little surprises planned for her. Just things to make her feel special. I think I'm going to be just as excited as she is!


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Remote Control!

I'm so glad I posted about our last little DIY family picture endeavor. Lots of people told me to go buy a camera remote, and I am so glad I did! I ended up getting this one, and it made taking our family portrait so much easier.



We set up this little location in our front yard and did a little mini-shoot. When I say mini, I mean mini. Our neighbor came over a few moments into the shoot to chat, and that was that! So, we will try again another time. But at least we got one or two good shots.

Progress, not perfection. :-)



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Nine Months!

Last night I was looking through old blog posts and came across the one from when Ginger was nine months old. We had just moved to this house a few weeks before, and I was going crazy trying to set up house while chasing after her!

Well, two and a half years later, I am experiencing deja vu! Haha.

I have been keeping myself busy making this house "work" for all of us. Just last week I got a dresser for Violet on Craigslist. I had been hinting to Mr. M (for oh, about 10 months) that Violet needed a dresser. In the meantime, we had just been letting her use one of our dresser drawers.

Well, last Friday I got on my organizing bug and decided to get Violet her own dresser. I loaded up the kids in the van (after wrestling out our extra van seat to make room) - and then took all three kids on a wild goose chase in search of a dresser. $20 and a little back pain later, the dresser was home and housing Violet's wardrobe. Mr. Mustard came home surprised - I was hoping he'd be impressed but instead he was like, "What was wrong with her sharing our dresser?" Haha.

Anyway, we still have yet to set up a crib for Violet (she sleeps in our bed) - but I think that is coming soon. For her naps, I have nowhere to put her, so I always hold or carry her during her naps. I have loved that for the past nine months (still love it) - but sometimes I need to be able to lay her down when she's napping so I can, you know...shower. ;-)



As far as what she's "doing" - here goes (I love to look back on this):

Violet weighs 22 pounds at nine months old (90th percentile) and wears 12-18 month clothes. Yesterday she wore a 24 month onesie and it fit fine! She can crawl really fast. She stands up by herself and holds on to the couch, on to your hands....and she is starting to cruise. We only have three stairs in our house- but one of them is very tall, and she can climb the stairs easily. I haven't let her try to go down them yet, though!

Violet has a lot of age-appropriate toys, but she always races straight for our shoes or Daisy's dog toys. She is also attracted to the most dangerous thing in the room - she can find any electrical cord or outlet and dash for it when she thinks you're not looking. Needless to say, we've done major baby-proofing, and yet still I am always pulling a stray shoe out from her grip...just before she bites into it! Haha.

She babbles a lot and loves "talking" to anyone who will listen. She loves music. She loves being sung to, and being held. She is very much a mama's girl (all the girls are) - and she is okay for a second if someone else holds her, but for the most part, she just wants her mama.

She has two bottom teeth, and has FOUR top teeth that are almost through. I looked in her mouth yesterday and the top is all white. So, her smile will be changing soon!

She is nursing great, and starting to branch out a little with eating foods. She doesn't like baby food at all, or bland food. She loves hummus (still) and last week I let her try some chocolate ice cream. She flipped out over that and couldn't stop laughing. She used to have a dairy sensitivity when she was first born (the reason I went vegan) - but now she seems fine with a little dairy. She loves watermelon juice. I've been eating a lot of watermelon, and she loves to drink the juice.




She loves playing with her sisters and wants to be right in the middle of them. She loves taking baths and adores splashing in the water. When Paprika takes her shower or Ginger takes a bath, Violet will race up to the edge of the tub hoping to get a little sprinkle.

Violet loves to go for walks, and that's how I get her to fall asleep at night - I take her for long walks in the Ergo. The other way that she falls asleep is by me wearing her in the Ergo and standing next to the dryer while it's on, and listening to this song:



It's almost Pavlovian by now - when she hears this song, she starts to nod off and by the third time listening to it, she's almost always out like a light. I think I've heard this song 400 times since it came out (only three weeks ago)!

She takes two naps/day - one short one (about half an hour) and one longer one (about an hour), and then she sleeps off and on for about 8 or 9 hours at night. I say off and on because, of course, there's some waking up in there! I just try not to dwell on the waking up in the middle of the night part. Haha!

It goes without saying that I love Violet and can't imagine life without her. Watching her grow is such an incredible gift - she is an indescribable joy and brings so much happiness to our little family. I'm having a hard time believing that she's been out of my body as long as she was inside my body. Time just seems to be moving at warp speed lately. :-)

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Wicked King!

Here's the quick summary of the past week: It's been hot. Really hot. We have started the birthday party circuit, and managed two parties in three days! Grandma Pat came down for a few days for a visit.



Paprika has continued to commune with imaginary mermaids during pre-swim team practice. And Paprika got a new piano teacher...one who doesn't check her email during the lesson. Yay!



The first birthday party was for Riley at the American Girl store.



Grandma Pat came down and watched Ginger while I took Violet and Paprika to the party. We drove to the Grove (about an hour in traffic) and Violet cried the whole way there. We almost turned around and went home forty times, but we persevered and got there, and it was worth it.



We ate at the cafe (the food is really good!) and afterwards the girls went shopping with a personal shopper. I let Paprika pick out her first full-sized American Girl doll and a special outfit for her doll...I counted it as an early birthday present for my almost six year old! It was great celebrating with Riley, who we have known since she was one year old. Crazy, right?!



Yesterday we went to a friend's birthday party at a local adventure place. I was worried Ginger would be too little to enjoy it, but she loved it. I kept waiting to hear her start crying when she was up in the tall climbing tower (that usually happens at those types of places, and I have to go rescue her) - but this time, she ran for two hours straight and kept up with the big kids. Violet played in the ball pit and had the time of her life, too.

Mr. M has had to work the past two weekends at least part of the weekend. When he is home, we are maximizing that. One thing the girls love to do with him is play Wicked King.



Basically, he chases them around the playground and "scares" them. Every weekend they ask, "Daddy, will you play Wicked King with us?" :-)



Just two weeks left until Paprika starts Kindergarten, and four days left until her birthday! I am a mess of emotions. I have been organizing and clearing clutter as my therapy. Violet turned 9 months old on Thursday, which means she's been OUT as long as she was IN. I guess it's time to take my maternity clothes out of my dresser drawers, right? ;-)

Out with the old, in with the new on this merry-go-round of life...

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The Celebration Continues!

Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~Gene Perret

Nine years ago today I became the luckiest woman on the planet when I said "I do" to my best friend, Mr. M. Nine years and five daughters later, I know that life can change in an instant and to cherish each moment we are given. I am so very thankful for the last nine years - every single moment - and I am so grateful for each anniversary we get to spend together.

Happy Anniversary, Mr. M! I am so proud of the life we have built together.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery




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