Caroline: 6 Years Old

December 19th, 2016

Today, my one and only baby girl turns SIX. She has grown both physically (why are all her dresses too short?!) and mentally (she’s already surpassed first grade reading and it’s not even half way through the year) SO much in the last year I’m often shocked when I remember she’s ONLY six. And then she has a rough, long, very tired day where she can barely make it to dinner without collapsing in tears and I remember she’s a tiny child and sometimes she just needs cuddles. She is delightful company, an amazing help around the house and with the baby, a budding chef and kind to people and animals. I could not be more proud of my Caroline.

After you turn 5 you don’t get a huge party anymore, but you do get a family fun birthday weekend. We did some shopping, some Caroline-chosen meals, a girl date with Starbucks, and she took cupcakes to school to celebrate. She said it was the best weekend ever.

It only took one take to do our birthday question video this year. (Links to previous year’s videos: 5 years old, 4 years old, 3 years old) No explanations needed, she’s got this under control:

If you’d like to waste time today and/or take a trip down “Suzanne spends way too much time and money on birthday party” Lane, here are some helpful links:

First Birthday Party (Winter sparkle wonderland)

Second Birthday Party (Winter woodland fairies)

Third Birthday Party (Princess party)

Fourth Birthday Party (Mermaid party)

Fifth Birthday Party (Nutcracker ballet party – my FAVORITE)

Twinkly Christmas Magic

December 19th, 2016

This was my first attempt at twinkle light bokeh photos, almost exactly 5 years ago. 

Here is the best one. It was a total accident because I had no idea how to use my camera.

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I took some more for our Christmas card in 2014, but for some reason I never blogged them?! That seems very unlike 2014 Suzanne. She blogged everything. Not like this lazy cow 2016 Suzanne who can’t even do once a week. But I’ve looked through every post from the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 and can’t find them.

For posterity, here’s the best one from that set:

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And this year, I attempted them with all FOUR of my children. Finnegan is still super skeptical of group shots and being held by his siblings. He is pretty sure that’s neglect, and I should rethink my life choices for allowing it.

But capturing matching jams and twinkly lights is my favorite and I’m going to take this photos every year for as long as I have even one child who will cooperate.

This year’s jams were a gift from my friends at Gymboree, who are the best. Finding jams that fit ages infant to big kid isn’t always easy, but we’ll be able to match for years in gymmies.

(Also, I’m actually sort of horrified by how much bigger my children are. This is not ok. Why do they grow so fast?!)

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Here’s my quick 30-second list of tips if you want to take twinkle light photos yourself.

  1. White lights on white cord on a white background.
  2. The further away from the lights you can place the kids, the blurrier the lights will be.
  3. Set your DSLR camera on A or AP (so you control the aperture) and use the smallest number your lens allows.
  4. Use natural light (besides the Christmas lights) if possible, otherwise your photos will be really yellow.
  5. Don’t be afraid to crop after the fact – if the edge of your backdrop shows, just cut it out when you’re editing/looking at your pictures on the computer.

Let me know if you try, I LOVE this kind of pictures!

 

 

My Week(318) in iPhone Photos

December 12th, 2016

I’m a week late, but in my defense I have four kids. That’s basically the reason for everything these days. Why does your hair look like that? Why is there a hole in your pants? Why are you eating corn chips for breakfast? Why can’t you remember to mail Christmas gifts? How come your Christmas tree looks like it’s losing a fight?

Four. Kids.

Sunday:

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Christmas!!

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I did not do this OR take this picture

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Brothers

Monday:

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Linc is obsessed with Octonauts

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He also really likes my nativity

Tuesday:

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Watching Octonauts

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TBH we BOTH fell asleep face down on the couch

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Gross weather

Wednesday:

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Sleep smirking

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We brush their hair and it STILL looks like that

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Raise your hand if you are 3 months old

Thursday:

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Pre-coffee tantrums are intolerable

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Linc says these are Peso pajamas

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I don’t even love them but this is REALLY good

Friday:

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Skeptical of his hedgehog shirt

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Perhaps rightly so

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Piano lesson car selfie (why is it SO DARK at 5 pm??)

Saturday:

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Horse drawn carriage ride in Mystic

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Prettiest advent calendar I’ve ever had

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Demanding more Octonauts

It feels like we – especially Linc – watch a lot of TV these days. But that’s because four kids. If there’s a chance Finn will sleep for an hour or two we are definitely staying home and I need them to not act like wild animals. TV is really the only way that happens. 6 months from now we’ll be at the lake every day again and they’ll forget what TV even looks like.

Christmas Tree 2016

December 6th, 2016

We’ve been going to Geer’s Tree Farm for almost a decade now! It was raining the day after Thanksgiving so we waited until Saturday. That meant our tree decorating was interrupted by some parade viewing (the husbands stayed home for Finn- and football-watching). It wasn’t exactly warm but it wasn’t frigid, so it was perfect Christmas activity weather. We dragging our Thanksgiving guests around with us because I love them too much to not see them every possible second, but I also love Christmass too much to delay it TWO weekends, which would be the next time E could come pick out a tree.

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The Norwich Winterfest Parade goes right through our neighborhood – you can see my green house in the background of half the photos – and it’s my second favorite holiday after cutting down our tree. A lot of the organizations throw candy for the kids, so they end up stuffed with sugar. Caroline talked one of the guys selling junk from a cart into giving us 4 of these ribbon wands for $3, and they had a great time waving them around.

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Evan lost the battle with the wind.

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SANTA! I KNOW HIM!

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And then Christmas threw up ALL OVER my house.

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This was the next morning, which explains the daylight and matching jams.

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Finnegan: 3 Months

December 2nd, 2016

(For reference: Linc 3 months, Caroline 3 months)

I started this post at 9 am, and it is now 9:29 pm. Finn is an adorable, cuddly, happy baby but he also wants to nurse 90% of the time he is awake. It is hard to work on my computer while he is nursing, and impossible to do almost anything else either. I don’t mind sitting on the couch mostly. Sitting down is nice. I am starting to resent being forced to watch the shows Linc picks though. There are only 3 seasons of Octonauts on Netflix and I have seen them all.

Finnegan’s eating habits are strongly reflected in his thighs. He hasn’t had a checkup recently, but I’m guessing he’s about 18 lbs. He’s wearing 6-9 or 9-12 month clothes – anything that actually says “3 months” on it is too small.  Caroline really, really, really wants to carry him around and help with baby stuff, but I’m terrified she’s going to drop him just because he’s so chubby. As soon as he can sit up on his own we’ll both be much more comfortable. He’s like a big round lump of soft white squish. His rolls are getting rolls. It’s amazing.

Finn really loves his swing. He likes the bouncy seat too, and the play mat, and the rock-n-play. But he LOVES the swing. We actually burnt out the motor in the swing we had left over from Linc because we use it so much. Moving the swing up and down the stairs is annoying, so we take turns sleeping on the couch until he wakes up for his night feeding. Luckily that’s been getting later and later, so 4-5 hour chunks of sleep are possible. As soon as he hits 6 hours in a row consistently we’ll try to transition him to the rock-n-play in the bedroom, but honestly I don’t hate the couch. If he’s fussy or awake for a long time I get to watch stuff on Netflix (Yesterday, the final Jeopardy question was about someone who won an Oscar, a Grammy and an Emmy, and I knew the answer immediately because I had JUST watched the EGOT episode of 30 Rock. Being awake at 2 am is educational!)

I feel a little guilty that Finn doesn’t get out into the world nearly as much as the previous children did. I’ve had a cold for the past 6 weeks. I’m fighting off a touch of PPD. I’m still not fully over my election disappointment (TBH, I really doubt I ever will be). Linc is a fairly difficult 2-year-old and I have a limited number of hands to wrangle him when he throws himself on the floor because I also have to do something with the baby, whether it’s wear him or put him in a stroller or cart. Once Finn is big enough to throw on my back I think we’ll get out a lot more, but I have a few more months before that’s going to happen.

I realize that this monthday update is more about other children than Finnegan. I think it’s a 4th baby problem – right now, all he needs is to be kept alive and clean. His personality is “3-month-old baby”. He isn’t particularly hard or particularly easy. It’s going to take a little longer for me to think of him as a full person.

Likes: Swinging, nursies, throwing up, cuddles, his siblings, music, bath time, his blankie, mommy, daddy.

Dislikes: Being forced to sit up for photos, gas, cold feet.

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That was a sneeze. It was hilarious.

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3 Month Milestones 

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Recognizes your face and scent – Definitely. He totally likes me best.
Holds head steady – He’s almost got it.
Visually tracks moving objects – Yes, he really likes Evan’s lightsaber.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Squeals, gurgles, coos – Yes.
Blows bubbles – Sometimes. He can do it but I’m not sure it’s on purpose.
Recognizes your voice – Unsure. He probably recognizes the Octonauts theme song though.
Does mini-pushup – Sometimes. He’s not much of a tummy time fan.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Rolls over, from tummy to back – He can get about half way. Just enough that I should probably stop leaving him on the couch.
Turns toward loud sounds – It almost worked during photos.
Can bring hands together, bats at toys – He can hold his own hands but I’m not sure it’s intentional.