Catherine Sarah

The girls met their first cousin on the Wellman side on Sunday!

As we drove through Aunt Annette and Uncle Tom's neighborhood, we passed their park. Miriam said, "Do they take Catherine to that park now?"

"No," Mommy answered. "But maybe in the spring she'll be about big enough to push in the baby swings."

"No, no!" Miriam said in a rush. "I mean, on the slide!" 

Perhaps the girls didn't realize how small and helpless a new baby really is...

They all got a turn or five holding her, kissing her, and smushing her chunky cheeks.

In between little girl turns, Mommy, Aunt Nichole, and Daddy got to hold Catherine, too.

Catherine pretty much slept through it all.

Before leaving Windsor, we had dinner at a diner/ice cream parlor.

Catherine slept through that, too.

Soon enough she'll be slurping down the cotton candy/bubble gum/cookie dough ice cream with her cousins.

Puppies

We've said this week to several people that the girls are like puppies now - when Miriam comes home from school they just jump around one another, bouncing from snack to homework to play to play to play to dinner to bath - happy to be together after another day apart. They are just so familiar with those together days.

2012

They still don't seem to be quite used to this new "apart time". Vivian tries to be a good big sister and Felicity tolerates her heavy-handed nurturing. Slowly but surely, our two youngest girls are growing closer and closer.

But Miriam's personality offers them a balance and guiding presence that they are a little lost without at times during the day.

Vivian likes to mimic all of Miriam's homework - she will be teaching the other kindergartners next year.

Felicity has gotten wise on homework time and offers to take a bath. Alone. All the tub all to herself. 

Labor Day weekend was wonderful - lots of Tim's family was here, our town has a great classic car festival, and we got a long weekend together as a family.

With all kinds of time at the pool wearing the girls out. (In the picture below, find Felicity stalking Aunt Michelle's birthday cake.)

We're starting to understand how wonderful all the days off from school will be because they mean a few more minutes of three little girls and their mom and dad together.

School, Swimming, Snow...

Well, no actual snow. But we did go to Canada for a day, which is almost like seeing snow.

But before that there was this little miracle where three little girls sat peacefully on the couch reading library books.

And Miriam caught this wide-mouth bass in Grandpa's neighborhood pond. Record setting fisherwoman. 

We enjoyed one of the most fun parish picnics with good food, truly wonderful people, bounce houses, smores over a campfire, and more!

We've gotten into a new routine. Mommy, Felicity, and Vivian stand at the garage door and wave the Daddy and Miriam off as they leave for work and school...

...unless Miriam is riding the school bus - on Thursday mornings, Daddy goes to the adoration chapel and she gets to ride the school bus. It means waking up 45 minutes earlier, but she is always THRILLED for the adventure.

Mommy and the two youngest girls go about the day with activities and errands and naps until it's pick up time. After we get Miriam from school, sometimes we stop at the park to play for a bit.

Or we go to Mema's pool to burn off a little energy.

All three girls are getting to be great swimmers. Miriam doesn't need a life jacket anymore on the deep end. Vivian isn't afraid to jump in at all and can paddle around where ever with the aid of a life vest. Felicity will jump off the diving board now without holding anyone's hand. She still needs help getting to where she wants to go, but she'll get the hang of the doggie paddle any day now.

They're big girls getting braver and bolder and stronger everyday.

On Our Plates: Tom's Crockpot Chili

Uncle Tom and Aunt Annette are expecting a baby any day now...a new cousin for our girls! So we'll share one of our favorite freezer/crockpot meals that Tom made for us back when he and Annette were engaged. 

It goes quickly every time we fix it here. Mommy made a double batch for a Super Bowl party a couple years ago...family members were literally scraping the sides of the crock trying to get the last bites out. It's a simple recipe, but apparently the flavors really satisfy. Enjoy!

And we can't wait to meet you, Baby Hrywna! Neither can your parents.

Tom's Chili
Seasoning Mix
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chili
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 - 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 - 15 oz cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed 

Label a gallon freezer bag with the date, recipe name, and cooking instructions. Mix together seasoning mix - you only need a little so store the rest in an airtight container for next time. In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Mix 5 tsp of seasoning mix into the cooked ground beef.  Add all ingredients except one can of kidney beans to the gallon freezer bag. Mash the second can of beans up in a blender or food processor or with a potato masher and add them to the bag, too. Seal the bag, letting out as much air as you can, and lay in the freezer. When I'm ready to cook this, I cut the bag open, dump it into the crockpot completely frozen, and cook on low for about 8 hours.

Pet Ownership

We have a praying mantis! It's our pet...perfect for us. Low maintenance. Outdoors. Doesn't shed (except it does). Awesome.

It's been living on the front porch for a few nights. We check for it in the evenings. Tonight, we found an exoskeleton and we were a little sad that it might have moved on...

Minutes later, Miriam let out a shriek from the playroom. Our pet was still hanging out! And definitely bigger.

He's a little shy, but we don't mind. Maybe we'll name him if he sticks around for another day.

Other news: We "found" an empty kitchen cupboard. Mom didn't actually realize it was up there...so we have some room to grow!

Miriam had her first sick day. Basically, got some kind of infection which made her run a fever which meant she got on an antibiotic but had to be fever free for 24 hours to go to school. So a not-so-sick sick day. But the girls really seemed to appreciate the bonus time together.

Mommy liked getting to do activities with all three girls again!

And today Mommy went to the zoo with just two kids. Two happy, wild, fun girls. It was different, but still good.

When it rains, it pours

And when we're on a roll blogging, we just can't stop!

Ok...mini-update on each girl for SCHOOL: DAY 2. DUHN DUHN DUHHHHHNNNNN.

MIRIAM
Yesterday, Miriam's principal sent this email to Mommy.

Miriam is doing so well!

I've spent the first hour of the day in the Kdg classroom observing and I am excited to share what a joy that was!

The group is so attentive and Miriam was one of the first to help when the teacher asked for assistance with

crayon pick up!  She has been an amazing listener, kind, and was following directions well.

Her smile is so bright!

This is going to be a wonderful year!

Three things can be surmised from this email: the principal is very kind, Miriam is a great kid, and it's super obvious to the entire world that sending a child to school was on the top of Mommy's "DREADFUL THINGS I MUST DO" list.

VIVIAN

Has asked about seventy times, "How many days until I start school?" and "Why doesn't sister have a rest time at school?" and "What do you think Miriam is doing right now?" Clearly she does NOT miss Miriam. If she does, she will deny it with her dying breath.

Also, she read Mommy this book today:

Topic is very appropriate for her right now and ALL Mo Willems books are beyond fantastic. Lots of it she had memorized, but some of it she actually had to read and did a pretty stinkin' good job! Not having Miriam around will be good for Vivian to get more undivided attention from her Mommy and show off her own skills.

FELICITY

Ya know, there's not enough change in our house right now...let's potty train. Perfect. So she had her first no-diaper outing this morning. No accidents in public = success.

Since we've returned home, she's had three accidents. Patience is the word of the day on this one.

First of the First Days

Miriam had her first day of kindergarten today. And it went beautifully. No one broke down crying. No one refused to leave their parents. All was just as it should be.

But before all of that...we had some pre-school moments together doing our favorite family things to wrap up our last days before school starts and we all get shoved into a new routine and lifestyle called family-with-school-aged-children. Uncharted waters. New horizons. Earlier bedtimes!

Anyways...favorite family things...Saturday we took a walk through downtown Auburn, enjoyed our pretty town, laughed at our goofy children, had pizza for lunch. 

Sunday was normal...Mass, brunch with Tim's family, pool party with church friends, family naptime...best way to enjoy a summer day. Monday, Mommy took the girls to the zoo. It was practically empty and everyone was in a great mood. If you only look at this blog twice a year, it's evident Mommy and the girls LOVE the zoo and max out the value of our zoo membership. Needless to say, all parties were thrilled that we got in one more visit before s-c-h-o-o-l...

But we've made it through one day. All of us. The world didn't actually stop rotating because our family changed the very slightest bit (though Mommy did, in the most dramatic recesses of her mind, expect it to).  Vivian claims she didn't miss Miriam. Daddy didn't cry when he had to leave her at the door with the super kind principal and big-kid helpers. Felicity claims she is going to school "toomawwoah". Miriam loved pretty much every moment and recited the run-down of how her day went several times. And then asked, "How many hours until school starts again?"