Birthday Party #1 for #4

Little #4 had no problem with her birthday cake. In fact, looking at photos from her siblings’ first birthdays, she was clearly the cleanest after she was done.  The boys were probably at a disadvantage since their frosting was chocolate… 1st birthdays

She took handfuls of cake with such skill and intention, she has clearly been watching her older siblings over the last 12 months.  We had a ton of fun with family and friends who were able to join us for cupcakes and ice cream.

1st bday party 2014

Happy 1st birthday, sweetheart!  We love you!

 

Little #4 turns 1!

Happy 1st birthday to our Little #4!

My sweet girl, you have brought so much excitement and joy to our house since you arrived a year ago.  Even after witnessing it happen four times now, I cannot believe how much growth and development takes place during the first year.  Your grin of 8 teeth always brings a smile to my face and your now trademark scowl never fails to make me giggle.

#4 scowl smile

Music brings out your grooving side – you bounce up and down if you’re sitting and you shake side-to-side if you’re standing next to something.  You’re not quite interested in walking or running, but that’s ok with me – I’m not ready for you to be doing that quite yet either!  You have become quite skilled at crawling up the stairs though, so we definitely have to keep an eye on you – you’re fast!

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Your siblings are both a source of entertainment for you as well as playmates and protectors.  They love you so much and would do anything to help you, keep you safe, and make you smile.  As your mom, I pray that the four of you will always remain close.  The bonds you already have at such a young age are incredibly precious.

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Daddy and I love you very much and are extremely grateful that God chose us to be your parents.  May He bless you with many more happy birthdays!

Love,

Mommy

#4 cupcake and present

Christmas Day 2013

The Littles got up filled with excitement this morning!  They went downstairs and quickly found their stockings filled with an assortment of stocking stuffers and  new pj’s.  Once Jake and I came downstairs they started handing out gifts – finding the ones they picked out for me and begging me to open them.  My heart melted.  They didn’t want to open THEIR gifts, they wanted me to open mine.  (I told them I was excited to see what they picked out for me, but did convince them to open some of their gifts first.)  When I finally opened my presents, I found that once again, they each picked out something that was extremely thoughtful.  Little #1 knows I love elephants, so he chose an elephant calendar for my office wall.  Little #2 overheard that my hand mixer had seen better days, so he selected an amazing replacement one for me.  (I opened his present a day early because (1) he couldn’t contain his excitement and (2) he wanted me to use it for mixing up the batter for the cookies we made on Christmas Eve morning.  Little #3 apparently made a bee-line for the nail polish at Target when she went shopping with her dad and selected two nail polishes.  (She’s big in to having me paint her nails and then wants to paint mine.)  Little #4’s gift was a set of four mini-spatulas, which I have been secretly hoping would show up in my kitchen.  Four wonderful, thoughtful presents from my four Littles.

The gifts the Littles received were theme based this year.  I had heard about the idea of giving kids something they need, something they want, something to read, and we added giving them something to share among the four of them.  I wrapped each theme in similar paper and the kids took turns opening their themed gift.  I thought it worked quite well and would like to use the same idea next year.

Xmas at home 2013

After quiet/naptime, we loaded up the truck and headed for Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  Everyone was home for the afternoon/evening.  We had dinner as a family and then took a few group photos before opening presents.

It started with two:

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Two became seven:

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Add six more:

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And it gets crazy!

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The kids of course, thoroughly enjoyed opening their gifts.  Little #4 was delighted to play with the paper and boxes.

Sheck fam Xmas 2013

Christmas Eve baking

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Nana and Papa are coming over tonight after we all go to mass. The Shecklets are baking Papa’s favorite gumdrop cookies for dessert.  (Great Grandma Fran’s recipe.)

Apples for applesauce

It has been FREEZING here for a week.  Not your typical December freezing, but middle-of-January, don’t -leave-the-house-unless-you-have-to, and bundle-up-so-you-only-see-your-eyes, freezing.  I like to think I can handle the cold relatively well, but this has been ridiculous for December.  I can only hope it will make getting through January’s cold a bit easier.

Jake takes the boys to the bus stop every morning, so I have only left the house to pick them up in the afternoon.  I feel like a hermit.  And while I’m grateful that I haven’t had have to take the girls out unnecessarily, my cupboards are a bit bare and I’ve had to get creative with meals because I haven’t been able to get to the grocery store.

The uber-frigid temps caused the refrigerator in the garage to hibernate.  Who knew?  Apparently it can get too cold for the fridge to work.  It makes sense now that I think about it, but in our old house, our second fridge was in the basement, so it was never an issue.  Due to its temporary non-working state, I moved our frozen items into the house freezer and left the random assortment of beverages and a tasty big bag of apples from my MIL in the fridge.  Little did I know, the fridge became more of a freezer.  The apples I was hoping to send in my boys’ lunches, froze.  🙁

So what does one do with frozen apples?  You let them thaw a bit so your fingers don’t freeze while you peel them, cut them up and make applesauce.  The house smells delectable this afternoon.

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Sisters help each other

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“I’m doing a good job feeding [Little #4]! I’m a big girl feeding [Little #4]!” said a very proud Little #3 this morning.

Super hero mask

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Little #3 received a mask and cape for her second birthday a year ago. I am pretty sure it is her most-worn accessory.

As a random side note, now that we’re in the season of holiday grocery items that can only be purchased once a year, I picked up some egg nog.  The kids love it.  I mix half egg nog and half milk together because otherwise it is just too thick.  Anyway, this afternoon, Little #3 started requesting Egg Milk for her beverage with meals.  It is just too cute to correct 🙂

Ham and Gorgonzola Pizza

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Little #2 likes to pick out dinner ideas from the cookbook he gave me for Christmas last year. Tonight he helped prepare our meal.