Just a Spoonful of Sugar

A date with my beautiful Rachel!!  We got to get away from the crazy house and go to Mary Poppins at the Orpheum!  It was such a fantastic musical and we had awesome seats.  But the best part of the night is that we got to do something special just the two of us.  It was like the good 'ol days when she used to be my coffee shop buddy.  She was so pooped out after the 3hrs there she fell asleep before I got on Hwy 169!!  We were lucky to have gotten this photo.  I had to delete the photos of her and I because I guess the back drop is copy-write.  I didn't delete this one though!!!  And I didn't get caught!

Lauren 2 months

Wow, good thing I got Lauren's 1 month posted not too long ago.  Makes her two month mark seem like it came really fast!

Lauren 2 months 4-28-13

Well this pretty little Lauren girl is in fact TWO months old.  It sure seems like two months postpartum goes by quicker than two months prior to delivery.  Is it the lack of sleep?  The confusion of what day it is?  The constant state of being comatose?  Ok, it really hasn't been that bad.  She, for the most part is a really good baby.  It would be nice if she could sleep thru the night, is that too much to ask?  The girls are still fighting over her...not as much as in the beginning but it's still about who gets to hold her first and who held her the most.  Lauren is alert and recognizes the girls' voices and reacts by giving them a huge gummer smile.  I enjoy chatting with her while the girls are at school.  We can hear ourselves then.  She likes to smile alot and she is starting to coo more.  She's trying to find her voice, but in this house it may be a challenge!  She had her 2 month check on Monday and she's the smallest of all the girls at this point.  Of course that can change in an instant.  It's fun though to look back and compare all the girls and wonder what they'll all grow up to be.  I wonder who will be the tallest?  My bet is on Emily. :)  Lauren weighed in at 9 lbs. 12 oz and was 22-1/4" long.  Not big in size but big in our hearts.  We love this little girl and can't imagine life without her.  Never did I think I'd have this many kids but boy, am I one lucky mom.  There's definitely something to having a lot of siblings.  These girls are going to be each others best friends...

 

And the winners are.....

Caitlin & Emily!!!
This past Saturday the girls brought their science fair projects to regionals in Mankato and did a fabulous job.  It was an all day affair, presenting their projects to 3-4 different judges and competing against hundreds of kids in their age groups.  Caitlin took home a 1st place and $40 target gift card and Emily took 3rd and $20 walmart gift card.  So proud of them!!

Salfer Sacramental Saturday & Sunday

We started off last weekend with the wedding celebration of our nephew, the oldest grandkid on the Salfer side, John and his love Gina.  Despite the cold weather and snow on the ground, they had a beautiful wedding.  The ceremony was by far my favorite of all weddings I've been to.  During the lighting of the unity candle, John, while blowing out his candle, accidentally blew out the unity candle.  Then on the way back to Gina's mom, John stepped on Gina's dress.  It was classic!  While Gina was hugging her mom, she was handed a lighter and went back and quickly lit the unity candle.  Everyone got quite the laugh.  They were such great sports about it all.  Caitlin and Emily helped at the reception.  Natalie and Rachel were regulars at the chocolate fountain!  Lauren was a great baby.  Had to nurse her in the bridal room at the church in front of the bride and bridesmaids and then nursed her at the end of the reception while trying to be moved out of our spot while they were getting the dance floor ready.  It was embarrassing and  funny all at the same time.  I should be making a list of all the wierd and inopportune times/places I've had to feed Lauren.  It's getting to be a long list!  The girls, Brian and I had such a fun time at the dance.  All the cousins were dancing and some even trying to learn to Polka.  When we left the dance we walked out to snow flurries.  Oh man...will this winter ever leave us alone?  

While we were enjoying our yummy food at the reception, our other nephew Caleb was being confirmed back in Wabasso.  So a wedding and confirmation on Saturday and then why not throw Lauren's baptism in too? :)

The oldest and youngest Salfer Grandchildren

So after a long night of having fun, we slept in and got ourselves ready for Lauren's baptism.  We decided to have her baptism take place at our church's LifeTeen mass in the evening because Brian is a core team member in the LifeTeen program and we've gotten to know quite a lot of teens in the past few years.  Also, mass was at 5:30pm so we could sleep in!  We had invited everyone to come to our house in the early afternoon for cake and food.  It was nice to visit and relax.  We then headed to the church for the baptism.  Lauren did great...no crying :)

Lauren's Godparents-Jeff & Heather Gilbertson

The Crazy Crew-9 kids, 4 adults.  Wow.

Father Phil & Lauren...so happy he could baptize her!

Grandma Elaine made Lauren's beautiful baptismal gown

I am a Child of God

April Snow

We have had such crazy weather this March/April.  On April 18th, school was closed early, due to a snow storm that dumped 8 inches of snow/slush/ice.  School was closed the next day.  On Tuesday the 23rd, school was 2hrs late because of another couple inches of snow/sleet/ice.  Then, yesterday, the 26th, the kids were begging to wear shorts because it was 70 something dgrees!  Only in MN!  Luckily all the snow melted..but we didn't want to get too excited...The weather forcast for the following week had us possibly getting more snow.  This seems more like February not April!

Lauren's ONE month

One Month 3/28/13

What a sweet, sweet baby girl she is.  It's always fun to see a baby start to interact with their smiling.  With all the love she receives from her sisters, it would be hard not to smile about that!  We're getting used to getting up multiple times during the night, however she did go one week with only getting up once during the night.  But all who are parents know that it's a short lived occurance, at least this early on.  The one thing that I've noticed is that it takes us at least double the normal time to get ready to go somewhere.  I'm sure we'll get that time down eventually when we find our "new" rhythm.  It's nice to have all the helpers, holding Lauren, giving me a break while I make dinner or clean up a bit around the house.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be blessed with 5 daughters...oh how good God is to me.  I can't imagine life without this new little bundle.  She is a sweet sweet gift from above.

Auntie Annie & the boy cousins!

Finally the weather and being healthy permitted Annie and the boys to come down to St. Peter to meet little Miss Lauren.  We had been trying since right after she was born but almost a month later they finally were able to come.  Owen seems pretty happy holding a little baby..hint hint Annie. :)  It was great that they were able to just hang out with us for the day.  The girls love seeing their boy cousins and I thoroughly enjoy watching the non-stop energy they both exude.  And their cuteness is beyond words...LOVE LOVE those little boys.

Science Fair & Music Makers

Way back in February while I was giving birth to Lauren, Caitlin and Emily were presenting their Science Fair presentations to the judges.  Literally at the same time.  No lie. :)  From what I've heard the girls did very well in their presenting and they both won a trip to the Regional Science Fair that will be held in Mankato this next weekend.  It was Emily's first year, Caitlin's 4th and last year.  Though there were times during the research and actually doing the project that didn't seem so fun, the work that they did, did actually pay off.  It was nice to see Emily try something and surprise herself and show herself that she is a good student and that she can do something when she puts her mind to it.  Sometimes she needs a little nudging. :)

Emily's Project

Caitlin's Project

In March, the John Ireland Children's Choir and School Band performed a couple songs for their classmates, teachers and families.  The kids do an awesome job and sing so beautifully.  They practice twice a week for choir and once a week for band.

Lauren's new man

This is Lauren and her new man, Michael, who was born 8 days after her.  He weighed one ounce less and was 1/4" longer than Lauren.  In the picture it looks like she's way bigger but really she isn't.  They're going to be great friends and Michael's dad is already making arrangements for a future wedding. :)

Easter 2013

After I hard boiled 2 dozen eggs, the girls were off and running, dying them all by themselves while Brian and I painted.  They did awesome and had a great time.  Even with 24 eggs they still managed to have a fight as to who had dyed the most eggs.  ugh....sisterly love. :)

We decided to go to Easter Vigil this year, hoping the late night wouldn't affect the girls and surprisingly they did fantastic.  Mass was around 2 hours long and we didn't hear any complaining.  However I was out nursing Lauren for a good part of that time. :)  The girls looked so pretty in their coordinating outfits too!  That's the fun of having girls to dress!  Brian & I didn't look too shabby either!  Next up, Easter Egg hunts galore!!!!!

The first egg hunt took place at our house.  Since it was freezing cold on Easter morning, with snow on the ground in places, the Easter bunny was kind enough to hide the baskets and eggs around the house for the girls.  He left us with clues for the girls in case they couldn't find their baskets.  The girls could choose to use the clues if they wanted.  And the bunny sure did hide the baskets in unusual places.  So it wasn't as easy as they thought it might be!  There isn't a picture of Rachel close up because she didn't have pj pants on!  Once the hunt was  over and a few pieces of candy eaten, it was off to Gpa & Gma Moores house.

At the Moore side, Bobby, Laura and the girls were there along with Great Gma Schueller.  Mom made a fabulous dinner and Mya and Ally made and decorated cupcakes for Gpa Tom's birthday, which was on Easter Sunday.  We missed Annie Matt & the boys though.  After dinner, the kids went outside to find over 140 eggs that Bobby, Brian and Dad had hid.  The "Golden" egg was also hidden.  Who ever found this egg this year got $12.  Random number, I know.  I believe that is what mom had in her wallet. :)  The kids had a great time and got lots of fun candy and treats, some healthy.  Caitlin got two empty eggs :)  I think Bobby had gotten to them first!  Even though it was freezing cold out, they didn't come inside until they found all the eggs.  The winner of the Golden Egg this year was Emily.  She was generous enough to give $1 to all the kids and kept $7 to herself.  She was pretty excited to have found it before Caitlin did!

And for dessert a special bday cake for Dad and all his pretty little granddaughters.  He sure is lucky!!

Next stop of the day, Gpa & Gma Salfers house.  They must have been getting impatient for us to get there because we got a phone call on our way over to Wabasso.  The other kids/cousins were anxiously waiting for the crazy Egg hunt at the Salfer's.  Usually eggs are hidden up in the trees, on the roof of the house, etc.  This year, again since it was cold out, the crew didn't get too creative in hiding the eggs.  Everyone found their eggs in record time and headed back inside to warm up.  The kids were in candy heaven and ate way too much during the day.  So did us adults!  We had a very FUN day with grandparents, aunts, crazy uncles and wild cousins.  We rolled back into St. Peter around 11:30pm.  What a day!