Abby,

Where has the year gone? It seems like yesterday that we drove to the hospital in the cold, dark, and yes, even snow. I still remember walking into L&D and saying “Hi, I’m Ann and I’m having my baby today.”

Wasn’t it just yesterday that we came home on that gorgeous 80 degree day? All the windows of the house open, balloons flying everywhere, baby toys lovingly set out in the family room, your sisters begging for us to let you play with each toy, not understanding that you were far too little for a bouncy seat, a swing, or a play mat.

No, it has been a year, and so we stop to celebrate you, Abby, on your first birthday.

We celebrate you because you are so amazing.You are your own little person, and every day we get another glimpse into who you are. You are funny. You are good natured and happy. You laugh and smile and rarely cry. You pay attention to everything, hear everything, see everything.

You won’t crawl, but you can get wherever you want to go by scooting along on your bottom. You are loud, exploring your voice with the different sounds that you can make. You love to sleep, which has been a blessing for your parents. From the beginning you had a schedule that worked for everyone and you certainly win the prize for best sleeper of the Sepersky girls.

You love to eat. I spent so much time worrying about breastfeeding in the beginning. Once we figured out that it was formula that you wanted, it was smooth sailing. Now you’ll try anything we offer you. Every new food gets the same confused face, followed by a smile, “More please!”

Yes, Abby, you are amazing.

I think you had a great day. You and I had a few really great snuggles. You played with your sisters. Boom Boom came while Katherine and I took a school field trip. Gram and PopPop came just as you woke up from your nap – full of smiles. Your sisters helped you open you presents, and even let you play with some of them. We had a lovely dinner (interrupted only briefly by Katherine’s upset tummy.) Kathy and George brought Darcy and Sebastian over for cake and we all sang and helped you blow out the candles. And you had your first cupcake, not eating the cake, but certainly enjoying the chocolate frosting all over your face. And then a warm bath, snuggly jammies, and a comfy bed to sleep in.

I can’t believe that you, my baby, are already one. There are many days when I just want to stop time and keep you sweet and snuggly. But I know that I can’t keep you little forever. Instead, I enjoy each day as you learn something new, discover a new trick, laugh your belly laugh, shout at your sisters, wrap your arms around my neck, scoot across the room, and squeal with delight. Every day with you is a treat for me. I love you Abby. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Funny Katherine story from today.

As we buckled in after preschool, I told her that we needed to stop at the grocery store on the way home to get milk. She looked at me with a very sad face and said "But Mommy, I'm so hungry, I just want to go home and eat my hammy and cheese, but no bread." Because I was also hungry, and because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to buy for dinner yet anyway, we went home. We all had lunch and Katherine announced that she would like "steak meat" for dinner tonight. "Ok," I answered "please find your sandals so we can go over to Pick-n-Save to buy milk and steak meat."

While backing down the driveway, I saw my neighbor and called over that we'd be back shortly, just running for milk, and confirmed out "plans" for a post-nap playdate on such a lovely day.

We drove over to the grocery store and as we pulled into the parking lot, Katherine piped up in the back seat, "Mommy, this is not Pick - Save, this is the Grocery Store."

"Well, honey, Pick-n-Save is the grocery store, the name of the store is Pick-n-Save"

"But is Pick-n-Save the first name and Grocery Store is the last name? Or is Grocery Store the first name?"

I told her I thought that Pick-n-Save was the first name and Grocery Store could be the last name.

"But Mommy, my name is Katherine CLAIRE Sepersky, does Pick-n-Save have a CLAIRE name too?"

I had no good answer for her. I distracted her by letting her ride in a "car cart" and giggled to myself as I wandered the through the produce.

Incidentally, my neighbor called my cell just as I was giggling. Turns out, she needed a gallon of milk, too. Would I mind grabbing one for her while I was there?

Have I mentioned how much I love my neighbors? Chris and I have never had neighbors we'd care to talk to, let alone have a relationship with. Reason number 6479 why we're glad we moved here - grabbing a gallon of milk for Kathy on my quick trip to the store.

It's hard to believe that last post was just one week ago. And the cheerful, excited feeling of that day - gorgeous weather, time outside, happy family. Yeah, about that. That was one day. the rest of the week? Let's just say it wasn't all sunshine and roses. In fact, we had clouds, snow, and cranky children! I think everyone was glad to get back to normal routines today.

It wasn't all bad. Truly, it wasn't. And I think a lot of our troubles were due to bad weather and my lack of mobility. But, just for a moment, let's go back to last week. Look at the girls enjoying their lunch in the play house. See the love between them, no fighting, bickering, squabbling at all- right? Ahhh, that was a glorious day.

Abby used her time on the deck to practice her new favorite phrase, "UH-OH!" She found it hilarious to drop plastic dishes off the side of the deck and squeal "UH-OH" Maggie didn't really mind picking the dishes up, either. But, I'm sure that trick will grow old soon enough.

After Monday, the weather turned wet and cold. It was a true test of our newest experiment - limiting TV. I've been battling, especially with Katherine, about how much TV the girls watch. So, beginning last week we created a system of coupons, each good for 1 half-hour show, or, 1 half-hour of Wii play. Not knowing exactly how the idea would work, we started with 4 tickets a day. Truth be told, they have yet to run out of tickets in one day. (Their tickets automatically renew overnight.) And it's super cute to watch them think about if they really want to use a precious coupon for a show they don't care about, or should they save it for later? I think that after this second week, we'll bump it to phase 2, adding the idea of Earning the tickets, but we'll see. One battle at a time. So far I'm satisfied that they are not defaulting to "I wanna watch TV" or "One more show, Please, just ONE MORE!" every chance they get. They're playing together, reading together, and finding new activities to keep them busy. Unfortunately, with that increase in togetherness, came an increase in squabbling, bickering, and driving us crazy!

Katherine has been downright terrible for the last week. Just acting out every chance she gets, and challenging us every step of the way. I know I read somewhere that behavior changes in the second half of a year - and then after a birthday things seem to get better. If that is true, I can't wait for May 25! I'm ready for my sweet 4 year old instead of a beastly 3 1/2 year old! Friday night, as Chris was doing baths, she was fighting, not wanting her bath. Maybe she wanted me to do her bath (which I can't because I can't bend that way with my knee yet) maybe she was tired, I don't really know. What I do know is that she was kicking and splashing and refusing to stop no matter what Chris said or what distracting techniques he tried. He was being very patient and calm, but then she actually hit him, hard. He picked her up, soapy and wet, and carried her into our room for a "dark time out."

(in our house there is nothing more serious than "dark time out" it maybe in the laundry room or our bedroom, but there are no lights on, no communication, nothing to do at all except sit and think about whatever the offense has been.)

This was new, no one had ever been sent to time out while soaking wet. Now, before you call social services, it was less than 5 minutes, she had a towel, and she knew that all she had to do to get out was stop screaming, apologize to Daddy, and agree to take a normal, non-violent bath. She did, and the point was made. But really - what happened to sweet little Katherine? On Sunday, she was caught going into the street after a ball. That is a HUGE deal here. We've made it very clear, that no matter what, you NEVER go into the street for ANYTHING. She was brought inside and put int he regular time out chair (in the living room.) While Chris and I were talking in the kitchen, we heard the front door open. Katherine had decided she was NOT going to stay in time out, and she took herself right back outside. Oh, yes she did. She was immediately brought to her room, for dark time out/nap. No toys/animals/books in her bed, no CD music to listen to. It was very sad to hear her crying about it, but still, the point had to be made. And really - how gutsy is that, to walk out of time out? Sheesh!

Luckily for Katherine, she has had a few really cute moments this week. As she and I got comfortable before reading stories one night, she randomly announced "Mommy, I think people call underpants, underpants because they go UNDER your pants! But sometimes I wear a dress, a skirt, some shorts, (pause) But, I think I'll still call them underpants because it's a funny word."

And, I can't remember the context, but one night at dinner she asked if the "ladys and the mans" would be able to do something. Seems she's been taking a lesson from her Aunt Bridget! (If you're familiar with Geraghty Lore, you'll remember that Bridget had a quote during our England trip regarding "Man Dad." )

Actually her grammatical error is an excellent lead in to my Maggie stories from the week. Maggie has decided that it is her job to correct Katherine at every opportunity. In the story above it was a dramatic sigh, eye roll, and "Katherine, you say MEN, not Mans, Mans is NOT right!" She's just about mastered the dramatic sigh and eye roll. She's working on the injustice pout now. Her latest gripe is "But I'm ALMOST 6 1/2 years old, why do I have to......" It's a tough life for Maggie.

OK, this post has gotten incredibly long. But entertaining, no? Check out this picture Chris took of the girls near the Aquarium at Discovery World last week.

We found a deal for 1/2 price family membership and jumped at the chance. The museum is a bit "old" for them, but our membership gets us free admission to many other museums. And it comes with discounted parking in a prime location downtown Milwaukee! Seeing Lake Michigan at the museum, and spending time in an exhibit about the Great Lakes made quite an impact on Maggie. Sunday morning we had a few minutes to kill, so I drove past our old house and then through the park nearby. I pointed out that if they looked out the window they could see the Lake, and Maggie marveled, "Wow, Lake Michigan is so huge, I think it covers half of the whole Earth! I mean, It's like 121 inches big!" Ah yes, perspective!

And finally, Abby's latest news. She can open any cabinet door she finds. She has quite an entertaining technique that I'm trying to capture on video. But the bottom line is nothing is safe from her anymore! And she's smart enough to remove the child safety locks if they aren't fully engaged.

I also enjoyed watching her play with a little boy at Church yesterday. We had a few minutes while Maggie and Katherine were still in class, so I let Abby play in the nursery room (GERMS!) There was a 16 month old boy playing as well, and Katherine stood up to him like you wouldn't believe. First thing she did was scoot right over to him and basically yell (happily) but at full volume. I think it was her greeting. Then they played happily taking cars out of one box and putting them into another. But when Abby found the Elmo phone and Ronnie tried to take it away from her, she got right in his face, shouted some collection of syllables, and yanked it right back away from him. It was hilarious! Just look at the devilish look in her eye! Be afraid, be very afraid of Abby!

And so we survived Spring break. Today, everyone is back to normal routines. Tomorrow, I start physical Therapy to regain my full use of my knee again. Next week is Abby's birthday. Fun times!

After writing the last post, I came down with a bout of Spring Fever. And we've been so busy enjoying the sunshine that I have neglected the blog. I was scolded yesterday, so here you are.

Let's start with today - a GORGEOUS day in Franklin. It's the first day of spring break and the weather could not be any nicer! Maggie and Katherine were outside from 9-1230, even eating their lunch picnic style in their play house. Abby and I were in and out during that time. She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself outside. She found it difficult to scoot along in the grass or on the deck, she wasn't too fond of her hat, and she was frustrated that each time she found something interesting enough to eat, I grabbed it out of her hands.

Yesterday we enjoyed a day in West Bend celebrating Easter with the Sepersky clan. Grandma (Boom Boom) made a delicious lunch and we enjoyed time with the "Great Greats" and Uncle Bill and Aunt Evy. The day started at 0645 when Maggie and Katherine exclaimed "we can see the eggs, the bunny came to our house!" before running down the stairs to find their surprises. They found plenty of plastic eggs filled with M&Ms and Jelly Beans for the big girls, cheerios and goldfish crackers for Abby. They were excited about jump ropes, coloring books and watercolors as well.

The last few weeks have been pretty busy. I spent 2 days as a substitute teacher in Katherine's preschool class. We had a great time. What a fun age, but wow, I think I'm glad I don't have 20 3-5 year olds every day!

Chris had his spring concerts which were, of course, a smashing success. The theme this year was Broadway Hits and the audience really connected with the songs. Maggie and Katherine had been listening to a CD Chris made for them so they knew every song. Thankfully, they remembered to sing only in their heads during the concerts. They both enjoyed getting on stage after the concert though - to dream about being a star some day.

Abby had her 11 month birthday on the 21st of March. It's hard to believe she's only 3 weeks from her first birthday! She had her last bottle of formula today and will be on regular milk from here on out. (I was tired of buying formula, so I declared this was the last can. She's been on half milk/half formula for about 2 weeks and doing fine.) She's been experimenting with plenty of other "real" foods too. She loves fruit, bread, crackers, cheese, deli meat, pizza, peas, carrots, and beans. In fact I'm not sure she has rejected anything we've offered her! Except of course, her cup. She does NOT like to drink from her cup - no matter what I put in there- juice, water, milk- she'll bite on the spout, and occasionally something drips into her mouth, but she sputters and gags and throws her cup to the floor when that happens.

She continues to use her bottom to scoot along - not crawling in a traditional form. She pulls herself to her knees, and a few times we've found her standing, but for the most part she is not interested in standing or walking yet. She likes to sit herself up, especially in her crib. She is no longer the easiest baby to put to sleep as she will sit up and play and then cry for you to come back and settle her back down again.

Her favorite playtime activities are knocking down towers of blocks and shrieking with delight, and eating her board books. As well as destroying whatever her sisters are playing with.

Finally, my news from last week - I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee to repair a lateral meniscus tear and remove a cyst. I've had a nagging pain for as long as I can remember, but it always went away with an ibuprofen. I mentioned it during a routine physical and suddenly I was having an MRI, meeting with an orthopedic surgeon and having surgery. It was a same day procedure, and thanks to my Dad and Chris' Mom, the girls barely noticed I was gone. Recovery is going well and while I'm not up to my usual speed yet, I'm happy to be free of crutches and mostly free of pain meds.

Depending on how my knee is feeling, and if my doctor will allow it, I hope to be walking in the March of Dimes March for Babies on April 24. Even if I am not able to walk, I will support the cause, and those who will walk. I walk in memory of my nephew Will, and in honor of the many babies saved by the work of March of Dimes. You can support me with my walk by clicking here, or use the same link to find a walk in your area. Thank you!

And now that we're all up to date, it's time to get back out and enjoy the sunshine. Tomorrow's forecast is for cooler temperatures and rain! Boo!

Happy St Patrick's Day from the Seperskys! We had a fun day wearing green and pretending to dance like the "fancy girls dance." It's always amusing to see people's reactions when I make a big dal about wearing green and celebrating. Most people around here know us only as THE SEPERSKYS and would never think that we are Irish. So I tend to overdo it just a bit.

Chris took the girls to a St Patrick's Day event to watch some Irish dancers while I was at work on Sunday . When I asked Katherine if she danced with the dancers, she said "No, the wady tode us to give a hoot, a how-wa, or a cwap, so I just cwapped for the ones in the fancy dresses wif twiggy hair."

(Translation, the lady told us to give a hoot, holler, or clap, so I clapped for the ones with the twiggy hair.) She misunderstood the idea of a wig, and just thought the name of their hair was "twiggy hair"

So another year and more green things. Now it's time to pack the shamrocks and pull out the Easter eggs. Hooray for spring!

Another day, another trip to see our pediatrician. Today it was Maggie, who got up from rest time wailing in pain and holding her right ear. Perhaps just to make me feel guilty, she told me that it had been hurting during rest time, but since I said they weren't supposed to talk or get up until I told them it was OK, she just waited an tried to cry quietly until it was time to get up.

Ouch.

So a quick call to the office and it was sure - we've missed you - it's been a week since you were here!

A not so quick trip to the office (with all 3) proved Maggie had reason to cry, both ears, severely infected, and another round of antibiotics for her.

The day wasn't all doom and gloom though. Maggie came skipping home from school to report she had won a B.E.N award. I forget what it stands for, but her teacher nominated her for "managing her impulsivity" how funny is that? Maggie's been trying to win an award all year. Other kids have gotten it for being nice, or cleaning up without being asked. She has come home more time than I can count wondering why she hadn't gotten one yet since she helps and listens etc. This was a BIG day for her. And I especially get a kick out of "managing your impulsivity" as that is a phrase her teacher uses often enough that Maggie attempts to use it on Katherine. Cracks me up every time!

Katherine's excitement for the day was planting a seed at preschool and bringing it home. She has looked at the little pot about every 5 minutes to see if anything is growing yet. She also tried to read the seed a story. Let's hope Peas are fast growers - because I'm not sure how many days we can look at just dirt!

Abby's news is that it was warm enough to wear a regular jacket today instead of a full snowsuit - Hooray! She babbled more than usual in her car seat and there was the constant sound of jacket swishing and feet kicking seat. She can finally move her arms and legs while in her seat and she is thrilled! I also tok this video of her scooting along the hallway today. She was actually going back and forth chasing the girls, who kept moving to get away from Abby. Poor Abby must have gone back and forth about 15 times. She didn't mind, she just wanted to be part of the big kid action!

Over the weekend we took advantage of the first sunny, "warm" ( 42 degrees) day and went to a local park. There was still more snow than we expected, so we didn't last too long, but it was nice to be out!

2 weeks ago we celebrated PopPop's birthday in Evanston. Unfortunately, Abby's dinner didn't agree with her and we had to make a quick exit just as dinner was served. But we were happy to be there for at least part of the celebration!

It's been a crazy week, dealing with Strep throat last week and some other bug (possibly strep, sinus infection, who knows) this week. (Maggie last week, little girls this week.)

Yesterday I spent a quiet hour in the afternoon going through bins of clothes, sorting what fits, who it fits, which season it belongs to, etc. I found some things for Abby that I had almost forgotten about, and suddenly she has a new wardrobe.

One of the outfits was purchased by Gram, for Maggie, and was featured in one of Maggie's more memorable videos, exactly 5 years ago, she was 16 months old.

After we watched that video, the girls wanted to watch LOTS of videos from that website. The first one they chose was This one, no joke. Katherine, at 17 months old, wearing the same outfit. (incidentally that video was taken in the weeks just before our move, life was CRAZY!)

So we turned on the video camera and captured Abby, in the same outfit, at only 10 months old. She doesn't sing, speak, or even walk yet, but it's still entertaining. Enjoy!