Preschool and organizing closets

So, what have the Ulrichs been up to lately? Well, I have begun the massive task of changing seasons/sizes for my 3 girls. Brooklyn was a big help here holding down the tubs. She loves standing up and attention!! She cried when I went away to get my camera.

As you can see from the top of this picture, I have an assortment of sizes out for Brooklyn at the moment. I just hate to miss out on cute winter clothes, so I got some stuff out of my 6 and 9 month boxes just in case she could wear it. At first I was trying things on her to see if they fit, but that didn't last too long. The sleeper she is wearing her is 0-3 and still fits fine. Crazy girl!

Haddie also started Preschool on Monday! She is having such a great time and we are doing it with some of her friends from last year which is great for her and me (I get to reconnect with some moms I haven't seen in a while). We are doing the MTHS preschool, so her teachers are high school students learning more about early education. It is a great program. There are as many teachers as kids so she gets a lot of personal attention and we get some babysitter ideas, too. Plus it is super cheap ($20 for the entire semester, 4 days a week!)

An Introduction to the Ice

We spent a few days this week down in Saint Louis with my parents, and it was a much needed change of scenery for all of us! One of the hilights was spending a day at the St. Louis Mills Mall. It has great outlet stores like Carters, Gymboree, Children's Place, Gap and Old Navy, a movie theater, and best of all, a skating rink. Brendon took each of the girls out for their first spin on the ice, and they both loved it. We are looking forward to coming back and trying it again when the girls aren't so tired.

Sierra posing with the smallest skates they made. We were lucky they fit. Childrens size 8.

Haddie did a great job holding her skates steady. Here dad is demonstrating the finer points. Maybe he should give me lessons, too. I stayed firmly on the ground with the camera this time.

Sierra was a little more wobbly but she still had a great time.

Smiling with daddy. You can't see it but I am taking pictures from the penalty box :) This was a practice arena for the St. Louis Blues.

And when the girls got tired, Brendon gave them each a ride around the rink. We were fortunate to have the whole place to ourselves. Thanks for a great trip, mom and dad!

Christmas Festival

On Saturday, we went to a small town Christmas festival. The girls had a wonderful time. Haddie got a candy cane painted on her cheek. Sierra had a gingerbread man. I was impressed with how well they stayed still.

Afterwards, we went for rides on a shetland pony named Sandy. They did a great job.



And here are our little carolers.

Finally, we took a picture with Santa (and now you can see that Brooklyn was with us, just too little for some of the other activities). I was really surprised at how well they did. Sierra was a bit nervous, but she warmed up with her sister next to her.

My favorite was after the picture when Haddie said "Mommy, santa is really big. Is he bigger than God?" This prompted a very interesting discussion. In case you are wondering, we take pictures with Santa and tell him what we want for Christmas, but presents are from mommy and daddy. He isn't magical or anything.

They also had a balloon man, which was the end of our fun because Haddie received a balloon while Sierra, being 2, was too young and could only have a little plastic whale. This was not a good substitute and there were many tears. Once we got home, we ignored Mr. Balloon Man's safety suggestion and Haddie had to share her balloon with her sister. This was somewhat better, but the balloon still didn't make it through the day. Sigh. Oh well, they had some good times with it before it popped.

Taking a break

Well, hello again! After a long rest from blogging I am ready to dig in again. Brooklyn had her 6 month check up today and we are happy that she is growing very well along her own little curve. She was 23 in. long and weighed 10 lbs, 11 ozs. The doctor says she is doing really well and we are going to start working on solids, hoping she will begin to catch up to the normal growth curve for a baby her age. She is also starting to lift her head up off the ground from her tummy really well. Her legs always come up behind her making it more difficult. It is hard work, catching up!!

Checkups

We had a marathon of doctor visits today. Brooklyn and Sierra each had a checkup. Since they both see the same doctors, we were able to make one trip and schedule them back to back.

Sierra had her 2 year checkup and weighed 25 and a half pounds (40th percentile) and was 33 inches tall (25th percentile)

Brooklyn had her 3 month checkup and weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. She is growing well compared to her previous measurements but is still under all the growth percentiles for her age (which is normal for how premature she was for the next 3-6 months). The doctor says she is doing great for where she started. Her umbilical hernia is still present, and apparently should go away on its own but it could take anywhere from months to years.

It was hard to find pics of Sierra and Brooklyn together, but here are a couple. Sierra loves to pat Brooklyn when she fusses.

Photo Session and Braids

After the older girls went to bed, I got a chance to take some pictures that were long overdue. Brooklyn is almost too old for these "naked pictures," but I thought it was still very cute. We are blessed with each of our girls, but Brooklyn is our little miracle child! If you look back at older pictures from May especially, she has really filled out!!

Sleeping with mommy.

Wide awake

Playing with daddy

I had to include this one. Sierra's hair is just barely long enough, but I have been wanting to try it in braids for a while now. This isn't a great picture, but I thought they just turned out adorable! Of course they didn't last all night.

A day at the farm

We have been having a great time on Brendon's parents farm this summer. The girls love the animals and the room to run around. Here are some pictures from a recent day on the farm.

Liz cuddles up with Sierra and Reatha's dog, Max.

Sierra and Haddie both like to sit on the saddles and pretend they are riding a horse.

Sierra climbing the fence.

Brooklyn slept through pretty much the whole afternoon.

Brandis sitting with Haddie and Sierra on a rack full of hay.