Disney and Other Good Stuff

In the last month, it's been crazy here in Chicago. It's been an incredibly nice fall. On October 14, the four older Wheelers (Dan, Liz, Annika and Lauren) traveled to Orlando to visit Mickey and Minnie--oh, yeah, and the princesses. Aunt Becky was also in Orlando so we got to see her one night!

We had lunch with Cinderella and her girlfriends in the castle. That part was really cool. I'd love to have a tour of the whole castle sometime. We stayed at a Disney vacation club resort which was really nice. Lauren lived in the kiddie pool and I got tan for the first time this summer (better late than never?). The resort does a good job of making itself a haven from reality. It was an incredibly nice cocoon for six days.




It's been busy since then. The whole family traveled up to the UP to check on the cafe the last weekend of October. John and Cassie joined us and ran the shop that Saturday. John had worked at the cafe for a summer way back when and Cassie also had coffeehouse experience. The clientele loved her; too bad she lives in Minneapolis. We went to First Covenant Church in Iron Mountain that Sunday--it was good to see so many friends and get so many hugs! It was the first time we'd been there with Megan--and she's 10 months old already.
Dan also recently had kidney stones which put him in the ER for some realllly good painkillers. He was flat on his back for four days because of the pain. He's up and around now, but we're still waiting for the stones to finish their travels.

Dan has begun the job interviewing process or "the call process" as it's called in the Covenant church. The Covenant church in the United States is divided into conferences (similar to baseball!). Dan will be meeting with the superintendents of those conferences beginning in January at the annual midwinter conference. I guess I will be, too. Please pray for us as we begin this process, make many decisions, and hope to discern the Lord's will. Annika has decided that we'll move into a home that looks like the one in the Terry Redlin print that we have.

Annika is doing well. She seems to be an introvert, but is making new friends. Her first love Dan Larson is now engaged. She seems unaffected. This is good. She is thorough in her homework which sometimes means her teacher needs to encourage her to finish at home. She is starting to sound out words and is in the beginning stages of reading. She likes spelling and making up "Spanish" words to speak.

Lauren's preschool teacher will be taking a new position after Christmas. Lauren is dealing with that well. Lauren makes up her own songs often and loves dancing.

Emily is still getting us in trouble. She has taken to drinking out of the toilet. How? She gets cups and dips. So gross. Dan really hesitates to kiss her at night. Wonder why? She too likes singing and dancing. She understands much of what we say to her and has stopped whining/tantrumming over everything since we're able to figure out her communications much of the time. Her English is getting better, but still in that very cute stage.

Megan, at long last, has her first two teeth--the bottom ones of course. She also has a real laugh now. She sits well by herself and has begun the first stages of crawling. She can hold herself standing for awhile, too.

If you think of it, drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. I may not answer for awhile, and if I do, it'll probably be after midnight, but real email is good.

Megan Dedicated and Catch-up

Megan was dedicated this morning--a chance for us to say thanks to God for lending Megan to us and affirming we'll do our best to raise her in a way that glorifies him. And a chance to get a lot of other people helping us!

My brother Andrew and his wife Jessica (happy month-iversary!) were able to be with us to celebrate.



Two other seminary couples/families were also able to make it.

Since Andrew's wedding, it's been rather hectic. I and the three younger girls have already been back to Minnesota--I had a business conference there. My mom watched the girls. Annika stayed here in Chicago with Dan. She attended her first graduate level course--made it about 80% of the way through. She also got to go on a couple dates with daddy. Very cool!

I had 14 lesson plans to do before the conference...a few very late nights there. It seems to be the only time to get things done. Hmm. Wonder why. I still have a few pieces to write up about the conference. And I had to get an 8-page newsletter done (written, layout, edited) before we go on our vacation (yes--VACATION!) on Tuesday! Someone gave us free hotel for six nights and someone else gave us two plane tickets (we had two others saved up on credit card points) and yet someone else is paying for friends of our to watch Emily and Megan while we're gone. While they will miss us, they'll have more fun here this week. Wow. It's the first vacation we've been on since 2000 I think.

Annika is loving kindergarten. She's having a rough time getting along with sisters right now. She's using more of her vocab--but is still mixing them up--using "recognized" instead of "remembered." She really enjoys reading--which is good since that's her main "homework" each week for school. She (with a little of Lauren's opinion) dictated a book review. It's on the web at: http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/purplicious

Lauren is loving preschool and is the biggest/oldest kid in her class of three. She got a v-smile for her birthday (preschool version of PlayStation) and is having a blast with it. Comes with a microphone for Alphabet Song karaoke.

She also uses her tummy as an excuse for things--it seems to be the heart of her emotions. "Mommy, my tummy wants to come up and sit with you" while we're driving in the car. I told her my tummy thought it was a bad idea.

Emily is really into everything. We now have to lock the back screen door because the smart stinker figured that one out. She says phone (foe), shoes (shoes), Annika (Annika) and Lauren (Lala).

Megan is sitting by herself and becoming more vocal. Still no teeth!

Below are pics from the last month.
Annika posing
Chicago skyline from the 96th floor of John Hancock building (with Andrew and Jessica Oct. 11)


We did a family photo shoot at a nearby outdoor mall.
Lauren's fourth birthday.

Soggy Summer Camp

North Park in the fall feels a lot like summer camp to me. As I walk around campus at dusk, I hear some of the kids yelling down from dorm or apartment windows to friends below. Two nights ago, a couple guys were on their front stairs playing guitar and singing. And, due to last weekend's flooding, I also see co-eds with their shower baskets traversing campus to the rec building to shower with hot water.

To fill you in, North Park's campus was deluged with water from the North Branch of the Chicago River last weekend after more than eight inches of rain in less than two days. We got back from Minnesota on Sunday night, after criss-crossing back roads to get to campus due to flooding on the main streets. Dan then went to look at the river which was just under the bridge connecting the two sides of campus.

Several of the buildings were evacuated due to flooding or potential safety concerns with water near energy sources.

After two days, the dorms were again open, but the co-eds had to endure cold showers. The school's main dining hall for the undergrads is still closed because the basement was filled with eight feet of water.

The wedding weekend in Minnesota was good, but very busy. Dan was the officiant and Annika and Lauren two of the flower girls. When I get some pics, I'll attach them. We really didn't have time to take any. You can go to davidnewellphotography.com, click on Shop Photos, and choose Jessica and Andrew. Plenty of family pics there.

All six of us are getting over colds which we always seem to get in Minnesota. We just line the girls all up and give them squirts of kiddie tylenol. Anyway, enough for now. Below are some more cute kid quotes.

**9/08
Sometime before Uncle Andrew’s wedding, Annika asked when he and Aunt Jessica were going to have a baby. I told her they couldn’t have a baby until after they were married. Then I asked her how long she thought it would take for them to have a baby: “Um, about seven days, I think.”
**
9/16/08
Lauren, pointing at the blond doll on the cover of Barbie’s Swan Lake DVD: “That’s me when I was a Barbie.”

Annika, after catching the bouquet at Uncle Andrew’s wedding: “I get to get married now! Mommy, can we bring this back to Chicago so I can remember to get married?”

Annika, after getting a new haircut and Daddy commenting that she looked older: “Mommy, how old do I look? 15? 17?” She was pretty excited when I told her she looked at least six.

Lauren: “Mommy, when you were little, were you my size?”

9/17/08
Annika, when asking Mommy to wipe her bum: “I don’t know how to yet. Only when I’m 17.”

9/18/08
Annika, when asked if she thought she’d ever get to Disney World again: “When I’m a mom, I’ll let my kids go whenever they want to.” When we told her it would cost at least $1000, we also asked if she thought her husband would have any money left. “At least seven dollars.”

Apocryphal Bible Stories

One of the good habits we try to maintain in our house is the nightly Bible story for Lauren and Annika. One girl chooses the the Bible story book and the other gets to choose which story we read.

Another "tradition" is my enjoyment of "writing" books which we get printed by one of the photo companies in a photo book.

Tonight as the girls and I were indulging in some chocoliciousness, I was asking the girls what kind of stories they'd like to see in the next book. Annika was excited about another Darth Bader book. She also mentioned a story about a dog that belonged to a farmer who forgot to feed his stock, and they died. But then the farmer O'Gill married Farmer Sophia and they had 7 daughters, 10 sons and of those children 13 were twins.

Lauren mentioned a few stories about pink, horses, and princesses. She also wanted two Bible stories--the "Jack and Jill went up the hill Bible stories" and "Nemo, the girl farmer who had a girl dog named Sarah" [Nemo is sung to the tune of B-I-N-G-O was his name-o, but it's sung "E-I-Veggio, Nemo was his name-o"]

I had to admit I didn't recall reading those in the Bible. She insisted they were in there. I guess my Bible degree at Northwestern isn't worth quite as much as I'd thought.

Annika had her first communion this morning. She was having a little separation anxiety so went to Big Church with me and Dan. She sat through the whole thing, asking good questions and commenting based on the sermon. Pastor Rob was talking about Peter and how he was known for "putting his foot in his mouth" to which Annika replied, "Gross!" She also asked about where heaven really is and what an agate is [a gate]. In the last few months, she really has brought up Jesus and faith often, showing a grasp of what He did for her. When I asked her if she wanted to take communion, she said yes. So we mark September 7 down as another milestone in her faith journey.

Lauren has had a tough week with lying. I guess that means Mommy has had a tough week with lying, too. The first one was about a toy. She said it had been put in the toybox. I went into the toyroom for something else and saw it lying on the floor. I asked her about it. She responded, "I didn't know you were going to check." Oh, boy.

The next one was about finishing her cereal. She said it was gone--I glanced down and saw it was not. Again, she said, "I didn't think you were going to check." Serious consequences followed the third incident regarding potato chips. Hopefully it has been nipped in the bud.

Emily, as you'll note in the pictures, is fascinated with dressing herself.She gets frustrated when she can't fit anymore jeans over her first pair of jeans and her sister's skirt. She will put on anyone's shoes, although she really has difficulty traversing in Dan's clodhoppers (they're clodhoppers when you're 19 months). But, unlike Lauren at this age, she'll keep hats on which is fun.

Megan is at the perfect baby stage. She still has no teeth, but is interactive, rolling over with a strong neck to look around, and sitting up fairly well. She's still an incredibly content baby. Dan and I have been so blessed with our four kids and each other.

See you fellow Minnesotans in four sleeps!



Today's cute quotables:
9/4/08
Lauren, as I put her tights on for preschool: “Ooh, those are very big socks.”

Annika, as she prayed for her breakfast: “And thank you for all the people who share. And thank you for a great mom and dad.”

Annika, later on in the day: “I love Daddy very much even though I’m not nice to him sometimes.”

Dan Larson now has a girlfriend who is not Annika. How does she feel? “That’s okay. He’s going to be really old.”

**
9/5/08
Lauren in response to Dad calling her peanut, “Daddy, don’t call me Peanut.”
“Can I call you Pumpkin?”
“No, you can call me little cute kid.”

Annika's First Day at Kindergarten

Our five-year-old joined the big kids today at Peterson Elementary here in Chicago. It's a four-block walk from our house--one small step for mankind, but a giant one for a little girl and her mother. Annika took it like a woman, though. I asked her last night if it was alright if I cried today. She said, "Moooom [in that teenage 'whatever' voice]. No, it's not alright. I have to go to school. This is how it works." I asked her where she'd heard that from.
"You," she said.
"I lied," I replied.
"No, you didn't. When Jesus comes back, you can ask him why it's this way," she said.

She is in Mrs. McFarland's class with at least one other seminary student's child. A few of the professors have kindergarteners this year, too. We'll be doing "ride" share. It's only half-day which is fabulous. At least I won't be losing my worldy-wise firstborn all day.

As for Lauren, she's been asking for a week, "How many more sleeps until preschool?" She's really looking forward to it and her teacher, Miss Erin who was Annika's teacher last year. We go for orientation on Thursday--what we're calling Lauren's first day of school so it's not as many sleeps away. She gets to play for an hour while we turn in paperwork.

Emily will then rule the roost for a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, although we're hoping she sleeps through most of it. It's hard keeping up with a 19-month old who knows how to use the stepstool to climb on everything! You can't childproof once the child can climb. She can get herself naked now--not necessarily a good thing. She throws tantrums on a regular basis--something Annika and Lauren never really did. Emily throws good ones, too--very thorough. We pretty much ignore them. She sleeps in Annika's bed--for some reason she stays there. Annika doesn't have any pictures left on her wall, but at least Emily stays in bed and eventually goes to sleep. So the toddler is sleeping in the twin bed while her preschool and kindergarten sisters fight over who sleeps in her toddler bed.

Megan is gnawing on everything and is finally willing to choke down a few small spoonfuls of rice cereal. She's still her happy self and is finding her tongue and her voice. Her legs have gotten strong enough to stand from using the walker and the activity center we borrowed from the neighbors. Her bald spot is gone and she slept until 8am this morning!




















Uncle John was here this weekend--we went on an adventure Sunday afternoon to a very cool 9-hole mini-golf course for little kids--they were allowed to climb on all the obstacles! And, on the way home from church and to mini-golf, Uncle John endured countless "why did the sea turtle cross the road" jokes with enigmatic punchlines. Attached are a couple pics and maybe a video if I can figure it out!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Ah, so much happens in the summer months, it's tough to recall exactly what we did when.

Lauren and I had an adventure to Minneapolis on the Megabus. She was a great companion, and it was a fun trip. There was definitely more camaraderie on the way back. We sat down below (on a double-decker) at a table--kind of the kid section. One mom was traveling with four kids. The oldest appeared to be around 10 with the youngest in carrying sling. I don't plan on copying.

And my sister Becky, the trooper that she is, took her three kids on a eight-hour tour of the midwest from Minnesota to Chicago to visit us while her hubby and mine made a run for the border (Canada) to go fishing.











During that weekend, she stayed here with four infants while I took Annika, Lauren and cousin Raegan on the bus to the subway and around the Loop to Ed Debevic's for lunch. It was a good adventure and Raegan had never been on a train before.

Annika starts kindergarten in two weeks. We're hoping to get her into Peterson--it's the only school around here with half-day kindergarten. She's been invited over to preschool friends' houses three times this summer--a first for our family. Lauren is looking forward to having her own friends now since she can't go with Annika on those days.

Lauren will start preschool at North Park Covenant Church where Annika went. Man, they're growing up. Afternoons two days a week I'll only have Megan and Emily. How strange will that be?

Dan begins school in one week. Our playtime will be done. Next year, he has go become gainfully employed again which means a lot less play time during holidays and summer. We've enjoyed our three-year sabbatical.

One thing I am excited about is that I should have two stories running in the October issue of Training magazine. They were a lot of work, but interesting. I covered big banks. They're kind of a different breed from community banks--the bureaucracy to get interviews took a few weeks alone!

We re-listed the cafe (the contract had expired in July) and lowered the price to $74,900. Lord willing, it will be sold before we finish school. Please keep that in your prayers--a sale to someone who loves the Lord and cares about people.

Below are some of my favorite quotes from the girls, and I'll try and talk Dan into attaching some pics. The kids change quickly. Megan already is seven months old.


Cute Quotables:

Lauren, when asked who a certain picture was of: “It’s me—your cute little girl!”

Lauren, naked: “Mommy, I’m cold. Hurry and get my shoes and socks on.”

Liz: "Annika, do you think Aunt Sara will have a boy or a girl?"
Annika: "I think she’ll have a boy AND a girl—twins!"
Lauren: "I think she’ll have two boys and two girls."

Lauren looking at the purple flowers at the conservatory: “Those ones are grape.”

Annika's rationale on why Daddy always gets the Hamburglar glass at dinner: "Girls don't get scary glasses."

What Lauren had for breakfast at Grandma Barb's: Cocoa Creepies (krispies)

According to Lauren, who is the fat boy in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory who falls into the chocolate river? Gus Gus Goop (Augustus Gloop)

**
8/6/08
Today Dan Larson dropped by—our upstairs neighbor and friend from the UP. Annika had something to tell him, but was shy. So she whispered the bombshell in Lauren’s ear and told her to tell Larson: “Annika wants to marry you.”

Dan’s a good guy. He’ll be a great son-in-law despite being only seven years younger than us.

Lauren also invited Dan to his first tea party. Dutifully Dan participated. Lauren poured his sugar for him (from the creamer bowl), then the tea and stirred it for him. However, Dan did not crook his pinky while drinking.
**

Super Heroes

While still incredibly enamored with princesses, Annika still chose Spiderman as her toothbrush at our last toothbrush buying outing.

This last Sunday as we helped celebrate Gramma Pat's 80th birthday, Annika was playing superhero with Colin, one of the other kids at the event. The next day, Annika came and asked me, "What was that girl's name again? That Super Kitty?" I had to think for a moment and then remembered what I had overheard. Ahhh, I thought to myself, and then said aloud, "You mean Cat Woman?" I don't believe Annika knows Cat Woman is a villain. Of course, Annika still likes Darth, too, and Cinderella's stepmother.

Megan is gumming everything in sight which probably means two little teeth will be popping through in the next few weeks. She's not drooling up a storm just yet. She can now hold her own bottle which is fabulous at 5:30 a.m. We have her in the walker now as she wants to sit upright more.

Lauren is still the free spirit. Tonight, just before playing in the park, she put her pants back on. I informed her they were on backwards and she replied, "That's okay. I want them on backwards." Okay.

Tonight, Annika and I had a date night. We had a friend drop us off at the nearby park where they were showing The Last Mimzy (our car is getting its bumper replaced after a slight mishap in Minneapolis). The movie was just scary enough she was willing to crawl on my lap for parts of it. As stresses about the cafe continue to darken my emotional doorstep, I cling to the saying that the joy of the Lord is my strength and count my kids as a major part of that joy--and cling to them for all I'm worth knowing that this stage goes by too quickly.

How Quickly They Learn

Just overnight, Emily now speaks recognizable English. All of the sudden, this morning, she wanted cereal and said please (pea) and thank you (ta tuu). And when leaving some friends she waved and said bye (baa). So strange how quickly this happens. I’m hoping I got some of her babble on video before that’s gone forever!

Last night, Lauren slept in my bed since Dan is in Canada fishing. At nearly 10 p.m., she begged me to turn out the lights because "my bones are so tired."

Today Lauren was showing me that she could cross her laces, a prerequisite for tying bows. She was pretty much jumping up and down saying, "I'm learning; I'm learning a lot." She loves learning and is more intrinsically motivated than Annika. Lauren practices something many times in order to learn it--whistling for example. She can do it, but Annika can't. Lauren has also taught herself a lot of her letters--she sees them and then just keeps practicing until she gets it. Annika is smart and learns many things quickly, but isn't nearly as persistent.

Lauren’s pronunciation of hippopotamus: o’thomases
Annika’s pronunciation of kaleidoscope: padiscope
Annika’s favorite sodas: root beer and Stripe

Annika at Disney for starters

From Annika:
I liked the Snow White ride and I liked the merry-go-round. And I like the Winnie the Pooh ride. If they just called him Winnie Pooh, then he would be like Potty-Poo.


I didn't like the plane ride because it made my head feel sore a little. They give me pretzels all the time. I ate some of the pretzels.

I had the root beer float in Disney. I got it from a thing where they make dinner and sundaes--strawberry and a chocolate sundae.


I saw Cinderella, Belle and Ariel, and Sleeping Beauty and Jasmine--I saw all the Princesses. I saw Darth Bader, too and I saw his guards guarding him back [stormtroopers]. And that's all I want to say.






**
For Annika's fifth birthday, her Uncle Steve and Aunt Sara (my sister) took her to Disney World. Annika had a blast! After I admonished her about airplane turbulence, ears popping, the possible cost of sodas onboard, seeing the cockpit and getting wings for being a junior pilot, she informed Dan via phone later, "Tell Mommy she was wrong about everything." How soon children get disillusioned. Apparently, pop was still free on this flight, the turbulence wasn't too bad, she didn't need the gum to pop her ears and she didn't get to see the cockpit because "the pilot was on the phone with all the Disney hotels."



She was a trooper and even stayed up until 2:30a.m. one night because those staying on Disney properties have special hours--shorter lines. So the three of them took advantage of Annika's happy and apparently night-owl disposition and hung out at the park late. She was safely returned to us last Sunday (June 29) after her first official plane rides. She liked Darth and came back with a Darth and Mickey t-shirt, a princess cell phone, and a Darth Vader light saber keychain. And Minnie ears.

As for those of use left behind, we hobbled along without Annika. Lauren and I went on a special date to the Art Institute of Chicago and then took the el to meet Annika at the airport.

Recent quotables:
Lauren: “And Sarah Ruhl—she’s a really good human.”
Lauren, on seeing a recent picture of Dan: “That was me when I was a little boy.”
Annika, on what we’re having for dinner : “Peter Pizzas” (pizzas on pitas)
Lauren: “Daddy, can you crack my head bones?” Lauren likes cracking her bones. Usually, it means she’s stretching. I’m not sure what she was asking Daddy to do.
Lauren praying: “And thank you for dreaming. I dream of Diego.”

Jud and Favorite Quotes

Yes, I may be a writer, but I'm also a mother of four. That's my excuse for such few blog entries.

Well, of the last six weeks, we've spent 7 nights in our own beds. After spending three weeks in Minneapolis, we were home six days before finding out Dan's dad had had a heart attack. So we re-folded the clothes that had just come out of suitcases and returned to Minneapolis--much easier packing the second time around. Not wanting to overburden Jud and Yvonne, I and the three youngest girls stayed at my mom's about 15 minutes down the road. Dan and Annika stayed with his parents. Why Annika you may ask? Because she has Daddy wrapped around her little finger. "Daddy, I want to spend time with you. I don't get to spend much time with you when you're in school." He instantly melted.

Jud is doing well. He didn't have to have open heart surgery; he's home, but getting his endurance up to pre-constricted artery levels will be slow. We're just extremely glad he's around to work on his endurance.

We tried returning to Chicago on Saturday, but two of us having the flu made that a poor decision. We came back yesterday. Rear view mirrors are great tools for watching Emily dance to "Locomotion" at the end of the Thomas the Tank Engine movie while Annika and Lauren sang to it.

Today's quotes:
Lauren at 1:45 a.m. next to my bedside: "Well, I was thinking I should sleep with you for a little while."

Lauren at dinner with a salad dressing she didn't like: "I don't think this is good for children."

Annika, excited about her eighth cousin being born in December: "They can't name the baby Darth Vader if it's a girl. That would be weird. I think, if it's a girl, they should name her Princess Leia." Ahh, after Uncle Steve's own heart! (Sara--you got your way with Bailey. It's Steve's turn now!)

Bringing in the Sheaves

The title is a throwback to my memories of Little House on the Prairie. Not that you needed to know that--but I'm attempting to create a sense of suspense by not telling you my exciting news right away. No, I'm not pregnant (that would be exciting though, wouldn't it?).

This morning in church, our pastor Rob Peterson was talking about The Fall in the book of Genesis. He said one of the greatest things we could do was to spend time with our kids and show them our love--he mentioned that every time Adam and Eve walked by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and obeyed, they were showing love to God (just so you know how this all ties together).

I thought about how I kind of thought one of the greatest things in life was sharing God with others and another great thing was spending time with your kids. So, tonight I tied them together. As I was putting Annika to bed, I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. We've discussed this line of thinking before so it wasn't new--just more of a resolution. She said, "Jesus is already in my heart." I explained that Jesus doesn't get in there until you allow him in. I said, "Annika, it's like when a friend comes over to play. They knock on the door, but you have to actually open the door and invite them in." She said that she wanted to do that. She was willing to repeat after me. She seemed to feel a little silly about this because I was being so serious, but she repeated after me, with a few extra fingers in her mouth for good measure.

After we finished praying, I asked her a few questions about how serious she was. She said she was serious, and I know she grasps the concepts of obeying, making Jesus happy, Jesus helping us try to obey, and asking for forgiveness. She then went to tell Daddy. She was "nervous" about it, but eventually gave him clues like, "Daddy, it has to do with Jesus and believing and my heart." So Dan figured it out. He then suggested we call Grandma and Papa which we did since it was only 9:20 at night. This of course meant for many phone calls because of the size of our extended family.

As Annika made more calls, she got more comfortable telling people that she "put Jesus in my heart and God, too" and that when someone asks her if she believes in Jesus, she'll tell them, "Yes!"

So June 8, 2008 goes in Annika's new princess Bible (for her birthday). I'll post more later. Anything else now seems rather anticlimactic.

Little People

The last two weeks have gone by quickly. On April 19, the seminary had a Field Day. I don't realize how small my children are until they're with the big kids. Annika and her friend Audrey were in a "potato sack" race--the next tallest kids were about double their height.



And, with spring here we're trying to get the kids outdoors more often--some for the health benefit, and most for the go-to-sleep-at-night factor. Our first day in the park this year, I ventured out with Megan in my arms and the other three running. To my surprise, Emily, the 15-month-old, went straight to the ladder of the playhouse. I hadn't counted on that since I had another infant in my arms and was ill-prepared to do more than supervise. She made it up the stairs just fine--and down the slide many times, too.


Megan is now 3.5 months old and experimenting--she hasn't rolled over yet completely, but does 360s on the ground. Obviously, she has found her tongue. She also knows how to spit out the nuk with unfortunate regularity.

As for Em, she also likes pushing buttons (figuratively and literally). Thus the usage of anything that looks like a remote, a cell phone or a computer keyboard.

Lauren, despite our many warnings, kept bringing me lovely yellow flowers--from the seminary's landscaping. So we decided to plant our own garden for her to pick later. As with many "pets", Dan is the main one taking care of it, I think.

Lauren is still our night owl. She's still wide awake and it's midnight. Last night, we had her in our bed so she wouldn't keep her other sisters awake. I was doing one last Sudoku before bed (at midnight) on my side of the bed when she looked at me and said, "Mother, read to your child." And tonight, I called her "dear heart" to which she replied, "Mom, don't call me that. I'm not a heart. I'm your daughter."

Annika is excited about her trip to Disney World in June. Tonight, she made me tell her what I remembered about my trip to Orlando (when I was 14, I think). I actually remember bits of my visit to Disneyland when I was 5--just her age--with my parents and Great-Gramma Svenson. We all have Elizabeth in our name. Annika thought that was cool.

Things I Never Thought About Never Doing

Today was filled with firsts for me. I never thought I'd have to scan the web for effective doll-hair washing techniques. Who knew Windex was good for more than window-washing and wart removal (My Big Fat Greek Wedding allusion)?

Emily got "showered" in the kitchen sink. Her hair needs a wash after every meal--she's kind of a performance artist with food--full-body immersion into her work.

It's amazing--it's only been hours since this morning, but I can't remember what I did all day. I didn't eat bon-bons or catch any soaps.

Yesterday was a wash for getting anything done (of course, with four kids, everything gets undone so quickly it's arguable that anything gets done on any given day--but I digress). Our doctor's office was closed so I took Megan to the ER for a raspy cough. When information on the Internet that has "infant dry cough" as a symptom for SIDS, you take the kid in. Call me paranoid. I'm cool with that.

The diagnosis, after 4.5 hours in a Chicago hospital, was croup. Didn't know what that was either. Basically a cold virus, inflammation of the voicebox. Can be bad if the inflammation gets too bad, if the baby has labored breathing for too long. Megan had a breathing treatment and diagnosis of a mild case. She's sleeping well and quietly (and yes, she's breathing).

Emily is now saying more words. With us knowing that these are the last chances we'll have to memorialize some of these stages on tape, we've been taking more pics and videotaping. I pulled out the video camera last night as Emily and Lauren were playing the "drop the cup repeatedly and I'll pick it up" game. Emily stopped playing to look at me and say, "Cheese." Scary. And she definitely has the temper tantrum mastered.

Annika is enjoying helping Daddy in the kitchen. Aunt Sara brought us an Amish friendship bread starter when she was here. Well, what goes around...we got another batch which we baked this weekend and are now giving more starters away. Annika gave one to her friend today with the instructions, "You mush this for 10 days and then it becomes bread."

Disciplining different kids requires different tactics. Parenting is all about creativity. If you threaten Annika with taking away her toys, she's very quick to do as she's told and clean up. However, Lauren..."Lauren, if you don't help Annika pick up your toys, I'm going to keep them in my room." Lauren's response: "Okay, Mommy. You can pick them up." So defeating. So we threaten corporal punishment (no, that's not a death sentence--you're confusing corporal with capital--BIG difference).

Parenting is a trip--a chaotic one to be sure, but we wouldn't trade it. Sara sent us an email a few weeks ago about a woman in their church who's dealing with the violent loss of her children. Six years ago, I didn't know what I was missing and therefore didn't miss it. Now, I can't imagine the pain that mom is going through.

Here are a few pics. The girls found Dan's Bubba teeth (hideous!) in his nightstand and decided to try them out. Then Lauren tried on Daddy's glasses--then Daddy reciprocated and Lauren took his picture. Then, more pics of Megan. None of Annika this time.

Ahh Spring

You can tell by the dearth of our blogging that the second half of the semester has occurred. Dan spends more time in the library getting papers written and articles read. I stay home and try to keep all balls in the air while the circus performs in its four separate rings.

As Megan gets bigger and begins to outgrow her bassinet, we're beginning the search for a toddler bed for Emily--a toddler bed for an infant. Alas, that's all the space we have in the girls room (picture four little girls with dressers, books and beds in solitary confinement).

We're glad they're all small. They squeeze in together better.

Annika has begun pouting. Four is much too young to begin this. I was thinking twelve perhaps. We visited a local kindergarten--she begins in the fall. Here in Chicago, kindergarten is a bit too competitive for me. If we didn't want to go to our local school (which we don't), we needed to enter the "lottery" for entrance into another Chicago Public School. We didn't know that--so we didn't. We did find one school that interests us--small school with only one class per grade from K-8, nice teacher, good administrator. Downside is that it's all-day kindergarten. I don't know if I'm ready for that. We just ordered her a Cinderella lunch bag and backpack in anticipation of that. Ebay is fabulous, let me tell you.

Lauren's new thing is "Daddy, don't do that or I'll be very angry with you." It's not the words so much that are entertaining as her emphasis. Hopefully we'll get it on video to harass her with later in life. She's very tenderhearted and is quick to say "I'm sorry" meaningfully. She's our free-thinker. She can but a braided basket on her back and tell us she's a turtle or a laundry basket on her head and tell us she's a robot. She also makes up raps; I'm not even sure where she heard one to mimic. Again--the emphasis makes it and it's video-worthy. "Check it out, boom ,boom. Check it out, boom , boom." She wanted to make a snowman tonight with a toothpick and radishes. She sings her own songs frequently, also. I'm thinking creative arts in college.

Emily--no longer the walk of a drunk sailor, she careens through the house and hurtles over the base of the baby gates (we now have two). She's into everything and most of that goes in her mouth. She doesn't swallow it--just kind of squirrels it there. Many a Barbie shoe or princess tiara no longer needs to go to the cleaner. She can say, "Mamamama," but she delightedly squeals when Daddy enters the room. That's the downside of all girls--they're all Daddy's.

Tonight, Annika wanted to play outside at the park. We were getting ready for company and Dan said he had to help Mommy. Her reply? "Just let Mommy do all the work; you can stay out here and watch me." Discouraging.

Megan has lost the newborn look and is now in the infant stage. This means she weighs a ton and her eyes are wide open and alert. She also wants to be held more--she's getting more assertive and doesn't take no or a pacifier for an answer. Lauren still adores her sister too much. I asked Lauren to watch her for a moment as I washed my hands. I had just changed Megan's diaper on the couch and didn't want her to roll off while I was gone. I neglected to tell Number Two not to take Number Four off the couch. I had to come rushing back to the living room to see what the pained cry was about. Again, Lauren was quick to say she was sorry and that she didn't want to break Megan like she did Daddy's camera (which was easily fixed).

Since our last blog, we've had several visitors come and meet our newest addition. Uncle Steve and Aunt Sara Davis were here for Easter weekend. We got a sitter and the four oldest Wheelers (mom, dad, Annika, Lauren) along with S and S headed to the Kohl Children's Museum--it's more popart playland than museum as one thinks of it. Annika like the dolly daycare complete with anatomically correct boy doll. Lauren liked the pint-size Dominick's grocery store. Kids could put on an apron and work the cash registers, too, which beeped when a bar code went across the scanner. The museum also has a Chase ATM which does NOT dispense money, but shows a calculator. Annika's favorite was the Pet Vet station complete with Cat and Dog Scans (ahhahah, I'm so funny!) and xrays. We got a family membership for this next year--it'll be great for winter and it gets us into the Minnesota Kids Museum also.

On Easter Sunday, Uncle Brian, Aunt Rosalie and Cousin Judy Pike were over for dinner. There was quite the egg hunt with four or five adults hiding three little bags with goodies, three Pez eggs, three baskets and plastic eggs with candy and quarters. Annika was up until midnight--I'm guessing eating the whole chocolate bunny did it.

Tonight Uncle Lou (Sandy) Pike and Aunt Kris were here for dinner. Ironically, we saw them 10 months ago. We have pics of them holding Emily then; tonight we took nearly identical pictures of them with Megan. They were up visiting Uncle Brian about an hour away. We really appreciated them taking the time to come into the city. It seems whatever family I'm related to that lived in Chicago at one time really dislikes it now--and that's on both sides! I think Gramma Pat and Aunt Linda will get to meet Megan in July; rumor has it they're coming to town to paint it red for Gramma's 80th birthday.

Last weekend, we made the trek out to the suburbs to see Uncle Steve and Aunt Karen Marcomb and Grandma Dawn. It was the first time for them to meet Megan. Grandma held her a lot--good arm muscles! We had a great time and a great lunch and we all ate too much.

We know we're blessed despite the chaos and lack of time to really spend with each daughter individually. I cherish the few moments Emily will rest her head on my arm or when Lauren will climb up on my lap in the rocking chair. I'm trying to savor each day, but each day seems so filled with chaos, it's hard to watch it in slow motion.