1) How old is Sefan (usually asked to her face....which she has no idea what they are saying)? Sefan's birthdate was estimated (very incorrectly). Her BC says she will turn 3 in a week. We have been struggling with picking an age for her. She and Wuby are about 2 inches apart in size (Wuby shot up a full inch in July) and Sefan weighs 1 pound less than Wubitu. Emotionally and socially they are equal. Large motor, Sefan is far behind but catching up...we even had to work on running because she favored her right leg alot and her leg muscles were not well develped when she came home. Fine motor, Wuby is light years ahead but always has been exceptionally corrdinated when writing. Wuby can write her full name very very neatly and Sefan has trouble tracing anything. Academically- Sefan is way far behind for obvious reasons, language included. She has her colors down and most of her shapes but we have a long way to go for letters, opposites, prepesitions, etc. So.....we are thinking that we will move Sefan's age up by 1 year and make her turning 4 in 1 week. We have not made a firm decision yet and are still waiting on our agency to follow through and ask Sefan's family in ET for a birthdate. But for now we are going with Sefan being 4ish.
Here is Sefan at the library coloring with Wubitu.

2) What is the age difference between the girls? Are they twins?
This is a FUN one to answer because I get to say "I don't know"....then the fun reaction of....oh I thoght they were yours.....to which I answer.....they are! The truth is both girls' birthdates are estimated so they could have been born on the same day and we would never know for sure. Once we finally for sure decide a birthdate for Sefan we will then give the difference between their birthdates on the birth certificates, which is likely going to be 10 months. Since they are the same size we do get asked if they are twins alot.
(I have zero good pics of the girls together....they always get jealous when the camera is pointed at the other one even if they are both in the picture ...insert eye rolling emoticon here.....right after this photo Sefan came up and I snapped a pic of her and Wubitu stormed off to the corner to pout...oy!)

3) Are they going to be in the same grade?
We are still working on figuring this out. We are thinking that we will likely send Wubitu to Kindergarten next year and Sefan the year after. Sefan has a lot to learn before school and I don't think she will be able to catch up to Wubitu in a years time. The girls are ULTRA competitive and to put them in the same grade could spell disaster. We are still feeling it out right now though. Both girls are enrolled in preschool for the fall. After touching base with the preschool director several times this summer we have decided to put Wubitu in the 4-5 class and Sefan in the 3-4 class based on what each class covers of the year. Wubitu will be learning the sounds of all of the letters and how to spell some words. Sefan will be learning the letters in her name, shapes, and concepts like over, under, beside. We think that giving Sefan another year will help in the long run because she can take her time to learn these concepts and build her confidence since she gets frustrated easily when she can't do things on the first try.

4) How is the transistion going?
My favorite response is "FANTASTIC". The follow up comment from the person is usually "so the girls are getting along well together then!" to which I say...."well, sometimes...usually not so much....but sometimes". The girls are having trouble with sharing everything....including people's affections. They are constantly whining and fussy at me and each other. BUT it gets better everyday. I say that the transistion is going so well though because truely compared to the first time around this has been a breeze! Sefan is so low key, sweet, and loving that she fits very well into our family. Wubitu is very "spirited' which took a long time for me to adapt to because the boys were both more low key like Sefan. So I didn't have to stretch and grow as a parent as much this time around, things have just clicked into place it seems.

5) How are the boys doing with a new sister? They are fine. I am usually caught off guard with this question because I haven't thought about it much. The boys generally play together while the girls play together. BUT Sefan likes to join in when Wuby & Carter play baby or puppy together. Noah tries to snuggle Sefan and she is okay if she initiates the affection but if she didn't initiate then Noah gets rebuffed. (Luckily Noah's feeling have not been hurt by this yet). Sefan likes Noah to carry her around but freaks out and changes her mind quickly and gets down. Sefan thinks Carter is hilarious and Carter enjoys the extra attention to his antics.
I have pics of these two looking at the camera but this one left me a bit teary eyed as Sefan looks up with love at her big brother as they get ready to hold hands for this picture and Carter is so honored to have such a fun, sweet sister.

6) How has it been going from 3-4 kids? I remember discussions about the transistion from 3-4 in playgroups of old. There seemed to be a split in opinion as some say once you go from 2-3 then 3-4 is easy. Others really felt the stress with adding a 4th. We are middle of the road with this. We can definately feel the difference.....some days it feels like we added 4 more kids to the pack, and I am completely overwhelmed and wondering whose crazy idea was it for us to have such a big family? Other days I am completely happy with having such a big family that you can't wipe the smile off my face. However, even when it is hard I am glad we decided to bring Sefan into our home because she really does complete the family. Wubitu & Sefan are great for each other even when they are not getting along. Wubitu & Sefan are both learning to share, and that they do not have to be the center of attention all the time...good character lessons to learn early on. We are now a "big family" officially...going from 3-4....you feel it and see it. You make BIG meals, BIG messes, trips anywhere are a BIG deal, and mom sometimes get a BIG headache from the added noise. But we are adapting and enjoying our time together and wouldn't change a thing!