Up To My Armpits Again

Today makes me appreciate yesterday. Yesterday I was able to get things done; Today, I had to make a choice between taking a shower and running the vacuum. In the spirit of mommy-maintenance, I chose to shower thinking I could do the vacuuming after the girls got home. Reality set in, but thankfully it will wait for tomorrow.
Today Emily was grumpy and wanted to be held most of the time while Nathan was excited to explore and get into everything. I guess I can be grateful that at least I got to shower!

It's funny the little things you start to be grateful for when you have little ones at home. I've been there before, but am being reminded again at how nice even a five minute (ok, TWO!) break between chaotic episodes is. How lovely an extra minute in the bathroom is; the ability to actually wash my hair AND shave in the shower; to empty the dishwasher all at one time, without being interrupted; all sorts of little things that get to be adjusted when there are tiny people around.

My past experience tells me this stage is going to seem like it lasts forever, until one day the house is quiet and Emily has gone to school all day. Nathan will have already been there. I look forward to that time, but I also know that when the girls were suddenly gone I wondered if I'd paid attention and soaked it all in like I should have. I know I did the best I could at the time. But with experience comes at least a little wisdom and this time I'd like to just enjoy more and worry less. Here's to the second time around!

I Just Might Be the Meanest Mom in the World

Today has been my first "get things done" day. I've done laundry and cleaned my bathroom. I've dusted and put things away. My house is in desperate need of some TLC, and it feels good to accomplish something again. I am still sore, but getting better.

In addition to these things, I walked into Kathryn and Melissa's room this morning to find that the clean clothes I'd sent them to get put away several days ago were stuffed in their closet and under their beds. I also found their closet full of church clothes and things that were put there to make their room look clean when they were told to clean up. They've been asked if their clothes were put away and if their room was clean. They told us yes. And from the doorway the room did look clean... but, I learned today that we've been duped. Lied to!!

So I did what I've threatened to do more than once ~ I went to the garage and found one of our very large black trash bags and started loading it with anything and everything that was on the floor or stuffed in the closet. I took everything away but the clothes that have been properly put away in their closet or in their dresser. I left their shoes. I left their books on the bookshelf, but everything else but the beds and the dresser is GONE.

I expected at least a little bit of drama when the girls got home today. Melissa asked me who cleaned her room. I told her I did. She asked where stuff was. I told her it was gone for now. She asked if she still had her Baby Born. I told her not now. And that was it. Kathryn came home not feeling good and took a long nap after school. She saw her room, but I have yet to hear anything from her.

As I took things out, I had to figure out how they might get any of these things back. I decided that they'd be able to earn things back when they showed me they could take care of what they had left. With the laundry I did today, their bins are full of clothes to put away. If they can do that, they might be able to have something.

While Kathryn slept, Melissa went to her room and did her homework. That's something she doesn't usually do. And it has caused me to wonder if the peacefulness in the room from the lack of stuff might just be a wonderful thing. Though we try hard to keep things to just what they really want, maybe there was still too much. This might just be a good chance to pass along quite a bit more than we thought we'd be comfortable with.

We'll see how long it takes for anyone to notice something they think is important is missing. I know I put Kathryn's soccer bag away, and it has her cleats and shin guards in it I think. She'll need that come Friday for practice.

But the overabundance of baby clothes and Build a Bear stuff. The lap harp that we can't keep tuned, and the fourteenth soccer ball pillow.... those might not be so missed, in comparison to a room that right now is very easy to keep clean.

I guess I can handle being the meanest mom in the world. I just hope my kids are better for it.

We Blessed Emily Today

We are on the tail end of a wonderful weekend. Kurt's sisters and their families traveled from Utah to be with us, and Chris and his family and Jon joined us from Boise for lots of fun and Emily's blessing today. Isn't she pretty!

Emily wore the dress that Kathryn and Melissa were blessed in. I think I'm going to frame it so we can keep it out to remind us of these special days. I might even find pictures of all the girls to go around it. Wow, am I ambitious!





Kurt blessed Emily to be healthy and happy and to make choices that would bring her happiness. He blessed her that she would find a worthy companion to take her to the temple.
Overall, very beautiful and simple. Just lovely.

We were so glad to have my dad and his wife Karolyn join us at church for Emily's blessing. Wouldn't have been the same without them there!!

Here are the blessing circle participants:




That's David, Kurt, Chris & Jon. Grandpa is holding Emily.









After the blessing we came back to our house for a dinner of Hawaiian Haystacks. I don't think anyone left hungry. Sure hope not! The food was great thanks to Kurt and Grandma.

I was totally indulged to be able to take pictures of different groupings of kids today. Groupings that have significance probably only to me, but hopefully everyone will enjoy. Check this off of my life's "to do" list. To start, I took a picture of all the oldests:


Logan, Kellie, Kimberlee and Elizabeth










Then there are the youngests:






Hailee, Emily, Shelby and Olivia








Ok, some of these are going to take some explaining..... Next I took the 10-year olds:
Jessica, Kathryn & Kimberlee


Then there are the 8-year olds:
Melissa & Madalyn

And don't forget the newest teenagers, the 13-year olds:
Michelle & Elizabeth

I took two pictures of all three boys:
















A perfect display of how much boys aren't interested in getting their picture taken! Too funny. That's Derek, Nathan and Logan, BTW.


We got the original "kids" to pose with their parents:












Wendy even got to sit on her mom's knee! That's Kurt, Angela & Chris in the back. Wendy, Gwen, Fred and Jon in front. Where would we all be without these people? Yikes, I don't even want to think about that...



Perhaps a little more obscure groupings, but important (to me!) nevertheless:

Jennie and I had babies in March and August eight years ago. I was March, she was August. This year we switched and had babies in March and August, but the other way around. Here they are:

Emily, Melissa, Madalyn & Shelby













And finally ~ I can't even be responsible for this one. Melissa came to me and wanted to take the "middle child" picture. Only Wendy and I have odd numbers, so here are Derek and
Melissa:
















Finally, I snapped this one while we were in between activities:






Hey! Even though we're a few of the mommies, we are all the youngest, too. Isn't THAT something??








Some highlights from the rest of our weekend:

Getting 17 kids to look the same direction and smile. These are all the grandkids!






Playing Blokus. We all have one! And disagreeing which is better ~ reduced fat or double stuf oreos. No one's mind was changed...



Taking self portraits:


Watching Nathan try to get the ice he loves out of his glass:


Capturing one of Emily's first smiles ~ this was the third one. We have Grandma Freeman to thank for coaxing this out of her:


We continued our newish tradition of going to Garbanzo's Pizza in Middleton on Saturday. We actually had pizza left over this time! Elizabeth is this year's proud winner of the family burping contest. Congratulations, Elizabeth!!

In his testimony today, Kurt reminded us how fortunate we are to be able to get together and enjoy each other so much. Not every family has that privilege. We look forward to visiting together and the time always goes by so fast.
We are grateful for and appreciate so much the efforts of everyone this weekend who extended themselves to be with us. Thank you Thank you!!

Three Months from Today is Christmas

Emily is a month old today. In some ways it doesn't at all seem that long, and yet I find myself cheering that we've made it through a month already. Typically I'm more sentimental about time passing and reaching milestones, but right now I'm grateful that time is going by and we are still standing.

Someone asked me recently what it's like having five... and my answer is that it's fine, though I don't feel like we have five. It's more like we have three and two. We chase the big ones to and from their activities, help with homework and life. And we chase the little ones ~ well, Nathan we actually chase, Emily we just hope sleeps long stretches in the night.

But their difference in ages feel very prominent right now, even as the three older girls are great help with the two younger and there isn't a chasm in people taking an interest in each other because of that age difference. Having the younger two this close together is its own challenge. I continue to admire women who have more than two so close. Warriors, one and all!!

So Happy One Month to Emily. She starting cooing yesterday. She was lying on my bed and just started talking. Did it again today ~ very sweet! She sounds like a little bird sometimes which is fun. Both Kurt and I were saying how Emily seems more infant-like than our other babies. I don't know if it's her size or what exactly, but she's staying with that "new baby" look longer than it seems the others did.

And yes, there's only three months left until Christmas.

They're Starting them Younger and Younger

Just after Nathan was born and we got his bill from the hospital in the mail, I had to sort of shake my head as they'd put "Unemployed" in the box marked 'Occupation'. Wouldn't "infant" or even "none" be more reasonable? Unemployed sounded like he was a man who was between jobs right now. Little did we know at that time that Nathan was the kind of kid who needed something to do all the time. Thank goodness for the swing! And now, 20 months later, he is a busy, busy boy.

So I wasn't too surprised when I got an envelope in the mail the other day addressed to Emily. From the hospital. It was, of all things, a survey wanting to know her opinion of her recent stay. I think she'd say she was pretty pleased with how things went. Kind of hard to ask her and she's been asleep every time I've been ready to hand her the pen to fill out the paperwork. So, we'll probably let that one go.


What I wasn't prepared for was finding that Emily was the one who already had a job. The same day the survey came in the mail, so did a catalog, where I found that Em is a famous author, with a lovely and rich body of work.

Who knew? :)

The Bird and the Laptop

In 2004 when Kathryn was a first grader, her school held a mock election for students to vote for their then choice for US President. The candidates were George Bush and John Kerry. The kids were educated somewhat on what the candidates wanted to do, but they were also shown a picture of each candidate and their family. John Kerry's family included their pet bird.
Later when we were talking about the election, Kathryn told us she voted for John Kerry. This wasn't the candidate that coincided with our choice at the time, and we thought Kathryn would have at least overheard us enough to know that and be young enough to go with our choice. So our first question was "why?!". Her answer was simple and perfect for her first grade self: "he had a bird".

So Melissa came to me the other day and asked if she should start thinking about where she should go to college. I told her yes, that there were colleges that had specific requirements and if she wanted to go to one of them, she'd have to be sure to fit their guidelines. We talked specifically about BYU's standards that she graduate from Seminary and be the kind of person for whom her Bishop could write a positive letter of recommendation. Other schools had community service requirements ~ we had a pretty thorough conversation.
As we talked Melissa asked which college it was that gave people a laptop when they finished. One of the trade schools in our area currently has an ad running where the girl in the ad brags about how she'll get to keep the laptop she's been given to use when she finishes her training. I could hear the wheels in Melissa's head turning as she asked her question: laptops are cool and what did she have to do to get one?

I had to smile at Melissa's reasoning, just as we joke about Kathryn's presidential vote now. Kathryn is far enough removed from her experience to see the humor, even the silliness, in it. There's probably a lesson there somewhere... for sure it's just fun to have conversations like these and to hear the way an 8-year old's mind works.

Four Weeks and Four Inches

Mostly by luck, though I'd love to believe it was my "mom-dar", I took pictures of Emily precisely at 10:33 this morning, four weeks TO THE MINUTE that she was born. She was sleeping in my arms ~ thank goodness for a great viewer on the digital camera!
Oh that face!







Today is my first "real" day back into "real" life ~ Kurt's at work and the girls are at school. Things are going alright overall, though we did have a small-ish hiccup this morning when Kathryn and Melissa missed the bus. I was ready to let them learn the lesson of not getting to school, but Kathryn is giving a speech today and that was too much for me to let her miss. She's running for Student Body Treasurer. Results to come later in the week.

We are doing ok so far. I've managed to get a load of laundry all the way to the dryer and have plans for one more. I carried Emily down the stairs while holding Nathan's hand. That feels like my big physical accomplishment for the day ~ not leaning on the railing for dear life, as has been the norm for the last several months.

Nathan has been both a big help and a big 20-month old (read: NOT a help) this morning. He's found his own pants and has put his jammies in the hamper. He's also dumped his snack cup of kix on the piano keys and the floor of the living room. So, we're about even. He's just gone down for his nap, which means we've made it through the morning and lived to tell about it. Let me just say that soon the bulk of what is written here will not revolve around my health and elation over doing very simple things. Promise. We will move forward into bigger and better.

Which brings me to one of my plans for the next months: recovering my body from the ravages of pregnancy. I've really been thinking a lot about this ~ it's amazing the plans that can be made while lying around too pregnant and then too sick to really do anything about them. There is such a difference between not WANTING to get up and move, and not being ABLE to. I've been reminded of that lesson.
So, this morning along with the four week anniversary of Emily's birth, I decided to see how many inches I've lost in my waist since she came. While under normal circumstances four inches in four weeks would really be something, I was suprised that the number was only four. After all, she was 23! Probably a indicator that this was baby #5 and my muscles have pretty much given up on trying to hold themselves together. So, SO true.
Being down those four means that I have fifteen to go to reach my ultimate goal. Yes, that's one-five. Which is a lot, but it's time. And I'm excited to work toward that. Granted I'm saying that while I still can only dream of my step aerobics classes and running around the neighborhood. But a goal is a goal. Wish me luck!

Not Every Face is a Smiling Face

Happened to have these real-to-life pics of Nathan & Emily.

Babies just cry sometimes, don't they??

We had a huge storm Saturday that left our poor sunflower looking like this:

Even more sadly, the sunflowers were one of the few successes to our garden this year.

On a "he's so darn cute, but..." note, we found Nathan thieving the muffins the other day. Look at what he's standing on!





I took these pictures of Emily after she'd fallen asleep on my lap. It was kind of dark, which is why the coloring is funny. But the way she sleeps with her mouth open just gets me every time. She is SO asleep!


Sleeping babies are so fun to stare at, aren't they?

















Then onto today. Emily wore her first bow today. We'd had one made and set out to wear to church, only to forget to put it on her. Made one for her super cute outfit she wore to grandma's for dinner tonight. After 13 years, I have claimed my right to change my mind on the subject of bows. I don't think Kurt has changed his mind, tho. We have, up to this point, been very anti-bow. We even had notes made on our charts in the hospital when the girls were born ~ NO BOWS. But, I've been swayed ~ by what, I don't know.



You can't really see the bow in this one, but look at that face!













Tonight at Grandma's, Nathan took Grandma's birthday present box and made the best toy ever out of it. A BOX!! Why do we buy anything else for kids this age?

He played and played in it, but would have nothing to do with anyone trying to close the top with him inside. He did wear it as a hat, climbed in and danced inside, and even tried to use it as a step stool. That didn't work so well...

Can't beat that face, either!









And finally, here is Miss Emily in the Dalmatian towel we've had since Elizabeth was a baby. You can probably guess where we might have gotten it from!

We have a picture of Liz this age in this towel... sort of feels like we've come full circle.

Emily had a great time in the tub this morning!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Kurt is back to work this morning, taking an extra shift before his two day regular shift tomorrow and Monday. So we are back into "real" life ~ well, I am ~ today. We've made pancakes for breakfast and Emily is still asleep. So far, so good. The kids are home of course for the most part, so the real test will be Monday when they're gone to school.

Kurt's schedule has found me feeling enough better that I'm not teary at the thought of him being gone. A week ago, that would not have been the case. Something to be grateful for.

My right side, which has been so much more sore, is just a little achy now. I'm able to stand without a tow truck and can move my right leg without having to will it to do so; Climbing the stairs is getting less and less scheduled; I haven't taken any pain medicine for a couple of days; I actually wore real pants yesterday, which is a boost. They aren't a size I want to brag about, but they were real jeans, with a button and a zipper and very little, if any, stretch to them. I'm not ready to put all the maternity clothes away just yet, but wearing real clothes full-time is on the horizon and that feels pretty good. Granted, I still feel like my body looks like an Oompa Loompa. Having a c-section sort of redistributes some things ~ at least temporarily ~ and cutting through all your abdominal muscles has its consequences. But re-shaping is what the next year is for. More on that later.

I'll find some pictures of cute little people to put up soon. Promise.

Emily is a Hip Girl

We saw Emily's Orthopaedist today, who was kind and sweet and thorough. She had an ultrasound beforehand to see how her hips are doing. And we've made progress! The doctor still felt some popping and subluxating (popping out of place), and was honest in his estimate that Em would be in her brace for three to six months. He gave us a formula for full-time and part-time wear, which puts us into that 3-6 time frame. So far, Emily doesn't seem to mind the brace, not really having had the chance to know any differently. Hopefully that will stay that way, but I'd imagine as she wants to move as she grows that we'll find her fighting it a bit. That will just depend on her. And perhaps we'll be on the sooner than later end of the doctor's time estimate. Lots yet TBD.

We're learning that Emily is not at all a fan of her carseat. We aren't sure if it's the isolation or because no one is holding her (though those are sort of the same thing, aren't they??), but are pretty sure it's at least partly because no one is holding her.. she is pretty happy when she's snuggled into a shoulder or a chest. Today's ride to the doctor (in Meridian and Boise) was another example of her distaste for her seat. I finally climbed back to sit by her and offer my little finger, which is usually a good substitute when she can't be picked up.
Right now all is well with the world as she's sleeping soundly on my shoulder. Her little mouth is open and she's REM-ing. Not hard to see why it's so easy to just sit and stare at a sleeping baby.

Progress

Emily was up every 45 minutes last night. I'm not sure why ~ she would start to eat and then fall asleep. And then wake up 45 minutes later. Finally about 6 she slept for her normal 2 1/2-ish hours before waking to eat again.
After I laid her down around 3:30 or so, I was overwhelmed by the desire to lay on my side. Since my c-section, I've been sentenced to lay on my back sort of like a frog, with pillows propped beneath each knee. It's very comfortable after nursing for an hour, but I'm a side sleeper and have missed curling up with my body pillow.
So, I took the chance that I might a) get stuck or b) cause a bunch of unneeded pain or even damage and tried my right side for about a minute. It wasn't comfortable ~ I'm still sore enough that while it didn't hurt, it wasn't where I wanted to stay for any length of time ~ but it was good enough to let me know that getting back to sleeping on my side isn't too far away. And that feels like progress. Hooray for that.

More Birthday Fun

With Kurt's birthday yesterday, we've moved forward to Melissa's half birthday today! She is officially eight and a half today. We try to at least recognize half birthdays with a "hey, it's your half birthday", but sort of went overboard with Nathan's this year, complete with cake. Well, half of one:
And took his picture:
So it only seems fair that we take Melissa's picture to celebrate the day.

Since Kurt and Melissa's birthdays are consecutive days of the month, the number-worker in me has thought that should we ever have another baby, he/she would be great to come on the 13th of any month, as long as it was a Thursday. That way we'd have a 12th (Nathan), a 13th (new person), the 14th (Kurt), and the 15th (Melissa). Kind of fun, huh? Of course not important, and no plans are being made to actually create another person. Just how my head works. Oh, and the Thursday thing is because we've now had babies on every other day of the week besides Sunday. Thursday would mean they'd all have their own day. We've come this far, why double up now?


Our Miss Emily had a pretty good night's sleep and woke up this morning a little different. Just more baby like and less fetal. I remember when Nathan made this change, mostly in the sound of his cry. He just became a boy one day....
Here's picture proof of Emily this morning:

The picture makes her hair look lighter I think too, though it doesn't necessarily look that way on her head yet.

Happy Birthday Kurt

According to Kurt's mom, he was born around 5:30pm, so he is officially 36. Or, as he's been saying all day, he's 25 for the eleventh time. I'm not too sure about the whole 25 thing, but ok. Having a 13-year old and celebrating our 14th anniversary this year seem to make that math kind of hard. Mary Kay Letourneaux I am not.

ANYWAY, Happy Birthday to Kurt!!

We've had a nice day, and have been spoiled by our families. My dad and his dear wife brought us a fabulous fried chicken lunch, complete with potato and macaroni salads. Dessert was this awesome cake they had made:
It not only looked great, but was really yummy, too. Can't beat that handsome guy behind it, either!

Then for dinner we went to Kurt's parents' house for a roast, potato and corn on the cob dinner. This time dessert was homemade peach pie! Dee-lish!

I think all in all the day was a good one for Kurt. We had Stake Conference this morning and were present as our new building was dedicated. The dedicatory prayer was not only beautiful, but thorough. And there was real power and importance as our Stake President addressed the Lord directly, requesting acceptance of the building and pledging all the goodness that would come from it. I am so glad we were there for this today.
We were also blessed with great seats, though at first it looked as though all the comfortable cushioned pews were filled. We arrived nearly an hour early in order to get a good seat, but weren't the only ones with that idea. After walking all the way around the building to see if there were cushioned chairs we might use in another room, I walked back into the chapel just to see and make sure that everything was really full, as I was sure it would be. To my delightful surprise, there right in the middle of the room was a bench completely empty. No one was saving it, and no one was sitting in it. Even though the rest of the room was very full, here was this bench. Today having a cushioned seat was a special blessing because sitting on a hard chair was just not an option for me. I saw this as a "tender mercy" from Heavenly Father. He was surely watching out for me today.

As Long as it Doesn't Get Any Worse...

Kurt had to take a riding test this morning and so I had my first few hours with both of my children under the age of two. Ok, WAY under the age of two. I'm still not able to hop up when I'm holding Emily, so Nathan was able to do some nice "rearranging" to our game cabinet while I nursed her this morning. I had actually already started cleaning things up when the thought occurred I might should oughta snap a picture. Yep, this is partially clean compared to what I started with. He had pulled all of the movies off of the bottom shelf as well....

You can sort of see Emily sleeping on the couch in these pictures. She finally settled down and let me put her down after doing some of that "babies just cry sometimes" for twenty minutes or so. Nathan chimed in for a while as well, and eventually I joined them both. At one point Nathan tore into a big box of SkipBo cards and seeing that mess added to all the rest sort of broke me. In his still sweetness, he asked, "problem? problem?" when he saw my tears. Just reminded me of the power of intention. And I did actually watch him make this mess ~ thinking to myself "it's just a mess. it's just a mess". And that I could clean it up. He was so fascinated with all the little pieces (that he rarely gets to see or handle because usually tearing into the games is a big no no thing), and watching him was really very interesting. And I mean that sincerely. He doesn't put things in his mouth anymore, but also doesn't respond to correction without physical intervention. So I was left to just be a spectator as he spent his time in our little hands-on museum.
So this morning was a bit of our new reality with two under two. I've had a little nap and am feeling better this afternoon. I'm sure things will be alright, as long as it doesn't get any worse than what we went through this morning...

PS ~ Kurt passed his test!

Pretty Girl

Em was lying on the couch wide awake a bit ago. Couldn't help snapping and sharing! Her eyes remind me of my Grandma Evans ~ maybe Emily has one of those "old soul" looks about her.

We are continuing to get to know this little lady, still recovering from the surprise of her arrival. The length of time it's taking just tells you how sure we were that we were having a boy. She was ours from the start though, and we wouldn't trade her or send her back. Another keeper!

Right now Emily's sleeping on my shoulder and I'm typing one-handed. Nathan is asleep and Kurt snuck away to the store for a few things. We had a pretty good night with Em getting a couple of good chunks of sleep in, and I was able to fill her to capacity both times she ate. That just means that maybe we're getting closer to being caught up and not having to supplement with formula. Another milestone reached! Which reminds me.....

Emily had her first tub bath Sunday morning. She was, as all our babies have been, not too excited about it for some of it, and very content for other portions.

Kurt put the baby tub in our tub and washed her there. I still can't bend enough to have been of any help... one of these days.

Isn't the smell of fresh baby just one of the best? She got clean and dry and lotioned and then ready for church. She smelled so good!

The only pictures I have of her in her dress are with her wrapped in a blanket as well.... at least we can know which dress it was she wore... Elizabeth wore the dress when she was new. We actually brought Elizabeth home without owning any dresses for her, even though we knew we were having a girl... we were anti-pink at the time, and took Liz to church (the next day ~ I know, first time parent stupidity) in a turquoise onesie and some frilly socks. When people asked if we'd had a boy or a girl, we'd just point to the socks. Anyhow, my mom quickly sent several dresses, and we have them still.

Emily is the only baby to have been born close to the same season as Elizabeth was, so we're getting some more use out of them.

It was great to get to go to church Sunday, though my energy was spent at the end of our meetings. Wonderful to be out among the living and to share Emily a little. With the weather nice and people generally healthy still (unlike we might find after the weather turns), it felt like a reasonable decision. Sunday is always a little off for me when church isn't part of it.

I also saw the doctor Monday for my two week check-up. I guess I'm still pretty pale, but am healing well enough and moving in the right direction. The doctor suggested that it will take another couple of weeks to recover from the blood I lost, and that's fine. I really am trying to be patient and not set any time lines or limits.
Just moving in the right direction is good enough right now.

I Thought We'd Have a Baby Today

Yesterday in church I was reminded of a conversation I had with Kurt's sister Angela, just after Emily was born; about how, even though we'd like to think we are, we are not in control ~ of life, of circumstance, etc. . Thankfully, the Lord IS in control, so there's no need to panic. :)
I thought about this all through our meetings yesterday, adding it mentally to the testimonies I heard others bear.
This morning I caught the date ~ 9-8-08 ~ and realized that this was the day I thought we'd have a baby. All of our babies have been late and because we were looking for a VBAC, we couldn't do anything to induce until my body said it was ready. My due date was around the 3rd (or the 5th, depending on which source you chose), so the 8th was a real possibility. Plus it fell into the two categories I needed it to ~ it was a Monday and the numbers hit just the right spot, that I have yet to be able to describe, but they made me happy.
Anyhow, you know that our little beauty arrived two weeks ago ~ two weeks ago today in fact ~ and that is wonderful. I am VERY glad not to be in labor today!!

Big Brother?

Nathan found Emily's car seat last night and decided to try it out. Needless to say it wasn't quite the right fit. He thought he was pretty cool though ~ and is finding that all this new "stuff" that's appeared (another crib, all kinds of packages of diapers, baby clothes, blankets, this infant seat, bottles) since Emily came pretty intriguing.
So far Nathan is a very loving brother. We've just had one incident of some poking and pushing on her that mom probably was tired and hormonal for and he got into trouble. He's good at giving kisses and calls her "baby".
I was thinking yesterday that we'll probably be potty training the two of them at the same time.... he'll be around 3 1/2 when she turns 2. Seems like those are the average ages for boys and girls. We'll see how that actually works out, and in the meantime are changing two sets of diapers for the first time in our parenthood. I am in awe of women who have more than two babies this close together!