Abounding with boys

Another win for the blue team at the Campbell home!

We learned that our newest baby is a boy at today's ultrasound, and we're all excited.  I will admit that David and I did raise our eyebrows at each other: "FOUR boys!  Oh my!", but in a happy way.  I do wonder how much craziness and mischief 4 boys will get themselves into.  I trust that God will give me the graces I'll need to wrangle them all.

We were glad to see that the baby's heart, brain, spine, etc. all look great.  I don't think there are any big tests or procedures between now and October -- just the regular checkups and all that.  All of our baby gear is in CA, so we have a few things to get, but I really want to keep a light load since we'll be moving so soon after the baby's born.  I'm hoping I can get by with just some clothes, diapers, a car seat, and a stroller.  We already have a pack 'n' play with the bassinet insert, so that will serve just fine as a crib for a while.

So, now we wait until October to meet our newest little man!

A big week

Somehow, the busyness level at the Campbell household has really gone up a notch lately, and we're all kind of racing to catch up.  It's a good kind of busy -- lots of T-ball practices and games, potty training Peter, social/networking events with David's coo-workers, plus the usual homeschooling, family, and household stuff -- but it is a little tiring.  We definitely aren't used to ferrying multiple kids to multiple sports events, although I know this is just the way it is and the way it's going to be for a while.  We're really trying to keep the kids' schedules (and ours!) fairly simple.  I really don't like the idea of overscheduling the kids so they have multiple sports and activities overlapping at the same time, but it's still crazy with just 2 kids on 2 different T-ball teams!  I guess we'll just have to level up our parenting and organizing chops on this and get used to it. 

Also weighing on our minds is our final move after October.  It seems like David just found this rotation (and he did -- we've only been here for a little over a month), and already he's working hard on networking and making contacts so he can solicit some good offers from a few different sites within his company.  Coming back to San Diego would be great, but we're realizing that it may not work out that way.  It's a difficult adjustment, because I left our home in CA 1.5 years ago fully expecting to return at the end of the program.  I figured David would put in time and hard work and would be rewarded with a promotion in San Diego, but it's a lot more complicated than that!  I have to let go of my personal hopes and expectations and realize that we can decide to create a happy, comfortable home wherever we end up.  It is a stressful process, though, and we would really appreciate prayers as David figures out where the best work opportunities are and as we figure out what the best decision will be for our family.

In other news, my pregnacy seems to be progressing well.  This Wednesday we have the ultrasound to see how the baby is developing and to determine the gender, hopefully!  We're excited, but I'll admit that I'm a little nervous about everything being OK with the baby.  I have no concrete reason to be concerned, but this pregnancy has felt a little more difficult than my previous ones.  I'm sure there are lots of factors -- it's my 7th pregnancy (!), 4th that I've carried this far, and I'm 7 years older than I was when I was pregnant with Jack, so my feelings are probably normal, but still, it will be a relief once the ultrasound is done.  And we can start seriously talking about names, which will be fun!

It's also "checkup season" around here, so this Thursday Jack and Thomas have their annual checkups (and I'm pretty sure some vaccines will be in order), and then I need to schedule an eye exam for Jack (he's been having trouble reading at a distance, and we suspect he'll need glasses), and dental exams for everyone.

I'll update again after Wednesday!

Cakes!

Thomas's cake is on the left and Jack's is on the right.  They were very specific about the placement of the plastic figures.  Thomas said the bicycle rider had to be doing his trick right in front of the train as it went through the tunnel.  Jack wanted the motorcycle to be stuck in the lava, and the tree to be knocked over by lava, and the animals on the right side of the cake running away from the lava.  Both boys requested vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, which I was a little nervous about, but they turned out pretty tasty!

Action shot of train going through the tunnel.

I suspect that Jack mostly insisted on having animals on his cake so he could like the frosting off their feet.

Happy 7th birthday, Jack!

The birthday celebrations continue at the Campbell home today!  It's quite the festive season with so many birthdays and Mother's Day packed into just a couple of weeks. 

Jacks started his 7th birthday with a special breakfast with David at Bob Evans.  He enjoyed the meal and their shop talk about Star Wars Legos.  He came home and we took a special field trip to DC today -- just me and the boys.  Jack wanted to see the Natural History museum, and there was a special butterfly exhibit we've never seen before that he really wanted to see.  So, I took my first solo trip to DC with the kids.  It actually went very well!  The boys were all well behaved and we got to see some neat exhibits at the museum.  The butterfly exhibit was pretty cool -- we've never seen so many butterfly flying around us before -- and we were able to see some beautiful butterflies up close (some landed on us!).  We saw a few other exhibits, although there were 2 that Jack really wanted to see that were closed today, unfortunately.

We headed home and the boys will enjoy their cake and ice cream for an afternoon treat since Jack has CCD class tonight.  His requested birthday dinner is homemade pizza, fried shrimp, and salad with raw spinach, so we'll have that a little early so he can enjoy it before heading off to class. 

Seven years old is typically called "the age of reason" by the Church, so I'm looking forward to the year ahead.  Jack has a definite sense of reason already (although it doesn't always line up with reality!), so we'll see how/if that continues to develop this year.  He is very bright, intense, and assertive -- which are excellent character traits that are a joy (but also keep us on our toes!).  Jack is also very sweet, and many times a day will start out a sentence with "Mom!..." and lets a dramatic pause hang in the air (meanwhile I'm wondering/bracing myself for the last half of the sentence!) and then finishes it off with "I love you!".  Jack also tells it like it is.  One morning recently, the boys had woken up early and they were making so much noise that it literally sounded like a herd of elephants.  David stumbled out of bed to discover Peter jumping on the bed and Jack and Thomas stomping around the room.  Later on, I asked Jack and Thomas what they were doing while Peter was jumping on the bed, and if they had thought about asking him to stop.  Jack quickly replied "No.  We were too busy marching."  I like that directness!

It's time to serve some afternoon cake and ice cream (I'll be a celebrity for a few minutes!), so I'll wrap up.

Happy 7th birthday, Jack!

Happy 5th birthday, Thomas!

I was lucky enough to share Mother's Day with Thomas's 5th birthday today.  We had a great day.  David took him out for breakfast his by himself yesterday, since we knew would be too crazy because of Mother's Day, and Thomas really enjoyed that special treat.  We had waffles, berries, and generous helpings of whipped cream for breakfast today.  After Mass, David went out and picked up Subway sandwiches, which was my special request for Mother's Day.  I can't have the deli meat, but I love their vegetarian sandwiches.  David's also going to buy an electric ice shaver for me / the household.  We had one back in Ramona, but it was one of the appliances that I decided to store rather than cart around the country.  It's one of a few things that I wished I had brought with me!  I know it will come in handy during the hot and humid VA summer, so I'm looking forward to it.

After lunch, both Jack and Thomas got to open their presents, which they really enjoyed.  The biggest hits so far were probably the Lego sets, a stomp rocket (we also had one of these in Ramona, and it either broke or is in storage), and gift cards/money.  I took Thomas and Peter to the park so they could really get some good air on it -- Jack opted to stay home and work on his Lego set.  After that, I finished decorating their cakes (they both wanted volcano cakes, but two different types), and the boys played with their Legos some more.

Thomas requested roasted chicken drumsticks, biscuits, baby carrots, avocado slices, and raw spinach for dinner, so that's what we had.  The boys ate really well, and then they had a generous helping of cake and ice cream.

It's hard for me to believe that Thomas is 5 years old!  I know all parents say that about all their kids as they watch them grow so quickly, but somehow Thomas just seemed so "4".  I don't really have a hard time picturing Jack as 7, but something happens when kids go from 4 to 5 -- they really do grow up a lot, and it's hard for me to picture Thomas growing out of some of his sweet, little kid ways -- his well-loved, ratty blanket corner, his very innocent and sweet demeanor, his unfailing love for singing Amazing Grace every single night ... I could go on.  Thomas has already gotten so much bigger than when we started our crazy adventures with David's job (he was only 3!), and it's only going to go faster. 

Happy birthday, Thomas!