First Week of School

Everyone did well at their first week of school.  Everyone is also tired today, but I kind of expected that after the first week back :).  Jack and Thomas like their teachers, and Peter and I worked really well together during his first week of Kindergarten.  Peter is wired a lot like Jack is, and so I braced myself for a battle-of-the-wills this week, but aside from a couple of whines here and there (again, to be expected), he was excited about his work and had a great attitude.  I hope we can keep up the good teacher-student relationship this next week!  Davy also did really well playing independently while I taught Peter.  He likes to announce "Play cars!" and then take off downstairs to line up cars and drive them around.  He takes it pretty seriously, like it's his job, so that was a good source of entertainment.  He also like to color and play with shape tiles and sneak bites of playdough, so keeping him busy hasn't been too hard yet.

I decided to take Peter on a field trip yesterday to the aquarium since we have a membership there, and I'm sure our field trip opportunities will be drastically reduced during the weeks right after the baby arrives.  We had a nice trip (although the drive to downtown Baltimore was particularly harrowing thanks to the Grand Prix of Baltimore which is happening this weekend!  How crazy is it that they shut down traffic to parts of downtown so they can turn it into a race course for Indy cars?!?).

This weekend we are staying close to home and relaxing.  David had a long week at work, the kids had a long week at school, and I am ginormously pregnant, so we are taking it easy while we can.  I think David will BBQ some ribs one day, I'll make our Campobellos cheesesteak sandwiches another day, and tonight I'm going to make a Coq a Vin Blanc recipe that looks good, but probably won't appeal to the kids since it's "different".  Oh well :). 

I took Thomas, Peter, and Davy grocery shopping this morning and Thomas and Peter decided to wear their Halloween costumes.  I love that their still little enough to do that and not care.  I ordered their costumes early this year just to have it done and out of the way, and Thomas is going to be Boba Fett, Peter is going to be a ninja, Jack is going to be Jango Fett, and Davy will be an Ewok (he was an Ewok last year, but this time he will be walking around instead of in a stroller!) if we can convince him to keep his costume on.  I have no idea what the baby girl will be ... but I have a fairly gender-neutral "My First Halloween Costume" type of outfit with a pumpkin on it that Davy wore when he was a newborn, so I will probably make her wear it and stick a bow in her hair.  People at the grocery store liked their costumes and one store clerk told me that I was lucky to be so well protected :).

That's about it for our update.  I will try to post again next week!

First Day of School

Today Jack started 4th grade, Thomas started 2nd grade, and Peter started Kindergarten!  They were all excited about their first day.  Peter did an excellent job at his schoolwork with me at home and finished in record time, leaving lots of time to play, read books with me, cook with me, etc.  It was a great first day and I was so pleased with his good attitude and willingness to learn!  We will walk over and pick up Jack and Thomas from their school in about 5 minutes and I can't wait to hear how their day was.  They could walk themselves home, since we live so close, but I figure it might be nice to meet them on their first day.

Thomas and Jack, as you can see from the photos, both chose to wear the same shirt on their first day .... and it just so happens to be a bacon T-shirt :).  They know it would make Poppi very proud!

The baby girl (name still not in concrete yet!) feels like she is running out of room with all of the stretching and squirming she is doing.  I suppose she might be starting to get as uncomfortable as I am :).  I do secretly chuckle when I go to turn on the blender or coffee grinder (or other loud appliance) and she literally jumps from the noise :).  We are all getting ready to meet her, and now it seems like since school has started time will only speed by faster and faster.  I actually think we are well-prepared, though, which probably means she will be 5 or 6 days late :).  But if she did decide to come this week or next, we are all set!

When you have 3 brothers...

... reading can be a full-contact sport.

In addition to his long-time love of books, Davy has become even more talkative lately (even rivaling our chatty Thomas) and it is hilarious to listen to his word combinations. This week's new combination was"NO LIKE!!" to his brothers when they were bothering him. He says it with quite a bit of authority, too! He also has said "This is BIG truck!" and "It is FUN!" and it's neat to hear him using more and more words in their correct context. He does appreciate a quick response, though, and tends to repeat himself louder and louder until he gets the response he's looking for. So my daily conversations with him often sound like "Mama? FUN!!" (... wait a few seconds) "Mama?!? FUN! LIKE!!" (....wait a few more seconds) "Mama?!? LIKE! TEE-TEEN!" then I'll ask "Oh, are you having fun on the trampoline?" and he replies "YEAH!!". He likes to use top volume for emphasis whenever possible. :)

Anyway, he is a riot to have around! He loves to tackle his brothers whenever he gets the opportunity; he just plows right into them, sits on them, and pretty much acts like he's on par with their strength and ability. Jack, Peter, and Thomas adore him, even if he sometimes messes up a carefully built Lego creation. They are teaching him to say "May I please be excused" when he is done eating, instead of "AlldoneAlldoneAlldone!!!" ... and Jack is carefully instructing him in the art of belching, which Davy finds hilarious.

I knew that we would of course celebrate each kid's milestones and developments equally, because even though we have been through 4 kids learning to walk, talk, etc., it is always new for each child, but I don't think I have fully appreciated, until now, how great it is to celebrate the growth of a little person with a gaggle of his older siblings. They cheer him along with even more gusto than David and I sometimes, and I am really grateful for this aspect of larger family dynamics. I look forward to starting over again with The Girl's milestones and her 4 big brothers cheering her on!

35+4 weeks

I'm usually the one behind the camera, but I asked Jack to take a picture of me today so that you all can see how big the baby girl is getting :).  I had my last OB appointment today with all 4 boys in tow, and it was also my last appointment before I start going weekly until the end.  I definitely feel like some sort of exotic zoo animal when I bring all 4 boys to my appointments.  I did manage to get a sitter for my last appointment, and that was lovely to be able to sit and read a magazine while I waited, but today the sitter wasn't available and honestly I didn't really feel like going to the trouble of arranging another one.  I sort of found the secret to getting through an appointment with the boys, so it's really not all that bad except for feeling like we are such a huge crowd in a tiny waiting area.  I let the boys take 15-minute turns on the iPad while we wait, and then when I actually go back in to the little exam room, I bring Davy and Peter with me and let Jack and Thomas sit out in the waiting room.  It wasn't that long ago that I would have felt they were too little or unreliable to do that, but at 9 and 7 years old they behave very well and it seems to work just fine.  Peter is a little indignant that he isn't allowed to stay out there with the big boys, but honestly he and Jack have had such an explosive relationship lately that I can't trust them to sit nicely next to each other for the little while that I'm back in the exam room.  So, he gets to come with me and listen to the baby's heartbeat, which I think is kind of neat anyway.

Today's appointment went great; no worries for me or the baby.  She is head down, which is great, and is active and everything seems to be going well so far! 

Misty Meadow Farm Creamery

We took a trip to a dairy and creamery today and had a great time. They had fresh ice cream made from their dairy and it was delicious! Peter had bubble gum ice cream, Jack had banana peach, Thomas had almond coconut chocolate chip, Davy had chocolate, David had almond coconut chocolate chip and chocolate, and I had coffee crunch and some of Davy's chocolate :). On the way home we picked up a bag of fresh peaches from an orchard and they smell delicious! The creamery was about 1 hour 15 minutes away, and it will likely be one of the last, if not the very last, family adventure days we have before the baby is born.

Six weeks left

Six weeks from today is my scheduled c-section, in case I don't go into labor on my own. I'll be 1 week overdue at that point, so I really hope the baby has made her appearance by then, but I think it will likely be sometime during the week of Sept. 19th-26th, if past experience holds true.

In a way, 6 weeks seems like so long from now, but I know it will pass quickly. I think we are all set for most of the baby basics -- car seat, baby blankets, diapers, etc. We're getting closer to a name, but I don't think we're ready to announce it quite yet.

I'm feeling OK, and grateful that this pregnancy seems to be going pretty smoothly (no health problems for me or the baby), but I am starting to slow down quite a bit and just feel ... tired and introspective. Baby girl likes to kick and squirm a lot at night when I'm trying to sleep, and let me tell you that she is big enough and active enough that it really does not feel good! My sister Kim compared the feeling of the baby moving to a wriggly fish trapped inside a plasitc, water-filled bag. And she hit it spot on! At this point, though, the fish feels more like a fat, grouchy carp rather than a cute little carnival goldfish :). So I kind of avoid going to bed at night, which doesn't make me feel all that rested or cheerful the next day, but I am trying hard to be patient and pleasant with the boys. My mental and physical energy is largely taken up with being the life support system for this nearly full term baby and I find that it takes a lot more effort to feel like doing even basic stuff, let alone anything adventurous. But I know that's all normal at this point ... frustrating but normal.

The boys are all doing well. They are both looking forward to school starting in 1.5 weeks and dreading the end of summer. I'm not sure where I stand. I love having them home, and I like the more relaxed pace and schedule of summer, but I am excited about their new school, teachers, and classmates. Anyway, I will try to post updates in the coming weeks, and certainly photos of the new baby here, so stay tuned!