July 19, 2018

I left off last time with our trip home from the hospital. Due to my C-section, I was unable to drive (among other restrictions) for 2 weeks, so my mother stayed with us during that time. I say stayed...we did not do much staying. Thursday after Andrew got out of the hospital, we made a trip to Toys R Us on their closing day. There wasn't much left but we got many things for very cheap. The kids were glad Andrew got at least one trip there. We had lunch at Fuddrucker's and went to a check up for Andrew. He did great! Andrew had lost hardly any weight (which is amazing for being in the NICU) and everything looked normal. Hooray! Friday evening we went to the Family movie night at church (free food!). They showed the old Swiss Family Robinson. The kids loved it, especially the antics used to ward off the pirates!!! Mom and I didn't stay for the movie. Instead we took Andrew shopping to get clothing for his newborn pictures the next day and get birthday gifts for Hannah and Danielle. He was so sweet and we got so much done!

Saturday and Sunday passed quickly. Francis was amazing and took the big kids out to play Pokemon  and to church so mom and I could rest and prepare for the coming week. Monday came and mom and I packed up the van, the dogs and the kids and headed to Dallas. You read that right. I'm nuts. I wasn't able to drive, but riding in the passenger seat and taking breaks to eat/feed Andrew worked out just fine. We made it to my parents' house in time for (most of us, not me) to swim and run around outside. Francis came along in a separate car after he finished working. Tuesday we did all the fun sorts of things around the house and outside. Mostly the kids were swimming. I'm so glad they were able to do this. They also got to play some games and drive the little cars around the land. It was a relaxing day and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. We even got to finish the day having dinner with Francis's parents. Icing on the cake! Wednesday was my favorite day of the year- 4th of July. I know that's a weird choice of favorite, but I love it because I get to spend time with all my family (both mine and Francis's) in a fun and relatively low stress way (plus...the FIREWORKS!). We started off the day at the Plano parade (in which my mom was able to ride on a float). Andrew got to meet Christian, Chad and the cousins along with a few family friends. the kids had a great time getting candy and cheering, "Happy 4th!" at each group that passed. Then we had BBQ at my parents' house. YUM!!! We also managed to squeeze in some bonus fun: Hannah's 3rd Birthday party. She wanted an Ariel swim party with her cousin Alexandra and that's exactly what she got. It was so fun! She got wonderful presents, had a delicious Ariel cake and was able to swim with Alexandra (and everyone else) to her heart's content. She really loved all the Ariel toys, the dollie and me clothes, and her brand new princess bike. We had our annual snowball fight in the pool too. I videoed since I couldn't swim. Good times. Brandon and Bethany Nine stopped by. It was so fun to chat with them and show off our sweet Andrew. Finally it was time to head to fireworks. We always set up camp out there and eat. play games and talk until the fireworks start. Aunt Dani and Papa both brought light up  gear, so we were glowing along with the lights overhead. Andrew loved the fireworks. Even at just over a week old, he stared at the colors and made all sorts of amazed faces. He's very expressive.

We had to head home on Thursday, but the trip was totally worth it. Friday Andrew had his 2 week check up. Mom and I were able to drop off the kids at play group (thanks Rachel!!) and go with just baby boy. He exceeded his birth weight by 2 oz (8lbs 9 oz) and had grown half an inch. everything about his was just perfect. He didn't love his blood being drawn, but he even did that like a champ. I love him more every time I look at him. He's sleeping on me as I type this and my little heart is close to bursting each time he makes a little baby noise in his sleep. It's all just a miracle. Saturday mom started to get the house clean in preparation of her departure. While it was so wonderful of her to do, I slightly dreaded each thing she it because it meant one step closer to her leaving. Sunday we all went to church and lunch. Then mom finished cleaning. Monday was the day I could start driving again, so she helped me get all the grocery shopping done and put away before she headed out. I made it through the afternoon having all 4 kids by myself, but when Francis got home I was tired. I was thankful for Bible Study the next morning both because I knew the kids would be well taken care of and I could spend some time with fellow ladies studying His word. Wednesday we made it to the library (later than normal) and while I was nursing Andrew, the kids decided they wanted to go to story time with a friend from church who happened to be there too. So what should have been a short trip turned into a long, but enjoyable, one.  Thursday, sweet Thursday. One week ago today was the first Summer fun day  with church. Hannah and Robert went to church for the morning and William spent time at Spirit Ice Arena. And I got to catch up on things at home that needed to get done (like write on my blog). The kids came home worn out and so we cuddled and watched a little TV in the afternoon. Thursday evening we went to a friend's going away party. While it is bittersweet to say goodbye, it was so good for my soul to be around others from our Sunday school class and spend time with them. The kids had so much fun too. They now think Rachel's house (where we were) is "almost as cool as Disney World". That's high praise!

Friday we made it to play group! And at a splash pad no less. The weather was mild (though not as remarkable mild as it was on the 4th of July), so in the shade it was perfectly pleasant to sit and watch the kids play. And play they did. We had a good group of both kids and moms, so a good time was had by all. Saturday Francis took the big 3 ice skating for over 3 hours. They came home for dinner still full of energy (what??) and after eating, Francis and the boys went back to skate for another 2 hours. Hannah. Andrew and I watched a some TV and cuddled until they fell asleep. Sunday we made it to church again and even made it to class lunch afterward. Having a baby does not seem to have slowed us down too much, but Andrew doesn't seem to notice. I'm glad he is super chill about being in the car. Fortunately everything except the trip to Dallas has been very short trips.

This week we've been to the grocery store, Bible Study, and the library. Yesterday the Bryan library had a bunch of science experiments which the kids were able to do. The Williams family came too, so it was extra special. Today is the second Summer Fun Day. All three big kids are at church this time. William is doing a special Bricks 4 Kidz program and the younger two are making pizza among other things. Whew! I caught up!

Andrew is growing so fast. They older three adore him and want to talk/hold/play with him constantly. Taking turns is hard but necessary. Tummy time is fun because all 4 kids kid on their tummies. The big three love it when he raises his head and try to encourage him as much as possible. Andrew can roll from front to back already. When I put him down for tummy time last Friday, he lifted his head and managed to get his arm underneath (he was mad and flailing). Then he did his famous back arch and suddenly flipped onto his back. He was so stunned he didn't know what to do for a moment. He has since repeated this phenomena and is stunned every time. It cracks me up a little to see his eyes get huge with "what happened?". He's been up at night quite a bit, but he isn't screaming, so although I am tired, at least my ears are in tact. I'm recovering well. I overdo it once in a while and have to back off, but mostly I have been good. I've had no more joint problems and my stones have not flared up. I'm so much better than I was a month ago, and so very thankful for that.

That's all for now!