July 26, 2018

Whew! Another week for the history books. Last Friday Andrew turned 4 weeks! I can’t even believe it. He is so much more alert, looking at anything and everything. He still seems to prefer a steady stream of noise over quiet, but anything sudden startles and upsets him. He is a constant back-archer, preferring to see the world upside down as much as possible. Even when I try to hold him upright, he will arch his back until he is upside down before relaxing. He is still taking the very occasional bottle (hallelujah!) and will begrudgingly take a pacifier if he isn’t too hungry. I’ve even managed to get him to nap in the bassinet or crib for more than 10 minutes (something none of my other kids ever seemed to do). He’s a sweet boy who loves his momma most and the rest of his family too. He’s outgrown newborn size clothing and diapers, and is super long. We saw a baby that is a week younger than him a couple days ago and he looked huge in comparison. They grow so fast! I love Andrew so much. My baby boy!

Friday morning we went to play group at McDonald’s. It was too hot outside so their playground was perfect. We had a great time and stayed for a long time playing and snacking on our food. Friday night we had Family Movie Night at church. They played Cinderella (the old cartoon version) and served pizza. The boys were not thrilled when they heard the choice but watched it. Afterward they agreed that it was much better than they were expecting. Go figure. Saturday we did some stuff around the house, the boys went out and played pokemon and Hannah and I had some girl time (with Andrew). Sunday was a busy day! We had church, class lunch at a burger place, then picked up groceries, came home for a little bit and had dinner, then we went to the church-wide pool party at Adamson Lagoon. Andrew and I did not swim (we snacked and chatted), but the kids and Francis had a blast on the slides, in the pools and playing around with friends. It was such a good time.

Monday we celebrated Hannah’s birthday a day early by spending the morning at Altitude Trampoline Park. It was her choice and she made some friends while she was there, making it extra special. Tuesday was my baby girl Hannah’s 3rd birthday. How did this happen so fast?! We went to Bible Study in the morning after Hannah opened presents. One of the presents contained a ballet set compete with leotard, tiara, tights and ballet slippers. I told her that she was going to get to attend her very first dance class with me that evening. She has been asking for this for a while and was over the moon excited when the time came. She danced the whole class (checking herself out in the mirror with delight). When she came out her face was positively shining. She wouldn’t take off her ballet gear, so she ended up wearing it to dinner at BJs. We met Francis and the boys there. After a yummy meal, we all headed home for mermaid cake and cupcakes. Hannah said it was the best day ever. I’m so glad, baby girl! Hannah is so smart, funny, beautiful inside and out and she LOVES to dance. She tells funny jokes, takes care of her brothers at all times (whether they like it or not) and is particularly fond of holding Andrew. She has taken to wearing outfits to match her baby dolls most days and brings her “baby” whenever she can.  She is a precious gift.
Wednesday we went to the Library and then to my post-partum doctor appointment. Without going into detail, everything seems to be healing nicely. The doctor is very happy with how my C-section recovery is going. I still need to take it easy, but I am on the road to recovery! Today the three bigs are at the last Summer Fun Days. Robert and Hannah are at church having an inflatable jumping day and William is at a Trampoline park jumping also. I am thankful for a church that pours into my kids. They love being with church and so do I!
Robert and William are also doing well (since I didn’t say much about them). Robert is growing and has hit the 42 inch mark, which means he was able to ride on the big slide at Adamson Lagoon on Sunday. His imagination is still unparalleled and I don’t always know how to answer his deep questions. He has been asking about what it means to have Jesus in your heart. Please pray I answer in the way the Spirit leads. He’s also becoming a pretty good reader, especially for his age. So smart! William is also growing. He’s reading faster than I can check out books from the library.  He has been known to read a book or two while we are at the library and put it back on the shelf. William is an amazing big brother and has taken on a lot of responsibility. If I need him to do something for himself, the dogs, or one of his siblings, he will do it right away. He can unbuckle Hannah and Robert in the car, which is a bigger help than he will ever know. The other night he looked at me and cried because he was happy being 6 and wasn’t sure he wanted to grow up any more because he will have to eventually stop doing things that kids do. He is so my kid because I did this as a child too. I cried with him a little as we talked about how there are new things to do even as old things go away. He agreed and was fine after a while. Oh the joys and pains of growing up!

That’s all for now!