Boy stuff

I think Speedy is feeling a bit left out with all the sisters in the house. Reminds me of my little brother, who grew up with 3 sisters, too. Speedy resembles him in this pic more than usual. He was jumping off something. (If I had a scanner, I'd try to post an old pic of my bro.)

Sister Love

Honey loves to kiss her baby sis on the head. Every time I'm feeding the baby, Honey comes by and grunts, "unh, unh..." until I lower Snuggle-bug's head to where her lips can reach it. The blurry shot was the best I had in trying to catch the act. Here are some other attempts...

Big Stuff

Princess did some growing up this week. Here are the pigtails she put in by herself:
Here's her loose tooth (on the bottom, it's leaning to the side, I know it looks like she lost it already, but she didn't!) She wiggled it all day, then pulled it out at supper!
First lost tooth--she's pretty proud and wanted to keep it, not leave it for the tooth fairy. She already took it to show her cousins. And told her Sunday school class. And wants to show it to the dentist. (The hygienist is the one who pointed it out at her last appointment, several months ago.)

Only in the Land of the 5 and under...

...does Polly Pocket's glove go through the laundry...do I walk in the bathroom to find a boy getting TP wet to clean lipstick off his tooshie...does a $24 ceiling fan/light switch that's only been installed for 3 days end up broken...does a newborn baby get kissed on the head every time an almost-2-year-old sees her...is it acceptable to have poopy diapers on the front porch...

{sigh}

Seems like we've had nothing but the sickies since the baby was born. Which is not unusual for January for us, post-children. We bought some elderberry juice concentrate in December, it's supposed to boost your immune system and keep you from getting sick. Well, our trial isn't going well. :)

Speedy was the most recent to have the stomach bug--was throwing up Sunday afternoon. So it was a shock last night, when I FINALLY had Snuggle-bug settled for a couple hours of sleep and was ready to move from the recliner to my comfy bed, and Speedy was in our room, scared. (well, that's not the shocking part,) I heard him mumble something about a bucket and then heard the dreaded splat. (You know what I'm talking about.) Hubby is such a sound sleeper, it took quite a bit to get his attention, and what a rude awakening--he hadn't even heard Speedy come in. The kid threw up all over our bed. All over my pillow, to be exact. My pillow. So, laundry, bath, sit with him a bit, it's after 1 am and I'm ready to crawl in bed to try to snooze. And the baby is ready to eat. So back to the recliner, 'cause she's too congested to lie in bed and eat. I can't decide if it was a short night or a long night. Ugh for winter.

On a funny note, Hubby was in charge of supper last night, so walked with the older 3 kiddos to the local grocery store. Speedy was the usual drama--a bag of bagels was TOO HEAVY to carry back 2 blocks. Honey was in charge of carrying a container of yogurt. She was proud of herself, but was mad we wouldn't let her eat it before supper. In the midst of the dinner-hour hoopla, Hubby found Honey scooted back in a corner with the lid and seal off her blueberry yogurt, eating it with her fingers. She's persistent, anyway.

You may be wondering what Hubby was craving--fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Pretty good, but as I grabbed a chicken leg, I remembered why I don't make fried chicken. (I had a bad experience in college with some undercooked fried chicken at none other than my future husband's house.) Now add to that the midnight vomiting of fried chicken, and it may indeed be awhile before I can eat it again.

Baby Fun

Finally, here's the birth story. :) After days and weeks of contractions, false labor, pre-labor, whatever you want to call it, Friday Dec. 19th the contractions started to feel a little more, you know, like the real thing. We took a long walk after school (I had to stop during contractions). We delivered goodie bags to the neighbors, had supper, devotions, put the kids to bed, and around 10 pm I thought we should get ready to go. The contractions were still varied in how far apart they were, but getting more intense, and I got nervous when some were less than 10 min. apart. (we're 40 min. from the small hospital we go to, and Honey was born only 30 min. after we arrived last time!) I called the hospital to say we were coming. (because last time I didn't, and my doctor was scrubbed in to do a c-section when we arrived, and had to be called away to come deliver Honey!) Contractions were 6 min. apart on the way; Hubby thought it was a fairly boring drive compared to the last two deliveries. :) Easy for him to say. We got into the hospital room around 11 pm. I was dilated to a 5. The doctor went home for a bit. It was kind of funny, when the nurse checked me after a bit, she texted the doctor to let him know. Hubby estimated a 4 am baby. I wasn't pleased with that--I was ready to be done! Anyway, I progressed pretty quickly, around 8 or 9 cm my water broke with a bang across the bed, and an hour and a half after arriving, our little girl was born. (12:30 am Dec 20)) Hubby cut the cord, like he has with all our babies. This girl felt bigger (of course!) than her 8 lbs, 3 oz. Our 2nd biggest baby, but longest, at 21-1/2 in. She screamed for an hour straight, it seemed, after being born. But since then, has been our easiest, most content baby! We settled on a name more quickly than the last two, by mid-morning on the 20th. She's named after Hubby's two grandmothers. It's funny how the name always seems awkward at first, the baby has to grow into it, or it has to grow on me, or something. :)

I forget how much poking and prodding and how many times different people come in for different tests and such after having a baby. I slept pretty good the second night, though, when they were leaving us alone more. Not sure what was up with the food servings, I thought they were kind of skimpy--I was famished! So wonderful Hubby went and got me an A&W burger and fries. :) Since it was close to Christmas, the hospital had extra gifts for us, it was fun. And there were the other perks from our small hospital (that we got with Honey, too): a mini 4-in A&W glass mug with a flower arrangement, and a CD and some prints of the photos they took of the baby in the hospital.
She looks like our other kids--especially Speedy, I thought at first. Now it seems like she has more of her own look. We're not sure what color her eyes will be--they were blue in the hospital, but since have seemed more gray or hazelish.

The older sibs were very anxious to meet their new sister!

Bringing Baby Home

Yes, I'm going back in time a bit! Here are pics from coming home with Snuggle-bug on Dec. 21.
Princess has been waiting SO LONG for baby to arrive--now she's here!!!! She can't wait till baby is bigger, for her to change the diapers.
Speedy is pretty excited, too. When I told him Friday night we were going to the hospital to have the baby, he rolled over in his bed and gave me a huge grin! Every morning first thing, he asks where the new baby is and if he can go see her.
Honey is a big sister! She likes to kiss in the direction of Snuggle-bug's head, rub her hair, say her name, and ask, "eating?"
Honey's adjusting pretty well--except when Daddy has the baby. She's his girl. Cheese!
She found her finger:
Yes, already holding her head up at 3 days old!
They say every pregnancy and every kid is different, and I keep learning, too. For instance, I'd noticed a line down the front of the diapers--thought it was a misprint until my sister said, 'oh, those have the color-change stripe so you know when they're wet!' Hmm, didn't know there was such a thing! :)