The Menagerie

I have often talked about the boys liking their stuffed animals. Most people think they have 4 or 5 each. They are SOOOO wrong.

Newborn Pictures

Check out Lori's blog at Center Stage Photography

This is William's first photo shoot. He did beautifully as did his older brothers. I am blessed with agreeable children...at least most of the time.

Thanks so much Lori for making it special.

The Sweetest Things

We came home last night from the hospital. The first few hours was a bit rough, but I think we are all getting the hang of it. On the way home I was treated to an amazing mid-west sunset. It was totally the classic prairie sunset view. I really wanted to take a picture, but alas Rob had the camera in the other car with him.

Now, I know why I love him so. He stopped to take pictures of exactly the spot I would have taken a picture. I plan to work on editing tomorrow, but here are a couple of pictures without editing.



Today was a wonderful day at home. Rob has worked so hard to help out. The boys have been just super loving. And my mom is here to take care of me. It is really wonderful.

Anthony loves to hold the baby and is really taking to his role as big brother. If William cries, Anthony comes running to tell us or tries to cheer him up with kisses and stuffed animals. I love how kind he is. Today, Anthony brought me flowers from the garden. I love daffodils, so I couldn't help but smile at the gesture (obviously my mom helped him out a little). The best was the smile on his face. Gosh I love that kid.


Gabe is just smiling all the time. I think he is more excited to have me home than the baby, but Gabe is getting there. Today while I was laying in bed resting, Gabe just came in and curled up with me. We laid there just snuggled up for a little while.

Best of all, Rob and William actually seem to be bonding. Gabe and Rob had a rough go for the first year. I called it the cycle of hate. It didn't matter what Rob did, Gabe wanted nothing to do with him. So seeing my husband and baby asleep together just melts my heart.

Our Newest Arrival

William Thomas Xavier arrived on 6 April at 12:56pm. He weighed 7 lbs 12.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He is such a chunky monkey compared to the other two. Many of you remember when Anthony was born at 32 weeks only weighing 4lbs and 7 oz. This was quite the different experience. Yes, he did have a very pointy conehead! Right at the end, my contractions went from every 2 min to 6 min, so he is a little pointy.

The upside is that I had a normal labor with no pitocin. Yes, I still love my epidural. Also figured out why I liked the one with Anthony and not with Gabe. The Army hospital still uses an older and cheaper drug that causes heavier legs and wears off a lot slower. However, most civilian hospitals have changed to a different drug that allows you more movement. Also, the nursery prefers to keep the baby at night with the exception of feedings so mom gets more rest. It is wonderful to be taken care of so well.


I am recovering well and feeling really good. William is eating like a horse. The only disappointment is the lack of nutrition in the hospital food. It is worse than a school cafeteria.

The older boys got to visit last night too. Here are some pics.

"Dad made them say...'my brother is not a football.'"

Finally sleeping

My New Blog

Since I have been trying to cook more from scratch, I started a new blog for anyone interested in the resources and recipes we are using.

Hard Cooking Made Easy

Enjoy!

Easter

We had a great Easter. It started the night before with egg dying. We just did solid colors since I am not all that creative :-)



In the morning, the boys got to open their Easter baskets. We did not do a lot of candy (5 pieces each). Thankfully, the grandparents did not send candy this year either. We should actually finish Easter candy before Christmas this year :-) Mostly they got coloring books and stickers. The fun frivolous egg stuffer were the champagne poppers. My boys love these. I think they are great too...a one time, dispensable activity that cleans up pretty easy.



Easter Morning we headed to church...I love Easter hymns. It is definitely my favorite Church Season. Anthony and Gabe have spent the last month in school learning the Easter story. Anthony did Resurrection Eggs for his class and has been telling me the story non-stop for a week. While I love the story, I think by the 300th time, I was ready to scream. By the 500th time, I was just numb. I think he likes being able to relay the story. He is now willing to just tell Gabriel the story without my involvement each time.


After church, we had brunch at my house with some friends. I love brunch...ham, eggs, sausage balls, desserts. I am lucky to have great friends here. All of our kids get along reasonably well for all being in the 3-5 year old range. We had a small egg hunt for them. The kids also got to decorate chocolate cake eggs for their dessert. But mostly we all sat around eating and enjoying each others company.

Happy Birthday to Me

For my Birthday, Rob got me a new laptop...which I love. It actually doesn't crash every 30 min. My old one was almost 5 years old and having serious issues. The boys and my mom baked me a cake as well. Chocolate with purple icing. Anthony wanted to put princesses on my cake because girls have princess cakes, but he was willing to settle for sprinkles instead.

At the Park

A few days ago we had our first fantastic warm day. Lots of sun and fun. We met up with friends at the park. I love watching my kids run around.

Still no baby

I know many are checking, but there is still no baby.

Treasure Box Day

So Tuesdays are the day we get our vegetable and fruit delivery from a local coop kinda business. The boys love it. They will try things from the magic treasure chest that they won't try from the store. Kids are so funny. I was unsure if this would work out for us, but I love it too. I spend less because I am at the store less and it forces us to use fruits and veggies I might not otherwise use...like rainbow Swiss chard. I can also get fresh grass fed cow milk. It makes awesome yogurt.

I have been slowly trying to make reasonable changes in our diets. Some things are quick and easy (but maybe not cheap) like the kind of milk we drink. Bread was by far the easiest. I can make 4 loaves at a time and that will usually last us for about 3 weeks. Others have been more difficult, like cutting ready made, store bought snacks. Gabe is completely suckered into the shiney wrapper of snack bars.

Don't get me wrong. I still consider ice cream a food group, and Blue Bell is my favorite. Every once in a while I love going to Sonic or Chic-Fil-A. I know they are bad for me and just don't care. But, I no longer need a super cheese burger and large fries. The small fry for all 3 of us will do.

Hopefully over the next year, we can make the changes stick. If you are thinking you want to try and make some changes, try reading "In Defense of Food" then take a look at everything you have in your pantry and fridge. It will at a minimum make you think about what you are buying and why.

The side benefit is that this is probably the healthiest I have ever felt. I have gained the least amount of weight with this pregnancy and I never feel like I am skimping. I am still looking for the reasonable balance where I don't have to spend all my time cooking, but also don't feel like I am filling my body with junk. Most websites really lean towards doing everything from scratch...which I think only works for a very small percent of people.

To find local farms and farmers markets: http://www.localharvest.org/

I have already found some things in the Savannah area so that we can make the transition during the move.

Random Pictures

These are just some random but cute snaps I took of the kids over the last month.

And then the snow came...

So we had a fantastic sunny day...and then it snowed. Not just a little, but 8 inches worth (8.7 at the airport technically). While I am not a fan, and I think Rob is just completely done with the snow, the boys still love it. Today it is was actually sunny with the snow still on the ground, so the boys trekked on out to enjoy it all. At one point, I looked out and saw Gabe and Anthony just laying in the snow like two little puppy dogs. Didn't get it on film (jpeg) but still makes me smile to think about it.

Here are a couple of pics...hopefully the last from this year...of the boys in the snow.


But the funniest thing by far today was Anthony doing his homeless impression. He made himself a little house out of the news paper. I thought it was super funny. When I asked if he would like it to only have a house of newspaper, he said no, because it would not keep him warm like our house. Very astute.


Oh, and have mentioned lately how much I love my camera. I mean truly love. I didn't know I needed a new camera till Rob bought me this one. He is the best husband ever. My old camera tended to blow out the whites and make them all the same shade. Not this one. Even in high contrast, I get beautiful whites with very little effort. Thank you baby for the amazing camera! Here are a couple of snow/sunny pics keep in mind this is my low res jpeg, and not even the good file.

Finally Sunny

So today is finally a warmish sunny day. This winter we have been plagued with cold and snow. Usually the Midwest sees at least a couple of weather breaks in January and February, but not this year.

The boys have been running around and loving the sun. Rob managed to get the last of the lawn prep from Spring done, and I am getting a little alone time.

Everyone is Irish

Why celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Because deep down we all long to be a bit Irish. We want to drive the snakes of winter out and drink good beer. I can live without the corned beef and cabbage, but the Guinness is enough to keep me going through the day.

This year, we celebrated in historic downtown Leavenworth with a parade to make any small town jealous. I have to admit, it made me smile and think of parades in North Pole AK where the real reason for the parade was something to do and a little alcohol.

The parade was cold. Really, really, really cold and windy. So we sat with friends and watched the local Irish clans in trailers, trucks and other vehicles parade past. There were some firetrucks and old cars. A few horses. No band or music. We sent the guys for hot chocolate and coffee and just hoped for the best. All in all, not a bad day...but still made me laugh that this was called a parade.

When in Doubt, Bake

With all the cold weather, I have taken up baking. Not cakes or sweets, but breads. I now make our daily sandwich bread and rolls from scratch (and everyone seems to really like it). I have also experimented with a few specialties, one of which is bagels.

Being from New Jersey, Rob is a bagel snob. I have made two batches so far, but we are not quite there with taste. Rob claims I am just not Jewish enough to make really great bagels...but these will do until we revisit the Northeast.

The boys like to help with bagels because they are really hands on. Even though I have an amazing Kitchen Aid Pro-grade mixer, I find they turn out better if kneaded by hand. I love watching them in their little aprons get excited about baking stuff. Anthony will come in as soon as they are out of the oven. He will rub his little tummy and what is that yummy smell. Then I get big hugs and kisses as he attempts to convince me to give him one right away. Needless to say with a super sweet face like his, I cave pretty quick.