The Beach!

Today we took a quick trip to the beach to have some summer fun with the kids. We didn't get to take our annual family trip down to the coast like we usually do (see child number three!) and I really wanted Beth and Luke to have the chance to play in the sand and water this year. We drove down at naptime, played for four hours on the beach, hit up Uncle Michael's house to clean up, then came home. Beth and Luke had so much fun!!! Jack did very well too, we brought a little chair for him to sit in so I didn't have to hold him all day. I am so glad we went!

Belated Birthday Celebration

This weekend I had two belated birthday celebrations, the first was a much-needed Mom's night out with four girlfriends. It was so nice to get out (with Jack, of course) to hang out at The Cheesecake Factory and enjoy a yummmmy mojito! Sunday morning, after mass, we all jumped in the car and drove to see Grandma and Grandpa for the day.

Last Soccer Tots

This past Saturday was our last Soccer Tots for Beth and Luke! They both really enjoyed it, although Luke hasn't been the best at paying attention to the coach, ha! Beth starts dance next week, and Luke won't be doing anything this semester. Maybe in the spring?

Two babies in a chair

Ryan snapped a few quick pictures of Beth and Luke (with Ariel) in the glider. Typical shots of them, including the silly face by Beth. She's turning into a typical goober of a preschooler- she says the most outrageous things that totally catch me off guard, makes silly faces, and is very dramatic. She's reminding me more of a school-aged kid than a little toddler. I still want to pinch Luke's chub! He's still driving me nuts with the hitting and ignoring me...He's lucky he's so stinkin' cute!

A special visit

We had a special weekend! Thursday afternoon we had some out-of-town visitors; our friends who had moved to back to Nebraska came and spent the weekend with us! Pat and Katie brought the kids (they left with two and came back with three!) and the 10 of us (11, actually, since Katie brought her cousin) had a wonderful visit.

Thursday evening we had takeout and let the kids play in our playroom. When they left, Luke wasn't even walking yet! Now, Colin is two and Luke is nearly two, and the boys had a really great time playing together. There wasn't nearly as much fighting as we thought there would be! Beth and Grace picked up where they left off, playing house, dress up and talking a LOT.

the special girl's table

This was our first time to meet their newest addition, baby Hannah, who is 6 weeks older than Jack. Katie and I had fun planning the wedding. ;-)

their first meeting, neither seem very interested!

Ryan took off work on Friday and we took the kids to play in the fountains. They had a blast, but considering how hot it was for the rest of us it might not have been the best idea! I got a few good pictures though. We grilled burgers that night and had a birthday party for Grace since it was her 4th birthday. We had huge ice cream sundaes, with Blue Bell of course since they don't have it in Nebraska!





On Saturday, Beth and Luke had Soccer Tots, and the coach allowed Grace to come and participate in Beth's class. We all went out to eat at "our" favorite restaurant afterward, a Mexican place near our old neighborhood. We'd go nearly every Sunday after mass, and the waiters knew who we were (and I think dreaded our table since we had so many kids). This time we had two more kids, plus Katie's cousin, so we had to upgrade to the biggest table in the restaurant!

dribbling

beth scored a goal! look at that action shot!

I made gumbo for an early dinner and then they left, hitting the road so that the kids would (hopefully) sleep for the first leg of their looooong drive. That night, as I was putting Beth to sleep, she was so genuinely sad. It was hard to explain to her- again- that they lived so far away and we wouldn't see them again for a long time. I think this was the first time she expressed this sincere sadness, and we had to talk for a few minutes about the emotion she was feeling since it was very new. She nearly cried.


We all had such a wonderful time, and we were all sad to see them go! But we're already making plans for another visit, hopefully we'll be able to enjoy their company again soon.

An evening in the sun

Very rarely do I get pictures of Luke smiling. He's a happy boy, but usually when I grab the camera he gets all serious on me. Well, last night he was having some fun in the sun before bed time, and I hit the jackpot. Check out these adorable photos!

Passed Out

turn off that flash, man! i'm trying to sleep here!

One of my favorite things about this newborn stage is a baby's ability to pass out into such a deep sleep that he's completely unaware of anything. The other night we watched The Blind Side and Jax was completely passed out on my lap the entire time, totally limp. Of course I asked Ryan to take some pictures!

We're playing around with nicknames for Jackson... Jack, Jacks (Jax?), Jack Jack, JP, FJ... I like FJ because it takes him back to his roots- "Frisbee Jack," as Beth lovingly calls him! It's going to take some time I think, since we didn't have a name picked out for him since the beginning. In retrospect I wish we'd chosen a name before birth so that we didn't have to agonize about it for a few days! Lesson learned, we'll remember that next time around. ;-)

I'm feeling generally well. I'm still having major fluid retention in my hands for some reason, they're very sore and it's been hard for me to make a fist. A friend suggested postpartum carpal tunnel syndrome, and someone else was concerned about my blood pressure. I'm also having a hard time walking because my lower abs are still very sore, surely a result of Jack's quick delivery. He, on the other hand, seems perfectly healthy to me! Jack and I both have two-week appointments on Thursday, so hopefully we'll figure out the solution to my issues soon.

His skin is starting to plump out and soften and the peeling is slowly going away. No baby acne yet, but I know it's coming! He even looks like he's trying to smile at me sometimes, and when he smiles in his sleep it absolutely melts my heart! He has such a huge grin! We have a photographer coming on Tuesday to take some professional baby pics of him (the same lady that came for Beth's pics a few weeks ago) and I'm hoping to get some beautiful black and white photos of our new boy.