Start of School and Fall Activities

I've really been slacking off on this blogging thing. Days are pretty busy now, especially the ones where I work. When I do get some "quiet time" I'm usually folding laundry or straightening up...or catching up on my shows. Anyway, the past two plus weeks have been busy to say the least. All three of the big kids started school, we celebrated Buster's birthday, we celebrated my grandmother's birthday, and Pirate started soccer. Instead of doing a separate post on each thing, I'm making this one fun-filled post about everything!

Sunday, August 26 was Buster's birthday. We had gone out to dinner and to a couple bars the night before to celebrate. We stayed out until 1am, which is pretty much unheard of for us. We had a great time. Unfortunately I had to work all day on his actual birthday, so we didn't have a special birthday dinner. I did have time to make a cake that morning, so we sang Happy Birthday and had cake to celebrate that evening.

This is kind of a funny picture!

On Monday, August 27, Princess and Pirate started school. Princess started third grade, and Pirate started kindergarten. They were both really excited about school, and they had a great first day. Luckily, their enthusiasm has continued through the first two weeks of school, and they are both still loving it.

Everyone on Facebook used these signs this year. Thanks, Pinterest!

Trouble had an Ice Cream Social on August 28th to meet his teachers and the other kids. His first official day of school was September 4. I was a little worried about how he would do in school given how he acts, but he had a great first and second day. He's only going Tuesday and Thursday mornings, but it's just enough to get him out of the house and have some structure and interaction with other kids. He definitely needs that!

Couldn't forget a Pinterest sign for the little guy!

It is unbelievably quiet in here when Trouble is at school. Superchunk takes his morning nap for a good part of the time Trouble's in school, so Curly gets a lot of Mommy Time, which we both love. He turned 18 months on Friday, and he seems like such a big boy now. He weighs around 25 lbs. I'll find out for sure at his checkup tomorrow morning. He loves playing with trains and trucks running around the house. He is 100% a Mommy's boy, and I don't mind that one bit!

 My handsome big boy after a much needed haircut!

Pirate started soccer during the first week of school. He only had two practices before his first game this past Saturday. He really loves playing. I missed his first game because of work, but Buster said it was pretty entertaining to watch the kids play. I get to go this weekend, so I'm excited to watch the action on the field!

Wearing his official uniform for Team USA!

Big family gatherings are few and far between since everyone has so much going on these days. Last weekend my dad's family got together to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. She turned 39 again this year, which is pretty amazing considering she has a granddaughter catching up to her age! We were able to grab a quick family picture of my grandparents with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The only one missing is my cousin who lives in Florida. We pretty much filled up the entire living room at my uncle's house to get this picture!

That's a big crew!

Superchunk continues to be a chunky boy. He had his six month checkup last week and he weighs in at a whopping 21lbs! He's also 27 3/4 inches tall. This is one big boy! He's rolling all over the place, and trying to scoot himself around. He is also working on sitting up, although he only lasts a few seconds at a time doing it. That's a lot of weight to move around!

Rocking his first pair of shoes!

Today is the first Ravens' game, and it's Purple Monday. The kids could probably care less, but I made sure they were all supporting the Ravens. We're also crazy excited about how the O's are playing right now too. It's a great time for fans in Baltimore!

Don't they look thrilled? Nothing like a photo session at 8am!

6 months old!

Superchunk is six months old today! I'm amazed that it's been half a year since he was born. When I think back on the complete anxiety I was feeling in the weeks leading up to his birth, I laugh at myself. The anxiety was for nothing. I had an easy labor and delivery. And life hasn't been as hard as I thought it would adding another person to the family.

 I'll be totally honest. When I found out I was pregnant last summer, June 25 to be exact, I was freaking out. I mean, absolutely freaking out. I cried hysterically when the pregnancy test was positive. To be fair, I had a three month old baby on top of a two, three, and seven year old. I was just starting to feel like me again. We were getting into a routine. The baby was sleeping at night. It was summer time, and we had joined the pool for the first time. We had a vacation planned. Life was feeling normal. Then this total shock came to us and I didn't think I could handle it. I don't love being pregnant. So, I wasn't exactly happy to have a positive pregnancy test. It took me some time to get used to the news. We waited a while to tell anyone. We knew the response we'd get. "What? Are you kidding?" "Don't you know what birth control is?". Yes, we got all of those responses.  I even got a "Congratulations?" emailed to me, like it was a question.We also got a lot of positive responses, like how blessed we were to have a big family, how we were already great parents, and we'd be great parents to a fifth child. My husband always tells me that everything will be alright, and that everything happens for a reason. It took me a while to get used to the idea, but after a little while, I embraced pregnancy for the final time.


Back to my little Superchunk. He is such a joy to have in our family. I can't believe how I was so upset last year. I could never imagine life without him. Yes, life with five kids can be hectic at times. But it is very rewarding. Superchunk is very laid back. He doesn't cry much. He's starting to develop a personality, and it's so cute. He laughs at his brothers and sister. Just recently, he started to get upset when we walk out of the room. He loves attention and to be around people. We've been so lucky that Superchunk has slept through the night since he was six weeks old. He's the book definition of a good baby!

Landon still definitely deserves the name Superchunk. He weighs almost 21 pounds, as much as his big sister weighed when it was her first birthday. He's moving into 18 month size clothes. If he doesn't slow down, he'll be sharing a wardrobe with Curly! He loves his oatmeal for breakfast and just started trying baby veggies. He's only had peas so far, and he's a little unsure of the taste. He's rolling over both ways, and pushing himself up on his arms. On his tummy, he reaches for toys and tries to push himself toward them. I'm in no rush for him to start crawling though, as that means he'll be on the move. I know all too well that once they start, they never stop! He also babbles all the time. My personal favorite is when he says, "mamamamama" over and over. I know it's babbling, but I still like the sound of it!

Our family is complete, and I am totally in love with this family. We were meant to have five children. I can't picture life any other way!

8/21/12 - 6 months old!

peas are yummy??

Milestones

When I was in the shower this morning (the place where I do most of my uninterrupted thinking) I was thinking about how the kids are really changing and developing.  I realized that things are getting easier around here, and that's due to the fact that the kids are all getting bigger and doing more. Milestones are important, but sometimes they get overlooked in all the chaos that is life with five children. Writing the things that have happened lately will help me to remember them. Some might even make it into the Baby Books, although I doubt it :)

Superchunk is an absolute dream baby! I mean, he is as close to a perfect baby as one can get. He hardly ever cries. He's been sleeping all night since he was six weeks old. He sleeps 10-12 hours every night, and doesn't even seem bothered when Curly wakes up crying during the night. I admit, he spends a lot of time being moved from place to place, Jumperoo to Exersaucer to playmat to highchair to Bumbo. He doesn't get held as much as I'd like to hold him, or as much as he did when he was a newborn, but he seems to be okay with it. I try to rock him to sleep at night, but he wants no part of it. He likes to be in the crib and fall asleep on his own. (I told you he was a dream baby!) As tough as things seemed when he was first born, they have gotten so much easier where Superchunk is concerned. He's on a schedule where he takes his four bottles a day, two regular naps in the crib, and the same bedtime every night. It seems like all of a sudden he's into a routine that just flows with what everyone else is doing. He just started eating cereal, and we put him in the highchair at the table when everyone is at the table so he can be part of our meals. He also started rolling over last week, which I thought would take much longer for him to do since he's so big. That's a lot of baby body to move! The kids love making him laugh and coo, and he loves watching them. There is a lot of activity in this house, so there is always something to keep him entertained! 

Curly seems to be getting bigger every day. His clothes that were too big when summer started are fitting better. He has an older look to him now than he did just a few weeks ago. He has a mouth full of teeth, with all four of his incisors coming through in the past few weeks. He cut back from two naps to one. We moved him from the highchair to a booster seat at the dining room table. Although he loves to throw his placemat and utensils on the floor, grab everyone else's food and drinks, and bang on the table, it's still neat to see him sitting with the rest of us. He's also walking backward, running, dancing, and trying to sing to his favorite songs. I'm pretty sure he is Mickey's biggest fan!  More words are coming into his vocabulary, and he's starting to make animal noises to match the animal he sees. He is constantly watching his big brothers and sister and trying to imitate the things they do. He's a huge Mommy's boy, and I love it. We go for a little walk every night and spend a few minutes on the porch watching cars and birds. I love that one on one time with him. 

Trouble is potty trained! I've mentioned before that he's been trained since he was two and a half, but that he wouldn't poop on the potty for anything. FINALLY, within the past week, he has started regularly pooping on the potty. We're still using the sticker chart and making a huge deal out of it every time he goes, but it's a HUGE improvement over where we were before. It's been a journey, that's for sure! He also hasn't worn a diaper or Pull-Up for a nap or at bedtime in over a week. I can't remember for sure, but I think he speaks better than Princess or Pirate did when they turned three. Some of the things he says really make me laugh! He also watches Princess and Pirate and imitates everything they do.

Pirate is starting to read, which is amazing to me. I know for sure that I don't spend as much time reading with him as I did with Princess. She was reading well before she started kindergarten, and he is just beginning. But he really enjoys it, and I'm spending more time working with him. I love that my kids love books and going to the library. Pirate got his first library card, and he gets a kick out of doing the self checkout at the library. He's at a great age where helping is fun. He loves to do his chores, which I think is great because I know that in a few years I'll probably get the same eye rolling from him that I now get from his sister. He's gotten much more independent recently, getting up early and entertaining himself rather than waking up the rest of the house, getting his own breakfast, cleaning up after himself. He has a great imagination and loves playing with his superheroes and dressing up like them. 

Princess is getting very mature. In most ways this is a good thing, although I'm not loving the eye rolling and the stomping up the steps when she doesn't like what I tell her. Pretty sure the teenage years are not going to be a good time! Where she does her share of eye rolling and whining, she is an enormous help around here. I am constantly asking her to run and get something for me or to help the boys clean up. I know she gets annoyed, but it's good for her to help. She is reading the Harry Potter books now, which really hit me that she is growing up. I'm used to her reading much younger books, but she's reading longer more mature books now, and understanding them. She's also into popular music now. All the kids know some of the popular stuff that's out there now. I'm not a parent who plays kids' music in the car, so they know stuff that I like. But she now tells me to change the station when she doesn't like a song, and I see her in the rear view mirror singing along. In the past year, she has really started showing her taste in clothes and how she wears her hair. I know this is a good thing since she is going on 9 (OMG she's going on 9!), but I miss her being a little girl that I can put in cute little dresses and fix her hair any way I want. She's growing into her own person, which is amazing to watch, but also terrifies me!

This is a busy house, and it's easy to miss the milestones the kids are achieving. Nothing is going unnoticed, it's just a matter of taking a step back and looking to see everything that is happening. Sometimes it's hard to see everything at once, so I have to take a second and separate the big picture into smaller pieces. It's worth it though, because this is all happening so quickly that one day Superchunk is going to be the eye-rolling eight year old, and I'll wonder how he got there!

PS- I was recently nominated for a couple blogging awards, to which I am shocked and thankful. I will write about them as soon as I can get my thoughts straight!