little things that preserve sanity :)

Almost six weeks in to this 4th round with a newborn.  And I am exhausted.  Not just physically (though I know I could easily nap from now til tomorrow) but emotionally, mentally, all that.  Luke is a sweet little boy who *usually* likes to sleep in his bed and *mostly* naps on his own and eats like a champ.  But he's still so little and needs so. much. time. and. attention.  Sooooo much!

Mercifully, Jan (aka Grandma) is here and I'm still floating with my head above water.  We eat food three times a day.  We all start the day in clean clothing.  Two-thirds of us are very well-rested :)  And everyone is healthy as can be.

But I'm tired.  It seems that starting about 5pm my energy level starts to plummet.  Once we're done with dinner it's a slippery downhill slope and I'm moving faster every second - I have no memory of anything that happens after my head hits the pillow. 

So I'm even more grateful for this little "time out" in my day :)  Julianna moved fairly effortlessly from an afternoon nap to an afternoon "reading time" and the others have followed suit.  Isaac is a brand new addition to the mix - he started skipping naps the week his baby brother was born :)  And now he's awake and in on the "reading time" at least a few days a week.  He thinks he's big enough to do it every day, but his Momma knows better and some afternoons he can barely keep his eye lids open long enough to stumble to his bed.

[Isaac sleeps in a little toddler cot that I can pick up and move from room to room.  When he naps in the afternoon I move him into another bedroom.  The girls are quickly outgrowing their 'short' beds but I'm hoping they'll hold out for another year at least!  Then we'll have to do a big bed swap and get bigger beds (bunks?) for the girls and move some of the boys into the girls' current beds.]

All this to say: at moments like this one, when Luke is snoozing and my big three are reading in their bedroom, well.... it's moments like this one that preserve my sanity.  For this short hour, no one is calling out "Mommy" for the 43rd time in five minutes. 

And there have been seasons when this hour was elusive.  And there will be more of those seasons to come.  So I appreciate it when it happens.  Long for it when it doesn't.  And enjoy it today. 

birthday season

In our family birthdays tend to come in bunches.  And this is a big week.  Grandpa (April 21) and Grandma (April 25) and Uncle Andy (April 26) and Grandmama (April 28). 

Lots of fun for our birthday lovers, especially when the birthday folks are here for the celebrating!  We had a great time with Grandma yesterday, but I'll have to come back with pictures later. 

Thanks to one little guy who just had his BIRTHday about six weeks ago, I'm one pretty sleepy Momma tonight :) 

growing boys

 Such a handsome little guy, my Luke. 

 And growing up too.  He used to sleep through chaos like this....

Yep, that's Luke.  On the floor of the living room.  Covered with his Isaac's hooded jacket (since I didn't see a blanket within reach).  Check out the background for a "real life view" of the living room.  I took this photo a few weeks ago, about 5:30, right in the midst of dinner prep. 

.... but he is already growing and changing.  He doesn't drift off to sleep on the floor like this.  He's so alert and watching his big siblings, listening to songs, looking out the window.  

Today I sorted boy clothes.  Piles and piles of little boy clothes.  I started with this -

 - and ended with a lot of well-sorted, organized bags.  My favorite is probably the bag labeled "John Paul" and boy am I ready to have John Paul here wearing his clothes!  But I also marveled, again (!) at how quickly little ones grow and change.  12 month size pjs seem ginormous next to little Luke, but I know that I'll blink twice and his first birthday will be just around the corner and he'll be wearing those pajamas!  What a sweet reminder to enjoy and savor all the (sleepless) moments! 

My biggest boy and my smallest boy.  Oh how I want to love these little years.  Such sweet precious days. 

John Paul updates

Guess what landed in my INBOX this morning?  A whole lotta updates on our little John Paul!  Woohoo!!!!

John Paul lives with a foster family.  The foster home sponsored by a US adoption agency (the agency provides training, support, encouragement for foster families).  And the foster families provide quarterly updates on the children. 

And as of today we have all of John Paul's updates!!!  Each one includes his height/weight, a photo, and a description of his general health, development, etc. 

This past month with Luke I've had moments of deep sadness, realizing that I will never know John Paul as a baby.  There are many details I will never know.  Questions I cannot answer.  Just a few nights ago the kids were asking me what time of day they were born.  Julianna? Evening.  Lydia? Evening.  Isaac? Early morning.  Luke? Early morning. 

Then they asked "what about John Paul?"  I don't know what time of day John Paul was born.  I probably never will. 

Today Julianna asked me "if John Paul lived in your tummy what city would he have been born in?"  It's an interesting question to try to answer, and together we decided that since we were living in North Dakota in early January 2011 then hypothetically, if John Paul had been in my tummy, he would have been born during a North Dakota blizzard.  [John Paul's birthday is Jan 1, 2011.... and yes, North Dakota was buried in snow!]

The ugly truth is that I don't know for sure what city he was born in.  Or what time of day he was born. Or how much he weighed.  Or .......

So the more information we do have, well.... I just love filling in a few of those missing details.  Yes, knowing a few details reminds me how very much I do not know.  But it's nice to start to fill those blank pages of his life history, even if I fill them with just small little tidbits.  

John Paul had a head full of black hair when he was three months old.  At six months he was reaching out and grabbing for table food.  At nine months he weighed 9 kg and was "climbing everywhere". 

And my personal favorite, straight from his 15 month report (a week ago)

"He likes to play with friends but does not like friends to grab his toys and he will fight over and get his toys back." 

It seems he's going to be a perfect fit for our family :)  His four siblings will provide plenty of friends, and I have toys ready to be fought over. 

Oh how I cannot wait to go get our John Paul and bring him home!   (speaking of... no news on the wait, it seems to be stretching longer and longer but I know God knows exactly what day John Paul is coming home, so waiting confidently)

the good, the bad, and the pictures

Grandpa left on an airplane this morning. (the bad)

Grandma stays for another month.  (the good)

And below, the pictures....  how can I ever sort through them all and make a coherent blog post?  So instead I'll post some of my favorites with little descriptors.  (And later, when I compile this all into a book - I do it each year and create a coffee table blog-turned-book that is full of priceless memories -  well, I can already picture the huge photo spreads that will capture this visit.)

So here goes.

One thing our family has plenty of? Personality :)

My forever-loving-snuggles Lydia all snuggled with Grandma

With Matt, and our littlest, watching panda antics. 

Hanging on to Grandpa - I saw this and reached for a camera. 

A night in the kitchen with local friends

Son and parents.  Grateful.   

Matt at work (on campus, with bike, on the phone.... classic Matt).

Me at work.  (at home, with four, multi-tasking.... classic Laura).

this boy makes me laugh

showing Grandma his classroom while the sisters dance upstairs

dancer #1

dancer #2

three generations

the eight of us

smiles of delight that say "we love Grandma and Grandpa visits"

a day in the life....

of sweet baby Luke.  Here's a little update on my littlest - one month old tomorrow!  Wowsers.

While I would not say "he's such an easy baby" I will say that he is pure delight.  You would think that by the 4th time around I'd have the baby thing figured out, but I definitely do not!  Still learning, every day.  And enjoying him tons and tons.

He had a tough night and day early in the week and I started to think that maybe, just maybe, he needed a little more time at home, a little more low-key.  He's been toted lots of places and I think he ended up exhausted - so yesterday afternoon the two of us snuggled up on the bed together for a super long nap!  I'm not sure who needed it more, but I know BOTH of us could use a bit more sleep.  And after a great night (well, great for a 4 week old) and a calm relaxed morning I think he's solidly on the road back to 'his old self'. (Kind of funny to think that he could have an 'old self' when he's only 30 days old!)

Luke is strong, so strong.   And he knows how to say "Mommy come get me"!

He likes to be outside (at the playground with his big siblings)

and at the park for a picnic Sunday afternoon (can you find him in this picture?)

(He's snuggled under the nursing cover, looks like everyone eats at a picnic, huh?)

And sometimes he falls asleep in the sling and gets passed to Grandpa's loving arms.

Posing on the blanket Grandma knit especially for him Luke looks like this

and like this

and one of my favorite pictures of him so far.....

A little love pat on the head from big brother :)

Grandma and Grandpa! (don't miss these pictures)

It's 7:30.  The three big kids are having a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa (who are staying in an extra apartment just a few buildings away from us).  Matt is working tonight.  Sweet baby Luke is snoozing.

And since he's in this strange groove where his longest stretch of sleep (and longest stretch between feedings) starts about 7pm, I really should be taking advantage of the quiet and head straight to bed.

But I'm looking at photos instead :)  And I promised Matt I would get as much rest as I could (and he knows I desperately need it) so I'll just upload two of my favorite and be off to sleep in just a bit!

Once you see these pics I think you'll agree it's worth loosing sleep to make sure these are on the blog!

Ha!  Aren't those awesome?  Definitely on my list of "favorite pictures EVER"!

Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived Thursday night :)  I forgot to take my camera to the airport (but I did take four kids, so that's my excuse for no camera!) but Grandpa got an airport picture!

Our first day was fun-filled!  Lots of just visiting and Luke-holding (so far he's not a fan of the paci but his Momma is hoping he'll change his mind, and now that Grandma is here I have renewed vision!)

playing games

learning to use a remote control car and.....

applying lip gloss (fun gift from Grandma!)

(Lydia and her lip gloss reminded me of the picture below.... when Grandma came after Isaac was born she brought something similar for her granddaughters - that's Lydia March 2009, working on opening her new lip smackers!)

Right now Grandma and Grandpa are out with the three big kids while Luke snoozes and I enjoy a bit of peace and quiet at home.  Most of the photos are on the other camera, so I'll be back with more updates later!

Our plans are for lots of just hanging out and fellowship together as a family.  woohoo!

the Easter family picture

It's clear....  Luke is thrilled to be a member of the family. 

Or at least he's willing to consider being a part of the family. 

And when he finally does decide he'll "put on a happy face" Lydia looks away from the camera. 

We had a great Easter Sunday celebrating with the three other families in our Sunday morning "church group".  [Why do I never think to get photos at group events?]   

Julianna lost her third tooth Saturday morning and the fourth was hanging precariously by noon that day.  She wanted to "keep it til Grandma and Grandpa arrived" but it was out Easter Sunday mid-afternoon (a little bump from her buddy Kate while they were wrestling helped speed the process).  Now she is one seriously gap-toothed 6 year old who is out of front teeth!  

Look for a post with some Luke updates soon!  He is growing and changing every day :) 

Easter egg hunt

Saturday morning we enjoyed an Easter egg hunt with a bunch of other foreign families here in town.  I braved the coldish drizzle and it was.... ummmm, intense :)  As I was pulling out of our complex I had a very distinct "I'm not sure I should be attempting this little outing" feeling in my gut.  But we were loaded up, and my kids were already excited about the hunt, so onward we went!

I'm definitely still figuring out how to tote four children around, and sweet Luke is still so very young.  He snuggled down deep in the sling for part of the time, out in weather he legitimately probably should have not been out in!  Oh well.  Luke buddy, welcome to life as #4 :)

I also missed the entire hunt portion of the morning sitting on a rainy bench feeding Luke.  The three big kids managed to get a good chunk of loot anyways :)  and when it was all over I smuggled away as many jelly beans as I could! 

Lydia was committed to pretending like the weather was gobs better than it actually was!  She brightens up the day, that's for sure.  

In the end, I was so glad I went.  So so glad.  But also exhausted.  And it was only noon :) 

dyeing eggs

In a very strategic move yours truly decided that one tired momma, three young children and a newborn were no match for the skills needed to navigate a successful Easter egg dyeing experience.

So we waited til after dinner when Matt was home :)

And it was a blast.

Isaac (check out him using a wire whisk as an egg dipper.... brilliance!  and i can't take credit for the idea, but this gave Isaac all the autonomy he needed to dip and dip and re-dip his eggs over and over and over again). 

Isaac had tripled dyed all of his eggs before Julianna finished her first one.  Love to watch this sweet daughter of mine create beauty :) 

And Lydia, focused and careful, she did this activity so well this year!

 

Me and two of my sons.  One snoozing.  One about to overturn a cup of egg dye :) 

One more sweet time around our kitchen table.  Julianna is concerned that we are running out of seats.  We currently have six chairs but I assure her that it'll be a good long while before Luke needs his own - he can go in the stand alone high chair when the time comes -  and I've got dreams of adding a bench on one side.  To think that God is filling this table.... what joy and wonder! 

Matt is the first to admit that 'crafts' aren't his favorite.  But his oldest son has a strong creative streak, and he wants to encourage all our little ones.  On this night probably more sleep-deprived than me, thanks to a very late night working the evening before.... and he's dipping eggs :)  

With their finished products! 

So glad to celebrate with our precious ones!