the new love of my life...

16 days ago I thought I was prepared for the arrival of my little guy.  the day got off to an early start - the hospital calling at 5:15 to let us know they were ready for us to come in and start the induction.  hours later I was just kinda hanging out - waiting for the pitocin to kick in and decided to flip through a magazine.  my horoscope read...."get ready for a serious love affair like you've never experienced before - an epic, mind-blowing romance is headed your way."  YEP.  i'm head over heels in love with the newest man in my life.  Welcome to the world William John. 

and the stats...William John (named after my dad and russ' dad), born 10/5/11 at 3:31pm.  weighing in at 9 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/4 inches long!  he's such a handsome little guy :)

and the countdown begins...

had my last dr. appt today and we are scheduled to induce this little guy on wed. oct. 5!!!!  a week from today we will become a family of 6.  i am SO EXCITED!!!!

getting our last bit of fun in before baby boy arrives :)

we are on official countdown before this little baby arrives and with the two big girls in school mon-thurs afternoon i've tried to do something fun on friday morning for the past couple of weeks.  last friday we headed to the magic house for special "member only" play.  it was awesome - we were practically the only kids in the children's village.  no field trips, no crazy weekend crowds.  my kids could run around and i could be relatively confident that i wouldn't lose anyone :)

today we headed to the zoo.  we invited grandma with us because 1) she's fun to do things with :) and 2) i admit to being a wee bit nervous about heading to the zoo 38 weeks pregnant with a 5, 4, and almost 2 year old.  thanks for coming grandma!!

it was the first day baby asian elephant "kenzi" was out in the river's edge for everyone to see.  she was the cutest little thing ever.  all my girls were crazy over her :) 

after watching the elephant's we headed over to stingray cove for the first time ever.  petting stingrays must have been a topic of conversation a couple of weeks ago in kindergarten but j has been very interested in seeing the stingrays for the first time ever.  in the past they were just happy as could be to pass by without looking twice. i have to say it was so cool!  of course j kind of put the brakes on and wasn't so sure and e would have been just fine staying far away, but that little c of mine was the first to get her hand in there to pet the stingrays :)  once grandma, c and I spent some time petting them j decided she was going to be brave and put her hand in the water.  it takes a while, but if you're patient and don't stress she is so willing to try things.  it was such a good reminder for me to try and remain PATIENT and POSITIVE and all will be GOOD in the long run!!!!  the best i could pull off with e is some intent watching and a couple of times her fingers actually hit the water - just not when there were any animals around :) 

to top off the stingray exhibit, we were there during feeding time and even though j was totally interested, there was no way she was going to hold raw fish in her hands and so big chicken that i am stepped up and fed those stingrays.  ugh.  not my thing.  holding raw fish pieces between my fingers so they could slide over slurp up.  gross.  and once i truly thought i was going to lose a finger :)  told the girls after that i was glad i tried it because it's important to try new things but that mommy probably would NOT be doing that again!!

before you knew were were out of time...wound our way out of the zoo and got to the car just as the rain started falling.  drove through mcdonald's and got j to school just as they were lining up.  talk about timing.

what should be do next week?  should be last friday before this little guy arrives!!!!!!

this child of mine...

what are we going to do with her????

here she is pretending to walk like "grandma"....with a cane...where did she ever get this idea?  both grandma's walk with a spring in their step :)

here she is after her sisters got her all dressed for dance class...only she's two years too young.  she is determined to get into someone's class someday.  she doesn't care if it's dance, preschool or kindergarten, she is ready to be a big kid!!

here she is on a pony at the st. lucas ice cream social this afternoon....her sisters thought she should go first...no problem.  in fact, don't even bother holding on dad, i'm ready to take this pony on a ride, or two, or three :)

Watch out world...E turns 4!!!

so my peanut turned four years old in august.  not sure where the time has gone but she is getting big on me :)  she is such a sweet little thing with a hint of stubborness in her!  for breakfast we went to krispy kreme in our pj's.  she thought it was so cool not to have to get dressed and loves watching the donuts being made.

I asked her a couple of weeks before her big day what she wanted to do for her birthday and she suggested we take two of her friends to monkey joes.  and to take them to mcdonalds for lunch and then drive them home in the van...why that was such a big deal i'll never know but one of the best parts of her birthday "party" was having 6 girls in the van (poor russ - as if he's not out-numbered enough).

her actual birthday was on friday so she had her first two days of school and then was off for her actual birthday.  it turned out great.  that evening we had russ' parents, the barrett boys and my parents over for pizza and cookie cake.  grandpa was working at an offsite job so he wasn't able to make it, but we were fortunate to have great nana and just by chance aunt karen in town for a visit.  it was great evening playing and celebrating family style :)

school's cool...before i forget!

so the start of school has gone fantastically!!!  i was starting to get stressed about my future kindergartener and preschooler until the first day of school when they went running in to their classes and never looked back.  grandma stayed with C and i had asked Russ to meet us at school.  pregnancy hormones and the chance of having two unwilling to go to school and I really wanted some back-up...happily, it was completely unwarranted but still nice to have hime there!  I have been thrilled with the school and teachers and feel like my girls are thriving.  Amen!!

they are both in afternoon school so we have our mornings to take it easy (which is a good thing for us), run an errand, play, whatever.  By 11:30 it's time to start thinking about lunch and getting ready for school.  Off we go to school for the big girls and C and I head home so she (we) can nap for a couple hours before it's time to pick everyone up...not too exciting but it's nice to have a schedule :)

a few funny stories about miss j...

a couple of weeks into school j told me about how during story time a little boy would leave her alone and kept trying to tickle her so finally she turned around and gave him her "mad face" (good lord) and that after she kept trying to get him to stop....and i quote..."mom, i had had ENOUGH!" (heaven help me).  uh...j, what did you do next???  "i raised my hand i told mrs. s and she told him to stop and apologize!!!"  great.

yesterday was our first early dismissal day so afternoon kindergarten goes in the morning and stays through lunch. it was a bit different for us and j walked into school by herself for the first time.  i saw the new principal at the main entrance so i figured she would be well taken care of....after pick up we were talking and j says..."mom, my principal says whenever she sees me I just make her day!"  i bet you darlin'...i just bet you do :)

Gulf Shores - Part 2

the second half of our vacation we spent as a family of 5 plus grandma.  everyone else headed back to the real world while we kept playing :)  russ and my girls do not have the best complexions for hours and hours spent on the beach so we kept ourselves busy with lots of different activities.  it was great at their ages and there were a couple of times grandma was able to stay at the condo with little c sleeping while we took the big girls out.  we had a great week and the girls were great...

the big girls got to play putt putt one afternoon...hot but fun!!

 pirate breakfast....treasure hunt and all!

some beach time... 

ALLIGATOR ALLEY!!!! 

Gulf Shores - Part 1

We got to spend the first few days of our summer vacation with grandma and grandpa, aunt katie and cousins...it was SO much fun!!  cousins are 5, 5, 3, 3, 2, 1.  can you even imagine?!?!  they get along so well and we are so thankful to my parents who put the whole trip together.  love you!!

Family Beach Pics

We spent a wonderful week in Gulf Shores this summer and one evening i decided it would be nice to try and get some family shots...should have known it wasn't going to be easy with a 5, 3, and 1 year old (esp. since the littlest won't put her feet in the sand)....top it off it was a hazy evening and well.... no matter, they're pretty sweet girls :)

4th of july

we had a great 4th of july weekend.  we started early with our annual fireworks show at delmar gardens on tuesday.  yes, we go to the nursing home for fireworks :)  believe it or not, it's a ton of fun. they have a great event for the public - cotton candy, snow cones, bouncy slides, games, drinks, all sorts of things.  and a great fireworks display at the end of the night.  the girls love it, it's enough for them to go "wow" without the noise and the craziness of other fireworks displays.  personally, i love the mile drive home at the end of the night :)

picture quality isn't the best - that's what you get with the phone at night...

she was loving the fireworks...laughing at the noise and ka-booms :)

loves the fireworks...just not the noise :)

hanging out with the boys....what a little ham :)

saturday we were at friends for fun and food...the girls did sparklers for the first time.  what an experience.  the pics totally show their personalities :)  little c was not going to be one of the "babies" that watched.  jumped right in she did!!



sunday we headed over to grandma and grandpa's for a great dinner and sunday we headed down to terre du lac for some cottle family time.  some friends from lima were in st. louis for the weekend so they came along with us and got to play in the lake, have a great lunch and some good old fun with the barrett's and grandma and poppy. 

we are completely exhausted over the many late nights and are hoping to rest up before next week...vacation here we come!!!!

one month later...

wow.  it's been a whole month since i've posted anything on the blog.  guess time flies when you are having fun :)  we have spent the month swimming, playing, going on walks, vbs, magic house, going for ice cream and snow cones, t-ball, parties, fireworks, you name it...

quick recap:

swimming -

• j figured it out....she is swimming under water!!!  not for long distances and is most comfortable where she can reach, but we are making progress :) 
• e is on her way....still likes to wear water wings but is more daring.  jumping in, going under, not a big deal to her!! 
• little c....well, she loves the water, hates any type of flotation device but doesn't want anyone holding on to her.  it's a quandry :) 

ice cream and snow cones -

• yummmyy!!!!  we love our treats and have enjoyed tropical moose, spanky's, the malt shop, DQ, the ice cream truck, you name it :)

t-ball -

• well, j started off doing pretty well this summer.  but it seems to be a few weeks to long for us. 
• two weeks ago j didn't have her pink helmet and needed to borrow a friends helmet and we bombed from there.  let's just say she never put her feet on the field and watched the entire game with tears in her eyes from the dugout. 
•  last week she was prepared and ready to play until she got hit in the mouth with a ball.  ouch.  i managed to talk her into going back out on the field for the last inning and hitting one last time.  she ended the game on a good note - hit the ball without the tee and (since she was last to hit) got to have a "home run" :) 
• i think we are retiring gracefully for the season.  this weekend russ will have to miss, and all other family is busy - out of town, etc. so i'm not sure i'm up to taking all 3 girls for a questionable game.  the last game of the season we are on vacation.  so....we'll see if next summer is another t-ball season or not.  who knows.....

vbs -

• another fun week at st. lucas with vbs!!!
• j ran off each morning to meet her class and play with her buddies.  LOVE that she has made such good friends at church :)
• e did great for a 3 year old.  we had one rough start where i think she was just darn tired but got it pulled together and really did a great job participating in all the activities :)
• c managed pretty well for someone who is not used to any type of daycare.  she was in the toddler room all week and her favorite activity by far was the music.  that girl loves to dance :)
• i survived.  we had a great weeks in crafts with lots of hard work.  russ was travelling again this year during vbs week so it really took a lot of energy to survive the 24/7 while pregnant.  needless to say, i crashed on saturday.
• vbs sunday was basically a bomb for us - j refused to sing with the other kids, e wasn't sure what j's problem was, and c couldn't sit still or keep her mouth closed.  she and i lasted about 15 minutes before i had to take her out of the sanctuary.  good times.

that pretty much sums up the major highlights of june.  we'll talk 4th of july another time...now we are getting ready for vacation.  will i ever get it all pulled together?!?!!?!

lima

we headed up to lima last weekend to visit friends and had a great little vacation.  russ played in a golf tournament supporting a friend in need of a kidney transplant on saturday and then we played until the drive home on monday.  we stayed with some great friends who also have a 5-year old daughter so j and e were well entertained.

it was great to see everyone on our yearly visit to ohio.  j and e are more and more comfortable with the other kids each time we go and little miss c just adores jeremy and liza (who refers to as 'nana'?!?!?!).  our one low point all weekend...j was convinced there was a killer cat hiding under the house and absolutely, positively, 100% refused to go outside.  we had pure hysteria on our hands.  it was ridiculous.  HOURS later, when everyone had given up on reasoning and trying to explain that the stray cat had left the yard and was not to be seen, i just picked her up and took her outside.  held her on my lap for about an hour (against her will) and then, wouldn't you know it, as soon as one of her sisters got hurt from playing too rough she was good to go and i was able to go fix that problem :)  love that kid to death but told her if she ever asked for a cat again i might go nuts on her....seriously.  no cats for this family.  ever. 

on a completely random note...russ was really enjoying the fact that he was in ohio, staying at a buckeye fan's home, when it was announced Tressel resigned from Ohio State.  Go Blue!!!!!

the official end of j's preschool years....

this was the end of labeling my oldest as a "preschooler"....exciting and sad at the same time :)  next year we officially enter the elementary years!!  j is super excited but it's hit her that while kindergarten is going to be super cool, she's also leaving her teachers of the last two years and all her friends.  she had two years of school with most of the same kids and unfortunately she will be moving to her elementary school with only one little friend.  who's not going to be in her class.  total bummer.  she is child who enjoys consistency and "change" is not to her liking.  sorry kiddo.  get ready for a whole new world :)

towards the end of school her class had a little music/art show.  i was able to go watch without the little's (thanks mom) so i could actually pay attention and take a few pictures!  here she is in all her glory!!!

typical.

tootie-ta!!

After the show we headed outside for a picnic and games....

j and her best buddies comparing popsicles.  each one is heading to different elementary...boo.

and then finally the last day of school....j thought it was totally cool that the whole family was there.  we were heading out of town so the car was packed and we were ready to hit the road.  fun for russ to get to pick her up. 

lining up for the last time... 

j and Ms. Pam.  lordy this lady was wonderful for our j.  we are so sad she is retiring this year but good gracious...after 20+ years of teaching preschool she deserves some rest!!!!