Stephen

One day I turned around and Stephen was reading. 

Weird.  When did he get so old?

 

Stephen wants to be a chemical engineer just like his Uncle Stephen.  When Chery and Stephen came for a visit, my Stephen made a beeline to give Uncle Stephen a hug before he hugged Aunt Chery.  I couldn’t ask for a better role model for my Stephen. 

I think school tires Stephen out.

Also, Stephen likes to wear socks.  All the time. 

Stephen loves LOVES LOVES his baby sister.  He wants to hold or kiss her all the time. 

He is a very sweet big brother.  I know Jane is going to look up to him and adore him when she gets a bit older.  They are 6 1/2 years apart.

Although they spend a lot of time fighting, Stephen and Boston do play together quite a bit.  It makes me very happy to see them play together.

They built these haunted houses and took naps in them one afternoon.  It looks a bit uncomfortable if you ask me. 

Boston

An unexpected challenge after having Jane was my extreme sadness about Boston loosing his baby status.  He was my baby for almost four years.  After we brought Jane home Boston seemed so big and so little to me all at the same time.

I cried several times a day about him.  He has adjusted pretty well and we have a secret promise that he will always be my baby boy forever and ever, even when he is a grown up.  That helps some.


He developed green hobbit feet one day which freaked me out a bit. 

About a month after Jane was born we celebrated Boston’s fourth birthday.  Since I wasn’t back up to my full creative and active state of being, he got to pick out a cake from Sam’s Club.  (Best $10 I have ever spent!)  We kept it very simple and had family over for cake and ice cream and to watch Boston open his gifts.










The big thing this year was Hot Wheels and Hot Wheels tracks.  Such a hit!


My big four-year-old Boston keeps all of us on our toes and laughing.  We never know what he is going to do next. 

Falling in Love

It is always such a huge adjustment for me after I have a baby.  Some people seem to snap back into life quickly and are soon doing all of their old responsibilities as though nothing has changed.  It doesn’t work that way for me.  I almost feel like I become a different person and it takes me at least six weeks to figure out my life again. I was having a terrible time with nursing and just about gave up at least 3 times a day.  So much pain!  Thankfully we stuck with it and now Jane nurses like a champ. 
Even with the trials of caring for a new baby along with my other children, those first few weeks were so precious.  I think of this time as falling in love with Jane.  That is really what it is – loving her more and more each day as we get to know her, snuggle with her, care for her, and watch her grow.  The whole family is under her sweet spell. 

I have three children!

First little sponge bath:

Love.

Love.

Precious.

Little downy feathers for hair:

Love.


She busted free from her swaddling blanket and I can’t resist those sweet little fists.


Jane was born with her days and nights mixed up.  I never experienced this form of torture when the boys were born.  They slept in five or six hour stretches at night when they were a week or two old.  Jane took quite a bit more work to get on a good sleeping schedule.  It was at least four weeks before she was sleeping long stretches at night.  (I know, I really can’t complain, but I discovered that I require more sleep than the average human and this was extremely hard for me).

We spent a lot of time with Jane WIDE awake late into the night.


Love.

Love.

We discovered that headbands and naptime don’t mix.

I also found that cleaning and chores are completely unnecessary when there is a sweet baby to snuggle.  I spend about 70% of my day, every day, holding her.
Love.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Adoration.

Jane developed sweet “rollacious” legs during this time.  (Rollacious rhymes with bodacious). 

Then suddenly one day I woke up and couldn't remember my life without Jane.  She is a concrete part of our family I am head-over-heels in love with her. I continue to delight in finding more and more to love about her.  She is truly a blessing and has already brought a sweet spirit of love and gentleness into our home.