On The Move

Last night, Brian finally began crawling. Unfortunately, he's now doing just what his three big sisters did, and it's quite frustrating for him.

He's crawling backwards.

After the girls went to bed, Dan and I spent some time playing with Brian in the living room. As he rocked back and forth on all fours, he spotted a beloved toy in front of him, just out of his reach. His eyes lit up. He wanted that toy. And so, for the first time, he tentatively lifted one hand off the floor. He pushed hard with his other hand, and after moving a few inches backwards, he switched hands. Slowly, painstakingly, he moved backwards, a few inches at a time. We cheered loudly, and Brian smiled proudly as he enjoyed his new achievement.

He quickly realized that something was not quite right. The toy was getting farther and farther away, and the harder he worked, the farther he moved from his goal. Finally, after he made it across the room and bumped into some furniture, he admitted defeat. He dropped to the floor and put his head down on his arms. He whimpered a bit, picked up his head to look at the toy a few times, and then finally he began to wail.

We picked him up, praised him for his efforts, and gave him the toy that he had worked so hard for.

It won't be long now before he'll be into everything. We'd better start putting away the "choking hazard" toys. Brian is officially on the move.

Amen

Erin is busy learning her prayers. After years of listening to her big sisters, she was fairly familiar with the "Our Father" and "Hail Mary", but she often skipped around and missed a few lines here and there. So lately, we've been saying the prayers with her each night, helping her to say them perfectly.

This morning at breakfast, she was practicing. She stopped at the end of one prayer, and looked up at me.

"I think that instead of saying 'Amen" at the end of my prayers, I'm going to say 'Oh, yeah!'. Do you think that would be okay with God?", she asked.

I think we better check with Uncle John on this one.

College-bound

Somehow, fifteen years have passed since my college graduation. I don't feel old enough to be celebrating a fifteen-year-reunion, but when I crunch the numbers, it's clear that it truly has been quite a long time since my undergraduate studies.

Because most of my close friends are now scattered around the country, a few of us decided to skip the formal reunion ceremonies, and yesterday we had our own mini reunion. We dragged our children and spouses along for a trip to the college, and spent the afternoon reminiscing about those four years of studying and friendship. We had lunch in the coffee shop (it looks exactly the same) and toured the campus, which now boasts quite a few updates and additions. We met up with some close friends that have remained on campus, and showed the children all our old haunts. Despite down-pouring rain, we all had a wonderful time.

The kids enjoyed seeing a classroom, and sitting in the large desks. Beth informed me that she is "totally going to go to this school someday", when she discovered that there are no assigned seats in the classes. "You mean I can just walk in and sit wherever I want?!", she asked in shock.

After a trip back to the bookstore for souvenirs, and then yet another trip to the coffee shop for ice-cream, we packed up and returned home. The kids actually seemed quite interested in Mommy's trip down memory lane, and are now making plans to attend the same school...(although both Elizabeth and Amy have voiced concerns about where and when recess might be held). So now, with their college decisions made, we can relax a bit, and avoid all of the agonizing "Senior-year of high school" stress ten years from now.

Unless, of course, we take a trip to visit Dan's alma mater sometime soon. Then, the real competition will begin.

Life Plans

AMY: "Mommy, after all of us are grown up, and you don't have any more kids to take care of, don't you think you should learn how to juggle? Then you will have something fun to keep you busy everyday."

Happiness is...

...Building block towers, and then knocking them to the ground.

Dinnertime Conversation

BETH: Daddy, when is yours and Mommy's wedding anniversary?

DAN: It's in October. October 11th. This year it will be 11 years!

ME: (Talking to Dan) We really should go somewhere this year, or do something special. Last year I was pregnant and so sick, and we never really got to celebrate 10 years.

BETH: Wow, that's a great idea, Mommy! Let's go to McDonald's. We never get to go there! They have that really cool slide, and that really fun ball pit!

AMY: Oh, yeah, we should definitely celebrate your anniversary this year! Let's get ice cream after we go to McDonald's! Doesn't that sound like fun? This anniversary will be fun!



It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but you know what? It does sound like fun.

Are you Ready For Another Contest?

After seeing how wonderfully you all rose to the occasion in my online "guess Brian's weight" contest last month, I thought you might like to participate in the contest we are currently running here at the house.

Our TV remote is lost and can't be found. Dan has offered a candy bar to any child that can locate this all-important tool. Alas, the girls have been searching and searching, but so far have failed to produce any results, and the hunt continues. So, if anyone out there wants to join the search, we would welcome any extra help! If you do happen to find our TV remote, you will win a free candy bar.

Don't forget to check under your couch cushions, behind the TV stand, inside the toy box, and a myriad of other hiding places. Good luck, and happy hunting!

Love and Cuddles

For the last 48 hours, Brian has been just miserable.

His normal, calm demeanor has been replaced by very irritable behavior. He refuses to be put down for even a few moments, and he frequently demonstrates ear-piercing shrieks of pain. Last night, he cried hysterically for 2 hours straight, woke up at 1:00am for comforting, and then began another long crying jag at the crack of dawn.

All the signs of another ear infection. And so, this morning, we headed off to the pediatrician's office.

I was quite proud of the girls. They have been eagerly awaiting a live-animal show at the public library, scheduled for 10:30 this morning. Since that was the exact time of Brian's appointment, I gently informed them of the change of plans. There were a few teary eyes, but when I asked them if they would like to go to Grampy's house while I took Brian to the doctor, they quickly perked up.

"Grampy has cookies!!!", they cried. "And vegetables in his garden for us to pick!"

So, after dropping the girls off at Grampy's house to enjoy a morning of cookies and carrots, I headed up the street to Brian's doctor. We were whisked into an examining room, and his jolly doctor quickly diagnosed double ear infections. Within 10 minutes, we were out the door with our prescription for Amoxicillin.

Brian cried the whole way home. He took his first dose of antibiotic at lunchtime, and then proceeded to fuss his way through the afternoon. He wailed during dinner, and screamed while Dan put the girls to bed. But then, I remembered something.

When Brian was only a few weeks old, and frequently crying during the evenings, he used to enjoy a lullaby CD that we bought when Beth was a baby. So tonight, while Dan read stories to the girls, and listened to their prayers, I located the CD and popped it into the stereo. I held Brian close while the music played, and slowly, I felt his little body start to relax. His sobs grew softer, and finally, he put his head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. Every few minutes, he would let out a little moan, but he finally grew completely quiet.

I gently sat down on the couch, and held my little boy close. I could feel his soft hair on my cheek, and I just enjoyed some much-needed quiet time with my son. I'm hoping and praying that the antibiotic begins to work soon, so that my little guy can feel better again, but until then, it's my job to sooth and comfort him.

And sometimes, even while sick, he's the one that sooths and comforts me.

Latest Dilemma

When you find your two-year-old sitting in the playroom, surrounded by 10 empty 100-piece puzzle boxes, and wildly shake-shake-shaking a Tupperware container that now holds all 1000 puzzle pieces, what should you do?

Try to sort out all 1000 teeny, tiny pieces and put them back into their respective boxes before your six-year-old discovers the damage?

Or quickly throw the whole mess into the trash and hope that aforementioned six-year-old never notices the huge empty space in the toy shelf?

Well, what would you do?!

It's Bedtime...

...I hope.

Tonight marks Erin's transition from babyhood into "big girl" dreamland.

She's out of her crib, and into her toddler bed. Personally, I would have preferred to keep her in a crib until her teenage years, but lately she's become quite upset by the fact that she is unable to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. I suppose that it is understandable that a potty-trained child would like access to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but I do find the crib to be so cozy and...confining.

I know that, as a mother, I should applaud her latest milestone. But hard as I try, I can't help focusing on the middle-of-the-night wanderings, the end of the beautiful, beautiful afternoon nap, and the variety of other sleep-challenges that are most likely heading our way.

But even I have to admit that she looked mighty cute in her little bed.

Good-night, Erin. And please...stay put.

Holiday weekend

We all had a wonderful Fourth of July, visiting with family at Nana and Grampy's cookout, and then attending the parade in my old hometown. The booming cannons were not appreciated by the children, but they loved the marching bands, the waving flags, and the politicians' balloons.

In other big news, both Beth and Amy have learned to ride their bikes without training wheels, and they spent this afternoon whipping up and down the street on two wheels, with Erin peddling furiously on her tricycle, in a futile attempt to keep up with her big sisters. Dan is ready for a good night's sleep, after running...running...running, while holding onto the backs of their bikes. I think we'll all sleep well tonight. At least, I hope we'll all sleep well tonight. Brian is fighting a nasty cold, and sleep seems to be eluding him at the moment.

This has been quite a summer for Beth. Today, she swam all the way across the "deep end" of the pool without any assistance from "floaties". She is turning into a real fish, swimming under water, picking up items at the bottom of the pool, and dog-paddling everywhere. Amy is trying desperately to keep pace, but she's still a long-way from being able to swim by herself. However, She and Erin have lots of fun splashing around, and Brian has no fear at all of the water.

I hope you were all able to celebrate our nation's birthday weekend in a relaxing fashion! Happy Fourth of July!!

On The Beach

The kids loved playing in the tidal pools and swimming in the waves last week. They built sand castles, fairy houses, and all sorts of other creations.

Brian, on the other hand, simply couldn't wait to try his first seafood. At one point, he was sitting down in a little pool of water, splashing and scooping up sand. I turned away to take a quick peak at the girls' sand castle, and when I looked back at Brian, I was horrified to see a LIVE CRAB in his mouth. The poor crab's feet were sticking out of Brian's mouth, kicking frantically. It had all the makings of an episode of "Fear Factor". Brian had a look of disgust on his face, but didn't seem to know how to get the salty object out of his mouth. After the initial shock wore off, I grabbed the sea creature and threw it onto the sand.

Brian flashed a sandy, almost-toothless smile.

And that, my friends, answers the question that I am asked quite frequently, nowadays...

"Is having a little boy any different, after having all those girls?"

It's hard to be certain, but one thing is for sure. So far, I've never had to pull live crustaceans out of any of the girls' mouths.