Wiley- 4 months old

4 months! In the same sentence I can confidently say that I can NOT believe that you are 4 months old already and I can NOT believe you've only been here 4 months!

 

You my son, have made your mark. You are part of this family and I can not remember life before you. I can remember pieces of anticipating your arrival, but I can not remember the day to day without you in it, and I'm certain everyone else would agree!

 

 

We LOVE you so much! We call you Smiley Wiley and there hasn't been a day that you haven't lived up to your name. Sure you get cranky or fussy, but you're still always full of smiles once you're rested, or changed or snuggled.

 

You take after your big brother with the best pouty lip I ever did see. Occasionally your older siblings play a bit rough around you, and more than once I have failed to protect you from a flinging arm or leg and you make sure to let us all know. It's hard to discipline when everyone just thinks you looks so cute with that little lip hanging out!

 

You're becoming quite the "squealer" you enjoy hearing your voice and adding to the noise in the house with your squeals of joy throughout the day. Murray especially loves this and is always encouraging you to "scream more Wiley!"

 

This month we've transitioned to you and Ginny being home all day with me while Lucy and Murray are at school. It's a bit slower pace, but also a bit busier as well. We are the ones entertaining Ginny so you've been quite busy going to play group, taking walks, helping with art projects and cooking with me from the ergo. You are easy going and enjoy the ride.

 

Early in this month (the first Friday in September), you went for your biggest adventure yet. You sir, had a renal scan. You were a champ about it and very brave as you went off without mommy and daddy and were sedated. We were especially nervous about not feeding you for so long before the test, but you did GREAT and while you were a bit angry after the test was over and the anesthesia had worn off, we allowed it, snuggled you and I nursed you and by the time we left the hospital you were our happy boy again.

 

We will be watching those kidney's of yours. They're both too big, and they both are slow at processing because of a narrowing in the ureter. So, we'll watch them and pray and we'll keep re-evaluating to see if they need to be fixed by the doctor or if they're fixing themselves as you grow.

 

Speaking of growing...you're HUGE! At your 4 month appointment you were 17 lbs already and 27 inches long. That's the 85th percentile for weight and off the charts for height. You are definitely our big little man!

 

We love you Wiley! We're so thankful that you're here and we're enjoying all you bring to our family. Can't wait to see what this next month brings!

 



First Day of School!

A few pictures from our first day of school 2013! 


Murray at his hook at school

The boys took Murray to his first day of kindergarten

Murray on his first day of kindergarten 9/3/2013

Lucy on her first day of 2nd grade 9/3/2013

and just so we can prove Ginny was there and looking cute! She dressed like Lucy on her first day (and wore a backpack up to school too).

I'm Not Ready Yet!

It's been a busy summer around our house. We kicked it off (a little early for Lucy, but Murray had finished school...so we'll count it as summer) with a new baby brother! We're so glad Wiley joined us this summer!

 

Following Wiley's arrival we had a slew of guests we absolutely LOVE to see.  A little bit of travel while Nick was out of town, a short weekend adventure in Chicago (more on that later) and then when we landed at home we started the preparations for Jr. High VBS, and by "we" I mean Nick worked like crazy and we tried to hold down the fort, feed him when he was home and get in any "daddy time" we could when he was available. August was VBS (the kids LOVED it), then Nick was gone for 4 days and I tried my hand at being the sole parent to 4 children...let's just say things went really well, but I was just as excited as the kids with Nick arrived home!

 

Finally last week we had a breath of fresh air. The summer busyness died down and we spent a week of vacation together as a family. We did not turn on a TV once, I was offline the whole week (Nick did check his email a few times and post a few pictures from his phone). It was GLORIOUS! We came back rejuvenated as a family with memories that will last us a lifetime. (Thanks to our friends and their generosity so we could enjoy this time together).

 

Now...it's back to school. This is the first year we've done this back to school thing. The first year we've jumped right in with the rest of the world. The first year we're not homeschooling, the first year that going to school is every day, all day...and for more than 1 of our kids.

 

To say there are nerves in our house is an understatement. As the mom, I'm keeping my feelings to myself. Telling the kids what a great time they'll have. Getting them excited about their teachers and their friends that they'll get to see. But, inwardly I'm crying...throwing a bit of a tantrum if you will. I'm not READY to send them off for the day. Oh, sure, I have thoughts of what the days will be like quieter, how great it will be to spend time with just Ginny and Wiley...but then my thoughts wander to Ginny in the backyard with Murray, to Lucy snuggling Wiley on the couch...to Lucy reading stories to Ginny and Murray making Wiley smile and coo with his crazy noises.

 

This is when I know I'm sending part of my heart away for 7 hours a day. Ok, that may sound dramatic, but it's true! I know our family dynamic will change, I know that our house will run at a different beat. It will take a while for us to find our school "tune" if you will. We'll find it, we'll settle into a rhythm and a routine soon enough, the kids will enjoy school and I'll enjoy the time with my littles at home...but I still might make a paper chain counting down to Thanksgiving break...I may hide it in my closet so the kids don't know about it, but I can't say I'm excited to send them off to school. I'm excited for them to have a taste of independence, excited for them to learn and grow, but I'm not quite ready to let them go. So I'll just keep counting the days until I get them back for awhile again.

 

So today and tomorrow you'll find me with my family. Working together, playing together and wishing that summer was just a little bit longer...