Contest Winner!

Remember when I posted that contest long ago? You know the one about guessing the babies height, weight, gender etc? And then remember how I forgot to post a winner because I have been too busy looking at the above sweet little face. Don't you love the milk bubbles on her little lips?

Then when I went to see who won the contest I had to grant my husband a "you were right" because my point system did not work well enough to declare a definitive winner.

But after a series of charts were made, and a few consultations were finished it has been decided that the prize should go to Laura for her guess of Girl (exact) 7lbs 12oz (2 oz off), 20 inches (exact) and date of 3-6 (1 day off). Peter came in a close second and could arguably be the winner- but if he complains I will give him a candy bar.

So congratulations Laura! I will be contacting you so I can get your prize in the mail!

And Then There Was 6

Roman keeps talking about "the 6 of us". It sounds pretty hard core, doesn't it?

It feels pretty hard core when I am driving them all somewhere and glance in my mirror and all I see are kids and carseats.

And figuring out how to get everyone safely from point A to point B requires a degree in logistics. Which I don't have.

Actually, logistics probably wouldn't help. Coming up with a good plan is only part of the problem. You need a good plan and a 6 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old and 1 week old who are willing to go along with the plan.

That is the tricky part.

6 year old and 4 year old on bikes and 2 year old and 1 week old in double stroller. Sounds simple, right?

Only the 6 year old is overly cautious and keeps stopping.

And the 4 year old has an amplified sense of his own skill level.

And why would a 2 year old EVER be willing to SIT in a STROLLER like a BABY? He definitely thinks he should be riding his OWN trike all over the road, AND that mommy should be willing to carry the trike whenever his little legs decide it is time to BOLT.

But I will figure it out. Even if I have to bribe Lincoln to sit in his seat, or always carry the baby in a front carrier.

It has been kind of a hard week.

Berean is a really good, mellow baby (so far anyway). (By the way, it is not Bereen, not Brianne, not Brianna, and there is NO U in it!)

But the boys have been somewhat (somewhat?!) difficult.

Deacon has shown a defiant streak which he usually doesn't pull with me.

Roman has been throwing tantrums frequently (wondering if he has a sinus headache...hoping that is what it is?)

Lincoln has been doing his 2 year old pushing the limits thing...it is just more difficult for me to enforce the limits when I have a baby attached to me more often than not.

And of course the nature of the beast is that this is all happening when I am tired from being up with the baby, sore from the delivery and establishing milk supply and also during the rainiest week of the winter.

But if there is one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt - it won't be like this for long.

The stages, attitudes, behaviors, trials just don't last.

The good times, the hard times.

The stressful, the fun.

There is a constant shifting, changing.

Newborns turn into independent 2 year olds.

2 year olds turn into creative but headstrong 4 year olds

4 year olds turn into Joe Cool 6 year olds.

A 21 year old husband suddenly is a 31 year old husband.

A 20 year old wife is suddenly a mother of 4 (and suddenly almost 30!)

Coming this week:

1. Announcement of contest winner (sorry- I completely forgot about the contest what with all the diaper changing, laundry and brownie eating I have been doing)

2. My panicked thoughts on having a girl

3. Plan for getting my house out of it's shambled state (this should be interesting)

4. And maybe I will post some new pictures of the ginormous boys and their tiny sister :)

Brothers come to visit

The older two seem quite pleased with their new sister.

Clearly, Lincoln is not the baby anymore.

A Big Day

So today was the day that we took little Berean home from the hospital AND the day we closed on our new lot! Wahoo!

Noah closed on the lot while I wrapped up things at the hospital. Then he picked us up and headed over to my parents to get the boys. The afternoon was spent getting caught up on laundry, picking up, putting away, feeding the baby (and everyone else) and managing to get some outside time in and a trip to the library. Of course my sister stopped by for awhile, so we were able to split some of those tasks up.

Here are some more pictures of our little daughter!

Her first name is from Acts 17:10, her middle name is the name of one of my grandmas.

I enjoy making my children look like little birds :) This was after a session with the comb, trying to get the rest of the vernix out of her hair.

I think she rocks the off-the-shoulder ninja shirt look, don't you? And maybe she looks just slightly drunk on milk?

Wow. We have a pink hat. What will we do? We are still a little surprised (but pleased) to have a girl!

New Baby!

I'm pleased to introduce Berean Joyce, born March 7, 2010. She came into the world, after some waiting, with just two pushes. Her stats came in at 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. (I'll figure out later who won the contest. Some of you type A readers may beat me to it).

She came out so fast she picked up some bruising, hence the purple face. Otherwise, both mom and baby are healthy.

Long Time, No Post

I try never to post when I am crabby and on edge- which is why I haven't been posting this week.

The kids had my cabbage patch doll out and they were pretending it was our new baby. But then the game morphed into the doll being Princess Leia and they were hurrying her off to hide her from Darth Vader.

I think she is now laying forgotten in the bottem of the toybox while they are saving the galaxy.

One week ago I worked my "last" shift at work. There is still no baby, so I am getting twitchy. I have been pouring over coupons and how to lessen your grocery bill kind of books. It is amazing how much life slows down when you have 16-20 extra hours a week. I now have time to focus on the fact that we go through about 5 gallons of milk in a week (thanks to our resident milk-a-holic...I need to detox him). And that our grocery bill is just going to go higher as our boys get bigger.

QOTD: "Should I get some more hot water so we can sit down in our bath?" I think they accidently filled the tub with cold water. See me jump to go save the situation.

On the baby front: I am fairly convinced that my body is incapable of going into active labor on it's own. I was dilated to a 4-4.5 on Tuesday and completely effaced but still have not had progressing contractions. I get them and then they just peter out. They are not sure why. So we are just waiting. I feel a little bit like a ticking time bomb. And since there is a possibility that things could go really fast when they do start, I am slightly nervous that it will be a little stressful if Noah is at work when it happens. It is kind of nice to know that early labor is already done though, and I can check that one off my list :)

I am actually thinking, however, that an induction is in my future.

Well, I need to go started with my daily routine of laundry, walking and picking up toys...

Hope everyone has a great Thursday!

A Contest

When you are about to have a baby and you belong to the world of blog, you turn it into a contest.

And I happen to have a super cool kitchen gadget to give away. Of course, after I do I am going to have to buy another new one- since the still-packaged item I have was actually intended for me. But that is ok.

Anyway, I don't have a picture yet of the fabulous prize, but it will be forthcoming.

Now for the contest. I, of course, like to make everything complicated and this is no exception. There will be 4 points available per entry and the person with the most points will win.

1. 1 point will be awarded for the correct gender
2. 1 point will be awarded if your guess on the babies weight is the closest to actual weight
3. 1 point will be awarded if your guess on the babies height is the closest to actual height
4. 1 point will be awarded for the person with the closest date to the actual birth date

In addition, a 1/2 point bonus point will be awarded to you if you guess an exact height, weight or birthdate.

So pull out your calculator and decide on a strategy, people!

Here is some helpful information:

1. This is my 4th child and the 1st 3 are boys. We don't know what this is.
2. I have gained 30 pounds. That is about 20 less than with my other pregnancies
3. The boys weights were 8lb 5 oz, 7 lbs 14 oz and 7 lbs 12 oz.
4. The first 2 were induced about 5 days after their due dates, the 3rd came on his due date
5. My due date is March 5th
6. I don't remember how long the boys were. I suppose I could look, but I am lazy.
7. I was dilated to a 3 last Thursday
8. They won't let me go past 41 weeks.

Good Luck!