School Pictures!

Yes, we homeschool.  Yes, we have a yearbook.  And yes...

...we take school pictures. 

What two lovely young ladies we have!

 Kelsey - 1st Grade



Olivia - 5th grade

Male Bonding

The Sweetest Thing Ever

One big question in our mind before Maddox was born was how Connor was going to take it.  He would, after all, be replaced as the baby of the family and have to share the status of "Mommy's little man" with his new baby brother.

Fortunately for us, Connor has slowly stopped wanted cuddly-time with me over the past few months.  Though it's sad for me that I can't snuggle with him like I used to, the good news is that he doesn't feel supplanted by baby Maddox.  So how has he reacted to the baby?

Well, at first he just mostly ignored him.  He did ask to hold him once or twice at the hospital, but once we got home he acted like Maddox wasn't even there.  Then, after a couple of days, he'd make observations from time to time about what Maddox was doing, such as "eat" or "cry".  But the cutest thing of all happened yesterday afternoon.  I was holding Maddox on my lap and playing a matching game with Connor on the coffee table.  I just happened to look down and saw that Connor was holding Maddox's hand.

See?  Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?

The Fun Has Arrived

As many of you already know, Maddox Cole Ervin (8 lbs, 7oz) decided to make his debut into this world on Sunday night.  He gave us very little warning, compared to my other children.  I've now transitioned into being one of those women that other pregnant women can't stand.  In other words, I had the easiest labor I'd ever had in my entire life.  And I know how other pregnant women feel - I've been one of them.  When my sister-in-law Jessica told me of her tremendously SHORT labor with her first child (who incidentally was also born a week early!) I was envious - I admit it.  I little expected this delivery to be any different from my last two kids, who took about 7 to 8 hours each to come once labor had begun.

Little did I know.

When I felt my first contraction this past Sunday night, I checked the clock - 6:20.  Okay.  A little while later, another contraction - 6:28.  Alright, maybe I need to watch these.  So we sat down and chatted a little with our company and watched the clock together.  Sure enough, the contractions kept coming regularly, so around 7:00 I decided I'd better finish packing my suitcase.  My friend Christie stuck around just in case I was going to need help with anything, including the kids.  As I moved around the contractions came a little more sporadically, so Christie and I decided to walk up and down the street a little to see if they would go away or keep coming.  I mean, who really wants to go to the hospital just to be told they aren't really in labor and need to go back home??  So off we went, joined by my neighbor Terri.  Sure enough, they started coming even closer together, so we chatted a little and then headed inside so I could get the kids into bed and leave for the hospital.  I figured I still had several more hours before the baby would come, so I wasn't in a big hurry.

All that changed about 8:15.  I was in the girls room tucking them in and singing their bedtime songs, when the contractions increased in intensity.  I told Ben we needed to get Connor into bed and head out the door sooner rather than later.  Twenty minutes later, we were in the car on the way.  At 9:00 Ben dropped me off at the front door of the hospital and went to park.  He joined me about 9:10.  At 9:20 the nurse in triage checked my cervix to see if I was really in labor.  She started laughing and called out the door for backup.  13 minutes later Maddox was born.  Before my midwife got there.  Before they had finished my admitting paperwork.  Before I got to use the iPod I had prepared, or the tub to labor in, or any of the other perks I was looking forward to using while in labor with a midwife.  Of course, I'm not complaining.  But if anyone asks me what it's like to use a midwife for when having a baby instead of a doctor, I'll have to tell them that I have no idea.  Of course, the prenatal visits were nice.  But that's about all I can say.

I have to admit that I laughed in disbelief for about two hours after I had Maddox.  At least I didn't try to walk in from the parking garage with Ben.  Later that night, some poor lady tried that and had her baby IN the parking garage.  Yeah, that would have freaked Ben out a little.  Traumatized him for life, is more like it.

All in all, it's been a good week since I got home from the hospital Tuesday night.  Maddox eats ALL THE TIME, like Connor did, so sleep is a little hard to come by.  However, Ben's been home and very helpful.  Next week I start flying solo, though I will have two great helpers on hand if I need them.  Olivia is great with Maddox - he'll stop crying for her almost as easily as he does for me (which I think makes Ben a little jealous).  Kelsey wants to be with him all the time.  Connor mostly just ignores him, though sometimes he likes to examine him while he's sleeping or eating.  All in all, the kids are really adjusting better than I am, I think.  I'm just trying not to be overwhelmed at the idea of taking care of a new baby in addition to taking care of a toddler and homeschooling my girls.  What was I thinking again?  Oh, right... I wanted 4 kids...