Collin- 1 month

 Mr. Collin spent most of his first month either sleeping or eating, which would explain his rapid weight gain. When I took him for his 1 week check up he went from 7# 3oz. when he was born, to 8# 8oz. The most impressive though was his 1 month check up when he weighed in at 11# 12oz. Goodbye size 1 diapers and goodbye 0-3 month clothes.

We spent the first few weeks adjusting to being a family of 5. David was at work a big, big chunk of time. My mom came down here and there from the cabin, but other than that it was me and the boys. The hardest part was keeping up on the bills, cleaning, and laundry. It's not the kids themselves that is work, it's everything else. Jake and Tyler did good playing and keeping themselves entertained because I felt like I had no time for anything. I felt a little guilty not being able to spend the last few weeks of summer spending time with Jake.

The good part about Collin sleeping so much was that he was so portable. We took him everywhere. The first week he went to Ann Arbor for my haircut, Cascade Falls, and Ikea. The second week we hauled him to the fair for a day, and then up north for his first vacation. The last few weeks I've taken him to my sisters, Chelsea Treehouse, Nixon park and a few trips to Target. I make note of these trips because it can be a bit intimidating taking three kids places. If we go anywhere it takes a lot of planning- we don't leave the house until 11:30 most days. It takes that long to get everything and everyone ready.

So far Collin has been a good baby. Really though, any baby seems like a good baby after having Tyler. He doesn't really cry but he does make a lot of noises. He only makes a fuss during diaper changes or when he is naked. He easily calms down which Tyler never did. The first few days he was home our family and friends kept asking us how he slept or if he cried a lot. They were all nervous and really so were we! He has consistenly gotten up 2 times a night to eat. I feed him at 11:00 and then go to bed, and then he gets up at 2:30 and 5 ish. We've had a few nights of no sleep, but not many. Maybe 2 or 3 fussy nights. During the day he eats every 3 hours like clock work.

1 week

2 weeks

3 weeks

4 weeks

 He has the cutest little peanut head covered in hair. When we are out and about, everyone comments on how much hair he has. His cheeks got so big and round in just a few short weeks.


Right now, the main source of entertainment is the ceiling fan, the big deer head on the wall, and the window grills. He stares intently at these.

I am so in love with this little guy. I forgot what it was like to have a little baby around. I love to watch him. I love his funny little faces he makes when he stretches. I love his smell. I love it when he sucks his thumb. I love to dress him and hold him. He loves to snuggle and I am happy to do so. I love giving him a bath and getting his jammies on. I wish he would stay this little forever.

1 month

Collins Birthday

I can not believe he is already almost 1 month old! Here is how his birthday began.
The weekend before he was born, I had a to-do list a mile long. I wanted everything done before he was born so I could just enjoy the little guy when we came home. David and I worked hard all weekend doing odds and ends like getting the trampoline net put up (2 months later), cleaning out Davids closet, and taking care of our weed patch, I mean garden. Tyler and I were out digging up potatoes in what was left of our garden. The weeds were 4 feet tall and I wanted David to get rid of those damn weeds. But first, we had to get the potatoes  Eight months and three weeks pregnant I am out digging damn potatoes. I should have been sitting on the couch eating ice cream.

Soon as I was done, I started having contractions. With Jake and Tyler, when I started having contractions, it took about 12 hours and then I went to L & D. So, I was expecting to go in by the morning. By morning the contractions had not got any stronger or closer together. I figured I just worked too hard the day before. My actual due date was a week away. Through out the day on Monday, I would get one here or there, but not anything major. I went about the day taking the kids to the store and the library. Danielle came over and announced she was pregnant again. I'm so excited our kids will be kind of close in age. My mom arrived around 5. I had called her the night before and told her she should probably drive down from up north. Finally at 7:30 they started coming frequently. We started keeping track but they were not close enough yet. I went to bed and tried to sleep. At 2:30am I started to get ready to go. I took a shower and packed the rest of my bag. By 3:30 I was ready to go. We got to the hospital at 4:00 am. The baby wasn't even here and I was already sleep deprived.

L & D had some repair work being done to the ceiling so it was pretty crazy when we got there. When I got checked I was dilated to 4. They got me settled in room 411. It was now 5 am and it was still dark out. Time was going by so slow! The good news was Charlotte, who was my nurse with Jake was now my nurse again, and she was so great. Although this was also when I started having flashbacks of giving birth to the other 2 boys and I started crying. I knew what was in store for me and I was freakin scared. Can ya tell?

Dr. P arrived at 7 am and broke my water. Up till this point, the contractions had been tolerable. Now they hurt. Bad. I didn't put much thought into pain medication. I knew I didn't want an epidural because I had heard a lot of stories about how it causes headaches. I already get migraines and didn't want to chance it. Charlotte talked to me about a few other choices, but she said a lot of them affect the baby. By now I was at 7 cm and I was in some major pain. My mom was crying to see me like that. Charlotte suggested getting on my hands and knees. I seriously felt like an animal, but I was willing to do anything. After a few contractions on my hands and knees and I was dilated to 9. I layed back in a normal position and Dr. P came in. I stared pleading with him to get me an epidural. His response was "that horse already left the barn." They told me to push if I had the urge. I never have really had the "urge" with any of my births. When I had my next contraction, they told me to push. I did a little, and then I told Dr. P he would have to pull the baby out because I was not going to push it out. He told me no, and to push again. I feel sorry for the other women who heard me, because I started getting a little hysterical. Dr. P some how managed to calm me down. For a few seconds, I sorta blacked out, it was almost like a moment right before you go into a state of shock. Hard to explain, but that is how I made it through the last push. And then I have never felt such relief in my life.

I was so happy. So happy to be done, happy to have a sweet little tiny baby, and happy that he was healthy. He was born at 8:33am. I didn't get to hold him right away because he had meconium. Those nurses had him for a whole half hour before I got to hold my sweet baby. And they were less than gentle with him. After having 2 babies already, I was going to ask that they wait to measure, weigh, stamp his feet, ect. I felt strongly that that sort of stuff can always be done later, and the baby had had enough trauma just being born. I wanted just to hold and bond the few minutes after he was born. But, that all went out the window with the meconium. It is dangerous if they don't take care of it right away.

Finally I got to hold him and see his face. He had a ton of hair and everyone commented on how much he had.

We got moved to the other wing mid-morning. I was looking forward to the boys meeting their new brother. I kind of compare having a baby to planning a wedding. You plan and plan for months waiting for the big day, and then it happens and when it is over, it's like now what? So having the boys come up was another part to look foward to. All the other visitors waited until 4 or 5 when they got out of work, which was exactly when I got really tired after being up since 2:30am. We had back to back visitors from 4 to 9pm. It was a long day.

I still can't believe we are now a family of 5.

Happy Birthday, Collin. We love you!

Shout out to the hubby

This past weekend we went back to the cabin again for a little more summer vacay. Actually, David and I don't like to call it vacay, it's called "still taking care of the kiddos in a different location." Anyway, I have to give my hubby a little shout out for this past weekend because he really spoiled us. He has been working long hours for the past three weeks because of the oil spill and needed a break. After getting in late Thursday night,  David took Jake to play 9 holes of golf at one of the courses near Gaylord on Friday morning. They had a great time, and David got some good bonding time with Mr. Jake. We bought Jake his own little golf bag of real clubs at a garage sale last summer and he practices quite a bit, so this was a lot of fun for him to play on a real course and drive a cart.

On Saturday, the hubs and I got to go out to lunch by ourseleves thanks to Nana and Grandpa Bob. Davids favorite thing to do is eat out, so he was excitied. Then we went clothes shopping for me. I was excitied, because it is not often I can get David to shop with me, especially for clothes. When we got back, he took the boys out in the canoe fishing. I'm telling ya, he gets dad and husband of the year!

Then on Sunday, I got to sleep in until 10:30! He took care of the baby and the boys all morning and let me sleep in peace. This was after he got up to help me with the baby every night, I might add. We spent the rest of Sunday at the beach and he took the boys swimming out to the raft and played tennis with Jake.

This is what I did all weekend:

The boys are lucky to have such a great dad as a role model. I'm kind of wondering if this is why I keep having boys! They are all going to have a lot of fun growing up and spending time with their dad doing all these "boy" things. Don't worry about me, I'll be shopping or home having cocktails.

Things to remember

• I love newborns. Especially their little peanut heads. Collin's head is covered in hair, and I absolutely love it.

• I forget how tiny babies are. They are so stinkin cute and snuggly.

• The boys wanted to name him Jerry. I have no idea where this name came from. My sister came over yesterday and asked Tyler what the baby's name was and he said Jerry, even though he knows it is Collin. They are pretty disappointed it's not Jerry.

• The best part of having a third is I know what to expect. I know my boobs are going to get as big as watermelons, I know I will cry for no reason when I am home from the hospital, and I know I will not shower, or have a clean house for the next 3 months.

• I am also o.k. with still wearing my maternity shorts and shirts. With the last two, there was no way in hell I was walking out of the hospital wearing maternity clothes. I am fine with wearing maternity clothes now, and I think it will be hard to part with them because they are so comfy.

• Collin sleeps most of the day, and doesn't cry until I change him, but the house seems so full of noise. It is overwhelming at times, and Collin doesn't even make a peep.

• I wasn't as prepared as I thought. Part of this was because he was a week early, but I had my cute jammies and bath robe on order when I went into labor. They got to my house the day I got home from the hospital. Go figure.

• David was set to take some vacation days after the baby was born. I had visions of us doing lots of fun family bonding. He was home for one day after we got home from the hospital and got called into work the next day (today) to haul to the oil spill in Battle Creek. He left at 7:00am and I don't expect him home tonight. They are working around the clock all weekend. How's that for timing! Thank goodness for my mom being here.

• Smart women get epidurals. I was not one of them. I was really freaked out about getting an epidural because of the bad headaches that you can get from them, and I didn't want any other drugs because they affect the baby. Labor hurts and I know this now. Good thing it went fast. Dr. P broke my water at 7:00 am and I had him by 8:30am. The only good thing is right after I had him, I felt great. And Collin latched right on and started feeding like a pro.

• Jake absolutely loves having Collin around. I remember Jake, who was 2 1/2 when Tyler was born, saying the first time he held him "I love him already." Melt my heart. He loves his brothers. Tyler could care less. But I was so excited to have the boys come up to the hospital to meet their brother. It was one of the best parts of having another baby.

• Mr. C loves his thumb. J and T had pacifiers up until age 2, and then I had to try and break the habit. Plus I had to constantly worry that I had a paci at all times. I'm trying to get him to suck his thumb and not use a paci. Any suggestions?

• For having three kids, I think I have been really calm the last few days. I feel like a pro at this. I was by myself for most of the morning today, and even took all three of them to the doctors office for C's check up. With J and T, I would have been pretty freaked out at this point. Of course I didn't shower today, my friend Danielle spent the afternoon with me, and my Mom came by dinnertime and I had dinner brought to me, but I survived without having a break down.

• It was really weird to see three car seats in our van. It looks like a lot to go from 2 to 3.

• I spent hours getting his room ready that he will not sleep in the first three months. I should have been worrying about getting food around for the next three weeks. Who would want to go grocery shopping with a newborn and 2 kids?

• Charlotte is the best nurse in L & D. I had her with Jake and never forgot her. I was so lucky to have her this time. She has the most calming voice and has been doing L&D for 36 years!

• I already forgot how uncomfortable pregnancy is/was and it's only been three days.

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  It's only been three days and I'm already dreading how fast he will grow up.

Cabin, Sweet Cabin

The highlight of the summer for the boys is our trip to the cabin every 4th of July. It is the topic of numerous conversations, and on a daily basis I have to tell them how many more days until we leave for the cabin. This year, I made a countdown calendar because it was getting to be to much asking.

They love it and I can see why. When they get there, the first place they go is the cozy loft full of Lego's and lincoln logs. From there, it's down to the dock for some fishing. That leads to swimming, and then it's time for a walk to the beach for some swinging or teeter totter. The days are filled with summer. Pure summer. There is no time for tv or phones, or for me: facebook. That's right- I went an entire 10 days with no computer (well, I got on-line once at the library). I also went an entire 10 days not cooking, cleaning, or emptying an dishwasher. When I got home, it took me a few days to get used to making dinner again. My mom takes care of everything while we are there, including spending time with the boys and doing the tasks that get repetitive like brushing their teeth. It is such a treat. By the end of the week, I actually get tired of sitting.

David and my siblings came up for the weekend, so the boys had fun with their cousins and Daddy and Uncle Sam spent time fishing with them. The first day we were there Tyler caught a big bass on his little Lighting McQueen fishing pole and he was so proud of himself. He is so content fishing. His only request is a chair, and he will sit there for quite some time waiting for the fish to bite.  

On the 4th we took the boys out in the canoe and kayaks to watch the fireworks. It is so fun to be on the water to watch fireworks. They love it and we don't have to fight crowds. It's only the people who have cabins on the private lake.

By Monday most everybody had left, including David. He has a hard time getting the week after the 4th off work. So every year it is just me, Mom, and the boys for the week. We have no trouble staying occupied. I brought up a night stand I had been wanting to paint and spent way to much time on that project. I also read a whole book, and organized the boys' baby books.

The rest of the time we shopped, went to Harbor Springs, went out to eat a lot, played Sequence, and kayaked. The boys swam all the time. They had a great time doing run and jumps, bouncing on the water trampoline, and playing pirate with Grammy.

I asked the boys to think of something they really wanted to do on their vacation. Jake wanted to have a bonfire, s'mores, and sparklers and I can't remember Tylers request. He usually follows whatever Jake wants anyway. Mine was take the boys to Pirates Cove, a putt-putt place we pass every time we go to Harbor but never stop. It was the coolest putt putt place I have been to. I definitely recommend it.

And vacation is not complete without a stop at Yummy's in Harbor Springs for 50 cent Itsy Bitsy ice cream cone. It is the perfect size for kids and you can't beat the price.

Thanks Mom for all the wonderful memories the boys will have of the cabin!

Summer So Far-

It's already the middle of July, and I have no record of the summer. And I definletly won't in 2 1/2 weeks when this baby comes. It's time to start playing catch up!
In June:

• We celebrated Jake's 6th Birthday with a trip to Michigan Adventure.

• Had a garage sale with my friend Keri.

• Took Jake to the dentist 3 times for cavities and cleanings. I was there once a week!

• Had T-Ball games Monday and Thursday nights.

• Took Jake to swim lessons everyday for 2 weeks.

• Got cable because I was so tired of not having anything for the boys to watch, especially when they were pestering each other. And secretly I wanted to watch Kate Plus 8 all summer.

• Went to the library once a week. I'm working hard to have Jake read 15 minutes each day, and with the summer reading program at the library, he gets prizes for reading- good incentive!

• Picked my Mom up from the airport so she could spend the summer up north and help me when the baby comes.

• Went to Harbor Springs for a weekend with our friends Corey and Keri to help my Mom clean out my Grandpa's condo, while my sister watched the boys and took them to Lake Michigan.

Still Learning

I think one of the best things about having kids is seeing the world through their eyes. Everything is a new discovery and it is so much fun showing them, even the most simple things.

 Back in the summer of 2008, I took the boys to the pond next to our house to explore.

It was full of fun things to look at. We even found the smallest baby turtle I have ever seen. It was about the size of a half dollar. I picked it up thinking it was a rock, and was going to throw it in the pond.

Anyway, I got the idea to catch some tadpoles. We collected some pond water and put it in a small plastic fish tank. Then I did some research to see what to feed our little creatures. I wish I would have taken some notes because I am not sure what I did feed them now, or how long it took for them to turn into frogs, but they did. I can remember one day looking in the tank and our tadpoles were gone. I could not figure out what happened to them.  I was thinking the worst, hoping I wouldn't find it in our house somewhere. I happened to glance on the underside of the rim, and there was the frog! Overnight it had completed the last part of it's cycle of a tadpole and became a frog.

We moved frog's house outside and changed it to a plastic container with a rock so it could get out of the water. We had a lizard looking creature left, and I still am not sure what it was.

We let the eventually let the frog and lizard thing go in the pond. After doing something like this with the kids, I can see why people homeschool. You can take things to a whole new level of learning. I'm pretty sure when I learned the frog life cycle in school, we read about it from a textbook. We did get some books from the library so that I that the boys could learn more and answer their questions.

This is a great book, and it is part of a series called Let's Read and Find Out. Stage 1 books are for ages 3-6.

Last summer, we decided to try again at growing frogs. This time I got fancy and bought a plastic habitat for growing frogs.

We went to the pond again and got tadpoles. We had them for about 6 weeks and they never grew. I got tired of having to feed them and we let them go. I still wanted to have a "theme" for summer learning, so we did gardening instead. You can read more about it here.

Here is another Let's Read and Find Out Book:

This summer, I hadn't really thought of a theme, or anything fun to learn about. It seems like the themes for our learning just sort of happen from exploring. David had a big car hauling trailer sitting in our yard getting ready to sell. The boys loved playing on it, and soon they discovered a robins nest with one egg in it. Everyday they checked on it, and each day there was a new egg until there were 4. Cue mommy for a book:

A week later, David sells the trailer. I took the nest down and tried moving it, but the momma bird never came back. We felt so bad for those babies.

 I know what you are thinking- I did not try to hatch those baby birds myself. Instead we looked around the yard for other nests to observe. We found a small nest in the ferns I hang from our porch. There were 3 small eggs that were the same and one speckled brown egg that was different. Everyday we took the fern down to see if they had hatched. Last Monday when we took down the fern we found 4 baby birds!

We checked on them everyday, and watched mom and dad feed them all day long. When I got the nest down yesterday, the 4 birds could barely fit in it. They had grown so fast in just 1 week. I took a little too long taking pictures, and next thing I knew the babies starting flying off. Jake and I chased them and carried them back to the nest, but they must have been ready to leave. This morning, there was only one baby still in the nest and by lunch time, he was gone.

I still can't figure out why one egg was different. The bird on the top looked a little different that the others.

So this was the summer of birds. Who knows what next summer will be. I am excitied to see. I am still learning right along with the boys, it is just more amazing to me. When you think about how a bird can make this perfect little round nest or a tadpole can turn into a frog, you realize we need to stop our everyday crazy busy lives and just enjoy the simple things with our kids.