Six-Month-Old Baby

I cannot believe that Ezra is 6 months old today! He is so much fun. He's happy, squirmy, content and best of all, loves his brothers! He likes to play with toys. When he's a little fussy, if we give him a toy, he quiets down. He plays with the toy for a little bit and then whines for a new one.
Ezra recently started eating solids. When you have 4 kids, you delay this as long as possible. Spoon feeding a baby takes a long time and is a big mess! How quickly we forget. Last night he sat in a high chair for the first time and ate squash. He actually did really well!

The outfit Ezra is wearing for his 6-month snap shot is one I bought on clearance after Christmas two years ago. I remember that my sister, Melinda was with me at Target, looking for good Christmas steals. Only our family knew that we were expecting again. I was so excited to find a cute Christmas outfit in just the right size for my baby. Unfortunately, in March we lost our baby. We named the baby Micah and later found out that the baby was a girl. As I look at Ezra wearing this outfit today, I am so happy and sad at the same time. The whole time I was pregnant with him, I was worried that he wouldn't make it. Or that there would be something wrong with him. For the first four or five months, I went to the doctor every two weeks to listen to his heart. Each time, I held my breath, remembering the morning of March 12 when I didn't hear my baby's heart beating. But every time, there was a strong, normal heart beating inside of me. It was a comfort each time. When we went to the hospital to deliver Ezra, I was still nervous. So many things can go wrong when giving birth. Would this time be just as easy and normal as the others? The labor took longer than I anticipated and I got discouraged. My good friend Emily is a NICU nurse at the hospital and had come in to be our nurse. She was a good distraction for me. Then suddenly things started moving very quickly. The baby dropped and I was ready to push, just had to wait for the doctor to arrive. After a few pushes, Ezra was out and in my arms. What a sweet moment. A couple minutes later Emily was checking him out. How awesome is it to have your best friend be your baby's first nurse?! I looked over and asked if he was ok. Emily said, "He's perfect." Sigh. Fifteen months of worry were over. We had a healthy, perfect baby. Well, he did cry a lot! I think Emily said that he cried more than most babies right after they're born. And he cried a lot for the first few weeks. Now he's much better behaved. And I am thankful again for the miracle of birth!

September Update

Last week was an exciting one here. But it was also just a normal week. Here's a little update about each of the kids.

Judah is 5, goes to kindergarten and plays soccer. This is his very first game a few weeks ago. Saturday he scored his first goal! He was very excited and we are proud of him. He was happy to play at the playground for a while after the game. The first two weeks of soccer games were so hot that we didn't want stay out in the sun any longer than necessary.
Judah is liking kindergarten. We haven't had any bad news from the teacher, so I guess that means he's doing fine in class. He brought home a homework packet that was all about sight words. I can't believe this guy is old enough to be learning to read! I've noticed that Judah talks more clearly after just a few weeks in school. Little ones learn so quickly!

Reuben is such a funny kid. He talks all the time and we know exactly what he's saying. In this picture I had said, "You look like a king." Reuben replied, "No, I'm a Christmas tree."
He has pooped on the potty a few times and now he wants to watch others poop so he pulls up a stool and sits whether you want him there or not.
Yesterday he tried to nurse Ezra.
One day he was messing with his ear. I asked if there was something wrong with his ear. He said, "There's something in my ear. It's just crap."

This is Ezra. He is three months old now. He weighs about 14 pounds and he's tall. Or long. Whatever you say for babies who can't stand up. Ezra has good control of his head. He sits with support and holds his head high when he's on his tummy. One evening last week he rolled over, while James and I watched! He was on his tummy and lifted his head and legs up enough that he rolled to his back. It was pretty exciting but he hasn't done it again. We get tons of comments about Ezra's big eyes. He has a lot to observe all around him. For the most part, Ezra sleeps all night. He's a pretty happy baby and his big brothers love him! They are always holding him and talking to him.

Asa has decided to have facial hair now that he's in 1st grade. Just kidding! He got his face painted at our church carnival. Asa is glad to be back in school. He is reading books; his favorite is Fun with Dick and Jane, a book that belonged to my dad. Asa's class did a math assessment recently and their class scored above the district average! He is doing some pretty complicated stuff in first grade math.
Asa is playing soccer again this fall. He has a really fun team and is improving each week. He's starting to get aggressive out there!

My oldest boy is still painting. James did this one for our 10th anniversary. There's a tree for each year of marriage, a little bird for each member of our family; the yellow beams represent God in our lives, the dove represents the Holy Spirit. It's a really creative painting and I love it!
We are blessed to have a healthy and thriving family!

Thoughts About My Dad

I've been thinking about my Dad a lot recently. He passed away 6 1/2 years ago because of cancer. He never met any of my kids but we tell them stories about him all the time. A few weeks before Ezra was born, Dad kept popping in my head:
James was giving the boys puppy dog kisses and I remembered my dad doing the same thing. I could feel his whiskers on my face and I could almost remember what he smelled like.
I saw a guy sitting in a lawn chair in his front yard, watching the cars drive by. After we moved to town, Mom and Dad sat in the driveway watching people drive by. They probably saw more people they knew that this guy in Lee's Summit.
We planted a garden. Dad always had a garden, or at least a few tomato plants.

Maybe this is part of the reason I wanted to give Ezra the middle name: Robert. It just seemed fitting at this time. Happy Father's Day, Dad. You and Mom taught me so much and I have lots of great memories!

Pregnancy Update

This pregnancy is winding down so I thought I would answer everyone's questions and post a picture.

When are you due? June 1
Are you ready? Mom and I washed and put away all the baby clothes yesterday. I'm washing some blankets, sheets and burp cloths today. We need to move Reuben's crib into Asa and Judah's room and get out the cradle. Then I think we're all set!
What are you having? A boy, yes 4 boys. We are going to have lots of fun raising our boys. I love the three we have and can't wait to see how this little guy fits in with everyone else.
Have you picked out a name? No. We are about 60% decided on a name but we will wait until he's born to tell everyone. (yes, even my sisters)
How are you going to keep up with everything? Just the same as I do now. One day at a time. One task at a time. One hug at a time.
How are you feeling? OK. Not very energetic. I've had a moderate amount of back pain. I'm looking forward to the epidural to ease my pain!
What will the boys do while you're in the hospital? James' mom gets here June 1. I've never gone into labor so I'm planning to be induced on June 3. We'll see what actually happens. If I go into labor on my own in the next couple weeks, we will scramble for child care!

There ya go. Any more questions?

Peanut Butter Oat Muffins

I made these muffins yesterday. They were delicious! And I feel like they were a little healthier than some of the muffins I make because they don't have butter or oil. I also added chocolate chips because my kids won't eat muffins without chocolate chips. I thought I would share the recipe. I think it was from Taste of Home several years ago.

Peanut Butter Oat Muffins
Prep & Baking: 45 minutes

1-¼ c flour
¾ c oatmeal
¾ c brown sugar
3 t baking powder
½ t salt
dash cinnamon
1 egg
¼ c peanut butter
1-¼ c milk
½ c chopped peanuts

In a bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in peanuts.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups ¾ full. Bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve with whipped topping and peanuts if desired

1 dozen

The News

For those of you who are not facebook friends with me (which I'm pretty sure is no one)
WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!
We just announced it to the world on Wednesday. I'm almost 16 weeks along, due June 1. We have known for 8 weeks but didn't want to tell people too soon. When we lost our baby Micah, I was 17 weeks along and she measured 14 weeks. So I wanted to wait until we got past that 14 week point. I've been going to the doctor every two weeks to check the baby's heart beat and make sure everything is ok. Up until this week, I have been very nervous, while trying to stay calm and not stress over things. But now I feel like we can be excited! I fully realize what a miracle babies are. A million different things have to go perfectly so a healthy baby can be born. I am so glad to have 3 miracles of my own and look forward to adding a fourth!

Blessings

Sometimes it's hard to see the blessings in life when everything on the surface seems to be falling apart. Sometimes it's good to dig down deep and take a look at things we take for granted. Things we often forget about.

I'm thinking about this today because I watched the news this morning. The story that brought me back to the actual reality (not the reality of my own life) was about Syria. Right now there is a war raging in Syria. I don't understand all of the reasons for the conflict, but I understand it's affect on people. People stand in line for hours for bread. Just bread. Not butter or fruit or steak. Bread. Gasoline is scarce, and expensive. There is no electricity, no school. One little boy said he only eats one piece of bread a day. Can you imagine?

This is just one example of life outside of Kansas City, MO. Or whatever town you live in. People scattered all over the world face similar circumstances every day. It is sad.

And then I realize that I am blessed. Here are some things I see as blessings in my life. They are things that I don't think about every day. Things that are just a way of life. A habit. The way things have always been.

-We live in a free country, our government takes care of us, we have rights, we have a voice (no comments allowed about the bad parts of our government, we don't all agree on the issues, but we are fortunate to have the voice that we have) We have religious freedom, freedom of speech, the right to bear arms...the list goes on.
-For my family, we have a strong Christian heritage. It's a truth I have known my whole life. Freedom in Christ is a blessing.
-We have a pantry and a refrigerator full of food. It's not always full. Sometimes we eat whatever's left, but we eat and are full.
-We belong to a loving church family. People care about us and take care of us. And we get to return the love!
-We have jobs, health insurance, good medical care. If one of my babies gets sick, help is just a few minutes away. And medicine is available for whatever ails us.
-My kids go to great schools. Asa is learning to read. I know that there are problems with our education system, but we have one. Most of the teachers in our country love kids and love teaching.
-We have cars that work and help us live a comfortable life.
-We have electricity! Heat, air conditioning, hot water, indoor plumbing...
-We have the ability to communicate with our family and friends all over the country with the touch of a button.
-I have 3 healthy and smart boys and a husband who loves me and loves them.

This is not an exhausted list of the reasons why I feel blessed this morning. It's just what I came up with in a few minutes while sitting at my kitchen table. I understand that we all face things that are sad, difficult, frustrating. But we must always remember that we are blessed, sometimes only by chance. When the car is broken down, you can't afford the awesome Christmas presents, your sleep is interrupted, the kids break something expensive, you deal with a difficult person at work...just take a break and count your blessings. They will always outnumber your curses.