Happy Father's Day and 12th Anniversary!

 So this is the first time in all 13 June 16th's we've been married that Father's Day has fallen on this day, at least I think it is.  For Father's Day, I made Brian a breakfast of eggs, sausage, and roasted potatoes and brought it to him in bed.  Then the girls cleaned out his car for him while he was out.  I talked him into taking the van, but it sort of ruined the surprise.  Anyway, we also practiced all week on a choreographed dance to our family song Don't Stop Believing by Journey.  The kids did a great job and daddy liked it!

For our anniversary, we took a trip to Lambertville, New Jersey/New Hope Pennsylvania on Monday through Wednesday.  My parents watched the children for us which was no small feat.  On our way there, we detoured slightly to a Sonic for me.  I miss Sonics so much!

We stayed at a B&B called Chimney Hill.  It was very nice.  They had Alpacas to feed, lovely breakfasts in the mornings, nicely removed from the town, and, therefore, very peaceful.

Yes, yes, I am about to pop...in about 8-10 weeks.

This was where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War.

We went to a Winery and had a wine tour and tasting.  We bought a bottle of their ice wine to save for when the baby is born and Brian passes his boards.   

We had a great time just taking it easy with good food and a little antiquing.  I just don't have the stamina that I had a couple pregnancies ago when I was able to climb mountains and trek around cities majorly pregnant. 

My Little Superheros

I made the boys some towels for the pool/beach this summer and for general bath time use as well.  First I made a Batman hooded towel for baby Tad with no name since the jury's still out on that one. (No picture yet since the name isn't added yet.)

(Technically, first I made a Superman hooded towel for my friend having a boy one day after my due date.  Then I made a Batman hooded towel for my nephew, Dylan, for his one year birthday which I will give to him early for our upcoming beach trip.)

I had two willing models for this hooded towel.  This is Isaac.

Yes, the hood is way too big, but I was eyeballing and sometimes that just happens.  It will last a long time since it is so big.

Then I made Drew a Captain America cape Velcro towel.

And, last but not least, I made Isaac a Superman cape Velcro towel.

I had planned something fun for the girls as well.  I was going to make something like these princess cover ups from towels (maybe not for Hannah since she is becoming less girly every day she lives,) but my mom had towels made for them  for our beach trip.

I am also making superhero burp cloths and onesies with felt machine appliqued on.  Here's my favorite!  Tad is going to rock these, and so are my two good friends' baby boys that will be born around the same time as Tad.  We are even planning a triple baptism for these three superhero babies.

My favorite part is the bum!

Piano Recital

The girls had their piano recital/showcase on Sunday evening.  Genna was a tiny bit nervous, but when I told her it's just a bunch of strangers there to watch their own kids and her family and close friends she got right over that stage fright and never looked back.

Genna played Lemonade Stand, but got stuck at the beginning but then she got going and finished well.

Hannah played Yankie Doodle well, without any mistakes, she said.  I am tone deaf so I have no idea.

I mentioned before I have been disappointed in this piano class this year because it seems like they should be more challenged at this point, at least Hannah, and playing more quality music.  We are trying out a private teacher this summer.

A Quick Look Back

I never got the professional pictures from Hannah's First Communion up on the blog.  I have one from the photographer at the church and a few from JC Penney's.  Her hair is different in the JC Penney's shots because we ran out of time between Mass and the appointment and the crown braid takes about 40 mins sometimes.  I was actually glad to have some hair down as it turned out for those pictures.  She looks so beautiful!

Tad: The Ultrasound, the Name Debate, and My Pregnancy

I was supposed to have another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on the growth of my baby because of my hypothyroid disease.  This can cause babies not to grow as much as they should.  My babies not growing as much as they should?  Is this a joke?  I have quite the record of babies growing a little too well, so I was not worried about this but I humored them.  Anyway, due to some scheduling confusion, I ended up at 30 weeks when I finally was given an appointment for this ultrasound.  As I said, I was not concerned since my babies are huge, and have you seen my belly?  I am getting the same question every time I leave the house, at least once, in one form or another.  "Are you due any day?"  "Glad you don't have to go through the summer, eh?"  "Are you so ready to have this baby?"  And my personal favorite thus far..."Do you feel like the baby is down to your knees?"

I digress.  I was quickly given a 7:30am appointment when it was realized that I missed the 28 week mark for this ultrasound.  Since this appointment is at Walter Reed, that means I had to leave my house by 6:30am.  Brian decided to come with the kids after my appointment and switch cars and the kids so he could go on to work.  That way we wouldn't have to wake them all up so early and make them sit in the waiting room anyway because no way would we all fit in one of those tiny rooms.  I decided to take Hannah with me so I could use the HOV lane and not have to ooch my departure time up even earlier than 6:30am.  All this is to say it was a crazy early appointment and Hannah and I got some one on one time.

What was the result of the ultrasound?  His cysts in his brain had resolved and were gone.  Praise God!  He is one big baby.  His head and femur else all measured in the 75th percentile and his weight was in the 56th percentile.  He was estimated to be about 3.5 lbs.  So another big boy!  No surprise there!  That your in-utero baby has a 75th percentile head is never something you want to hear before he has to come out, but I am trying to focus on the positive.  He's healthy and growing!  And Hey! I have a "proven pelvis," so no problem, right?

The pictures they gave me were not the clearest, but here is one of them anyway for posterity's sake.

After the ultrasound, I met up with Brian and took the kids to visit their friend while she was getting her chemo treatment.  We crashed that pediatric oncology ward big time. Hopefully, it brought joy to at least our friends!

Now, about that name debate, I am having one heck of a time talking my husband into one of my two favorite, albeit similar, names for this boy since if you will recall I gave in to his favorite name for our last boy.  He keeps changing his mind about which one he is more open to or likes more.  My names are Jude and Judah.  Jude, being the saint and also the author of a book in the Bible, and Judah being the fifth son of Jacob and one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  There's also the reference to Jesus being the "Lion of Judah."  First he doesn't like Jude because it has one syllable.  He liked Judah better.  Then he didn't like Judah because it was more Jewish sounding than Catholic.  Jude sounded more a Catholic.  Then he was afraid I would call him Judy in order to lengthen his name since I call Drew Drewy all the time.  Then he didn't like Judah because it sounded too much like Judas, and he is not someone you would name your kid after.  In fact, I wonder if there has ever been another Judas.  I am sure there has since there have been more Jezebelles and Hitlers.  Anyway, then he finally said the other night absolutely not Jude, but he was now considering Judah again for my sake.  It's like watching a tennis match.

The names he would really prefer are Benjamin, Jacob, and Matthew.  I like all these names.  They were all on the list last time, but Jacob was the one I was fighting for when Andrew won out.  The reason I am pushing for Jude or Judah this time around and didn't fight for it at all last time was that he told me last time, maybe for another boy Jude would be okay, but just not for that boy.  I foolishly believed him and dropped it for that go around.  :)  Even though I like all his names, I like Jude and Judah better.  And so the debate continues, and I have no name to yet put on my cute creations for my Tad.

My pregnancy is going well other than my varicose vein issue which continues to worsen in my left leg.  Tad is a joy to carry around even though he is quite the gymnast and drum player in there.  He reminds me a bit of in-utero Hannah when he stretches body parts out so far that I have to push them back in.  The three big kids have all had their turn at feeling him kick and roll and stretch.  The look on their faces when they feel him is priceless.  They are all vying for the seat next to him in the car already.  So sweet to see that fresh sibling love untainted by selfishness.  :)  Genna is praying regularly that this baby is a cuddler and loves her.  Drew is pointing to my belly and saying "Baby" but who knows what he is thinking that actually means.  He is still working on his "soft baby touches" since even his fleeting affections are rough and painful at times.  A hug can feel more like a slap in the face.  :)  And that's what the fifth (sixth really) pregnancy is like.  It is less about me and baby and more about everyone and everything else.  It makes the time go by entirely too fast, but Tad and I do have our quiet moments late at night or early in the morning with no one to interrupt.

The Daily Details

So once again I find myself a week behind in blogging.  I think I am failing to include the daily details that make up our life and only managing the big events.  I am also slacking on picture taking which is what helps me to start a post and to remember events to post about.  Who wants a bunch of long posts without pictures?   That's what this one is going to be though, but I promise to find some picture for the next few posts.  Let's see what my foggy pregnant brain can recall from the past week.

Monday we had our friend's youngest son with us in the morning.  He is close to Drew's age (about 4 months younger.)   After he left we headed to piano practice.  The recital is actually today and so they are wrapping up.  We are going to be trying out a new piano teacher this summer because Hannah is not progressing like she could be basically because it is a group class and they seem to stay with the lowest level which is Genevieve since she is a new student.  Another problem is that the arts center where they take their lessons is very inhospitable to the rest of us waiting in their lounge area for the hour lesson each week.  It has been a growing problem for the past two years and Monday's class was the last straw with me.  There are two other families that wait with us.  We are all good friends and so are our children so it is nice to let the kids play and get a chance to talk to my friends as well.  I could use this time to run errands, but I enjoy just hanging out since it isn't a very long time.  With Drew and Isaac in tow, I wouldn't get much accomplished anyway.

So here's what happens very frequently at the art's center, they have a conference inside a room right next to the lounge area and ask us not to sit there.  We move down stairs to the tables.  The kids have more room down there and sometimes get louder because of it.  Then someone comes to ask us to keep our children quieter.  Sometimes it is the preschoolers being loud, but sometimes it is the babies/toddlers.  We always correct the preschoolers when their volume exceeds the appropriate indoor level, and we try our best with the babies/toddlers to keep them calm and quiet but sometimes that is just a losing battle.  This is what happened on Monday, I lost the battle with Drew.  He was screeching because he wanted to go to the water fountain and I had said no.  I was in the process of calming him down when a lady came to the balcony and said we would just have to "keep it down."  "I'm trying to calm him down," I told her.  She replied with some nonsense about not being able to shut their door.  I don't know but I am just tired of them acting like we have a bunch of school aged children who don't know how to be quiet when they are babies and toddlers who are still learning to be quiet and not scream when they don't get their way.  So that was Monday.

Tuesday was the homeschool field day.  This was the first time we were in town to actually go to this.  The girls had a great time playing egg toss, three-legged race, egg & spoon race, and sack race.  Isaac played some non-competitive fun games with the preschoolers.  Drew kept me super busy on the playground climbing much higher than he usually does.  I am sure I looked funny up on the playground chasing him down with Tad in tow.  He did settle down when he discovered the bubbles he could blow on his own and when he ate his lunch, but otherwise was running around with a plastic bat, occasionally hitting innocent children with it.  I told you he was different from the rest of us.  I am not lying when I tell you before Drew, I can't recall one time when my child hit another child...EVER.  This is a new deal for me.  I am disciplining him the same, but with less desirable results so far.  I am hoping this phase will pass soon.  Praying!

Wednesday we did school in the morning and took a meal (that Isaac helped me make that morning for the crockpot) to our friend who just had a baby.  We ate Cincinnati Chili that night that I made.  It is supposed to taste like Skyline Chili if you know what that is.  To our relatively untrained taste buds (in Skyline Chili, anyway) it was pretty close.  The consistency was a bit off, but it tasted close to us.  All four of the kids even liked it.  Hannah was excited to try it since it had vinegar and bittersweet chocolate in it, two of her faves.

Thursday was just finishing up schoolwork for the year and the regularly scheduled German tutoring in the evening.  Perhaps in my failure to post about the daily details, I hadn't mentioned that the children have been getting one hour a week of German tutoring from a German friend of ours (ex-neighbor, actually).  The best part is it is free.  He really enjoys it and offered to do it completely out of the goodness of his heart.  Brian and I enjoy listening to the lessons as well.  He helps them with their homework for German Saturday school during the year, and even though German Saturday school is on break for the summer, the German learning shall go on.

I am going to stop the post here because Friday was just our last CCM co-op/party combo and my ultrasound appointment which is a whole other post.

Cuties

Daddy's the best!

Not only has he built them a playhouse from nothing, 

It is still a work in progress for Brian.  He is currently working on the trim on Sunday afternoons.  He also plans to add a sandbox and cover underneath and stairs in the back.  I am telling him to hold off on the stairs because I don't want Drew to be able to get up there yet and he can't do the ladder.

but he also took them camping in our backyard for no reason last Saturday night.  Drew and I stayed in the comfort of our own beds and the rest camped out in the back.  Camping sounds like actual torture to me at this point since I am pretty much only comfortable in my memory foam bed on my right side, with my leg on a pillow, and two pillows under my head and a pillow to hug.  Hey, all pregnant women are particular about their pillows, right?  

Happy Campers!

Anyway they were SO excited that they were bouncing in their seats at dinner (on the deck,) and I would go so far as to call it a camping high.  They were colder than they thought and didn't bother to put on the long sleeves and socks that I required them to have out there.  Sunday morning Hannah was the crankiest and the most tired.  I required naps from everybody that day nonetheless.

This weekend he took them stargazing.  I was supposed to do this as part of our Science curriculum, but my loving husband took my place.  I got to sew and rest while they went in search for the Big Dipper, Littler Dipper, North Star, and some other constellations that can be seen this time of year.  They were armed with our Glow-in-the-Dark Constellation book, Find the Constellations, and Field Guide to the Night Sky.

When they got back at almost 11pm last night Isaac came in to tell me that the two cool things were the fireflies and the raccoon they saw.  Hannah's favorite part was the stars.  She had found the Big Dipper before they were out of the car.  Genna's favorite part was finding the Big Dipper.  I hope we can go one more time later in the summer to see if we can find any different constellations.  Maybe I will be up for it that time.  :)