November 28, 2011

• A Menagerie of Months

  It’s “good ‘n fall” around here.  Leaves turned, grey heavy skies, damp wind. 

  

   

  Here’s my Baby Girl on some pretty fall ground.

   

  

  

  

  We are (I think) coming out of a little over a month of very interrupted sleep.  Layla was sick, then cutting teeth, then sick again, and the other boys were sick also during that time.  I don’t think I have ever felt such a sleep deficit in my life.  I have been up every 1-2 hours a night for a month.  I would go to bed with a sense of dread as to when I would have to wake up again, and just feel almost desperate for sleep to the point of tears at night sometimes.  Layla would stay up late, and I’d have to get up multiple times for her, and often Zion would wake up and not be able to get back to sleep for at least an hour, and then my alarm would go off a little after 7 AM to get Gabe up for school, and then the boys are up.  Tim helps too, by the way.

  On the up side, it made the sleep aspect of travel not intimidating at all in terms of Thanksgiving, because there was no way that anybody could sleep any more terribly than they had been.  On our first night in VA, Layla slept the entire night solidly after going to sleep around midnight, and woke around 9 AM, for really the first time ever I think.  Our first night back home to DE, she slept from 9 PM to 9 AM with one wake up at around 5 AM.  Ironically, that first night in VA that Layla slept through, we were up at around six with an extremely croupy Israel.  :)  If ain’t one thing it’s another – but it’s still easier rest-wise than the every hour thing.  Phew.

  Gabe

  

  

  Israel

  

  

  Zion David.  

  

   

  Fall picture.

   

  Gabe, age 7; Israel, age 5; Zion, age 3; Layla, 6 months

   My Eskimo baby.

   

  

  The boys went trick-or-treating for the first time this year.  This is the first year that we have been home and/or not completely exhausted by pregnancy.  

  

  I sent Tim out with them; Layla was sleeping.  They were just overcome with excitement, and I was so excited for them that I just couldn’t take it, and soon scooped Layla out of the crib and went off in search of them to share in the fun.  

  

  

  We just went around our two blocks, and they scored enough candy to last them for a good year or so.

   One day Mr. Messy Moose was alone for about 30 seconds in the master bath and promptly dumped basically an ENTIRE bottle of baby wash into the tub.  

  

  Of course, his brothers were quite gleefully excited about this.

   Tim and I went to a conference in PA at the end of October and took little Layla Love.  I expected her to not be too much work, but…she sort of was.  She slept really badly and it was such a physically tiring few days, because of all the additional holding – no exersaucer, crib to take naps in, etc., combined with poor sleep.  We were pretty tired at the end of it.  But it was still well worth the trip, and fun to spend that time together.  

  

  My mom stayed here at our house with the boysies.  

  

  Israel also got croupy the last night we were gone.  Apparently we like to give Grandma all these fun things to deal with – croup and H1N1.  I think that’s about enough for one year.  :)

  Speaking of H1N1, I still am shaking my head in relief that that horrible month is over.  Phew.  The boys got a flu vaccine for the first time ever this year.  Layla will get hers soon.  A year goes by so fast, but somehow that whole adventure feels like a combination of a long time ago and yet not long enough.

  Sometimes there are naked refrigerator raids at my house.  Apparently.   

  

  Zion was actually very cranky about me taking his picture.

  Gabe lost his first tooth at 7 years, 1 month, and 4 days.  

  

  A very exciting time.  It had been pretty loose for a while, and came out while I was brushing his teeth.  He was hoping to lose it at school, because then he would get his name on some list or something.  His other bottom tooth is getting pretty loose too right now.  He is losing his two bottom teeth at the same time that Layla is getting hers in.

  One night we Skyped with cousins Tyler and Aubrey in KS.  

  

  The boys had a grand ol’ time with this, and there was an excessive amount of silliness and noise making, all around.  :)  That pesky little window at the top of the screen that allows you to see all the wonderfully delightful faces you are making is just simply. irresistible. 

   Zion likes to have “belts”.

   

  Waaaay back in September, we had church camp, or as the boys call it “Camp Church”.  They are so excited about this every year.  

  

  Zion socializes, and Mark helps carry chubby Baby Girl.

  We have stayed there overnight each year so far, but this year we didn’t, and it was just a lot easier not to, with the Layla factor.  Had a great time as always, though.

  Here are my boys with their neighbor buddies that they spent a significant part of the end of the summer playing with.  

  

  Today my eyes are crossing from the combination of whining, snot (from all three children currently at home), loudness during the baby’s nap, and plethora of tasks.  I want to go hide in a hole somewhere where nobody can whine at me.

  ******************

  A conversation I overheard today…:

  Israel: “And now we are going to play church!”

  Zion: “No, school!”

  Israel: “No, church!”

  Zion: “No, school!”

  Israel: “And we will need these kinds of guns…” 

  He trails off, busily obtaining the appropriate guns for, um, such occasions.  As church and school would lend.    Boys are just weird.

  • 11:55 am
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