Happy St. Patty's day... Late post, I know!

Happy late St. Patty's Day- we had fun dressing in green compliments of Grandma Barker!

This was the first day that I had all four by myself, it was a good day and all the kids were so happy to not be sick!

 Twins, almost 5 years apart... They look so much alike!

 C is looking at the camera with his eyes open... Too bad the others are being goofy.

 The leprechauns playing outside, do you see how the grass is starting to turn green ;)?!

 Kiss me because I am Irish!... Well maybe not, but it seemed like a good theme for the day.

 We did a green scavenger hunt.

 Here is a green book! 

 Look what we found!

 We drank 'green' smoothies!  Spinach, avocado and pineapple- yum...

Flying solo!

I had the shopping done for the week, laundry caught up, meals planned out for the month, at home activities planned out for the kids and most of all the motivation to attempt it all by myself when one kid after another came down with more symptoms of being sick. Pink eyes, strep throats, throw up, high fevers, debilitating body aches, croupy coughs, runny noses- we had it ALL pass through our house the week that I was all set to fly solo with all four little guys.   Mike and the grandmas came to my rescue as our goal became to keep Carter healthy through it all.  Something worked, because C and myself were the only ones that weathered the storm without getting sick!  I guess I didn't know that we would be venturing into the life as a family of 6 with both feet forward- when it rains it pours!  As a family in a 2 week period, we made 10 visits to the doctor (a few of them were for C's well baby visits and PKU test)!  I had to keep a chart of all the medications to make sure each kid got the right dose at the right time and I suppose I will never again be caught up with laundry with all the towels and bedding that had to be washed over and over!  The hardest part was staying up at all hours of the night holding them and praying that their temperatures would go down and them looking at me pleading to make them feel better. 

Two weeks later, we are happy to report that everyone is mostly back to normal and I am flying solo again, this time around it is going much smoother even though I don't have my ducks in a row like I did the first time around! 

Here is to an exhausting 2 weeks that I am sure Mike and I will always remember as a time full of aches and pains as our family grows.  Taking care of 4 healthy kids should be easy now!  

Up, up and away!

In the spirit of spending time with my mom and taking advantage of the help that she provided while she took off of work a week after I had little Mr. C, we packed our day bags and got out of the house a few times to keep everyone from going stir crazy.  The weather was perfect, I was energetic & Carter pretty much just slept our day trips away!  Walks, parks, zoo and a special trip to the local small airport- all the boys are into airplanes lately and what a treat it was to go on a tour to see several small planes and even visit the lookout tower!

Some of our group inside the big hanger...

 K liked to look in the windows and feel the different textures.

 J thought the propellers were cool.

 We saw a helicopter take off

 We climbed the tower (the stairs!) to look out at the air traffic control tower. 

 Someone picked some interesting colors for their plane!

 On the runway watching one plane get all fueled up!

More Pictures...

We were scheduled to have a photographer (friend of a friend) come over and take pictures of Carter when he was 6 days old, but she ended up coming down with a stomach bug.  The 2 big kids were at a birthday party with dad and little J was napping away, so I took my camera out and attempted a few fun pictures to remember his itty bitty features and expressions that grow and change so quickly.  You will have to excuse my long display of pictures, you certainly can not expect a mom to pick her favorites... Anyway, who can resist a newborn picture?

 

Welcome Carter!

Our anticipated day finally came, three days late that is!  While our home front was a bit bumpy a few days leading up to the celebrated day (with the kids getting sick & an unexpected scare of my dad going to the hospital to get a couple of stints put into his heart), everything ended up working out and the end result of our newest baby was perfect!  My dad seems to be doing good and our older kids were healthy by the time we took little guy home.  God really does have a place in time for everything!

We made it to the hospital with plenty of time and were welcomed with open arms by the staff as I was the only patient currently checked in the maternity ward... He was the 3rd baby to be born there, the first boy!  We walked the halls for about an hour, got an epidural and waited/rested a couple of hours until it was time to push.  Three contractions (~12min) later we had our beautiful baby boy in our arms... I really LOVE epidurals!!!  Welcome to our family, Carter!

Carter Andrew 7lbs 9oz, born on Sunday Feb 20, 2011 @ 11:08AM

He is perfect & looks JUST like Joshua!

Lots of family and friends came to visit. G&G B...

...And G&G R!

The hospital was really nice and new- They even fixed me a steak and lobster tail dinner the evening that Carter was born.  The desert was my favorite! 

Mike was as proud as ever!

So was I!

The whole process is just as amazing the fourth time around as it is the first time! 

We finally got to see what he looked like!

Proud brothers all around!

We found him with his hands folded in his lap.

After our 48 hour hospital vacation, he was ready to go see his real home!

3 days old, we were able to catch him with his eyes open.

I think he likes his new home!