Little Man

The first tooth popped through this morning. Another step toward manhood. Tomorrow his voice will be cracking.

The first tooth is always exciting. We found it at the breakfast table, and everyone cheered. But it brought another gift.

Ding, ding, ding. Tell him what else he's won... a wake you screaming diaper rash!

Which is what led to this humiliating moment...

I couldn't stop the hashtags forming in my brain during this bath. Nibble, nibble like a mouse - Who is nibbling on my house?

Why am I washing my son in a roasting pan?!! Dirty dishes. Oatmeal soak. One time, I tried an oatmeal bath in the tub. One time. and decided never again. What a mess. Hence the roasting pan soak and why I'm not winning the parent of the year award.

P.S. ~ Don't you love how he decided to flex his muscle and guard his modesty at the same time?

Weeks ago now, I promised a post for Brother Bear. And I started it. Right after his belated 6 month check up. The check up that looked something like this:

Pediatrician perusing the front page of the growth chart, "25th percentile height, okay. 25th percentile weight." Flip the chart over, "Whoa!! Head's in the 95th! What's with your kids being very smart elves?"

So... How go things for the little man?

Although I haven't posted as many pics of him, he's not the forgotten third child. At least not as much as I feared. I envisioned Mowgli scrounging through cabinets for baby food samples. Or me so distracted that I missed all his big moments - hey, when did you teach yourself to read? Fortunately, it's nothing like that. We have sweet time together. We just don't have extra time or hands to recreate the scene for a photograph.

His childhood is slightly less documented, but not less rich. Instead, he has been worn along and exposed to all sorts of wonderful stuff... photography exhibit and lecture, glass blowing display, pony hunt on Shackleford Island, the body exhibit. The girls did none of this stuff. His wedding slide show might be shorter, but it won't reflect neglect.

What is Carrick up to? 

All the usual 6, almost 7 month stuff. He babbles and grabs and sits for short periods before his oversized noggin overpowers his balance. And teethes. on. everything. He's started the backwards inchworm, the precursor to crawling. The girls have no idea what they're in for when he starts crawling. Come to think of it, their momma is pretty spoiled by kids old enough to recognize that a pin shouldn't be eaten.

Blue Steel

Watching the sisters play

He's the happiest critter you'll ever meet. Smiles for everyone all the time. He guffaws and snorts and yuks, especially at Afton {they share an understanding beyond the rest of the family}. He flirts with everyone at church. He delights in hearing other people laugh and keeps up the clowning as long as we laugh with him. In short, the only other person I know who is this friendly and smiles so easily is his G'pa {Tim's dad}, which I suppose is where he got it {my side tends to produce Eeyores.}

How is life with three?

Wonderful. and hectic. and overwhelming. and hysterical. More than ever, T and I sit back and shake our heads that we should be so blessed. And more than ever, we bang our heads against a wall. I didn't comprehend how much more organized I must be. Slowly, I'm trying to implement routine to my duties, so I make time for intentional school {we've resembled an unschooling family, which isn't my style}, to create, and to write. The hardest part is recognizing my time limitations. With three, I'm interrupted that much more. My windows of free time have significantly shrunk unless I use Disney to babysit while I sew. In short, we're still transitioning. Probably will be for a while yet. But it is a blessed transforming.

2 months tomorrow

Little Man is two months old tomorrow. All that stuff about time flying, it's true here too.

He's still my fabulous baby, with the goofiest grin, especially for Afton. Those two share some special connection. She starts singing her little made up ditties, and he kicks and coo's and grins like a fool.

Got my first kiss today, the nearly violent open-mouthed baby kind, not the mistook your face for a boob kind.

Also today, I missed a photo op when he saw his hand for the first time. Gwennan face planted while I was looking for my camera. I'll just have to remember the what new marvel might this be look.

But I didn't miss every picture...

Holding steady

Quick update:

Baby boy {still unnamed} looks great. Growing strong. Kicking plenty. I can't wait to meet him!

I'm doing fine as well. The count down is alive and well on the black board. We have 17{!} days left until eviction. This morning, my doctor said that I looked settled into pregnancy. I think she mistook exhaustion and resignation for something more noble.

Tim and the girls are hanging in there too, largely thanks to our awesome church family who provide parenting breaks, swap out library books, surprise us with food, pray for and check on us, etc... We would be lost without them. Many, many thanks are in order.

I'm reasonably certain this is my final home pedicure. Little Man is squirming most uncomfortably as I strain to reach all ten toes.

We'll let you know if anything changes!

What we're up to...

Wow. Why did I think I'd have time to blog this year? I was telling my mom the other day that I get good time with the girls every day, but I don't remember it. Life is a bit of a blur right now. In order to craft, I give up blogging. Sorry.

Today isn't even a crafty post. By request, I'm offering an update.

Afton

At her last check up, she weighed 11 lbs. 10 oz. (10th percentile) and measured 24.5" (50th percentile). She's right on track with Gwenny's growth curve. Also, she has periodic reflux issues which have contributed to some late nights and lots of cuddling on bad days. Part of my shortage of posts.

Milestones: Afton now giggles at Gwenny, babbles to us, plays with her feet all the time, rolls over from front to back and can sit up in the boppy for short periods. So far, no interest in table food, so we haven't bothered yet. She's still a delightful, low maintenance girl with a brilliant smile and very kissable cheeks.

Gwennan

I'm not sure how tall she is, but she's up to 23 lbs. of bulldozer-like muscle. Six teeth have popped through with 2 molars threatening. 

Milestones: She literally runs laps around our house. Her vocabulary is growing steadily at this point. You can tell her favorite subjects by the words she learns. So far, her focus is on: sister!, food, animals and gardening. We dance everyday to Silly Songs with Larry and spend at least 45 minutes watching the "fishies" and birds. Oh yeah, and Gwenny lavishes "sissy" with hugs and kisses and most recently pulls Afton into her lap for cuddles. They are adorable together.

Tim and I

We're looking for a house of our own! We love the house we're in now, and our landlords are fantastic. But we also need a permanent place on the peninsula. Right now, we still feel itinerant which is not a good quality in ministry.

House hunting is time consuming, especially when you're budget is limited. That's really the excuse for my lack of posting. Every spare afternoon is spend house hunting, as is my computer time. So far, we've seen lots of "no ways" and a couple "hmm... this has potential." When we find a place, I'll post pics.

Also, last week Tim's brother visited. We had a wonderful time with Uncle Will, fishing, visiting Bluebird Gap Farm, touring Langley AFB and building countless block towers for Gwennan to destroy. The week went by so fast which is always a good sign when family comes to town.

That's what we're up to. How about you?