Life's in full swing!

Yesterday was the boys' first day of school. They were both so excited to start! I've never taken a 2 year old to school before so it was fun to watch how excited he was to be a "big kid". He was really upset today when Luke went to school without him. Luke LOVES his class and there are some neighbor girls that are in his class, which is fun. I really enjoy this Pre-K year. It seems like they grow and learn so much. It's fun to be a part of that process!

Kate was at school at 5 a.m. this morning with Chris for Breakfast with Tom Brannon. Her class was on tv celebrating the school's 30th anniversary. She had a fun time and even though it was terribly early (especially with a newborn in the house) she loved the fact that she got to be on tv! The school allowed her class to check out at lunch since the kids would be so tired. Of course now that she's home for the rest of the afternoon she is remarkably energetic! I would have that kid!

We made it!

Well, we survived our first weekend alone and I will say that it was better than I could have hoped. I can't speak for Chris but I feel like it was a somewhat normal weekend. We even made it to church on Sunday and stayed for the churchwide picnic afterward. : ) I know that it's probably harder on Chris than me because he's doing the majority of the childcare while I'm stuck in the everlong feeding sessions but overall I felt really good about how well everything went.

Today was my first full day flying solo and everything has gone really well with that too. Now, we haven't left the house yet but everyone has gotten dressed other than John Patrick and I even had a shower and put on make up. The hardest part of the day is yet to come though. In 30 minutes we have to all walk up to pick up Kate and then I have all 4 plus dinner to prepare. Thankfully, we're having a frozen meal from my in-laws. It's always surprising how even a frozen meal can be frazzling at this stage though. : ) Surely I can make it for 2 1/2 hours until my dear husband comes home. But we'll see!

Here are a couple of random pictures...just because.

Chris and the little boys. It looks like Chris is holding Caleb as a baby!

Caleb LOVES all things musical! He has started walking around with his guitar like it was part of him.

Wide awake

Today John Patrick is a week and a half old and he has been awake a little more than usual. It's so sweet to watch him as he studies everything around him. Of course, this is the age where you desperately want a picture with their eyes open but it's virtually impossible to get one that doesn't show all of their crazy newborn faces. So here are the crazy faces for everyone to enjoy. I gave up trying to get one of him looking normal . : )

I think that this one is the funniest by far!

Then there's always the newborn double chin...

We have had a good first week. Thankfully my mom was here to help on Monday and Tuesday while Chris was at work and then my in-laws took the boys on Wed and let them stay until this afternoon. It is such a blessing to have all of the help. Especially since I know it is exhausting for the grandparents. We are so thankful for all of the ways that they sacrifice for us! I'm sure I'll have a lot to post after the weekend. It will be our first round on our own. I'm hoping for success!

Kate starts 1st grade!

Kate started first grade this week. Unbelievable! It has been an emotional week for me. 1st grade, a new school, a new baby. I know this is cheesy to say, but it does seem like I was just sitting and holding Kate the same way that I'm holding John Patrick. Oh, how I wish that we could really relish these moments. I wish that I could just slow her down and really enjoy each and every moment. I am so thankful for what a blessing Kate is. I'm excited to watch her grown and develop but my heart is a little sad as I watch her transition from being a little girl into a new "big kid" stage of life. I know it will be gone in a blink of an eye.

Here are a few updated pictures of John Patrick. He is 1 week old and is so sweet! Even in the midst of the challenges of the newborn stage, I am so thankful for his little life and what a blessing he is to our family!

John Patrick Larsen

Here are just a few pictures from the hospital...

This is our first photo as a family of 6!

Hoping to post more soon!

He's here!!!!

After much anticipation, John Patrick has finally made his debut. We showed up at the hospital bright and early yesterday morning but as expected they had a ton of women in labor and we ended up waiting a while to get in a room. After the pitocin was started, things progressed but at a rather slow rate. By 11:00 I was almost to a 4 and the doctor broke my water at 12:30. I was at a 6 and 100% effaced by 1:30 and at a 9 by 2:00. Within the next hour, I could definitely tell that he was ready to come out! I guess he decided to make up for lost time after lunch. We called the doctor and he came right over. After the first push he was here, and it took two more to complete the process.

We were so thankful and excited to have our sweet little boy here! He actually had the cord pretty tightly around his neck and a true knot in the cord (which can both be life threatening) so we are so thankful for God's protection over his life! He is doing great and and I am very thankful to be "unpregnant" and just having to cope with the delivery recovery. We are enjoying every moment with our new little one! The time in the hospital is such a sweet time especially when you have other kids at home. It gives you that precious time to just focus on your baby without any other distractions. I LOVE those first few days of getting to know the new baby and having all of those quiet cuddle moments!

Unfortunately the kids have not been able to come visit John Patrick yet. Kate came down with a fever last Saturday and can't seem to shake it. We're hoping that she will be better tomorrow so that she had hold him when we get home. All of the kids have been so excited for his arrival. I know it's been hard for them not to be able to come see him. Thankfully my in-laws are caring for them while we're here. It's a blessing to know that they are having a blast at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Here are a few pictures of John Patrick. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long. MUCH lighter than what I expected, thankfully! My guess was 9 lbs. 12 oz. so I was shocked that he ended up being 10 oz. smaller than Caleb. I'll try to post more pics as we get them...

John Patrick Larsen

Born August 12, 2008

The date is set

My doctor appt today went fairly well. I have made a little more progress and of course the baby could come at any time but we were at least able to schedule an ending point. Officially, Cuatro will make his appearance by next Tues. I am scheduled to go in at 6 am and I will be there bright and early. I am actually praying that we don't even make it to that point. It would be nice if the bambino would make his debut tonight. Not only am I totally ready to not be pregnant anymore but the kids are spending the night with my in-laws and it would be perfect timing. Who knows?! Hopefully the next thing I post about the baby will be newborn pictures!!

38 weeks

Hopefully this will be the last picture that I post with the baby still in my tummy. : ) I go to the doctor tomorrow and I am hoping for good news. This picture looks very similar to where I was with Caleb. Let's hope that's because my tummy has already stretched that far and not that the bambino is going to be Caleb sized. I'll post any news from the appointment tomorrow...

May I go into labor before then!