Life with 4- a photo-laden update of sorts

Thank you for all the warm wishes surrounding Hank's arrival!


Time to resuscitate this ol' blog!! I have so many pictures from before Hank's birth and afterwards, that they won't line up with this update at all. Just go with it.

A rainy day back during the Three Amigos time period

It rains so much here in Louisiana. The kids love it. I love it so long as I'm not out trying to run to the car during a downpour. They love splashing around in puddles and I'm kinda digging the rainy day photos I've been getting out of it too.

I'm officially done buying toys for the rest of my life. You heard it here first, folks. I have the basics for Will and Hank to play with (blocks, cars, train tracks, etc), but Sam and Molly are literally asking me for permission to play with the recycling. I kid you not. Then they grab the old pizza box and the Powerade bottle and play restaurant. They have these plastic power tools that I spend more time picking up the plastic screws and bolts than they ever have playing with the toy, so we had some extra wood the other day (from Steve's snake prevention project on the back porch), and used it to teach them how to use some real power tools. We give kids all these plastic versions of grown up things (play kitchens, play vacuums, play strollers)- shoot. Time to get yourself in a real kitchen, make some real food! Use a real vacuum, clean up a real mess! Push a real stroller, learn how to care for a real baby! I'm half kidding- my kids won't be suddenly using an oven unsupervised or caring for Hank (in ANY capacity), but I feel like they are hitting an age where toys no longer hold their attention and they need something more. So we are going to be doing a toy purge soon (saving the things I know Will and Hank will get use out of) and eliminating a lot of useless crap in our house, and hopefully learning how to use the real-life versions of the toys they no longer play with. I can't wait.

These kids have had their sweet moments with each other, but overall, I am just so done with summer. Get these kids the hell out of this house and back into school. They need some structure and I am not able to provide that 24/7. Nor do I want to. I have enough to do keeping up with the endless laundry and meal prep and cleaning and baby needs. Trying to play Activities Coordinator for the (extremely sassy) big two is pushing me over the edge. Some parents cry when their children go to kindergarten or start a new grade. Not this mama. I will be clicking my heels and probably popping open a bottle of champagne come the first day of school. Because sometimes surviving is cause for celebration.

One of the projects we (and by we I mean Steve) tackled before Hank was born was this random nook in our upstairs hallway. I might have mentioned before (but maybe not because pregnancy brain) that this house is the exact same layout as our house at Ft Campbell. It's smaller and a bit darker, but the rooms are in the same places. At Ft Campbell though, this hallway nook had doors and shelves and was a legit linen closet. I'm not sure what housing expects you to use a random cutout like this for, but since we had just made some shelves in Minnesota for our laundry room, we decided to make a few more for linen storage.

random, useless nook before

These projects are eight frillion times harder to do with kids running around everywhere, so once we got everyone bathed, we put the television babysitter on downstairs for the big two and let Will hang out with us upstairs. Before long though, Will was ready for bed. His room is approximately four feet from this nook. We weren't going to waste the opportunity to finish this project though, so we put Will to bed and continued on, drilling shelves into the wall and making a ton of racket. It makes me laugh to think about how no one could dare sneeze while Sam was sleeping as a baby. Because MY GOD THE CHILD NEEDS QUIET. Nowadays, Hank snoozes as I vacuum three inches from him, kids screaming, music going, etc. Old motto (1 kid): Keep quiet, baby is sleeping. New motto (4 kids): Keep making noise so he can learn to sleep through anything.

I've since put more things on the shelves, but took this immediately after he hung them. They also look like they're unevenly spaced, but we measured before, during, and after, and decided that the angle the picture is taken makes them look mis-spaced. I am also on the hunt for some tall baskets or something to sit underneath (and maybe store some winter blankets and quilts in). The amount of time I've put into the actual hunt: 0 minutes because ain't nobody got time to be wandering stores alone these days (and nobody's got the spare sanity to lug kids around anywhere "just to look").

This is not real life lol but it is kinda cute

Fresh Prince of Ft Polk

me, pretty much the entire third trimester

Will taking full advantage of the bump

due date day!

I was so ready to be pregnant forever. Lightheadedness aside, it's just so much easier than never sleeping. I'm not gonna lie though, it was getting old having Steve and my mom stare at me like April the Giraffe.

I finally got a new ID card. I only seem to get new ones when I'm 9 months pregnant. Naturally. Luckily for me, the lady didn't make me look super pregnant, but she did apply a filter that essentially erased my nose and gave my teeth a look that resembles Mountain Dew mouth. (And yes, Mt Dew mouth is totally a thing and it's absolutely disgusting.) I might go through the hassle of getting a new ID when Special Steve gets promoted. Yeah, it's that bad, eek!

Sam got Army short shorts off the local yard sale page and is obsessed. They make him run faster, y'all.

post-dinner swim time - my mom said I shouldn't go in the pool because what if my water breaks? Steve said if I did deliver the baby in the pool, it would kinda be the ultimate water birth. Neither one of those things happened, FYI.

Look at this goof who dressed himself.

Yeah, their new schools require uniforms and you won't hear me complaining about that AT ALL.

Her choice in posing is odd, but whatever

so Korean

picture from my mom while we were at the hospital

The day we came home from the hospital, we were rushing around, trying to get everyone in bed at a decent hour (so we could get in bed to not sleep) and Sam came rushing down the stairs.

Lost his second tooth! So proud. He said he just twisted it til he could rip it right out. His choice of verbiage really makes me cringe, but I do believe it happened just like that. He had been waiting a while for that tooth to come out. Luckily, I remembered to do the Tooth Fairy duties. Almost forgot to chuck the tooth out though. MY BRAIN. MY MOM BRAIN.

I decided to pump for Hank. Most everyone is like, "why? That is just so much work." But honestly? Is it really more work? It felt like a lot more work to be the only person who could ever feed, pacify, or put Will to sleep for his entire first year. Yes, it might have been convenient to "whip out" a boob whenever it was needed with no prep work involved, but being able to pass off a cranky baby to Steve (or any other nearby semi qualified bystander) and go take a nap? I tell you what, that sh!t is priceless. My mental health is worth putting some bottles in a dishwasher (heyyyyy, having a dishwasher is really awesome) and browsing instagram while I do my dairy cow duties. To each her own of course, but after trying both ways, I just really think pumping is awesome and it is definitely the only thing that makes sense for me.

literally liquid gold

One night Hank woke up at midnight and was up until 6am. I could hear my attached neighbor getting up and going to PT and that was probably one of the most depressing nights of my life. I just wanted to pass Hank off so badly and go to sleep. And come 6am, after Steve had gotten a few hours of sleep, I did. I think I slept three hours and then the party was over and I had to get back to life. LUCKILY, that was the only night that's happened. I don't wanna talk sleeping habits because I feel like it's dangerous to put out info like that (I don't wanna jinx anything), but I am no longer feeling like crying into a baby blanket at 4am.

It's obvious that we did nothing to celebrate the 4th of July, right? Right.

Hank is SUCH a sweetie. As well as the older three have adjusted to having a new one around, I feel like Hank deserves 10x the credit for adjusting into this circus so well. Outside of wanting to eat when he wants to eat, he doesn't fuss about much of anything. (And trust me, he has every reason to fuss about his current living conditions. It is LOUD and HOT and LOUD LOUD LOUD all the time. I probably fuss a lot more than Hank does.)

Our neighbors all have power wheels and my kids are ridiculously obsessed with them. I've been looking for one on the local yard sale pages, but I'll admit that I haven't been looking too hard. I feel like we need a big piece of plastic like we need a hole in the head, and acquiring one of those things is certain to push me to the point of buying a whistle so I can better referee these tiny psychos. Aka no thanks (unless I see one for suuuuuuuper cheap. Then I might be persuaded).

Poor Will is typically not vocal enough to earn himself a spot in the power wheels, so he just chases after it until he is the color of a tomato, but he finally got a ride and was SO HAPPY.

Behold the power of television. They don't get to watch tv very often, but when they do, it definitely produces the desired effect (aka silence).

It is SO weird to think that Will ever fit into this tiny newborn sleeper. Hank has already moved on to 3 month outfits, but I managed to shove him into this sleeper once.

One of my best friends from Korea is stationed here at Polk, and we finally managed to get together. Since we last saw each other, we have added three more babies to the mix, but having everyone together was so fun. I love meeting new people (one of the best parts of Army life), but it really is special to get to reconnect with old friends who know you and know what you mean when you say something or make a joke or tell a story. Not having to give a backstory to provide meaning or context is invaluable sometimes.

The last time we saw Lorene, Molly was calling her Baby Lorene (or Baby Wohween), and now Baby Lorene is walking and talking and a full grown TODDLER CHILD and time just flies by too fast.

The boys bonded over a shared love of snacks and I feel like that's a positive way to start a friendship.

Milk production has obviously increased. This felt like a big deal at the time. Last night though I pumped 10oz in one sitting and have been steadily putting milk in the deep freezer everyday. Smells like freedom to me.

The kids are officially registered for CYS and soccer camp. Due to insurance switcheroos and late physicals (complete with shots!), they weren't able to sign up for as many sports camps as they would have liked. But they will be doing some fall sports and hopefully will get to do more next summer when there isn't a newborn sucking the life out of me.

sweat, sweat, sweat

Willie got his first haircut. I didn't cry. I did die inside a bit though.

But first we'll watch big brother to see how it's done

curls

upon curls

upon curls

I couldn't bear to watch, so I took photos instead.

Lollipops for the whole gang (and yes, Steve is holding a bag of Will's curls).

my little butterscotch-smelling baby

He's probably looking forward to his first real bath (let's be real, he's had a few sponge baths already) as much as I am.

Sam learned to ride with no training wheels!!!!!!

I pink puffy heart when the sun goes behind that tree and we aren't melting in direct sunlight anymore.

playtime at the park on Steve's last day of paternity leave

National Ice Cream Day

studmuffin

My tiny had his 2 week well check and is doing... well! Gained a pound and a little bit of length.

Steve went back to work and we have all survived. So far.

Burning energy as fast as daylight

The neighbors let them play on their slip n slide. Sam has never felt closer to heaven.

Will, not a huge fan of getting wet, has never felt hotter.

I have more pictures but I think that's enough for now because this has been LENGTHY. If you made it all the way to the end, congratulations! Send me your address and I'll mail you a birth announcement as a prize.