Graduation: I'm a big boy now!

A few weeks ago, Timothy had his Pre-K graduation. I still haven't figured out exactly why there are so many graduations in the younger grades, but it was still cute, and he was very very proud.

Timothy has been attending pre-k in the afternoons this year. I couldn't have been happier with his school.  It was a small school, a small class, and he just thrived. Sadly, it's a private school, and other than the 1/2 day pre-k, it's out of our price range. New school is on the horizon for the fall. It's sad to leave such a great environment, but Timothy says he's looking forward to making new friends.

Anyway, the Pre-K graduation was held an afternoon about a week before the end of the school year, and was short and sweet. Perfect for a bunch of 4 and 5 year-olds. They came out for a short skit, poem and song...

Then they went inside and changed into their little caps and gowns. I thought they looked adorable, but Andrew thought they were wearing rain coats. A comment that drew several chuckles from the audience. =)

Timothy was so proud to get his diploma, and struggled to understand that his rolled-up yellow paper wasn't really his diploma. Once he got his "real" one, he was okay.

We are very proud of our little man, who has
learned so much, building on what I'd already tried to teach him, and went even further. He can write his name, and as long as I help him with spelling, he can write pretty much anything he sets his mind to. He's not reading yet, but he's close. He works on words constantly. (I personally do all I can to encourage a similar obsession with books to my own.) He's also putting 2 and 2 together, and always tells me about all the other things he's learned. Weather, bugs, you name it. And my favorite part? He's always showing his brother what he's learning. I love to watch that. =)

And Baby Makes 3... boys that is...

So, it's seven weeks overdue, but here's the story:

On Thursday, April 19, 2012, Nathan James Keisling joined us. He was 9 pounds, 4 ounces, 21 inches long, and absolutely adorable.

After the last two labors, we were expecting this one to take a while too. Maybe not eight hours, but when my contractions started coming fast and hard, I figured we had time. I finished making dinner, we fed the boys quickly, took them to a friend's house for the night, and arranged to arrive at the Birth Cottage at 8pm. After a quick labor, and the most comfortable I've ever had (As far as labor can be "comfortable" anyway), Nathan was born at 8:40. Good thing we got there when we did. =)

 The entire experience at the Birth Cottage was wonderful and unhurried, yet we still slept in our own beds that night. Our friends kept the boys until Saturday, but they did bring them over for a short peek at their new baby brother. Timothy was so excited, we thought his face might crack.

 Andrew was a little unsure at first, but within a few days, he was right on board. He kept saying "I hold him on Sunday after church" Right after church on Sunday, he proclaimed that he was now ready to hold the baby. And he did. Checking out all little brother's features, and asking me about each one. He's pretty much been in love since.

At first, there was a lot of sleeping, and thankfully I had some great help from John and my Mom the first few weeks.





Since then we've been adjusting to 5 people in the family instead of four. The boys and I have been slowly rebuilding our routine, and seem to have found a good rhythm. We haven't made it to playgroup again yet, but I blame the weather for that one. But, there's always a new baby to interact with...

Nathan has grown like a weed, and is a sweet happy baby. He will cry for hunger or when needing a diaper, but he's very alert, and loves to watch and interact. He watches his brothers play, he coos at the baby in the mirror, and loves it when people talk to him. I'm still trying to catch a good smile on camera, but we have seen plenty of them when the camera's now around. At 14 pounds, he he's no lightweight, but we think he's pretty cute.

Now if he'll just stop outgrowing his carseat... =)