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... =)

Spring Happenings

So.... between a lack of energy and motivation (due mostly to being hugely pregnant), and the general business of becoming not pregnant (There's a baby! Yay!) my blog and journal have both become sadly neglected.  Here is a sad attempt to partially catch up.

The first weekend in March, was the Father/Son campout at church. John bravely decided to take both boys, who couldn't be more thrilled. They started out nearly jumping out of their skins in excitement, and came home the next afternoon utterly exhausted. But once they had a bath and a short nap, they were ready to tell me all about it. They got to cook out, sleep in a tent, go fishing, and helped with a service project before they came home. John says that AJ needs to be potty trained next time, but other than that, it went very well. 

About a month later, John talked his very pregnant and uncomfortable wife into family trip to a FSU baseball game. It wasn't too bad. It was an evening game, so it wasn't too hot, and the boys had so much fun! There was a rain delay, and the stadium cleared out about halfway through, leaving the boys lots of room to watch the game, and even join in the heckling of the opposing pitcher. They kept hoping to catch a fly ball, but I didn't have the heart to tell them that the net overhead was preventing that....

The next day we met at the church to help with the cub scout service project. They were washing chairs. T was very helpful and intent. AJ... well, there were bubbles and water. And thankfully a towel to dry him off at the end. =)

Just before Easter, we spent a day at the beach. It was beautiful, and we all had a great time. There was a few moments of panic when Andrew took off into the surf alone, and I pulled my groin running to pull him out, but no one was hurt. And he now has a much safer appreciation of the surf. Hopefully that will last the next time we go... I'm also glad no one has evidence of my mad dash. 9 months of baby in my womb I'm sure made quite a sight....

The next week, Timothy's school had a family field day, and we went to that too. We didn't last the whole time, since it was pretty hot, (April in FL, go figure) but we had fun. The boys threw beanbags, races in sacks, and did the obstacle course. Over, and over, and over...

 Oh, and there was a free football game. Spring scrimmage. Probably the only one I will take small children to, but it was a fun family time. Good to get all those family activities in before.. Well, that's for the next post. =)

Prepping for Baby

For my part, baby prep started out as quite a long list, but I've whittled it down, and feel like I can finish before he comes.

In addition to ours, I've had several friends having babies as well, so I made 3 baby blankets, and have one left. I was waiting for my niece/nephew to find out what color to make the last blanket. My nephew arrived this week, so I can whip up something for him. I just have to settle down and pick a pattern. =) But, here are my efforts to date:

I've also decided to go the cloth diaper route, since last time I had 2 in diapers it got pretty pricey. I convinced John to let me try, did my research, and took some of our tax return for the initial investment. I decided to go with Pocket Diapers since the actual mechanics of changing them wasn't that unlike disposables: You stuff the middle with an absorbent insert at laundry time, and then just put it on when changing. Even John agrees they're not too bad. =) Andrew loves them, and they're adjustable to fit both boys.

Plus, and I never thought I'd say this (then, I never thought I'd go the cloth route either), but aren't they cute?

From deciding on cloth diapers, with all my research, it wasn't that much of a stretch to decide on cloth wipes as well. I usually bundle up the wipes in the diaper, and that won't work so well with disposable wipes. I had some old flannel sheets, so I found some DIY instructions, and started cutting them into squares. I borrowed a sewing machine, and ended up with about 80-something wipes. That should last me quite a while... =) Andrew loves them, and complains when they're not handy and I grab the disposable wipes. I need to set up a better station upstairs, but I'll get there. It wasn't a complicated sewing project by any means, but I'm still pretty proud of it.

I still need to finish putting the baby's room together, but it's slowly becoming a reality. John's got the furniture set up in there, so I just need to finish putting everything away. But like I said earlier, I've got a few weeks. Now to find a carseat.... =)

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So... I seem to have really slacked off on blogging lately. I should probably catch up before life gets too crazy again. =)

It's seems unreal that we only have about 6-7 weeks before our newest little one joins us. Physically, I'm ready for him to be here now, but realistically, I still have a lot to do in the coming weeks.

We have been busy getting ready for the little man though. With our tax return, we bought bunk beds for Timothy and Andrew, and some wheels for John.

It's been nice not having to juggle transportation. As for the boys, well, I'll let you judge. =)

We got the beds off of craigslist, and the safety rail was missing, so they served as solo beds until John could make one. Now that they're stacked, and our boys are beyond thrilled.

The boys keep me in a semi-constant state of amusement and amazement. Andrew is talking up a storm these days, and it's so much fun to finally know what's going on in his head. A few weeks ago, he came up to me with several of the little people from my old FP farm (nearly 30 year-old set) and said: "Look Mom, Fingerpuppets!"

He's also decided that that baby is "My Baby," not our baby, just his. Hopefully he's still just as excited when the baby is more than a vague concept in my belly. =) He's constantly telling me "I a Big Boy," and he really is.

It's also been fun to see all the concepts like time, days and months coming together for Timothy. It seems that he's almost always flipping through the calendar, figuring out the months, and asking me what happens in each month. He's been learning about the early presidents, and Martin Luther King in school lately, and loves to come home and tell me all about it. He tells me all about George Washington and the cherry tree, and Martin Luther King, although why he's so important is still a bit vague. We've expanded on it at home, and it seems to make sense. I did get a great laugh the day he brought this home:

We've also kept up our monthly visits to Home Depot (I'm shooting for this to be constant all year, but depending on baby day, that might be tricky. We'll see. =) So far, the projects have been fairly simple, and they are so proud of them. They are some of the youngest kids there, but they are fairly good with tools, considering their age. But, they are their Daddy's sons. =)

John had spring break this past week, and we spent a lot of it rearranging and doing baby prep, since John won't really have time to help me out again before the baby comes. My due date is finals week, so we're timing it close. =) Let the countdown begin!

Adventures at Home Depot

This week, I noticed online that Home Depot's children's workshop was building savings sheds this Saturday. I've been wanting piggy banks for the boys for a while, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity. And hey, it's free!

Unfortunately, John came down with a massive ear infection, and hasn't left the couch in three days. (Poor John...) I was counting on Daddy to take the lead on this one. But, since we'd already promised the boys, I couldn't let them down. We got up early, and headed out the door.

It was a fun little workshop. Prefab kits, and aprons they got to keep. (Apparently you get a new pin for each project you complete, so I can see us returning a lot.)

The boys loved it! They got to hammer in nails, screw in a screw, and even paint the roof on their shed. A few of the nails may be a bit crooked, and Mommy may have a slightly bruised thumb, but still, it was a nice way to spend and hour on a Saturday morning. =)