William and Charlie

It took William a couple of weeks, but his quiet acceptance and support of our newest baby has bloomed into outright adoration.

William is a happy, dependable guy, and I sure love having him around.  I think Charlie is beginning to feel the same way.

William loves, LOVES, to bring Charlie his pacifier and blanket.  He is very gentle.  This morning I had to shovel our driveway and when I came back in, I discovered that William had spent almost the entire time patiently and lovingly putting Charlie's pacifier back in his fussy little mouth.

William enjoys staring at Charlie.  (Charlie stares right back, because that's about all he can do, but I like to think he is enjoying it as much as William is.)

He loves making faces at Charlie.  Charlie seems to really be interested in William's silliness.

William is delighted with any little noise Charlie makes (and Charlie does make a lot of noises).

And William loves nuzzling Charlie's little face.  I often catch him loving on Charlie just as he is doing in the above photo.  He gives Charlie a million tender hugs a day and seems to be pretty fascinated with all the quirky little things our baby does.

Everett, Chess, and Sit-ups

Everett loves games.  He will play any kind of game, any time, with anyone.  He loves to win, but he has learned to accept defeat.

Joel and I gave Everett monopoly junior for Christmas.  He was excited to play it, but when Ashley volunteered to join the game, he became indignantly opposed to her participation.  "The box says age 6 and up!"  Everett insisted.  "Ashley is only five.  She can't play this game."

We reasoned with him, but he just grew hotter and hotter under the collar.  

Ashley didn't bother arguing with him.  She is used to waiting for Everett's heat to simmer itself out.  After a minute or two, and a little more reasoning from us, Everett came to terms with the fact that his kid sister was going to play and we all played an enjoyable game.

Everett is fun to play games with.  Everything that happens in a game is a very big deal to him.  He is so excitable, he often can't help himself from reaching out to hand the other players their cards during their turns.  He bounces up and down in his seat and his voice rises with each letdown or triumph or moment of tingly anticipation.

Everett enjoyed Monopoly Junior so much that he was determined to play the regular version of the game he found tucked away in our basement.  He asked Joel and me for days until we finally had the time to invest (Why does that game take so very long?) and agreed to try it out with him.  We spent well over two hours playing this game.  Everett's exuberance never waned; boredom never crept into his eyes; his bottom rarely even touched the seat of his chair.

We finally had to end the game so we could have dinner and pay attention to our other children.  After those two hours, Everett groggily returned to his non-monopoly existence like someone reaching out of a stupor.

So it is interesting that with all of his very vocal enthusiasm, Everett has taken a liking to Chess, the ultimate (quiet) gentleman's game.

Everett would play this game every day if he could.  Unfortunately, none of his siblings are very interested and his mother doesn't always have time to sit and mull over chess strategies.  Everett has only beaten someone (me) once, during an instructive game in which I had him redo many moves in order to teach him better observation and strategy.

But he keeps returning to the game.  I think he enjoys the challenge.  Everett loves overcoming challenge--when he does, the endorphins floating around him are almost tangible.

A few nights ago, I challenged the kids to see how many sit-ups they could do.  Ashley struggled with them, but got the hang of it.  Everett, however, was a machine.  He cranked out thirty of them without even breaking a sweat.  Joel even did a few less than he thought he could.  I did not even attempt them.

So tonight I challenged the kids again.  Ashley made it to fifteen and was happy to stop.  Everett wanted to make it to sixty so he could double his previous amount.  

He made it to sixty, then grinned at me.  "Mom," he said, "I'm going to make it to one hundred."  I laughed (because I'm super supportive like that) and encouraged him to try.  Did I think he could do it?  No way!  But I was thrilled to see him excited about it.

Everett reached one hundred sit-ups.  As soon as he did, the familiar twinkle reappeared in his eyes.  :Mom, I'm going to go to one hundred and ten!"  

"Go for it, buddy!"  I said.

Ten more sit-ups later, Everett collapsed on the floor, beaming with pride.  I congratulated him and asked if he wanted to call Joel, who was out of town.

"Papa!"  Everett said, "I did one hundred and ten sit-ups today!"  Joel said something I couldn't quite hear, to which Everett said, "Yeah, one hundred and ten, really!  Do you think you could do one hundred and ten sit ups?"

"Yeah, I could do one hundred and ten," Joel said, a little too nonchalantly, it seemed.  

Everett was skeptical.  "Then why was your face so red last time when you just did thirty?  Like, it was really red."  His eyebrows raised, he cocked his head to one side, and his hand gestured out in demonstration of his skepticism.

I didn't hear Joel's reply due to my explosive laughter, but I imagine he was laughing, too.

Charlie

We have been having a lot of fun with our new little buddy!

He is the most awake at night.  The lighting on this picture is horrible but I just love seeing those wide open little peepers.

Why are baby profiles so cute?  I can't be the only one who thinks this, right?

Charlie has been getting a lot of attention.  Everett likes to do his daily reading while snuggling the little guy.

Ashley likes to hold Charlie as well.  One night she even asked to hold him in bed while I was reading Lassie to her.  They both fell asleep.  It was adorable.

James loves to grab Charlie and smell him.

Charlie is learning to anticipate these events.

But James is really pretty gentle for a two-year-old.  He loves to hold Charlie.  Let me tell you, the boppy is great for helping kids hold babies.  It is the perfect platform for weak little toddler arms.

James loves giving Charlie his pacifier.  I think it must be like playing with a fun, moving puzzle piece.

One day, James overheard Everett and me talking about how good babies smell.  James has been interested in smelling Charlie ever since.  "I smell Charlie's hair, Mommy!"  James will announce proudly.

William also likes smelling and feeling Charlie's hair.  He remarks often on how soft it is.  William also brings Charlie his pacifier if he is crying, and he very sweetly tucks Charlie's blanket around him if it gets loose.

William enjoys comparing Charlie's tiny body parts with his larger ones.  He is especially fascinated by Charlie's little ears.

Even though William is not really very interested in babies, he shows his affection in a lot of quiet, sweet ways.  

Everett took this picture.  I am usually on the other side of the camera so I was glad to have this one.

Charlie is two and a half weeks old now, and he has already changed so much!  I had to take some pictures today and try to capture his two-week sweetness.

One of my favorite things about brand new babies is that they have little wrinkly necks.  They remind me of turtles extending out of their shells when they try to raise their proportionally large heads.  I see this picture and all I want to do is kiss those little neck creases a thousand times over.

This smile is from gas.  Charlie was working on his digestion.  The facial expressions are hysterical.  And this boy is a grunter.  I can always tell when he is about to fill his diaper because he grunts really loudly for a few minutes before it happens.

Charlie also has a sweet little chin.  

OK, so I am a baby person.  I know not everyone is, but I really enjoy this age.  Babies keep me up at night, sure, but they don't talk back and they don't need to be entertained.  They are snuggly little bundles of warmth and sweet-smelling breath, and if all I do is hold a baby and keep it fed during the day, I can consider myself productive.  

(*Disclaimer:  I have not had a baby with colic.  *knock on wood*)

You could have skipped all of the words and pictures to get to the gist of the entire post right here: We are having a ton of fun with the newest member of our family!

Basketball

This winter, Everett and Ashley had their first experience with basketball.  Our city runs a little league that lasts six weeks and we thought it was the perfect opportunity to give the two of them a little taste of the sport.

Ashley initially was fine with playing.  We don't care if she loves the sport but we'd like to give her a chance to decide for herself.

After the first game, Ashley's enthusiasm waned significantly.  She spent the majority of her second game skipping around the court, absorbed in her own little world, with no attention on where the ball or her team was.  In addition to skipping, she began drawing her pointer fingers together, then apart, then together, then apart.  

Joel pulled her aside after the game and asked what she was doing with her fingers.  "I was spinning my web!"  Ashley said, as though it should be obvious, because her team was called the Spiders, after all.

Treats are served after every game.  One week, the treats were served out in the parking lot.  Ashley panicked in the gym when the game was over and saw no treat.  She almost burst into tears.  I think the treat was the only reason she continued to go willingly to her games.  

Ashley had a really great coach.  He was energetic and positive and encouraging.  He was everything a coach to five and six year old girls should be.  He was very understanding of Ashley's lack of interest in the game. 

 Ashley's coach found ways for her to participate, such as giving the ball to her to dribble down the court.  

He also kept encouraging her to guard and keep her hands up.  (No, it didn't usually work too well!)

Joel took Ashley to most of her games, but I did have the opportunity to go to one.  Ashley participated well during the first quarter, so I took lots of pictures.

Suddenly, Ashley came bouncing over to me.  "I get to sit the next two times!!!!" She was thrilled to not have to play.

So, I don't think basketball is Ashley's thing.  But I was glad she had the opportunity to find out for herself.

Everett was also on a team.  He was thrilled that their name was the Rebels (just like the Rebel Spy in the Star Tours ride at Disneyland, he informed me).

Everett had a lot of enthusiasm for the game. He was very vocal his first game (those of you who know Joel are probably laughing right now).  He cheered for his team and encouraged people to pass the ball.  He toned it down for the rest of the games but still really enjoyed playing.

Everett wasn't too comfortable with dribbling, but since traveling was not an issue in this league, he was ok.  He didn't make a lot of baskets or have a lot of amazing plays, but he enjoyed the game and that is the most important thing.

Even though Everett was one of the oldest on his team, he was not one of the tallest!  I am glad this did not deter him.  Height is not something any one of our kids will have extra of, I think.

One of Everett's favorite parts of the game was when he got to sit--because he loved talking with the assistant coach.  I am not sure what he talked about, but he did ask her one time what the score was.  "Let's just not worry about that right now," she said.  This league does not keep track of the score.  I think Everett wished they did (and so do I).  

Everett also loved getting a treat after each game.  

All in all, I think Everett really enjoyed playing and would happily do it again.  Everett has enjoyed any team sport we have put him in, regardless of his ability to play it well.

Our New Baby is Here

We are thrilled to say that another little boy has joined our family!

I am also thrilled to say that he made his debut a week before his due date (as he was my first baby to come early, he may or may not be on the fast track to becoming my favorite child, don'ttelltheothers).

Labor was great.  And by great, I mean it didn't take too long (favorite child, ahem).

My water broke at around 1:30 am on Thursday January 23rd.

We called the babysitters, who were good sports and came immediately over to sleep on our couches and perform the morning duties.

We got to the hospital a little after 2 am.  My contractions were still pretty irregular.

Little by little, the contractions sped up while Joel and I watched some boring TV shows.  

The baby's heart rate kept going way down unless I was in a very uncomfortable position.  So I stayed in that position for quite some time.  I am not sure if that negatively affected my contractions, but I will just say that these contractions were much worse than any others I've had.  I have done this four other times and never has the contraction monitor shown my low point to be at the top of the graph and my contraction to be way off the charts.

After an hour of those and not too much progress, I was shaking and ready to vomit.  When the nurses told me the anesthesiologist was just outside the door and was ready to come right that second, I figured I'd better go for it. 

I did, and the last hour of labor was awesome.

Charles Benjamin Johnson was born at 5:45 am.  He was 7 pounds, 3 ounces and only 19.5 inches long.  He had a head of hair just like my other babies, but his was a lighter brown.

Joel and I better not have any more boys, because I think we are out of names we can agree on.  Having four boys in seven years has really done a number on our creativity.

Joel took some pretty good pictures of our little squishy guy.  I think maybe he has had some practice with this over the last few years!

Charlie must have been pretty greased up because he came out in just one push.  No cone head for this guy!

Look at that squishy, swollen little face!  Oh, and the baby is pretty cute, too.

Joel braved the frigid winter weather and brought all the children to see me in the hospital.  I appreciated it--hospitals are so boring!  It was wonderful to have my little chatterboxes around me again.

Everett had been waiting for this day ever since this summer when he found out I was pregnant.  This kid looooooves babies.  He woke up bright and early the morning Joel and I were at the hospital, and was so thrilled to see that the babysitters were there that he immediately ran upstairs and woke everyone up in his excitement.

I can definitely picture this.  If there is one thing Everett is not when he is excited, it is quiet.

Ashley has been excited in her own special, quiet way.  Ashley has a lot of love in her heart but she doesn't like to project it all the time.  She likes to hold it close.  Ashley enjoyed talking to Charlie before he was born and she never failed to mention him in her prayers.  She just knew he would be a special addition to our family.  

So it was fun to see her get a chance to meet her new brother.  Ashley is a quiet caretaker.  All of her brothers trust her implicitly.  They have complete confidence in her companionship.  I am sure that Charlie will feel the same way.

I was not sure how James, who enjoys being coddled the baby, would react to a new baby of the family.  I shouldn't have worried.  James was thrilled to meet his new little brother and asked to hold him several times during their hospital visit.  James still asks me several times a day if he can hold "Baby Charlie."  He also loves trying to fit the pacifier in Charlie's mouth, or tucking blankets and toys around him.

William is not so much a baby guy.  He wasn't interested in holding Charlie, but that was perfectly fine.  Babies are not much fun to a three-year-old.  So far William has been watchful and caring toward his brother, and is visibly distraught when Charlie is crying.  It will be fun to see them begin to play together more.

I enjoyed two days in the hospital.  It was nice to have time to just focus on little Charlie without having to worry about taking care of anyone else.  I always wish I had more time in the day to hold my snuggly newborns.  The hospital stay is nice if only for the fact that I can hold him for however long I want without any real interruptions.

I was changing Charlie one day and had to get a picture of him by his name tag.  

His hair looks pretty dark in this picture, but you can kind of see the lightness around the edges.

I took more photos when he was about four days old.  We have loved having this little guy join our family!

He has been pretty smiley.  It can't be just gas (I tell myself, anyway).  I was talking to him the other night when he was awake, and he kept looking right at me and smiling.  I like to think that he is glad to be here, too.

Why is it so adorable when tiny little babies cry?  Is it just me?  Ooookay, then.

This little baby is going to get a whole lot of love over the next few years.  That is some consolation considering that he will be at the bottom of the pecking order.  

Welcome to the family, Charlie!