Jack

On April 2 we welcomed our 3rd child Jack Gordon Young into the world. He is named after both of Brian's grandfather's, he weighed in at 7 lbs and 10 oz and was 19 inches long. Yesterday we had his 2 month check and he had already grown 5 inches. Is that not ridiculous? Anway, his birth story was the most dramatic so far. I had been having contractions all week, but I did that with Caroline and Caleb for weeks before they were born and they were both late. Jack wasn't due until April 9 so I wasn't thinking much of it. The 4 of us were eating lunch at Baja Fresh when my water broke, Caroline announced she needed to poop and Caleb choked on a ring of Caroline's he put in his mouth and threw up all over the table all at about the same time. Poor Brian almost had a heart attack. Um, I don't want to gross anyone out but there was amniotic fluid everywhere. And I mean I was sitting in a chair soaking wet with a huge puddle on the floor and it continued to get bigger and bigger for the next 5 minutes while Brian sorted out the kids and pulled the car up. I refused to get up until the car was right outside because I didn't want people to see that the back of my dressed was soaked. The funny thing was that NO ONE noticed. And we didn't tell anyone we just booked it out of there, I mean what do you even say? "Sorry, we spilled some amniotic fluid over here" Hopefully they thought it was a juice box or somthing. We called my poor mom who had just gotten back to Charlottesville after spending 2 weeks with us (I had a bad case of the flu that turned into pnuemonia and my mom cut short a trip to africa to come home and take care of us, but that's a whole other blog post) and she turned back around to come stay with the kids, headed home and threw everyone down for naps. I took a shower which almost gave Brian another heart attack because I was having strong contractions by then but did I mention yet that I was COVERED in amniotic fluid?!? And we made it to the hospital in time for me to get an epidural and deliver our 3rd and FINAL child. Yes that's right, we are done having babies over here. Probably. The hardest thing about his delivery was that since I had pnuemonia it was really difficult to take a deep breath for pushing, but once we figured that out they hooked me up to an oxygen machine and he was born a few minutes later. He came out crying but the moment they handed him to me he looked right at me and stopped crying and basically hasn't cried since. And let me tell you I am completely in love with this little guy, he is the sweetest most appealing child. I was so overwhelmed with Caroline because everything with your first is so new and unknown, and then when Caleb was born the transition from 1 to 2 was really hard, but 2 to 3 hasn't been that bad and I feel like I am able to enjoy him in a way that I wasn't able to enjoy the other 2. It doesn't hurt that he is such an easy baby, no reflux, sleeps on his own, goes down awake, doesn't need to be held, smiles and coos anytime you look at him and just goes with the flow. His brother and sister adore him, he gets rough hugs and slobbery kisses all day long from them. He eats a lot, but is starting to go anywhere from 5-8 hours at night so I can forgive him for his healthy appetite during the day. Luckily he is a very quick nurser so that's nice. We all love him to pieces and we feel like he completes our family and are so blessed to have him here. I had low expectations for what life would look like with 3 babies 3 and under but I am happy and a little proud to admit that most days we are all fed and dressed and clean even, and manage to still go run errands, meet friends and do all the things I thought we wouldn't be able to do for the next 3 years or so. All in all adding another didn't really slow us down a whole lot and we love our new family!

New Year's Eve 2010

Look at me posting twice in one week. To be a better blogger may or may not have been a new year's resolution :)

I was lucky enough to inherit a great group of friends from Brian when we got married. All of these guys went to college together and 2 of the wives, The other 2 wives and I "married into" the group, although I don't ever feel like an outsider. All of these couples have become our closest friends. They are so easy and fun to be around and our kids are all about the same ages and play very well together. For a group of kids under 9 :) We do an annual beach trip together that includes another couple or 2 depending on everyone's availability, last year we had 12 adults and 13 kids. It could either be a nightmare or a blast and so far it's always been a blast! We spend New Year's Eve together every year, alternating between Nova and Richmond and it is one of my favorite traditions. These families are so easy to be around, we don't see each other and or talk all the time but when we do it is like no time has passed, there is no awkwardness, it is just easy and fun. And I love that Brian has been best friends with these guys since his freshman year of college. This year we watched old college videos for a little bit and it was hilarious. Brian looked all of 12 years old and was a beanpole. Still hot though :) Below are some pictures of us all hanging out during the day, the guys played Wii, the kids ran around and had a great time, the girls caught up in the kitchen and ate (I parked myself in front of Ali's bean dip and pretty much didn't move for 2hours. What, I am eating for 2!)






Then we put the kids down and changed for dinner. My mom was nice enough to come and babsit for us so we left our kids at home. We were torn because we love to have them play with the other kids who they don't always get to see, but it's so much easier for us to not have to put them down to sleep alongside 10 other kids (who went to bed pretty well all things considered) so we left them with my very capable mom and they never knew they missed anything. Leah and I are both pregnant with boys and due within 6 weeks of each other. So fun! And yes, I did notice that I am about 3 times her size. Probably because I do things like park myself in front of
bean dip for 2 hours.







Ps. Thanks Ali, Leah and Courtney for the pictures! Not only am I horrible about blogging our memories, I always forget my camera to take pictures of them.

And it's a....................(six weeks late, are you sensing a theme here?)

nother boy! Oops if you are just finding out from our blog that in April we are having another boy. I meant to tell everyone but apparently didn't pass it along very well :) We had decided to not find out the sex (we were suprised with Caroline and then found out with Caleb) but then were going back and forth about it at the last minute, when we went it for my 20 week sonagram it was immediately obvious from the first picture that it was indeed a boy, so there you go. If you come over I'll show you the picture, because I think it's hilarious that it is so obvious. I can't ever tell what anything is during my sonagrams, I usually mistake my kidneys for the head etc. We are super excited and can't wait to meet the little guy at the beginning of April. I have several good friends that are pregnant within a few weeks of me having boys also, and a few more that haven't found out yet so he should have plenty of friends to play with. Brian is just excited to have another boy in the house for Caleb to play ball with or some "manly" sport like that. Right now his day consists largely of tea parties and dress up. Caroline sort of glazes over when we ask her if she is excited for another brother, but she is VERY excited to have a BABY in the house, she wants to hold him and feed him and change his diaper and I think it's so funny because Caleb was a baby a few months ago and she was not interested in him at all. I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am going to be outnumbered by the men in the house, for some reason this thought is a strange one to me. Can't promise there will be an attempt to even out the numbers, although never say never I guess!

Caroline and Caleb as newborns:
(Caleb first and then Caroline below him)

Caleb is 1

Oct 4 my baby turned 1. It makes me sad, but then again I'll have another baby in April so I guess I can live with it :) He is such a sweet little guy, very loving, always giving kisses and hugs. He will run over and give me a huge hug and then tear off and destroy something. He is ALL BOY, so active and into everything. He walks now, has for about 6 weeks and it has really changed things around here! In a way it makes life easier, he isn't crawling on the dirty floors when we go out and is much happier now that he can walk like his sister. The downside is that he is still little and doesn't follow direction very well, he wants to walk everywhere so when we are out he whines till I let him and then he wanders off or falls etc and now he and Caroline can take off in opposite directions so we are working on that one. He doesn't love "big people food" and actually doesn't eat all that much. I try not to worry about it since his weight is fine, it is more annoying than anything else. I would like for him to feed himself more so I can get a break before I am feeding the new one all the time. Can you tell I think about how soon we are having another one a lot? Yea, there are days I go into full panic mode because I can hardly handle these 2 and I don't know who is going to take care of the next one :) I have had some friends offer, so that is nice. Just bring the new baby back when he/she sleeping through the night, thanks! Kidding, we are excited, just a little bit nervous! But back to Caleb, Brian and I enjoy him so much and think he is such a sweet, lovable little guy. It's funny to me how different he and Caroline have been since day 1. I mean he is all boy, and she is all girl and we notice it so much since we have them to compare. Caroline continues to "love" aggresively on her brother. He ADORES her, I am glad he hasn't noticed she isn't as into him as he is into her, and her rough love has made him very very tough.
Caleb at 1: Walks, says mama, dada, uh oh, bye bye and ball. My mom swears he says thank you but I have yet to hear this. He LOVES to dance, turns in circles and bops around when there is any music or singing, claps his hands and laughs. It is hilarious. He continues to L.O.V.E. his daddy, it is really really sweet. He has his moments where he prefers his momma but for the most part wants Brian if Brian is available and I have come to terms with this :) He loves balloons, if he sees one he points and chants "ba ba ba" and he has one from his birthday party that he drags around with him all day, it is on a string and he pulls it like he is walking a pet. He loves the swings at the playground, he can't wait to get in it once we get there. He likes to be held, mostly when I am trying to do something else like clean or cook. He tries to do everything Caroline does. He is getting really into books and will now sit still for most of a story instead of grabbing it and trying to eat it. He still takes 2 naps (most days) and sleeps a good 12 hours at night. He is really into balls, he loves to kick, throw, carry, them. He is actually pretty impressive with a soccer ball, probably because he studies everything his sister does and tries to copy her. We may have a little athelete on our hands.
My little sister was just here with my 7 month old nephew and Caleb was so sweet and gentle with him, which was nice to see since that is not what he has experienced with his sibling! He gave Joshua tons of kisses every day and pats, and wanted to play with him. He did not like when I held Joshua though, that was a bit alarming but he will hopefully grow out of that by April. He frequently walks up to strangers wanting to be held, but at the same time has started to freak out when we drop him at the nursery or my bible study on wednesday morning. Hopefully this will pass, I can only handle one hysterical child at a time and Caroline still brings the drama whenever we have to leave her somewhere.
He brings us so much joy and we adore him. I can't imagine not having him as a part of our family and it's hard to remember when he wasn't around. 2 is definitely more work than 1 and I imagine 3 will be more than 2 so we are enjoying these last few months as a family of 4 and looking forward to our new additon in April.

Caleb at 9 months (6 weeks late)

I cannot believe little man is almost 1. This year has FLOWN by. Don't get me wrong MANY of the days have dragged on, but it is crazy to me that he is almost 1 year. Anyway, he is such a joy to us and we all adore him. Caroline is a little more agressive than Brian and I in showing her love. There are days where I think she is trying to kill him and disguise it as a hug, but that's normal right?? We used to think Caroline was super active, more like a boy than a little girl but we have changed our opinion on that now that we actually have a boy. She was just busy, Caleb is active and I now know the difference! He started army crawling at 5 months and was crawling for real the day he turned 6 months, started pulling up a few days later. We had to lower his crib matress all the way months ago and have had to childproof way more than we did with Caroline. We actually never did really childproof for her, because I could watch her all the time, but that is much harder with 2 and if I take my eyes off that boy for 1 second he is halfway up the stairs or trying to eat a power cord. He cruises around on the furniture and can stand on his own. We were always so proud of Caroline's developmental milestones, and I am definitely proud of him but come on, you want your second kid to sit there and smile at you quietly and stay out of trouble. And he does not stay out of trouble

His number one goal is destruction, everything he gets ahold of he tries to eat, hit, pull apart, destroy or throw. He loves to dance, it's hilarious. If he is cranky and you start to sing to him he will smile and wave his arms around and if he is really feeling it he will stand up and do some pelvic moves that totally crack us up. He is a smiley, happy little guy, until he is not that is. When he is unhappy you KNOW IT. I think I have mentioned before that he has a scream that is unlike anything I have ever heard before. He has turned into a really good sleeper, sleeps a solid 12 hours at night and takes 2, 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps a day. He loves to be out and about, loves his sister, loves balls and LOVES his daddy. He completely prefers Brian to me, it makes me so mad. I mean I meet all of his needs all day long and when Brian gets home he cannot get to him fast enough. He kicks and cries till Brian picks him up and doesn't want anything else to do with me. Caroline however, is still a total mama's girl so I guess I should be grateful that they dont both want me all the time. It's actually really cute and Brian loves it so I am ok with it :) He says mama, dada and bye bye and we are pretty sure he knows what they all mean, he waves, and he is really into copying us these days. For instance when I put a hat on him he takes it off and tries to put it back on himself and after his bath when I comb his hair he grabs the comb and combs his own hair which is so adorable. He loves to eat, I am sort of a chicken on giving him foods because both he and Caroline throw up pretty easily if they choke on something because of their reflux and I am so over getting puked on. But he has had a grilled cheese, eats peanut butter crackers (I accidentally gave him peanut butter and he didn't react to it, now it's one of his favorites) pretzels and other assorted finger foods.

At his 9 month checkup he weighed 22 lbs and was 30 inches long, and he already wears mostly 12-18 month clothing. He looks just like his daddy, oh and every morning when I go into get him up he reaches for me and gives me a big wet kiss on the mouth. We love him so so so so much and want at least 1 maybe 2 more just like him and his sister:)

Ireland

My baby sister lives in Dublin with her Irish husband Jeff, they had a baby boy this year on Feb 23. So on April 30, Brian, Caroline, Caleb and I all flew to Dublin to visit them and meet my new nephew Joshua. (Joshua and Caleb, isn't that cute!?!) We were pretty nervous about the flight, there are no direct flights so we had to fly to JFK and then to Dublin and total travel time was 15 hours or something like that, Caroline doesn't sleep unless she is in her crib or pak and play, and Caleb hates to be confined now that he can crawl SO we had low expectations for the flight but the kids were little rockstars on the plane and we got lot's of compliments from other passengers once the flight was over. They were probably so sad when they saw us boarding, and then relieved we didn't have criers the whole 7 hours. It was a little bit exhausting entertaining both kids for that long (Caleb did sleep for about 1/2 the flight) but worth it. The trip home is another story but I'll get to that.

Once we got there we eased into the new time zone the best we could, we pretty much ended up keeping the kids up later so it wouldn't be too hard to adjust back once we got home. The first night we were there I put Caroline to bed at 8pm and she sletp until 1:30pm the next day. I would have been happy just to sit around the house and hang out with my sister and my ADORABLE nephew Joshua but we actually did a ridiculous amount of stuff considering we had a 10 week old, 7 month old and 2 year old to tote around. We spent a few days in Donegal where Jeff grew up and his family still lives. It is beautiful, on the Irish coast. We went to the beach one day, sweet Caroline was so excited when she heard we were going to the beach and then it was windy and freezing and she had forgotten that she hates sand. She was a good sport about it though. On our way back from Donegal we stopped at Giant's Causeway, and then at Dunluce Castle which was on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It sounds so silly but the ocean really looked like sparkling diamonds, I can't even describe how gorgeous it was. We also hung out with friends at the Dublin zoo, went to a playground on the grounds of a castle, fed ducks at a pond by my sister's house, went to a famous pub, and went to another pub in the center of Dublin for Irish singing and dancing. See, aren't you proud of us? (we left the kids with a sitter for the pubs) It's hard on "vacation" (is it really a vacation when you have small children? It's really more a relocation) to juggle getting out and about and the kids schedules, and I am all for messing with the schedules every now and then but if the kids aren't rested and behaving no one is having fun. Our kids did so great though, Caroline went several days with no nap and was delightful and fun and loved being out and about and would just sleep in the next morning a little later. Caleb, well Caleb was a bit of a stinker, my sisters house is spacious in that we all had our own rooms but you could hear everyone so we couldn't really let him cry that much for naps and at night. He caught on pretty quickly to that and started taking 20 minute naps and waking up 4 or 5 times at night. It was like having a newborn, it got pretty frustrating towards the end of the trip, especially since he sleeps through the night at home. He was in a great mood though, as long as you weren't trying to make him sleep, and when we were out he just slept in the ergo carrier on Brians back. It's a good thing he is so cute.

My sister is such a great mom, she was so laid back and such a gracious host. You would think this was her 5th child not her first. And Joshua is a cutie, sweet, GOOD baby. He just eats and sleeps and smiles No fussing, no crying just a happy, chubby little guy who was content to share all his toys with his cousins and let Caroline poke him in the eye and take his pacifier whenever she wanted to. We loved being with my sister and Jeff and seeing their beautiful home, visiting the church where Jeff is a Pastor, meeting there friends and seeing what their life is like. I hate that she lives so far away from me but I feel a little better about it having seen it all firsthand and meeting all of her very nice friends.

Our trip back, well, it was just about the worst case scenario. From door to door it took 25 hours, just about everything that could have gone wrong went wrong, the airline was ridiculous, a crazy lady told me to "shut that kid up so she could hear herself think" about Caroline who only cried about 5 minutes combined the whole trip home even though she was beyond exhausted. I lost it and yelled back, it wasn't pretty. The whole day was so awful and once we finally made it to JFK all the flights were done for the day so we ended up renting a car and drove home, got back at 2:30am. I have never been so happy to be anywhere as I was to walk in the door of our home. It took a few days to shake it all off, but we are all recovered, back on our schedules and missing our Irish relatives. When I upload the pictures it shows up in my post as code so I can't label them. Does anyone else have that problem or know how to fix it? We had about 300, here are a few...

Easter 2010

This year for Easter we headed to Blacksburg. Our first long car ride as a family of 4. Um, it didn't go well. Either way, it took us about a week to recover from the trauma of it. Caleb all of a sudden does NOT like to be confined to his carseat and he basically cried the whole time he was awake. Even when I crawled back there to entertain him, just cried and cried. And when this kid cries, he sounds like he is being mauled by lions, its crazy. He tricks us everytime into thinking that something is actually really wrong but the second you pick him up he is one big smile, it's SO ANNOYING and it sort of makes me want to hit him, but instead I smother him with kisses and thank the Lord for the gift of children :) When Caleb had his six month check up the Dr. told us he was the most advanced 6 month old he had even seen, because he can crawl and pull himself up and he is crazy strong. Brian is so proud and I am like are you kidding me, I need him to just sit there quietly in the same spot and smile for at least 3 more months. Instead he is into EVERYTHING and can't stand to not be moving around. He doesn't have the control he needs yet so he bumps into everything and gets frustrated easily and cries a lot, lets just say it makes for some challenging days. Oops this post is supposed to be about Easter. Anyway, once we got to Blacksburg we had a great time. We went to a duckpond and fed the ducks, white bread, Caroline refused to throw hers she just ate it and took down about half the loaf. She kept saying "cute ducks" it was very sweet, as she is shoveling their food into her mouth. Brian's parents had an Easter egg hunt for Caroline after church, she wasn't that into it until she realized there was candy in the eggs and she was beyond excited. She would grab one rip it open shove all the candy in her mouth and race to the next one. By the end of the hunt she had 10 eggs worth of m&ms and jelly beans in her mouth and I was nervous we were going to have a puking incident (wich happens frequently by the way) but she managed to swallow it all and was very pleased with all her eggs. Caleb didn't notice that his eggs were empty, he was just glad he wasn't in his carseat!