With the flowers already addressed, this is going to be a small part of my Valentine's Day gift to my beautiful wife. She was just commenting on how negligent we have been on this blog- it's our set of memories in so many ways especially since keeping up on baby books and videos are also difficult to do. Fortunately our phones pick up bits and pieces, but stories behind most of the pictures and videos have yet to be told.
The complete entourage of 5 has been intake for now 3 months- Nolan now is well beyond his months in size and maturity... well, at least his size. Now topping the percentiles 93% I think in weight? He is a baby that is burgeoning with dimples and rolls. Fulfilling the example that our Audrey had provided. And fortunately skipping the colic that Everett had for his first 4 months, Nolan is a very chipper infant. Lots of smiles, coos, and purrs even starting at 2 months. Bumpa has made many comments on what a chatter-box he is. Now. I want to further clarify that he is not always roses. In fact, he is crying in his swing at this moment trying to figure out how to get to sleep. Never mind- he's out. Between naps, he is quite the mover and shaker- already finding a way to scoot up and over a boppie pillow- Jen has video evidence to prove it. Easily holding up his head most of the time. He is spending more time in his little Bumbo chair.
There was never a little brother that was more loved by his siblings. And as a result of that love, he has already acquired 2 colds. The first of which resulted in a fever at 5 weeks, an evaluation at St. Paul Children's emergency department, multiple neb treatments (essentially every 3 to 4 hours around the clock), and an week of sleepless nights. He just finished his second cold, fortunately without the 1st drama. As just a random aside, Nolan HATES his nebs with a passion, bobbing and weaving his little head to avoid any chance of encountering his little elephant mask. O2 sats were about 91% both in the ER and then his follow up clinic visit where upon he was almost sent back to the ER again...
True to the form set by his siblings, through illness and good health, the child doesn't sleep much. I am hoping that the American Academy of Pediatrics will change its stance on co-sleeping, if anything so we don't have to be guilt ridden parents. For the first month, I think that was pretty much all he would tolerate. Since then, things have been slowly getting better. Naps in the co-sleeper and 1 hour segments there at night in between feedings. As the dad (since I'm not lactating with this one), I simply have no right to complain, but it does have its wear n tear on the family as a whole. On certain weeks, the entire crew is up multiple times in the night. At that point, it's really just a matter of who is the most deliriously tired, as to who will be responding to coughing, tears, or episodes of puking. Can you tell that sleep has been in short supply the last 3 months? The last 3 months have been little and several moments of bliss enjoying the kids and getting the rest somewhere in between. That being said, an adult vacation is certainly due.
Audrey and Everett are simply thriving. Often times a dynamic duo, they pretend and play quite well most days. The sharing will always be a little issue from time to time, but little reminders usually do the trick. Audrey now 5 and 1/2 is LOVING preschool- now going 3 days out of the week. She is secretly married to a boy named Cade despite her father's wishes that she marries after she attends college. We usually hear at least 1 or 2 overtures about Cade's qualities at the dinner table each night. It was just last night that we heard about the elopement. Given her love of books, I have been working on "Bob books" with her and she is quite the reader- often times reading 45 page books (small simple sentences mind you) in a sitting. I am now just awaiting the day that she simply holes up in her room (as she does so many times already looking at pictures) and reads the books on her own. She used the word "literally" the other day in context. I am so proud of our wordsmith. The big news recently is that she won the school lottery (literally) for a spot at the Nuevas Fronteras Spanish immersion school. Of 60 spots for the kindergarten, 30 had already been taken by the siblings of existing students. With only 30 spots left and , I honestly had assumed that we would be on a waiting list. Waiting lists of 30 or more students are common with this school, but we made it without needing the extra drama. Nice.
Five is a fun age to start new activities. At home we're reading and just getting started playing checkers. Jen is much better at making sure she is signed up for activities... I am often times the one making sure we are not OVER-signing for activities. That being said, recent skating lessons are really starting to show their merit. Audrey is well beyond her "marching" on the ice- just yesterday spent a lot of time truly skating with confidence. 1/2 hour on the ice with instructors and free skating time that she can take advantage of afterwards. Most times, Everett and I meet her on the ice to chase each other around. Horseback riding lessons are imminent. We had a take a little mini-break from starting them... Audrey all of a sudden got "too busy" to use the potty and we had a few wet spots on the floor to address. Since we got that remedied, Audrey has been working on a chart of extra work around the house to earn horse riding lessons. It has gone pretty well overall. Every once in a while she says "I'm too tired!" to do work, slumping down on the floor in dramatic fashion... but fortunately that's pretty rare. One of our favorite moments at this point of her many special moments- pretty much every night comes down (after being tucked in) with her plans for the next day, week or month. Usually the most random of thoughts. One night telling us what a very specific itinerary would look like for our next Disney World trip (if we should choose to go). Another night with whiskers drawn on her face in permanent pen. This morning she burst into her own created song at the top of her lungs.
Then there is Everett- doing well on all fronts and every bit of a boy that one could imagine. His life is a full-on obsession with planes, trucks, engines, rocket ships, jumping/bounding/leaping leading from one minor injury to the next. Less verbal initially than his Audrey and cousin Georgie counterparts, he is now very much a chatterbox. I actually find even more joy and pride when he busts out of song- his confidence with words his just blossoming. Curiously he has an extra infatuation with batman and superman- often times shouting "Superman!" and running from room to room. Jen and I are still not quite sure where the obsession came from or even how her heard of either character- if anything, it only makes the whole thing that much more amusing. He is in between swimming lesson sessions right now, but very much loves, loves, loves the water. He loves looking under the water and swimming under the water. So, so very different from our Audrey. His age actually kept him from advancing dramatically further in his lessons, but we'll keep sending him as long as he enjoys it. Right now he is sufficing with going under the waves of the bathtub. He'll be thrilled to be back in the pool again. This summer is going to be a hoot at Nama's.
Finally, there is Jen and yours truly. Life has been beyond busy. I took some part time hours for about 3 weeks following Nolan's arrival, but now am very much back into the normal schedule. I still am located at the Entira Highland clinic off of Snelling and Randolph- have been there a little over a year now and despite being busier, it was the right move. I'm delivering lots and lots of babies, and makes me very happy. I have lots of side projects and those make me happy too. The only downside can be the drive too and from the clinic... but this winter has been fairly tame- last year was awful with the massive amts of snow holding up Hwy 94. My hot, beautiful, clever wife is just finishing up her maternity leave. It's usually bittersweet, but most of the time she is quite happy when she gets back in the swing of things. I'm not sure what happens when she does go back to work- the kids leave an insane mess. Just following Everett around and the debris that follows his every movement is truly overwhelming. But we get by one way or the other. She is helping me get the word out on my new practice- the most recent has been creating a logo, new business cards, etc. It's putsy work but now near its completion. Time to upgrade the website a bit and then on to the next project. Endless, inevitable. Jen and I are busy bodies. Much love to you all! Ryan, Jen, + Entourage
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