Labor Day weekend with the fam

Last week I asked what we should do for Labor Day. "You know, something to really commemorate the holiday," I said. "Honestly, what do people do to celebrate Labor Day? Write thank-you notes to coal miners or something?"

No one really seemed interested in that idea, so this is what we did instead:

Saturday: Eric brought his parents and youngest brother for a glance around Baltimore. Nana had been in town to help us out for a week (hooray!). Then Grandpa and Uncle Sam flew in for the weekend (double hooray!). Here Sam and the big boys check out the Inner Harbor:

Later on we enjoyed dinner at my parents' house, topped off by an adrenaline-pumping BYU game in which the Cougs upset Oklahoma! With the Utes' 2008 season and this big win for BYU, good things are happening for the Mountain West Conference. How could you top a summer BBQ and BYU football? Great night!

Sunday: We had Eric's and my family over and then attended Adam's baby blessing at church together. Here the man of the hour gets spruced up for the day:

Unfortunately, I did not digitally capture his adorableness in his blessing outfit--oops! At least we remembered to get a shot of the relatives, who looked lovely despite an unfortunate lighting situation:

What joy to have both sets of grandparents and plenty of uncles and aunts attend! You're so loved, little Adam!

Monday: first we played some softball and enjoyed a neighborhood park.

Later we felled this pine tree, which I guess was about as close as we got to fittingly celebrating the holiday.

Going,

going,

(goofing),

gone!

I'm convinced that all postpartum recovery plans should include some type of lumberjack regimen. It felt incredible to work outside! My sister Michelle was happy to tend Adam for most of the afternoon:

The other boys helped move branches:

After a little post-shower relaxation, we headed home again. So I guess this means that summer's closing up? So long! It's been fun.

Our first day

Jacob began kindergarten yesterday. Notice the bursting enthusiasm!
I was so lonesome for him that I visited him at lunch just three hours after dropping him off. He was glad to see me, but he also didn't look back when he ran out to recess. My adjustment may take a little longer!

Smooth sailing

These guys have adjusted to Adam just beautifully! They're always willing to hold him so I can get some work done.

Michael even leaves him treasures.

And taking a baby around isn't as hard as it used to seem. We've been regulars at our local parks,

we've taken advantage of Safeway's (genius!) four-seater shopping cart,

and we've completed some fun home activities (easily accommodated by the newborn napping schedule). Behold, Jacob's space rocket!

Happy kids, happy baby,

happy mom.

By the numbers

Circumference of full-term belly: 41.5 inches

Pounds gained during pregnancy: 27

Calories required to gain 27 pounds: 94,500

Date of labor induction: 8-18-09

Time to get from 1 cm to 4 cm with ballon catheter: 5 seconds!

Pages of book Choosing Civility read during labor: 165

Bags of fentanyl administered via epidural during labor: 1

Number of pushes: 3

Time of delivery: 4:45 p.m.

Total time in labor: 8.25 hours

Baby's weight: 7 pounds, 11 ounces

Baby's height: 19 inches

Time from baby's birth until settling on a name for him: 6.5 hours (it's official: Adam Gregory Brinton!)

Days that Eric had to take off work for the delivery: 0

Pictures taken of Adam in his first day of life: 75

Adam's cuteness, quantified: 100%

Is there anything better than a new baby? What a wonderful day it's been to get to know this angelic little being. Welcome, Adam: we love you!

Happy Anniversary, Eric!

Here's hoping that the next seven years are as happy as the last! Love you!

Family fun with those growing boys

What fun we've had lately! I feel like each member of our family has been developing at warp speed, revealing distinct, growing, wonderful personalities. Here's the latest:

Eric has become more confident with life as a resident. I almost blush when I hear him say, "Hi, this is Dr. Brinton returning a page." Is this real life? At the dinner table when we talk about our days, everyone agrees that the happiest part is when Daddy comes home. Once he even came and surprised us at the pool:

Another time he and I had an "up-late date" after the kids went to bed. I got some delectable Cheesecake Factory desserts for the occasion (Did you know that July 30 is National Cheesecake Day? All the cheesecakes were half-price.).

Jacob must be anticipating his kindergarten days, because he seems more responsible, more curious, and more helpful than ever. Recently he's been initiating these fun mural activities: he'll research a type of environment and then illustrate it in detail. Including the research, this rainforest project kept him busy for about three hours. He even labeled things like "giant lily pads" and "decaying matter." Of course I help him with the projects, finding books and websites for him to study, and then looking up answers to the multitude of ensuing questions!

Oh, how I'll miss him when he goes to school! The other day we were playing Outburst and he was giving me clues for the topic "Animals in Australia."

"You've almost got them all, Mom. There are only two left, and one has a womb in it."

(At this point I'm wondering when he's learned about wombs, and especially why he thinks that the kangaroo and wallabies don't have them.) "A womb? Well, I guess I don't know."

"OK, I'll just tell you. It's a wombat."

Darling Zachary must be on an emotional growth spurt. He'll be a barrel of fun one moment, and then a crying mess the next! The breakdowns mostly have to do with a spilled dinner item, a soiled shirt, or some other unbearable condition ("I HAVE A SNEEZE, MOM!"). Other times they have to do with Michael. Yesterday, for example, I asked Zachary to share his bag of cookies with his younger brother. Zachary quickly folded the bag to his chest and announced, "The cookie market is closed!" We'll have to work on that one.

At least he didn't have to worry about Mike yesterday, when I took the big boys to a professional production of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile in D.C. (The library gave out tickets as part of their summer reading program. The prizes in summer reading are always amazing--last year we got free books and IMAX tickets).

Mike, besides the aforementioned scuffles with the brothers, is generally a happy guy. Make that a spirited, happy boy! The first week that he went to a new nursery at church, he successfully lead all the kids in pounding the table rhythmically and chanting, "No way! No way!" He also loves to run around our living room-kitchen circle yelling, "Train track! All aboard!" This can go on for ten minutes or so. What a riot!

I'm doing my best to keep the family happy, clean, and fed; the house, clean. And if that's all that I get done for the next few weeks, it will be enough! It's about two weeks until the new baby arrives, and my heart is already full of joy for his new little brother.

P.S. Some pictures of our trip to the Washington D.C. temple today:

The arrival of the POD and my shameless idolatry

Last week we arrived at our townhouse with some suitcases and laundry baskets. The children, typically, needed little to involve their interest:

I, on the other hand, was ready to bid the nomadic life goodbye. All this living out of suitcases business has been nice, but seriously, I wanted to see my overstuffed ottoman! My blue cookbook stand! The Museum of Art rowboat piece! And, oh, the books--hundreds of my books! I almost salivated the next morning as the POD backed in.

The day was too hot for moving. The gum on the pavement was beginning to melt, and the ice cream man was making more money than he should have.

But eight hours, four Papa John's pizzas, and six liters of soda later,

it was all here! Our bath towels and bed sheets, the tent and camping chairs, the framed pictures and the world globe--everything was here!

And then, a tinge of guilt: am I shallow to adore these boxes? Didn't I just tell my children about an English girl who left home with one little cherished sugar bowl? Didn't I herald her proper focus and bravery? And aren't I into Thoreau or something? How could it be that I didn't feel like I was home until I had some butcher paper and markers?

I like to think that my idolatry stems from the intangible aspects of my things, like the family memories associated with them. Perhaps the objects create a satisfying, familiar sense of place? Or it could be just plain old, selfish materialism: ship me out to the fourth circle, please! All I can say is that opening up the box with my white kitchen canisters in it felt incredible. I hope to feel the same way when I open the box with my iron in it, wherever it is.