Camping

Fishing at a nearby smaller lake.

Perfect spot of solitude to fish.

The one caught fish that made us fishermen ;)

After all the worrying, she did fall in! Poor thing :(

The kids would have gone swimming, if we'd packed their suits! (Don't they realize it's autumn and freezing cold?!)

My survival guide

Lake Michigan and Nordhouse Dunes

It was cold. The fire was nice :) Smores, yummy dutch oven chicken dinner, eggs and bacon breakfast with toast and fresh local chocolate milk :)

Putting up the tent.

Camping wouldn't be complete without cleaning up pooo!

A few weeks ago we went camping! I really didn't want to go...so many reasons... but the scenery was beautiful, and we survived...maybe even had some fun, too!

"It's 4:30; time for milking."

Some of you may know this movie quote...(any takers?)

And yes, it's 4:30 in the morning, and I've been up with my baby since 3. He's actually quite pleasant (and wide awake) now that he's been fed and burped and diaper, changed twice. I, however, was starving and thought I better replenish the milk wagon. Some of you have been asking for more recent photos of Tyler...I guess that will have to wait until I upload them from the camera. He is as big as ever, continuing to grow. Another mommy I know has a 3-month-old son, and wanting to compare our boys' sizes, took a photo of them together . They're basically the same size! I'm not surprised, really, since I just put away his 0-3 month sized clothing (they typically go up to 12 lbs.). I don't know what Tyler currently weighs (he was 11 lbs. 4 oz. at his 2-wk check-up and he's about a month old now!), but he seems to be long in the torso. So even though the clothes were long enough to his toes, they often weren't long enough to his bum. What good does a onesie do if you can't snap it over the diaper? Well, Tyler is fussing now...better go help him...and see if I can get more sleep!

Welcome home, Tyler.

Here are some happy big sisters (for Sierra, it's the first time)! Kaitlyn is always quite the little mother, and she loves holding babies for long periods of time. Raquel wants to, but tires more easily and also has to compete with K! Sierra points, says "baby!", and tries to touch Tyler's eyes.

Raquel has such a tender soul -- here, while holding Tyler, she spontaneously burst into tears. We couldn't imagine what was wrong with her, so we asked. She answered between sobs, "the baby's crying!" We explained that this is just how babies tell us what they need, that it doesn't mean they are in trouble or pain, and she nodded, and her sobbing slowed.

Kaitlyn is content to hold the baby for 10-20 minutes at a time (maybe more). It's one of the few activities that gets her to sit still.

I've always loved baby hand pictures, especially comparing them with adult hands. The delicacy and intricacy is a marvel and a miracle (which emphasizes the miracle of life itself)!

We have a few other "baby foo foo" pictures of our other kids, so here's Tyler's. Awwwww!

Welcome home, baby boy! You are very welcome!

BELOW ARE BABY PIX OF OUR OTHERS-- JUST REMINISCING!

Sierra (2008).

Raquel, 2006.

Kaitlyn (the elf) (2003).

Adam at age 4 months (the first digital I could find!) (2002).

Unmentionables

Some things in life are so gross that if you ever find yourself doing them you may have a nasty shock or a good laugh. The demonstration Maggie gave me this evening of poo-shaping is one such instance.

When our 3.5 year old, non-potty-trained Raquel has a log in her drawers, we try to flush it (you know, keep the garbage clean and all that). But as we all know, well-formed logs don't deform very easily. This is not usually a problem, as potty-trained individuals (like you and me) produce log-shaped logs. But when a log-between-cheeks is sat upon, it becomes a roundish lump, sometimes with sturdy (sTURDY! Haha!) wings, like a manta ray. These do not flush, preferring to stay in the bowl. So Reshaping is necessary to enable flushing.

For some reason, I'm squeamish about reshaping the diaper lump (even through the diaper). So Mags showed me a vigorous and skillful reshaping that had us a flushable item straightaway. But as I watched, I had slight, but growing, waves of gross-out moving through my soul. I must've been watching with increasing horror as she performed her magic, when we both started sensing the hilariousness of the gravity of the situation, and we started cracking up until we cried. It's good to be a parent, because of the new things you get to learn.