You're One, Lil Joe!

Happy Birthday to our Little Joe! Can you believe it's been a year? And he's getting so big. He's actually walking now and chasing his siblings...when they're not around, he's chasing the cat. Still just as happy as could be.

So, five children later, and we still haven't had one who wants to make a huge mess out of their first cake. Joe had to encouraged to poke the frosting. But still, he didn't know what to make of the big, colorful cake in front of him. Nor did he know what to do with the candle. Someone else blew that out for him. Ah well. They all learn by their second what to do with cake and ice cream!

Thanks to everyone for a great birthday! He got some wonderful clothes...which he desperately needed. It would seem that his older siblings have worn out all the "hand-me-downs." Ah well. He'll never really have to complain about never getting new stuff.

Joe didn't know what to do with this ball. It had squishy little spikes coming out from it and the soft plastic texture was not one he even wanted to touch. John, on the other hand, loved playing with it. I guess birthdays can be fun for everyone! Thanks for the happy day.

Here's to loads more birthdays, Joe Joe!

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Freedom Days! We spent Friday morning before the fourth watching hot air balloons inflate and then rise into the sky. The kids were pretty impressed by the amount of fire it took to get the balloons into the air. It was awesome! The wind actually allowed the balloons to go up this year but wasn't cooperating enough to let the balloons play their games. Ah well. I guess you can't have it all.

We had a few "characters" show up this year for the festival. Smokey the Bear (as seen from below) and the pink piggy bank are regular attendees. The Coke bottle showed up after all the balloons had left the field. But the main attraction was the Darth Vader balloon all the way from Belgium. Wow! There were even stormtroopers, Darth Vader, and the Emperor who made their appearance. It was fun!

Speaking of the Coke balloon. It inflates but rarely flies. The crew actually had volunteers from the crowd (preferably those under the age of 12) come roll the air out of the balloon before it got stuffed in the giant bag and put in the trailer. We talked John into helping out with the crew. And before the end of the line, Jack decided to help a little. We got that on video.

All of the kids were pretty good. We all tumbled out of bed and they showed up in their jammies. It was so much fun. Maybe we'll see some of you next year and we can show you around the festivities!

Welcome Home Lil' Joe!

And we added number seven to our family this past March! Joseph Michael was born on March 21st at 6:14 pm. Amazingly, he was also 6 lbs. 14 oz. Talk about coincidence! And it wasn't even a hard labor on Mom! Yea!

Joe had to spend a week in the NICU because of various reasons that all turned out to be fine. He couldn't keep his blood sugars at levels that satisfied the doctors and then they ran some more tests only to find he might have an infection/inflammation somewhere in his body. All of those blood tests came back normal/negative, so he cleared that test just fine. Then, to help him keep his sugar levels higher, they force fed him through a tube.

Anyway, long story short, he gained weight nicely and is now home. He has surpassed his birth weight (which usually happens by the second week of life, not the first 8 days!) and is working on a schedule that matches more of our family's needs.

My stay at the hospital wasn't all bad. I had some great visitors and the hospital food was actually awesome! They are starting a new program at the hospital where you get to choose from a menu, so every meal has an individual touch to it. The above one was my lunch. Loads of food available and when it came, it was enough to share with another adult too. Wow! Shawn was a little jealous that I got pizza for two days. Ah well. I told him he could have the next baby and get pampered.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of our newest member! He is everyone's favorite. John and Kelsey are constantly battling as to who gets to carry/hold Joe. Bekah calms down as soon as she has her little brother in her arms. And Jack's first words on waking up are "Joe? Joe?" He loves his little brother. And I can't complain either. Joe's a pretty mellow baby and I get plenty of help holding him when he needs cuddle time. It's been fun to see the kids interacting and caring for Joe. It's nice to see them getting along over little Joe.