Long-Winded Update

Returning home from Stephen's two month appointment at the family doctor, I realized it's probably time to face what I've been avoiding and update this blog with more than just a few photos.  It's been quite a long time since I've written anything more substantial than a brief photo description - honestly, I haven't really been up to it.  Beside the fact that life with little ones runs in top gear, the last year has been very difficult and the pregnancy extremely draining, and that hasn't left much inspiration or energy for writing.
I was pretty much house-bound for all of May and June until Stephen was born, aside from visits to the midwife and the osteopath, and one appointment with an OB at 37 weeks.  The OB graciously agreed that inducing the baby early would be a wise idea, taking into consideration his size and the amount of pain I was in.  We went into the hospital on June 16, a Sunday morning two weeks before our due date, and after the initial assessment we found that Stephen's heart rate was running up close to 200 bpm.  He was a very active baby in the womb and often had a higher heart rate at midwife appointments, but this was the highest we had ever seen it and indicated he was under some stress.  The obstetrician decided to start an oxytocin drip and break my water, and labour really kicked into gear around 2:00 in the afternoon.  An epidural was started around 5:30, and I have to say that at that moment, the anesthesiologist was my best friend.  The midwives arrived a little later, and were there to deliver Stephen at 9:01 pm, with the OB standing by.  We were thrilled to finally meet little Stephen, and excited to introduce him to his brothers and the rest of the family.
The last two months we have been getting to know our fourth little son better every day.  He is a mover - no surprise to me as he was constantly kicking me for months already, and his arms and legs are always waving around when he's awake.  He rolled over for a few times at around 7 or 8 weeks, but hasn't done it again since then.  He's definitely not as smiley as Nate was as a baby, but it's easier to get a smile out of him than it was with Peter.  Because he was very sleepy for the first few weeks of his life, he needed to be supplemented with formula after every feed.  Between nursing, bottle feeding, pumping, and taking care of the other kids, I was running out of steam and we decided to switch him all the way over to formula, giving momma a much needed break, although it broke my heart a little bit.
At his appointment yesterday, Stephen weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz, and measured 24 inches long, putting him in the 80-85th percentile for his age.  At the same age, his brothers were (P)12 lbs 0 oz/ 24 inches, (A)14 lbs 5 oz/ 25 inches, (N)15 lbs 2 oz/ 26 inches.  I thought he was quite long, but apparently not so much if I see how big Aaron and Nate were at two months.  Of course they all have growth spurts at different times and he was born two weeks early, but Aaron and Nate were also born early.  He started giving us smiles at about 5 1/2 weeks, and is doing a good job sleeping at night, usually doing a stretch of 5-7 hours, and then back to sleep until the next bottle.     
His older brothers are very much in love with him, talking with him often and showing great concern if he is upset.  I love seeing their nurturing side and how natural that sibling bond is.  Of course it's a lot easier to show unending love and affection for a little baby who doesn't take a Lego piece you want, dump sand on your head, or whack you with a hockey stick.  The boys do have a lot of great times playing together and we see what a blessing it is that they are close in age, even if it has its challenges.
Peter and Aaron are both excited to start school in a little over a week.  Peter will be starting Grade 1 full time now, and he is looking forward to it.  His reading skills have developed extremely well, and he is reading books on his own now.  Writing is no longer a secret language for us as parents!  He also has a good head for math, and very proudly counted to 1000 by 10's the other day, and can do simple addition and subtraction questions mentally.  We're glad he's doing well, because with a class size of 31 students, every little bit helps.
Aaron is registed for JK, which unfortunately is now full-day every day.  We don't really want him there full time, especially at the beginning, but we still have to figure out what will work best for attendance.  He is super excited to go (and has been since he was two!) and I think he will do well there.  He's an observant child who is constantly scanning the ground for "treasures" and has a jar of shiny trinkets on the window sill that he adds to on a near-daily basis.  Beads, marbles, bolts, sparkly rocks, shells, and the occasional coin for his piggy bank.
Nate will miss his older brothers when school starts, but I think he'll enjoy a little more time with Mom.  He is an exceptionally cheerful child with a huge smile, but he is also quite strong-willed with a big pout.  He doesn't much like standing in the corner though, and usually decides quickly that he is a "happy boy" and will be off playing happily again in a minute or two.  His soother developed a hole about a month ago, and he threw it out himself and we haven't heard a word of complaint since.  Next step is toilet training, which I attempted several times before Stephen was born in the hope of a month or two with no one in diapers.  So far we have had minor success, but it will take some concentrated effort to get the job done and I'm not sure when I'll be up to the challenge.  For now I will take comfort in the fact that he is still two, and I don't feel too much of a rush on getting him in underwear except when I'm gagging over his poopy diapers.
We have been busy this summer adjusting to being a family of six.  Mike did a few weeks of work landscaping for a colleague, and in the rest of his time he has been helping me a lot here at home and doing various jobs around the house that needed to be done.  Our laundry closet is almost done (just needs flooring), some painting was done outside, new outside coffee table built, bushes are trimmed, and most exciting for the kids - the sandbox more than doubled in size!  We ordered in 5 tons of sand and Mike and my Dad wheeled it all to the backyard to a sandbox that should definitely be big enough for four boys to have their own postal code in there.
The second week in August we drove to Uncle Ben and Aunt Sandy's cottage north of Grand Rapids with the VD family.  We had a week of games, boating, tubing, swimming, fishing, reading, and watching the kids have a blast on the paddle boat.  It was the first vacation without Dad, and his presence was definitely missed - his presence, his laugh, his wisdom.  It was good to be together but somewhat bittersweet.  The drive home was quite long - took us about 9 hours - and I finished the last of the laundry mid-week.
Now is a time of transition - moving from the long, mostly laid-back days of summer into the scheduled busy-ness of the school year.  Mike is back in his classroom preparing for teaching, and I'm working on a list of school supplies and clothes that the kids will need.  I don't know if I'm quite ready for the change, but seeing as there's not much I can do to stop it from coming, I've just got to close my eyes and jump in.  How about some pictures...

We had a cloudburst one afternoon, and when the kids were getting concerned about getting wet, I told them to go jump in the puddles instead!  What a lot of fun! (yes, I was out there too)

The three older boys went camping for a week with Grandma, Aunt Karen, Aunt Andrea and Derek.  Opa VD came to visit one day.  What a great picture!

Great Opa treated the grandkids to ice-cream.  Love this shot!

We watched a storm roll in and there were some spectacular clouds

Sleeping babe

We had a campfire in the backyard one evening (shhh don't tell the fire chief two doors down), and Dad slept with the boys in the tent for the night

The little one's first campfire

Settling in with bedtime stories

Glowsticks! 

Mike set them up with an "adventure bag" one morning - a backpack filled with snacks, drinks, paper, pencils, ropes, whistles, and other random paraphernalia, and they were told they couldn't come in the house until lunch time.  Just add in a tarp "fort" and a few lawn chairs, and they were happy as can be!

A temporary 5-ton sandbox on the driveway before it got wheel-barrowed to the backyard

Early smiles caught on camera

They call this their "tractor-trailer", and it comes with much giggling

The kid love having apples for snacks, but I usually cut them up into quarters, as I figured less of the apple would get wasted that way.  Mike gave them whole apples one day, and a while later I found Nate chewing away on this little remnant.  I guess he is pretty efficient after all! 

Aunt Dell came to visit, and Peter was our photographer

Four boys on a couch! 

Aaron's first experience on the speed boat at the cottage - he was pretty thrilled by the speed!  Most of the kids, especially Peter, were quite excited to have turns on the boat (Nate thought it was too "cary")

Peter and Robert spent a LOT of time on this paddle boat during the week.  They were in their glory paddling back and forth to the slide and being "captains" of their own ship.  Looks like Mike had a heavy tow-load in this picture though!

Uncle Dave enjoys a beer while the little kids work hard to give him a joy ride

We celebrated Rob's birthday at the cottage.  How many kids does it take to blow out sparklers?

One happy kid!

Peter trying out some fishing

Lovely teeth Nate!  Grandma found these lovely gems at a local store

Taking a ride on the "Flat Dekker" boat.  Basically plywood over two pontoons with a motor on the back... a little bit redneck but it was fun to boat around on it.

Interesting look, Aaron

Someone must have dropped them off at the slide with the paddleboat

Aunt Bethany with a load of love!

Sweet baby

Playing Rock Band on a rainy Sunday afternoon

Nate could often be found with the microphone, singing along

I love this shot!

Mike helping the boys rearrange the shoreline, building all kinds of lakes, rivers, and waterworks. 

Aaron was a pro at catching frogs

Peter went for a kayak ride with Uncle Jeremy and came back with a bouquet for me

A game of Scrabble on a cool day

Snuggles with his baby brother

Who can resist a chance to colour on Aunt Bethany's feet with markers?

Sweet older brother

Happy guy getting ready for bed

Mike slow-cooked some delicious ribs over the fire one day

Loving the cottage experience!

On our last night, Uncle Ben and Aunt Sandy brought sky lanterns and we set them off with the boys