Sour Milk Smell

Emily was definitely needing a scrub down before her 2 week doctor appointment tomorrow so it was good timing that her umbilical cord finally fell off today. Of course all the kids had to get involved but it was a quick one as she was not loving it.

Hanging with her sisters

Yes, this is about all they can do with Emily right now. Anna held her for a really long time today... because she was watching TV at the same time.

Return of the Elves

We watched the big parade on TV yesterday and when the girls saw Santa at the end I reminded them that this kicks off Elf season. So now they are on the lookout for the Elf to appear... and catch them being naughty. Well, Anna had a yelling fit this morning while Sean was working so I sent her to her room to cool down for a while. When I went to check on her this is what I found... she told me she did not want the Elf peeking on her so she blocked all the cracks.

The Adventures of Patrick

He is two after all! Here are a few things that have been keeping him busy around the house. He emptied this box of popcorn and then was jumping off the box into the pile. Then he would roll around in it like it was money, then he stacked it up, oh the fun he can have with whatever I tell him to not touch. He then requested that I take "more pics".

The "mo-mo" is from grandma and grandpa and he is quite good at tearing around the place on it, even without his partner. Anna ran into a door though and hasn't ridden it since. Sorry no photo of that, she was more embarrassed than hurt.

It's Been... One Week

Okay, it has been 8 days but one week since we came home from the hospital and I've had that BNL song stuck in my head, so there you go. Overall things have gone very well adjusting to life with 4 kids, mostly because Sean hasn't been working and Emily sleeps a lot. Megan is very helpful with holding Emily for long periods of time, say when the rest of us eat dinner. Anna asks to hold her whenever I am feeding her but by the time I am done she is gone or will get tired after a few minutes. Patrick also wants to hold her all the time but requires much supervision so not so helpful. The girls keep asking when Emily will start doing things like say their names and crawl. Apparently they do not love the easy newborn stage as much as I do!

Emily has been sleeping most of the day today so I fear for what tonight will hold (perhaps an inaugural showing of The Holiday? start off with Jude Law's finest performance). I am surprisingly well rested these days though. I was too uncomfortable to sleep well the last few months so even with getting up at night I am getting way more rest. And thanks to this miracle product called the Belly Blaster (a wrap for your stomach) I can fit into regular clothes again, which is way, way earlier than with the other kids. I think I am going to hang on to this to use after the holidays each year...

Oh, and this is just a random photo from today so Nana can see the cupcake outfit Emily is wearing-- and has almost outgrown already!

First Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa were here for almost 6 days to help out with the kids. Patrick was the main beneficiary of their help as we ended up taking Emily to the hospital every day for the bilirubin tests and did not want to take him along. The girls were in school all day which made things easier. Lots of cooking and help around the house too of course and quite a few games of throwing the toys back up the stairs to Patrick. I hope he doesn't expect me to keep playing that one... Now Grandma and Grandpa can continue on their way to Texas for the winter. They will need 5 months to recover before heading back our way I'm sure!

Day Two

Seriously, who said you take barely any photos after the first child?

Meeting the Siblings

Pretty much from this point on they have been fighting over whose turn it is to hold her. Patrick would also like to carry her around and take her for a ride on his new "mo-mo" (motorcycle). Not much talk about kicking the baby fortunately.

Emily Lynn Keenan

All went well, Emily arrived at 12:54pm on November 17th. 7lbs, 2 oz, 20 inches-- almost the exact measurements that Anna had. Many thanks to Keely for being such a great L&D nurse, made everything go so smoothly. We will head home this afternoon so everyone else can meet Emily. Let the chaos begin!

Last Night of Heartburn Coming Up!

No sign of baby today so I guess tomorrow will be the big day. Can't wait to eat Polito's subs, all the way from South Bend, tomorrow when I have room in my stomach again, thanks Andrea! Only one night of heartburn left, another bonus. As the kids will agree, this has been a very long pregnancy and I think we will all be in shock when baby actually arrives. She can't wait to stretch out I suspect based on the freaky contortions my belly is being subjected to.

I did put the big fleecy insert in the car seat but wasn't sure if we would need it as it was so pleasant last week. Snowing right now though so I think it will be quite handy. Patrick is not understanding what snow is and once again refused to wear his coat so I had to send the girls out to the bus stop alone while we watched from the window. He is in the midst of a multi-day wearing of his football uniform, apparently he did not hear that PItt beat us and we are just rooting for Charlie to be fired at this point.

Well, I should give Patrick some attention while he is still the baby. He claims to be excited to be a big brother, we shall see!

Final Belly Shot

I would like to point out that there is some shadow going on there so there isn't as much junk in the trunk as it appears. Baby should be here by Tuesday, so close enough to the end here to get the huge belly shot. I hope I don't get any bigger at least! I only have a few shirts that fit as it is...

Great Timing Patrick

Patrick has been insisting on using/playing with his little potty this morning, which he really has no concept how to use but has decided today is the day to figure it out. Why yes, with the baby arriving any time now, I would love to start potty training! The girls are being extra ornery this morning and Sean needs to sleep after working a late shift last night, so I think a little quiet stay in the hospital is sounding just dandy. What I am insisting were fake contractions have stopped at least so hopefully I can hold off until tomorrow as I know the hospital is packed right now. Will post a real update when we get one!

Who has big plans?

Someone thinks the baby will want to color right away? It took him about 30 seconds to do this.

For Heather and Keely

Both have insisted that spicy food put them into labor so if I manage to get hungry enough for dinner tonight I will go pick some up. And if I have super heartburn tonight I will be cursing them! I already hate the taste of Tums.

Anna's Birthday Wish

Well, Anna will still have her birthday all to herself. She definitely did not want to share it with her new sister and apparently the feeling was mutual. Sean is hoping the baby comes on Thursday which must mean he is also making a tee time for tomorrow. Yes, honoring our veterans on the golf course this morning. I have been neurotic about keeping up on stuff around the house for fear that anything I don't do now will never be remembered after the baby comes. Thus, I have nothing to do this morning which is very odd. I could take Patrick out to run errands but that is way too much work. So, I suppose this means I should do what he wants to do before baby comes and rocks his little world. He just wants to dance to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun which is what Anna's birthday card plays every time he opens it. Every. Single. Time.

More Birthday Photos

My favorite is the one where Megan has to mug in the background for attention and Patrick is snooping through the presents while Anna opens another one.

We Made It!

I was afraid that the baby would arrive yesterday and throw a wrench into the garage cleaning out plans but she is still waiting. Oh yeah, it was also Anna's birthday party which if I had missed that would have resulted in even more years of therapy. Now can I convince her that it is a great honor if the baby is born ON her actual birthday which is Monday?? Anyway, we decided to invite her whole class since it was at the gymnastics place and then I could meet some of the other moms in case I ever remember to plan a playdate for Anna. 19 kids total and I think every single one of them must have slept well last night as the party coaches sure kept them running around. Patrick is coming up on 13 hours here, I might have to get him in a class there...

Oh and Anna picked out the cake all by herself and kept it a surprise from the rest of the family. She had been looking at the cake book at the grocery store for the entire year, debating which one to get. It must not have tasted very good because not many kids finished theirs and I certainly wasn't going to waste a dessert on grocery store cake, so I have no idea. So at least we didn't sugar the kids up too bad and ruin their dinners... but what to do with the half a cake left over? Megan wants it for breakfast, hmm.

Any correlation?

Post-Halloween breakfast... at least he had some toast first, I think. Sean worked that night so I was letting him sleep in until I needed a shower for church. I brought Patrick in for him to start watching him while I did that and when I got out I found him sleeping in the doorway and Sean still sleeping in bed. I moved Patrick to the bed and that is where I found them both when I got home from church an hour and a half later. Needless to say, this screwed up the afternoon schedule. Since then I have really enjoyed the time change and even get up early enough for a shower before the kids wake up. Not sure how long this will continue but surely the baby will end that.

I don't think the kids did this...

I'm sure you wildlife nerds out there will be able to tell me what did this and what to do about it. We have so few trees in our yard and they are very wimpy, so this is bad news.

Three Degrees

Andrea and Stephanie will be impressed to hear that I am only 3 degrees from the entire cast of Arrested Development, who is hopefully busy making their movie together. I noticed a friend from French class (meaning, we were friends during class but not out at parties as she ran with JJ Philbin's crowd) in a bit role on Parks and Rec the past few weeks. We had stopped watching it halfway through last season as it got lame, but EW assured us that it was better this year and they were right. Anyway, a bit strange to recognize someone and then figure out it wasn't from another show but from real life. As for the 3 degrees, Amy Poehler did a few episodes with her hilarious husband on Arrested Development, which as not enough know, is one of the best shows ever. Chickens don't clap.

Candy Gathering

The girls are thrilled with the large amount of candy they managed to score from the limited number of houses we went to and even better, we had lots of candy left in the bowl on our front porch. I'm so glad they didn't remember that in the past we have gone to several other candy events, like at the zoo and in Aggieville for the parade. Those were things I couldn't handle on my own and Sean was out of town for them.

So this was the only time they wore their costumes and they are recycled from last year. Megan realized on her own that her Super Girl costume is too short now so we at least didn't have to fight that battle. Patrick could have cared less so he just wore the usual game day outfit. He fell in the mud at Ivesters' party but I was in a Coco-Bolo's fajita coma and didn't mind. He just looked more authentic (Sean did wipe off his face at least). Anna met another Super Girl and they became fast friends so she had a great night. And then we came home so Sean could work and the girls could inventory the candy. Thankfully I am not hungry these days so I am not tempted at all.

Well, I for one am glad October is over and it's supposed to be 75 and sunny today, which is nicer than it has been since September I think. Patrick was up at his usual 6am which just seemed so much worse knowing that it is now 5am, ugh.