Some Saturday Smiles

Here's the boy showing off some happy attitude.

The cattle drive!

The rodeo is back in town and this year we were prepared with our camera! The cattle drive came right through base housing so we walked out to see the longhorns and cowboys. Only in Oklahoma!

First day of dance

Madeline and Claire started dance class this week. It was Maddie's first time so she was really, REALLY excited. She woke us up in the morning with her leotard in hand, all ready to get dressed for dance. Too bad her class didn't start until 3:30! They both did great and I think they'll have a great time.

One month old!

Colin is one month old today (the 19th). Where did the time go? His milestones: he smiles social smiles VERY occasionally, he has rolled over once, and he is starting to coo a little bit. He is going to outgrow his size 0-3 month outfits sometime soon, but right now they fit him perfectly.

His big sisters have not yet tired of helping out. They're great for bringing burp cloths, pacifiers, etc, and they can even put his pacifier back in when it falls out. It's so nice to have help!

Space-A trip for Colin's baptism

Boy, did the stars align for us this past weekend! One of our C-17's from Altus was heading up to Chicago (well, OK. It landed in Gary, Indiana, but whatever...) for the Chicago Air and Water Show. And they had room on board for some passengers. Phil managed to get some leave, we managed to get on the flight, and our folks managed to schedule a baptism at their church as well as coordinate for our lodging during our stay and our pick-up and drop off to Gary Airport. It worked out GREAT (well, except for the Chicago traffic on our way to and from the airport, but that's just part of the wonderful city)!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. On Friday morning we got up bright and early to make the long trip to the passenger terminal here on base (heehee - those of you who have visited here know it's only about a 4- to 5-minute trip to get anywhere on base from our house). You REALLY can't beat that commute to an airport! We managed to get onto the plane, strapped everyone into their seats and settled in for our 2-hour flight. Landed in Gary and got picked up by Phil's parents. Then off we went to see a little of the city!

We visited Millennium Park, where the girls had a wonderful time. They both ended up riding home in various states of undress because they had a bit too much fun in the fountain and got pretty wet. Then we had a nice dinner at Phil's parents' house with my parents and Bill's family. It was so nice to be back "home" again!

Lots of pics, so here's a slideshow - for larger images just click one of the photos during the slide show

Saturday we had a lovely private baptism. My brother Bill is Colin's godfather and Heidi stood in for Phil's sister Nikki as godmother. Colin slept throught the whole ceremony, with barely even a startle response when the water hit him. After the baptism we all gathered again at Phil's parents house with all of my family there too. Hung out at the neighbors pool for awhile and tired out the children. That night the gals hit Babies R Us and Target so I could satisfy my shopping urges.

Sunday the whole crew gathered at my parents' house, joined by Phil's Aunt Marci and her daughter Jaeda. It was so nice to visit with everyone and let the youngsters all play together. They all get along so well (with only a few minor squabbles from the 2 year-old crowd). It sure makes me wish we could get together more often.

Monday morning we had to leave for the airport again. It's always hard to say good-bye at the end of a visit, but it's even more difficult to watch my children struggle with it. It was REALLY too short of a visit, but I feel really lucky that we were able to get up there for Colin's baptism!

1st day of school at ACA

Yesterday was the girls' 1st day of school. Madeline got to attend 3 year-old preschool (even though she's technically a few weeks away yet from age 3) and Claire started bona fide pre-K. She'll be going five days per week (I'm a bit sad about that. When did she get so big???) and Maddie will go two. They were excited to wear their uniforms, their new sneakers (pink and sparkly, of course) and meet their new classmates. Claire jumped right into things in her classroom and was ready to shove Mommy out the door. Maddie was a bit more shy, hiding behind Mommy when her teacher said hello to her. She quickly warmed up to the room, though, when she discovered the toys. After that she happily waved goodbye to Mommy and got back to her playing.

All seemed to go well, though Madeline came home with a Southern accent (bless her heart)!!! What the heck is that? We spent nearly three years teaching her to speak proper English - Midwestern twang with a hint of Chicago - only to have it ruined with 3 hours of preschool in the South. The word "cat" sounds like "ka-yat", with two syllables. "Big" sounds like "bee-ig", again with two syllables. Oh well. I guess that's the life of a military brat. And southern accents are cute, right?

Speaking of cute, here are the gratuitous photos:

Getting to know Colin

My parents (aka the Extraordinary Baby-Holders and Kiddo-Entertainers) left for home on Sunday morning. Phil and I did OK juggling the kids by ourselves. Then Phil (aka the Extraordinary Chef/Book-Reader/Baby-Burper/Baby-Swaddler/Baby-Walker/Diaper-Changer) went back to work on Monday, leaving me alone with all three of them for the first time. It was... not nearly as bad as I thought! We all survived and the TV didn't burn out from over-use.

Anyway, we are all adjusting pretty well and we're getting to know our new little guy. He likes:
Eating
Burping
Listening to singing
Snuggling/being held
Going for walks around the kitchen/living room/dining area circle
Any noise his sisters make

He does not like:
Diaper changes
Clothing changes
Naps in his bed
Silence

If this doesn't melt your heart...

...well then I don't know what will! Check out Colin's sleepy-time smiles:

Big sisters

They're really enjoying their job.

And here's just one of the boy!

Another birth in the family

Our Black Swallowtail caterpillar escaped his chrysalis this evening. We had noticed some rapid changes in the shape of the little green pod recently and Katie's mom noticed stirring in the jar so we quickly got him outside to stretch his wings.

Another successful birth this week. We're doing pretty well!

The grandparents are here...the grandparents are here!

We only had to make it through one night alone and then we'd have reinforcements. Not too difficult, right? Well... Oklahoma had one of its signature thunderstorms that night, complete with lightning and booming thunder. Colin was oblivious to the storm, but was up quite a bit because, well, he's a newborn. His two sisters, on the other hand, were terrified of the storm and needed some cuddling. Who knew you could fit two adults, two kiddos, and a baby in a queen-sized bed?

(The girls as they comforted each other back in their room; notice Claire's sleep mask!)

Anyway, my parents arrived on Tuesday (thank goodness!) and have been quite busy ever since. I don't think Colin has been set down since they arrived - and he's not complaining about that one bit.

Click for more pics of the readers and fun...

We just had a friend drop off a moving box full of books to be donated, giving us first picks -- what luck for the kiddos and the grandparents! They're steadily working their way through the pile to the kiddos' delight!

By popular demand...the pics!

We made it home...we left the hospital with the newest member of Team Shea around 26 hours after Colin was born. I guess with number three we've pretty much got the routine figured out.

He's a very tired kiddo. Lots of sleep, a few noises, very few (knock on wood) cries, so far.

Click here for big pics and a short movie

We have to get through one night at home with three kids, then we get some help as the grandparents are coming...the grandparents are coming!