*sigh*

It's a little sad when you realize your 9.5 year old son's shoes actually fit you. They're not supposed to grow up so fast! That's all...I figured after nearly 3 months, I should post *something*. ;o)

In all my parenting years

I've never had a child need stitches...until now. Broken arm, concussions, yes, but never stitches! Okay, okay, they glued his head back together instead of stitching it, but you know what I mean! Last night, Rowan caught me putting away the fruit snacks on the top shelf of the pantry. Later, he snuck into the pantry and attempted to scale the shelves to reach the contraband. That didn't end so well. He lost his footing and apparently caught a forehead full of shelf on the way down. We patched him up last night, but decided today that the gap was wide enough that seeing a doctor might be a wise solution. Rowan and I spent two hours in Urgent Care, where Rowan was an angel (shockingly enough, LOL) and slept half of the time (to the detriment of my arm muscles...he's getting big!). The nurse thought he would need a couple of stitches, but we talked the doctor into just gluing him up with Dermabond. It was just as well we went in, since he started running a 102 degree fever while we were there and was diagnosed with bronchitis and another ear infection as well. On top of all that, Maire was playing with him after we came home and gave him a bloody lip. She felt terrible, of course. Poor kid has sure had his share of trouble this weekend!

Now, my little nephew, Colin, broke his arm a couple of weeks ago...and now Rowan gashed his head...don't they say bad things happen in threes? Fiona...you might want to keep a close eye on the twins...;o)

Before:

After:
It doesn't look as impressive in pics, unfortunately, but the gaping part was 3/8" long and the whole cut was almost 1" long. You could pull it apart and it was pretty gross. Take my word for it. ;o)

It's a...

BOY! Baby #6 is another gorgeous little boy! He was very active at the u/s...tossing and turning and kicking up a storm. He kept his little fists up by his face the whole time as if ready to duke it out with someone. I guess he's getting ready to defend himself, LOL. We're really excited about adding this little one to our family in May! We continue to follow the trend we have going with my SIL's family (Hi, Christina!) ...we always have exactly the opposite gender as they have, LOL. She had her most recent beautiful little girl in August, so it was time for us to have another sweet boy. ;o) Pics to come when I can scan them in! My sister, Tara, also found out today that she's having a girl. Since they live 15 minutes from us, we'll be able to get our "baby girl fix" whenever we need it. ;o)

Dandelion Head

We got a trampoline for Christmas and the kids LOVE it! I had to take this little video of Rowan because his hair cracks me up...all the static electricity really does a number on him! It was 80 degrees outside today and the sun was super bright, so the video is sort of washed out, unfortunately.

Our spring surprise...

...isn't much of a surprise for most readers of this blog, I suppose, but we thought we'd post anyway. ;o) Debuting sometime around May 21, 2009...

The girls are hoping for a sister to even the score, and the older boys are hoping for a brother. They'll all be thrilled with whatever they get, I'm sure. Rowan insists it's a "beeby grrrrrllll", but I'm not so sure. A baby boy would sure make room-sharing easier. ;o) Either way, we feel very blessed to be adding baby #6 to our family in the spring. The u/s showed a healthy, wiggly little baby with a strong heartbeat and a tendency toward thumbsucking, which was really sweet to watch.

Hiking at Pedernales Falls

Curtis took Patrick, Maire, and Aine camping this weekend, and Declan, Rowan, and I went for the day on Friday. It was a beautiful, sunny but cool day...perfect for hiking and enjoying the outdoors, when we set out. by the time we actually got to the park, it was nearly 90 degrees. Of course, Friday night was below freezing. Gotta love TX winters, LOL. We hiked up to the falls, but because it has been so dry this year, there wasn't much to see in the way of falls, unfortunately. Patrick, of course, was well equipped with his wildlife books and journals, so he kept us all well informed about the plants and animals we saw or thought we found traces of. All of the kids were great hikers...even Rowan, who insisted on walking the whole time, except for a few brief moments when he asked Daddy to hold him for a bit. After a little rest, he would wiggle down and take off on his own power again. Of course, he and Declan both slept the whole hour drive home...which was good for me since we were stuck in rush hour traffic. ;o) We saw lots of pretty fall foliage and spent some time pursuing a harmless little water snake who was more than happy when the chase was called off. On the way home, I said to Declan, "Look out there, Declan, isn't it pretty?" Declan said, "No, Mommy...it's not pretty, it's AWESOME! There are some big, big lovely red trees out there, Mommy!"

Curtis and the older three had fun hiking into their campsite after we left. It was just a 2.5 mile hike and they made it in plenty of time to make dinner and enjoy themselves before dark. They had some additional adventures of their own, including having to search for one of their packs in the morning because raccoons carried the whole pack off in the night. ;o)

I also have to share this cute story from Friday morning as we were leaving for the park. Curtis asked all the kids if they were ready, had their water bottles, etc. and after they confirmed they did, Declan piped up, "And I'm bringing my SECRET WEAPON, too!" Patrick asked him what his secret weapon was and Declan said, "Everyone in our family has a secret weapon!" Again, Patrick asked him what it was. Declan said, in a you-really-should-know-this tone, "It's Heavenly Father and Jesus, of course! They always protect us!"

At the beginning of the hike

Speak softly and carry a big stick

Four little speckled frogs, sat on a hollow log...

Overlooking where the falls should be

Maire practicing skipping rocks

Declan writing his name in the sand

Rowan showing Daddy all the little minnows

Stranded on an island!

Nothing better than the great outdoors!

Our little friend...a pretty water snake.

Another thing I never thought I'd say...

"Do not stick pencils in your brother's bottom!"

Declan and Rowan were lying on their bellies coloring and Rowan was naked (little stripper ). I heard him start to make protest yells, so I came out of the kitchen to find Declan sticking colored pencils in Rowan's crack and marvelling at how they stood up straight while Rowan screeched and reached around trying to remove the offending objects. Poor kid. LOL

Sorry, no pictures of this one. ;o)