Number 3 Is TWO!

Then.

It was two years ago, around midnight, when a sudden POP announced the impending arrival of a fantastic little boy. He took his sweet time, which thing I perhaps should have expected since it was unexpectedly long for me to get pregnant in the first place. In some things we find that he just doesn’t like to be rushed.

That has certainly been the case for his talking. It has only been in the past three months or so that he has really started talking much. His first word was “hi,” which he used liberally and frequently. Then he said “banana,” or something approximating it, once. Then there was another word or two maybe, and then the words just started rolling in. “Ball.” “Nana” (for Grandma). “Honk,” when he squeezes your nose. “Guck,” which of course means “duck” and “truck” and a number of other things. He even started saying “Ammon” fairly quickly after his brother was named. Or, well, he says, “Amm,” which is close enough. Also hat, dragon, taco, cup (which he pronounces “bup”), more, banana again (“nana,” just like “Grandma”; it also stands for other fruits as well), and so on. He says “daddy” and occasionally “mommy.” Just the other day, when he was supposed to be napping, he said “baby” approximately one million times. He will try out most words if you ask him to, and if he’s in the mood, but with varying levels of success.

It is strange to see how much he has grown up in just the past couple months. Partially, I’m sure, this is because I have daily comparisons now to someone much smaller. But also he truly has changed a lot lately.

He is very attached to Pandy still, but now there are two others bears he likes to sleep with, Brownie and Sandy. If you give him all three, and tuck them all in with him, he’s pretty happy.

And now.

In fact, even when he’s slow to do things and learn new skills, he is still overwhelmingly a joy in our lives. He truly is well-named Koa (for “joy”). He has such a happy smile, and I love to make him laugh. He is quick to laugh, quick to smile. Coriel and Brice are best at making him laugh, and Coriel has a few funny things she does that almost always work. For example, she says the last line of What’s Wrong, Little Pookie?: “Umm, I forget.” And this usually makes him giggle.

He also enjoys silly noises, playing with blocks, reading and reading and reading, eating food (usually condiments like ketchup, salsa, and mustard), snuggling his little brother, and playing outside.

We are so happy we have had him in our lives for these past two years, and we look forward to many more!

Happy birthday, kid!

Maternity-ish Photos

I started writing out a big long explanation about how I don’t have many pregnant photos where I feel like I look both pregnant and cute, and how my photography skills are mediocre, blah blah blah, but I decided that was going to be long and ridiculous. So the short version is what you just read. Plus these items:

1. I have a friend who is a fabulous photographer.

2. I love our cherry tree.

3. I have an awesome husband, and we have awesome kids. They really need to be documented more.

4. While I think maternity photos are lovely, I can never imagine me taking myself seriously in them. So even while we were doing more “traditional” maternity shots, I was trying not to burst into hysterical laughter. Yes, people, that’s not me looking serene and maternal. That’s me trying to hold in my giggles while she took the shot.

And now, without further ado, a bajillion maternity photos and super cute pics of the rest of my family.

She's getting so old! Weird.

I love how much they love each other. All this laughing and playing together--it isn't fake. They really do like to be together. It makes me feel all happy and squishy inside.

I have mostly stopped trying to control what the girls wear for photos, but they managed to coordinate relatively well while still being very uniquely them (Addra is, after all, wearing a leotard over a t-shirt and her pants).

Koa just woke up from a nap, so it was very nice of him to humor us.

All he really wanted was Brice. Hence the change in family positions a few shots later.

Just before Koa freaked out because I was still holding him.

"Ah, much better," Koa says. Also, my tired arms might not have objected too much. :)

How I look on the outside.

How I feel on the inside.

A millisecond before I start laughing like a hyena.

Brice is so much more of a natural at looking awesome and handsome and serious and loving in photos. He took to this just fine, knowing exactly what to do, while I was still feeling ridiculous.

Plus, I can't complain when this is what he decides to do. :)

Please also note how cute my hair is. That one time. And never again since. Even though it only takes about seven minutes.

The Squinty-Eyed Smile and the Duck Face

It struck me a few days ago that something was changing in Koa’s life and I was missing it. For a long time now, when Koa was acting especially happy—usually sitting at the kitchen table with the rest of us (and eating food!)—he would break into this amazing smile. His entire face would scrunch up, he’d raise his head slightly, and his eyes would close to slits as he grinned. We call it the squinty-eyed smile. Every time he smiles this way, there is no other option but to smile back and usually to laugh. It is adorable beyond words.

But, as with many such things, it is nearly impossible to catch on camera. And as with many such things, it has begun to pass.

He is still often ridiculously happy—seriously, he’s such a happy, charming toddler—but the squinty-eyed smile doesn’t make its appearance nearly as often. And on Sunday, as I was doing something else, I realized that someday, a year from now, five years from now, I may not remember it at all. This little part of his growing up that has been such a delight to all of us could be gone completely.

This is close to the right smile, but it's not quite big enough.
Also note the boots and footie pajamas. Style, baby. Style.

Now, more often than not, he wanders around the house with his lips sticking out in this adorable duck face. It’s like he’s trying to smooch the whole world. At some point, this phase will pass too (at least I hope so; that would make for a seriously awkward teenager!). And if I don’t document it, I’ll forget, just as I have certainly forgotten all sorts of other things with all three of the children. But at least I can occasionally recall some highlights. For example:

* This kid loves his shoes, especially his boots. He brings them to me to put on all the time. Sometimes it’s because he wants to go outside, but sometimes it’s just because he wants them on. He also loves to try on everyone else’s shoes, but his own are his favorite.

* He also loves footie pajamas. Not as much now as a few months ago. Back then, when I would get out a set of footie pajamas he would smile and rush to me to get them on. When I set them out flat on the ground, he would lie on top of them to make it easier for me to put them on. (Since writing this all last week, however, he seems to be on a clothing strike, and he especially hates having footie pajamas put on. See? Things pass with amazing swiftness.)

* So, yes, he does spend a large majority of his time wearing footie pajamas with boots on over them. It’s quite a fashion statement.

This is also close, but still not quite there. Also, blurry.

* The girls have decided that his favorite color is pink. This is partially because Coriel doesn’t like pink at all right now, so when we get out dishes, she always makes sure someone else gets the pink ones—so usually it’s Koa. He doesn’t object.

* He doesn’t seem to enjoy cars and trucks and trains any more or less than our other kids. They’re fun because they roll, but he also loves playing with other stuff just as much. He does, however, really like balls. He has definitely learned to throw them a little earlier/better than Coriel or Addra did.

Pandy! And real clothing!

* He also really loves stuffed animals. His favorite is Pandy, a stuffed panda that Aunt Dawn got him for Christmas. It’s about half the size of him and just really good for snuggling. We also have a couple other bears he loves to snuggle.

* If Brice is home, he always wants Brice. If Brice isn’t home, and I have done something mean (like refusing to feed him more gummi bears or making him take a nap), he will run for Coriel. Coriel gives him a hug and snuggles him, she strokes his back, and he leans his head on her shoulder. He really loves that girl, and she is a wonderful big sister to him.

Just because he's adorable.

Those are some of the lovely things about Koa these days. He is such a source of fun and love in our lives. He really is a delight. In fact, not to brag or anything, but all of our kids are pretty stinking awesome.

Now I just wish I could get a picture of that smile!

That One Time We Cruised, part 6: Is It Finally the End?

Wow, you’ve stuck through a lot of description of our cruise! But now, sadly, we are reaching the end. So, here’s a little final miscellany.

1. You know how if you get blackout curtains and turn out all the lights, you still get light filtering in from somewhere? Maybe it’s the light on your powerstrip cord. Maybe a little coming through a slit between or underneath the curtains. Not so when you’re in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night. So dark. So weird. I had lots of funky dreams on the cruise—I think partially because of the utter darkness, partially the oodles of food, and partially the pregnancy.

So, yeah, we probably took about as many
pictures at the Space Center as we did on
the entire rest of the vacation.

2. The service was fantastic. You have the same servers each night at dinner, and you have the same maid (? whatever you call her) the whole time too. They know your names, they try to be as helpful as possible, and they have lovely personalities. Or at least they fake it because they’re getting paid.

3. Coriel is super-duper into mysteries, and there was this fun mystery adventure that you had to go all around the ship to find clues for. Addra really enjoyed it too.

4. We went to the Kennedy Space Center on Friday after we got back into Florida. It was fun and totally worth it. We went to a short lecture and Q&A with a real-life astronaut. Coriel was thrilled. She asked about the requirements for becoming an astronaut and immediately started talking about how she was going to do it. (Most recently she has decided to become the president of the United States instead, but I’m pretty sure that will pass too.) Brice and the girls went on a space shuttle simulator. (I held Koa and didn’t tell the girls that I wasn’t doing it because I was pregnant.) Koa fell asleep in the stroller when I was outside in the blistering heat but then immediately started waking up both times I tried to wander into the cool indoors. So I just sat, melting, in a little shade while he napped. Weird kid. We weren’t sure the Space Center would be worth the cost at first, but it turned out awesome that we went. Plus, it totally counted as homeschooling. Win!

The Wrapup:

So while I started out hating the cruise, by the end we had all had lots of fun. It truly was an enjoyable vacation, and we’re glad we did it. However, it also wasn’t really our vacation style. We don’t really like being on someone else’s schedule, and we prefer having a wider range of options for what to do with our time. Brice and I are used to choosing our own activities when we vacation, and there are usually museums involved. And maybe a chocolate shop. And a used bookstore. And our own quirky adventures.

The separation of family had its pros and cons. We actually really do like being together, even on vacations, but a cruise doesn’t feel like it’s very much about togetherness, so that felt weird. On the other hand, it was lovely to be able to drop the kids off and have some time to ourselves. We had a nice dinner, just the two of us, one night, which wouldn’t happen on a regular vacation. Also, I freely admit that I sometimes need to cut the strings a little more and just trust that the kids are safe and happy elsewhere—so that was some good practice. I think the ideal would have been to have more options where we could all be together—as well as the option of being apart. There was very little that was suited to having us all playing together. In fact, there really wasn’t anything except mealtimes. (The pool had a separate spot for the babies; we weren’t allowed into the kids’ clubs except during a couple of hours here and there; when we went on the spy/mystery adventure around the ship, we just put Koa in the stroller so he wasn’t particularly engaged or active—which gets boring quickly for a little one.)

So did we enjoy it? Yes, we all did. Will we do it again? Probably someday, but we’re not itching for it. There are too many vacation options in the world for us to jump up and down for a cruise again immediately. If we do it again, we will probably wait until all the kids are old enough to be in the kids clubs; I think that would be more fun for them and for us all.

Still, the tenth anniversary trip was a success! Happy anniversary to us!