Due Date

Today has been a day of reflection for me because today was Jonah's (formerly Alesia's) official due date. It seems like ages ago that I was rushed into the operating room for my emergency C-section- only to learn later about our surprise miracle baby boy. He has been such a joy to have in our family already. I love watching him grow and develop. In many ways it feels like he is only 2 1/2 weeks old since that is how long he has been home and he is about the size of a newborn now.

Back when I was in my first trimester I signed up for an electronic newsletter telling me about the growth of my embryo/fetus/baby. While I was in the hospital I kept thinking.."Ok, so this is how big she is. We need to make it a few more weeks." I received my last email this week titled Your Pregnancy at 40 weeks. It made me smile because my story turned out so much different than the text book pregnancy. Luckily we had a happy ending :)

From early on Jonah has put his right hand on his cheek like this- its adorable!

I also think that I am being so nostalgic because I view this as our last baby. (I know what some of you are thinking... we say that every time. But four kids is kicking my butt this time around!!!) Maybe it would help if I didn't feel like a single mom and wasn't always tired and cranky.

Jonah the day he was sent home from Logan Regional. August 7, 2008

FAMILY NEWS
Malik is starting to get busy at work and yes he does love his job and never wants to leave- just ask him about it :) The Corolla died while in his care and my parents have still offered to borrow him their Ford Explorer to continue the search for an apartment/house to rent. We went house hunting this weekend and turned up a couple of leads but nothing definite yet. If we weren't already in a time crunch we certainly are now because my brother has an offer on his house in Brigham and their closing date is set for Sept. 11th. Best case scenario is that we move over Labor Day which I know is only a week away. We won't mention all other scenarios........

I am doing my best to keep four kids feed, clothed and occasionally bathed. I guess that its paybacks for my time spent on bed rest when Malik was the stay-at-home mom. However, I also have an infant to worry about and get up with 2-4 times a night so I probably drew the short stick on this one. I love all of my kids but I'm not doing so well in the discipline department lately because NOBODY listens to me!!! (all mothers reading this post will undoubtedly feel my pain)

Zipporah and Miles started 1st grade here in Logan last Wednesday. We decided to go ahead and start them so that it would help get them into the routine and mindset of going back to school. It also gives mom some much needed rest from the fighting. (though she has yet to take that afternoon nap that she dreams of) Both kids seem to like being back in school but we haven't started up the homework schedule so that may change things a bit.

Miles complains that we never do anything fun at our house. So the day before school started I found a sitter for Jonah so that I could take the kids swimming. We had a good time and everyone was exhausted and hungry when we were done so I scrounged up all the change I could find in order to buy burgers and fries for everyone. Unfortunately while I was feeding Jonah the kids ate most of my meal... that's gratitude for you.

Parker is learning how to spend time with mom again. On the first day of school I think that he asked for Miles at least 15 times. Then the next morning he told Miles "Go with you" when I was dropping them off. For all the teasing Miles does, they are still pretty good buddies. I have been pleasantly surprised that Parker can also entertain himself for extended periods of time. He has a good imagination. It was actually fun to go shopping with Parker and Jonah the other day since nobody was begging for this toy or that snack. I could get used to our new school schedule. :)



Jonah is growing so fast that it almost seems too fast. He was 8# 6oz. at his last appointment (where he did get his circumcision-ouch!) He is still on oxygen but we are hoping to do the home study sometime this week to see if he is able to go without it. All things considered we are very lucky to only have oxygen to deal with given his prematurity. He qualifies to get the monthly RSV shots this year once RSV season starts. His pediatrician also mentioned that preemies tend to have problems with the shaping of their heads. They seem to be more flat on the sides and often require special helmets to make sure that their heads round out. As Jonah grows we will just have to keep an eye out for that.

RANDOM FAMILY PICS

Both boys usually end up in bed with me before morning. Probably need to break that habit when Dad re-enters the picture. :)

Jonah's first trip to the park. He slept through the entire thing.

The boys favorite past time is playing computer games. I knew we got that high-speed internet for something.

A little brotherly skin to skin.

Zipporah loves to hold Jonah but often forget that he is not one of her dolls and could be a little more gentle. (she usually is very good though)

Jonah chillin' in the bouncer.