Hello, Baby!

This baby held on till the very end...baby Peter David Istvan was born at 42 weeks, on April 25. It was a rough couple weeks leading up to his birthday, with every day feeling like "this could be the day!" and turning into "oh...we're still here with no baby." By about halfway through that last week, we finally just resigned ourselves to the fact that the baby wouldn't come till after Friday when induction was scheduled to start. Our attitudes (well, mine at least) really improved after that and it actually worked out for the best to have things start on Friday night. There were no frantic phone calls trying to find somebody to come watch the big brothers, no worries about coordinating school drop-offs and pick-ups, and the boys were able to watch us go instead of being surprised by a different adult showing up instead of us. (And, with the baby being born on the weekend...no parking fees in the hospital lot!)

 Everyone likes feeling Mommy's tummy...especially since baby Peter was super active in utero.

 We arrived at the hospital on Friday evening. When the nurses discovered that this was our fourth baby, they decided we should get the big room. Apparently, somebody pretty high up at Northwest Hospital had this room made specifically for her birth. It was the most luxurious birthing suite we've had yet. :)

I'd been 4cm dilated for the last week or so, and the induction process started at 8:45 Friday evening with a dose of medicine meant to soften my cervix over the next 12 hours. This medicine technically could've started labor, but in my case, nothing happened. We tried to get a good night's sleep before starting the next step (pitocin) in the morning. The pitocin IV was started at 10:30 or so, and contractions started soon after. But even after eight progressively higher doses of pitocin we still weren't in active labor, so at 2:30 the midwife broke my water and from that point everything shifted into high gear.

Just over two and a half hours later, we welcomed this little guy into the world. Hello, Peter!

Peter measured 20 inches long and weighed in at 8 lb 0.4 oz, our largest baby yet. (Probably because he stayed in for so long and Mommy was eating a lot of ice cream toward the end).

The big brothers came later that evening to meet little Peter. For a few weeks previously, there was a lot of discussion about who would get to hold the new baby first. Daniel claimed that he should get to because he always gets to hold the new baby first. Aaron claimed that he should because he's "the littlest." Matthew had no interest in holding the new baby because Daniel had convinced him that the baby would spit up on him. In the end, Aaron won out and got to be the first to hold Peter.

 Daniel's first words when he walked in were "I really wish he'd been a girl," but by the end of their visit he leaned over to Chris and said "I really like him, Dad."

 Three proud big brothers. (And, Aaron was very fancy, wanting to make a good first impression on his new little brother.)

 Grandma, meeting her eighth grandson.

 And Auntie Laura, getting some snuggles in with her eighth nephew.

 Peter had a great first night in the world, snuggling in with Mommy and sleeping for most of the night. He needed lots of rest because the next day he had lots of great visitors.

 It just so happened that his godparents were in town from Zillah, so he got to meet Brynn, his godmother...

 and his godfather, Casey!

 It was a very special day, since we had yet to meet Gemma, our newest little goddaughter.

It was a long day for Peter, he got pretty tuckered out with all the visiting.

 We had a little quiet time before getting ready to head home.

 One last snuggle with Mommy before getting in the car seat.

 All buckled up and ready to take his first car ride.

 We made one quick stop on the way home to meet great-grandma Eva.

 With a little help from Grandma and Auntie Laura, the boys had made Peter a birthday cake.

 I think it's safe to say the big brothers are smitten.

Waiting for baby

I This baby has officially made us wait longer than any other baby here...we're at 9 days late today. In the meantime, we've had lots of things going on to keep us busy, like birthday parties, soccer games, and visits with friends. Here's a few other things we've been up to while waiting for this newest little one to join us.

Cookie baking! All throughout Lent I've been craving peanut butter cookies. Last week we made the dream a reality.

Checking out the fountains and other yard ornaments at Fred Meyer. Aaron loves to visit the "waterfalls" and recently became acquainted with this stone cat statue.

Running errands, trying to finish all the "to do before baby" jobs done. Of course, the longer it takes baby to come, the more jobs get added to the list.

Napping. This kid gave up his regular nap  a few weeks ago, but he's needed some extra rest lately so we've been taking little naps together.

Celebrating daddy's birthday! If baby had come yesterday he/she would've shared a birthday with both daddy and Auntie Karen. Looks like this little one wants their own birthday, though.

Going to the park. The little boys and I went to North Acres park this morning to play and walk the trails.

And, it turns out the extra napping is due to a sinus infection. Poor kid. We've got the medicine now and hopefully he'll perk up in time to meet his new baby brother or sister.

Lent and Easter

This year Lent seemed to fly by. With new baby coming soon, all the preparations for baby and Easter all blended together to create a super busy time for us. Here are a few glimpses of how we spent Lent and Easter.

 Throughout Lent we worked hard at making sacrifices and doing good deeds. We made a crown of thorns to remind us of Christ's pain, and to help recognize that good works comfort Him.

The moms group from our parish started working together on these little peg doll Mass sets back in August/September. It took me awhile to decide how I wanted to finish mine (with a little extra input from Chris), but I knew I wanted it done for Easter, so for the past few months I've been working on and off at finishing it.

 Sometime in the fall, Matthew found this weird concrete candle holder (?) thing at goodwill. Just as I was ready to tell him "no, we're not getting that," I remembered seeing something online about creating an Easter garden during Holy Week. This weird decorative item looks like a tomb! So we snatched it up and put it away in our box of Lent and Easter supplies. We bought a few plants and the planter pan to put things in and on Palm Sunday went to work constructing our little Easter garden.

 Matthew helps to set in a cross.

 With some moss from our yard, some river rock we bought for something else, and some other random plant clippings from the garden, we finished off our little garden. 

Aaron slept through most of Holy Thursday Mass.

On Good Friday, we wrapped a piece of white fabric around a small piece of wood carved to look somewhat like a man, placed it in the tomb and rolled the stone over the entrance.

Chris took all three boys with him to confession, and in a not-so-small miracle, everyone behaved while left in the pew on their own.

 This was actually a craft from last year, but it saved well so we used it again. We love tissue paper stained glass crafts!

 Though hot crossed buns are traditional Good Friday fare, around here we do them on Holy Saturday. For us, home baked breads are a luxury and it just doesn't seem fitting to make these delicious rolls on a day of penitence.

We colored eggs this year. This is not my favorite activity, and last year nobody asked about doing it so we didn't.

 Waiting for some of the colors to be ready.

 The boys were really focused on their eggs.

 Easter morning and the stone has been rolled away from the tomb! All that's left is the white cloth.

And the crown of thorns has been transformed--pokey thorns are now lovely flowers.

 Easter baskets ready for the morning, with our little tradition of having new ties made for Easter Mass.

 After quite the egg hunt around the house, the boys check out their baskets.

 The peg doll Mass kit is ready for play.

 These guys can't wait to eat lamb cake!

 Easter morning Mass, with Auntie Laura.

 And a little post-Mass tree climbing....because why wouldn't you try to climb a tree with your nice church clothes on?

 Happy Easter from the [almost] six of us!