Busy Being Busy

I knew once we got back from our trip to Spain, life would blast past us and everything we have been looking forward to, for many months, would be here before we had time to blink...or pack.  I was right.  Although, I did have just enough time to pack....see?

I even remembered to bring the dog!

We left Houston on May 23 and after a brief stop for a wedding in Kansas City, MO we headed to Madison, WI to anticipate the birth of another grand baby. I must say KC was way nicer than I expected, you should visit.  Little did we know when we planned this trip that the actual birth would occur a mere 12 hours after we arrived!  John Francis Lee has perfect timing!

John Francis Lee
May 27, 2013
7lbs. 15 oz.  20.5 in.
Man with perfect timing!

Grampy and I took care of Daniel and Christopher while Mommy and Daddy took care of John.  Grampy could only stay for a couple days, but I got to stay for 11 days!  I feel younger and very much older at the same time.  Two busy boys and a precious baby will do that to you. I mostly did the cooking and played with the boys and Mommy and Daddy took care of John. Except between 8 and 10 pm when I got to hold John and blissfully look at him while he rested in my arms or sucked on my finger until it was time for him and Mommy to call it a night.  So sweet!  Even sweeter since I knew I would not be the one waking up at 1 a.m. to feed him.  I got to sleep all the way until 6:30 a.m. when the older boys woke up for their day.  Until this morning when Christopher climbed into bed with me and said, "I was going down the stairs... and I kept going to the basement... so I could snuggle with you."  Only problem with this preciousness was that it was 5:42a.m. on the day of my departure....right before my 7 hour drive....man of not so perfect timing.  I did enjoy the snuggling though.  How cute is that? The entire time was filled with episodes just like this.

I thought I would be able to share all the Daniel and Christopher " isms" but the fact is that I have forgotten most of them, sigh.  So many cute things come out of their mouths that it was hard to keep track of them.  One I do remember is that Daniel was fascinated by John's umbilical cord in the hospital and the little clip they put on it and asked about it.  Well, for the next few days he kept trying to say umbilical cord and it always came out "invisible cord" which kind of makes sense too!
The other memorable "ism" was at the dinner table when we were eating lasagna and one of the boys said "Lasagna in the highest" with his hand held out like a cantor at church!  The entire family chanted "Lasagna in the highest" several times, always with one or both of the boys raising their arm like a cantor for the congregation to join in song!  Good times!

Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener.....

The week was full of fun and excitement, some scolding and a little crying and lots of love.  That's what family life is all about.  I thought about when I brought my third child home from the hospital.  Don't really remember much about it but I know there were two little girls who were excited and curious about this little boy who had entered their lives.  There was a Mom who was exhausted and a Dad who was very proud and probably exhausted as well.  I don't think this homecoming was much different...except the two little girls were boys in this case.

Now that's one proud Grampy!

and an excited brother

baking Gigi's birthday cupcakes and cake, can you tell it is early in the morning?  
The boys are energetic and happy and I'm just trying to keep my eyes open!  So not a morning person!

One adventure after another!  Spain was amazing!  The first half of our annual migration was extra special with the birth of John and hanging out with Daniel and Christopher.  We are now on our final leg(s) of the trip to the shore.  Sadie the Wonder Dog knows there is a prize at the end of this journey, she can smell it in the air already! And I am starting to get excited about all the work/fun to be had at the shore this year.  Stay tuned, it should be another summer to remember.