As usual, I meant to come here and post about something weeks ago and am just now getting around to it.

Wes had a six week appt wherein he was 11lbs 9oz. He is a very fat baby. He's sleeping through the night more often than not now, which is excellent. I am sleepy. He gets his first set of shots (and Katie and Serena for good measure) tomorrow. Mainly because I pitched a fit about calling over a week in advance for an appointment anytime during an entire week's span and was told I still couldn't have one. Hello, what's the point of having a doctor if I can't see her?

Bri did her badge testing at Brownies and got a badge for rock collecting. She was in the parade this weekend with them as well. I didn't go watch because it was pouring rain and I'm mean like that.

Serena went to her first birthday party and apparently had fun.

Katie is talking more. Her favourite thing is to go shopping. The best thing she says right now is she calls her detangling spray "my hairpoo". Heh. She also informed me yesterday "No Baby K! Katie!" So I guess she doesn't want to be a baby anymore.

I have the pics all scanned in now, I just have to code them. There's some more than the ones I put on Facebook, but it could still be awhile.

A week and a half ago, I took Wes in for a 4 week appt. They don't usually do those things, but they wanted to get the hearing test done. He hears just fine, and was 10lbs 2oz. We have the disharge appt this week, then it's on to our new family doctor, who last I heard was booking appointments into 2010.

Bri also had Brownie enrollment which was cute. She took it very seriously and practiced the stuff she had to recite even though it was written down in front of her. She is really enjoying Brownies and the leaders are really good again. She made a bird feeder last week. Next week is badge testing.

I know everyone wants more pictures of everyone, and I have two rolls of film to scan and put up. Wes is starting to settle into more of a schedule and allowing me to put him down more, so I may actually manage to do that before next year. We did take the kids for professional pics, but they were all uncooperative and they didn't turn out so hot.

The house is continuing. Mike has done a good chunk of the drywall and we hope to be moved in before Christmas. We'll see.

Wes had his two week check up on Weds. He's doing just fine, up to 9lbs 1oz. He couldn't do the hearing test though, as it requires the baby to be quiet and still (ie sleeping) and he wasn't.

The older kids love school, and dance. Bri is enjoying Brownies as well.

Hooray, I finally had a baby! Wesley Michael decided to show up at 2:31am on Sept 17. He was 8lbs 8oz and 20.5" long, our biggest yet. So far he's a very good baby and the girls are just all over him. They all want to feed him, and Katie is very interested in making sure he is ok. We went out today, and Mike was just going to walk Katie to the door and come back for the baby, but Katie wouldn't go until he got Wes out too. She was afraid we were going to leave him in the car. The birth went well, I'll put the full birth story down next, so don't read it if you're squeamish. Other than that, kids are still going to school and the house is still being built.


I started having sporadic contractions on the morning of the 16th. It felt a whole lot like when I had Katie, so I was quite certain that the baby was coming that evening. I went to meet the teacher night and finished my laundry and stuff. At 9pm I decided to start timing my contractions. They were five minutes apart, so I decided to page Michelle because of my history of fast labours. She got here at 10, and I was 4cm dilated, so we count that as the start of active labour. My contractions kept up at 4-5min apart for the next couple hours. They were definitely contractions, but they weren’t that painful. I wasn’t able to walk through them, but I could still talk through them. At about 12:30am (so it’s now the 17th) she checked me again, and I was 5cm, stretchable to 6. Which was kind of disappointing. We decided that since it was late, we’d go ahead and break my waters. I’m sure he still would have come before morning, even if we hadn’t, but it probably would have taken 2-3 more hours. For another hour or so my contractions got more intense. I think I pushed for half an hour, Mike thinks it was more like 10 minutes – I’ll ask the midwife when she gets here (forgot to ask). Anyways, I found my bed to be very uncomfortable for baby having, it is just too squishy. Michelle sent me to the bathroom to try pushing on the toilet a couple times because I had a small lip of cervix left. I didn’t really like that much either, but I did it. I decided to try lying down, sort of on my side. Two or three more pushes and his head was out. I remember Katie’s head being much easier and hurting less – but Mike says I remember things nicer than they were, so who knows. His head is of a normal size, but it’s probably bigger than Katie’s was. Then everyone went a little nutso, and they yanked my legs back. Carole (the second midwife) apologized for pushing on my stomach later, but I don’t remember her doing that. I remember Michelle reaching in, and me being like WTF? And none too happy about it. Apparently he attempted to be born both shoulders at once, and there was concern he’d get stuck. He popped out pretty quick with the yanking, but showed his displeasure by pooping immediately. Wesley Michael was born at home at 2:31am Sept 17. He was a ginormous 8lbs 8oz and 20.5” long.

Post-partum wise, I had no tearing, which I think is amazing considering his size and preferred method of exit. I did however have a bit of a hemmorhage again, which sucked (did check this with the midwife, it was 700mL, which was less than with Serena). This time I got two shots of oxytocin and uterine massage, hooray. I narrowly avoided an IV. It was decided that my bladder was in the way of my uterus shrinking because after I went to the bathroom I stopped bleeding.

Wes has hair, but it’s not as dark or abundant as Katie’s was. We’ll see what it looks like after a bath. I think he will have blue eyes like the girls, his eyes don’t look the way Katie’s did. IMO, he doesn’t currently look anything like any of them either. The midwives think he looks like Mike, but I’m not sure of that. All Mike’s baby pictures are unfortunately packed too, so I can’t even go look. The girls are quite enamoured with him, Serena especially. They are all dying to hold and feed him. Katie gave him kisses and named all his body parts.

No, there's no baby yet. I'm now overdue which is kind of weird. But whatever, the baby will come when it comes.

Bri has had almost two weeks of school now. She's happy with her class. Meet the teacher night is Tues, so maybe I'll get to go to that and see what's up.

Serena had her first day and said it was really great. She starts her regular schedule of every other day and alternate fridays tomorrow. She hates that she doesn't get to go everyday, at least so far. That may change. Her teacher said she was really eager to do the "school" type activities and seemed disappointed when they did free play stuff.

They started dance yesterday. Both are in the tap/jazz combo class again. Serena's class is only two, so she better stick with it this year! Katie really wants to dance, but she has to wait. There will be a mom and toddler class starting up in October that we are going to sign up for.

Bri's Brownies starts Weds night, and that pretty much fills us up for extra curriculars for this year. The nice thing is if next year Serena wants to do Sparks, it's at the same time as Brownies in the same place.

Back to school starts Tuesday. Bri starts grade 2 that day, but Serena doesn't start going until the 10th. She has meet the teacher on the 3rd though, which she's looking forward to. I haven't seen the kindergarten rooms at this school, so I'm looking forward to it too.

They finished their swimming lessons last week as well. Neither of them passed, I didn't expect them to. Bri missed two classes, which didn't help. Bri got just over half the requirements for Swim Kids 2, it'll still probably take two more classes to pass because she'll need the first one as a refresher in the spring. No more swimming until then as we'll be too busy with Brownies and Dance. Serena only had four deficiencies, so she might pass next time. I have a choice whether to put her in Salamander again or Swim Kids 1, the difference being age groups. I'll probably keep her with the younger kids, but it's nice to have the option for scheduling purposes.

Katie turned two last weekend and got her usual third kid crappy party, ha. Mike's mom and Fred were here, so at least she had guests this year. She had cupcakes that looked like frogs. I got her some toys from a show she likes (unfortunately, it's like Teletubbies - I love the Brits, but their children's programming is horrible) and she hasn't put them down all week. She's starting to talk a lot more now, which is making life easier.

I've got 2 weeks left until my due date. My midwife is quite convinced this won't be another due date baby, but I have too much to do between now and then, so it had better be. ;)

Picked up Bri from camp. She apparently had a good time, but I think it's going to take her a few days to regulate to normal. They were up and doing stuff at 7:30am every day, and Bri isn't really a morning person. I heard she was the last to get up today. She had a bit of a meltdown because she ran out of money and didn't make a Build-a-Bear - but seriously here. One, I sent her with $40, she picked herself a tshirt, a different stuffed toy and a boatload of candy. Two, WTF is Build-a-Bear doing at camp? Anyways. She also didn't want to leave, which between that and the lack of sleep all week was probably more of the problem.

As usual getting info out of her is like getting blood from a stone, but I have learned that she does want to go back next year. It rained too much and she didn't get to do a few things because of it, one being the rock wall. She doesn't like snorkeling (though I got a card saying she passed the first level) but loves the water trampoline.

School starts up in a couple of weeks, it's hard to beleive summer is over.

So we shipped Bri off to camp this morning. She's gone until Saturday afternoon. Hope she has fun!

I've been meaning to come and post about stuff here for awhile, but I never quite get around to it. Sigh. We've been having a moderately busy summer.

We went to the zoo at the end of June, which was really fun. It was Katie's first time at the zoo, and she claims we saw cows, dogs, cats and mice. I'm not quite sure how a giraffe looks like a cow, but I can sort of see how a wallaby looks like a mouse. The best part was the stingray exhibit. You get to go stick your arms in a big tank and poke at stingrays. Katie thought it was awesome. She kept saying "they're coming! Nice fishy!" and then laughing hysterically when they swam by. Could have stayed in there all day. She and Serena also rode a pony and Bri rode a camel again. I am working on the pictures, but I'm still at Christmas in my album. :/

Bri did two overnight camping trips, one for one night and one for two. Both were with Girl Guides. The first she got eaten by mosquitos, but is apparently very lucky as she didn't itch at all. The second was real camping in tents. She got a touch of dehydration or heat stroke and didn't feel very well one day, but otherwise had a good time. She came home with badges to put on her brownie uniform she doesn't even have yet. She is going for a week of away camp on Monday. This one is through the YMCA and she'll get in a group to write and produce a play as well as do "normal" camp stuff. She's been looking forward to it.

We also went on vacation to Manitoulin island for a friend's wedding last weekend. We were kind of worried about the amount of time in the car and we were sharing a hotel room for two nights. But everything went so much better than could be expected. The kids were up late with wedding activities and crashed out easily. They sat quietly for the wedding and the parts of the reception they needed to. Bri caught the bouquet, and Katie stayed up late dancing. It was a little chilly, so we didn't get to swim much. We took the ferry there, but went around on the way home so we could stop at Science North. The kids enjoyed it, and if we lived anywhere near the place we'd go more often. They had lots of neat stuff that you could spend a day playing with. We also didn't have time to go to Dynamic Earth, so we'll have to go back again someday.

I had that ultrasound, and the baby is definitely a boy. I don't know about the kidneys, though I'm guessing since my midwife just called with my iron level results and didn't mention it, it's fine. My iron is low as usual, so I just need to up the suppliments.

The house is getting closer to finished. The siding is done for this year, and Mike's moved on to insulating. I think maybe we'll get in around October. The drywall and stairs will probably take some time.

School is finally out. Hurray! No more getting up in the morning. Bri's report card was all good as expected. Straight A+ in reading. Her lowest mark this term was a B (in art of all things) and overall a B- (that was first term gym). She's annoyed that her art mark went from an A- to a B, but she is sloppy and rushes stuff a lot (sound familiar anyone?). They learned what teacher they are getting next year, I'm pretty sure she'll be in the grade 2/3 split.

Serena's first day of school will be Sept 10. Should be interesting. I got the days I wanted, she'll be going every Monday and Wednesday as well as alternate Fridays. I'm not sure how this is supposed to be easier than every day half days, but my choices are limited to send her, try to drive her somewhere else or not send her to school at all. Bah. Let's take bets on how often I send her the wrong Friday or forget it's her Friday.

They finished their swimming yesterday, and Bri is very excited that she finally passed Swim Kids 1. She's done that one three times. Of course, that messed up my nice little schedule for the summer as they don't have SK2 at the same time and they won't allow her to attend Katie's class with me. So, Katie got dropped from swimming this summer, poor kid. I went back and looked at Serena's swim report card from last class because something looked kind of weird - it appears she is getting worse at swimming, ha. The session she finished three weeks ago she had 4 deficiencies. The one she finished yesterday, she had 11. Heh. Different teachers, and it doesn't really matter how many things she's unable to do, she's not ready to move up a level, period. She's just not relaxed in the water. The new session starts the week after next and goes until the end of August, and that'll be the last swimming until next year. Bri has Brownies and Dance already, and Serena may do Dance as well again.

I forgot something. Bri had her end of year reading assessment done and she now tests out of the primary grade range. So her teacher was unable to give me an exact level, but she said it was probably somewhere about mid-grade 4. She gets her report card not next week, but the week after.

Also school related, Serena has Kindergarten Info Night tomorrow.

I forgot more things. Serena had her birthday in between blog posts there. We went to the butterfly conservatory, which she liked, but I think she was disappointed she couldn't touch any butterflies. She also was wanting to play with caterpillars, but that wasn't an option either.

Summer is finally here, hurray. We've been pretty busy wrapping up everything, but the summer is going to be busy too. Bri finished Sparks a few weeks ago, and Dance is done next weekend. The studio is selling DVDs of the recital, so when I get mine I'll be sure to share.

Serena finished her swimming. She did pretty good for a kid who spent half the classes crying. She does have to repeat the class, but she only missed three things. Front and back floats and back glide. I've just found out that her class is pretty much the same level as Bri's, just for younger kids (they split it in two - Salamader + Sunfish = Swim Kids 1), so it's no surprise that she needs to repeat. The both of them start again next week. We're going to do a set of daily lessons, and then go back to once a week for the rest of the summer. Katie hasn't had lessons because there aren't as many time slots for her age group and it's not been possible to line them all up. She is still needing a parent in the pool obviously, so I have to have it at the same time as the others'.

Speaking of Katie, she has a favourite book now. It's interesting, because it's from the same series that Bri's first favourite book was from. Bri liked Moosey Moose, and Katie likes Sluggy Slug. If she goes in her room for any reason she goes and gets "Slugh Slugh" first. She's also memorized it (very simple book) just like Bri did. But either Bri was slightly older or just had better vocabulary skills, because Katie's "reading" of the book is more basic.

#4 seems to be coming along just fine. It's hard to beleive it's the last trimester already. Somehow, I don't think I mentioned it here, but we are having a boy. Least that's what the ultrasound said. I have to have another in about a month, so maybe we can get a recheck on that at the same time. ;) This baby has enlarged kidneys, just like Bri did. And just like Bri's did, I expect them to resolve before birth.

Not too much new around here. Bri got her report card, it's virtually identical to her last one. I think they only changed the few things, just to change them. It was also written by a different teacher, so that may be why. Her writing and visual arts went down from A- to B+ and phys ed went from a B- to a B+, which made me laugh. Her homework completion went from E to G, which is warrented, she's sloppy with her homework. I'm not a mom that sits and watches her like a hawk to make sure everything is done correctly, I don't think you learn much that way. Anyhoo, it's another excellent report card, so yay.

Serena started swimming lessons again, with the bribe that we'll take her to a waterpark if she can get through them this time. ;) She has the same male teacher she had last year, which she doesn't like. I'm pretty sure he teaches all of the classes at her level though, so tough. Last time she spent the first 10-15 min hardly in the water, a second female lifeguard came to help out. However, the last 15 min she had a great time, so the teacher says we should keep her in that level and keep bringing her. She's just very slow to warm up. It drives me nuts, because when the class is over, she doesn't want to get out of the pool!

Katie is starting to talk a little more, but she still talks mostly in baby talk. If you ask her where she's going she'll tell you "I go bye" and wave. It's cute.

The house is coming along, it's a big job though, and Mike has had a lot of work stuff going on, so what can you do. He's hoping to finish putting all the windows in on Friday and finish the electrical rough in soon.

I decided to go back to school, so on May 1 I start my BA in psychology and women's studies. It's all done online (except exams, which can be done at the local U) through a fully accredited U in Alberta. It's nice because being online, I have up to 6 months to finish, or as little time as I need. And I can work here after the kids go to bed and stuff. Don't ask me what I'm going to do after that, I'm not sure yet. Since I figure it's going to take me until 2014 (sigh), I'm just not going to look that far ahead. There's a lot of options for post grad work, and having a BA gives you a bit of a jump for office jobs as well.

Too busy to post stuff here, I suppose. I keep meaning to, and then don't.

Bri got asked to do a gifted workshop at another school. She's not all that forthcoming with info, but they are researching penguins for some reason. She has one more day there on Friday, and then I'll get a little note about it. Report cards are also due soon. Her birthday was a few weeks ago, she had her party at an indoor playground here. I think Katie had the most fun.

Serena is still kind of bored without Bri home during the day. She plays with Katie, but it's not the same, especially since Katie still doesn't talk much. She liked March break, where Bri was home for a week. She is going to be trying swimming again starting next weekend. I hope it works out this time.

Katie is getting bigger, but as I said above, she doesn't talk much. She has maybe 10 or 15 words she uses, but most of them are useless - like she says no in answer to every question. It would be helpful if she could actually tell us what she wants, but so far no good. She loves to colour now, it's what she does all day. According to the scale at Mike's dad's house, she weighs about 25lbs. She's tiny though, 18 month clothes are still a little on the big side. She was a big fan of easter, though she only wanted to pick up the little eggs.

#4 is due Sept 12, and seems to be coming along. The gender ultrasound won't be until May sometime.

The house is coming along, we're still hoping to move in this summer. There's a lot of work left though, and Mike has several business trips in the next couple of months.

I suppose I should write about Christmas before I forget how it was completely.

My brother and his wife were here, so that was good. The kids were surprisingly well behaved, no over stimulation meltdowns, which we were expecting. Katie refused to open any presents, the only thing she showed interest in wasn't for her. Her favourite present is a big nubby ball that will be for outside once Spring comes.

Mike (brother) kept laughing at Serena because all her presents involved bugs. She likes bugs, what can I say? Currently her favourite present is a bug pop up book, but I think she'll be impressed with the ant farm once the ants come in the mail.

Bri's favourite was a reindeer webkinz I got her. The kids are addicted to Webkinz.

They got a lot of presents to share. One of which was a mold for igloo blocks. We made an igloo, and it melted.

Bri went back to school, which of course she likes. She is staying in dance, but Serena won't even entertain the idea of going anymore, so she's done.

Katie is talking a little bit. She says hi and bye and all done. She wants nothing more than to be as big as her sisters. She follows them around and mimicks them. It's cute.