7QT Friday, Family Updates

I'm feeling a little lot boring today, and also incredibly tired.  This baby is due a week from Sunday and if you could spare a prayer for the sleep fairy to sprinkle me hard before I go into labor, I would be so appreciative.  I think today I will do an update on the seven family members that currently breathe oxygen, since I'm hoping and crossing fingers that by next Friday there will be eight of us on the outside.

Let's do this youngest to oldest...

1)

Alexander the Great

This 2.5 year old is so funny and cute.  Annnnnd so loud and challenging.  That pretty much sums up any toddler, right?  (Toddlers are still my favorite age group!)  He loves to shoot hoops and wrestle with his brothers, have Maggie read him books, and torment the cat.  Everyday when we come home, he asks "Can we play outside for just a wittle bit?" and every morning he asks "Where we going today? and "Who's coming over?  Who?  Who?""  He has to be included in the day's plans.  For a long time he thought he had a baby in his belly like me, but just the other day I asked him what was in there and he said "Nuffin."  He describes his day for us by saying things like "Eva, in my class, threw the football at the cat today, and Ba, my teacher, put her in timeout", which cracks us up because he's not in school.  He also has a penchant for talking for a minute straight and then at the end saying "and that's a story."  It certainly is, my wee one.  Speaking of wee, potty training is coming along fine, but he only remembers to go #1 if he's walking around the house "maked".  He does tell us that he has to do #2 on the potty, which is awesome, so we have not had to change poopy diapers in a while. Just in time for the newborn to take over that job.

2)

Maggie Rose

This 6 year old Kindergartner is just the sugar and spice this household needs.  Sometimes the spice is a little more red pepper flakes than cinnamon, but her pretty face helps it go down a little easier.  She has taken after her oldest brother's love of books and is devouring all the Magic Treehouse and Junie B. Jones books she can get her hands on.  She loves to inform me of what page she's on every five minutes, and eats up my praise like her favorite dessert.  She has plenty of girlfriends at school and is definitely taking an interest in fashion.  She also has her main boyfriend Robby, but Robby goes to a different school, so her school boyfriend is Jack.  She's a sailor, with a boy in every port :)  She still hates having anything "fancy" done with her hair and can cry a river at the drop of a hat.  Phil has started to ask her if she needs to go to the hospital every time she cries like she's dying, to which she replies "No, why do you always have to ask me that?  I'm just crying a little!"  She is very affectionate and loves lots of hugs and kisses, and still wishes she was little enough to get picked up on the regular.  But little, she is not!  She's heading for supermodel status with her height, and wears size 7/8 clothes.  We are totally doomed when she becomes a teenager.  Off to the convent she will go ;)

3)

Eamon the Meatball

(That's him in the orange shorts getting a basket.)

This 7 year old first grader is such a fun personality.  He is equal parts shy and the life of the party.  He loves to know we are watching him, but as soon as we praise him, he gets embarrassed.  He is the runt of my litter, but so competitive in sports that he makes up for his petite stature.  He scored 6 points in his last basketball game, and is seriously fast and always practicing some sport with Andrew.  He much prefers being active to reading, and when he does pick up a book to read it's usually Calvin and Hobbes or some kind of book filled with interesting facts (World Almanacs, Guinness Book of World Records, etc.)  He is best buddies with his cousin Tommy who is in the same class at school, and can't wait to be an altar server like his big brothers.  He pretty much always has a twinkle in his eye and loves to sit as close to us as possible without seeming like his love language is touch (it most definitely is).  As long as you don't try to feed him food he doesn't like (he's our pickiest and sloooooowest eater) he's a happy camper.  He still wants to be a Priest when he grows up, and maybe one day a Bishop, "like Bishop Eamon Martin in Ireland."

4)

Drew Baby

Andrew is  9 years old, in 3rd grade, with an old soul kind of personality.  He has a great moral compass, is a natural leader, is likable to all, very athletic and very smart.  Some people get ALL the things.  But, like every good superhero, he has a weakness...his Irish temper.  Oh boy, look out for that ugly beast that comes out every so often.  He would much rather be doing anything besides sitting still and reading.  Every weekend, while the Mama and baby nap, the older kids have quiet time when they can read or do a puzzle.  Andrew will inevitably ask if there's any chores he can do because vacuuming down the stairways is much more fun than reading a good book.  I don't get it either.  He is a bit of a perfectionist and worries about getting places on time.  Last weekend, he was an altar server for the TV Mass they were filming, and he fretted for days that he would do something wrong (he didn't).  One of his best friends is a girl named Abby, and for the Mardi Gras celebration at school, they were King and Queen of their class - a foreshadowing, methinks.  I asked him why he got to be picked King again (5 years in a row!) and he said he doesn't know why, but he just keeps getting the cupcake with the baby in it.  Andrew also loves to hug and cuddle up right beside us on the couch, another kid who's love language is touch.  

5)

John-Paul III

J-P is 11 and in 5th grade, and definitely an oldest child.  He loves to be the leader in the house, and is always letting us know about everything he learns about, even when it's sometimes not very accurate reporting.  He is sweet and sensitive and smart and artistic and prefers reading books over watching sports (Phil just doesn't get it, I totally do).  He seems so innocent and naive still, which we are so thankful for, and definitely tries hard to please us with his grades.  The other day, he was talking to an Aunt on the phone, and he asked her how the weather was, and what she was up to, and Phil and I were floored listening to him actually initiating conversations with an adult on the phone.  What a long way he's come!  He used to be so shy and insecure, now he is really blooming into a young man.  A few months ago, he was altar serving, and a woman had received the Eucharist in her hands, but didn't consume it by the time she had turned to walk back to her pew.  J-P followed her, and kindly told her to please consume the Body of Christ.  After Mass, I told him how proud I was of him, and he said "Thanks, it was my first time pulling someone over." : )  He is so caring to other's needs, and prays every morning in the car for a baby sister for Maggie.  We love reading his writing assignments from school, because he is a great and funny writer, and although he wants to be a CIA agent when he grows up, I think writing might be in his future.  Maybe he can take over this blog when I retire.

6)

Mr. Martin

Oh how I love this man o'mine.  Saint Philip.  He has been so busy lately, between teaching, finishing his second Master's (his internship should be done in April!), coaching track club at the kid's school, helping lead a young adult group at our parish, and then all the family schtuff.  Yet he still makes sure I have time to rest when he's home and does the laundry, cooks dinner, cleans...he's amazing.  On Tuesday, I thought (wrongly) that contractions were starting (I was just dehydrated), and the excited look on his face was priceless.  He loves our babies so much!  Who wouldn't want to have six kids with a husband like this??  I thank God for him every day because marrying him was the easiest and best decision of my life.  I am so blessed.

7)

Moi + Baby Martini

(That photo is for you, Micaela, which proves how much I like you because seriously.)

What can I say that I haven't already bored you all with already?  I'm still working full-time until this baby comes out (so come out baby!), still trying to walk 5 days a week (more like a slow waddle), and trying not to freak out that labor is really really close.  Just focus on the baby, focus on the baby, focus on the baby.  

Have a wonderful Pi Day (3/14) and weekend everybody!