Benjamin Rhys Gets His Name

Naming babies is hard work. We really struggled to find the right name for each of our kids and I always second guess myself after the name is chosen and it takes me several weeks to settle into their names. It was no different with Benjamin.

When I first got pregnant with Zara five years ago, David and I were convinced she was a boy. Part of that conviction was due to the fact that we each came up with the same boy name separately...but we had no girl names we liked. The name, of course, was Benjamin. Even though we didn't get to use it for Zara, it was always at the top of my list of possible names if we ever had a boy.

When we found out baby #3 would be a boy, I knew Benjamin would be a top contender for a name. But I didn't want to declare our search over without considering other options and before he was actually born. I firmly believe you need to meet your kid before you name them.

We poured over baby names and discussed other possibilities. I knew I didn't want anything super modern. I like traditional names. David wanted something Irish or that would at least point to our heritages.

Our list included many names, but the top contenders were Benjamin, Patrick, Declan, Peter, Jack, Liam, and Alexander. Benjamin was still my top pick but David was less sure. But during the last week or so of my pregnancy, I did start thinking of him as Benjamin in my head. I was 99% sure that was his name. Luckily, after he was born David agreed with me. He was a Benjamin.

There are several reasons why I liked Benjamin. It means son of the right hand or son of the south and since he was born in Georgia, I thought it was especially fitting. I also liked that it was the name of several great men like Benjamin Franklin or King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon. He was a wise leader who emphasized service, compassion, and love. I hope my son finds value in their examples.

The middle name was much harder to agree on. I liked Patrick or Lee for a middle name. Patrick is David's dad's middle name and Lee is my dad's. But we didn't want to honor one grandfather over the other and Benjamin Patrick Lee seemed a little excessive.

I had put Rhys (pronounced Reese) on our list of names but knew it'd be a middle name, not a first name. I'd heard the name, of course, but I discovered it again on a list of Irish/Gaelic names. David really wanted something that pointed to our heritages and both of us have many ancestors who hailed from the British Isles--Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.

Rhys is originally a Welsh name which means ardor or enthusiastic. We thought that was a fitting companion to Hope and Grace, Zara and Adelaide's middle names. I think we did a good job...I only hope Benjamin agrees.

Introducing Benjamin Rhys Malone

Benjamin Rhys Malone

Born: Sunday, July 26, 2015

Time: 9:39 AM

Weight: 8 pounds 12 ounces

Length: 19.5 inches

I see so many similarities and differences in the labors and deliveries of my three children. Benjamin’s was my quickest and perhaps easiest labor, but if I had to rank them, I’d still say Adelaide’s was my favorite (if you can have a favorite tale of pain and baby birthing). But since I love birth stories, here’s Benjamin’s story.

I’d been having contractions on and off for nearly two weeks (sometimes with more intensity and frequency than other times) and I waited expectantly for true labor to begin at any moment. For nearly a week, I thought every day was going to be THE day. With each passing day of continued pregnancy, my optimism faded. I had myself absolutely convinced he would arrive on Friday, July 24^th, but after a day of nearly constant but intermittent contractions, I still found myself pregnant by day’s end. On Saturday, my contractions stopped. My sister predicted the baby would come Sunday since she had a very similar labor with her third child. Near constant contractions, 24 hours of nothing, and then boom. Baby.  I hoped she was right but didn’t want to get my hopes up again.

We spent our Saturday together as a family. We walked to Zara’s school and played at their playground and then came home to eat popsicles and lunch. We decided to introduce the girls to Star Wars and so settled in with some popcorn and Episode IV, which the girls seemed to like. (Adelaide especially liked Chewbacca, who she kept calling a bear.) Not being much in the mood to cook, we went to Panda Express for dinner. My fortune, fittingly enough, said “Remember yesterday, live for today, and plan for tomorrow.” After putting the girls to bed, I watched some TV, took a shower, and fell into a fitful sleep.

Around 3 AM, I woke up to use the bathroom but found I was too restless to fall back asleep. I had a contraction and finding it slightly more intense than usual, I decided to start tracking them. I laid in bed for about half an hour and then moved into the living room to use my exercise ball. The contractions were definitely harder but still only 5-7 minutes apart. By 4 o’clock, I thought it was time to wake up David. I didn’t want to delay going to the hospital since I knew it would take us a long time to get the girls situated and drive to the hospital which is 30 minutes away if there’s no traffic.

David was very disoriented since he had stayed up way too late watching a movie and hadn’t been asleep long. He hopped in the shower while I went to call the on-call midwife and his sister, Fiona, about watching the girls. By 5 AM, my contractions were now 3-5 minutes apart and growing more intense but still manageable. We packed up the car and woke up the girls to drive them to Fiona’s house about 15 minutes away. The girls were excited about the baby’s arrival and Zara excitedly kept talking about her baby brother. Adelaide seemed rather distraught when we dropped her off at Fiona’s house but Fiona assured me she didn’t cry for very long.

Back in the car, we made our way to the hospital, still another 30 minutes away. My contractions had now slowed down again, which worried me since I didn’t want to arrive at the hospital only to be told I was having false labor. The contractions were more painful, but back to 7-10 minutes apart. I thought part of the problem was the fact that I was sitting down. I just needed to get up again and move around to keep my labor going.

We pulled into the hospital parking garage around 6 AM and made our way to the Labor and Delivery unit on the 7^th floor. I’d never actually been inside the hospital so I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is that this hospital (in downtown Atlanta) is one of only two hospitals in the metro Atlanta area that specialize in natural childbirths and allow waterbirths at their facilities. My midwives only deliver at this hospital and have a strong partnership with them, which is why I had chosen to work with my midwife group and deliver at Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) in the first place.

Georgia unfortunately doesn’t have any birth centers and homebirths reside in a somewhat legal gray area which is why I ultimately opted to have a hospital delivery. I’d asked them many questions about what to expect at AMC and I had thought it would be more like my birth center experience but I was quickly to discover that they would operate like most other hospitals when it came to labor and delivery—lots of “standard measures of care” and little choice.

As soon as we checked in, I was taken to a triage room where I was required to put on one of those delightful hospital gowns that don’t close in the back even though I had specifically requested in my birth plan that I wanted to labor in my own clothes. I also had to have 20 minutes of constant fetal monitoring before they’d let me go into a labor and delivery room. This was also something I didn’t want because I knew having to lay in bed for 20 minutes would slow my labor once again.

The baby’s heartbeat was strong, but the nurses were concerned that my contractions were still so far apart. But when they checked me, I was already dilated to a 7, maybe an 8 and so they finally believed me when I said I just needed to get up and move around. It had been well over 30 minutes by this point and I was anxious to get into the labor and delivery room and into the promised birth tub to continue my labor since my contractions were slowly but surely growing more painful.

The on-call midwife, Gloria, finally arrived to deliver some bad news. Even though I had been told that my Group B strep results had come back negative from the lab, it looked like the results had been input incorrectly and my labs actually showed that I was positive for Group B strep and would need antibiotics. I had strenuously hoped to avoid this outcome since I hate getting IVs with a passion. I was positive with Zara and I found the IV to be the most painful and annoying aspect of the delivery. I was negative with Adelaide and really loved having the freedom of movement.

I also knew that getting an IV line with the antibiotics also had the potential to slow down my labor as well. They also need to deliver the antibiotics in two doses over 4 hours and I knew we didn’t have time for that. It was creeping closer to 7 AM by this point and for some reason, I was confident that this baby would come around 9 o’clock. After a lot of back and forth, Gloria finally agreed that we could decline the antibiotics (even though it wasn’t the “standard of care”) and that we would have to monitor the baby closely after birth for any signs of infection.

Finally they said we could move into a labor and delivery room and that they’d get a tech to start setting up the birth tub for me. But as with most things in hospitals, it seemed to take forever for anything to happen. Our 20 minutes of fetal monitoring had stretched to nearly an hour. The tub was inflated and brought into our room, but they wouldn’t start filling it up until the baby’s heartbeat showed enough “variability.” That took another 10 minutes of constant fetal monitoring (which they begrudgingly let me do standing up) while I powered through a few stronger and more intense contractions.

They started to fill up the tub but the water was barely even lukewarm. We cranked it up as high as it would go, but it never got very hot. They suggested moving to another room but I knew we didn’t have time for that. I just wanted to get into the tub for the last part of transition since I was already starting to feel small urges to push and my contractions were getting much more painful. Once the tub was finally filled, I climbed in and it provided some instant relief to my labor pains.

By now another midwife, Anna, had joined us. I’d only met with Anna once before (she’s one of the back-up midwives and not one of the regular members of the group) but I had really clicked with her at our one and only office visit and I was glad that she was there to help with the birth. Gloria popped in and out, but it was Anna who sat with us through the rest of the labor and who ultimately delivered Benjamin. 

We sat and chatted as my contractions came and went. My water hadn’t broken yet and my contractions, while definitely feeling more painful and intense, were still quite spaced apart. I was able to relax quite a bit between each one and as we neared 9 AM, a slight but not insistent urge to push started to accompany my contractions. The water was quickly cooling down. I knew I didn’t want to deliver in the tub, and I was just about to get out when a phlebotomist came into the room to draw some blood. (Why, I have no idea but it’s good she was so fast at her job.)

After she left with her vials of blood, I asked for help getting out of the tub so that they could check my cervix once more and possibly break my water and start pushing if the baby was in position. Anna checked me and was surprised to discover that the baby’s head was sitting low and that I was fully dilated. On the next contraction, she broke my water.

With both Zara and Adelaide, I felt an intense and sudden urge to push. With Benjamin, I just felt “pushy,” like I wanted to push but I could hold off if I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have this huge urge to push so it came as a surprise to both Anna and myself that on my next contraction, I started pushing and Benjamin just came flying out. With both Zara and Adelaide, I would push for a minute or two, rest for a few minutes and then push more. With Benjamin, it was five minutes of continuous pushing and then he emerged.

Since Anna had just broken my water, I was lying on my back when the pushing started, which was not the position I wanted to deliver in. I tried to turn around on the bed to get into a squatting position or on my knees but Benjamin was coming out too fast and I couldn’t maneuver differently. I just had to keep pushing in the most awkward position ever and suddenly, I had a baby. I couldn’t believe how quickly he arrived. He was born at 9:39 AM, so my prediction that he’d be born during the 9 o’clock hour came true.

I had a first degree tear which required a few stitches (ugh) and I held Benjamin and tried to nurse as they delivered the placenta and stitched me up. It wasn’t until then that we learned that because I’d declined the antibiotics, we might have to stay at the hospital for 48 hours in order to monitor Benjamin and make sure he didn’t have an infection. We finally got the pediatrician to agree that if his 24 hour cultures came back clear, we could leave after a day. There was no way I was going to stay in the hospital for 2 days. I went home 4 hours after giving birth to Adelaide so the thought of staying even for 24 hours was torture.

We were taken down to our new room in the mother’s wing and I passed an especially boring 24 hours. I know some women seem to enjoy their hospital stay because they can lay in bed and just focus on the new baby, but I was itching to get home. The hospital bed was uncomfortable, the food was terrible, and I hated being constantly poked and prodded every hour or two. Why does my blood pressure and temperature need to be taken so frequently, especially in the middle of the night? The only bright spot was that my room had an amazing view of downtown Atlanta.

In any case, we finally got the go ahead to leave the hospital around 4 o’clock on Monday afternoon. I am incredibly thankful that Benjamin’s birth—despite some of the set-backs and inconveniences—went so smoothly and that he came so quickly once true labor got started. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience but if I ever get pregnant again (which I don’t intend to) I think I’m ready to do a homebirth. No more hospitals for me. But at least I got to come home with one cute little boy.

Edited to Add: I realize this post may come off as whiney especially since my complaints are so minor in the grand scheme of things that could have gone wrong. I recognize my extreme privilege in having such easy and uncomplicated deliveries when so many other women have much different experiences. But I did want to document all the events of Benjamin's birth and my feelings surrounding it which includes a fair bit of whining.

The Due Date

Google Calendar so kindly sent me two notification reminders that today is my due date. As if I could really have forgotten. Alas, I do not think I'll be having a baby today although I'd love to be proven wrong. I know due dates are really quite meaningless, but both Zara and Adelaide arrived either right on or the day before their due dates and it's hard to mentally prepare myself to wait longer.

Still, waiting might be best at this point. David has been trying to tie up loose ends at work so that he could easily escape should the baby decide to come but something popped up last minute so now it looks like it really would be the most convenient to not go into labor until at least Thursday night. Friday or Saturday would be great. Yeah, that's only two or three days to wait but waiting for babies is interminable. The minutes feel like hours, the hours feel like days, and the days feel like weeks. I have a hard time staying awake during the day but can't sleep at night.

Monday I had a midwife appointment and then took the girls to a nearby splash pad. Yesterday we went to storytime at the library. Today I have no great plans to do anything but lay on the couch and watch TV but if I get desperate, there's always Chick-fil-A. With any luck, we'll have our newest baby in our arms in a few days.

39 Weeks

Here we are....39 weeks. I'm always optimistic that the baby will come early but they never do. They never do. Still I keep holding out hope that this little guy will come out just a few days early, mostly for convenience's sake since there's a lot of coordinating of children and childcare and David's crazy work schedule to contend with before we can even get to the hospital.

I find myself trying to remember what I did in the days preceding the girls' births. I remember the feeling of doneness and anticipation, anxiety and expectation, the fear and the hope, but I don't remember the day-to-day reality of waiting and what I did to not lose my mind.

The last week my days have been filled with lots of errand running and shopping. I wanted to stock up on food and household items which meant two large Costco trips this month. (I normally only go once.) And since Zara starts kindergarten at the beginning of August, there's been lots of running around to buy uniforms and school supplies, which I think is done now.

Zara's school has also been doing a half-day "kindergarten camp" to help prepare new kindergarteners to the school and routine. I think Zara has been pretty bored with most of it and I haven't made her go every day, but it's admittedly been a nice break for me. Today is the last day and then we'll have 2 weeks to sit around, waiting for the baby to come or surviving with 3 kids once he does arrive.

In the meantime, I've been trying to get the girls out of the house when I can, even though my energy levels are pretty low. Plus it's summer in the South so it's been very hot and humid. There's been several trips to the pool, parks, and the indoor play area at the mall. There's also been a healthy dose of TV. Right now, the girls are on a My Little Pony kick.

My nesting impulses have also finally kicked in which has meant even more shopping for baby clothes, boy things and decor. It's my last baby and first boy....I may be going a little overboard. I've been attempting to clean the house and get everything prepared for the baby's arrival but I'm not making much headway in that regard. I don't really need the nursery set up right now since the baby will sleep in our room for at least the first several months and my mom will be staying in there when she comes out to visit. (She's coming to help for 2 weeks and I couldn't be more relieved. I'm seriously stressed at the idea of 3 kids and my mom cooks and cleans and watches the other kids and is all around awesome and why can't she stay forever?)

In any case, we're mostly ready for this boy to join our family anytime he wants. Sooner rather than later would be preferred. At the very least my hospital bag is packed and I'm at least 75% convinced that I can do this whole labor thing one more time. I even painted my toes a sparkly blue to encourage the little guy to come out. We're 85% ready for him. I think.

Park and Pool

Every Wednesday this summer, our Relief Society has organized a trip to a different park in the area. Some are nearby, others are farther afield. Today's park was Chastain Park, which I had never been to before as it's located in the perimeter, near Buckhead. It took us awhile to find the park, but it had the great benefit of being at least a little shady. With temperatures climbing up in the 90s (with the humidity) a little shade goes a long way.

We played at the park for a little bit before we decided to head to their pool which is free before noon. It was a great pool. The far end was shady and very shallow which was perfect for Zara. She's been taking swim lessons and is eager to swim every chance she gets. But Adelaide, however, hates the water and doesn't want to get in. But at this pool, Zara can swim around on her own and I don't have to worry about being in the pool with her the whole time. We will definitely return.

Seven Years

David and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 6th. Sometimes it's hard to believe that it's been that long and other times, it seems way too short. I feel like David and I have always been together. Strange to think there was a time when he wasn't in my life. 

David's parents have been offering for months to spend the night with Zara and Adelaide so we could have a whole day and night to ourselves. As much as I relished the thought of a whole night away from the girls, we just never did it because of David's work schedule or my anxiety over leaving the kids. But finally, I declared to David that I must have a night off and it should be over our anniversary weekend. So I forced him to take Friday off from work and finally commit to some plans. 

After bouncing a few ideas back and forth, we finally settled on nice dinner at a great restaurant and we snagged the last remaining reservation for what is considered Atlanta's best restaurant, Bacchanalia. David and I are both secretly foodies at heart and we love going out to good restaurants and eating well-prepared and plated food though we obviously don't get to do it too often. I was looking forward to Bacchanalia for weeks. 

But Thursday morning, I thought my dreams of culinary bliss were to be completely devastated by a particularly ill-timed case of food poisoning. I'm not sure what did me in, but I went to bed on Wednesday feeling rather queasy and was not surprised to awaken early on Thursday morning feeling even worse. I'm particularly fortunate to not be a frequent vomiter (I never throw up during my pregnancies) so I was both horrified and relieved to empty the contents of my stomach that morning. I felt pretty awful and slept through much of the day. I only ever managed to eat two popsicles and a piece of toast. Friday I had more luck eating but I was barely able to choke down the smallest amount of breakfast and lunch so I didn't have high hopes for relishing my entire 5 course meal that evening. 

In any event, David's mother arrived around 1pm and after finishing our last minute preparations, David and I took off to our first destination -- a nail salon to get pedicures. After our pedicures, we headed to our hotel to check in before getting ready for dinner. We had debated between staying at a hotel in downtown Atlanta where we'd be closer to the restaurant/nightlife, but ultimately decided to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn that was minutes away from the Atlanta temple. In addition to being much cheaper, we also wouldn't have to pay for parking. It seems a little silly to pay $30+ dollars to park downtown. 

With Friday traffic in full swing, it took us nearly an hour to get to the restaurant from our hotel, but we still arrived 10 minutes early for our 5:30 reservation (the only time slot they had left), but we were the first patrons to arrive and so we got the best seat in the house, a cozy corner table with an excellent view of the entire dining room and kitchen. The dinner service was impeccable and lasted 2 hours from start to finish. In addition to the 5-course tasting menu, they bring a lot of little sides and supplemental dishes. It was an incredible culinary experience and I'm grateful to say that my stomach behaved itself and I got to enjoy my entire meal. (I did have to take it slow and didn't get to eat everything.) 

This was our menu for the night and David insisted that I list what we had so we remember. I really wanted to take pictures of all our plates, but I thought that might be a little tacky so I resisted. 

Extra - Cheese puffs and Summer Squash Soup with Radish

First Course - David ordered the Chilled Maine Lobster and I ordered the Berkshire Pork Lonzino. I couldn't order most of the dishes from this course because most of them were raw, but I did love my thinly sliced pork with pickled vegetables. David liked his lobster. 

Extra - Bread 

Second Course - David got the Gulf Crab Fritter and I got the North Georgia Rainbow Trout. I think both of these were our favorite dishes of the night. I think David's crab fritter may have just nudged out my trout for the top slot, but both were really, really good. 

Third Course - I got the Wood Grilled Prime NY Strip and David got the Jamison Farm Lamb prepared three ways. These were both really good but not as stunning at the previous course. 

Fourth Course - For the cheese course, David got the Goat's Milk Feta with strawberry, cucumber and oats which was delicious. I ordered the Consider Bardwell Rupert which was a little disappointing. It was a very strong cheese and used a little heavy handedly and I couldn't finish my salad. This is the only course I wish I had ordered differently. 

Intermezzo - Strawberry buttermilk smoothie with chocolate shavings

Fifth Course - David ordered the Almond Tart while I got the only chocolate dessert on the menu, the Warm Valrhona Chocolate (which was very brownie-like) with gelato and toffee. Excellent dessert but very rich. 

But after that, they brought us a brown butter cupcake with cream cheese frosting (pictured above) as an anniversary extra. And THEN they brought out a selection of cookies. The cookies nearly did me in. For the first time in our marriage, David had to finish dessert because I couldn't do it. 

We left feeling very full and very satisfied. It was a very expensive but very delightful dining experience. There's nothing like good food and excellent service to make you feel content and happy. We loved our dinner. 

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. We had planned on going swimming in the hotel pool, but I was too stuffed and still a little sick so we opted just to lay in bed and watch TV. The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel before heading for the 10am session at the Atlanta temple. My next planned stop was lunch at The General Muir, a Jewish delicatessen near Emory University. We even drove all the way down there, but David and I were still so full from dinner and breakfast that we couldn't even bring ourselves to order anything and so opted for dessert. I'm still a little mad that I couldn't fit in a few latkes or some pastrami. 

We had a wonderful anniversary and I'm grateful to David's parents for watching the girls for us. I've never gotten to spend the night away from the kids and it was a such a treat to have all that alone time with David, just the two of us. I hope we get to do something like it again someday. 

32 Weeks

I figure that since this is probably the last time I'll be pregnant (barring some divine intervention or faulty birth control) I should try to document this pregnancy a little better. Not the greatest picture, but this is me at 32 weeks. 

I'm always surprised how often random people see me and know just by looking at my stomach that I'm having a boy. I know it's supposedly in how you carry, but honestly, I don't think there's really been a difference in how I've carried the girls versus this boy. And though many people say their pregnancies feel very different depending on the sex of their child, this has felt very similar to my previous pregnancies, though I'm maybe a little bit more tired. I do, however, feel gigantically huge, but I have to assume that's all in my head. Still, it's always disconcerting when you can't see your own feet.

I feel very fortunate that (so far) my pregnancy has been healthy and relatively easy with no unexpected complications or risks. I'm always anxious that something somewhere could go wrong, but so far, everything is proceeding as it should. Since Atlanta doesn't have any birth centers and I didn't feel quite comfortable with a homebirth,  I'm working with a group of midwives that deliver at one of two hospitals in metro Atlanta hospitals that offer waterbirths and have more natural childbirth friendly policies. Their practice and the hospital are both in Midtown Atlanta so it's a bit of a drive and I can only hope I don't go into labor at the height of rush hour traffic.

We have absolutely no idea what we're going to name this kid and I'm feeling rather uninspired by even the small list of candidates we've created so far.  Naming kids is hard, but I know we'll figure out something once he's born. The girls--especially Zara--are excited for their baby brother to arrive. I am too, until I remember how much I have to do still to prepare for his arrival and when I think about the actual process of giving birth. Again.

And don't even get me started on how freaked out I am about having 3 kids.

Happy Second Birthday to Adelaide!

This little girl had a birthday two weeks ago. I can't believe how fast two years have gone by and how much has changed in those two years. 

I often call Adelaide my mini-me and it's true in more ways than one. Not only does she look a lot like me at the same age (I seriously need to scan some of my baby photos to prove this) but she's inherited a lot of traits from me too (both bad and good). This little girl packs a big personality. She can be sweet and loving and easy going, but she can also be stubborn, demanding, and full of attitude. 

We kept her birthday celebrations pretty low key. I don't see the point of making a big fuss for babies/toddlers. David was able to leave work early to join us for dinner (though he unfortunately had to go back afterwards) and we had alfredo pasta bake which is always a winner.  

We opened up presents. (David seems to think I went a little overboard.) She got a new set of Duplo Legos, a writing board, play-doh and some new books and stickers. My mom bought her a new outfit and pajamas.

Of course, she seemed to like her $1 balloon the best. Go figure.

She wasn't so interested in opening her presents.

And she mostly just wanted to read her new books. 

After presents we had cake and ice cream. I was pretty proud of how my cupcakes turned out. (Mostly because I finally bought a big enough tip to make pretty swirly frosting.) Unlike her mother, however, Adelaide definitely prefers ice cream to cake. She gets that from her father.

And now a list of some of Adelaide's favorite things: 

FAVORITE FOOD: yogurt, chocolate milk

FAVORITE ANIMAL: cats and dogs

FAVORITE CANDY: cookies

FAVORITE BOOK: Brown Bear, The Spooky Old Tree

FAVORITE COLOR: Pink and purple

FAVORITE SHOW: Curious George

FAVORITE MOVIE: Frozen or The Lego Movie
FAVORITE SONG: Popcorn Popping, Once There Was a Snowman
FAVORITE PHRASE: I want _____ now. 

FAVORITE TOY: Stuffed animals, Noah's ark, and vet clinic (basically anything with animals), Legos
FAVORITE THING TO DO: Play on the Kindle, hop on pop
FAVORITE PLACE: Anywhere she can run, the park, nursery
NICKNAMES: Ladybug, Lady, Adelady

Spring Break 2015

Spring Break this year coincided with my nephew's 8th birthday. Since 8 marks the age when most Mormon children get baptized, the majority of my family descended on Virginia to celebrate James' birthday and his baptism. Zara, Adelaide and I drove up to Newport News on Monday, April 6th. (David stayed behind to work. He's saving up his vacation days for the baby's arrival and a hopeful Christmas vacation in California.) My mom flew in from California on Monday to watch the kids since Cassy and James went on a mini-trip to Boston. My brother and his wife and daughter drove down from New Jersey on Thursday and my dad flew in from California the same day. Several of my brother in law's family came for the weekend as well so it was a full party. 

We spent the week playing with cousins and generally having a good time. We visited the Mariner's Museum in Newport News where we learned all about ships. (Sort of.) We played in the backyard in the dirt and at Chick-fil-A. We had a big picnic at a park that overlooks the James River and a big birthday dinner for James. And on Saturday morning, James was baptized. 

I wanted to get home on Saturday so I could have Sunday to recover from the long drive, but we didn't get on the road until 11:30. Luckily, my mom made this half of the drive with me which was a huge help since Adelaide decided she hated the car on this trip (my girls are thankfully good travelers in general) and we had a little throw up to contend with. 

Still, we all made it back alive and enjoyed our trip immensely. Now for a ton of photos. 

At the Mariner's Museum

Zara and her cousin Anna in matching dresses at James' baptism

The picnic at the park

The grandparents

The birthday boy

Star Wars cupcakes made by my brother Jason and his wife Elisa

Adelaide LOVED this balloon

She stole this cupcake from somewhere. I'm still not sure from whom.

A Crack in the Windshield

Nearly two years ago on our cross country drive from Utah to Virginia, the very corner of our windshield was hit by a rock. It must have happened somewhere in eastern Utah or Colorado, but it rained through most of the drive that day and so we never noticed the small chip. But when we woke up the next morning to start the next leg of our long, long journey, a small crack had begun to spread up the passenger side of the windshield. 

By the time we got to Virginia, the crack had spread up the passenger side of the windshield in a small arch but it stayed that way for some time. It didn't bother us since it only obscured the passenger side. (I know you can't really see the crack very well from the picture above.)

Not having the money to repair the windshield right away, we left it as it was. A few months later, however, I was driving on a rainy day and a huge splat of rain fell right on the crack on my windshield and immediately caused the crack to spread even further, until it stretched right through the middle of the driver's view. 

It was low enough on the windshield that it didn't completely obscure the view and so we kept driving with a cracked windshield. I forgot it was even there. And even when we did have the money to fix it, I kept putting it off for one reason or another. 

We had earmarked some of our tax return to replace the rear shocks of my car (which were in desperate need of fixing) and I finally inquired about having my windshield replaced at the same time. When I was finally connected to the glass guys at the dealership, they said they'd come to my house, it would take an hour to replace it, and it cost way less than I expected. 

Now I feel a little foolish that I waited so long. I'm so happy to have a crack-free windshield once again. (Just in time to sell my car and buy a mini-van. Oh yay.)