Time For Fall

Ben and Liam love their baby brother!

Nick enjoys bath time a lot more than Liam and Ben did at that age.

What a sweet little smile.

Fall has gotten off to a busy start. Both Liam and Ben are in school all day, Carolyn is back to work full-time, and Kevin is keeping busy with Nicholas at home as well as his various writing projects. It seems like we have something going on every day and the weekends too.

Liam and Ben (and Sadie) heading to the bus on the first day of school.

Ben recently lost his first tooth and Liam lost his 7th. Nicholas is now 4 months old and has started rolling over. He goes back to front pretty smoothly, but kind of gets stuck there and doesn't know how to get back. Ah well, all in good time.

Liam started playing soccer this fall for Upward. We're really glad we found this league. It is sponsored by a local church, while the players don't have to be members of the church, all the coaches are. In addition to soccer practice, there is also a devotional time every week with a scripture verse to learn. The kids attended an evaluation and then were placed on a team where all players had the same skill levels. Since this is his first time playing and didn't really know much about playing soccer, Liam is the oldest on the team, but that doesn't seem to bother him. The thing we like about this league is that its goal is to teach the children the skills of the game without the pressures of scoring or league standings. Of course, the children know the score of every game, but it really is about learning the game and having fun.

Liam kicks the ball away from the opposing team and his teammates go after it.

Here in Columbus we are already experiencing the effects of Hurricane Ike. We had 50-60mph winds yesterday afternoon. Power was out for several hours here (and still is in many parts of the city and outlying suburbs) and school was cancelled for today. We had a close call when our neighbor's tree fell across our shared fence into our yard. It was a near-miss with our back window and roof. We got pretty lucky.

See the branch that is brushing our window? That was close.

The tree completely crushed our shared fence.


So, that's the excitement in the life of the Carrs. Welcome to Fall!

The Boys Meet a Real-Life Movie Star!!!

Liam and Ben with Josh Hutcherson, currently starring in "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

Since Kevin is a film critic, he gets to see most movies before they are released in theaters. When a kids' movie is screened, Liam and Ben will often get to go along and see the movies with Daddy. This week, they trekked over to Indianapolis for the screening of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Brendan Fraser and teenager Josh Hutcherson. Such a long trip (Indianapolis is a little over 3 hours away) is not typical, most films are screened in Columbus, but they screening here conflicted with another movie. But, traveling to Indy had a bonus, Kevin was granted an in-person interview with Josh Hutcherson (the 15-year-old was also in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura", two of the boys' favorites.) So, Liam and Ben were thrilled when they also got to meet Josh in person. Oh, and Liam gives "Journey to the Center of the Earth" 5 stars. Click on the title above to read Kevin's interview.

Josh signs a poster for Liam and Ben

Liam and Ben let Josh know that they also saw him in "Firehouse Dog" and "Zathura"

Vacation 2008

The Carr Family on the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC.

As those of you who know us (or at least those who have read my previous blogs) know, we have been taking family trips since Ben was 6 weeks old. Previous trips have included a week in Las Vegas, multiple weeks spent traveling out west to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, visiting friends in California, family in Washington, driving to and camping in Alaska, even last summer's trip of a cruise. All told, Liam and Ben have visited 41 states and 4 countries in the five years we've been on the go. Well, this year we decided to make it a little less involved because of the addition of little Nicholas to our family.

Our shiny new minivan, ready to take on the challenges of a road trip.

I was able to rent a week's stay in a timeshare on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Much like our summer trips to Las Vegas, it was a lot like being at home, only someplace different, for a week. We bought groceries, packed up our newly purchased minivan and headed for a week of relaxation at the beach. On the way, we stopped and visited our good friends the Watsons (including their new addition, Miss Clara who is only 1 month and 6 days older than our Nicholas, as well as "little Ben") in North Carolina.

This is probably as close as I'll get to knowing what it's like to have twins.
Here I am holding Clara and Nicholas, who are only a month apart.

Liam takes some time to read to "Little Ben."

Once we got to Hilton Head, the big boys spent a lot of time every day at the pool, mostly with Daddy as Mommy was enjoying some time catching up on pleasure reading and keeping busy with Nicholas. The resort we stayed at even had planned activities for the kids, including "Pirate Camp" which the boys enjoyed. We only went to the beach once to play and once to collect shells, but that's okay. The time we spent together as a family was priceless, and that was our whole purpose in going.

Ben and Liam bury Daddy in the sand.

Nicholas relaxes in his car seat as the boys play with Daddy in the sand.

A beautiful sunset as viewed from our balcony.
Every night had sunsets just like this one.

We had a great family vacation. This may have been our first trip to Hilton Head, but it definitely won't be our last. The sacrifices we make on expenses the rest of the year are totally worth it to be able to spend the time and money that we do on our summer vacations.

Summer Birthdays

Summer 2008

My 3 Handsome Boys

Liam Michael - Age 7


Benjamin Geza - Age 5


Nicholas Ronon - 6 weeks

It's pretty convenient to have the boys' birthdays in the summer. It's nice to have so much time to spend with them on their birthdays and it's the perfect distance from Christmas (6 months) so that we have a big gap between huge gift-giving occasions. It is also a great time to have their pictures taken. I got the older boys' hair cut last week so they would look a little less shaggy for their pictures. It wasn't until I was loading the pictures and compared them to last year's that I realized just how much they had both grown. It just reminds me to enjoy every stage that Nicholas is going to go through as well as those that Liam and Ben have yet to begin.

Settling Into Summer

We've officially settled into summer here at the Carr house. Liam and Ben have both finished with school for the year, Kevin is getting a chance to catch up on some long-neglected personal projects, and I'm enjoying spending time with all of my boys. Nicholas is now 5 weeks old and we're enjoying every minute of having a baby in the house again.

Nicholas is all set for Memorial Day.

Liam and Ben decided to wear their Hawaiian shirts this day, and I happened to have one for Nicholas too. It was a little big for him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Liam turned 7 on Friday and we celebrated by going to Chuck E. Cheese. I realized that it's kind of become a tradition to go there on, or almost on, his birthday to celebrate both his and Ben's birthday since we have a combined family birthday party somewhere between both birthdays. Ben will turn 5 on Tuesday and since their birthdays are only 4 days apart, it's just easier to schedule one party for them to share.

Liam and Ben caught up with Chuck E. Cheese after he finished the rounds at a birthday party.

I am also feeling pretty pleased with how things are going with Nicholas. He is truly a wonderful baby. He hasn't quite reached the point where he is responsive or expressive, but he is such a sweetie. We've finally gotten him to the point where he spends more time awake during the day instead of at night, which is where we were the first 2-3 weeks of his life. He is a total snuggle bug and everybody loves to spend time just holding him. This is especially true of Liam, who just about pouts if he goes for more than a few hours without having time to hold his baby brother. I am additionally privileged because for the last five nights, Nicholas has slept through the night. The first four nights was between 6-9 hours, but last night he slept for 13 hours!! Go little man!! I can't tell you how surprised I was to get up and discover that he was still sleeping.

Liam enjoys snuggling with his little brother.

So, now that I'm not totally exhausted anymore, I can begin to appreciate the joys of summer. With our newly purchased minivan, we have some mini-trips as well as our "big trip" planned, heading to the Bunny Park (a neighborhood park with some waterworks) with friends, signing up for the summer reading program at the library, spending some time at the pool, and Friday Family Movie Nights. Let the fun begin!!

Ben (in the blue trunks in front) splashes in the spray at the Bunny Park.

Nicholas snoozes in his stroller at the Bunny Park.

Liam runs through the fountains. It was a perfect day to just play in the water. It was 90+ degrees out and it was so refreshing. Unfortunately the sunscreen didn't hold up as well as the boys did and we all ended up with sunburned shoulders.

Welcome Nicholas Ronon Carr

A lot has happened since my last post. We welcomed Nicholas Ronon Carr with much joy and celebration on May 7, 2008 at 8:30 am. Our new little guy weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds and was 21 inches in length.

At about 2 1/2 weeks before he was due, my doctor performed an ultrasound (just keeping an eye on things because of my history of pre-gestational diabetes with the last two pregnancies) to make sure there was enough fluid for the baby and got a little surprise. Even though I had been measuring only 3 days or so ahead of my due date all along, the doctor discovered that my little guy's head was too big to be measured by the ultrasound wand! He estimated that he was between 10 and 11 pounds at that point. So, in order to have the safest delivery possible, we scheduled a cesarean section for the following Wednesday. I was supposed to continue working until Thursday, but those plans had to be re-arranged fast.

Luckily, I had had a c-section with Liam, so it was really no big deal to have another one. I wasn't the least bit nervous about that. I just wanted to make sure that both the baby and I were as safe and healthy as possible. So, we made the calls to family and friends and everything was set to go. My mom would come down on Tuesday night and spend the next few days with Liam and Ben so that Kevin and I could concentrate on bringing our third son into our family. What a blessing to know that we could focus all of our energies on the baby and not have to worry about our big boys at home.

So, Wednesday morning we arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am and I was wheeled into surgery at 8:15. By 8:30 am, Nicholas Ronon Carr was testing out his lungs and what a beautiful sound it was! I'd forgotten what a weird sensation it is to have your entire lower body numb and not be able to feel anything. Luckily the anesthetic didn't keep me from holding my beautiful boy for too long.

When Liam got home from school, Nana brought him and Ben to the hospital to meet their new baby brother. They were so excited to meet Nicholas and hold him and love all over him. Liam was especially anxious to hold Nicholas at every opportunity.

But now we are home and trying to figure out our sleeping and feeding schedules while trying to maintain some normalcy for Liam and Ben. Like Mommy, Ben has finished school for this year and Liam is the only one on a "regular" schedule. Nicholas isn't awake much yet. He pretty much eats, then falls asleep, then wakes up, then eats again, then sleeps again. But needing attention every few hours is tiring, as all new parents know. I guess the thing that makes it different this time around is Liam's regular school schedule and, for once, Kevin has an almost regular working schedule. Ah well, we'll figure it out. In the meantime we'll enjoy every minute we have of this new adventure in parenting!

Bowling, Blizzard, Baby and Webkinz World

The only problem with having an entire week off from work is that I tend to stay up late and sleep in while I'm off. I just finished Spring Break and went back to work today. But after a week of sleeping in every day, I'm finding it hard to get to sleep, even though I'm quite tired. So, I hop on the computer and do some surfing. As I'm looking at some of my favorite links, including my friends' blogs, I realize that it's been a while since I've posted on my own. I'm averaging once every couple of months. So, being the last day of March, drifting into the first day of April as I write, I figured I'd post a little recap of our month here at the Carr house.

BOWLING

For some unknown reason, the boys got it in their heads that they wanted to go bowling. I think it was the talk of a friend's dad about how he was going to spend a Saturday with his three kids while the moms were scrapbooking that got it all started. Bowling was mentioned as a possible activity, Liam latched onto it and it snowballed from there. So, one Sunday afternoon at the beginning of March, we found a bowling alley not too far from home that had family specials and headed out for a couple of hours of family fun.

Liam had a blast, and was actually not too bad (with a little help from the bumpers.) Ben did pretty good at first (with a little help from Daddy) but tired after the first game. Mommy hit her stride in the second game and was rolling some strikes. Daddy also made a few strikes, but he'll admit to having a little help from the bumpers on these. Liam even managed a strike or two during this outing. It's a little expensive to be a weekly event, but it's some good fun for a cold Sunday afternoon.

Liam is really concentrating on his technique....

...and gets a STRIKE for his efforts. Way to go Liam!!

Ben's pretty excited about the outcome of his roll too.

BLIZZARD

About a week after our bowling outing, the "Blizzard of 2008" hit. We got dumped on big time. We were pretty well snowed in and didn't go anywhere for a couple of days. It's a good thing we've been doing a lot of cooking at home because we were well-stocked for the duration. The boys bundled up and went out to play a few times too. School was canceled, much to the delight of Mommy and the boys.

The front door was pretty well inaccessible thanks to the drifting snow and the sheer volume of snow that got dumped on us.

Ben and Liam all bundled up for some backyard play.

Even Sadie got in on the action. Poor thing didn't know what to think when she stepped off the back step into a snow drift. She recovered quickly and went bounding across the back yard like a jack rabbit!

BABY

As I write this, I'm a mere 6 weeks from my due date. It's strange to be in the home stretch. When you already have kids at home, your time is occupied by so many other things that you just don't realize how quickly time passes. I remember being pregnant with Liam and all the anticipation that made me constantly aware of my impending "change in life." It's like the baby was all that occupied my thoughts. But with two kids, full-time work and so many other things that go along with both of those, time has just flown by in this pregnancy. So, with a month and a half to go, I find that I still haven't got the baby's bedroom set up, I haven't gone through any clothes for him, the house is a mess, and I still have to work for 5 more weeks (which is a first for me.) With Liam and Ben both, school was out before they were due. But with this one, I'm due before the end of the school year, so it's a race to see if I can get everything done before he arrives. I have so much to do before I can go on maternity leave. However, I can't worry about it too much.

As Kevin said this morning, I have to concentrate on my "have-to's" not on my "want-to's." Yes, I want to have the nursery set up, but the baby will sleep in a bassinet for the first few weeks so I don't have to have the nursery set up. I want to have the house cleaned and the carpets professionally cleaned before his arrival, but I don't have to have those things done. I want to have my classroom packed up and ready for the summer when I go on maternity leave, but I can come back in the first few weeks of the summer after he's born and do it, so I don't have to have it done. I just have this idea of the way I want things to be and I won't be satisfied unless those things happen. I know I don't have to have his room painted and get new bedding and "decor" for him, but that's something that I want really badly and is important to me.

Here I am in my eighth month. Only six more weeks to go!

The boys already love their baby brother and can't wait to meet him. They give him hugs and kisses every day!

WEBKINZ WORLD

I just have to say a few words about the boys' new obsession--Webkinz. If you've never heard of them, I'll give you a brief overview. They are stuffed animals with a secret "code" on the tag. The child goes online, signs up an account in Webkinz world and adopts their pet. Then, a whole world of activity is opened to them. They take care of their pet, feed it, give it love, and play with it all in this virtual universe. They play games, earn "money", and buy things for their pets and their rooms. They can have multiple pets that interact with each other as well as being able to interact with other children and their pets. I had heard about them from my students a few months ago, but Liam started hearing about them at school just before Valentine's Day. So, while visiting their Nana in Mansfield, she bought each boy a Webkinz...and so it began.

Now, it's like an obsession. They each got a new pet from the Easter Bunny and another one from Nana and Papa in their Easter baskets. Liam wants to be on the computer all the time playing in Webkinz World. He has lots of "friends" from school, the neighborhood, the gym, his brother and now his cousins (because Nana got a Webkinz for all 5 grandchildren--much to the frustration of my sisters-in-law.) For the most part, it's been a good thing. It keeps him occupied, some of the games are actually educational, it gets him motivated to get ready for school quickly in the morning because he gets to play on the computer once he is dressed and ready to go. He's even learning some economic lessons. Recently, he would get "real" money and it would burn a hole in his pocket; he was just dying to spend it. For a while, the Webkinz situation made it worse. Then we had a discussion about the difference between "Kinz Cash" and "real" money and he has a much better understanding of the value of a dollar.

Liam with: Mac, Liam (sometimes known as Sparkles), and Sandy

Ben with: Broof, Sport (sometimes known as Spot), and Lion

But the funniest part is that Daddy and I are addicted to Webkinz World too! When the boys go to bed, or are otherwise occupied, it's not uncommon to find us in Webkinz World playing games! We have our favorites...especially those that can rack up a lot of Kinz Cash for the boys. It's some mindless, end-of-the-day, unwind-before-bed fun. We take turns logging in as each of the boys and earning them Kinz Cash. Just as in the real world, they can spend it faster than we can make it, but at least they aren't spending our "real" hard-earned money!