An Island Getaway

We promised the children that we would take them out to the Boston Harbor Islands. We had hoped to do it before school started, but we were rained out on the weekend we had planned to go. (The remnants of a tropical storm were in the area and we decided we should not go out on a boat.) We ended up going on Labor Day. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Our journey began on the T. The children love to ride the buses and subway. Here is a picture of Joshua and Caleb with Mary putting stuff in the stroller. We got off downtown and caught the boat out to the harbor islands. (Mary reserved the tickets online. It was good decision since the line was quite long when we arrived there.) Grace and Caleb liked to be out on the deck. Joshua joined them for a couple of minutes. They were all quite windblown, but enjoyed it. While the rest were out and about, Dad and Rebecca sat inside for the most part. It was just too windy for Rebecca. Joshua did not like the wind as much as the others, so he came inside and decided to eat. Our first stop was King George's Island. There is an old fort that was built by the French in the early 1800's. It has been used in a number of different wars, but it not in use now. The kids decided to help protect the island. The kids had a great time exploring the fort. They even climbed up in one of the old lookouts. We also got a good look at the Boston lighthouse. It is not visible from the shore. After we explored King George's Island, we took an inter-island boat to Spectacle Island. After the children had looked for shells on the beach, Mary took this picture of Joshua. If you cannot hear Joshua saying "Cheese" when this picture was taken, then you need to get to know him better. Caleb wanted to try out the lifeguard's chair. He thought it was great that he could climb up there and sit. (I think the weekend before Labor day is the last weekend with the lifeguards on duty.) We took a walk around Spectacle Island and got a picture of the whole crew with Boston in the background. Mary took some pictures of Grace and Caleb that turned out really well. After that, we caught the boat back to Boston. We took the T back to our car and drove home. It had been such a busy day, that Joshua was dead tired by the time we got home. But it was a fun day that we will all remember!

Rebecca Update

I have had a tough time keeping up with the blogging. We will have to see if I can make a bit of a comeback. We will start simple and give you an update on Rebecca. She is doing really well. She loves her momma, likes to eat, sleeps pretty well, and is good natured about being taken to all of the other events her siblings are involved in. Here is a recent picture of her. She loves candlelit dinners, long walks on the beach to smile and giggle. (Caleb is really good at making her laugh.) She loves to try to throw herself out of any chair or swing you put her in. (I don't understand why she just won't sit back and enjoy sitting in a chair once in a while. Maybe she is just ready to get going.) Her favorite thing to do is to be in her onesie in the evenings and chew on her toes. She can even do it when she is dressed!

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This post was created while listening to "Fireflies" by Owl City. Oliver pointed this song out to be a month ago and I really like it. I even heard it on Sirius radio when I took a business trip.

Recent Pictures

Grace has been working on a school project this summer. A scrapbook is part of the project. I noticed that we had many pictures we have not posted. (Must be a side effect of rarely posting.) So here is a quick post of pictures from the last week.

Last weekend was Grace's baptism and Rebecca's blessing. We had family in town and it was wonderful to see everyone. I think I found a picture of all the cousins that came for the events. Here is Grace in her white dress. Grace was baptized on Saturday and we went downtown after the event. Here are some pictures of the kids playing in the North End. They were all taken not far from the Old North Church. ("One if by land, two if by sea.") This is Sadie. Lilly loved to run around. Emily, Nick, and Janelle threw money into the fountain. I like this image of Emily. This captures Caleb's personality. Joshua fell asleep on the way downtown. We managed to transfer him to the stroller while he was sleeping. I love this picture Mary took of him after he had just woken up. You can tell that Rebecca is one of our children. Look how she is holding her blanket. That is a sure sign that she belongs. During our busy weekend with family visiting, Joshua was not on his normal nap schedule. This meant he was more difficult to get up from his naps than usual. One afternoon, Mary went upstairs to get him up. After half an hour, I went to check on them. I think Mary was pretty proud of her skills in waking Joshua. What do you think?

Old Photos

I am looking through our pictures from May and wanted to put some of them on the blog.

I love this picture of Caleb and Rebecca. Rebecca is doing the ultimate baby stretch in this picture. When you see a baby doing this, you know they are still a newborn. Here is a picture of Rebecca's first bath. Rebecca screamed for most of it, but she has since come to enjoy them a lot more. We have had a cold summer. Mary and I thought that Rebecca would never have many cold weather newborn clothes. In June we only had two days that hit 80 degrees and they were not much hotter than that. Rebecca spent a lot of nights for her first month sleeping in her hat even though she was born in May. I was not expecting this kind of weather for a May newborn. I just like this picture of Rebecca and me. And this picture of our hands.

Sorry for the Absence...

...but things have been a little busy. Rebecca is a wonderful addition to our family. We have tons of pictures and stories to post, but sometimes it is difficult to get to the computer.

So remember, the more she gets of this: The less likely we are to do this: Or this: Have a good night's sleep. I know we will!

News from Church

Mary is the primary president in our ward. This means that she is in charge of all the children's Sunday school classes and the nursery for the toddlers in our congregation. Today Mary met with our Bishop to talk about the children and their teachers. As the conversation was winding down, the Bishop said he thinks Joshua has the best hair in the ward.

Now if you are in our congregation and believe that your hair (or your child or spouse's hair) is better than Joshua's, I won't argue with you. All I want is for Mary to remember when it is time for Joshua's next haircut that her ecclesiastical leader has officially endorsed his hair.

And you would not want to run afoul of your church leaders, now would you?

I Don't Care which Party You Favor...

...but when a news segment comes on tonight and it shows President Obama getting a hamburger at 5 Guys. It is obvious that he knows how to pick out a good hamburger joint.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Mary loves "to do" lists. She loves them because she always manages to get everything done that is on her list. If she takes the time to write out a list, you know that it will soon have everything crossed off. She made a list of things to do before baby Rebecca was born. We had to set up the crib, get clothes out, clean the house, etc. While the children and I did some jobs, the last thing for her to do was to finish Joshua's baby quilt.

Guess what? She did it. On the afternoon of May 19th, Mary finished hand quilting the binding on Joshua's baby quilt and Rebecca was born later that evening. It took Mary a while to figure out what would be the right pattern for Joshua's blanket. When she thought of things Joshua loves, she knew the quilt needed a panda or polar bear print. She created a quilt that brought both of the animals together.

She is going to name the quilt "Sausage and Eggs" because that is what Joshua calls his favorite stuffed panda and polar bear. (Joshua loves cooking, he especially loves to cook breakfast, he loves to make and eat sausage and eggs, and he loves panda bears and polar bears. So he decided to call his stuffed panda bear "Eggs" and his stuffed polar bear "Sausage.") Here is the panda bear (Eggs) front: Here is the polar bear (Sausage) back: Joshua loves it! He asks to be covered up in with it every night.

Picture Update

There are a number of pictures to post since we always take more pictures when a newborn is around. Here is a sampling: Rebecca before she came home from the hospital. Rebecca in her car seat before her first ride in the car. Mary was crazy enough to walk to school with Joshua and Rebecca the day after coming home from the hospital. This is their first ride in the double stroller together. They both took a snooze in honor of the occasion. Rebecca in her bed. Some nights she sleeps longer stretches and others she screams for a couple of hours. Sounds about right for a newborn. I pulled Joshua and Caleb to a nearby park last weekend while Grace rode her bike. I love how toddlers run. Can't you see the toddler run in this picture? This wild turkey was wandering our neighborhood this weekend and we later caught up with it at the park. If you thought the only wild turkeys on our street live in our home, this is photographic proof that you are wrong.

Blinded By Overexposure to Pure Awesomeness*

I took Joshua downstairs for breakfast recently. On the way down the stairs, he noticed Caleb's goggles and asked if he could wear them. Though he did not want me to take this picture, it was one I did not want to miss.* A quote from Po in the movie Kung Fu Panda and Joshua is wearing his Kung Fu Panda pjs in this picture.

A New Trick

Mary and I figured that Rebecca would be fairly similar to our other children. We were surprised when Rebecca had a new trick for us right out of the gate. Rebecca does not have jaundice.

Grace, Caleb, and Joshua spent time "under the lights" to bring down their bilirubin counts. Because Rebecca does not have jaundice, Mary could come home from the hospital today with Rebecca after two nights in the hospital. We are all happy to be under the same roof.

Let's see if we feel that way in the morning…

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Update: We are still happy to be under the same roof, though Mary and I did not sleep as well as we had hoped. (But I think you could copy that sentence and use it to describe the next few days or weeks or months or…)

Meet the Siblings

Grace and Caleb missed the start of school yesterday, so we could travel to the hospital and meet Rebecca. We had a great visit and the children held her and started to get to know the newest family member. Each child brought a gift for Rebecca (pacifier, blanket, or stuffed animal). Joshua brought the pacifier and is trying to give it to her here. Grace is elated that there is another girl in the family. All she wanted to do was hold Rebecca. (Rebecca's stuffed animal, Barkers, is above.) Joshua was excited to hold Rebecca and did not want to miss his turn, though I bet he won't feel the same way in another week or two. Caleb is still a little nervous holding his sister by himself. You have to wrestle Grace if you want to hold Rebecca. This is my favorite picture from yesterday.

A New Arrival

We met the newest member of our family last night. The baby we had been calling Herbert Nenninger was born. The baby ended up being a little girl! Rebecca Helen was born at 8:05 pm after a labor that was short and incredibly intense. She weighed in at 8 pounds 0 ounces and is 21 inches long.

We can post the story of how fast Rebecca came at another time. Here are some pictures that tell the story after the labor and birth: A happy poppa holding Rebecca. A picture of Rebecca. A tired Rebecca yawning after a crazy labor. Rebecca decided to test out her lungs during her first bath. The happy Mom and her new little one. The three of us a couple hours after the birth.

Mary and Rebecca are trying to get a little rest at the hospital and are doing well. We are all excited for the newest addition to our family.

Nameless....

Today is March 24th...Robert's birthday. I think it will always be a difficult day for me. There are so many feelings to be felt and much to think about and say. I think a TV show I was watching a month or so ago summed it up best. A family had lost a child and the parents were trying to sort out their grief. The wife said something that really stuck me. In summary it went something like this: when a child loses a parent she or he is called an orphan; when a spouse loses their partner they are called a widow or widower; but, there is just not a word in the human language to describe the word for a parent who loses a child. So...today I will remain nameless. I still miss Robert--he has forever changed my life. Happy 3rd Birthday little one!

Running Commentary

Joshua is chatty. He was slower to start talking than our other children, but he has certainly made up a lot of the volume. When he hears something, he often parrots what has been said or makes something up. Here is an example of this from tonight's scripture study:

"Adam, Eve naked!"

"Yes Joshua, Adam and Eve were naked in the garden of Eden."

After a moment's silence he pointed to his feet and said, "Elmo slippers!"

"Hi Elmo," he says while waving and then he bends over and kisses the Elmo on his slippers.

Then he points to the picture in the story, "Eve naked!"

"Eve wore clothing after she left the garden of Eden, Joshua."

He usually has a lot to say.

A Favorite Quote

Let me say something about that word: miracle. For too long it's been used to characterize things or events that, though pleasant, are entirely normal. Peeping chicks at Easter time, spring generally, a clear sunrise after an overcast week—a miracle, people say, as if they've been educated from greeting cards. I'm sorry, but nope. Such things are worth our notice every day of the week, but to call them miracles evaporates the strength of the word.

Real miracles bother people, like strange sudden pains unknown in medical literature. It's true: They rebut every rule all we good citizens take comfort in. Lazarus obeying orders and climbing up out of the grave—now there's a miracle, and you can bet it upset a lot of folks who were standing around at the time. When a person dies, the earth is generally unwilling to cough him back up. A miracle contradicts the will of earth.

—Leif Enger, Peace Like a River

Savor the miracles you find.

End of an Era

Joshua had to say goodbye to a favorite companion this week. Saying goodbye can be hard.

Random Observations

Did you know that Joshua loves the color pink? I think he might get that from me. Growing up in my family, each family member had a different color plate. Mom's plate was yellow, Dad's was orange, Matt's was blue, Oliver's was purple, Sara's was green, Eric's was white, and mine was pink.

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Joshua has become interested in the going to the bathroom. We are excited because I would love to minimize the two children in diapers stage. We have learned that he will take off and run around the house naked if you are not careful.

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Grace has the blogging gene. She does not have a blog, but she has a bulletin board in her room. She changes what is on the board almost every day. Instead of a weblog, I call it her wall-log.

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Caleb recently purchased a new Webkinz. It is an adorable little monkey and just screams Caleb. He has named the monkey, BoyKing. Isn't that a great name for a monkey?

File this Under the Title of Somewhat Disturbing

I find this commercial quite funny. I am not sure why. The first time I saw it I thought it was lame, but it becomes funnier with repeated viewing.