April 30

We have been training for five weeks, and the big day is finally here: Race Day! The only problem? The weather forecast pretty much guaranteed thunder storms all morning, and Caleb was not excited about running his first 5k in the rain.

For some reason, Eli nursed like crazy through the night last night, and so I was awake more frequently than usual. I used the time to pray for no rain this morning, and God answered my prayers. When we got to the race, there were a few sprinkles, but it stayed dry until we were about halfway through. By then, it didn't even matter.

This boy was so ready! (I'm pretty sure if it had been actively raining at this point, it would have been a different story.)

My two Super Men! Lily was trying really hard to be in this picture, but cropped her out. This one is just the big boys.

Even though it wasn't raining, Lily insisted that she be sheltered by an umbrella as we walked to the starting line. This is one of my very favorite pictures. I hope my girls always expect that they deserve to be treated like this by the men in their lives, and I hope my boys grow up to be as respectful and loving as their Daddy is.

My wonderful Mom braved the early morning rain to meet us at the race and handle the kids while Chris, Caleb, and I ran. We thought we could do it without her, but it was so much  better with her there! The rest of the race pictures are ones that she took with my camera.

I love, love, love this photo. The kids were all so happy and excited!

 We headed to the starting line, and Mom and the little three waited.

And we were off! We had several talks with Caleb about running his own race, and not trying to keep up with the people around him. The first half mile of any race is the most chaotic as everyone settles into a pace and a place, but Caleb did a great job. He found his pace, and he really seemed to enjoy running with all of the other people.

Running! 

My thoughtful Mom brought poster board and markers, and while they waited for us to run 1.5 miles out and 1.5 miles back, she and Daisy made a poster for Caleb.

She also brought snacks for the little ones, so they were content.

Then the rain started. It was a good thing we had 4 rain coats, 5 umbrellas, and 4 ponchos for 7 people.

Chris, Caleb, and I had such a fun race! Several of my friends ran with us, and lots of runners took time to cheer for Caleb. He ran the whole 3.1 miles, only pausing twice for sips of water. We had great conversation as we ran, including a time where Caleb looked up at me and asked, "Mommy, can we evacuate?"

I was puzzled about what he meant, and then it dawned on me: on Thursday, we discussed the word accelerate. He was trying to use his new word, but got a little bit turned around. Once we figured that out, it became our little joke.

Soon, the finish line was in sight. Caleb had just enough energy left for a nice kick at the last few hundred feet.

Waving to the little ones!

Look at how excited Caleb is!

I love that boy. He was so happy and proud!

We all crossed the finish line together, with a chip time of 33:16. Caleb was the 9th finisher in his age group (14 and under) and the youngest person to cross the finish line.

We were so proud of him!

And he was really excited about his sign.

I am so proud of Caleb's hard work and perseverance!

We said changed out of our wet clothes, loaded up the van, and said goodbye to my mom, then headed home for lunch and naps.

Eli and I tried out our final carry of the 30-day challenge, which was a fancy Taiwanese carry. My new long wrap was perfect for it!

And Caleb asked me to help him do this.

That sweet boy was really excited about his sign!

April 29

Eli had his 15-month checkup today, and he did great!

His favorite part of the appointment was playing with the toys in the waiting room. (Yes, I brought all four children to the appointment. Yes, it was crowded. Yes, I would have preferred to leave the others at home. But you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and they did fine.)

Eli's stats from the checkup:

weight: 20 pounds, 13 ounces (25th percentile)

height: 30.25 inches (25th percentile, up from 5th percentile 3 months ago!)

head circumference: 18.75 inches (75th percentile)

So he's growing well! Developmentally he is just fine... except for gross motor. I'm not really worried, because all of my full-term babies were late with gross motor skills, and Eli was five weeks early. Technically his gross motor development warrants a referral to see if he qualifies for therapy, but we are going to re-test in 5 weeks and see if it is just a prematurity thing. My guess is that five weeks from now, he'll be just fine.

I have a Mom's Night Out tomorrow night that involves a photo scavenger hunt, so I borrowed a selfie stick from my dad. Of course we had to try it out in the van:

This is my traveling circus! I love that you can actually see all four kids' faces in this picture!

Eli fell asleep in the van on the way home, and I left the van doors and the door to the garage open and let him snooze there while I made lunch for the kids. He wasn't quite ready to be awake when he woke up, so I wrapped him on my back with the carry of the day: Back Torso Carry with a long wrap.

Torso carries make me feel like a serious babywearer. They're completely strapless, and yet totally secure. (I also used the selfie stick for this photo.)

Once the little ones went down for naps, we got to work with school. Caleb practiced his spelling words by writing them in sugar.

It was really cool! I have seen people do this before with salt, but the only salt I have is good Mediterranean Sea Salt, and I wasn't about to waste that on spelling practice. Sugar is much cheaper, so we used it. Same thing, right?

Well. 

I quickly figured out why people prefer to use salt: Caleb just kept licking his fingers and asking to eat the sugar. Still, we got a fair amount of practice in, and he later aced his spelling test. Once Caleb was finished, Daisy practiced her lower-case letters in the sugar. I call that a win!

It was Friday movie night, and we watched The Chipmunk Adventure, circa 1987. The kids found it at the library, and they were so into it!

After the movie was over, we still had a good hour of sunlight, so we took a family bike ride.

It was Caleb's first full bike ride on his own, without the Tagalong or training wheels. He rocked it!

Chris rode with Eli in the baby seat,

And the girls in the trailer.

(I offered to pull the trailer, but he chose to do it himself. What a gentleman! Still, I felt like kind of a wimp as I rode completely unencumbered while he handled 3/4 of our children.)

The whole family! It's always been a challenge for us to do family bike rides because I've always been too pregnant to cycle, or staying home with a little one who is too smile to wear a helmet. I am so excited for this season of life, when we can have adventures like this together!

April 28

I am so distracted by these caterpillars that I can hardly type; Cup of Caterpillars #2 has been much more successful than Cup #1, and all five are big and fat and look like they're ready to spin their chrysalides any day now. They are wigglier and more active right now than they have been all week, and they're so much fun to watch!

But. We had a lovely day. The weather was perfect, and it seems like my oak tree is almost done torturing me with its pollen, so we walked Daisy to preschool today and stopped at the library on the way home. 

And then once we were home, Eli somehow did this:

Baby's First Bloody Nose.

I was standing maybe six feet from him, but I didn't see what happened; I just heard him shriek and start crying. I think maybe he used a chair to try to pull up to standing, and bonked his nose on it? Poor baby. A few snuggles later, he was just fine.

Daisy's preschool time was much too short, and soon it was time to pick her up, feed the kids lunch in the van, and take Caleb to Speech Club. Afterwards, we spent twenty minutes at a playground before nap time for Lily. 

When we got home, I noticed this:

That would be milkweed, growing through the boards of my deck. The deck is 2 or 3 feet above ground, and the plant is maybe 4 feet from the edge of the deck? I have no idea how a seed managed to get down there, let alone germinate and grow through the deck boards. I was impressed, but I still uprooted it and tossed it out. We have plenty of milkweed in our yard, and don't need to keep a plant in the center of the deck.

I didn't get around to doing yesterday's carry of the day, so today I did two.

Yesterday's carry was Back Cross Carry. It was fine. I liked the nice, wide seat, but it probably won't be a go-to carry for me.

Today was day 28 of the 30-day challenge, and the carry was a Back Rebozo carry. This is how mamas in South and Central America regularly carry their babies, but it didn't do anything for me.

After dinner, I had a chiropractor appointment. I returned home to find Chris playing baseball with the kids in the back yard. This was my welcome:

I think I should go away more often! They need a chance to miss me!

Caleb was playing baseball at first, but Daisy was itching for a turn. 

She's pretty good! Chris said he was very impressed, and Daisy told me the other day that she wants to be a baseball player when she grows up. She quickly corrected herself and changed it to softball player, but only because she knows that girls play softball and boys play baseball. I'm pretty sure she prefers baseball.

This was right after she got a really good hit. Look at that grin! She loves playing! I think she is going to make her Great Aunt Deb very proud.

And then I snapped this out-of-focus picture of Caleb that I just had to keep and share because he seriously looks just like my dad as a boy in this picture. I think it's something about the big brown eyes and the broadness of his cheekbones, but the resemblance stopped me in my tracks.

(Also, I think Caleb may have his first loose tooth! He complained all day that he kept "biting his tooth". Finally I realized that his tooth must be loose, and therefore in a different spot, which is why he's biting it. I will keep everyone updated as to the progress of Operation: Loose Tooth.

He told me he was running so fast that he was a blur. I provided photographic proof.

Blurry Daisy!

Jumping Daisy! Look at that hair! And doesn't she look like she's flying?

Now she's being an airplane. I am so thankful that my children are having moments like this in their childhood. I hope they remember it forever.

Curious Eli, trying to grab the camera.

And where's Lily? 

Apparently this is how she poses for the camera.

Hi, Eli! I didn't forget about you!

April 27

Did you notice that I got all caught up on the blog? Because I did. I was 6 days behind on blogging, and now I am caught up like a boss. I may not have dominated much today, but I dominated this blog like a boss. If only it paid me money.

We did approximately zero school today. But the kids helped me tidy up the house, and Caleb spent time with Grandmother, and there was swimming, and lots of reading.

There were also super heroes. 

I have no idea what prompted this, but it was hilarious. Eli was napping, but Lily excitedly ran around the house yelling that Wonder Dog was asleep and we had to be quiet. Apparently Eli is Wonder Dog? The 5k we have been training for is this Saturday, and it's a superhero 5k, so the kids all discussed what they would wear for the event. Caleb and I even chose a super hero shirt for me! 

After lunch, the girls went down for naps and Caleb went off with Gayle, and Eli and I were left to our own devices for an hour or so, until he was ready for his nap, too.

He is getting so close to standing independently, so I brought my camera into his room to document the big event if it happened. It didn't. But this did:

(This is a two-minute video of Eli stacking blocks. It is probably much too long. Don't judge me. He's my last baby, and I think he is adorable.)

Also, this happened with the camera:

He is very curious right now.

I was supposed to make dinner while Caleb was gone and the little ones slept, but instead I spent an hour playing with Eli, and then another hour dominating my blog. Oops. Everyone was still asleep when Caleb got home, and he grabbed a magazine and settled in on the couch.

Some days, home schooling looks like this around here:

Part of me feels really guilty about that, but the other part of me thinks it is one of the best parts of home schooling. (All of me is concerned about that off-center painting, but whatever. I'll address that later.) Most days, we do actual "school". But every once in a while, Caleb just reads all day, and I am going to say that this is okay.

(Also, his little feet sticking out over the edge of the couch? It's killing me. He's not even big enough to sit on the couch with his legs bent! He seems like such a big boy to me, but it takes pictures like this to remind me that he is six years old. SIX. He's practically a baby!)

This boy. I don't know if it's his age, or the home schooling, or what, but I am falling more and more in love this with boy. He is funny and obedient and thoughtful and creative, and I am so glad that he is mine.

Then Lily woke up. And Eli woke up. And the silence was gone, and dinner still wasn't made. But Grandmother had left candy, which bought me a whole lot of time.

Lily shared her candy with Eli, which made both Eli and me very happy.

I love Lily and her bedhead.

And Caleb just continued to read. I think this was his Boy Scouts Boys Life magazine.

So the kids were happy, but it was too late to make dinner at that point because Caleb had swim lessons at 6:20. My good husband was gracious and understanding when I told him we needed to make alternate dinner plans, and we soon found ourselves at the Mexican restaurant. Hooray!

Eli was pleased, and there was a margarita for me. This day was very good for my mental health.

Then straight to the YMCA for swim lessons. Chris swam with the little ones while I exercised, and I came back down to help everyone get changed after swimming. Miss Lily wore a dress to the YMCA, but after swimming, she was adamant that she needed a t-shirt. 

She didn't pack a t-shirt, but she needed a t-shirt.

Luckily, Eli had spare clothes in his diaper bag, and those spare clothes for my small 15-month-old just so happen to fit my two and a half year old daughter perfectly.

Lily was really proud of herself in Eli's unsnapped onesie, too-short pants, and her shoes on the wrong feet. That girl.

On the way home, Daisy suggested we stop and watch the sun set over the lake. It's hard to argue with a suggestion like that!

The pictures lie, though; it was not a spectacular sunset at all. A wall of clouds on the horizon blocked our view of the setting sun, and it was pretty boring. We left early because bedtime. Still, I'm glad we gave it a shot!