Life in the Past Months

Thora watching her favorite show, Super Why.

Dancy is amazing at dress-up. Always has all possible layers, plus head, neck, arm and foot accessories.

Cushion mountain!

Sister Hall got transferred. Shad told everyone to give her the finger.

Shad and the kids watching a drum line video. This inspired Thora to become a drummer. She loves drumming on the table at meal times, or on the side of the bathtub.

Pris came and stayed with us a week before Samson was born, and stayed almost a week and a half afterwards. We had her for nearly 3 weeks! It was so fun having all that time with her. She enjoyed spending time with us, helping, and also having her own bedroom to retreat to for her homework, classes and phone calls. It was so nice to just be able to leave the house after putting the kids to bed when it was time to go to the hospital. No need to have someone come over to watch the kids, or pack them up to drop them off. Just said good night and told them they would have a brother to visit in the morning. She was such a wonderful help and we look forward to the next time she decides to take a "Nana-cation." In the time that she was with us, Thora cut 5 teeth and started walking! It was a wonderful treat for Pris to experience the beginnings of her granddaughter walking, as well as to develop a relationship with this little person. Pris always drinks a green drink for breakfast, and Thora begged Pris to share a couple mornings. One day after sharing her drink with Thora, Pris asked her, "You're my drinking buddy, aren't you?" Thora responded, "Oh yeah!" Katie prayed one night: "Please help Samson to come out because...*sigh*...we're done waiting."

My four big kids visiting me and Samson at the hospital.

Miss Sundance is so beautiful!

I've decided I'll have to learn to like taking selfies so that I can actually be in pictures for my kids instead of just being the one behind the lens.

Another "Earl" picture.

Thora wanted to sweep.

Mini tootsie-roll pops for dessert.

And now, a month after Samson was born, Dancy still comes to Samson and tells him, "Oh, Samson, I'm so glad you comed out!" And she includes that in her prayers: "Thank you that baby Samson comed out." I feel the same way! I'm so glad he came out.

My Name Is Earl

Have you watched My Name is Earl? Earl Hickey can never take a good picture to save his life.

Thora's got a similar problem.

Katie's Art

Katie has always been my little artist, and lately her drawing skills have really been developing.

This is Shad riding his bike.

And this is the kids watching the first Star Wars movie. The "undult" one. Because she says "undult" instead of adult.

Pictures from January

Thora's first toothbrush (though she still didn't have any teeth yet). She loves to brush her teeth, and actually has some now! First teeth came in early February, when she was 16 months old. Now she has her two top front, two bottom front, two top molars, and is working on two bottom molars and who knows what else. She's been a pill, but a trooper!

And super cuddly.

Sundance never misses an opportunity to ask for her picture to be taken.

Playing dress up and...hop along furniture?

Shad and Katie playing around with taking pictures on his new phone.

Spontaneous Butt Dance.

A Loooong Time Ago...

Found these old pictures on Shad's phone from two phones ago.

The Things They Say, part III

After kissing Thora, Katie exclaimed, "Haha! I kissed a woman!"

Teaching the kids the definition of the words "male" and "female," I told them that a female is a girl or a woman. Dancy added, "And Black Widow."

While playing, Tommy told me he was going to kill me. Then he said, "Just kidding. I'm not going to kill you. I usually don't want to kill my mother. I usually want to keep you."

In January, Thora had a conversation with her friend Elisha, who is 3 months younger than her. Neither had a very large vocabulary at the time, but they both knew "uh-oh" and "bye-bye," so that's how they talked to each other for several minutes.

Thora's favorite book is A, You're Adorable, so when she reads books to herself, she says, "A! A! A!"

Sometimes kids find better ways of saying things. I call these words "ki'tractions." For years, we've called Honey Bunches of Oats "Honey Boats." That's the way two-year-old Tommy said it, and it made too much sense to me to correct it. Dancy has done the same thing with hand sanitizer.  She calls it "Hanitizer."

I asked Dancy one day if I could change her diaper. "Oh, dat's so nice! But no. It's fine." "Okay, well come here anyway." "Nevah!"

Shad greeted Dancy one day with, "Hey, Cheeks!" She didn't miss a second before responding, "Hey, Bum Bum!"

Shad had Tommy in a tackle hold, and Katie demanded, "Set him free!" Shad said no, so Kate countered with, "Then kill him! Kill him!"

Dancy has a new word she loves to say: "disgusting. " However, she mixes up the sounds and pronounces it "gus-dusting!"

Pris (Nana) washed sheets and asked Tommy if he'd like her to put the dinosaur sheets on his bed. He couldn't contain his excitement and exclaimed, "Damn yes!" She and Shad asked Tommy why he said that. He replied, "Because it's damn awesome!" After choking back their laughter, Shad told Tommy not to say that.

You know that baby reflex when their cheek gets stroked they turn and start sucking to eat? Tommy kissed Samson's cheek, and Samson turned to suck on Tommy's cheek. When Tommy realized Samson wasn't  trying to kiss him back, he laughed and said, "Mom, he thinks I'm your breast!" What I find most funny about this is that we don't say 'breast' in our house, we say ,"boob."

Samson Wiggin Kendell

Not having time to write this post has been driving me nuts for nearly a week. My baby deserves his literary debut! But with my physical healing time, cuddling a new baby time, mothering 4 other children time, and homework time, there hasn't been writing time. And there still isn't. But I'm taking it anyway.

FIRST OF ALL, let me clarify that Samson did NOT come early--I lied about my due date. Don't take it personally, but that last month of pregnancy is eternally long and uncomfortable and emotionally tumultuous without having people asking you daily, "Where's that baby?!" "Why hasn't he come yet?" "How much longer?"

Thank you, Mr. Wonka and the creator of this meme. You speak the thoughts of pregnant women everywhere.

So then, the real due date was February 20, not March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). Samson was born an agonizing four days late on February 24, at 10:43 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz, and was 20.75 inches long. Standard Kendell body type--long and skinny.

And if Thora's birth was my easiest one, Samson's was by far the most difficult. I was already so physically exhausted, I just didn't have the strength or willpower. Shad also pointed out that in all my other pregnancies I was able to be physically active, which definitely plays a part in the ease of delivery. However, this pregnancy I was barely able to move.

Recovery has been pretty smooth and easy. Lavender oil, again, deserves a lot of credit. Rubbing that on my belly and back for 2 days was enough to take away the after-birth cramps and pains, and soothe my back muscles from the intense back labor I get. Samson is doing well. He's a good sleeper, as long as he's not bothered by mass amounts of poop. We had one night where I had to stay up with him for 2 hours because he just kept pooping! But he sleeps well at night otherwise. He does have a lip-tie, so Shad and I will hopefully be cutting that today so that we can be successful with breastfeeding.

Words can never express the joy and love a mother has with her new baby; but this time for me, that statement is just as truly applied to how I feel about not being pregnant anymore. Shad has commented to me several times that I look happier than he's seen me be in 8 months. I am so unbelievably happy and grateful to be done with that torture session I had to endure. And I love this baby and his adorable, cuddly face.