Beginning of an Era

I have not been posting a great deal with the overload of parties, subsequent clean up and then a kidney infection, this is the first morning everyone is somewhat occupied and I have checked fb, email, etc. Brookie is crawling, which is darling, though she can still be trusted to stay in the general vicinity of where you leave her, which is nice. I cannot say the same for Caroline. Jack is doing great at preschool, he is in love with a little classmate named Madison. She's a little blondie. He also loves Ms. Karen and Ms. Angie. We are relieved.

We've had some behavior problems with Jack recently, basically refusing to come to me and telling me he doesn't like me, etc. It's hurtful, though it appears to be lifting a bit.

Our public affairs firm has a big interview in Chicago for a huge client at the end of October. I am trying not to panic. I do view this as a huge opportunity, it could launch our lobbying firm into existence. We're doing LOTS of work to prepare.

In the pictures, the family at J's cousin's wedding, twinnies post bath and the beginning of an era. All three littles playing together in their playroom. A beautiful sight to see.

Caroline and Brooke's Christening

Caroline and Brooke were baptised this Sunday. We go to a local Methodist church when we can get ourselves organized and it is the church where J's grandparents went their whole lives and were married and buried there. It's a nice tradition. Yesterday our twins were baptised and we joined the church officially. It will be nice to have a church family again and this particular church is very involved in the community, runs a food pantry and homeless transition shelter and ministers to a diverse congregation. We're excited about it. We struggle with our faith a bit in our family, as we are intellectual liberals and spend a lot of time as lawyers and lobbyists looking at all sides of questions, but in the end and at the least, we like the church as a concept and as a philosophy for our children. We're working on the rest.
Auntie Harriet and Torre (who had a kidney stone and couldn't make the ceremony) sponsored Brooke and Auntie Carrole and Mike sponsored Caroline, which really meant a lot to us. It was nice to have the family there as well. Jack had a fit, announcing to the congregation, "But I don't want to leave," at least the pastor had a sense of humor and said that "he's probably the only one [who doesn't want to]." Brookie went first and was an angel and so was Caroline. They went to the pastor and were blessed and everything without crying. I was sure that the water on Caroline would do her in! It was nap time, after all. They are really good babies. Anyway, they are officially blessed!

Jack's 3rd Birthday

On Friday, we celebrated Jack's birthday. And as usual for one of our parties, we started out with a small barbeque and ended up with a neighborhood bash. I don't know why I don't learn to just expect the bash. It's not that I mind it so much, I just find it a little stressful as an introvert. Justin prefers a bash and would have one every weekend if I could stomach it. It was a great party. We didn't tell Jack that he was getting a bouncer with a slide for his birthday. When he walked outside, he said, "Oh....my....gosh...." (To our credit, we've cleaned up our language.) Then he turned to J and said, "Thank you, Daddy." Too cute. He truly had a wonderful time and is still recovering. He jumped and jumped and jumped. Then we all sang him happy birthday and he squealed with delight at the end. It was truly the sweetest thing. We were blessed to have Auntie Emmy, Grandma and Auntie Harriet in for the weekend, which was the best present of all.

We've had the most challenging year by far as parents, thus far, anyway. But Jack is really coming into his own. He's off to preschool and things are going swimmingly well. He's really growing up and J and I cannot believe that he is 3 tomorrow morning at 4:09 a.m. (After 16 hours of labor, mind you.) Jackson Wyatt is the best thing that ever happened to us.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

These pictures are actually from last weekend. We had a great time on Sunday, first at the park and then at the Cardinals game. We headed to the park with Brooke and Caroline. They took their first swing. I feel they are a little too small for the baby swings, but they did really enjoy it. These pictures were pre-injury, as Jack took quite a fall from a ladder onto his face! He's fine, but has a scratch on his face that I spray with Neosporin when I think he's not looking and I can reach to cover his eye. Ninja moves.
Nana came to sit with the babies while they took their nap and J and I took Jack to the baseball game. We had a nice time. I have spent a lot of time at Busch Stadium, as a lobbyist. There aren't a lot of entertainment opportunities in these parts, thank goodness for a major league team. In my previous life I would entertain in whatever company's suite box for any number of reasons, political fundraiser, caucus entertainment, you name it, we did it. It was fun. Free beer, free food, good connections. Weirdly social/business situations. What a weird career I chose. I digress. I spent a lot of time sitting in my suite perch watching the families enjoying the game and seeing the kids climb in the family pavilion area and wondering if I'd ever get to be a part of that type of fun. And now that I am, I really wouldn't choose to go back to the 'suite' life. J might, but I am very, very happy to be able to walk around with my little guy, outside of the suites as it were.
Jack had a great time. We ate pretzels, which I think was his favorite part. He also liked the unabashed yelling at the field. Of course. No shusshing.
We are in Day 5 or 6 of our first preschool cold. Eck. Caroline also broke through her front bottom teeth and is miserable. We are fully stocked on baby motrin and teething tablets. Brookie is starting to crawl and also really drooling, so will have her teeth as well soon. No one is sleeping through the night. In the evolution of the species, why, why is sleep deprevation part of the deal? Why is that necessary?
Career panic continues. Ah, well. What to do. As my great mentor always said, "You can have it all, just not all at once." And so she was right. Come on Contract!

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday Jack began his daily preschool program. It's from 8 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. and it seems to be going well. He reports that he enjoys the little kitchen, where he cooks dinner for his 'babies,' and the big slide, where he goes down 'very fast.' Such a cutie. His first friend is "Leslie." He also likes Callie the guinea pig. Eck. I am sad and relieved to have him in a program. I think that he's the type to really enjoy the other kids, but I'm a little sad that he's off and running in school.

Caroline and Brooke are taking a morning nap, longer than usual, which is why I am posting in the middle of the morning. (Sad when I think middle of the morning is 8:50 a.m., but when you've been up since 5...). I am saving my career angst posting for another time. All is well on the homefront. In the pictures, Brooke is smiling at Jack, Jack is feeding Brooke ice cream when he thinks I'm not watching, Jack feeds both twins ice cream when he thinks I'm not watching, the twins post verboten ice cream eating and J, the twins and Jack going into preschool.

The Littlest One

Brookie is the youngest of our three, and for some unintentional reason, has gotten short shrift on photos. So, a short posting all about her. She is, by far, our easiest going child and for that we are forever thankful. She has the longest eyelashes and the largest eyes as well. Heartbreaker material. Brookie eats and after nearly 3 years of trying to feed a non-eater, is a great relief and joy. We all love her dearly and I promise to try and post more equally in the future. (Apologies to Auntie Harriet, Brookie's godmother, who watches out for her!)

Caroline Crawls and Other Tales from the Crib

Caroline crawls, which is terribly exciting and a little sad, as it is a great relief that our babies are healthy and growing, but also a reminder that they are growing up! J and I talk a bit about the grind of having 3 little kids, but we try to remember the Trace Atkins song, "You're Going To Miss This...", which basically is a tale of parents being tired and irritated during childrearing, but once they grow up, you'll really miss those times. (We know Trace because Jack is a huge fan of country music. I guess when your name's Jackson Wyatt and you live in the heart of America, that's inevitable. Well, that and Trace was on Celebrity Apprentice and we watch bad TV.)Brookie, remaining the most cheerful of our children, is not crawling, but is sitting up with great confidence for about 20 seconds and falls over just as I get the camera out. I'll work on my speed.

Last week, my little public affairs firm received a request from a big company for a proposal to lobby for them this coming session. Of course, we are overjoyed, but trying not to get too set on the prospect as we are the most untraditional choice. Fingers crossed.

Justin is in trial this week with a manslaughter case for one of his pd clients. It's very stressful and he's having his back pains and spasms because of it. His new suits look great, though! He'll give his closing tomorrow, which will be a relief to us all.

Next month we will celebrate Jack's 3rd birthday and the twins's baptism. Today we go to preschool orientation, if you can believe it! Jack is a curious and demanding child, preschool will really, really help him. Hopefully his teacher will be great. We're excited to meet her.

A few currently irritating phases but sure to be fond memories.....Caroline rolls over any time you change her diaper, which can be quite messy. Jack is refusing to wear shorts and insists on a coat and tie (we use the term coat loosely, as it is usually a sweatshirt) so as to look like dad. After several days of Caroline taking the Winnie the Pooh phone away from her in the playpen, Brookie has begun to take it back (and the sibling squabbling begins.) J keeps thinking that he left important trial folders at home once he goes to the office, there's a mad search by his office staff and me and then he finds it in his briefcase or that his co-counsel took it to organize. Practicing our yoga breathing.

In the pictures, Caroline crawls and the twins play with their music boom box. I love seeing their two little heads together. Brooke and Jack splash in the tub. Jack plays "Slip and Slide" with our neighbors on a lazy Sunday. Jack at the Museum of Transportation at the children's play room on the ship.