2016 Update

Yet another Flannery has entered the world. On Saturday, June 27th at 16:45 pm, an 8lb 3oz monster forced it's way to join the surface-dwellers. Why do I say Flannery instead of just "baby"... See for yourself :)

 Yeah, I'm pretty sure their genes have a monopoly. Still, they're all cute kids, so I guess I can't complain too much :)

As always we have had way too many changes in way too short of a time. I moved back to Idaho in January, starting back at my old company who had changed names to Wipfli, LLP (from GHG). I am now an audit manager, which is pretty much my dream job. Jason joined us a few months later after closing up shop in Georgia. He started up his duties as a stay-at-home dad soon after and the relief/change was palpable. Alisabeth had been internalizing the stress of trying to step into a parental role with the little ones (exacerbated by my early pregnancy sickness, and a short fall down the stairs causing a bruised tailbone and the inability to bend down/lift kiddos effectively). I tried not to demand from her, but without her help I think I would have died in the short months without Jason. Within a week of his arrival, however, her neck/back pain (internalized stress) had dissipated completely and she was back to her normal kid-hood. It was a very good mini-lesson in internalized stress and what to look for/do when the signs begin to appear.
Jason has taken over his new role with a flourish, as I knew he would:

 So far they've studied bird houses, Grecian temples, and Stonehenge. This week's theme is the Egyptian pyramids. Jason's love of wood and access to lots of scraps and pieces has allowed them to complete a project for each 'lesson' and enjoy creativity within structure. On top of that Jason spends time each day with letters and numbers. Kryton can spell his own name, recognize a significant portion of the alphabet, and count to ten (twenty if you don't mind gaps and sequence issues). Cora has mastered the circle and oval and is working on the rest of her shapes and colors. All three love to learn which is beyond awesome.

In addition they're involved in the summer reading program and Alisabeth has taken to it with vengeance. She's reading 300-400 page youth novels and will complete the 4th book in her Unicorn Chronicles series. We read the first book together, but then she left me in the dust and updates me regularly on what's happening :)

As if that wasn't enough, Jason also took on the fun of finding a home we could purchase. Due to down payment limitations, I didn't think it was even going to be possible. Our list of "wants/needs" was high and demanding, but we plan on settling down this time, which means whatever we purchase needed to be big enough for our needs. I don't want to move again. With that requirement in mind he went to town and found quite a few possibilities. I narrowed it down to three - one of which I was in love with, then we ended up going in the complete opposite direction and both agreed on a different house that included (literally) everything on our list:

Almost an acre of space, plenty of room inside, and a closable (lockable) work space for Jason outside. The neighbor has chickens, so we'll probably get some girls next year, and the current owners had done a masterful job of decorating the kids bedrooms with murals that our kids fell madly in love with. We sign the final papers in 2 weeks. . . sigh, forever from now.


So once again we've stuffed as much possible change into our lives as we could, but they're all good changes. :)

A few more details on Mykle for the history books:
He didn't want to come. After two weeks of misery and sporadic, taunting contractions, I decided enough was enough. I knew I was at a 5, and at least 50%, so I went into the hospital. The doctor gave me 2 options, wait, or pit to help it along. Though I am normally a strong proponent of letting my body decide, I was mentally unable to say "let's just keep waiting..."
We started pit at 14:30. Jason and Alisabeth arrived something like 15 minutes later and then I wanted to shoot myself until the anesthetist arrived forever later. Once again, as soon as I was settled back into the bed, still feeling the full value of contractions. The nurse completed her next check and was shocked to note that the baby (who had never fully engaged, by the way) was now in the canal.
A "Don't Push" was followed by a bit of rushing (though not as bad as Dr. Matt had it last time), and then I pushed through 2 contractions. With a bit of tugging on the shoulders by the doctor, Mykle came rushing out and the epidural kicked in.
I would have felt cheated, except that the epi was more for the surgery that followed rather than the actual birth. I didn't regain feeling in my legs for roughly 8 hours after the surgery (maybe more). In total from pit to finish was 2-2.5 hours. Mykle came out ready to eat (little pig), and quite content with life. He cried until they dropped him on my chest and has been a mommy's boy since birth. Although dad has a way with him too. He was the first of the 4 NOT to have jaundice, and though he had some sugar issues in the beginning we quickly figured out that he was simply metabolizing it faster than smaller babies.
We're all in love. The kids currently fight over who gets to feed and hold him, and Cora gently places a blanket over him, or gives him his pacifier or anything else he might possibly want anytime he fusses. I love my compassionate kiddos.