Marine Corps Museum

With just a few days left of John's paternity leave from work, we thought it would be fun to get the kids out of the house and took a trip up to Marine Corps Museum just outside of Quantico. Traveling with babies is relatively easy and I wanted out of the house badly so it was a great day for a family field trip. Aubrey was unfortunately in school when we went but we've been a few times before as a family so she wasn't missing out that much. And boy oh boy am I glad we brought the double stroller! Jocelyn and Andrew would have been ALL OVER the place if we hadn't! They've changed things up a bit since the last time we've been there which has easily been a few years. A lot of history of the Marine Corps and where they started all the way to where they are now. It was a pretty amazing display! And of course, no trip to the Marine Corps Museum is ever experienced without John running into someone he knows from his time in the service whether it's here in the States or overseas. :) Took the kids to lunch and drove back home.

BIG (& Busy) Boy

Being that Andrew is my first boy...I'm becoming quite used to being VERY BUSY! He is into everything and climbing and jumping and running all over the place!! Not a dull moment that's for sure! :)

On this particular day, I grabbed my camera and followed him for a short time. Here is what I was up against...

Climbing on his toys and turning the tv...

Pulling my flat iron out of the bathroom drawer and running around the house with it...

And sneaking into mommy and daddy's room, stealing the laptop and setting up camp in his room trying DESPERATELY to figure out the password! hehe While he shouldn't be doing this...I couldn't help but think it was funny!

Whew! I can barely keep up with him these days!!! And I'm sure it gets busier from here on out...especially with a little brother in tow!

P.S. Andrew has a new haircut! He looks like such a big boy now! (As if me having a baby and him looking bigger now because of it wasn't enough!) :)

Celebrating Baby #4

Today, Landon and I went to lunch with some of my close girl friends to celebrate his arrival. I decided that even though he's our fourth child that I still wanted to celebrate him but not in the traditional baby shower kind of way. Because we already have a boy, we were pretty much set for boy #2 so having a baby shower didn't make a lot of sense anyways.

We all met up at Panera Bread and had a fun time eating and talking while Landon just snoozed away next to me in his car seat! Living far away from family is hard, especially in times like this with a new baby, but at least I have great friends!

New Life

I always forget what it feels like after having a baby. The feelings. The changes. The adjustments. But so much love for this new little one that I never imagined I'd have until the moment I met him. After having three children though, I knew that there was more than enough love to go around. Aside from the obvious excitement and happiness a new baby brings, there comes other emotions. Definitely a roller coaster of them due to the wonderful post baby hormones, a new found love for another sweet child I am so blessed to have and raise, sleep deprivation from around the clock waking to feed, maternity clothes that are finally too big but the pre-pregnacy clothes, well, let's just say I'm not going to try and see if they fit yet, the disconnect I feel from my other children as I rest and let their daddy take over a majority of the household tasks - to name just a few. I'm missing all of the time I used to have to play with them and seeing how hard this change has been on them has been hard on me as well (and seeing how much bigger they look and feel after only being away for a few days in the hospital!). All of these things have thrown me through a loop all the while getting to know this little boy of mine.

My "once was" routine with the kids and my daily schedule has been tossed around and thrown upside down like a tornado and I'm slowly trying to get back into the swing of things so I can eventually establish a new routine that fits for my four children. Right now, my days are mixed with sleeping when I can squeeze in a few more minutes, feeding and changing a newborn, crying at the drop of a hat, feeling lost in my motherly role and frustrated with the fact that there have been SO many changes in the past few months that nothing feels "normal" anymore. Andrew's gone from pacifier to no pacifier, sleeping in a crib in our room to a big boy bed in his own room, Jocelyn and Aubrey now sharing a room, driving a new van instead of the truck I drove everyday for the past 4 years, John deployed for six months and me having a routine with the kids while he was away to him being home a few weeks before baby's due date (a GOOD thing but still a huge change!) and basically switching roles with me while I have Landon so he can take care of the kids and then readjusting to us all being back together again. It's sometimes more than I can handle. It even seems too overwhelming for me to even start thinking of how my days are going to go once John returns back to work. Obviously one minute and one day at a time. I'm sure in a few months, I'll have things down like I did after the other children were born. Luckily, Landon is such a good and laid back little guy. He sleeps much of the time, is happy and content and curiously looking around when he's alert and hardly ever cries. The kids have been really enjoying having their baby brother here. It's very cute to see how much they love him already.

Aside from all of the challenges and stress I've been faced with, life after a baby is rewarding, fun and enjoyable. Nothing worth it is EVER easy so I expect to have bad days and hard times mixed in with the good days and fun times. I try to keep that in mind when the going gets tough! I really love being a mom and count myself blessed - and remembering that will help me get through this! I have the best husband ever that supports and stands by me and picks up the pieces when I am not able to put them together. I also have amazing friends and family to pull me through. Each day has been a little easier than the previous one and I know that I will get through this change in my life. It might be with baby steps...but I will get there!! In the meantime, I'm just going to snuggle and enjoy my little baby boy and three older children and hope that my new normal will come soon!

Happy Birthday Landon!

Landon Isaac Shields was born at 6:37pm - healthy with a full head of brown hair and bluish gray eyes. He's very cute and we feel so blessed! He weighs 8 lbs 8 oz and measures 21 1/2 inches long. Tomorrow he gets to meet his big brother and sisters! :)

Birth story will follow when we're both home and getting more rest. Both Mom and baby are doing well.

We Have Grown

Our vehicle that has comfortably held our three children for the past few years without a doubt would not comfortably hold four. So after months of planning and searching, we found ourselves a minivan! :)

John's work has a Town and Country so it was between that model or a Honda Odyssey. I test drove the Town and Country and after talking, we felt it was the right vehicle for our family.

The kids were sold on the dual dvd players in the backseats (that was pretty much a given and trust me...we like that feature too!) and the extra space. John and I were sold on the obvious - more seating and more storage. 

I think we are now completely ready to welcome this baby boy into our family!!

Well, not completely. Now we need to decide on a name! Just 14 more days until due date. (Yay!) I sure hope we can figure it out by then! :) We have a few in mind but can't make a decision. All I seem to think about these days (besides being comfortable again) is how much I'm going to enjoy holding another one of my babies in my arms and getting things ready around the homefront for his arrival. Before Aubrey, Jocelyn and Andrew were born, we knew what their names would be long before their birth but for some reason, I think it's going to take meeting this little guy to find the right name for him. Somehow, someway, it'll happen.

Until then, here are some pictures of our new car:

The Long Wait Is Over!

After all 3 kids birthdays have passed, John earned his Bachelor's Degree (and graduation was missed), a few stressed out "single mom" moments, many sleepless nights tending to my sick children, my overnight stay in the hospital due to dehydration from the stomach virus, tears were shed, our marriage was tried but also strengthened, weaning a 2 year old from a pacifier, lots of alone time (whether wanted or not), countless family, friends and neighbors checking in on us and being there for us - and all that entails in 6 months of separation due to military deployment in Iraq and the constant loneliness and worry that is brought to a military spouse because of it...I'm proud to say:

MY HUSBAND IS FINALLY HOME!!!!

And I seriously couldn't be happier! Being without my best friend for so long was very challenging. Especially being pregnant and taking care of our three children.

I couldn't have done it all without the many hands and prayers that helped our family.

And here's to the readjustment period. So far, the kids haven't left their daddy's side for more than a few minutes and he's without question thrown off with the time difference. But our family is complete and together and we really couldn't be happier!

{Here he is arriving out of Customs at the Dulles International Airport Gate. This is when I spotted him and he didn't see me yet. I was so nervous waiting for my other half to get home!!} 

 {Finally together!}

He had no idea we were going to be at the airport to get him and was completely surprised to see us! He made plans to have a friend bring him home since I'm now full term in my pregnancy and he didn't want me to be far away from the hospital but we found a way for us to all go up there and wait for him. Even the kids had no idea their daddy was arriving today! We told them we were there to help pick up our friend's family. They were SO excited!!! It was so worth it and I'm really glad we went anyways.

{So happy to be reunited!}

During his deployment, we kept in touch over Skype so I wasn't too worried if Andrew would recognize his daddy or not. Andrew was looking around at first, concerned only about his bag of chips, when he looked up at him, gave a confused look for one brief moment and then the BIGGEST smile spread across his face and he ran to his arms and refused to be put down! All of the kids are so glad that daddy is back!!

{Here's a close-up of Jocelyn hanging on his leg. I think it's evident that she really missed her daddy and didn't want to let him go! :)} 

Now on to having this baby boy! He's due in just 3 short weeks - although I wouldn't be sad if he chose to come sooner. :)

I'll update again when I can. I have a lot of back blogging to catch up on that I wasn't able to do while taking care of the kids in John's absence. If nothing else, we'll be sure to let you know when our baby boy (still no name) has made his grand appearance!