a skeptic no longer

All my friends who had boys told me how great it was to have a boy. They were sure I'd love it.

It's not that I didn't believe them, it's just that I assumed it would be like having any other kid - you're happy no matter what.

But, it's true. I love this little guy. Love. Him.

How can you not love this?

evolution of a soccer mom

Can you believe we've already been in America for more than two months? I find that hard to believe! I feel a lot more settled - and a lot less out of place - than when we first arrived, that's for sure. Our kids' memories of our china-home are already becoming a little fuzzy, and they feel awkward speaking Chinese now, even in our home. It's crazy how accustomed they have become to life here.

I find myself feeling very thankful, for so many things.

I am thankful that our family - now all six of us - feels settled into a routine. We've enjoyed so many great times together and have gotten into some great habits of family devotion, bible reading, and prayer. I feel that we are stronger, both individually and as a family unit, than ever before.

I worried that my girls wouldn't have friends, or would be weird. But actually, they've made so many new friends and have connected so well with lots of young children - all of whom have great parents! It's such a relief to me that they have friends who they love and who love them.

I worried that I wouldn't have friends - and God has been so faithful to provide people to love us and hang out with us. Since I grew up here, I knew I'd have at least one friend to lean on, but we've also been blessed by making new friends, in places and situations I never would have dreamed of. I still miss my China-friends, but I don't feel alone like I thought I might.

Ok, yeah....so what does all of this have to do with becoming a soccer mom? If you'll forgive the above tangent, the point of this post originally was going to center around the list of things we wanted to try while we were in America (and then I got sidetracked talking about being thankful). Josh had wanted the girls to try a sport while we were here and we were wanting to find some ways that our whole family could be involved in relational ministry. So he signed them up for a local soccer team.

He got a call a few days later from the soccer club asking if he'd like to be a coach.

Do you know how much we know about soccer?

Zero.

(And that's combining our soccer knowledge together!)

They told him that usually the teams of kids six-and-under are coached by a parent, and I think that since our last name starts with "C", we were one of the first ones on the list.

Get this - he agreed to do it!

I think he was a little overwhelmed, but he was excited to learn something new (the man loves learning new things) and he spent lots of his free time watching youtube videos and reading articles online about how to coach soccer to young kids.

He was also in charge of procuring uniforms. Oh, fun. [Seriously. I'm not being sarcastic.] He did let me help in this area, and we decided on raspberry colored uniforms. With their black rings around the neckline and names and numbers on the back, they are just TOO cute.

And we also got to decide the team name: The Ladybugs.

You better believe it. The ladybugs are going to rock the field. Or something like that.

Fortunately for me, my plan-ahead husband made sure that everything was lined up and ready to go before the baby was born, so he was totally prepared for practice, had already gotten the uniforms, etc, and was generally just on top of things. That way, when Silas decided to come on the day of the first soccer practice, Josh wasn't stressed out. He just rescheduled. =)

In the weeks leading up to the first practice, Josh gave them a general idea of what soccer was. They were as excited as can be expected, having no idea what the sport looked like. They liked kicking the ball around, especially after we bought a metallic pink one. Even I liked kicking it around after we bought the metallic pink one!

Abby, of course, is at the age where she wants to be doing whatever her sisters are doing. Even if it drives everyone crazy. It stinks being the younger sister!
(...but she sure is cute!)
Josh rescheduled the first practice, but I felt good enough to make it to the second practice and I REALLY wanted to go. My mom saved the day and agreed to come to practice to take care of Abby so I could manage Silas and be also watch the practice.

Before Abby and my mom went to play on the toys, Abby was happy to help out being the "water-girl":
My husband? He's so awesome. If you looked at this practice, you'd never know we know nothing about soccer. He researched and planned to the point that it looks like he's been coaching kids' soccer his whole life. He found all the funnest and most effective games to play, he learned what is too much to expect of a five year old, he found all the best ways to engage them in soccer skills while not making them bored. He's so thorough and hard-working like that. Josh, you rock.



And finally...last Saturday was the day of the big game. The Eggrolls were nicely represented by lots of family. It was Ladybugs vs. Yellowjackets. Samantha is Number 4 and Emma is Number 10, but I probably didn't need to mention that since their names also happen to be printed on the back...
Again - lots of people to help occupy Abby:
A little pep talk before the game:
Ok, we totally got creamed in the first half of the game. This picture shows it all - doesn't the YellowJackets girl seem like she really knows what she's doing? And then there's the two Ladybugs that seem a little...like they don't know what they're doing? It totally felt that way. But none of our girls had ever played before, and it was neat to see that as the game progressed, things started clicking for the girls. They really got a better handle on what "soccer" was all about.
After the first half, Josh gave them a quick reminder about which goal we were heading for:
Yay, Emma! She's really starting to toughen up a bit. She fell down several times during the game, but there were no tears and she got right up and jumped back in!

Samantha is a bit more timid, and isn't as concerned about jumping into the fray as the other girls. Josh is doing a great job helping Samantha feel involved in the team while still giving her the freedom to play a smaller role.
Apparently, teams this young don't keep score so we'll finish the season undefeated! Woo hoo! The undefeated 2010 Ladybugs! =) But seriously, I think this game (not that we're keeping score or anything) ended up tied 5-5. For a team of newbies, they did a great job. The handshakes at the end feel so sportsmanlike! I've never given the handshake because I've never played sports. I'm living through them, for sure!
One of the girls on the team brought some snacks for after the game. It was a much needed snack - those girls were tired!
Pops and Nonna provided the shade, and Nonna held Silas the whole time so I could stand on the sidelines and cheer:
It was a great day and we can't wait for the next game! (You can see josh in the background of this picture heading out immediately to make it to the OU game - Boomer Sooner!)
...and Abby, at it again, bringing water to her big sisters!
So there you have it. I never thought I'd drive an SUV (much less, one that's full of kids!). I never thought I'd be a Soccer Mom.

And yet, here I am...and enjoying it all!

welcoming silas, in pictures

Silas is sleeping right now - which means I should probably be too - but I wanted to throw some pictures up so everyone can agree with me about how cute our little guy is. =)

Except NO babies are cute when they're first born. They're all scrunchy and squished up. I even thought my own kid was that way.

The nurse got his little footprints just after announcing his weight to us...
...but he didn't really like going through the formalities of footprints.
Yes, it really was a boy. Due to my lack of shame and abundance of humility, I asked the nurse on our floor for a little tutorial on boy-diaper-changes. I thought I was a pro at diaper changes. As it turns out, I'm a pro at girl-diaper changes. The boy diaper change? Not so much. We've had a few casualties so far, but nothing a little Tide won't fix. =)
Can hospitals provide nothing better than the pink-and-blue standard issue cap? I guess I could have brought my own and avoided the standard-issue look, but I'm not so big on caps.
Daddy loves his little guy. He's already been talking about wrestling moves. Sheesh.


My parents brought the girls up to see little Silas and they completely and totally adored him. Even Abby was excited!
The attention this guy is gonna get is a little scary to imagine...



I love how Samantha is peeking from behind us! The girls loved being at the hospital and checking everything out - from the buttons on the beds to the TV remote controls to all the various baby items they provided for Silas...it was all interesting to them.
My, how the iphone has changed our lives...
Since a child's attention span is WAY shorter than a hospital visit, they had to find other things to do. Here the girls are pretending that they are babies...and doing the appropriate cry.
Abby read a few books over and over...
...until finally we gave her the ipod so we could all have some peace and quiet...and so my bed would stop being moved up and down.
Once Silas opened his eyes and started looking around, I quit thinking he was a scrunchy, squished up baby. He's precious and cute and just looks perfect. There's absolutely no bias in that statement, I promise you.
Once we were all out of the hospital, the lovefest has continued. The girls want to hold him every chance they get. They love inspecting his very long toes, his fingernails, his soft hair...
The other night, Emma was singing lullabies to him and he smiled a little gassy smile. Since she knows nothing about gas, she loved that his smile was "just for her"! She felt so proud and so connected to her little brother!
So far, life with four is proving to be a bit more of a handful than life with three...especially since life with four doesn't include my house helper! =) I'm hoping that this next week - with the bulk of postpartum discomfort passing - life will start feeling a bit more normal. What will normal look like now? I have no idea...but we're sure glad it includes Silas!

Done!

Done with labor! Done with pushing! Done with crowning (not crowing - as I mistakenly typed it a few posts ago! heehee!)

Little Silas was born this morning at 4:33am, and wasn't nearly as small as our midwife predicted! (I totally should have seen this coming.) He was 9lbs, 3 oz and was 21.5 inches long. I'll probably still try to squeeze him into those newborn-up-to-8-pounds clothes and snap a quick picture...you know, because that alligator was so stinkin cute! =)

After pulling an all-nighter, josh and I were wiped! We've been sleeping a bit off and on this morning, and Silas seems very content over there in his bundle, sleeping too! Yay!

The proud big sisters are with my parents now and will probably get to meet their brother later today. Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes and for being so awesome and not thinking we were crazy for having another kid.

going to the hospital

Going to the hospital...praying I'm not embarrassed if it's a false alarm.

the baby monitor and my lifelong obsession with chocolate

I still have not had a baby, in case you were wondering.

And, in fact, since I'm "expired", or "past due" or however else you'd like to refer to it, I am now required to do lots and lots of monitoring. I've been surprised at how skittish the hospital and doctors have been, once you pass a certain magical date that may or may not have been accurate to begin with.

So. I go in on Tuesday for my first official "you're-late" appointment and I have to get hooked up to the monitor...something about making sure the baby is getting oxygenated enough. When my fabulous midwife comes back to the room to check the printout of the baby's heartbeats, she gives a little sigh and says, "Hmm....I really need to see a bit more of an elevated heartbeat."

She suggests juice from the faculty refrigerator. I suggest josh going to the vending machine. [I totally played it off on not wanting to steal the faculty's juice...NOT the fact that I'm always up for visiting the vending machine.]

I let her win - she said the juice is bought by the office FOR the patients - and she brought me a juice box. I drank it and five minutes later, she checked me again.

"Still not spunky enough," she commented. She stepped out to give me a few minutes and josh snuck off to the vending machines. That dear man knows his wife so well.

He came back with a 3 Musketeers, and I had it completely eaten before Pauline came back into check me again. She looked at the printout and cheered. "Just what I was looking for!" she said, as I popped the last bite of the whipped chocolate bar into my mouth.

Could it be that my child has already built up a tolerance to sugar - unless it's in massive amounts? That juice doesn't faze him, but just go directly to the good stuff?

Well, at least we passed the test. AND I got to eat a candy bar. WITH the approval of my midwife.

Wonder if I can do that next week too...?

What's in a name?

Naming your child is such a big deal. It seems to almost shape a person (or maybe a person just grows into their name?) and even affects the way other people view them.

I particularly like the children's book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes and how Chrysanthemum describes the many situations she enjoys hearing and seeing her name: written on an envelope in the mail, written in icing on her birthday cake, written with big orange crayon. I also loved hearing my house helper in China read that book in Chinese to the girls - Chrysanthemum's name was translanted "ke-li-san-si-mei-mei" and we all laughed and giggled each time we said it to each other.

Anyway, we've taken our sweet time trying to name this yet-t0-be-born boy in my womb. Our naming powers seem to have shrunk now that we've named three other children. It seemed as though we had no creativity left! We scoured the internet, other books, baby name lists and wanted to find the perfect balance of unique but normal, in ways that honored our traditions and our own hopes about who our baby boy would be.

With Emma, we didn't tell her name to a soul until she was born.

With Samantha, we irritated all our family when we made them wait until we called from the hospital.

With Abby, we decided we didn't care so much anymore and we told her name several months before she was born.

But with this guy, we really honestly just didn't have a name chosen.

Until now.

Finally. Finally! Even the girls have been excited to start calling him by his name and they pray for him by name now (which is totally precious).

Before we do an unveiling of how this child will be named, I want to lay out a little bit of the reasoning behind it. It may seem like we're trying to be some of those celebrities that give their kid 25 names and will wage a lifelong struggle to fit them on the tiny lines of a Scantron form...but really, that's just how it happened for us. We're not trying to be unusual.

To begin with, I hope and pray that our little boy will grow up to be just like his daddy.

His daddy is a man who loves God more deeply each day and seeks to honor Christ in his family, habits, and heart.

His daddy loves his mama.

His daddy is quick to admit when he is wrong and make amends.

His daddy says, "I'm sorry, please forgive me" all the time.

His daddy is a merciless tease and a merciful father.

His daddy is thoughtful and considerate towards others, loves to laugh, and loves to bless people.

His daddy is passionate and intense, and excels at spreading his passion to others.

I can't think of another person I'd want our son more to be like than his father. So, we're starting with Joshua.

We've also chosen a name that holds a lot of significance on Josh's side of the family - both his father and grandfather hold this name. And truthfully, even though it's an unusual name by today's standards, I'm happy that our son will hold the name of his grandfather.

His grandfather is the epitome of generosity and kindness.

He is gentle and tender and gracious to those he meets.

He is hardworking, doesn't complain, and is easy to admire.

If our boy ends up with any of the traits that his grandfather has, I'll be a happy mama.

That brings us up to Joshua Alphonse.

Joshua Alphonse, even though it will be part of his legal name, won't be the name we call him. Those are more of namesake, traditional names.

The name we've been calling him in our home - the little boy whose been read stories to by his big sisters and rubbed by his mama and prayed for by his daddy - is Silas.

We chose the name Silas for several reasons - I liked that it was uncommon but not weird; I like that it has a strong biblical tie and feel to it; and Josh liked it. (That was the hardest approval to get!)

As we thought and prayed over the name Silas for our son, several things stuck out to us about the biblical Silas:

He was willing to travel with Paul and suffer right along with him in his missionary journeys, and yet he was also willing to stay back to encourage and equip the church. [In this respect, it seems like he was part of a very complete model of church planting!] I love that his passions and abilities for spreading the Good News and nurturing others complemented each other so well! He proved himself to be a faithful and trustworthy follower of Christ, able to lead and able to serve, worthy of respect and love from the apostles, and yet it wasn't because he was the most dominant personality, the loudest or the most convincing.

We've chosen Silas to be the name we use everyday, and pray that many of the qualities of his father, his grandfather and the biblical Silas will be in him as well.

Joshua Alphonse Silas Caro---.

(Now if he would just come already!)

ehhh......

Since I'm pretty much a childbirth expert after having three children, it was time for Mother Nature to show me that I really don't know anything.

After I posted to my blog last night, I diddled around on facebook and read the news until I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

I decided to try one last time to lay down and see if I could fall asleep.

I woke up at 7:45am, just in time to start getting ready for church.

Seems that my six hours of contractions just decided to take a lunch break and clock in later.

I spent most of the afternoon todaywith very minor contractions, and haven't had any tonight.

So I guess I'm back to waiting...and I thought I was going to be one of those few, random people who had a baby on their due date!

I'll be sure and post before we go to the hospital, but for now I feel like I have a pretty big job psyching myself again up to have another baby. Last night in the middle of my 7-8 minute-apart contractions, I geared up for all that I knew was up ahead of me - transitional labor, the pushing, the crowing. Now, I feel like I'm starting over and I know I'll have to gear up for it again. That's not such a pleasing thought and honestly, makes me feel a little irritated.

Right now, I feel up for pretty much anything except childbirth.

But I am about to go to bed - with no contractions so far - so maybe I'll get in a good night's sleep...?

such a sap

I'm referring to myself, of course.

Tonight, thanks to Josh's parents (tickets) and my parents (childcare), Josh and I went to the OU game. I was glad I had made it to this point, because I'd been having nightly contractions for three nights. Friday evening, I thought our chances of making to the game were pretty slim, but the contractions stopped and we proceeded as usual.

Friday afternoon I'd had a few contractions (which started earlier than annoying, right-before-bed-usual) and they were nothing that made me think we shouldn't go to the game, so we hopped in the car and went.

We had a lovely time at the game, and I found myself (as usual) getting caught up in all the pre-game fun. I loved watching the bands come out, the Sooner Schooner, the flags, the pregame video on the big-screen...I'm such a sucker for those sorts of things. Then, somewhere along the pregame route, I had this idea that Josh should bring Emma to a game. After that point, it's like I saw everything through Emma's eyes - the cheerleaders, the mascots, the fireworks. And, I'm not even kidding, I started getting misty-eyed thinking about how much she'd enjoy it. Even a little weepy. I couldn't even make it through the national anthem without getting choked up, thinking of my little girl getting a chance to be a part of a big game.

I'm seriously such a sap. Please don't tell anyone I was weepy before a football game.

We did leave a little early - even before the game was totally decided - just because we wanted to avoid traffic. I know, I know...what kind of a fan am I?

Apparently, I'm the kind of fan who escaped having a baby in the stadium by perhaps just hours. Ok, that sounds a little dramatic. Actually, it must have been the walk back to the car that got things started because I've been having regular contractions since then. And these are the kind where I'm NOT going back to sleep (since it is 2:30am)...the kind that rate slightly more annoying than the ones that DO allow you to go sleep.

While Josh worked on some emails that needed to go out, I laid in bed and complained that I didn't want to have the baby tonight, that I was too tired, and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. If only my body would have listened...

I suppose it's not a done deal yet. Everything could stall out; even as I sit here and type and get my mind off my contracting uterus, it seems that they maybe aren't as strong as they were. But things certainly feel like they're going...and after having done this three times, I have a feeling where this is headed.

I'll be sure to keep you posted if we head to the hospital and if baby boy is born. In the meantime, I hope I either go back to sleep or find something to do to get my mind off how much I wish I COULD go back to sleep...!

germ-astics

One of the things high on my to-do list when we're in America was to enroll the girls in some kind of gymnastics/ballet/music/art class and enroll them in swimming lessons. We're going to wait a big on swimming lessons, but after making a few calls I decided to enroll all three girls in a gymnastics class at The Little Gym.

There's a Little Gym right down the street for us, so it's really convenient.

They give your second child a 20% discount.

Your third kid is free.

Does it get better than that?

AND - the kicker - all the girls could attend class on the same day at roughly the same time.

Perfect.

[Plus, they keep calling it germastics...which is reason enough for us to go every week. It makes my heart smile every time.]

We watched some clips from their website the day before class to help the girls get an idea of what they were getting into, and let's just say....they were unbelievably excited.

Emma and Samantha were able to enroll in a class together. They loved being together and watching out for each other. I think having the other around gave them both more confidence and they enjoyed the class much more than they would have on their own.

Abby, however, had to look through the glass the entire time. Longingly. Frustratingly. She kept saying, "Abby! Play? Me? Play? Play? Play?"

We told her she'd get a chance to play later, but that probably didn't compute.

Since this was the first session of a beginner class, they spent some time doing basic physical coordination stuff like running, jumping, playing with balls. For such simple activities, I thought The Little Gym did a great job of making it fun and engaging for the kids.

A few minutes into the big-girls' class, Abby discovered another forlorn little sister who was required to wait outside. Misery loves company.
When they busted out the parachute, I nearly joined the class myself. I LOVED the parachute when I was a kid. I came very close to buying a parachute before we left Asia (since there were so many kids who could use it!) mostly just because I wanted to play with it.
The second part of the class the kids were allowed to freely explore all the equipment while teachers stood nearby to supervise and give little comments. I loved that they had so much freedom to try things out on their own, and if they needed help, people were right there to jump in.



The girls class started at 4:00 and was over by five. We had pizza buffet at a restaurant across the street and then Abby's class started at 6:15. We walked back into The Little Gym and she started her mantra of "Abby! Play? Me? Play?"

I was so happy to say yes! We started playing with bells and following simple instructions together. Did I mention Abby's class was a parent-child class?
I have been a parent now for over five years, and I've developed my own way of doing things and thinking about things. I like the way I do things and I think it's right - otherwise, why would I do things that way?

So when the teacher said, "Your kids should feel free to run off on their own, even if we're all doing a group activity in the circle. Let them go and explore, and if they see you participating in the middle, they'll come right back to you and join in!"....you can't even imagine my skepticism. I would have likely required my child to stay by me and do whatever we were doing.

You CAN learn new things, Rachel! You CAN!

The teachers were totally right. They encouraged the parents to really get into the activities and have a good time, and sure enough - every time Abby would run off to play with something, she'd catch me doing the group activity and run right back. I was shocked, but pleased.

So, here's me "really getting into the activity" and nearly having a baby in the process. There was running, jumping, galloping, and freezing. I was breathing hard by the time it was over. Let's just say...if I actually had a baby at The Little Gym, I wouldn't even get free enrollment for the kid, because you're fourth kid is already free too. Bummer.

I loved how Abby would come back and grab my hand to run around. So sweet!

All the girls had such a fun time trying new things and they can't wait for the next class. I loved that they each had the opportunity to try things out themselves and be independent, even though they were with other people. I was really impressed with The Little Gym, and when you factor in the discounts they give for multiples, it was a great option for our family.

It just doesn't get any better than germastics!