Portrait of a Last Born

You know how youngest kids always complain about how there aren't any pictures of just them?

 

They say that there are only pictures with the other kids?

 

I'm beginning to understand why this phenomenon occurs.

 

At our house the phenomenon is called

 

Tikvah (or Joey or Xandra or Theia or Aliyah).

 

They have a great love for both the baby and the camera, and they're always around.  All of this makes it virtually impossible to snap pictures without at least some interference.  

It's not because we don't love you, Isaiah.  It's because they all love you so much!

Change of Mind

Prior to Xandra's arrival, when I knew all about parenting and what I would and would not do, I simply knew that I would NEVER have a baby sleep in the same room as me and CERTAINLY never in my bed with me at night. 

 Then we had Xandra.  And I brought my tiny little baby home to our little two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.  As I prepared to lay her in her bed that first night, I suddenly realized that I didn't WANT to put her in that big crib, all by herself, in a room so far away from mine (it was just a few steps across the hall).  As I shared my concerns with Joe, and cried and wept and generally acted irrationally (I do this with all my newborns, too (and some of the rest of the time, too)), he replied, 

"This is not a big deal.  She can just sleep in our room."   

I cried, "But we don't have anywhere to put her (we had no pack n play)."

He said, "Sure we do.  We can just put her in a laundry basket."

I can't remember what I said to him, but I definitely guffawed at his idea.  While I was guffawing, Joe went and found a basket, put some soft linens in the bottom and covered them with a blanket. Then he took Xandra from me, put her in the basket and declared, "Problem solved.   Now go to bed."  And I did, with my tiny little newborn right by the bed where I could compulsively check her breathing twenty times a night and hear every little squawk and snort all night long.  I was happy.

In fact, I liked it so much, I did it five more times with each of my newborns.

Xandra

It became a tradition for the kids to help make the new baby's bed.

 

Theia

It also served as a safe place for keeping small babies out of the reach of other young children.

Aliyah

 We carried the basket around the house and set it up on counters or couches where the other kids couldn't reach it.

 

Joey

  Cheaper than a bassinet.  Comfy for the baby.  Easy for momma.

Tikvah

  Besides, I haven't needed the laundry baskets.  

Isaiah

It's not like I have any laundry to do, anyway.

 By the way, all of my kids have slept a few nights in my bed next to me, too.  I guess a girl is allowed to change her mind now and again.

Basket Case

With five older siblings, no place is sacred.

 

Not even a baby's laundry basket, I mean bed.

 

He didn't mind sharing.

 

I think he was just happy they let him use it when he needed it.

 

They were always happy to help tuck him in,

 

give him kisses and pats,

 

over and over,

 

and over

 

 again.

Recap

 A day or two after we brought Xandra home from the hospital, Joe came home from work and casually said, "You know what we need to do tonight?"  

I replied, "No, what?" 

"We need to take the bookshelf picture."  

At this point I returned a blank stare.  He referred to 'the bookshelf picture' as though it were some kind of American custom every normal family took part of at the birth of a child.  I had no idea what he was talking about.  Then he explained that when he was a child, his dad took a picture of him on a bookshelf and he wanted to do that with Xandra.  I rolled my eyes and thought he was crazy and he emptied one shelf on our bookshelf, placed Xandra on in and snapped her photo.  The bookshelf tradition was born.  Each time we've had a kid, we've cleared another shelf and added another child to the picture.  I've stopped rolling my eyes and started helping with the books.  

Now that our shelves are full, here's a recap of the filling of the shelves.

August 2006

Brooklyn Park, MN

 

January 2008

Silver Spring, MD

 

March 2009

Silver Spring, MD

 

September 2010

Silver Spring, MD

  

March 2012

Colfax, ND

 

June 2013

Colfax, ND

Complete

Having completed the chronicling of life before Isaiah Timothy, we will now resume posting from the time directly after his homecoming.

It's no surprise.  It's a tradition.  Shortly after we arrive at home with a new baby, we take all the books off and load all the kids up.

 

Our bookshelf is now complete.

 

One for every shelf.  

And in good time, too.  Xandra's almost outgrown her shelf.

Dad Day Adventures

After church on Father's Day, we sent Tikvah and Joey home to nap with Grandma.  Then we headed with Xandra, Theia and Aliyah to a museum in Fargo called Bonanzaville.  

 

 It's full of buildings to explore from pioneer days, like the first sod house in North Dakota (above), general stores, banks and churches from bygone days.

 

There are also old cars, tractors, Indian and military artifacts.

 

Uncle Ryan, Laura, his dad, Eldon and their two oldest girls, Cora and Evie, came and checked out the artifacts, too.

 

There was a mean game of checkers between Laura and Tim, in which neither of them knew the rules, but it didn't matter because you always let your dad win on Father's Day.

 

The kids and I grew bored of the checkers game and went to explore on our own.  We found the bank and the church and

 

then we found grandpa with the phones.

 

It was fun, but good and tiring.  At the end of the day, I wanted to get one last family photo.  When the girls heard this, they all ran, but we caught Theia and took this lovely photo

 

by the loom.

 

Then we wrangled up the other two girls

 

and snapped two equally good Father's Day photos of the whole crew.

 

Back RaceTrack

For Father's Day the kids and I worked together to create a homemade gift for Joe.

 

I traced a roadway and town on the back of a white t-shirt

 and the kids colored in all the buildings and roads.

 

The plan, then, was for him to nap on the floor and for them to use the track to drive cars on his back.  Babysitting and napping at their best.

We made one for Gramps, too.

 

It was complete with a dirt road on the bottom near the house.  The girls cleverly wanted it to mimic the road near Gramps' house.  After we gave Gramps his shirt, we woke daddy with breakfast.

 

He got oj and Honey Nut Cheerios.

 

 and a shirt, much like Gramps', that he decided to use as a napkin.

 

I haven't chronicled him and the kids playing with the shirt, yet, but they enjoy having him make up stories as they drive their car all about the town doing whatever the story dictates.