It's Great to be 8!!

One week after Grant was born, May 17th, Jackson Edward Swain hit the BIG 8!  :)  He has been SO excited for this birthday!  It is a big one, he became a Cub Scout, got his "initiation into manhood" by receiving his first BB gun, and best of all... he chose to be baptized!  What an amazing young man he is becoming!  He is so good to his sibling, loves to help and play!  He is really becoming a boy who serves and is a gentlemen and is polite.  We really couldn't be prouder of him! 
 
He wanted Legos for his birthday, and that is all what he got!  ;) 

Except for this...

Apparently this is some kind of "right of passage" I was unaware of.  It must be a boy thing. ;)

He decided on bowling for a party!  :)  These boys have so much fun together!  It was an adventure for Dad, he isn't usually in charge of parties involving other peoples' kids and no moms, but they had a really great time!  (And Dad survived, with the help of another very cool dad.) 

Jackson's FAVORITES:
Favorite Food:  Teriyaki Chicken
Favorite Color:  Blue
Favorite Thing To Play With: Stuffed Shark and the Wii
Best Friend: Harrison and Wyatt
Favorite Song: "Praise to the Man"
Favorite Sport:  Baseball!!
What do you want to be when you grow up: Air Force Pilot
Favorite Things to do: Read, play with friends, swim & play baseball
Favorite Book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Favorite Movie: "LOTR" & "The Avengers"
Favorite TV Show: "AFV" & "Swamp Wars" & "Duck Dynasty"
Favorite Animal: Bull Shark & Jaguar
Favorite Holiday:  Christmas & Halloween
 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!
 

Welcome Home!

The days and weeks that follow having a new baby are always a little blurry for me.  ;)  But luckily I remembered to at least take some pictures!  Patrick got to be home for a couple of weeks, which was a huge relief. I was kinda terrified of being home alone with all 4 kids!  haha.  What have I gotten myself into? ;) And we got to have Uncle Kenny with us for almost a week.  (He was very good and making sure the older 3 had some fun! Because Mom and Dad were pooped!)  :)

 Kenny was letting Reagan feel like the baby just one more time.  ;)

This is where she has to sit while I feed him... every time I feed him.  It's a little crowded, but it makes her happy.  ;)

 So sweet!  :)

I still can't tell who he looks like, I think he's a good mix of both his brothers.  But we'll just have to wait and see.  :)

He seems so sweet in these pictures, but don't be deceived, this is one feisty little boy!  ;)  He is a screamer and he is stubborn.  But to be fair to him, he is the 4th kid, so maybe he's just making sure we don't forget about him. haha. And man alive, if he isn't cute!  ;)   

Grant Woodrow Swain

It was supposed to be a planned delivery.  We were scheduled for induction on May 11th (My due date was May 18th).  But this boy had other plans.  :)  I started having pretty regular contractions on Wednesday the 8th, they woke me up around 4 am and persisted for most of the day.  Patrick stayed home from work, just in case.  But they weren't horrible, just uncomfortable.  So we went on with our day, went to Jackson's baseball game and everything.  Then that night they got to be about 3-5 min. apart and stayed that way.  We called a really really great friend ;) who came over to sleep while we went to the hospital.  We got to TMC at about midnight Thursday May 9th.... we got home at about 4 am.... still pregnant, obviously.  :/  I was 4 cm dilated, with contractions 3-5 min. apart, but I wasn't progressing fast enough to admit.  Frustrating, especially when the hospital is 40 min. away!  But what can you do?!

So we went to bed at 4 am and by noon Thursday contractions weren't uncomfortable anymore, they were painful!!  We waited a couple of hours, just to be sure (hahaha), and then called another really really great friend to come hang out with our kids. (Uncle Kenny wasn't coming until Friday.) We got to TMC at about 5 pm, we were admitted by 6 pm.  :)  Thank heavens too, I felt like I had been in labor forever, I really wanted it to end!  haha.  I was at 5 cm, my contractions were 2-3 min. apart and he had dropped from a -3 to a -1.  Things were looking good!  :) 

Unfortunately, because I was technically more than 7 days away from my due date, they couldn't "start" or "help" me.  Which meant is was slow going.  They wouldn't break my water either.  So I got to find out what it's like to actually "go on my own".  Patrick and I decided it's totally overrated, it takes FOREVER!  hahaha.  I've never had a labor longer than 6 hrs., start to finish, but I've always been induced.  So this was new for us, and we were mildly impatient.  hahaha.  (It was actually a good thing we had all that time, because this baby still didn't have a name!)

I got my epidural fast and got settled in.  Laboring all night.  By 5 am we were ready to get the party started.  Everything went really well!!  Which is always a huge relief!  A couple of pushes and there he was!!  :) 

May 10th at 5:27 am, weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 in. long, we welcomed Grant Woodrow Swain into our family.  :)  He is even a little strawberry blonde!  Our biggest baby, he is the perfect final piece to complete our family!! 

Proud Papa!  I love him SO MUCH!  He was a trooper!  ;) Especially because I kept getting sick.  If you know Patrick, you know that true love is him holding my hair back while I puke and not gagging or leaving the room!  :) Yep, he's a keeper!   

In hindsight, I have to admit that going into labor on my own was SO much easier on me afterword!  Even after 18 hrs. of labor and not having slept more than 4 hrs. at a time in the last 3 days, I felt the best I think I ever have after having a baby!  Tired, but good!  :)

The Swain Gang! The kids were super excited to meet him!  :) 

It was overwhelmingly crazy how big all 3 of them seemed when they walked in the door! Holy cow, it almost made me cry!  ;)  They loved getting to hold him.  It just melts my heart!

Oh, I love my family! What a blessing they are!  I can't believe how very lucky I am to have them!  Healthy and happy (mostly) and my whole world!  :)

***And just because it is so stinking funny, here is Patrick's post on FB:

At 5:27 am and 7.6 lbs. and 19 inches We welcomed Grant Woodrow Swain to our family after 50+ hours of labor. My back is a little sore from the hospital bed and my left knee is still sore from baseball last week, but I'll be okay.

Oh....Jen and Grant are doing great too!

Moments....

I haven't been very good at catching moments lately, I really need to do better.  But these are a few that did happen to get caught.  :) 

Reagan has been making so many improvements lately, eating has become so normal and easy, I LOVE IT!!  :)  It also means that she gets to enjoy the awesomeness that is normal food...  Like spaghetti for the first time. I think she liked it! :)

Patrick and I also made a commitment this year to get in shape (after baby, of course) and try to spend more time together as a family.  So for our 10th anniversary we got bikes!!! :)  They are so pretty!  hahaha.  And my parents got us a cool trailer for Reagan and baby boy!  So after Patrick got it all put together, they had to take it for a test ride. ;)  (This also happens to be Reagan's first bike ride!)  :)

Bubba.  Love this Harrison kid!  I'm already nervous and weepy about him starting school in August!  He is such a good kid and so much fun!  (Reagan will miss him a lot too!)  But man is this kid not a happy waker-upper!!  haha.  School mornings should be super fun!  ;)

I love that this is my life, day in and day out.  Wonderfully small things that make me smile and remind me why this is the greatest job in the whole world!  :)  And it's always good to have those reminders because there are days (especially when you're about to give birth) that you need the reminding!  ;) 
 

Hoot & Holler!

Jackson's school has started a yearly Hoot & Holler 5K/Fun Run and Carnival to raise money for the school.  It's a ton of fun and this year it was even bigger than last!  :)  Both boys wanted to do the kids Fun Run.  Here they are at the starting line in their racing shirts. 

(Neither of them happened to finish though, and one never even started.  :/  Harrison wasn't into the crowd apparently, and changed his mind at the last second.  Jackson had a really good start but collided with another student and had a pretty bad wipe out about 100 ft. into it.  Some tears and road rash later, we recovered and went to find some "safer" fun.  ;)) 

They got to do everything at least once.  Should I be worried that the tattoos were their favorite booth?!  hahaha.  They each got two. 

And Reagan tried some things out too.  :) 

Good times and family fun!  :)

Play BALL!

April - May 2013
Baseball, that is.  :)  Our Spring is pretty much spent at the park, not that that is a bad thing.  It's just busy!  :)  It's a family affair, Patrick even got to coach this year!  :)  And we were part of an amazing team (both the players and the families!)! 

Jackson had a great season!  He has a lot of natural talent for the sport, it was fun to watch him grow and improve! It was fun to be his fan club in the bleachers!  (Even Reagan got into the screaming every once in awhile.)  :)

I didn't get to see the end of the season, since we were adding another future baller to the crew.  But he finished strong!  And we are so proud of him and his hard work! :)