Welcome Home Daddy

Bo has been doing some volunteer work for the church and had to travel one weekend in October - he rarely ever travels for work, and the boys thought flying on a plane was a big deal.  So in Bo's absence, we planned a little surprise.... 

Working on a sign for Daddy

And here we are riding the shuttle to the airport.

 It was a bit embarrassing when the shuttle driver pulled over and asked where I was going pushing a Double Bob stroller, carrying a baby on my chest and a gigantic "Welcome Home Daddy" sign.
Me: We're walking to the airport. {duh}
Shuttle Lady: Oh no you're not!!!
Me: {ahem} what do you mean?
Shuttle Lady: You see all these orange cones?!!!  You see all these construction signs?!!!  You ain't walking nowhere!!! Hop on the bus!!!
Me: I, um, have a huge ass stroller.
Shuttle Lady: Hop on the bus!!!
Thank you God for the two strangers who immediately popped out of the shuttle to help me. Absolute angels, I tell you.  One guy looks at the Double Beast, I mean Bob, and says, "we used to have one of these things" and like riding a bike it all comes back to him, collapsing it into it's smaller beast size.  It takes a bit of grunting and shuffling, but they cram it in the handicap storage area.  I grab the boys; we squeeze past a couple of sweaty snickering passengers, and like that the bus takes off for the airport. 

I went dark with Bo's phone calls as he was boarding for his return flight, because you know, if a little surprise is good, a huge surprise is even better.  At the time, it seemed like a genius idea....

"What's that you say?  Daddy's flight was delayed 1 1/2 hours!!!?"

Oh crap.
I only brought two packs of fruit snacks.

So here we are, all four of us stuffed in the family bathroom while I nurse the baby. 
This was the tipping point of the whole trip.  I completely expected the Bigs who have forfeited a nap, to have a major meltdown. In public. Simultaneously. But instead something crazy happens for the very first time in the history of ever:
they go with the flow.
Even Wade has decided that he's willing to play the ipad with the image upside down. Amazing. 

Bribing with Cheetos paid dividends.

We walked around every single baggage claim at least 4 times and rode the elevator at least twice.

But this was worth it.

 

 

And this.

 

Thad is 4 Months Old!

 

Oh, Thad!  We love you so!  Happy 4 month birthday little one.  We celebrated your big day by going to Tweetsie Railroad.  We had a blast riding the train, but it was C-O-L-D! I held you close in the bjorn the whole time, and you were such a trooper.  We are so thankful for an adaptable and easy going third child!

 

 

 

 

Here you are with Aiya doing a bit of equestrian research.  You love to be on your belly and will simply hang out and watch what everyone else is doing around you.

Sometimes we get lucky and have a nice quiet bath, but usually we have a bit of help.  Bath time is truly your favorite part of the day, and as soon as you figure out that I'm undressing you for your bath, you start shrieking with joy! We do a little chant: "It's bath time BABY!" And I dance your naked little body to the sink while you kick your legs and squeal.  It's my favorite part of the day too.  As you can tell from this picture, you're ecstatic.

 

Your brothers can't keep their hands off of you.

And SURPRISE! You rolled over on 10.10.14 for the first time - belly to back!

This one is more...

more complex

more challenging

more rewarding

more responsible

more imaginative

more frustrating

more interesting than I ever thought a child could possibly be. 

McCord at 2 years old was quite possibly the hardest year Bo and I have ever had, but we all made it through, and there on the other side was a fascinating, remarkable 3 year old.  And now here we are another year older with the usual 4 year old challenges, but every once in a while we get a glimpse of this old soul as if he is an old man. 

Tonight after the boys were in bed, I made my way upstairs to wash clothes in the laundry room which is adjacent to the boys' bedroom, but I stopped before I got to the top of the stairs because I heard Mc singing.  He started participating in choir at church a few weeks ago, and it's not unusual to hear him "practicing" when he thinks he's all alone.  How I wish I could have recorded his sweet little voice singing his heart out to God in what can only be described as a stream of consciousness prayer interspersed with the days of the week and a few nonsense words.  It went something like this:

"I love you, I love you. Thank you for my cousins and my friends..."

A few days of the week were sung - not necessarily in the right order. Then,

"And God, can you please tell Santa Clause thank you for Catfish [my very special buddy whom I sleep with every night].

A few more days of the week...

"And thank you for my Batman castle. And all the parts that go with it."

...and then things got a bit muffled here, but I'm fairly certain I could make it out,

"But there's just one thing I don't understand, God. Why can't you just kill all the mosquitos?"


Absolutely delighting in the gift of hearing what's on McCord's heart, and half-crouched on the stairs, straining my ear to the crack in the door, I cried a happy, humble tear at the gift of being a mother. 

The days are long, redundant, and thankless.  And sometimes, many times you feel as though you've made a mess of things.  But every now and then you find yourself holding your breath, a heap of dirty laundry, and a tender moment.  And it makes it all worthwhile. 

Catfish and Batman

Our hat trick

A third boy!  We welcomed him on June 5th, 2014 at 4:32 pm and named him Thad Campbell.  

It was a beautiful summer day.  Bo and I drove to the hospital as the sun was rising.  Little did we know that Thad had plans to take his time, and didn't arrive until later that afternoon.  I will never forget the time that Bo and I had that day as we waited to find out if we'd be welcoming a boy or girl.  We had so much fun walking the halls and timing contractions hoping that I was making progress.  We laughed and talked about our family and we even talked about baby names, because we still didn't have things completely hammered out yet.  I'm so thankful for that time with him.  

7 lbs. 2 oz. 20.5 inches of joy

I packed this gown for each of the boys to wear home from the hospital right after their births.  

Loved this funny stork our friends put in the yard. 

This is what I get when I tell Mc to "give me your best smile!" 

McCord and Wade were the first ones to see the baby and tell the rest of the family that "it's a boy!"  

McCord's first selfie

Newest big brother! 

We've taken this same picture in this same location with each of our sons before heading home.  

Welcome home little guy!

These cuddles!

McCord calls his newest brother Thadcampbell - all one word - so we've been doing the same - not sure yet whether it will be shortened to Thad or Camp. 

This is how we change diapers around here.  Wade never misses a diaper change.  He comes running and slides his chair right up to the changing table and watches intently.  His job is to throw the dirty diapers away, and he does a great job!

First trip to the duck pond as a family of 5.   

Probably my favorite picture from the first week of Thad's life.  I have loved watching how the boys have reacted to having a baby in the house.  Both McCord and Wade seem just a little bit older to me and have been so sweet and curious about Thad.  It's so fascinating hearing the questions and comments Mc has to say - like getting a little glimpse into his almost 4 year-old mind.  The other day he said, "We'll have to ask Thad Campbell what it looks like inside Mama's belly!"  

Welcome to the world Thad Campbell!  You are so sweet and precious and we are thrilled you're here!