The Baby Whisperer

Shortly after bringing Little Chief home from the hospital, I viewed a DVD given to me from a friend called, "The Happiest Baby on the Block". Superkid is always up for some good information (including cooking shows, "This Old House", Nova, and infomercials), so he sat down to learn a thing or two about caring for a newborn. The doctor recommends the, "5 S's", which are, Swaddling, Side-lying, Shushing, Swinging and Sucking. I am a big fan of 4 of these "S's" but haven't practiced the "Shushing" tip because frankly, Dr. Karp looks down right mean when he shushes a baby.

That being said, it is Superkid's finest technique. Little Chief is blessed to have such a sensitive big brother, especially since he is the fourth child. I have to admit, sometimes I don't get to him right away, but when I do, I can usually find Superkid cradling Little Chief "shushing" him into calmness. Superkid is very proud of his baby calming skills.

Joseph Smith and Ben and Jerry's Are Vermont's Gift To The World

...and can you believe we strapped the kids in the car and drove all the way to Vermont and didn't even give them a little lovin' from B & J's?

But at least we had a fun loving sister missionary who made the Joseph Smith Birth Site seem like Disney land. Okay, obviously we don't get out much. But seriously, this sister subscribed to Glama's philosophy of fun. She made this historical site a day to remember for these young Toads. She claims her grand kids call THIS , "Grandma's Wild Ride!"

Please don't tell the bretheren in Salt Lake that this granny is catching air on the back roads of the old "Mack" farm. When Abz couldn't take the heat in the front seat, Tadpole pushed her aside and in his "Sheriff" voice goaded this crazy sister along with a throaty, "COME ON!" She took little encouragement, but did refuse his offer to take the wheel.

Also on the docket was a little cultural refinement. Angela Johnson's sculptures of Christ are on display until June 20th, and are well worth the drive. Here are some of our favs....

Here's a flag waving Jesus loving poster child for the Religious Right in front of her favorite statue...
Here is Superkid with his favorite statue of, "The Hen Gathering her Chicks"...
And my fav, "The First Vision"...

And here we stand on THE VERY HEARTHSTONE where baby Joseph Smith was probably bundled up and and toasted that chilly night December 23, 1805 when he was born.
Oh, and speaking of famous rocks, HERE is the doorstep to his home...
And the old STONE BRIDGE that young Joe Smith would have scuttled across to visit his Grandfather's house up the road when he was about Tadpole's age...
And HERE is Grandpa Mack's home now... or what is left of it. This is also the wee Toad's GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER'S HOME. They are very impressed.



And here is the fabulous 38.5 foot (1 foot for every year of the prophet's life) granite monument that happens to be the world's biggest single polished granite shaft made into a monument.
...and here are some more pictures of some of the cool dudes that came along for the ride...

Flintstone Feet

You should see my footsy little Tadpole power his tricycle up and down (and up and down and up and down) the driveway. By the looks of things you can see that he doesn't spend much time using his pedals (or his shoes). Ahhhhh.... summer.

Little Chief

So coming up with a Tidepool Toad name is a little more tricky than coming up with a real name. I think I am going with "Little Chief". This Phrog has certainly captured the attention of the rest of the Toads. ...and if you are thinking that Little Chief looks a little yellow, you're right.
Little Chief's first week of life wasn't much different than how the other Toads started out. We always seem to have a slow start around here. ...starting with jaundice and too much weight loss. Pops is an old pro at baby rejuvenation by now. He set up a little baby incubator on the sun porch. With the space heater, he was able to toast our littlest Toad at about 85°, which is baby heaven. You should have seen how happy our little sunbather was rolling around and cooing.
We stripped him down to his diaper to take full advantage of the sun. Here he is completely content and pathetic looking. Such a sad little specimen with his bony ribs and bandaged foot. Dr. B. filled out our social calendar with heel pricks and weigh-ins.
We knew the incubator was working from the stink the kid started to emit. The good news is he is now packing on 2 ounces/day for the last week.
No worries, Pops cleaned him up and now he is not only chubbing up, but sweet as a daisy too.

We've Come to a Consensus...

We're keeping him.

When Tadpole came running into the hospital room for the first time, he climbed up next to me on the bed and said, "Mom, where did the baby come from?!" He didn't give me a chance to formulate a response before he added, "Can we take him home?"

I was feeling so great they actually let me WALK out of the hospital. I have to admit I had a sense of pride as we FULLY loaded the minivan and headed home. Nothing as satisfying as a stuffed van. I love this crew.
Superkid loves how soft this little guy is. Pops taught him how much fun it is to rub your lips on his fuzzy soft head.
The kids never miss an opportunity to snuggle their brother.


Abz can't get enough. None of us can. She loves her brother, but is also pretty insistent on a little sister too. She came up with a theory about this baby making stuff early in my pregnancy. She said, "I know how mommies make babies. They have lots of extra bones in their bodies." Yesterday she asked me, "How many babies do you want?" I told her I definitely want the four BEST babies I already have. She would not settle, "You've still got a lot of extra bones to make more babies!"


Tadpole has been a benevolent older brother. He has bestowed little bro. with some of his favorite cars and even his beloved blue silky blankets, BOTH OF THEM! After observing hours of me nursing the baby and inquiring what I am doing he approached me, lifted his shirt and said, "The baby can eat me too!"

This whole last week was glued together by Glama. She sure made things easy on us around here. There is nothing like having my mom in town when a new baby comes. I loved having her here when Superkid was born because I could have her all to myself. Now days I am splitting her 6 ways with the other Toads. But nothing makes me happier than seeing my kids get to know her. It is a crime we spend so little time with her.

Big thanks to Pops this week too. He seamlessly took over in the "mom" department in getting Superkid ready for Teacher Appreciation Night at church. Superkid invited his kindergarten teacher. Pops got him all spruced up, helped him pick out some gorgeous pink roses for his teacher, prepped him about appropriate dinner conversation, and helped serve food at the event. Adorable. I think I enjoyed hearing about it more through Pop's eyes than being there myself.
Here is a spruced up little dude and his side kick sister who desperately wanted to dress up for a big night as well.

Welcome Joseph Paul

Born May 4, 2010 at 9:29 p.m.
7 lbs. 14 oz.
19.5 inches long

Why Drag Myself Away From All of the FUN?

The way I see it, we are totally off schedule. I guess the baby didn't get the memo. The way it is supposed to work, and the way it worked when Tadpole was born is Glama flies into town, we have a fabulous dinner, come home, get a few hours of rest, then head on out to have a baby. Church is totally not in the agenda. But we all pulled it together and made it anyway.

Being the party animal Glama is, we adorned ourselves in the latest princess fashions and enjoyed a civil cup of tea. Even boys were allowed, although they got to skip the princess garb.
Then we were off to our favorite estuary for a vigorous hike. ...oh... maybe it only felt that way for me. Which is good if you are into scaring up a baby. But maybe I am not is such a hurry... I have to say, the best part about having a baby is having Glama come out to take care of me. Being 1 of 8, I am greedy about having her to myself. Part of me doesn't want to waste a couple of days tied up in a hospital when I could be having all of this fun with Glama and the fam!

Let the Good Times Roll

Glama is HERE!