Fourth baby

I'm trying to think of alternate titles for this post. Perhaps 'The Egg' because of the hideous lump on my baby's forehead, or 'Worst Mother in the World' because I didn't even see this happen, or 'Keeping Up', because he got the lump from trying to catch his brothers. In my defense, he has a large vein that runs down the middle of his forehead, so bumps in this location always look worse than they are.

I feel like this kid, more than any of the others, has something to prove. He is way ahead of his brothers when they were this age- walking, trying to talk, and just trying to be a big boy way too soon. I often find him turning circles in the middle of the living room as his brothers race past, trying to decide which way to go so he can join in. But he is always too slow, and he gets so frustrated he just screams. Another difference with this baby is that he is his daddy's boy all the way, and not just in looks. He prefers Steve over me any time. If daddy is at home, then daddy is the one he wants. I am not sure why this is- but it is kind of nice for a change. I'm just a little worried that he's going to flip when Steve leaves next week for a month. Yep, that's right- Steve gets to go to France to see his family for the month of May. I was so jealous of this fact that I booked myself and the boys some tickets to go see my family for a month. So hah! Wait, who wins in this situation? Did I just commit to a five hour plane ride with four boys? Without Daddy? Gulp. Oh, but Grandma is at the other end.

Hide 'n Seek

This game has become very popular around our house since Sebastien can 'count' now. The rules are basic. Hide under mom's covers for an indeterminate amount of time, mumbling random integers and then go find your brothers who are almost always hiding in the same place. Who knew life could be so fun? And who knew sixty-hereIcome was a number?

Untitled from nicole lewin on Vimeo.

Etienne and Easter

This year Easter week coincided with Etienne's 5th birthday, which it hasn't done for the last few years. It made for a very busy week which I am still recovering from- hence the late photos.
We had a quiet party for Etienne. His breakfast of choice?- cinnamon rolls. I asked him what kind of a party he wanted, and all he said was he wanted to be king for the day. So I made him a crown made out of tin foil. He was thrilled. I wonder how long that kind of excitement will last. We also had a picnic at a local park to feed the geese and walk along the edge of the stone wall surrounding the lake. Again- how long will the thrill of such an outing survive? I mean, they just couldn't get enough of walking the edge of that wall. He is so easy to please, that boy. Whenever I ask him what he wants to do for his birthday, he gets overwhelmed by the number of options and gets a little panicky. In the end, he said he didn't care what kind of a cake he got, just so long as there were m&ms involved.

Saturday morning was a church-wide breakfast and Easter egg hunt. Well, as James noted, it wasn't so much of a hunt as a race. The eggs were just lying on the ground everywhere, so the whole hunt took about 45 seconds. They had a blast though. Some dear friends had invited us for Easter Sunday, so we spent Saturday afternoon at their house helping preparing Easter dinner. Easter day itself was really lovely- 72 degrees and sunny. The perfect combo for an outdoor feast of lamb and many other goodies. There was also another egg hunt for the kids, and a wonderful afternoon of good company and quiet conversation. I wish I had taken better photos, but here is a quick slideshow if you are interested. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!