Reflections on Our First Week as the Family Circus

I hope to be back to a somewhat regular posting schedule in November. In the meantime, let me give you a little update of what's been happening around here:

If a genie granted me three wishes, I would wish for:

1) My pre-pregnancy shape
2) A full night's sleep
3) A self-cleaning house

But who needs wishes when I hold a dream come true in my arms?

Baby Joey~7 lbs., 19 1/2"

Four children is one more than three children. Yes, I know that seems obvious, but my mommy brain is taking things slowly right now. Eleven years ago, when I would chuckle over a Family Circus comic strip, I never realized how closely it would later resemble my life. A lot of things have changed. 

When we brought our first baby home and she gave us back her bottle in a projectile manner, I cried along with her and my husband was sure she had something wrong with her. Fast forward eight years to bringing our fourth home:

We got home from the hospital right at bedtime. Everyone gathered around as I started dressing our one-day-old baby for bed. As I opened his brand new, bring-baby-home-from-the-hospital outfit, I realized that he had messed all over it and his blanket and onesie. I prepared to clean him up. This was my 5-year-old's first time to see a diaper change and he started immediately asking non-stop questions about the cord and a hundred other things. The baby started screaming at being unwrapped which terrified the 2-year-old who had not yet heard him cry. His wail soon joined the baby's. In the meantime, Baby decided he had to do more than mess and shot a perfect stream as if he were aiming at his big sister (age 8). This was definitely her first time to be peed on, so she ran wailing up to her bed. I looked at my husband and he looked at me. Neither one of us were crying this time. We were laughing. "Welcome to the Family Circus!" one of us said.