The Six Pack

Today marks the end of my fourth trimester.  No, I'm not talking about going a little past your due date, like my friend Meghan's mother who carried her for ten months!  I'm talking about the newborn period--those crazy three months after a baby comes that seem never-ending, but then you look back and wonder where the time went. Mark is three months old today! It has been an incredible  incredibly challenging fourth trimester.  I was miserable the last part of my pregnancy and couldn't wait for Mark to arrive.  I knew, however, that not all would be roses.  What I didn't know, what I absolutely had no clue  about, was how extremely difficult  these first three months would be. Mark was by all means the neediest of our newborns (well, except for Zachary, but that is a whole different story... )  And with five older children, I had the least amount of time and patience for his colicky episodes.  Top that off with a much older  postpa...

The first part of the summer is a lot about Joseph. His birthday falls on May 31--a Memorial Day baby--and ball season is in full swing until July.  Since none of my other little blessings think baseball is much fun, Joseph gets sole focus in that department.   Finally , with baseball coming to an end, we had a chance update his annual portraits. That smile looks familiar!  Joseph has always been my smiley boy. September 2004 Joseph personified--sweet and a little sassy Don't let his look of innocence fool you... while I was reviewing the pictures, Joseph came up and recounted his trip to the mall restroom in grotesque detail.  Such a stinker!