Are there meetings for blog-addicts?!

Mackenzie and her human doll: Nickolas

Just one more kiss, I'm sure he won't mind

The beaming big brother Jacksen

Snuggling up

Luke playing under the swing

Okay, so one would wonder why I am not sleeping while I can but really this blogging thing is kind of addicting. Do they have meetings for people who do this when really they should be sleeping? Anyhow, just wanted to share some more photos of Nickolas with the kids. Mackenzie and Jacksen are loving him to death every chance they get. They come bouncing in the door from school each day begging to hold thier brother. We better enjoy these moments because experience tells us that soon enough they'll be whining because he'll be getting into "their" things. Lukas has been so helpful to me during the day getting diapers for me and whatever else I ask him to do. He isn't really wanted to hold him so much as he loves playing with all the baby things which have taken over the house. He loves to play with the baby swing and listen to all the music it plays and the different speeds at which it swings. So that's it, I am loving life in this moment. Now onto potty training Luke. Monday I think we'll start. I'll keep you posted. We are getting him off his 3 meal a day addiction to PBJ sandwiches. He hasn't eaten much these past few days but we're sure when he's hungry enough he'll start eating with the rest of us. Hope so!!

Puzzles Shmuzzles

Luke loves to do puzzles! He can complete the 24-50 piece all by himself so we find ourselves buying them all the time. We bought a 100 piece which I helped him complete and he was pretty proud of himself. Randy said he's going to teach him to start taking cars apart... ha ha ha We have so many puzzles that I've got them on a number system in ziploc bags because we ran out of room for all the boxes. We love our puzzle boy!!
Handy Manny Cheeeez
Puppies, the newest one

Moments of deep reflection

Who doesn't love tiny baby toes??!!

I do, I do!! It's been such an absolute joy to have a newborn around the house again. I am not sure if it's because I've become more laid back over the years, or because he's fallen into a nice schedule, or because I've learned to live on little sleep and function pretty well, or if it's because after dealing with tantrums and whiny kids all day that I'm just grateful he doesn't talk back (yet) I am going to bathe myself in this bliss as long as I can, since I know that all good things will be replaced with a "phase" eventually.

Snuggling up with Daddy on the couch

Some of my favorite baby moments include them snuggling with Randy on the couch. I think the joy is mutual for all.

First Bath and loving it!

What is it about newborns and bath time? This seems to be the only time in life when you don't mind cleaning out the cracks and crevices on someone else. He didn't like the bath so much but certainly loved the warm towel, lotion and massage after, but wouldn't you??

Just hanging out with Mommy...

Who wouldn't love this face? He's such a combination of so many of our loved ones. It's so interesting to me the process of genetics and how you can see other people in your own child. Nickolas, like Jack has a dimple on one side just like my Mom and her Mom. Every time they smile, I am reminded of Grandma Ellen. What a blessing to be reminded of her through my children. He, just like ALL the kids has Randy's cowlicks (The famous Onstine swirl) I am not sure who, on his side had this cowlick but these boys will have buzzed heads for the rest of their lives :-) We love em...

Awwwwww, I'm sleepy

No, kidding. My sentiments exactly!! I had a moment during the very last Men's indoor volleyball game during the Olympics last week. The USA coach who'd lost his Father in law in the crazy tragedy was standing on the sidelines watching his team win gold medals while holding back the tears of years worth of hard work to get the team ready for that single moment. At some point the commentator mentioned that the coaches don't get medals, only the players do. I realized that parenting is very much like that in many ways. Parents are usually the ones behind the scenes putting in the time and effort that you don't see. Staying up late to nurse a baby or worry about an adult child, praying for them, nurturing them, loving them, disliking them at times, evaluating weather you are getting the job done right or not and correcting the course when needed. Our gold medals come in the form of gratitude for the little moments that mean everything to us. A kiss, a hug, an "I love you" That's it. Parents don't get gold medals either but we do get the satisfaction of knowing that we are engaged in the most important work on the planet: Raising up greatness. I love it!! Thank heavens for quiet moments of deep reflection...

It's the first day of School!!

So today was the first day of School for the Onstine kids! Jacksen started kindergarten and Mackenzie is now in the first grade. Jack was reminding me of the movie Nemo when he is getting ready for school because he kept saying "it's the first day of school, it's the first day of school" as he was getting up at 6 am. I was up feeding the baby so he sat next to me for the next hour talking about what his first day would be like. Hopefully tomorrow he'll sleep in a bit more :-) Everyone was up enjoying chocolate chip pancakes and sausage before long, then off to brush teeth. Lukas packed his cars lunchbox too (but with about 20 Disney Cars) Although we took his picture along with other kids, he was quite disappointed that he didn't actually get to stay at the school today. It was certainly a learning experience to get everyone up, and ready along with the new baby. Hopefully in a week's time we'll have
worked out all the bugs.
Mackenzie and Jacksen's classrooms are right next to each other which is nice for them. Jack sat right down at his table and began to do an art project as we were leaving this morning. He is so excited to learn to read like his big sister. When we arrived at Mackenzie's classroom we noticed that there were no desks only beach towels all over the floor... Mrs. Ortega let us know that the new desks will arrive next week and that in the meantime they'll be on the floor on towels learning all about the beach and Hawaii!!
Mackenzie was so excited. They both came home bubbling
with the news of what had gone on today. When we asked Jack what he liked best he said "my lunch and all the snacks" You must know that Jack never stops eating so we weren't surprised by that. Mackenzie said she loved listening to Hawaiian music and learning about how the islands were formed. We can't wait to hear all about it again tomorrow. Lukas is really adjusting to not having Jacksen around with him during the day. He and Jack are good buddies and play together really well. He misses Jack but it's going to give me some much needed one on one time with him during the school year. It's going to be a great year at Marcum Illinois Elementary I can tell!! OH and I secretly hope that Mackenzie's top teeth don't ever come in because we have fallen in love with her toothless smile!

Welcome Nickolas Abraham Onstine

We are so grateful that Nickolas has finally joined our family!! He was born Wed Aug. 13th at 10:49 AM after a very quick labor and delivery. He weighed 7lbs 7 oz and is 19 inches long. What a blessing he is to us. The kids are really excited to have him home all to themselves. Some funny moments: The first day we were all home together all the kids had their dolls wrapped up in blankies and were lined up on the couch feeding them all. Also, Lukas was holding Nickolas right after we'd bathed him. He went to kiss his head and when he looked up at us he said "oh, he smells so gross!!" and he handed him back to us!! I am sure we'll have many more funny moments to share soon. For now we are all settling in, and enjoying having a newborn around the house again. It brings such sweetness to everyone and magically the kids seem more helpful than ever. We are praying it's not just a phase!! Thanks to everyone who's helped us this past couple weeks. More to come soon!