This is really happening...

It started like any other day.

A few contractions every once in a while

(nothing that really hurt).

Mom went to see her high-risk OB

Dr. Bennett.

Her fluid was down unexpectedly

but the baby looked fine.

We'd check the fluid again tomorrow.

If it was lower--our baby brother would be born.

If it was ok--we'd wait another week.

Then Mom headed to see her regular OB

Dr. Carter.

Everything looked fine there.

She agreed if the fluid wasn't better,

the baby would be delivered tomorrow.

At very latest,

he'd be induced April 17.

But...

Mom's contractions after seeing Dr. Carter

got a bit stronger.

And a bit more regular.

By 4:00, they were every 6 minutes,

rather painful

and had been coming for 2 hours.

So she called Dad and told him to come home,

Grandma Janice and Grandpa Mike

came to take all us boys to Jack's horseback riding lesson,

Grandma Phyllis came over to babysit through the night, 

and Mom and Dad headed for the hospital. 

At 37 weeks and 4 days,

our baby brother was coming!

Everyone was excited

and a bit in disbelief.

The adventure was really going to begin!

They were hoping for after midnight

so his birthday would be Dad's half- birthday.

But,

epidural at 10:00

(that only worked on the right side),

water broken at 10:30,

call in Dr. Carter at 11:15,

and with 3 contractions,

Tucker Daniel Reed 

came screaming into the world at 11:30pm on April 6th.

He snuggled right in

Tucker's squishy, chubby,

just-born face

He weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces

and was 19.5 inches long

Dad was in love

So was Mom

How could you not be?

Welcome to the family,

Tucker!

Hunt #3

Now this is how to do Easter...

on to Grandma's for Easter dinner

and hunt number 3!

I was getting a bit tired and grumpy

Oh, but I could do one picture

with Grandma

We tried to get a picture of

the 5 grandkids before the hunt

but I wasn't having it

Let's just do this!!!

There were eggs EVERYWHERE!

I did pretty well

So did Jack

and Wes

There were lots of good stuff inside too!

Candy, money

You didn't see me sneak a piece,

did you?

Attempt #2 at the picture...

Happy Easter!

Hunt #2

With one hunt under our belts,

we headed to Mom's Aunt Ellen's house

for brunch and hunt number 2

All us guys

(me, Jack, Wes, Reid, Coleman, and Ian)

spent some quality time

with our Uncles out on the balcony

and hanging around the pool

We were quite the spectacle apparently

We were just biding our time

until the real fun began...

EGG HUNT!

We each had our own color.

Grandma helped me find all the green ones

Jack's orange ones 

and Weston's purple ones

were pretty hard to find

But I think we all got some good stuff!

Hunt #1

Hurray for Easter!

We're ready for some eggs!

And he didn't disappoint...

they were everywhere!

See???

But better than the eggs?

The treasure hunt!

There were PJ's in the TV cabinet,

books in the exercise room,

bike bells and horns in the kegerator

and baskets in the bathroom sink

It was a heck of a hunt!

Easter Warm-up

Today we headed for Paradise Park

for their annual egg hunt.

We need some practice for tomorrow!

My best friend Harris happened to be there!

As usual,

it was lots of eggs

and lots of chaos

Jack's hunt

(see his green coat in the back?

he had a strategy!)

The 4 and 5 year olds

The 0-3 year olds

We each walked away with a bucketful

I think we're ready for tomorrow!

The Bat Cave

For my birthday,

Grandma Phyllis made me curtains for my loft.

How cool is this?

I have my own Bat Cave!

I can get some serious work done now.

Dyeing for eggs!

We were all out of school today for

Good Friday.

So Grandma Janice came over for some fun!

We dyed Easter eggs!

Here's mine

(Don't mind my huge scratch and chipped front tooth--

I took a header off my scooter 2 days ago.

Mom didn't blog it because she didn't want to embarrass me.) 

Weston was proud

Even Beck did some!

Thanks Grandma Janice!

I think we're all ready for the big bunny now!

The countdown begins...

Guess who signed up for Kindergarten today???

I took a picture with my girlfriend Mika to commemorate.

(And photobomb by Beckett)

Boy catch-up

It's been a really long time since I wrote about the funny things the boys say.  Not that they aren't saying them--the documenting has just been a bit slow.  So, before things get even slower with the arrival of #4, here's a little catch up...

Beckett:
-Initially, there was some concern about his speech.  He was a bit slow on talking, didn't say Mama and Dada at 15 months, only had a handful of words.  But then POW!  He's exploded.  Preschool comments daily about how much and how clearly he talks.  2 word sentences, all his body parts (even elbow and chin!), all his animal sounds, Please and Thank You.  We can hardly keep up!  Some favorites:  dino...saur (with a big pause between the syllables), Jacker, Westie, Beckett do.
-Mama and Dada recently became Mommy and Daddy; not sure why the change
-Beck's a great singer too.  Twinkle Twinkle, Baa-baa Black Sheep, and Rock-a-bye Baby are some favorites
-He transitioned on the second attempt at a toddler bed without any issue.  No getting back up, no wandering at night, no getting up early.  It can't be that easy, can it???
-We are working on potty training.  He's watched everyone else; I suppose it makes sense he wants to join in.  He'll say "poop-poop?  M-n-M?" (he gets M&M's if he's successful).  We've had 1 successful attempt so far.  Maybe after the baby is here...
-He repeats EVERYTHING!  Whole sentences have come back at us

Weston:
-Proactive, organized, helpful--he's 5 going on 15!
-Weston's got a bit of a temper.  He doesn't like to be bossed around by his big brother and doesn't like his little brother to mess with his things.  Wes will clench his little fists, stiff arms by his side, steam coming from his ears.  "I'm mad!  I'm angry!  I'm frustrated!"  We have to remind him to take a breath every once in a while.
-He's great at addition (single numbers), working on subtraction, and is a pretty good speller.  Kindergarten is going to be a breeze!
-Weston is a soccer pro.  He's just aggressive enough, always has his head in the game.  He's our sports guy.

Jackson:
-Jack loves to be the boss, the one in charge, the person who knows all the answers.  Even if he has no idea what he's talking about, he'll chime right in and try to blend into the conversation.
-Loves math, loves being the "computer resource" in class, LOVES horseback riding lessons.
-Gets embarrassed of his goofy mom (he won't dance with me in parking lots), does best when he is treated like a big kid, can be overly helpful sometimes

Finishing up the nesting list...

He may be boy #4,

but everyone deserves a special room!

All the boys have had the same theme

and decorations--

they were made by Grandma Phyllis, Mom and Dad

We busted out the changing pad,

the crib linen,

rearranged the furniture,

unpacked the baby clothes...

Nesting complete!

I think we are ready...