We kicked off September with Joseph's 8th birthday on the 2nd. He got to share the spotlight a bit with his 5 day old brother, who was definitely taking more than a little of his parents' attention and wakefulness. Joseph was delighted with his tackle box, big Swiss Army knife, and and money from Grandparents. 

It's awesome having an 8 year old! Joseph is an adventurer and outdoors-man, avid athlete and mostly all-around fun kid. He can actually hold and entertain Jude without supervision and significantly help out around the house. He's been reading through the Hardy Boys series at an alarming pace and informed us he's almost finished all the many we own. 8 years old means you get a real knife. Joseph had been looking forward to this day for years; he now carries his knife around with him in his pocket most of the time. 

We shipped Joseph and John Paul off with Grandpa and Grandma for an overnight trip to Saskatoon on September 7th. Turns out, they had way more fun with their grandparents then they do with us on trips. They got to stop at the big cross enroute (which we've never done due to sleeping kids), mini-golf, rock climb swim, stay at a hotel, and eat loads of breakfast.

September 8th was Jude's baptism in Saskatoon. This was our first time having a child baptized with the Latin Tridentine baptism rite. It was beautiful and quite different from what we've been used to. For example, the godparents (our good friends Ashton and Mary Hatchen) do all the answering for the baby and hold the baby throughout the rite; parents really take the background. Although a lot of the translations are similar in the English Novis Ordo rite, the Latin Exorcisms are completely removed. Those exorcisms - wow! Dan said it was like punching the devil in the face and then calling him back for another round and then calling him back to finish him off again. It was very powerful! 

 

We had a few good runs of Friday fresh fish fare in a row. Joseph and Dan went out again with Grandpa Millette and his boat with a new motor. They came back with 3 pretty awesome fish! Joseph was proudly telling us he provided supper!

 

And we had a long-awaited visit from Grandpa and Grandma Bear! We tried to pack in the fun with lots of football, a trip to the wildlife sanctuary, fishing, Nipawin visit, campfire, hiking, and a water balloon fight. We had lovely weather and one hot 30+ degree day where everyone joined in the water fight! Grandpa and Grandma brought some nifty cardboard screws from Lee Valley and made an ice cream shop and a puppet show stand with the kids. They also gifted cute little puppets. The puppet shows that ensued were over-the-top goofy and brought endless hours of fun and laughter! 

Lest I leave off without a good full-facial of the newest member of our family, here's a good view of his resting grumpy old man face.

First Day of School {Pictures}

Name: Joseph

Age: 8

Height: 4ft 1in

Grade: 3

Most Excited to: do more science experiments

Future occupation: archaeologist

Name: John Paul

Age: 5

Height: 3ft 6in

Grade: Kindergarten

Most Excited to: learn to read

Future occupation: school teacher

Name: Emilie

Age: 3

Height: 3ft

Grade: Preschool

Most Excited to: bake and take care of Jude

Future occupation: chef and firefighter and mom

We started school this year with a 6 day old baby. Woohoo! And a daddy on paternity leave. Thank God! I woke up on the first day of school at 8:30am, after a rough night with the baby, to find Dan sitting on the couch surrounded by four kids and teaching math and writing. 

We've eased in to school slowly this year and haven't even done a full day or made a real schedule yet. But we're getting math and English done, reading Bible stories and books, reviewing a few poems, and starting to study France for our social studies. Speaking of France, Dan's course of study for his parental leave is French - with the hope of becoming fluent.

Root beer floats are the traditional celebratory drink for our first and last days of school. The kids drank (and looked drunk). 

Treat Each Birth as Your First, Your Last, Your Only

Announcing Jude Charles Millette. Born a healthy 8lbs, 10oz, on August 28 at 9:36am. Mother and son are doing well.

The whole experience reminds me of the old spiritual maxim for priests: Say every Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass. This birth reminds me of having our first child, our last child, our only child.

This is our last child in the sense of our most recent child (not as a "no more kids for us!"). We showed up at the hospital not too early, and not too late. The doctor and nurses were very respectful, not at all pushy, and overall just tremendous. Becca was a champ at getting the baby out. The doctor even remarked, on more than one occasion, that Becca should be inducted into the Obstetric Hall of Fame (probably non-existent). The nurses afterwards left us alone as much as they were allowed to. And, amazingly, the doctor even sent us home the same day, which is quite rare. What a difference a few kids make! When our first child was born we were treated as know-nothing, clueless, and utterly lost parents. Maybe the staff was just affirming the reality, but it sure didn't make the hospital experience happy. I suppose that's a strategy: Make the young parents feel like they won't want to have more children. However, by the fourth child? A Whole New World.

This feels like our only child in the sense that our other three children went to grandma's and grandpa's house for the night when we brought Jude home. So there Becca and I were. Alone with just one baby. We treasured him as our only child; gave him our undivided attention. Loved and cuddled him. Just him.

It is true that a newborn is far more work than three other energetic kids put together, and that adding a newborn to the mix of three children is chaotic, but by the next morning we were adamant: We want our other kids back! Jude certainly noticed when his siblings came. Somehow, the louder they got, the calmer he became. It must be true, babies can hear everything from their mother's womb.

And the experience was also like having our first child in that we forget what it's like! Take that first night. We hold the little guy for a while. Then I take him to the bathroom for one last little diaper change before putting him to sleep. So precious. But a goodnight's rest is in order.

I unwrap the diaper, and he's of course covered, up to his arm pits, with that dark-sticky tar poo that only a newborn can have. On the front and back of him. Just buckets and buckets of this stuff. If the doctor complains that our baby is losing weight, I'll tell him why. It was the biggest poo I can ever remember. And I panicked. It's been so long. I'm not a seasoned pro after all. I called for backup. Yes, Becca had just given birth that day, but desperate times call for, you know.

We got him changed. I did some laundry. Sheepishly I volunteered to make amends by watching Jude while Becca slept. And I held him on the couch. He fussed. I kept holding him. 

10pm. Man, what a long day. 

11pm. Yep, that first day is exhausting. 

12pm. Sleep sure would be good, if he could just settle down. 

1am. St. Jude, patron of impossible cases... pray for us. 

2am. Oh for crying out loud. No, I take that back. Don't cry out loud.

Eventually I got a few hours of sleep in. That tired feeling! Drifting around as in a daze. Unable to pronounce words properly. Not being able to do little things like fold clothes, or walk straight. I forgot about that feeling. I feel like a rookie.

Every birth, in some sense, should be treated as if it was the first, the last, and the only. Few things in life are this precious.

Note: This article was previously posted at www.bravestthing.com.