Who Would of Thought that #10 Could Be So Unique

You would of thought that after having 9 children, each so different, that we would of seen it all.  The funny thing is,  just about everyday we see something Patrick is doing that none of our other kids did before. All my children have  each been so different and we laugh about all their cute, little things that was unique them.  God is so creative and parenting never gets boring.  Patrick is just as loved, as fun and as "himself" as an only child or as a first born or as a "whatever" born.  We enjoy him so much!  Anyway, here are some little quirky things about him that none of our other children have ever done:

1.  He is the first to have a stuffed animal for a lovey.  I've had 2 others that had distinct "lovies" but one had a blanket and one a pillow.  Patrick has a stuffed panda that his brother bought him for his first Christmas.  Well, he has to have it to go to sleep and if we would let him, he would carry it around all day.

2.  He is the first to suck 2 fingers.  I've had 2 thumb suckers, but this is a first.

3.  He loves to have his shoes on all the time and right when he wakes up.  I had 2 other sons like this, but he is the first one to want his shoes over his feety pajamas. 

4.  He loves to do buckles.  He will spend long lengths of time trying to fasten the buckle on his high chair, or the stroller and when I put him in his car seat, he cries to buckle the car seat himself.  It's crazy because he is only 20 months and it takes him a long time and we both get frustrated : )

5.  Looking back at his infant stage, he was my easiest labor and delivery and my only pregnancy where my water broke naturally, sending me into labor and then was born 2 hours later.  (I did have 2 others where my water broke spontaneously but neither of their labors started for a good 10 hours later.)

6.  Also as a baby, he was only one to have the bili-light for newborn jaundice.

7.  And he is the only one that has an older brother copying him.  He is already teaching his 3 year old brother  with Down Syndrome how to say things, how to walk down the stairs standing up and how to unlock doors......not good : )

Age Spacing

The oldest and the youngest....20 years apart.

I've had quite a few people ask me about how far apart my children are spaced.  I think people assume that I have children as close in age as Michelle Duggar or something, but actually my children aren't spaced nearly that close together.  As you can tell from the above picture, I've had 10 children (actually 11 full term pregnancies because I did have a full term stillborn son) in 20 years. So that averages out to about a baby every 2 years, since I've never had any multiples.  So, for those who are curious, here is how they are spaced out. 

Will and Ben, 22 months apart.

Ben and Anna, 21 months apart.

Anna and Christian, 3 1/2 years apart (I had 2 miscarriages between them.)

Christian and Luke, almost 3 years apart (I had my stillborn son in between.)

Luke and Caroline, 21 months apart.

Caroline and Ellie, 20 months apart.

Ellie and MaryKate, 19 months apart.

MaryKate and Matthew, 2 1/2 years apart(one miscarriage in between.)

Matthew and Patrick, 2 years and 3 months apart (one miscarriage in between.)

So, there you have it. I've never had babies less than 19 months apart so when I meet women who have children a year to a year and a half apart, I'm pretty impressed!

My four daughters, spaced over a 12 year time frame.

Twins

My 2 little guys playing in the crib together!

No, I'm not expecting twins, but I do feel like I have twins right now.  And I have greater respect than ever for those who have had mulitples.  My little guys, Patrick who is 11 months and Matthew who is 3 with Down Syndrome, are about on the same level.  Matthew has more reasoning skills and can manuever better, but they are getting in trouble together just like twins.  I can't leave them alone together one bit!  They are getting to be so close though and both of their faces light up when they see each other.  Anyone out there who has had twins, feel free to give me some advice : )

Patrick is still having fun at this point, but Mattie looks confused. 

Patrick had had enough and wants to be held.  He's a real drama boy lately. 

Sisters

Since I did a brothers post, I knew I had to do a sisters post too.  Here I am with my 4 daughters!  Who would of ever thought I would have 4 daughters?!  Growing-up I babysat more for boys and they seemed easier for me to handle at the time, so I always said that I wanted all boys.  Well after having 2 boys in less than 2 years, I was so elated to have a little girl.  When she was born I wasn't wearing my contacts or glasses and I didn't believe everyone that said, "It's a girl!"  Anna was my only girl for 8 years.  In fact, she had 5 brothers (counting the little boy I had that was stillborn) before she had a sister.  Anna prayed and prayed for a little sister......actually many times she would tell me that she wanted a teenage sister, but that wasn't going to happen : )  Anyway, when we found out that we were having our fifth boy and that she wasn't going to have a sister, at least not yet, she said "well, was he a cute boy on the sonogram?"  I said "yes."  And she responded, "then I guess it's OK."  Actually, she had dream when I was pregnant with my fourth son that she saw Jesus holding a baby girl and she asked Jesus for the baby.  He told her, not yet.  We always say that she prayed so hard for a sister that she got 3 in a row!  And she is such a wonderful big sister to them.....just like the big teenage sister that she always wanted : )

In this picture with my husband, you can totally see their individual personalities coming out.  Anna trying to pose so nice, but actually she's so crazy and silly most of the time, just like MaryKate, the youngest, is being in this picture.  Those two are a lot alike.  We like to joke that MK is Anna on steroids. Caroline is my little mom and helper and my sporty girl.  Ellie is my quieter, snuggly one who loves ballet and anything really girlie.  I know they all may look alike, but they are all so unique.  God is so creative!

Brothers

All of our relationships in our lives may come to an end, but never our siblings.  Whether we like it or not, they are connected to us from birth until death.  We are raised together, usually from the exact same genetic pool, have the same parents and other relatives, etc.  No matter how different siblings may seem from each other, they are still connected and share so much of life's memories and experiences.  

Well, I love boys and have 6 of them and the brother relationship is crazy sometimes and can be hard for this female mind to comprehend.  

Below is a picture of my 2 littlest guys. This is one of the few pics we have of them alone together.  Mattie has not been interested in holding Patrick and just recently started to be interested in him at all.  I know that they will be incredibly close and basically be raised as twins due to Mattie having Down Syndrome.  God knew that Mattie needed Patrick and that Patrick needed him.  I love how God picks which sibling is next to which in the birth order.

Below are two of my boys that are separated by 5 years and 1 sister.  I wouldn't say they are very close at this point, but they are very much alike.  Both of them are lefties and are big in size.  They are both leaders and this makes them butt heads frequently.  They also are my more physical sons.  They love sports, being outside, wrestling, etc.  It's amazing how they are so similar.  At this point they fight often, but I know they will be super close when they are older.  

These two (didn't get a pic of them together this trip) are separated by 10 years and 3 siblings but are so similar that at times it freaks my husband and I out!  They are both ferocious readers, love school and do well in it, are more quiet and very routine driven.  It's so special to be able to practically raise the same child twice (I'm just kidding but it feels that way sometimes : )

Mattie Will Have a Buddy!

We found out last week that this precious new little one growing inside of me is a boy!  Everything looked beautiful and it's so amazing to see all the growth that is going on inside of me!  Even though a girl would of evened things out, Mattie would of been surrounded by 3 girls right above him in birth order and then a little sister on top of that.  I'm glad it is a boy for him!

The amazing thing is, I lost a full-term baby boy in March of 2000 and this little boy is due in early March.  God is faithful and has given me such peace.  I'm amazed at his mercy and as I look at my children that came after that extremely hard experience, I know  they are my "beauty from ashes."  Taylor, my little guy in heaven, was stillborn due to a knot in the umbilical cord.  Sometime I will write a blog post on that experience, but I do just want to say that God truly carried us through that dark time.  I learned though it all that God is in control of the children we have and I would never take a pregnancy or a little baby for granted again.

Stair Steps

Who would of ever thought that I would have stair step girls!  With my first 6 pregnancies, I had 5 boys and only 1 girl (I lost one full-term little boy.)  I hear people say all the time that they think they will keep having boys or girls if they have anymore, but really, this is not true. It seems that most large families I know have almost equal amount of boys and girls.  I can't believe that my girls have almost caught up with my boys!  We laugh because Anna prayed so long for a little sister that God gave her 3 right in a row.  They are such a blessing and so fun to be around.  And it is so fun dressing them alike!  There is only 3 years and 4 months between all three of them (basically 20 months between each pair.)  They are each so very different though.  God's uniqueness comes through in a large family and it's so exciting to see who He will bring into our lives next.