Laura’s Life

When we lost Tottie in September, Aidan wanted to create a space in our garden where he and his brothers could go to think about Tottie  -  he’s a deep thinker for a six year old  -  and he wanted there to be a statue to mark the spot.  I got the plaque months ago but it has taken me ages to find the perfect statue or garden ornament.  Then, a couple of weekends ago, I found this cute iron pig in a local gift shop and just had the overwhelming sense that it was the perfect thing for Tottie’s memory corner.  So finally we have a spot - on our garden wall - that is Tottie’s special place.
 
Here is a photo:

This photo was not actually taken on Fathers’ Day but it’s a cute one of Chris with Arlo and Evan so I am including it in this entry:

The following were actually taken on Fathers’ Day.  Chris took the boys on a “Journey through Space” - all from the comfort of their bedrooms.  Orin and Chris ready for take-off:

Aidan and Evan inside their rocket ship:

Aidan looking through a solar viewer (apparently):

Evan experiencing zero gravity:

Later, all the boys helped bathe Arlo:

Can you tell how unimpressed Arlo was?

My wee plucked pigeon:

All cosy again and getting snuggled by his brothers:

Photos of the bigger boys painting a couple of weekends ago.  Their usual approach is quite slapdash and the results quite abstract but they all actually took more time over their paintings and seemed to have a vision of how they wanted the finished work of art to look.  So maybe some of my arty side has passed on to them after all.

Arlo aged three weeks:

Orin and Evan planning a mini Olympics.  Evan is holding a timer and Orin is holding a medal.  I just thought they looked cute together:

My art club friends sent me a bouquet of flowers to celebrate Arlo’s arrival so, of course, that was an excuse for me to take loads of photos of flowers:

Evan and the flowers:

I set up the baby gym for Arlo to play on.  He seems to enjoy it:

Evan in his jammies:

Arlo and his Mummy (our first photos together since he was first born):

Inspired by Christine’s comment on the previous post about the lack of baby photos of Aidan, I decided to make a post devoted to what my wee fellows looked like as babies.  I thought it might be interesting to see if they looked similar or not as babies.

I don’t have many of Aidan loaded onto the computer since we did not have a digital camera back then.   I am afraid what I do have, therefore, is scanned in and quite grainy as a result.

Here he is aged just four days old - and already throwing me dirty looks:

Aidan aged about four months:

Orin just a few hours old:

This is Orin aged about one month old:

And aged about four months - what a wee chubba!

Evan just a couple of days old:

And this is Evan about the same age as Arlo is now:

Just because I am on a nostalgia kick, here is a photo of all three of my bigger boys together:

And one of my favourite series of photos because it reminds me how challenging it is to get a successful photo of all three boys together:

Just think: now I have to try and get a portrait of all four boys together.  I feel my hair turning grey already …

The photos in the last entry of the boys playing on the climbing frame have inpired this retrospective of photos of them playing on the climbing frame.

Look how much they have all changed!

This wee roley-poley dumpling is Orin:

Aidan aged about three:

Another one of Orin:

Aidan aged four:

Orin aged about 18 months:

Evan aged one:

Here is one of those “restores your faith in human nature” type stories.  One of my sister Leanne’s colleagues has a sister who was housebound with a broken leg or something and was looking for a job to keep her occupied.  So she knitted Arlo four gorgeous wee jumpers, two white and two blue.  They are the absolute perfect size for him too and, since we could not find any outer wear in the shops to fit him, they were very much needed.  I was very touched that a complete stranger would be so generous and thoughtful.  Here is Arlo wearing one of the cardigans:

Arlo makes his Daddy look like some kind of giant:

Orin has been telling everyone how Arlo doesn’t have any proper clothes and has to go out in public in his jammies.  But my friend Alex bought him this wee outfit so, while the feet flap about a good deal and he needs his sleeves turned up, Arlo now has a set of proper clothes he can go out and about in while he waits to grow into his wardrobe:

Orin holding Arlo:

Evan holding Arlo:

And smooching:

Tiny wee funny face:

Evan and Orin on the garden wall:

Two swinging monkeys:

Playing on the climbing frame:

Sliding:

Aidan got home from school and joined in the fun:

“Three craws sat upon a wa’ …”

The many moods of Aidan:

The title says it all really.  These photos record Arlo’s first bath at home, assisted by biggest brother Aidan.

Aidan had his first sports day on Tuesday and thankfully it was an unusually hot and sunny day for our part of the world.  Since Heather and Jim were, of course, still staying with us, the whole family could turn out to spectate.

This is Arlo ready for setting off.  I cannot get over how titchy he looks in the car seat:

Orin and Evan pretending to drive the car while waiting for the right time to go and “invade” the pitch:

Aidan waving a flag as part of the procession of children from the school to the pitch:

Aidan, second to last, in the first race because he was too busy looking around and waving:

Doing the bean bag race:

On the starting line:

Doing the assault course:

And crossing the line as the winner!

Orin spectating:

Aidan came first in three out of five races!  I guess that proves sporty genes must be recessive.  We are so proud of him:

Evan back in the car afterwards:

My c-section was booked for Tuesday morning but, living so far from the hospital, I had to check in on the Monday for my booking and pre-op stuff.  I was to aim to be there for noon.  Unfortunately, on reversing the car in the drive, Chris hit some slabs piled in the neighbour’s driveway and punctured a tire.  So we had some time while awaiting the fitting of a new tire and I used it to take a final bump photo.

This is my Twinky bump at 35 weeks and 6 days:

Anyway, we made it to the hospital and then spent ages waiting for them to actually do anything with me (which was after we had to sort out an admin error that meant they thought they were sending me to labour and delivery) so it felt like the longest day and night of waiting.

I had been scheduled for 10 am but they came to take me down to theatre before 8am, which meant Chris had to drop his breakfast plans and rush over, only for me to then be bumped by a number of emergency sections and a wait on the latex-free theatre becoming available (since they would not risk even my mild allergy in a normal one).  Thankfully we had a very amusing student midwife keeping us company and the sight of Chris in his scrubs took the edge of my growing nervousness:

Finally, at 1pm, I was escorted through to the theatre and the surgery could begin.  Twinky was delivered at 1.48pm on 26 May and his first scream was the most precious sound in the world, dissolving Chris and I to instant tears.  Thankfully the steroids had done their job because he only needed a few puffs of oxygen and he was absolutely fine.  It also took probably less than five minutes for someone in the room to comment on how much he looked like his Daddy because, of course, I only make clones.  I do all the work and get none of the genetic credit!  He does resembles the other boys in some ways, especially around the nose and mouth, but the baby he looks most like is Tottie.

He weighed 5lbs 3oz (spot on my consultant’s estimate, which he gloated about) and, after being nameless for four days, we decided to call him Arlo Ritchie.

So here is Arlo at roughly one hour old:

Arlo and his overjoyed Mummy:

Arlo, one day old, on the ward and wearing a sleepsuit far too big for him:

Being held by me:

Arlo with his proud and doting Daddy:

Arlo was visited in hospital by his grandparents and Aunts, Leanne and Aimee.  Chris was in charge of the camera so there are not many photos and none of Arlo and his Grandpa:

Arlo getting burped by his Daddy:

Yes, it’s actually just flatulence but it looks like a smile:

Unfortunately Arlo lost a bit of weight in hospital and his temperature dropped so we went onto an intensive regime of feeding, expressing and supplementing every three hours and he also had to spend a day in a “hot cot”.  So here is my baby burrito on a hot plate:

Some portraits:

At first Arlo loved being swaddled but then he, just like his big brothers, changed his preference and decided to wriggle his hands out of the blankets.  He looks most like Tottie in this photo:

Finally - after almost a week in hospital, dying of malnutrition because the vegetarian food did not include any kind of protein, missing my older boys terribly and just going totally stir crazy - we were released to go home.  So here is Arlo all strapped into his car seat for the journey home.  He was not impressed:

All three of his big brothers are smitten with him - indeed, Orin and Evan smooch him so much the poor baby gets no peace - and he appears to be quite taken with them too.

Orin holding Arlo:

Evan’s turn:

Aidan’s turn.  The biggest brother holding the littlest brother:

A cute photo of Arlo in his moses basket (I had not spotted the milky splurp stain on the blanket):

Hmmmm!  Do you think someone has been sharing toys with Arlo?

The culprit caught red-handed:

King Fu Baby:

Arlo’s first trip out of the house, to register his birth: