2 Months Later

A little over 2 months after Charlie was born, gosh, we're almost to 2.5 months now!  It has been a little crazy.  Ok, a lot crazy.  Here's a run down of some things I've missed...
- We came home to some super thrilled kids!  Everyone loves Charlie so much and is so helpful
- A few hours later that day we went to the kids second swim meet.  Yep, the day we came home from the hospital.  It was crazy, but the kids needed it, and I needed to feel like I could be there for them.  God blessed us with an amazing parking space and unbelievable weather.
- In the spirit of Charlie's D Day birthday, and because of the way he cried, we nicknamed him "Screamin' Eagle".  He doesn't cry often, really only when he's hungry or needs to spit, but he absolutely screeches like an eagle before he works into a regular cry.
- Eve finished her first triathlon!  100m swim, 3 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run.  She did amazing!  We are so stinkin' proud of her!!!
- We once again enjoyed the Butterfly Adventure at Roper Mountain Science Center and got a picture of Charlie at 3 weeks old petting a lamb that was also 3 weeks old.  I think Charlie was cuter, but I'm biased.  It was close.
- One day Jake kissed Charlie on the head and said, "There's invisible hearts that it makes, but God can see them."  That's one of the sweetest, truest things I've ever heard.
- We spent a TON of time at the pool both with swim team and apart from swim team.  Jake can swim more than the length of the pool alone now and is completely independent even playing in the deep end.  Will can now swim without his life jacket (for as far as he can hold his breath), in fact he refuses to put it on, but he's not to be trusted alone, although he disagrees.
- We had a fantastic visit from Aunt Michelle and Uncle Greg.  Always too short, but so wonderful.
- Eve got braces.
- Ellie got lice (then passed it to Eve).  That was not the highlight of our summer.  Ugh.
- We had a fantastic amazing visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bucky and the Cushmans.  I certainly didn't take nearly enough pictures.  While they were here we spent 2 nights in Charleston.  We had a blast boogie boarding, playing in the waves and sand, hanging out at the market downtown, celebrating my birthday at Kaminsky's (my favorite!), and just enjoying great family time.
- We watched lots of Harry Potter movies due to the countless hours of nit picking.  Ugh.
- Right around the 2 month mark Charlie started smiling a lot more, chatting a bit, and even chuckling some.  He's doing those more and more every day.  What a sweet doll.  He really is such a sweet, easy going, cuddly, happy baby.
- Ellie started baseball.  She has loved baseball for several years, although she knows almost nothing about it.  She loves Jackie Robinson.  The first few practices were a disaster.  Not only does she barely know where the bases are, we've never thrown a ball with her or taught her to swing a bat, and she's the only girl on the team.  When I was in 2nd grade I was the only girl on the team.  Daddy bought me shorts because he knew I would be too afraid to slide (he was right).  It was a disaster, but I found a lot of 4 leaf clovers in the outfield.  I'm having major flashbacks, BUT, she's improving and getting a little more confident.  Hopefully she'll end with a positive memory.
- And now, this week, we had Meet the Teacher.  In the blink of an eye Charlie is 2 1/2 months, everyone is getting so big, and summer is almost over.  I've GOT to stop blinking!

Brothers and Sisters Are a Special Kind of Special

Brothers and Sisters are a special kind of special.  We feel like they should be the first to know about their baby sibling, and the first to meet them.  Having had the priviledge of experiencing this meeting in the past, we knew how special it would be.  It's a special I really can't even describe.  Birth is amazing, but somehow watching siblings meet their new sibling for the first time, and the pure, genuine joy on their faces is maybe even a little more special.  Let's be honest, it's also a little chaotic and very hands-on, so since I wanted to always remember this moment, we hired a wonderful photographer and friend to capture it for us.  Her photographs were amazing.  They capture each child's personality in such a special way.  They are likely the only photographs we'll ever have, at least of them as children, with such pure joy and excitement on their face.  She did such a great job blogging about it I'll just link that here
http://photosbysabrinablog.com/charles-david-fresh48-st-francis-eastside/

Welcome Charles David Buckingham!

Buckingham #6 was due June 9.  Before #6 came, I had a few things I wanted to happen.  First, I wanted to cash in on my Christmas present to see The Lion King.  #6 was so sweet to let me experience such an amazing show!  Second, if I had my druthers, I really hoped to have school out of the way.  The last day of school was June 2.  We ended it with our annual water gun fight at the bus stop...still pregnant.  Check!  Thank you, #6 for being patient!  At that point, I was still feeling good, so any time was fine with me.
June 6 I woke up around 2 with contractions.  Not close enough to go to the hospital, but strong enough I couldn't sleep.  I moved around to the recliner and such, but figured we'd be in the hospital later that day.  Around 5 they stopped all together.  After getting so excited, I was so disappointed!  Bitter, really.  Off to swim team practice, Target, the regular activities of the day.  Bummer.  I had a few contractions during the day, but an hour or so between them.  I had given up on June 6.  Too bad.  D Day would've been a cool day for a birthday.  I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the next morning, and they let me bump it up earlier, so I had decided to go ahead and induce the next morning.  I called Mom and made plans to bring the kids to her after swim practice in the evening.  Around 3:30, I guess, I started having regular contractions that were still several minutes apart, but fairly strong.  I told Buck I thought I needed him to come home and help pack the kids up.  Shortly after that I decided maybe we should have Mom go ahead and pick the kids up.  They were getting closer.  By 6:00 we were on our way to the hospital.  All of a sudden contractions were about 5 minutes apart.  When we got there they were 2 or 3 minutes apart, and strong.  We rode up in the elevator with a couple that I assume was on a hospital tour.  I cried (loudly) through a contraction, then apologized...surely it was a little discomforting to them.  We got to the intake desk upstairs.  The receptionist said there wasn't a room ready.  Could we please wait in the waiting room?  Another contraction (they were only a minute apart...or pretty much nonstop by now), and I said emphatically, "No.  This is #6 and it's coming now!  Wait...my water just broke...or maybe I peed...nope, that was my water breaking."  She called nurses, who came very quickly, and pushed me into the nearest room.  As we entered the room, I said, "Here it comes!"  They literally pushed me on the bed with my dress still on and before I knew it, "It's a boy!"  They recorded that we checked in and my water broke at 6:32 and he was born at 6:36.  I'm a slow processor.  That along with no epidural (I learned I don't handle pain well) and all of the commotion, Charlie was laid on top of me immediately, and immediately started eating, but I don't feel like we really met until a few hours later.  Whew!  What a whirlwind of a meeting!  He was born on D Day after all.  A lot of it was a blur.  When things finally calmed down a bit and I got a little more comfortable, the nurse sat me up to use the restroom (a requirement before patients can be moved to the mom and baby room).  As I sat on the edge of the bed after all of that pain and chaos, my gaze inadvertently drifted out the window and I saw, quite possibly, the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.  It was absolutely unbelievable.  It somehow brought me out of the chaos into the calm of God's sovereignty and the beauty of His steadiness.
We moved to our room for the stay.  When we settled in and I had some food, I was feeling kind of shaky and weak, Buck went to get some food for himself.  When he came back to the room, he said, "So, I was driving to Burger King and had a Burger King epiphany (he was listening to something about D Day).  Do you still like the name Charlie?  (We had discussed Charlie, but couldn't think of a middle name).  You know today is D Day, and Dwight D Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander (at this point I cringed because I thought he was going to suggest Dwight)?  Do you know what "D" stands for?  David.  What do you think of Charles David?"  I loved it immediately.  I love the sound, I love the story (I feel like if you're never going to use a middle name, it should at least have some meaning).  Charles David it is.  BUT, we wouldn't tell anyone.  Not even the nurses.  Not until the kids came to meet him.
That night Charlie slept so well.  I didn't sleep hardly at all because I was full of adrenaline.  In the morning while Buck was gone to take care of things at home and freshen up, Charlie and I hung out with quiet hymns playing.  It was such a peaceful contrast to the evening before.  I think that's when we truly met.  And I was so absolutely smitten with this sweet boy.  8 lb 6 oz 20 3/4" of pure sweetness. 

Siblings

Tuesday I needed a nap, so Jake and Will climbed into bed with me (they needed a nap too).  When I woke up, I found this.  Brothers are a special sort of thing.  So sweet.  This week we moved John's bed into Jake and Will's room and John got a new bed.  Jake moved to the one without side rails, and Will moved up to the big boy bed.  Everyone is thrilled!  Jake has been begging to sleep with Will in his bed, and John is excited to have a sleepover in their room.  Again, so sweet.

 Also, this week the girls have been driving me crazy.  For 3 days they've been playing instead of cleaning their room, which wasn't too terribly messy to begin with.  They've gotten a host of consequences because they're just playing rather than cleaning (and unfortunately my hormonal fuse isn't short...it's nowhere to be found).  Then I took them to their dance dress rehearsal and snapped this picture, and all of a sudden I see that although they completely disobeyed, the time they spent together was not in vain.  Again...so sweet.

The Art of Manliness

Today Buck and I are going on a retreat with the 5th and 6th graders at church.  I think the word "retreat" is a severe misnomer.  At any rate, the kids are beyond thrilled to have "2 sleepovers at Grandma's!!!!"  If the weather is nice, and we sure hope it is, they will likely spend most of the day in her back yard and the woods.  I love that they to experience that.  That being said, you never know what might happen.  Kids plus outside freedom equals lots of fun and adventure...and maybe some trouble.  Once we came home and Mom told us she thought she might have to call someone to help get Eve.  She had squeezed herself, not in danger at all...her head and feet were out... but completely stuck folded in half, into a cement pipe.  I think that one gave Eve a good healthy scare, and fortunately she got out eventually without having to call the fire department.  I'm not sure how much I would've worried and how much I would have laughed had I been there.  Mom is such a trooper!  Last week Jake and Will were at her house near her ditch.  Jake had jumped to the other side, and she overheard him trying to coax Will, "Come on Will.  Be a man!"
I'm convinced every kid needs a big back yard and some woods...and a big box of bandaids on the ready.

Yesterday I Cried...

As of tomorrow, we've got 5 weeks until Baby Buck #6 is due.  All of my pregnancies have been "easy".  Very textbook.  Someone asked me yesterday if I was excited this would be the last time I'd feel this way.  I told her a I was a little sad this was the last time I'd feel this way.  I mean, it's tiring, but at the same time I love it.  I'd say of all my pregnancies, though, this one has maybe been the easiest?  There's a selfish piece of me (well, I suppose each of the sides here are selfish) that is ready to have my body back to myself and back to "normal", whatever that is.  There's another side of me that just absolutely can't wait to meet this baby, find out if it's a girl or boy, and welcome him/her into the family.  But there's another side of me that gets sad when I feel this baby move because I know I'm saying goodbye to that incredible feeling soon.  There is nothing like feeling your baby move inside, and having this secret little relationship that's just the two of you that most of the time no one else knows about.  It's our sweet little special secret.  Pregnancy isn't easy, but I am immensely grateful for being able to carry such an undescribable blessing 6 times!  There's still another side of me that cried yesterday (and is a little bit even now) because I counted the days Jake has left in preschool...the days I have left just me and my Baby Will.  Every time I've gone to the hospital to deliver, except with John of course, I've cried as I've said goodbye to the baby for the last time that they'll be the baby.  Maybe all of this is just hormones, but honestly I think at least some of it is real.  Saying goodbye to each stage is both exciting and a little sad.  "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."  (-Dan Wilson)

FLORIDA!!!!!

These pictures are all out of order, but if have been on here in draft form forever.  I'm afraid they'll never be posted if I wait to do it right.  We went in January 2016 to Florida for my cousin's wedding reception.  We had planned on making a trip of it, and on a whim decided about a week in advance to add a day at Disney to the trip.  What an exhausting but fun time!!! We didn't tell the kids.  On the way we just said, "Hey, there's a sign for Disney.  Anybody want to go there?"  and we went.  We spent the first afternoon at the pool and downtown Disney.  Ellie was brave enough to dance on stage with the Celtic dancers!  We were all shocked!  The next day we spent in the park from open to close.  The kids absolutely loved it.  John, Eve, and Ellie were roller coaster junkies and loved every ride.  Mom, Buck, and I rotated who would ride the rides with them (and Jake if he was big enough), and who stayed with Will (and Jake if he wasn't big enough).  Will enjoyed the rides he could do, but just didn't understand the standing in line thing.  At any rate, that worked out well for everyone and we all had an exhausting but wonderful day!  It was so fun for me to go back to Small World (having heard the jokes from Mom and Dad about having to take me on it over and over and...) with Mom, Jake, and Will, and see how much they enjoyed it, and how much she enjoyed them enjoying it, and also the Electric Parade, my other big memory from Disney.  I never really thought I'd get to relive those memories with her and see our kids enjoy it at the same time.  That night after the fireworks we headed on to St. Pete.  While we were there we got to enjoy some great family time, and also got to see Winter the dolphin.  This was a huge dream of Eve's especially.  Winter has a prosthetic tail.  It was cool to see the other animals rehabilitating as well.  And to do that with so many cousins was a particularly special treat.  It was certainly a trip for the memory books!

Will

Poor Will.  I feel like I've done him such a disservice on this blog!  He is certainly the product of being pulled and driven in every direction.  He is by far, so far, the most laid back.  Lately he's started embracing his role as a 2-year-old, but in his own way, and certainly much later than the others.  He has started to push limits, found a bit of defiance (which he thinks is hilarious), and get pretty angry when he doesn't get his way or has to share.  Still, he usually pulls around pretty quickly and falls back into the flow of things.  He's gone through some pretty funny quirks.  I may have already mentioned this, but he went through a significant phase where he was obsessed with any small bump and would rub them constantly.  The bump at the middle of his lip, moles, but particularly Buck's and his own nipples.  It was hysterical.  He wouldn't let me hold him for a while, a complete Daddy's boy, and I'm convinced this is why.  Poor Buck couldn't get a moment's peace if he had his shirt off.  There was one day Will was playing with a ball while shirtless.  He'd put the ball down and kick it, then quickly feel for reassurance that his nipples were still there.  He's backed off of this a bit, but still there are a few moles I have that he always rubs when I hold him or he's standing near me.  He also loves putting things in carrying boxes or bags.  First it was a pink makeup bag.  He put action figures and cars in it.  He carried it everywhere with him, under his arm like a strapless purse.  He loved unzipping it, taking the contents out to examine them, then returning them and zipping it back.  "There's something in here!" is what he always says, and wants to show what is in there.  He's graduated to a small toy box that's like a closing tool box.  Once he had it taken away for disobeying.  He had to go to bed without it.  The next morning I was looking for him and heard knocking.  I thought he was in the downstairs bathroom, maybe with Jake, but Jake was alone in there.  I realized he had let himself out into the garage.  He was knocking on the garage door because he wanted to get out to the car to get his box.  Talk about determination!  Will loves playing with his older siblings and the neighborhood kids, but is also happy to just play by himself.  During one of the Clemson football games he had an entire conversation with our stuffed animal tiger because the rest of us were engrossed in the game.  He loves imagining and playing with toys.  He is dedicated to learning which guys are the bad guys and which are the good guys.  He is very much like Ellie in his humor.  He likes to use silly voices, likes to dance and jump, and likes to be silly in general.  It's usually really funny.  His enunciation isn't perfect, but his vocabulary is staggering.  People are amazed by what comes out of his mouth, although I can't think of any specific examples right now.  He does NOT like to be called cute, but he will turn around and say, "Mom, you're adorable."  The other night after picking strawberries I was sitting on the floor putting Jake and Will to bed.  Will was feeling around my belly asking where the new baby was.  I told him the new baby was in my belly.  I grabbed at his belly to tickle it and said, "Look at your big belly!  What's in your belly?"  His response, "Strawberries."  So true, and so funny.  Will also loves to read and snuggle and fight with his brothers.  He's quite rough, and dishes back everything he takes.  He loves to laugh, and thinks just about everything is hilarious.  He likes to be held and he gives amazing hugs and kisses.  And he loves to pull his shirt over his head and run around blind with his belly sticking out.  That's my boy.

Jake

#4 is 4, and what a fun 4 he is!  Jake has had so much fun in his first year of preschool!  He is so incredibly smart and social, and is loving every minute.  His favorite is science and playing on the playground.  When I look at pictures, I immediately think of the pictures I've seen of Buck at this age, and think their personalities must be so similar as well.  So stinkin' cute, and full of mischief.  But I suppose he's more silly than mischievous.  He loves to dance and spin.  He is rough and tumble, and gets dirty all the time, but for some reason doesn't like to get dirty if it's planned or anticipated.  He is ridiculously smart.  He can recognize numbers all the way up to 100, including the teens, which are tricky!  Not too long ago he asked me, "When Jesus comes back, is He going to bring Gabriel with him?"  I was amazed at the thoughts he put together to form that question in his mind.  He's very inquisitive.  He went through a phase where he asked all about volcanoes, and even learned that lava would not melt titanium.  I grew so weary of recounting those facts over and over again in the car!  He loves rhyming words.  His vocabulary and memory always surprise me, although at this point they shouldn't.  He knows he's smart, and I suppose that's why he argues everything (and I can't stress "everything" enough).  He is sure that he's right and either I'm wrong, or I don't KNOW (meaning I'm not certain).  He still has bouts of raging temper and screaming when he doesn't get his way, but it's getting to be less frequent and less severe.  I'm not sure if that's because he's getting ahold of his temper a bit, or if I'm just learning how to manipulate and/or avoid it in certain situations.  He likes to argue with Will, in particular, for the sake of arguing, and loves pushing buttons.  He is also still very affectionate.  A few mornings we made it through taking the girls to school and I still hadn't gotten a hug from him, so I said, "You know what I need."  Now he calls me into his room in the morning and says, "You know what I need," and gives me a big hug and a kiss.  Jake is full of life and love.  When he gets excited, which is often, he gets SO excited, and I love this so much.  He remembers everything even if you tell him just once.  He loves reading, Star Wars, several different TV shows, playing outside, the zoo, the airport playground, snuggling up, getting me to smell his stinky feet, his brothers and sisters, and just life in general.  He also loves having conversation and is just a treat to sit or walk and talk with.  In some cases he will talk to anyone, then he will randomly become shy and not want anyone to see him.  He has enjoyed his first season of soccer for the most part.  He practices well and does exactly what the coach tells him to do...and does it quite well.  When it's time for the game he mostly runs distracted in circles or chases after the mass of kids that's chasing after the ball.  He does love to run.  Every time we go to the Y, he has to run 1 or 2 laps around the track.  His excitement, enthusiasm, friendliness, and affection as well as his silliness make him so much fun.

Ellie

Stuck in the middle.  This couldn't describe Ellie better, except she flourishes on either side.  There's a part of her that tugs her toward the older kids and wanting to do what they're doing.  There's a part of her that just wants to be one of the younger ones and enjoy time with them and their toys.  There's a part of her that is beautiful and precious, and there's a side of her that is such a ham and keeps us laughing all the time.  The other day we were in the car and she was making different facial expressions as she sang and danced with the music, and I couldn't pull myself together she had me laughing so hard.  She is very concerned with what other people think, and at the same time not at all.  She doesn't want to get in trouble, but at the same time, would rather do her own thing her own way.  She seems like the quiet compliant child, but ultimately her independence shows itself.  She would much rather play than do her homework, but she has really become a much better reader this year.  She is loving dance.  She loves everything about baseball, although she's never played and I'm pretty sure didn't watch a full inning when we went to a game recently, but she loved it.  Most of the time she's my hardest child to read.  I think she keeps a lot bottled up.  At the same time, she's one of the most pleasant and fun to talk to, and she loves having conversations with people.  She'll believe anything she hears, which made for some complicated discussions during the presidential election.  I know she's growing up, but to me she still has her little girl looks.  Watching her little dimpled fingers write spelling words still just seems wrong to me.  She's stuck in the middle of our hearts, that's for sure.