We had the baby on Father’s Day!
Locke Maynard Saunders was born after an induced labour (due to my BP getting way too high for comfort) and total “real” labour of 1hr 5m and one push delivery at 1:53pm on June 15th. He weighed 8lbs, 3oz and was 21″ long. It was by far my BEST labour and delivery experience, my recovery was something that blew my mind how good it was and I was actually discharged and able to come home in under 24 hours. That’s NEVER happened before. I also had no postpartum hemorrhage at ALL and all in all was easily the best experience. And it was also the first time we’ve had a baby delivered by our actual OB instead of rushing in and getting whoever was there on call.
He spent 48 hours in the NICU because of the fast labour. He had trouble getting all the mucous out, which is something that happened to Max and Sophia as well because of the fast labour/one push delivery. He wasn’t “sick” but he had to stay until it cleared out and they were sure that he hadn’t aspirated anything and that his chest was clear. He actually came home at just over 48 hours old which is as fast as he’d have come home in the regular nursery so he got one-on-one care AND was still home basically at the same time. It just freaked us out though because this was the third baby in a row that had a NICU stay. Max was only for 6 hours, but Sophia was there a week. So it was worrisome but something we’d done before.
And the poor boy didn’t even have a name until literally as we were filling out the birth certificate paperwork when he was discharged! LOL We came down to two names we read in a baby name book the night before and just basically picked one. But it suits him! Maynard is after Andrew’s grandfather as all our kids have “family” middle names. So all our boys carry Andrew’s grandfathers’ names 
It’s sweet!
Everyone is gaga over him, the kids adore him, and he’s a VERY good baby. Yeah, he’s got fussy times etc but he’s really sweet and very even tempered. Now if he’d sleep more than 2 hours at a time, we’d be set.
Sophia’s 5th birthday is next Sunday and she’s having a big party
on Saturday for her friends and our family. Because the cake at the
place she picked for her party is an ice cream cake (she’s allergic to
dairy and I don’t trust desserts not made at home because she also has
a peanut allergy and you never know) I told her I’d make a cake for
her. Lord almighty the one she chose is insane! It’s taken 3 boxes of
cake mix, 5 cake pans and a mega-muffin tin. I’m baking the cakes
today, and then freezing them to decorate them this coming Friday since
it’s supposed to take around 2-3 hours to decorate and trying to bake,
cool and decorate on the day of her party or the day before…ugh, no
thank you!
And I realized that all the BIG cakes I’ve done for the kids seem to
fall on their 5th birthday. Azura’s 5th birthday was a Blue’s Clues
cake done in a shaped pan with starpoint frosting (3 hours to
decorate). Brandon’s 5th birthday cake was a construction site,
complete with hot wheels construction vehicles, cookie crumb dirt and
lumber made from cookie sticks. Max’s was hmmm, you know I can’t
remember?? Whoops. It was either the skateboard one or the tank one.
Tank I think. It’s the perfect age for a great cake because they think
it’s SOOOO cool
Oh, and this is what I’ll be attempting…pretty cool, eh?:
Same as the last three years, we went to the Fair (FREX) This year though, it was damn cold!! And windy!! Though we all had to wear sweaters/jackets and pants instead of shorts and teeshirts, it was fun!!!! Really fun since we didn’t get hot. And also because of the weather (and the fact we actually went this year on the first day of school, not the third) the fair never really got busy. Even though there were a lot of kids around (mostly teens), the rides weren’t being used. One of the roller coaster trips Sophia took was over 20 minutes long And like the past 3 years….we took a million and one pictures…okay, more like 80 plus some video, but who’s counting. By mid-afternoon though, the picture taking stopped. We stayed past dark, and I’m kicking myself for not taking some of the after-dark pictures. It was pretty So, here’s some pictures from our fair outing. I was LOVING the petting zoo. Screw the rides, the animals had me. My MIL joked that I was craving life on a farm, which isn’t too far off the mark actually!!! Brandon was obsessed with the different birds and poultry there were, and the Emu stole Azura’s pinwheel right out of her pocket!!! Way cool!!!
So, without further ado Pictures and like always click on the thumbnail to view larger picture and on the right top to go forward (left top to go back)…… (Link to many many more: Fair Photos )
Well, she’s off safe and sound, and has spent her first two nights in BC. We left from here Tuesday morning to take the bus to my sister’s, then to drive with her down to the airport (another hour drive, bus was 1.5 hours). We did our usual ritual of going to Taco Bell on the way, since we have none in our city, but both cities that my family live in here (or are near, or work in) have Taco Bells. So we stop there every time. Then we headed out to the airport. It’s a gorgeous airport! I’ve never been to that one before, and it was lovely. Got her checked in, bag checked in and the people working at the airline counter all chatted with her about her destination and her trip and so on. Brandon decided at the last minute to come so he got a big kick out of it along with Sophia. I actually got a gate pass so Sophia and I were able to go with her through security and right to the gate. She had to get her bag AND her purse AND her lunch checked out by security, and breezed through that with no trouble (there wasn’t anything weird, just a too big tube of toothpaste and a keychain with a weird shadow) and they were very nice security officers. She also got to pre-board and that was a big help too we figured because she can get in and settled outside of the crush of people getting on. She arrived safe and sound on time with two stops but no connections.
She called last night to tell us all about her trip and I thought I’d share some of that here J She had a window seat and no one beside her in the middle but they gave her an aisle-mate, but they changed at every city. She thought that was pretty funny. The first guy didn’t even say a word to her, she said the second guy was older and seemed like a grandpa and he was really nice and would stop the flight attendants for her. The third guy snagged her some cookies! She also got to see the cockpit and talk to the pilots, which was probably more cool for her than anything else on Tuesday. Heck, I haven’t even gotten to do that ever!! LOL So she had a wonderful flight and I do have to admit we had excellent customer service with them (WestJet if anyone Canadian is curious).
She went to the beach yesterday and caught some little teeny crabs and some hermit crabs. I forgot how different the Pacific Ocean is to the Atlantic Ocean (which we live near) in wildlife, and even smell and look. She went shopping, to the library and pretty much ran from 7-7! I figured she won’t have time for a four hour time change jet lag because she’ll be too busy!! They’re going to Chinatown today, and that will be so neat. I can’t remember what they’re doing Friday…maybe today was the BC Museum and tomorrow’s Chinatown? I don’t remember…LOL Saturday they’re going swimming at the Commonwealth Pool, a pool complex that was built for the commonwealth games when they came to Victoria in……I want to say 1994. But I can’t remember exactly what year. It’s an ozone pool and it’s got a huge waterpark-type set up inside, so she’s going to have a blast. They’re going for brunch on the beach for Father’s Day on Sunday, and I don’t know what they’re doing the rest of the week she’s got there. THEN, she starts the 7-10 day drive back from BC to us. THAT should be really really interesting (she’s never stayed in motel/hotels before that she can recall, she HAS, but she was a baby) for her, even if at the same time it’s monotonous. I figured now that she’s done the flight thing, maybe Brandon and her can fly to and from in a couple of years and stay out there a few weeks and then fly home. But that’s down the road. Right now is to let her enjoy her trip (which she is doing for sure!).
Hopefully I’ll have some pictures to go with this sooner than later and some more adventures from the road!!! She should be home for Canada Day 
Since it’s only about ten *yikes* days away now, I suppose I can post about it. Last summer Azura’s grandparents started discussing the idea of having her fly out to BC for a couple of weeks in the spring. We all loved the idea, and Azura was really excited. We started to make plans, and it started turning out to be a really complicated process. Neither the grands nor us could come up with a reasonable trip that didn’t involve a 12 year old in the Toronto airport for 4 hours to change planes. My father-in-law came up with the BEST solution! She’s going to fly out (no connections) in 10 days, to stay with them for a couple of weeks, and then drive across Canada with them when they drive back here for the summer. Azura will get a chance to explore Canada like very few people get to do. It takes about a week or so to drive coast to coast, so not only will she get to spend a couple of weeks on the opposite coast (and in a HUGE city compared to our dinky little city) but she’ll get to travel across Canada.
Now, she’s already done several cross-Canada trips, both by car and plane, but they all were before she was 3 LOL So though she’s done it, she has no memories of it at all. In fact, it’ll be her second cross-Canada-coast-to-coast-from BC car trip. Her first, she was 3 months old. THAT was a long trip! So she’s been going out of her mind with excitement. Every grandchild will get a trip when they’re 12. Be it across country or what have you. So it’s something really special and memorable.
I’m alternating between jealousy that she’s going and anticipation of what she’ll experience and yes, anxiety over the trip out. It’s such a HUGE jump in responsibility and maturity. I don’t doubt for an instant she can handle it; if I did, she wouldn’t be going, but it’s so WOW! How many 12 year olds get to experience this? It’s also extremely cool for us, her parents, because she’s going back to the place we met and started dating 14 years ago. She’ll be old enough to think that’s really cool without being too old to think it’s cool J She’ll be able to see his old apartment building, the beaches we used to hang out on, the restaurants we ate at, the high schools we went to. All those neat places and things, and being able to spend some time in a much larger city with so many different activities and sights and sounds, very cool. Am I sounding envious??? LOL I am a little, I’ll totally admit that. I can picture where she’s going and what’s she’ll be doing in my head, but I’ve BTDT at not much older than her. I was 14 when we moved from Ontario to BC and we drove across the country to do it. So, in my mind’s eye I’ve taken those steps and I almost wish I could share them with her. I figure we’ll be racking up some phone calls J and emails!
I’m going to show her how to post from her cell phone so maybe there will be “in trip” posts from here. If not, that’s still neat, but I’ll be sure to have a post when she’s home in July. Sophia and I are also going away overnight to take her to the plane and that’s never happened before (a girls only night out/boys home night) so Sophia’s getting her own “mini” trip though she’s insanely jealous of Azura being able to go to a Chinatown. Sophia loves anything Chinese. I figure I’m going to have to send extra money and a “Sophia” shopping list with Azura J
Pretty neat, eh? She’s going to have such an experience!!!!
Last night Azura received an “Outstanding Volunteer Award” from the Boys and Girls Club. It was totally unexpected and she never did any of the things she did, to get an award, but instead, to actually help and do and be. She said she was the only “kid” to get one. We’re VERY proud of her, not for the award itself, but for how active and helpful etc she is. The award is nice, but the things she’s done and learned and experienced is even better.
But it does blow the myths of the “lazy homeschooler” or “unsocialized unschooler” or “won’t work well as a team/work well with others/survive in the real world” all to snot, doesn’t it??
All the kids’ activities are starting up again. We seem to be really busy with outside activities from April/May-October and then take a break come Nov-April and slow down in the activities a little. They’re starting sports nights on Wednesdays, boys night, girls night, and judo. Then come June/July they start park programs, swimming, and summer camps. And the lake and travel and every thing else. It’s really neat how it seems the kids blossom and seem to literally open with the spring like flowers Sort of like a natural circadian rhythm or something. Once the weather gets good, the activity level just explodes around here.
If the weather gets really great this year, we might even go camping for the first time with all the kids We’ve never done that with them before but they’re all old enough to be able to do that now. They’ve slept in tents etc, but we’ve never done the whole camping thing before Should be a really fun summer!!!!
Earlier this week Azura came to me and asked if she could volunteer at Sophia’s preschool. Oh, right, Sophia started preschool again this week (her choice 100%) because she missed her friends and the activities there. Everyone was so excited to have her back…it was really cute But proof again that you don’t have to force a child to do things or else they won’t have experiences.
Anyways…Azura asked if she could volunteer there at the preschool in the mornings (it’s the Boys and Girls Club and she does other activities there as well). I said that it was fine with me, but that they might have policies and rules about volunteering and not to be disappointed if she couldn’t because of their rules. I told her to talk to the director of the club (also Azura’s torch club leader so she knows Azura well) and just see what she said. Lisa (the director) has told me in the past, several times, how much fun Azura is and how she seems to just have such a desire to DO things. That anytime there’s something that needs to be done (at torch club etc) Azura jumps right in to help. And they’re constantly amazed about how she still has that passion.
So Azura talked to Lisa. Lisa said they would LOVE to have her volunteer, and though they usually only take kids who are 17, they know Azura and they’d love to have her work with them. My 12 year old. Lisa made a comment about how great homeschooling was because she has all these cool opportunities
And it’s true. More so because of unschooling so she’s free to follow her passions and interests. Yes, she may find that this isn’t what she wants to do, but she never would have had a chance to find out any other way. Unschooling frees her to do and see and experience and be involved, and it also keeps her passionate and the kind of person that others want to be around and have work side by side with them. How is this not being IN the real world?
So, Azura’s first day was on Thursday (yesterday). And she was assigned to the 3 year olds. And from the sounds of it from both the kids and Azura, it was a blast. They and her, can’t wait until Tuesday (it’s a four day weekend here so no preschool today and Monday). It’s such a great chance for her to literally WORK in the real world. True, it’s volunteer work and she is only 12, but only 12 means nothing if she finds that dream. She’s able to try on different hats and experiences now, with no risk, and be involved in things that most kids have to wait for, NOW. And that’s invaluable!!
Unschooling Rocks!
We’re on the final approach to entering a whole new world in our parenting journey! Azura turned 12 years old today HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY “baby”!!! She’s thrilled she’s now old enough to babysit and “do” things…..which is actually a post to come
But, only one year left before we start an entirely new phase, so we’re going to love every last little moment left in “little” girl land
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