Catapults and Trebuchets

This summer Taran took an art class with the pretty much the coolest art teacher ever. The theme of the class, catapults and trebuchets. It was awesome every day for a week.

Taran wearing a helmet created in a previous class.

Standing in front of the large trebuchet the whole class made.

One of the smaller ones.

He also constructed a suit/fort/personal tank out of a big box.  It was something that he put over his body and walked around it.  Sadly, it was so big it couldn't fit in the house.  It has to stay out in the yard and was destroyed by siblings, neighbors, and weather in a matter of days.  Still, so cool.

David's paper is finished!

David finished a big paper this summer.  One day I walked into the room and found him asleep at his computer.  I got this picture just as he was waking.

Did you notice that dork mark?

Martin Moment

 Bedtime Ritual

While it looks like Oscar is wailing to David's sweet jams, he's really just yawning as daddy sings the kidilins to sleep with his Ukelele.  Almost every night David sits in the hall between the two rooms and takes requests. Some of the favorites are Over the Rainbow, Take Me Home, Country Roads, and Rainbow Connection.

What Taran Did This Summer

The corn feed was fine.  It was a little strange at first.  We left Kirsti's house and ended up at the corn feed.  It was also my birthday.  At first I didn't want to go to the corn feed.  But it ended up okay.  Emma said she would buy me some donuts (she didn't; she got me a marshmallow shooter.)  We got corn.  We shot marshmallow cross bows.  We did some games, got some candy and played in the fun houses.

Enoch and Calvin trying the corn heads.

We are eating lovely, HOT corn. 

I got the most seasoned piece.

A couple days later I had my family party.  I'm going to blow out the candles.

(I haven't had my birthday party yet.)

What Enoch Did This Summer

Post by Enoch:

This summer I learned to ride my bike.  At first the bike I was riding was too small.  Then we got a new bike from Victor’s mom.  Victor is a friend.  The new bike was a better size.  It was bigger.  I practiced a whole lot.  Daddy helped me practice.  When daddy helped I was very angry.  He held the seat and let go when I didn’t know he did.  I actually didn’t know he let go.  I was riding it!  Until I looked back and freaked out and fell in the drain.

When I learned to ride my bike my mommy said we could ride to the movie theater.  We, the family and I, but not daddy cause he was at work, went to the movies.  We saw Rio.  We ate popcorn.  I liked going to the movie theater.  We had a great time.

 Taran, me, Calvin, and Emma

Resting in the lobby of the movie theater.

It was fun.

Going home.  That's me in the back with my new bike.

Oscar at First

The day started with one Martin going off into the world...

Calvin and his first day of kindergarten.

And ended with another Martin coming into it...

Before the school day was over I began to have some serious cramps and pains.  By calculating how long the other five births were, I figured--if the pains continued--I had anywhere from 4-8 hours before actual birth of my baby.  

So, I started packing my bag and sent David to pick up the kids. By the time he came home I was sure it was labor.  And by the time I'd given everyone a snack, I was sure I needed to go to the hospital NOW!

The best laid plans... 

I had planned on using a doula again and perhaps even doing a water birth.  But even though everything was happening so quick, I thought I still had hours of labor:  enough time to call the doula and arrange babysitting for the rest.  Thinking that and feeling such intense pain I was sure I needed an epidural--or chloroform, or a heavy mallet, whatever. However, as soon as I was in a bed, I was told that whenever I wanted to, I could push.

Four or five pushes later, he was born!

 

8lbs. 12oz. 21in.
Compared to Willa, he was a little one.  David and I were so amazed that a baby could come so quick.  We just kept shaking our heads that he was already here.  We'd been preparing for a long night of labor and it was over before we knew it had started.

He was (IS!) such a beautiful boy.  

So alert.  He just kept looking at his new world until I fed him for the first time and he went to sleep.

He came much quicker than his name...  
Finally on the day of our release, we chose Oscar.  It is a good Scandinavian name and has meaning on my side of the family.  For his middle name we chose Xiaojia.  A Chinese name and the name of David's late mentor, Xiaojia Ge.
Dr. Ge is the reason we came to Minnesota and in fact, is the reason David entered the field of Human Development.  He was a wonderful man who built an amazing life despite being raised in China during the Cultural Revolution.  His pride was helping his students succeed.  Some of David's closet friends are the fellow grad-students of Ge.  He built a family among those he trained.  It's an honor to remember him every time we explain little Oscar's name; much the way we do when we tell about Willa and her great grandma and Calvin and his grandfather.

We are so happy to have Oscar come to our family!