Baby #4 is finally Here!!! Patrick Paul Kennedy

Our little Patrick is finally here! He was born September 17th, 2009 Constitution Day at 1:35pm, weighing in at 8lbs 12 ozs, 21.5" long. We struggled to name this little guy, but after a lot of brainstorming and good deal of prayer we decided on Patrick Paul named after Patrick Henry who delivered the famous ‘give me liberty or give me death’ speech which pushed forward the American Revolution and served as Governor of Virginia for 5 terms and did several other things for the great state of VA. St. Patrick who after escaping slavery in Ireland, returned, bringing thousands into Christianity through humble service and preaching the gospel until his death. And, taking into consideration his little ‘Paul head of hair’ and Skousen characteristics, his middle name is after his Grandpa, a man of excellent integrity, passion for patriotism, the written word and big big heart. We are so in love with him, I'm always amazed how fast that happens. The night before I was induced, my OB called to let us know he was going into emergency Appendectomy surgery, so for the fourth time in a row, I have not had my regular doctor deliver the baby. But, despite a little nervousness everything went considerably well, and I have chalked it up as the best Labor and Delivery I've had so far. Patrick is a great eater - definitely a strong Kennedy trait, all my boys have been BIG. His brothers and sister have been really sweet with him. I thought for sure there would be some jealousy with Gabriel, but as soon as Gabriel saw him, he went up to him and pet his head and smiled at him. Since then, Gabriel has continued to be sweet to him. Something I wouldn't expect out of a 2 1/2 yr old mama's boy. Laurie and Christian are very helpful and will run to fetch me whatever I need. Well, he's calling now, gotta run....

Our little girl turns 5!!!

Our little girl turns 5!!! And what a year its been. She's grown into such a little lady, helping her brothers, socializing with the whole neighborhood - and I mean the WHOLE neighborhood! She helps mommy around the house with dishes and laundry and just about every meal. I'm amazed at how much fun she has with domestic work - I told her that she was going to be the BEST mommy some day - and it was almost as if I had given her the biggest compliment anybody could give, she blushed with pride - it was hilarious, I'm not counting on this attitude towards chores lasting, but I hope it does. She's still our little dancer, and so FULL of energy, she can't sit down for more than a minute before she's up again, dancing around her chair, giving hugs, doing cartwheels next to the dinner table - and I'm not kidding. The other day I threatened to glue her seat to the chair, and that just brought on a million giggles. She loves to perform and memorize lyrics, and has asked Peter and I to attend her performances in the living room. She'll dance and twirl in her tutu and then do fancy bows - its so fun to watch her. I was always too shy as a little girl, I wonder where she gets it? We have to watch her closely after church breaks up on Sunday, she loves to follow her friends and their families out to their cars and a few times we've lost her. She's still crazy about dogs, I went yard sale hopping with her last Saturday and while I looked over the goods, she made conversation with the beagle who was tied up in the yard. And then she talked to the owner for awhile, and before we left I discovered that she had renamed the dog and had told the owner we were going to buy the dog, how much would it be? She is an absolute delight - and the greatest teacher of patience yet :) We love her dearly and life wouldn't be as sweet without her. Happy Birthday Laureana we Love You!!!

Princess Pajama Birthday Party!!!

Princess Pajama Birthday Party!!! Laurie invited 6 little friends over for a Friday night party to celebrate her 5th Birthday, and she had so much fun with it. She told me later that it was the best day ever. The girls all came in their pajamas and we played a few games, including 'Kiss the Frog' in which , being sterile with the lipstick, we lathered it on, blind folded and twirled them and they puckered up. That one scored lots of giggles and Mr. Frog was covered in kisses before the night was out. Then we played princess slipper relay, in which they needed to hop on one foot with one slipper on, one off, and locate their matching slipper, before the other team had all theirs. That game wasn't as successful since they were so caught up on trying on every pair of princess slipper. We had a princess cake, which Laurie thought was so cool, even though I thought it looked atrocious :) I might as well give up on cake decorating, Jen where are you? She loved it and that's what matters. The girls watched a barbie movie and had pizza and presents before the night was out. Thank you to all the families who let their little princesses attend, Laurie had a wonderful time!!! The last picture is of her sneaking some more cake after all the princesses headed home.

Our Daddy!!!

A special shout out to our daddy, who we woke from a dead sleep so he wouldn't miss all the fun we prepared for him!! Peter is the silliest, most creative, fun dad. He's also a great example to each of his children, a persistent, hard worker, a very loyal, sincere friend and a best friend of mine. I hope his boys grow to be just like him and his girl(s?) marry someone just like him. Love you honey!!

Virginia Beach

We went to Virginia Beach while Peter's father Jon, and Sheryl were in town and we had such a wonderful day. Fort Story is a military base which is also the site of the Old and New Cape Henry lighthouses, dating back to 1792. The sand was soft, the weather was perfect. We saw dolphins and tried to lure crabs out of their sand caves with green grapes, they seemed to like those. Christian and Laurie chased the surf for almost two hours, giggling and having a great time together (a rarity at times!) They invented interesting games as they ran up and down the beach and occassionally the waves would catch up with them and they'd scream and holler, getting soaked to the bone. Gabriel avoided the water, as always, and preferred sand castles and burying sand toys, some of which we inevitably lost for good. We really had a great time and I think we all would've gone back the very next day if we could have.

James Town and a Night on the Town, and a shout out to Joe and Heidi

We were able to visit historic James Town with Jon and Sheryl, and we paid our respects to John Smith, Pocohontas and the early settlers, who many of which gave their lives to participate in establishing Virginia and what was to become the United States. In one of the pictures Laurie is trying to help Gabriel reach the drinking fountain, but he's so heavy and practically as big as her, this picture just makes me laugh. Check out Christian with his stash of sticks in his pocket, souveniers of course. Peter and I were able to steal away for a night on the town while we had overnight baby sitters. The view from our window is of down town Richmond, with the James River winding inbetween the city landscape, if only Capt. Smith could see it now. And a special shout-out to Heidi for remembering Peter's and my Wedding Anniversary :). Peter started his first week of residency wondering if he would make it through the first day without being sick, he was so nervously excited. Everything went fine that first day, but with the new hours and the new pressures, and me without my right hand man, we were both in constant delirium for the rest of the week. Our anniversary was at the end of the week, a beautiful Friday to mark the 7th year we had been married. We collapsed together that night at the dinner table, elated to have the week over and celebrate our surviving it, when Heidi calls to wish us a Happy Anniversary. We both looked at each other, disbelieving that we had both forgotten - which is a good thing, if either of us had remembered and the other forgot, we would've been in worse shape. But both of us having forgotten sent us into to a fit of laughter and we toasted to Heidi that night, and Joe's reliable calendar system. Thanks guys - here's to another year of marriage, and we'll be counting on you next year:)