Calming down

Life is calming down a bit and getting into more of a rhythm with babe.

He's generally doing pretty well, although he's gotten little bugs from having older brothers and sisters more than those older brothers and sisters did when they were babes.

He feels a lot like a firstborn in some ways, since we were so out of the baby habit. Because of that, it's nice to delight in his babyness. It's also refreshing to see a baby through the other kids' eyes. I always remember more about them when they were babies while I'm caring for one.

He looks like his own individual self, of course, but I see little family resemblances, and it's amusing to parse those out. He has Paul's long fingers and the 10-year-old's mouth. They all have similar eyes, which the 13-year-old likes to complain to me about: "You gave us all your small eyes."

Rituals

I'm trying to get my little rituals down again. For one, I like to make at least one pitcher of my iced green tea every day. Now that six of us drink it and four of us really like it, I need more.

The babe's favorite ritual is a tiny little shake. He doesn't like the larger bouncing motion that other kids liked; it's a really quick little vibration. The 15-year-old says it's because I jogged with him.