Mother of 6

No, I didn't just give birth to quintuplets. But I was a surrogate mother to my sister's five children (ages 11, 9, 8, 5, and 13 months) for 8 1/2 days. Jacob and I had the opportunity to go to Arkansas to babysit while my sister and her husband went to Costa Rica to find a house. They're moving there for 2 years with my brother-in-law's work. Jacob did very well on the airplane and everyone who sat by us just loved having a baby in their row. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but most of them didn't mind and Jacob didn't really cry or make too much of a fuss. I was quite proud of him. At one point on the airplane, I thought to myself, I am a good mom, I can do this. I think it was the first time that I actually felt like I was a good mom. Most days, I'm not so sure :)

All six kids (L to R bottom: Bella, Austin, Kaylee; L to R top: Jacob, Zoey, Braden)

The Saturday before Jacob and I left for Arkansas (June 16) Jacob stood by himself for the first time. He was concentrating on the thing he was holding onto and I don't think he realized he was standing alone. Since he loves to walk around so much, Brad and I thought we'd see if he could take a few steps. Much to our surprise and delight, he took a couple of very rushed steps before falling face first into my arms.

Jacob stands alone

While we were back in Arkansas, I drove all six kids up to my parents house in Missouri for a weekend visit. My dad sure enjoyed seeing Jacob walk all over the place. While we were there, Jacob took 26-27 unassisted steps. I think his Grandpa Smith was very proud. Grandma and Grandpa Jones stopped by to see Jacob as well.

Jacob and Grandma and Grandpa Jones

Jacob slept through the night 5 times in a row while we were on our trip. I was so glad the first night he did it. It was while we were visiting my parents. Then he did it the next four nights. However, that's where it all ended. I got sick while I was gone and I think Jacob must have caught some of it because one of the nights we were gone, he had the hardest time sleeping. Since then, he hasn't slept the whole night again. But at least I feel there has been some progress made.

We were also able to spend some time with one of my other sisters and her four children who happen to live in Arkansas too. Maybe we're crazy, but we took all of them (minus one who was at Cub Scout Day Camp) to a splash park. Needless to say it was difficult, especially since between the two of us there were 3 babies. Then on Saturday, we took the kids, all 10 of them, to a Grand Opening of McDonald's because "Ronald and Friends" were there. That was quite a hectic lunch as well. Luckily, my cousin and her husband were there too and lent a helping hand in getting all of the kids fed and kept under control. Overall, things went very well. I was always glad when 9:00 pm rolled around because then most of the kids were in bed and I could just kind of fall onto the bed and hope to sleep most of the night. I know after that experience that I could never do 6 kids full time. What work! My heart also goes out to anyone with twins! I can't imagine having to feed two babies at a time every day with no end in sight (way to go Karianne!).

While we were gone, Jacob turned 8 months old. He has learned some new tricks. Including pulling himself up to his knees. He's also started getting onto all fours, in an attempt to crawl. I know it will make my life busier when he learns to crawl or walk around the house, but I'm excited anyway to see the progress.

Jacob pulling himself onto his knees

Happy 4th of July!