Two Part Family (In Two Parts)

Part Two: "The Wonder Years" (As in, I wonder what I was thinking!)

Previously on Two Part Family:

Nick is born.

Ian is born.

We decide to expand.

To say "after about ten years we decided to expand" is misleading. It was more like God (or fate) decided for us. Without getting too personal, I was convinced that I was no longer able to conceive. Boy, was I wrong! It's hard to remember exactly what I was going through emotionally at the time. I remember feelings of disbelief eventually giving way to acceptance, and later excitement. Would I finally have a daughter? Was I getting too old for this? All the usual questions that any expectant mother asks with the added worry of health concerns for the baby due to my age. I also wondered how my sons Nick (now 12) and Ian (10) were going to take the news that they were about to become "big" brothers.

Ian teared-up when I told him the news. I believe it was quite overwhelming for his young mind to fathom that he was going to have a baby in the house. Nick responded in typical pre-teen fashion,"Whaaaa? Ummmm Okay."

Mark (Marko) arrived June 26 via C-section on his grandmother's birthday, two days before mine. Armed with the wonderful gift of perspective and the "insiders" knowledge of just how fast infancy turns into childhood, and childhood into (gulp) teenager(dom?). My DH and I truly enjoy Marko. It's not like we didn't enjoy the older boys, but when you realize how fast life goes, you really do make an effort to let the small stuff go and take time to smell those roses.

A funny thing about life, when you think you have it under control and you're actually making efforts to enjoy it, that's when it's time to watch out for the curve ball you will inevitably be thrown. About a month after Marko celebrated his first birthday I began to get that "oh no" feeling again. "Could I be..? No! Impossible! " Maybe I did want to try for a little girl after all . . .

Mary Catherine (finally, a girl) arrived April 1 on her great-grandmother's birthday. This C-section was much more difficult and my OB warned this should probably be my last. She needn't have bothered as I was more than 40 and had begun to seriously question my sanity.

Life still moves along pretty fast. Nick (now 17) will graduate next month. Ian (15) will start to drive this summer. Marko (5) will be entering first grade in September and I have just registered Mary Catherine (4) for Pre-K.

Most days I feel blessed to have my little two-part family. The older boys are a terrific help with their younger siblings. Marko is very funny and always has us laughing at something. Mary Catherine is (as expected) a princess who is doted on by her three older brothers and Dad. However, there are those rare days, when the older boys are fighting (loudly), Marko and Mary are running around taking every toy in the house and leaving them on the floor, the older boys stop fighting long enough to play their amplified guitars and drums, and Marko and Mary start fighting over whose turn it is or some such thing. These days, these days are the days of wonder (refer to sub-title).

Oh, you didn't think I was going to end a two-part story without an exciting cliff-hanger type ending did you? As of this morning I am exactly four days late.