After measuring 3 weeks ahead at my last appointment, all suspicions and worries were put to rest yesterday when the ultrasound machine revealed that we are having another boy… just one big one! That’s right, I am officially outnumbered 4 to 1 by the men in this household We are all very excited about the new Wolf cub who will be joining us in early February. Big brothers Caleb and Joshua like to hug and kiss my belly and proclaim their love for the baby, whom they have been known to refer to as “Baby Moses”. We have also trained them to be very conscientious about being gentle with the baby in Mommy’s belly, and now whenever they take a whack at each other, they will scold each other, saying, “Be careful! There’s a baby in there! Don’t hurt the baby!”

As novel as it would have been to have two sets of twins, the news of a singleton has ushered in a sense of peace, lifting a huge weight off of our shoulders. Finally, I will get a taste of the blissful newborn babymoon experience that I often hear other mothers speak so fondly of. I am personally looking forward to the luxury of getting more than 45 minutes of sleep at a time and feeling more like a mommy than a milk machine. Compared to the newborn twins experience, I daresay that taking care of a newborn singleton is going to seem like a vacation!

Last Sunday morning Joshua was trying to engage Caleb in some playful tumbling shortly after they had woken up. Caleb, still groggy, was not quite as chipper and responded to Joshua’s playful romps by kicking him squarely in the face. Time stood still for a few seconds as Joshua formulated his response. Would he kick back or burst out in tears? Neither. Instead, he planted a big kiss on his brother’s offending foot.

A couple hours later we were sitting in church and Pastor Steve was talking about Pope John Paul II and how he readily forgave his would-be assassin, Ali Agca. He asked the congregation, “How many of you have an Ali Agca in your life?” and Joshua raised his hand. Pastor Steve said, “I see that Joe’s son has an Ali Agca!” Joe turned to me and whispered, “his Ali Agca is Caleb!” Fortunately, at the tender age of 2 and a half, Joshua already seems to understand a great deal about the power and importance of forgiveness.

A couple weeks ago we took the boys to the new waterpark at Massanutten while we were visiting Granny and Babo. After a rocky start, and me fearing that Joe would vow never to attempt such an excursion with the boys ever again, we all ended up having a great time.

The drama began when both boys refused to have anything to do with the wristbands they were supposed to wear as evidence of their paid admission to the park. You would think we were trying to attach tarantulas to their wrists. Actually, they probably would have preferred tarantulas to the wristbands.

We quickly gave up on the wristbands and headed over to the lazy river. The boys were delighted to get in the water, but screamed bloody murder when we attempted to put them in rafts. So, we thought we’d hold off on that for a while and check out the wave pool. The only problem was that they had to wear a floatation vest in the wave pool. We eventually convinced Joshua to wear one, winning him over with the buckle fasteners that resembled the buckles on their car seats which they’re thoroughly obsessed with. Caleb, on the other hand, regarded the vest as an instrument of torture, so Joe gave him a stern lecture on dry land while Joshua and I bounced around in the waves.

Later we all headed back inside, and by this point Caleb decided that the rafts in the lazy river weren’t so bad after all. He and Joe made several circuits while I wrestled with Joshua, who was still under the impression that the raft would eat him alive. Knowing how stubborn the boys can be about something before they actually try it, I was determined to make him realize that the lazy river was actually fun and not the least bit scary. I miracuously managed to contain him on the raft and we made several rounds as one big (mostly) happy family, Caleb giggling merrily the entire time while I held a screaming Joshua in a strangehold to prevent him from jumping off.

Next, we proceeded to the giant water castle, where our same child who was terrified of the lazy river voluntarily embarked down a huge adult-sized waterslide all by himself. Joshua screamed the whole way down, and the look of terror on his precious face as he rounded the first curve–at this point speeding down head-first on his back–will be forever seared into my memory. When he reached the end of the slide–by this point head-first on his belly–Joe rescued him and calmed him down. Naturally, Caleb did not dare follow in his brother’s brave footsteps, and the remainder of the evening was enjoyed in milder aquatic pursuits.

Despite a little drama here and there along the way, we all had a wonderful time and the boys have been asking to go back to the “water paht” at least once a day ever since then!

The boys like to inform us that “it’s dark” when the sun goes behind some clouds or we pass under some thick foliage. The other day we were driving along and the boys were gazing out the car windows when darkness fell, prompting Caleb to announce, “it’s dark!” Keep in mind that when Caleb says “dark” it sounds more like “dahk“. As usual, Joshua felt compelled to immediately correct his brother. “Caleb,” he said, “it’s not a duck, it’s a bird!”