Summer Musings

August 30

Here are some pictures with captions of our last days of summer together as a family. I went back to work this week, which in a lot of ways hasn’t been that bad since I truly do love what I do. Anyways, it was a good summer. Jack is here, Aly is healthy, and River and Elles are inquisitive, respectful, and creative little people. I am happy to be part of this family.

Enjoy the photographs!

Young Jack Man playing with River and Elles, 8/17

River and Eleanor playing with young Jack, 8/17

River and Elles accompany Dad on a run. 8/19

These photos were taken by River during our morning routine since Jack has come into our lives. The routine is wakeup, art while Dad makes breakfast, then breakfast out on the veranda. 8/19

River is creative. He takes photos and loves to make sounds with guitars and pedals. 8/19

The morning routine continued. I love having breakfast with these kids while Mom and Jack sleep. 8/20

The kids play at Ned's Point Lighthouse during Dad's run. 8/20

Ned's Point Lighthouse just before leaving to run back home. We had to search the grass and areas around the lighthouse for twenty minutes. River accidentally misplaced his microphone. We found it off in the rocks. It was a funny accident. River kept saying that Elles must've lost hers. 8/20

The mornings are getting cooler, which means fall and the new school year are on the way. 8/21

Afternoon fun at Mattapoisett Town Beach, 8/21

Elles's favorite thing to do. She loves swinging and staring at the ocean at Town Beach. Dad loves it too! 8/21

AfterAfternoon fun at Mattapoisett Town Beach, 8/21noon fun at Mattapoisett Town Beach, 8/21

This was the evidence that began the ruse of why Jack was being taken away from our family in the coming days. The story went something like this: because of Jack's newly manifested mutant power, which is sucking people into his dreams and of which Aly was a victim of for two nights until Dad saved her, that Jack would live with Professor Xavier until he could control his mutant abilities. The best part? River was absolutely convinced there for a moment that what seemed like one of Dad's usual gags, was actually the truth. To see his little eyes widen at the fact that his brother was a mutant, that mutants were indeed real, that Professor Xavier was in fact real as well well, let's just say that his reaction was priceless! The picture is from 8/16, but the story was told on 8/21. This story morphed into River's second lesson on cameras, which was all about the effects of slow (long) shutter speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeds.

River's lesson about shutter speeds and the effects of slow (long) shutter speeds. All pictures are from 8/21.

Dad's second-to-last day-of-summer before resuming life as a teacher again. Fortunately, we live in Mattapoisett. More so, we're fortunate to live only a mile away from the beach. Meaning, it always kind of feels like we're on vacation living here. Anyways, these are pics of a family walk to the beach. 8/24

River and Elles had a playdate with Vivian. It was a blast watching them all play together. 8/25

Jack’s First Bath

August 30

Jack is settling into his new home, and everyone is doing well…

August 23

I am amazed by how adaptable my two big kids have been. I fully expected River and Eleanor to have some sort of reaction to the monumental change of adding a new baby to our family. I thought Eleanor, for sure, would be jealous. But both kids adjusted as if we did nothing more than adopt a new kitten. They like to cuddle and kiss Jack when he emerges from either drinking milk or sleeping, which is rare. But otherwise, they have continued on as if everything is unchanged. They are the same happy, outgoing, loving kids they were before Jack arrived. Jack is so lucky to have two wonderful role models in his big brother and big sister.

River has been enjoying playing guitar using the new pedalboard Bud made for him. He can also spend hours building with his Legos. Eleanor is kind of obsessed with a tv show called Paw Patrol. They are allowed to watch one or two episodes a day, in the afternoon, while River does his nightly nebulizer treatment. However, we hear about Paw Patrol all day from our sweet little girl, especially Rubble, the English bulldog, who is her favorite. She loves to color, and she loves to wear pretty outfits and have her hair done. Both kids enjoy riding their bikes outside and playing together on our little plastic slide.

Jack is a pretty easy-going baby so far. He sleeps well and eats well. He is a little snuggle-bug, and he seems happy in his new home.

Bud has been keeping the kids busy with daily excursions, to the zoo, the park, hiking. I’ve risen late from bed with Jack to my family, dressed and bubbling with laughter, enjoying breakfast on the front veranda before leaving for the day’s fun. Because of this, I have been able to bond with Jack and get some healthy rest. In addition to being in charge of the two older kids, Bud is keeping our house always clean and tidy, cooking meals, and updating this blog.

But all that will be coming to an end soon, as my amazing work-horse of a husband has to return to work soon, too soon. Because I used up all of my sick time with River and Eleanor, I had very little left for this maternity leave. Therefore, I am only off until the beginning of October, at which point, I will return to work, and Bud will take his paternity leave. Jack will then be home with Bud for six weeks, after which point, he will be three months old, old enough to start at the same daycare as his big bro and sis. It’s not perfect, but it is comforting knowing Jack will have his siblings with him Monday through Friday.

Physically, I am doing very well. Thanks to Bud, I have been getting adequate rest despite the middle of the night feedings. This has been the easiest recovery of the three. I am a work in progress, of course, but I feel as though I am recovering quickly, and I feel energized and happy.

Welcome to the world, Jack Albert Silveira!

August 19

It’s been a busy eleven days since our last post. Here’s what we’ve been up to, with the most important update first.

Jack Albert Silveira was born on August 10! Hooray! Here’s a recap of how things went:

Aly and I checked in at Charlton Memorial Hospital on the evening of August 9.
Jack was born the very next day at 11:06 am.
Aly’s delivery was quite fast in that she delivered Jack in under 1 minute of pushing. It was so fast that the doctor said something to the effect of “Alright, it looks like I’m not going to have time to get dressed for this! I thought you were going to need some practice pushes. [At this point two nurses began adorning Doctor Martin with her attire for Jack’s delivery.] Why don’t you just take a breath, and he should be ready to come out with the next push!”
Jack was born healthy and strong, and he weighs 7 pounds, 8 ounces and is 19.5 inches in length.
Mom and Jack came home on August 12.

Mom and Jack are both doing great right now. Mom is acclimating to the challenges of breastfeeding a hungry newborn, while young Jack is acclimating the world outside of his loving mother’s womb.

Taking care of three is definitely challenging but not in a way that is unmanageable. Aly is on the mend and is up a lot tending to Jack’s breastmilk feedings, as well as doing the family’s laundry, while I am primarily tasked with cleaning, cooking, shopping, and caring for River and Eleanor a lot of the time. It’s a juggling act for sure, and to those that warned us before that having three is all about zone defense (as opposed to man-to-man), well, they were right: that is EXACTLY how things have unfolded!

Oh, and Aly and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary yesterday. Later on, in October, we will celebrate twenty years together as a couple. As River would say, “That’s cool, right!”

Honestly, this update has already taken up more time than I have to spare. Thank you for reading this and showing interest in our lives! There are pictures below this update with captions that might be worth a look as well.

River and Eleanor on a hike via the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, 8/15

Jack hanging out in his bassinet next to Mom and Dad's bed, 8/14

Eleanor on the carousel at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, 8/16

River on the carousel at Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, 8/16

Eleanor on a hike via the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, 8/15

River on a hike via the Mattapoisett Rail Trail, 8/15

Morning on the veranda, 8/13, at the Cottage

Riding balance bikes at the Cottage, 8/13

Jack is working on leggies (leg movements) with River and Dada, 8/13, the Cottage

River and Eleanor meet Jack for the second time, 8/11 (we don't have pictures of their first meeting on 8/10, the day he was born, as there were too many people in the room and too little time)

Mom and Jack, 8/10, 2.5 hours after Jack was born

Jack, 8/10, 2.5 hours after Jack was born

Jack, 8/10, a little over an hour after he was born

Jack and Mom, a little over twenty minutes after being born, 8/10

Jack and Mom, 3 minutes after being born, 8/10

Aly is induced and awaiting the time to deliver, 8/9

Mom and Jack, under 1 minute of being born, 8/10

Jack is coming as the contractions are within that 3-minute window; 8/10

Awaiting the time to deliver, 8/9 (this was taken a little over 12 hours before Jack was born at 11:01 pm)

River and Elles, chalk art, morning of 8/8, in front of the Cottage

The labor and delivery room, Bud is bored, 8/9

Aly's heart rate, contraction timing, and Jack's heart rate; 8/9

Getting ready to drive home from Pop Pop and Nana's house, 8/14, cell phone pictures

Getting ready to drive home from Pop Pop and Nana's house, 8/14, cell phone picture

Pop Pop and Nana with Jack, 8/14, cell phone pic

Celebrating Pop Pop's birthday, 8/14, crappy cell phone pic

Our two sons, River and Jack, 8/12, cell phone pic

Celebrating Pop Pop's birthday, 8/14, ugh, another cell phone pic

Celebrating Pop Pop's birthday, 8/14, another cell phone picture

Pop Pop hanging out with Jack at the hospital, 8/11, crappy cell phone pic

Jack meets Great Memere and Pepere, 8/17

Family pic, 8/11, at Charlton, crappy cell phone pic

River and Eleanor at Town Beach playground, just after Dad's 45-minute run with the Indie Twin stroller, 8/19, crappy cell phone pic

Elles and Dad sharing a swing, just after Dad's 45-minute run with the Indie Twin stroller, 8/19, crappy cell phone pic

And we’re on alert …

8 August 2024

Aly had an appointment today with her docs. She hit 39 weeks and their recommendation is to make this a scheduled pregnancy. For those not in the know, that means induction. In other words, Aly’s doctors will induce her to have Jack now. It just speeds up the process. In Aly’s case, Jack is literally right there, ready to come out. Instead of the whole thing being a surprise, they induce to nudge him along. From my understanding, the gist of the whole thing is this: tomorrow morning we are to wait for a phone call that will come within an hour-and-a-half window. If the coast is clear, we go in. If there are too many boats trying to dock, we wait. This means tomorrow might be the day.

The time has come, Jack. Your mom and I are very excited to meet you, as I know River and Elles are as well (on some level, given their ages)! Your mama is a strong woman, Jack, and she will do her best to make the delivery a quick affair. Plus, after what your sister, Elsie, did to her a couple of years back, she has only become that much more resilient. Eleanor is as strong as they come, something you will learn more of I’m sure. Watch your back, Jack! :)

Media is good. Therefore here are some videos of River and Eleanor at Harbor Days a couple of weeks back. It’s a festival that is held every year at Shipyard Park, which is an oceanside park here in Mattapoisett. The kids had a blast listening to the music performances, eating the foods, visiting the shops, and drinking the lemonade. We enjoyed ourselves as well. Oh, and the very last video is from the same day, but it was a celebration of Eleanor’s birthday back at The Cottage. Birthday girl turned two.

Happy Yo Yo!

⁎ Happy Birthday?

Happy Yo Yo! ⁎ Happy Birthday?

August 7, 2024

I’m trying to be better about posting here. You know, create some new norms? I am already strapped for time, but here goes. We took the kids outside today. Biking. It was fun. We hung out on our veranda for a bit as well. The weather was nice and cool. It lived up to our name for Mattapoisett as being a bit like suburban San Diego, only during the summer and with more humidity. We love this town. We also chatted with our neighbor for a bit, Miss Maya, which was nice. The kids had a blast.

Oh, and yes, Jack is still not here yet.

I almost forgot to mention what “happy yo you” means. Eleanor celebrated her second birthday last month. It’s been two weeks and she continuously says “happy yo yo” (or yo you, depending on who’s doing the translating). That means happy birthday in Elles’s lingo.

Hello. Family of five? Yes, please.

August 6, 2:30 am.

Hello, blog we have neglected. While any of you reading this might wonder if our devotion to this has waned, the reality is it has not. We enjoy updating this blog and love the idea of what it might represent for our family in the interim and potentially in the future. Of course the reality of maintaining a blog like this is that we are truly time strapped as well. Parenting and working full time is no joke, and the dedication to doing those jobs well, while also earnestly trying to make our house feel like home has taken center stage for us. It’s really been this way since April vacation, when we decided to use that break to tie up some loose ends that needed tying. Of course, what we realized then was that what we wanted to accomplish would not be finished in that week of vacation, which meant months and months of work. So that’s our excuse. That’s our apology. That’s my apology. We are just busy right now. Busy doing all of the things parents, employees, and and new homeowners do. Thank you for all of your support and curiosity, friends and family. It really does mean a lot to us that this venture is serving its intended purpose.

In terms of updates, we have enjoyed spring and summer, celebrated Eleanor’s second birthday, made some great memories with family out in nature, and finally finished transforming our house into our home. We actually just completed the final project with our house earlier today, and just in the nick of time, since Jack is due any moment now. For those of you not in the know, his official due date is August 16, but Aly is quite sure he is coming sooner rather than later. One thing about Aly is that when it comes to these matters, matters of pregnancy, she has an internal clock no other. She knew when Eleanor was ready to arrive the day before, which is why it’s prudent to assume Jack is on deck. We await meeting you, little Jack. We look forward to loving you and helping you grow up. You are going to be entering a home with a lot of love, a lot of silliness, some thoughtful structure, and ample moments of music and reading.

Speaking of meeting Jack, it’s not lost on me that this little four piece is now going to become a five piece. As I reflect on our time together as a family of four, these things stand out: first, River and Eleanor are so close! They are so loving to each other, and the way they act like they are the best of friends is a joy to watch. They stick up for each other, they seek each other out, they share what they have with one another, and they have each other's backs during those moments where it’s Mom and Dad versus the babies. They behave the way Aly and I hoped they would behave to our parenting and guidance. Even at daycare, the reports we get are that they are respectful, affectionate, and they still choose to play with each other, even though they have other dear friends around. I love it so much! From the moments of screeching, dancing, running, asking for books to be read, horseplay, my fondest memory of this stage in our lives is that we have the sweetest children a man and woman could have asked for in life. Our blessings are numerous, and you both make us so proud. We talk about you both every night as we wind down our day. You keep me young and give me optimism for the future. River and Eleanor, I love you both, Momma loves you both, and I can’t wait to see how your sibling dynamic, and our family dynamic, changes once Jack enters the fray.

It’s late and I don’t have much more to say. I love my family, I love my house. I love the challenges that parenting two children gives us, and I love how resilient we have all become in the process. Just as I have observed how River can barely recall a time before Eleanor, I too can barely recall what life was like as a family of three. I watch old videos and read previously written posts and am surprised to see how different life was. Yet, what I have come to be sure of is that we will adjust to being a family of five with love, with confidence, with respect for each other, and in this togetherness we will form new daily norms and habits that will become our new reality. And sadly, in some ways, the aspects of our identity as a family of four will be forever changed and forgotten: only to be remembered through old posts, old pics, and old video. I’m okay with it. Change is inevitable and normal.

And so we are ready for you, Jack! Are you ready for us, though?

I would like to close with this thought, for those who have read this and are wondering why he is finishing this at 2:38 am. This is what parenting is now: staying up late and getting little sleep to maintain the things that are important. In this case, spending hours going through photos, editing photos, choosing photos, uploading photos, writing, editing and revising, and finally calling it a day. Good night from Mattapoisett!