The arrival of Clayton William

 Baby Clayton was born on August 4, 2021 at 2:44am. He weighed 8 lbs, 8.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

We were playing outside the evening of the 3rd, just a few hours before my water broke. I was surprised that my water broke at home since it had always broken at the hospital while in active labor. I was also surprised to have him come before his due date since all the other kids were at least four days late. Clayton obviously was ready to join us!

His arrival was a little more harried than I would have liked, but I am so thankful for modern medicine and that we were being watched over. After I received an epidural and was ready to push, the midwife discovered that Clay was trying to come out forehead/brow first. We tried different positions for nearly an hour but he would not turn, so we needed to do a c-section. During the c-section, I hemorrhaged and lost 2.5 liters of blood. Mercifully, the doctors and nurses were able to deliver him safely and sew me up, which took about an hour. 

I was able to hold him briefly while they were completing the surgery.

Happy Daddy.

We were concerned he would have quite a bit of bruising from the pushing, but it was not bad. Beautiful boy.

I was super weak but also super grateful.

Back in recovery, Clayton was so alert and nursed well. Another blessing. I ended up receiving two transfusions of blood because my blood numbers weren't recovering quickly enough, and after that I started feeling better. 

The family was eager to come and see their new baby brother.

I was pretty swollen from all the saline they pumped into me. Look at all that hair!

Clayton received some phototherapy to help with jaundice and got to wear this sweet eye protection.

Pushing Clayton down the hall from the nursery.

Our complete family. Yay!

I'm very thankful that my parents have been here to help, especially since the c-section has prevented me from driving and doing things I would normally do after delivery.

Love.

More love.

We are home and settling in. Clayton was almost back at his birthweight five days after delivery, which is great and makes me feel good. Even though a c-section was my biggest fear, Heavenly Father knew that what I wanted most was to have a safe and healthy delivery. I am thankful that He heard our prayers.

Summer birthdays

With four boys' birthdays in the summer, we get to do a lot of celebrating.

Henry turned six in June.

Robbie turned nine in July.

Benjy turned three!

And Clayton celebrated his arrival and Birth Day on August 4th. Wow. Lots of summer celebrations to be had for the foreseeable future.

Summer fun

 I tried to find a good balance of structure and freedom this summer, but it was a little busier than I anticipated. Still, we had a lot of fun:

We went boating with the Zopp family at Smith Mountain Lake. The thunder storm we got caught in was pretty scary, but we were safe and grateful that nothing happened.

Benjy and Jake.

Noah, Robbie, and Henry had a blast on the raft.

Henry and Luke.

We have done some table time activities like painting, and the boys have worked some on their summer books.

Robbie's birthday slip 'n slide was a hit as usual.

I put the bassinet out for baby Clayton and Benjy wanted to climb in. He has been doing great with potty training--a serious tender mercy--and also enjoyed talking like a baby and wrapping himself up in his old baby blankets. 

Other fun times:

Swim team for Robbie.

Henry hugs.

A week of Girl's Camp where Clara stayed in a platform tent and was a YCS (Youth Camp Staffer).

A fun camping/rafting trip for Michael and Robbie and Henry (along with friends Christian and his dad Spenser Briggs) in West Virginia. The boys climbed these nearly 900 steps all by themselves.

This outdoor water park was super fun. They got to raft down the New River and had an awesome time--Robbie told Michael it was more fun than Disney World. 

We bought a quarter of a cow earlier this summer, which Michael informed me made amazing hamburgers on their trip. 

Weiler Family Reunion

 Last week we helped host the Weiler family reunion here at a Mennonite camp called Highland Retreat in Bergton, VA. It was a great time and I was so so thankful that it went well.

The week before, Michael's parents drove from Tucson early to help with food prep, etc. I couldn't have done it without them.

One morning I drove to the park and then was surprised to see Grandma and Grandpa pull up on their tandem bike. That was a fun treat.

I hope I can be young like that at their age.

It was challenging figuring out the food, but it was also fun and gratifying to see it all come together. Grandma and I spent a lot of time and overall I feel like we guesstimated pretty well.

She made a lot of food in advance--cinnamon rolls, muffins, chili, etc.

Grandpa helped entertain the boys.

A highlight of the time was having some family members come into town early and stay with us. Caleb agreed to read to Benjy after church.

Robbie and the other younger boys admired their older cousins like Clark (Jane is on the couch with the ukulele).

Minus one rough afternoon/evening at the Highland Retreat when Clara felt sick and wanted to go home, she had a lot of fun with her cousins Jane, Abigail, Anne, and Hannah in the "teen girls room."

Uncle Erik and Clark.

Crafts with Melody and Matt.

Foosball with Samuel and Andrew--this table was a huge hit.

Daily pool time in the afternoon.

Spaghetti one night for dinner--Ian, Samuel, William, and Adam are pictured here with Robbie and Henry.

We also enjoyed the climbing wall and biplane (here's some of the crew waiting).

We put up these posters to have everyone get to know each other's favorites.

Despite a stomach virus that got a handful of people, overall we were well and safe (we were vigilant about hand sanitizer and washing things down). The weather was about as good as you could ask for in July in Virginia, and the staff at Highland Retreat were accommodating and kind. We are looking forward to the next reunion!