Birthdays and Birth Days

Even though Lauren and Dylan were both due on April 12th, I didn't think that they would end up sharing the same birthday.  As April 6th drew closer, though, I realized what a perfect delivery day it would be:  Jon's mom had an engagement in the Central Valley (where my family lives) the weekend of the 6th, and since she was our primary babysitter and since Jon's dad was working very extreme hours at the time, we arranged that if Dylan hadn't come by then, she would simply take the three big spark plugs over to spend an extended weekend with my parents.  I liked the idea of not having to drop off kids before heading to the hospital.  The only down side to this plan was that it meant we wouldn't be able to be with Lauren on her 4th birthday.

As it turned out, Jon and I enjoyed some take-out - just the two of us!! - Friday evening on the 5th after the big kids were gone, and by midnight that night we knew Dylan was on his way.  What timing!

I really missed Lauren on her birthday, but it was wonderful to spend it celebrating Dylan's arrival.  And it helped to know that Gramma and Grampa were loving on Lauren in our absence, as evidenced by the big smiles and stack of new board games with which she came home.  (Cupcake Race, anyone?)  She was elated to have a new baby brother for her birthday, and it will be fun to celebrate them together in the years to come.

Many have asked how Dylan compared to the others, so here are each Spark Plug's arrival stats:

Tyler:  9lbs., 8oz., 20.75"

 Kyle:  8lbs., 10oz., 20"

Lauren:  8lbs., 13oz., 20"

Dylan:  8lbs., 10oz., 20.5"

And here are some fun sibling look-alike pictures:

Kyle, top, 1 week old; Lauren, bottom, 1 week old

Lauren, top, approximately 3 weeks; Dylan, bottom, 4 weeks

It's fun to see how similar or different each of the Spark Plugs is from his siblings.  Dylan is a good blend of the older three's looks and personality (or hospitality, as Tyler keeps saying), but he is definitely his own person with his own likes and dislikes. 

I'm grateful that Dylan usually sleeps well at night.  He's never really had his days and nights mixed up, and even though he's on the fussy side, it's almost always easy to figure out what he needs, and he calms down quickly most of the time.  He loves being held but is content to be put down if I need to.  

Dylan's arrival has been a great blessing to our entire family.  The older three love to dote on him and are super willing to help me with anything I need.  I'm often asked, "How do you do it with four?"  I reply, "I don't know how I would it without four; I need all the help I can get!"