Meet Dorothy

Thanks to Jasmin for bringing to my attention that I haven't blogged about the new baby yet. On September 24, April had Dorothy Abigail Carter, weighing in at about 9 lbs, about 19 1/4 inches long, and a very good eater.

The three big sisters are pretty excited about having a living, breathing, wiggly little baby doll to play with.



Of course, our schedules are wacked out now, since one of us hasn't yet learned that daytime is for being awake and nighttime is for sleeping. But what can you do?

Don't answer that... we've done this before and we know the whole gamut of opinions about how to parent a newborn. Incidentally, if you've ever had a child before, you've probably learned that experts on child rearing come out of the woodwork when you share even the slightest detail about your child's needs. Everybody seems to think that, since they've had a child, they know exactly what you should do with yours.

But every child is a little bit different. The rules are just too fluid. So the next time you feel the urge to pontificate on the finer points of childcare, just bite your lip.

We're all doing pretty good, by the way. Happy to have four healthy, beautiful children. When they become teenagers, you'll find me on the front porch with a shotgun...