Introducing… William Henry Christopher Wright!

(Email from Mike)

Julie and I are excited to announce the birth of our third child, and second son:
William Henry Christopher Wright.

Kind of a mouthful, I know, but we’ve never shied away from long names, especially consonants. William is named primarily for Julie’s grandfather, William Plaxico. Henry is in honor of Julie’s dad (his middle name) as well as my grandfather (Paul Henry Kline). Christopher is my middle name, which I am honored to give my son.

Interestingly (at least to my budding ancestry research hobby), William is also the name of the presumed progenitor of the Wright family in America, William Wright, while Henry Plaxico was the forefather of the Plaxico family.

William was born yesterday, February 18, at 2:15 pm. He was 8 pounds, 11 ounces in weight and 21 3/4″ long.

Despite a scheduled induction, where we thought we’d be able to control everything, William had plans of his own and was born after just 1.5 hours of labor (a new record for us!) and shortly before his mama was due to get some much needed (and much requested) meds. He was so ready to get out (medication free – his mother wanted me to add that again) that our wonderful nurse delivered him just before the doctor was able to get into the room.

However wildly William got here, and however interesting I think his lineage is, he is happy and healthy and we love him so much! Julie is recovering well and we hope to be out of the hospital today.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Included are some photos of the new family.

Blessings,
Mike & Julie (and Annabelle, Elliott, William, and Teddy the dog, who is quickly rethinking this whole family life thing)

Christmas Cheer – 2013

“Christmas bells, Christmas bells, ring them all the day.
God the Father sent His Son on that first Christmas day!”

The holiday might be a month behind us, but that song is still sung almost daily in our home (to the tune of Jingle Bells) by a certain exuberant Little Miss. Taking after her Mama and Daddy, our girl loves Christmas and is already asking how soon we’ll be able to celebrate again.

And really, can you blame her? I mean, what’s not to love about celebrating our Lord’s birth with lots of fun parties and services, a light-covered tree, presents aplenty, and enough delectable treats to feed an army for a year?!? It’s like kid heaven.

So here is a taste of our Christmas fun.

(Warning: Cheesy family slideshow forthcoming! Get comfortable! I recommend viewing with a glass of wine and some chocolate, but maybe that’s just me.)

With our Little Revelers after the Christmas Eve service…

Waking up to fun on Christmas Day!

Thanks to Santa, Mommy and Daddy, and lots of wonderful family and friends, the Little Miss and Mister did just fine in the gift department.

We were joined by Nena, Pops, and Uncle Willy (Plaxico) too!

But that’s not all!

We stuffed ourselves on Christmas goodies…
(Here is the Little Miss continuing the tradition of making homemade crepes on Christmas morning. Handmade apron courtesy of Aunt Laura!)

Visited the Life & Science Museum…
(Technically on Christmas Eve day. This was taken in the bug room…a place that this squeamish Mama avoids at all costs).

And enjoyed a delightful Christmas dinner at Grammie and Poppy’s house with the Wright and Plaxico clans! Don’t Grammie and Poppy look fetching in their crowns?!

Christmas = awesome. Even though it is a whole lot more exhausting as a parent when you actually have to do the work to make it special. It’s yet another moment in life that I gain a deeper appreciation for my parents. …And kinda wish I could be a kid again.

We hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS as well!

The family that plays together stays together

We Plaxicos know how to party — I’m talking kids’ music blarin’, apple juice drinkin’, cookies devourin’, games playin’ PARTY.

…Usually with someone melting down at the end.

Cause you know it ain’t a good party unless someone leaves crying.

We demonstrated our talents in creating kid-centric hoopla this fall, when our family gathered in the mountains of Virgina for a fun weekend retreat. Nena and Pops masterminded the weekend, and hosted our family, the Garecht clan (Ashely, Joe, Haley, Emily, Caleb, and Liam), and the McManuels duo (my cousin, Ellie, and her son, Alex) at a big cabin in the Massanutten resort.

It was a rowdy, raucous, activity- and sugar-filled few days that left us all full of joy.
…And ready for naps.

The Plaxico Cousins!

Ellie and Alex!

And finally, the WHOLE wild and crazy bunch!

OOPS! Though Nena is one of the smartest, most capable women I know,
she has this special and inexplicable knack for losing cameras…
like LOTS of cameras…
particularly when they are filled with family memories.
Poor, forgetful Nena.

So, I tried to” fill in the blank” as best I could (with a little flourish of color from my Little Miss).
Art scholarship, here I come!

There was never a dull moment over the weekend. We spent a bunch of time outdoors taking walks, going to the playground, and checking out (“fishing at”) the lake.

When we weren’t outside, we were splashing and sliding at the water park or playing all sorts of fun games in the cabin.

And lemme tell you, regardless of the size of your accommodations (and this cabin was big!), 7 kids have no problem making a whole lotta noise and a whole lotta mess!