Mr. President

Playing Outside: A Progression

With the beautiful weather we've been having here this fall, Eleanor has continued to play outside often. It is getting much colder, however... and she dislikes the idea of wearing winter clothes since it isn't snowing. So, here's an example of the progression that happens any given afternoon. There is approximately 5 minutes between each step.

Step 1: long pants over tights and a "tutu" (leotard), shoes and a lightweight jacket

Step 2: a plastic bag - for collecting rotting plums, of course!

Step 3: glubs

Step 4: a hat

Step 5: staying inside because "it's too cold!"

Big Pants

A friend of mine let me borrow a whole tub full of "tweener" clothes... and I tried them on one recent evening. Eleanor decided she really needed to get in on the action, too!
I think they are still a bit big for her... but they fit me just right. It is really nice to have some clothes that I can return when I'm through with them, are slightly bigger than my "normal" clothes and aren't my maternity clothes. They help me feel slightly more put together these days. :)

Leabs!

Enjoy!

Feeling Better, Rolling Over and Smiles

Today we are all feeling better, although we're tired. Because of the illness around here, we skipped out on Bible study yesterday and MOPS today. Yesterday ended up kind of busy because I felt like there was a lot of cleaning to catch up on, but today the fatigue set in and all of us have pretty much just hung out and enjoyed each other. Benjamin seems to be getting so much bigger (older) all of a sudden.

During a forced bout of tummy time, Benjamin rolled over 4 times in succession - he really dislikes being on his tummy! - so I grabbed the camera and lucky for you he did it one last time:

Then we finally captured one of his adorable little smiles:

And one from Ella, too:

Icky, Icky Sicky

So I officially got 1 1/2 hours of sleep... then much later another hour... then much later another 2 hours - but only because Seth was able to head into work a little bit late. Between Eleanor throwing up and Benjamin needing to nurse, it was a wakeful night. This is the kind of sickness I don't handle very well... especially when it means changing all the blankets and sheets on the bed multiple times in the night. We have finally mastered the concept of the "barf bucket," however, and the second half of the night Ella puked there. Tremendous!

So, if you're feeling in the mood, we'd love prayers for Ella getting better, the rest of us not getting sick (especially Benjamin) and me having patience today as I'm functioning on little sleep. Thanks!

Big Blue Eyes

It seems Benjamin will have bright blue eyes like his sister - although his are currently a slightly more steely blue - and he's using them more and more each day. This little critter just loves lounging on the floor, kicking, looking around and occassionally rolling over. So far he's still only been successful with the rolling from front to back (10 times, maybe), but he's sure trying from time to time to get himself from back to front.

He's growing fast! These days we love to check out his lovely, chubby thigh rolls. :) And he's making his way out of his 3 month clothes - I expect a day in the next few weeks when I'll realize I can no longer button his onesies or fit him from shoulder to feet in his pajamas. I'd forgotten just how quickly they grow...

The Back Log

Here's where you can check out what we've been doing lately (if you're interested). I'll keep updating the list as I get time.

Halloween!

A Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Sargent

Kayli's Birthday

Autumn Leaves

A Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Tippin

Corny Jokes

Our Big Girl

Benjamin Meets Avery

The Pumpkin Patch

Painting Downtown

Just Because...

It's Been a Long Time.

Here are today's pics of Benjamin:

He continues to be a happy baby. We're enjoying him thoroughly.

Our lives are busy with 2 little ones, sickness and recent grandparent visits. I have hopes of getting many more posts put up here on the blog very soon. We hope you all are well - and that we haven't lost all our faithful readers. :)

Just Chillin'

Grandma and Grandpa (Sargent) came to visit us October 29th through November 1st. Eleanor was so excited they were coming that we learned about calendars and how they mark days/dates. She knew exactly which day on the calendar G&G were coming and I would show her each morning which day was Today. Then we would count how many days we still had to wait until they came.

On Friday she woke up to G&G here, sleeping in our basement. She was VERY excited.

Unfortunately, Ella came down with a nasty bug on Saturday. This meant we didn't do much while G&G visited except visiting. We enjoyed the babies, talked amongst ourselves, watched football and baseball, played Munchkin, baked and experimented with venision and antelope recipes. And Ella got a chance to go shopping with Grandma for cowboy boots and a cowboy hat! She also got in a trip to the park - where there happened to be a dog dress up contest going on for Halloween - before coming down with the worst of her sickness.

Even though our activities were fairly low-key, it was a good visit. Thank you Mom and Dad for taking the time to come and see us!

Happy Halloween!

Ms. Ella - The Cat

(This was the only picture of the two kids we got - the only one of Benjamin - because our camera died mid-photo session.)

Eleanor was sick on Halloween, so we didn't do many of the activities we'd planned. Grandma and Grandpa (Sargent) were here, so Benjamin stayed with them while they handed out candy and Seth, Ella and I headed out for some quick Trick or Treating in our neighborhood.

The pumpkin carving actually happened the evening of November 1st. Ella was still talking about carving the pumpkins (actually, asking to cut them open and scoop out the seeds) and she was feeling slightly better, so Seth decided it should be done. They had a great time.

what's up

we have a sick baby. just the sniffles, but it makes sleeping difficult. last night we added a fever, too. today i have to hold him 100% of the time.

benjamin rolled over from tummy to back on saturday, then he did it 2 more times on sunday.

other than that, we're good and life is "normal" and there is little time for blogging.

The Leaves are Falling All Around

This year we've had a BEAUTIFUL autumn. Hopefully I'll get a few more pics of the kids in leaves, but here are the few I got one gorgeous evening.

Kayli's Birthday

Amanda was out of town on Kayli's birthday this year, so we had her over. (Well, Ella, Benjamin and I had her over). We had a fun time decorating her cake, eating pizza and cake, being silly with Joel, opening presents and just generally hanging out. Happy 12th Birthday, Kayli!

Hiccups

We posted a video of Eleanor with the hiccups when she was tiny... so I thought we needed one of Benjamin, too. Here he is, 1 month old, not quite as calm about having the hiccups as his sister.

From Iowa...

on an Airplane.

Meeting Benjamin Michael

Eleanor is obsessed with the idea of traveling on airplanes - especially to Iowa. I assume this is because we last traveled there via plane. She understands people can go all kinds of places on airplanes, but she definitely knows that Grandma and Grandpa (Tippin) come from Iowa.

When they arrived at our house, it was squeals, shouts and hugs all around!

G&G came to hang out with our little family October 12th through the 18th. We enjoyed our visit thoroughly. The first day was all birthday goodness (for me). After that we celebrated Benjamin, watched Ella open lots of presents, went shopping (for shoes, of course), enjoyed our 4 meals out per year (thanks, Jon and Ruthie!) and talked ourselves out. Eleanor enjoyed trips to the park, swimming, trips to G&G's hotel, riding her bicycle, playing with new toys and getting to eat out at restaurants. Benjamin enjoyed getting snuggled.

Reading with Grandpa

Look, Benjamin's Smiling!

P.S. The horse was found! Apparently, Ella had placed it on the floor, pulled out some shoes to try on and then shoved the box back in, shoving the horse back behind the shoe boxes and shelving. They found it while rearranging stock. She has slept with Horse ever since.

"I Can't Even See Him!"

Many, many of the gifts we received for Bejamin ended up in camo print. Acutally, super cute... but they tend to bring out the corny jokes in everyone.

This particular day, Eleanor, Benjamin and I headed out to get dog food. One friendly clerk at the feed store asked Ella, "Is that your brother?" She said, "No, dat's BENJAMIN!" which made me laugh and the clerk said, "Oh, I could hardly even see him there." This, of course, got quite the blank stare from Ella and I just smiled politely - because I've heard it so many times lately! Ridiculous.

Sayings from our Big Girl

We're having fun with our constantly growing girl. Lately she's said a ton of funny, big girl things, and here are a few we remembered to write down. She's also working on doing tons of big girl things. This comes in handy when I'm nursing Benjamin, but has also gotten her in a bit of trouble. We're working on finding a good balance of activities she may do on her own and things with which we must assist her.

"I'm a good jobber!"

Where did the baby come from? "Our tummy!"

Is that your baby brother? "No. Dat's Benjamin!"

While holding Benjamin: "Mommy, look at him toesies! Look at him eyes! Him slippery, wiggly!"

Daddy: "You may not demand things of me like that." Eleanor, crying: "I'm not a man!"

"Mommy, I look like a walrus!" holding 2 almonds on either side of her mouth.

Mommy: "I love you, Eleanor."

Ella: (nodding)"I know. Daddy loves me, too, together... together love me. And I love Bengerman...all us love...and the puppy, too! I love our puppy."

Meeting New Friends

Eleanor and Avery have been missing each other. These girls usually get to spend so much time together, but with summer, me being preganant and tired, a new baby brother... it's been a while. Luckily, though, Benjamin recently got to meet Avery - and Ella got in a much needed playdate.

I just love the look of delight on her face as she first held our precious little boy.