Happy Birthday, Abby!

Our baby girl, one week later.Still sleeping. Now, don't get me wrong. We are not complaining about this. We did, after all, send in a special request for another Benjamin in hopes of possibly avoiding another newborn Noah. That was enough crying, stress, and screaming (from all involved parties) to last a lifetime. At this point, it would appear our request was fulfilled. Abby just sleeps and sleeps. The first few days I had to wake her to feed her. She is slowly starting to move in to waking herself for feedings but she still doesn't really cry, she just smacks her lips and squawks a bit until mommy comes to help. We go to the doctor tomorrow to be weighed to make sure she is getting enough to eat. Once she shows she is gaining, our doctor is of the 'never wake a sleeping baby' mindset and I'll be all too happy to oblige. I think I will have enough other things to keep me occupied.
In big brother news, they are still smitten with their baby sister. They still love to give her kisses and are always so happy to see her - especially when she opens her eyes. Benjamin loves to hear her squeak. And Noah? Well, you will have to see it to believe it... It took him 16 months to hold Benjamin for a picture and just look at this. He asks to hold her all the time. It doesn't last for long but I don't mind. Even Benjamin got in on the holding fun today. Unfortunately, no cameras were handy at the time. The cutest thing was yesterday when I needed her pacifier that was across the room. Noah was sitting with Grandma Bonnie and Benjamin was reading books on the floor. I wasn't sure he would understand how to help me, so I asked Noah to get her pacifier. Benjamin threw his book down and ran across the room and tried to get her pacifier out of her cradle but his arm just wasn't long enough. Well, Noah didn't want Benjamin doing his job so he ran over as well. He, of course, could reach the pacifier so he grabbed it and brought it to me with Benjamin trailing right along behind. Noah handed it to me, I handed it to Benjamin and he got to put it in Abby's mouth. Everybody won.
So, really, we have no complaints on our first week. It has gone rather smoothly. With Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Scott here, daddy has been back at work. But they left today and it is now three against two. We will see if week two goes as well.

It's A Girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the world Abigail Mae! Prayers were answered and our sweet baby girl arrived at 1:51PM. Mommy and daddy reported to the hospital at 7:00AM and things got underway around 8:00. For the most part, all went well. There was even time for a game of Trivial Pursuit which daddy graciously let mommy win by a landslide. Shortly after noon things started to progress rather quickly - perhaps too quickly for the trusty epidural. The end was not pretty but in less than one push little Abby was a free girl. There was much rejoicing in the room and it did not take the hospital staff long to decide that maybe mommy had had her heart set on a little girl. Not surprisingly, she is just perfect - if we do say so ourselves. She weighed in at 8 lbs., 4 oz. and 20 inches. (And that was almost two weeks early, remember? Yikes!)

The grandmas and Uncle Scott were the first to visit with the grandpas and big brothers quick on their heels. Noah came right over to the bed and gave the baby a kiss then asked if we could watch TV. Benjamin kept his distance and watched the little, squirmy bundle wide-eyed, although we did get him to say 'Abby' a few times. (Mom has been secretly coaching him on it for months.) Noah did not seem upset by the fact that she was not named 'Sophia', although he did ask Grandma Bonnie about it later.

The pink is already starting to roll in, so there is a good chance there will be a fair amount of pictures in the future. Better keep your photos of the boys handy so you don't forget what they look like. Only kidding. We are very happy to welcome our newest blessing and look forward to figuring out life as a five-some.

Ahoy, Mateys!

Have we already mentioned that our eldest son loves pirates? We have a Disneyland soundtrack in the car and one of the songs is from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. (Of course, he refers to this as 'daddy's song'.) And he loves to walk around singing, "Yo-Ho! Yo-Ho! A pirate's life for me." He has even made up words for the parts that he can't understand. (We are still trying to understand exactly what he is saying at those points.) Not surprisingly, his little shadow is now also a big fan of pirates. He swings his arm, as only a pirate can, and sings, "HOE! HOE!" (I tried to catch this in the video below, but again was not successful at getting my chosen response on command. You do get to see the newest skill, though. Jumping. Benjamin's is more 'falling with style' but he works on it enough that he should have it down soon.) Grandma Bonnie found these great shirts at the Ludington art fair and sent them to the boys. Noah knew immediately that they had to wear them to church on Sunday. They were the best dressed boys in Sunday school, I betcha! And certainly the only ones in pirates.

The Firefly Hunter

Our big boy-in-potty-training has been doing an awesome job for a week now. (I'm not sure that they sell under-roos anymore, so we are making due with pull ups.) It all started at our neighbor's house - more on that in a later post - and has been carrying on for the better part of the week. He still does best at his own house and he refuses to use anything but his own little potty chair, but we can certainly deal with that for the time being. In these particular photos, he is breaking in his new bug box - a reward for a potty success. Lightening bugs have become a major hit. Daddy and I seem to think fireflys are getting slower as he catches bunches of them with no trouble at all. (In fact, they seem to land right on his out-stretched hand.) We remember it being a bigger challenge when we were younger. Maybe we just didn't have the knack. Surprisingly, he has no problem catching a bunch of them and then letting them go before we come inside for the evening. And, he has not learned how cool they are to smear on the driveway. We will see how long it takes him to figure that out - or if the 7-yr-old next door shows him first. Unfortunately, this new hobby adds about an hour to our already super slow walk regimine. Guess mom and dad will just have to get their acts together sooner in the evenings to get out the door.

A Real Momma's Boy

I'm sure I've made fun of plenty of momma's boys in my life - but that is before I had one of my own. From the very beginning Benjamin and Mommy have been special friends. Maybe because Noah was so fond of his daddy, I subconsciously choose to keep Benjamin all to myself. Whatever, the case, there is definitely a connection. As Noah says, "I am daddy's friend and Benjamin is mommy's friend." (I have tried pointing out that Noah is also mommy's friend and Benjamin's daddy's but that idea hasn't really caught on.) So when Grandma found this outfit, she just knew Benjamin had to have it. It reads, "If mom was a kid, I'd be her best friend" Some people suspect Benjamin might be a little jealous when the new baby arrives and he finds out he has to share his mommy's attention. I am just glad that I'll have more lap to hold my three babies as best I can.

For Aunt Cammie

Grandma Bonnie sent Benjamin some new shorts. This went straight to the top of mommy's favorite list. I've told him that I intended to wash it daily so he coulod wear it all the time. Lucky for him, I am not really that ambitious. I figured Aunt Cammie might like it too.
Benjamin's first song was 'A-Pooh... A-Pooh' He has a while dance to go along with it. Unfortunately, he will not perform on command. (The voice you hear is that of his older brother who likes to help.) So, you'll have to watch this for now and I'll keep working on trying to catch him doing the rest of the song.

Going Green

Noah has some Crayola mud soap that he uses in the bath tub. As it is called 'soap' you would assume one would use it to clean oneself, right? Wrong. Because it is green - the last tub was yellow - it is much more fun to decorate the walls. But for a boy who doesn't usually like to get his hands dirty, it is a fun activity. Well, the boys were together in the tub for the first time in a while and Noah asked for the mud soap so, of course, Benjamin needed some too. It was his first experience with it. Once we convinced him it was not for eating, he tried painting like Noah does.
But the real fun came when Noah started painting his face - particularly his nose. Monkey see, monkey do so Benjamin put some on his nose as well. He was so pleased with himself. He just giggled and giggled. He kept pointing to his face to make sure we saw what he had done. As his daddy said last week, "He's just too cute, isn't he?"

Batter Up!

Our front room baseball scrimages are picking up a little now that everyone can bat and throw/pitch. As you can see, we have plenty of equipment, as well. We take turns getting to wear the different hats as well as being the pitcher and batter. On occasion, the ball that is thrown is actually the ball that is hit (as opposed to just golfing one off the floor) and that is very exciting. We still have to work on the rules as when the ball is hit, everyone takes off on a mad dash around the room. At least they are getting some exercise.

Mom does not help in dressing the team - they are responsible for their own uniforms. Notice the one shoe - on the wrong foot even.

Team photo. Can you tell which one says "Cheese!" louder and more enthusiastically?

4th of July

We could not have asked for a better 4th of July this year. In case I have not mentioned it before, we have had amazing weather this summer. When people heard I was due the beginning of August, all expressed that sympathy that I would have to endure the 'largest' part of my pregnancy in the Kansas heat. But, as luck would have it, we have not had the heat this year. Until last week, we had not reached 90 degrees and even then it has only happened twice. Needless to say, I/we have been very thankful. And the 4th was no exception. Our parade was at 10:00AM. Last year it must have been at least 90 degrees - it was not very pleasant. This year, it was 73. It made for very nice watching weather. Our parade is no Ludington, but fun all the same. It is mostly boy scout troops, church groups, and some car clubs - Grandpa and Grandma's corvette club included. Noah says his favorite part was the tubas in the National Guard Band. Benjamin liked the police motorcycles. Bike-a! Bike-a! (Although it really bothers his brother that he calls them bikes.) I'd say the parade was definitely a hit. The boys got new parade watching hats.

Noah quickly learned how to scour the street for throwed treats. He ended up with quite a pile of candy.

He even shared it, surprisingly. Benjamin got to try his first sucker. He knew right what to do with it. It dripped down his arm pretty good but he didn't seem too bothered. At one point I looked over and he had it laying in the seat under his leg. I thought that meant he was done but he was not happy when I took it away. Apparently, he just had it there for safe-keeping.

After lunch and a nap - attempt for some - we went to Noah's friend Grace's for the evening. It was the same house we went to last year and it was just as nice. There was a nice picnic and plenty for the kids to play with. Noah (and daddy) tried out some sparklers. (Yes, Grandpa Doug - he is playing with fire shoeless. I was not in charge.)

Benjamin spent the majority of his time in this Thomas toy. It was inflatable and had all these little balls. For a while both boys were in there wrestling and throwing the balls around. There was much laughing. Benjamin used it like a pool. He would flop around and kick and flail his arms. He'd squeal and laugh. Needless to say, not many other kids got a chance in the Thomas.

Lucky for them, there was also a giant bouncer. Of course all the kids loved this. I talked daddy in to taking Benjamin in for a bounce. (He has been in one before but he doesn't jump yet, so I wanted daddy to show him how to do it.) This picture was taken just before the entire thing crashed to the ground. Good news is, something just got stuck in the motor. Christopher did not blow a hole in it. Fa-shew.

So, as night fell, we headed to the beach area and watched the fireworks. Everyone stayed for the show this year although mommy and daddy each had a boy on their lap. I think Noah was more tired than scared but his retreating made Benjamin think he should too. We saw some pretty ones and as always, it was my favorite part of the day.

The Newest in Potty Chair Accessories

So, until someone was actually using it regularly, the potty found many other uses. This was by far my favorite. He had a good time with it until he'd turn it just so and then couldn't get it back off again. Thank goodness his brother was not within arm's reach because those handles would have been too much for him to resist.

And Then There Were TWO...

And we have success! Well, some anyway. I tried my neighbor's suggestion and placed Noah on the potty and just kept giving him juice glass after glass until he finally went. (We had never actually gone in the potty, you see.) It was very exciting! Daddy asked what he thought about it, thinking he might be scared or something. But Noah said, "Uh oh. Pee-pee. MEAN CARS!" And that was that. We got our undies on and broke out the mean cars. When all was said and done, he ended up with 6 of them. Yeah, Noah! Unfortunately, there were a few times when he went in his pants and didn't say anything to me, I only found it when we went to sit on the potty again. Which means the idea of letting him wear wet big boy pants apparently doesn't bother him like it is supposed to. He did tell me he had to go one time but had already gone at that point. I still feel like we have had some success, though, so I will take it. Hopefully a few days of this and he will have it figured out.
And not to be out done, Benjamin is also excited about the potty. As soon as Noah gets off, he gets on. (Sometimes he climbs on while Noah is ON the potty. Noah does not like this.) But, as you can see, this bigger potty might be a little too big for little Benjamins. He can pretty much sit in it like a boat.

The Cake

I think I have an assistant in the kitchen - at least for fun things like making birthday cakes. I let Noah pick out the ingredients. We talked about it on the way to the store and I thought he had pretty much settled on pink but when he got in the aisle, he ended up choosing chocolate. He did go with strawberry frosting, though. He also found some Lightening and Mater hard candy thing-a-ma-jigs that he just knew daddy would love. So after lunch on Sunday, we broke out the mixer. Noah helped pour all the ingredients in the bowl. While he liked helping crack the eggs, I think his favorite was certainly the 'cake sand' that we poured out of the box. We mixed it all up and it baked while he was taking his nap. When he woke up, it was finally time for frosting. (He was quite angry that we did not frost it before baking it. I think he was pretty sure I was doing it wrong and his first cake would be a disaster.) Once we got the frosting out, Noah could be creative as he wanted. Turns out spreading the frosting was not as fun as thought, so he let me do that part. But he added the sprinkles, candles, and Lightening candies. I think it turned out perfectly. Unfortunately, he was certain the candles would fall out if they were not pushed ALL the way down to the bottom of the cake. As you can see, this caused a little problem before we were actually ready to eat the masterpiece. But, it all tasted the same, I assure you. Great job on your first baking adventure, Noah!

Who Dunnit?

For something different, we decided to have a murder mystery dinner. (You know, one of those you can buy in the box at WalMart.) I picked one called 'Murder on the Grill' thinking it would be fun for Christopher's birthday. It coincidentally takes place at the suburban Kansas City home of Tom Dooley. We were able to find some friends who also thought it sounded like fun and as you can see, participated fully. We have (from left to right): Chubby Cheddar, Bobby Sox, Johnny Angel, Tiara Diamond, Barby Q, and Ivan Sputnik. The invitations gave costume recommendations and the kit included a suggested dinner menu. Really, all you have to do is show up. Once you arrive, all the characters get a script that you follow throughout the evening until you get to WHO DUNNIT. Not gonna tell you that, though, in case you want to do it yourself. I will tell you, though, that I was the fiance of the deceased. The rest of the characters were surprised to find out that I was carrying his love child. What a coincidence, hunh? Once we figured out how it all worked, I think we all had a good time. Thanks for playing along, friends!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

To celebrate daddy's birthday we went to the zoo. It is usually too hot at this time of year but we had a perfect day. We got out there early [for us] and decided to head straight to the back and work our way back to the front. The weather was so nice that we got to see many of the animals out and roaming. We took the boat ride for the first time and that was fun. Benjamin's favorite part was making friends with a lady on board that had a bag of chips stashed in her purse. He'd make his way over, hold out his hands, and say, "THANK YOU!!" She thought he was adorable. And he did manage to share with his brother, amazingly. We did get to see elephants this visit - thank goodness! Noah was more interested in finding the stage that he had played on one time, but Benjamin sure was excited! He does love elephants! And here is his best elephant impersonation:
After a nice long nap, we decided to hit the pool later that evening. While going right after dinner might not be everyone's idea of a good time, we sure have had luck with it. The pool is usually cleared out and so far the weather has been perfect. Daddy thinks the air is a little too cool sometimes but if he had gone for swimming lessons earlier in the day, I bet he would not complain. Benjamin has become quite the little daredevil on the dolphin slide. He makes his way right to the top amongst the big kids and shoots himself right down. (Please note Noah only started going on this slide this summer...) This particular night, he did not have his swimming shirt on and he went a little quicker than normal. He did not appear bothered by this in the least. And, yes, he has his red crocs on. He pretty much refuses to take them off anymore.
Noah also had a big night. He and daddy went on the BIG slide in the BIG pool. They could not go down together but they had a lifeguard stationed at the bottom to catch him. Daddy set him on the slide and explained that he had to lean back and go and off he went. Benj and I watched from the baby pool but only saw him splash in to the pool at the bottom. Daddy said he saw him go around the first curve. He was spread eagle with his eyes big as saucers. (Wish we had a picture of that...) He was not crying when daddy came down, which we thought was good. And a little later in the night he asked to go on it again, although he did change his mind when they got to the top. But I am okay with that. We are still proud of him for trying it if only once. All in all, I'd say it was a good day. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Now that's the way birthdays should be.

Swimming Lessons

Noah finished swimming lessons last Thursday. Last year I had to go to class with him each day but this year he was all on his own. His teacher was Mr. Sam and he did GREAT! He whined each day about having to go in the big pool (as opposed to the kiddie pool) but he went right in every time. He stuck right with his teacher and did everything that he was supposed to do. (I am absolutely pleased with this, but I have to wonder why his daddy and I do not get the same response when we ask him to do some things.) He passed his class and was recommended for the second level, unfortunately, all the classes are full for the next session. We are on a wait list, so we will see what happens. Some of the things he had to accomplish: walking in chest deep water, bobbing, putting face in water, floating on stomach and back, blowing bubbles, and kicking. Here are some highlights:
Here he is waiting for his teacher with the big kids. We were to wait in the concession area each day and the teachers would come over and collect their classes. He thought he was pretty big stuff to get to stand with all the big kids, especially Lukas' friends (the boy from next door).Here he is practicing his chest-deep water walking. At times my heart stopped because he was in the middle of the pool too far away from everyone else for my comfort. But, I managed to not jump in and come to his rescue. Someday he may thank me for that.Jumping off the side. This was definitely his favorite activity. And some swimming - with his face out of the water, of course.Noah and Claire showing off their certificates.