Where's the Baby?

This is why our baby sleeps most of the time upstairs in her parents' room.

Time Heals All Wounds

So this is what it looked like when Benjamin was just two weeks old and we tried to place the brothers in the same bed...Maybe you can't tell, but both boys are less than pleased. If sound were attached, you would need earplugs. BUT, proof that time heals all wounds, here is what we get now more than not... And if anyone has any ideas for keeping big brothers out of little brother beds or BOTH brothers out of baby sister's bed, we would greatly appreciate it...

Return to the Birds

If you'll remember, earlier in the year we went to the zoo and Noah tried to feed the birdies with daddy but the birds got the best of him. He would frequently talk about the zoo and the birds and how he was going to feed them again. Well, when we returned with his friends this summer, he stayed true to his word. He did made sure he had his hat ON HIS HEAD. He was a little apprehensive at first, but with his good friends Betsy and Grace at his side, he did it.

Hotdog Season

While Monday was actually Benjamin's first baseball game, we took him again on Friday so we could get pictures to record the event. And since it was just mom and dad, we opted to leave one child at home. (Please don't think too badly of us, it was not an easy decision to make. We were not even brave enough to tell him where we were going. Just out. And he got to play with grandpa all by himself, so he was ok.) The Royals played the White Sox and it was not a pretty game, but Benjamin sure enjoyed himself! We asked him if he wanted to go back to the ballgame and he said, "Hotgog! Slugger!" He loves being in the crowd. He cheers and claps right along with everyone else. We need to be sure we sit only with the G-rated crowd, though, because he repeats everything he hears at the top of little lungs. He spent a lot of time saying, "Slugger... arrrre yoouuu???" But, thankfully, for Benjamin's heart's sake, we didn't get to see him this time. Being buck night, he did get to have his fair share of hotdogs. Turns out he likes just the dog, not the bun. Daddy tried to sneak off some of the bun while Benjamin's head was turned, but he was caught red-handed. You've never seen such an angry face. He put his little finger right in daddy's face and said, "NO, DADDY. NO!" He won't make that mistake again, I assure you. Daddy was a little disappointed in the fact that he jumped higher and cheered louder for the White Sox grand slam than he did for the Royals' three-run homer. But I think he is a little excited in the fact that he will have some one to count down to the next season with. Although, Benjamin might refer to it as "Hotdog Season".

B-ball Game!

Thanks to some funny scheduling on our season tickets, we went to 3 Royals games last week. One night Grandpa, Grandma, and Erika went with us, so we took all three children. Unfortunately, we got no pictures of all of us there together. I even had all three dressed alike. Pathetic, isn't it? I blame the fact that we were in the middle of a very crowded aisle and had no way to sneak out to actually get the picture. Anywho... we wanted to make it a big night for the boys as they talk baseball all the time. They really enjoyed themselves. We were a little worried about keeping them contained for a whole game but they were great. After an inning and a half Noah did ask if it was time to go home now but didn't seem to mind when his dad said no. Noah says his favorite part was seeing Slugger (although both boys nearly had heart attacks when we came face-to-face with him). Benjamin says his favorite part was singing "OLD BALL GAAAAME!" (which they did get to do - with none other than Mrs. Cunningham from Happy Days). But we have a sneaking suspicion their favorite part was actually eating. They both got kid meals consisting of a hot dog, a fruit roll-up, and a lemonade which they ate in their entirety. (Noah's hot dog was switched out for a jelly sandwich.) Yes, that is right. Noah ate a whole fruit roll-up. He is pretty pleased with himself - ask him about it sometime. Then they had popcorn. Then they had ice cream. And somewhere in there, managed to share a few chips with their grandparents. No wonder they had a good time, hunh? And while she didn't get anything to eat and slept through most of the game again, here is Abby in her Rice baseball gear.

How Embarrassing...

Abby went to the doctor with me this week. She had a little accident while she was sitting in car seat. This is how they sent soiled clothes home...

Abby is 2!

Months, that is. Hard to believe she is just 10 months away from turning one! Ok, so maybe we are getting ahead of ourselves a little. She is certainly growing up, though. While she still sleeps a great deal, she is definitely more alert when she is awake. She is also starting to track objects which is exciting (mostly her brothers - gotta keep an eye on them, you know...) We are starting to see more and more of her sweet smile and can't wait for that to be a regular attraction. She is still sleeping great at night. In fact, just last night she went from 10:00-6:00! Definitely no complaints on that. On a semi-sad note, she is starting to outgrow her first set of baby clothes. And they haven't even made it in to the closet yet! Mostly because she doesn't have one. (Hopefully by the end of the week...) She has learned to take bottles so she can stay with Grandpa and Grandma on occasion. She is also starting to talk quite a bit. She sure has a lot to say! Or else, she has learned [from her brothers] that you should keep your mouth going at all times. Whatever it is, we think it is adorable. Now if we could just get her to agree to pictures...

Star Wars Parade

I have 100 entries to catch up on, but this was too good to pass up. Noah found daddy's Star Wars toy stash in the basement. He lugged the Darth Vader carrier up the steps and asked permission to play with them. (I think daddy was secretly excited to have a reason to get them out again.) Noah could not finish his dinner fast enough to get upstairs to the spaceship room. Where else would you play with Star Wars toys, right? Well, after a long period of quiet, daddy got suspicious. He went upstairs to check in and this is what he found....

Took Her out to the Ballgame

Oh, boy, she was excited! Going to her first professional baseball game... At the ripe age of one-day-shy-of-a-month.She spent most of the time sleeping in her sling. When she started to cry a little, people around us looked around very confused. Most of them did not realize that we even had a baby with us and they could not tell where the cry was coming from. She got out just in time to try for a few foul balls...And then it was back to sleep. (Sporting her big brother's hat. He hasn't actually been to a game yet, so we thought it should see some action. Unfortunately, it was a little too big for her wee head.) We think it is safe to say she enjoyed her first game. Oh, and in case you ever take a little major leaguer to the ballpark, something you should know. First-timers get a special certificate. We stumbled upon this information accidentally but are glad we did. Just head straight to Guest Services and they will set you up.

Benjamin's First Day

Benjamin actually returned to school last Friday. Well, music class. We were both excited to be back to see our friends. Miss Trilla is such a wonderful teacher and Benjamin has made great strides in his music over the summer, although he failed to show any of that during class. He sang the songs the whole way home but I guess didn't feel comfortable showing off in class. His teacher reminded us that that is how the classes start out and as time goes on, they will get more accustomed to what they are supposed to do. I have no doubt Benjamin will be a good class participant. He does sit on my lap and listen, so that is one bonus. Because Noah had done this same class when he was this age, we got a sibling pack which means a different CD and instrument. Check out Benjamin's snag... He was so excited, he played this all the way home AND all the way to the lake for the weekend. That's a three hour drive, by the way. I kind of thought there might be some trouble when we got home and his big brother saw his new instrument. I was right. It is very hard to understand that it belongs to Benjamin and Noah is only allowed to play it if Benjamin says he can. He followed Benjamin all around the house asking, "Should I play that drum, Benjamin? Should I have your sticks, Benjamin? Do you want to play my old, red drum, Benjamin?" To all of which Benjamin answered a resounding, "NO!" Finally - something all his own. Eventually he did let Noah have one of the sticks and they played together. I think Benjamin is really going to like music class this year! The class is called "Milk and Cookies" after all. What more could Benjamin ask for? As for the pictures, I realize they are not customary Benjamin - no smile. He was too interested in Bob the Builder. he did pick out his first-day clothes, though. Bike-a! Bike-a!

Noah's Starts Preschool

Well, it came - Noah's first day of school. He is officially a preschooler. I realize I have had two more babies since, but how did he ever get to be so old? (Dad and I just discussed the fact that he is going to be four. We are not okay with this, for the record.) No doubt, having him in Child's Day Out last year helped us all prepare, but he was just a champ. We have been talking about school all summer, thanks to potty-training, and with that achievement under his belt, he was ready for school. We signed him up with our next door neighbor, Claire, so we could do some carpooling. Unfortunately, they only had room for the two of them in the afternoon class, 12:00 - 2:15. This means Noah has to eat lunch before we leave home. If you'll remember, he ate at school last year. He is not okay with this new routine. He continually tells me, "But, I eat at school with my friends!" Maybe by Christmas, he will understand. We tried his old cow backpack but it isn't going to work with all the stuff he will be bringing home, so we are on the scout for a new one. He had a very good first day. His teachers are Mrs. Peterson and Mrs. "Ol'McDonald". (He also said she works at McDonalds - convenient, no?) He told us they sang some songs, read a book, and played in the room with the balls. When I asked about the songs he said, "We sang, 'Hello! Hello! Good bye! I'm glad that you're my friend." Time will tell if all of that is really all in one song. We were very impressed with the program when we went for the orientation. We are all looking forward to a great year!

Abby Does Ludington

Ludington is a family favorite. There are a number of things that one must do when in Ludington to get it recorded as an official visit. So here is Abby meeting all the requirements. She walked out to Grandma Bonnie's lighthouse. (Or almost out to the lighthouse, it was a little too windy for bitty babies.) She played at the beach playground - well, sort of. She stood by it anyway. And, she had ice cream at the House of Flavors. Now, when Benjamin makes his first visit next year, she can show him the ropes. And she can proudly sport her 'Ludington' patch on her travel jacket. I'll just have to print off the pictures for her so she can remember what she did when she wakes up.

An Added Bonus

As luck would have it, my good friend Cammie was visiting Michigan at the same time. She, of course, got to meet Abby and I got to meet her two-year-old, Ella. The last time I saw Cammie was in April 2006 at Ella's baby shower. It was a very nice visit and I am so glad I finally got to meet Ella! Blogs can only tell you so much about a kid, you know? She is so funny - we were instant friends. She also loves 'Baby Babby', which is good because Cammie and I have already determined Ella and Benjamin will be married someday. And, it just so happens, Cammie is now expecting a baby boy in December. We haven't discussed it yet, but I am open to betrothing Abby to little boy Gabel as well. I guess we can cross that bridge when we get to it.

Over the River and Through the Woods

To Grandmother's house we went... My posts have backed up a bit and it has been almost three weeks now, but Abby and I made a very, very quick trip to Michigan. We flew up on 8/16 and back home on 8/18. (Have I mentioned before that daddy doesn't like to have the family separated for long. But he DID agree to let us go, so I didn't complain.) Abigail Mae is named after my grandmother, Dorothy Mae, and we wanted to have the chance for the two of them to meet. Unfortunately, my grandma has been having a lot of trouble this year so we didn't want to waste much time in getting up there. At this point, she waivers between good days and bad. On her good days, she is lucid, sitting up, holding conversations, and recognizing family members. On her bad days, she is most likely to just sleep. We happened to visit her on a bad day. However, we figured that was ok since Abby slept practically the entire weekend herself. My Aunt JoEllen had been staying with Grandma that week and said the only sentence she heard Grandma say all weekend was that she wanted to hold the baby, so she did know that we were coming. She was moved in to a nursing home the week after our visit. Since then, my parents have been to visit a number of times. Mom mentioned that Abby had been to visit and Grandma said, "Yes, at my house." We are not sure if she remembers that on her oen or if somebody told her, but no matter. We were able to get a picture of Abby with her great-grandmother and some four-generation pictures and for that we will always be very thankful.My grandmother will be 93 on 9/29. She and my grandpa have been married 71 years. My grandmother had 5 sons. This worked out quite well for me because she always treated me like a princess and taught me many life-long lessons. While I have had many, she has been an excellant role model for me in being a lady and a good, Christian wife. I saw her a lot throughout the year, but I would go to her house each summer for a week and I so looked forward to that each year. Sometimes grandpa was gone and it was just us two girls hanging out and enjoying each other's company. She always made sure I had a pretty white Easter hat. She taught me you should always wear your best on Sunday when you attend church. (Which you should also do every week - no excuses.) She made sure she bought me a new slip each year and I understood I should wear it - something I wish a lot of other girls out there had learned. She taught me how to embroider and cross-stitch. She taught me how to play Solitaire and Tri-Ominos. She taught me how to file and paint my nails - preferably in a nice muted color, not bright red or pink. She taught me that sometimes it was okay to do nothing. She taught me that you should not serve BBQ ribs when the bishop was coming to dinner, and she taught me that some jobs women do just because. (That's what she told me when I asked why grandpa never did the laundry.) She taught me that it is good for a husband and wife to do devotions together daily and to fully devote their lives to Christ and doing His work. She showed me that a good wife could have her opinions and knew when best to share them and when best to save them. Every time we told Grandma we were pregnant, she'd hope that we would have a girl. She wanted one with blonde, curly hair and blue eyes. Time will tell how much of that we were able to produce. But even if Abby grows up with straight brown hair and green eyes, I promise to teach her about her great-grandmother and hopefully model for her all the great things my grandma taught me. We love you, Grandma!