Sunday, January 31, 2010

Announcing another arrival!

My sister, Rachel, had her baby on January 28th! We are now the proud aunt and uncle (and cousins) of Isabella Joy. Bella was 8 lb, 12 oz, and 20 1/2 inches long. Rachel had almost 4 hours of pushing--she's stronger than me! As a result, Bella had to be on oxygen in the NICU for a couple days. They're all doing well now, and went home last night. We can't wait to meet her!

Just life

I was just thinking the other day how we haven't been sick for awhile. I guess I jinxed us, because both boys have runny noses and colds. Oh well, doesn't seem to be too serious.

Yesterday morning Jonathan and Benjamin went to a train show, so it was just Paul and Mommy at home. I think Paul missed his brother, because that afternoon when they got home, Paul grinned every time he heard Benjamin talk and he had several giggle fits over Benjamin's antics. It is so adorable to watch Paul watch Benjamin. I'm pretty sure Benjamin is his favorite person (unless it's meal time, maybe).


We got these letter magnets out the other day. Benjamin had to line them all up by color. I think he's going to be organized. He has a red bucket and a green bucket that his cars and trucks go in. When he picks up, the green vehicles have to go in the green bucket, and the red ones in the red bucket. It's been fun to see him learning reading readiness skills (hmmm...could I be a teacher?!). He knows most of his letters, and some of the sounds. He knows the beginning letters of all of our names. B is for Benjamin, P is for Paul, M is for Mommy, and D is for Daddy. I just love how he just learns this naturally. It's not like we're "working" to learn it. It's just another example of how children learn through play. But, anyway, cute story...I had put Paul to bed one night and he wasn't quite asleep. After listening to him scream for some time, I went in to soothe him. Benjamin followed me in (always very helpful) and gave me the letter "P" to give to Paul. He thought this would make him feel better. =)



Doesn't get much cuter! I love those rosy cheeks!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Food!

We gave Paul some rice cereal for the first time yesterday evening. He had the first typical bites of, "What in the world is this you're putting in my mouth?!" Then he got the hang of it, and ate almost the entire bowl! We were shocked by how much he loved it!

"Uh...are you sure this is alright?"

"Mmmm, pretty good stuff!"


"Do you mind, Dad? I'm trying to eat!"

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Getting outside


"I've got to clear the grass, so that I can practice my golf swing!"

"I never take my eyes off my big brother! Okay, I've got it--we like the snow on the driveway, not the grass!"

Friday, January 15, 2010

Big week for Paul

Paul has had a busy week this week. He cut his first tooth, with a second one on the way. And he accomplished rolling over from his back to his tummy. Naturally, when it happened I got excited and cheered him on. This led to Benjamin saying all day, "I rolled over!" And he would proceed to do so. I, of course, told him, "Way to go," despite the fact that he's been doing it for 2 1/2 years. =) We've also been trying to get Paul to sleep more at night by letting him just cry when he wakes up. An almost-five-month-old does not need to be getting up five times a night! We're definitely getting less sleep right now, but hopefully it helps in the long run! Well, I should say I'm getting less sleep. For some reason, Jonathan can sleep through 20 minutes of blood-curling screaming! Thankfully, so can Benjamin. Ahhh...this too shall pass!


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Welcome to the world!

We are excited to announce the arrival of our nephew and cousin! My brother and sister-in-law had their baby!

James Emmanuel was born last night at 9:32 p.m. He was 7 lbs, 9 oz, and 21 1/2 inches long. The proud parents report he has a full head of hair, just like his daddy did! We can't wait to meet him and hold him. This is when it's hard to live so far away!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Christmas in Florida

After Christmas, we flew down to Florida to spend a week with Jonathan's parents. Benjamin and Paul loved all of the attention and spoiling. (Time to go through grandparent detox now!) I loved not having to cook and clean and change every dirty diaper! And Jonathan loved relaxing after the busy Christmas season at church--oh, and he probably liked the golfing too!
Merry Christmas!


We had several warm, sunny days where we were able to make it to the beach and go swimming (at the pool, not the beach). Then it got "colder." While the rest of the country was in a deep freeze it was in the 60's in Florida. Still, we only had one rainy day where we couldn't be outside. Beautiful!




Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents were able to fly out and celebrate Christmas with us. We had a wonderful time opening presents, eating, going to church, singing Christmas carols, and just being together!
Making a gingerbread train.


We actually had to take a break during opening presents to read some of the new John Deere books!


Grandpa and Paul just hanging out.