J-A-E-L-Y-N

Benjamin's first steps!

This is pretty crazy...but Benjamin is getting more confident with himself & he's starting to put together a few steps!! His main mode of transportation is still crawling...but I'm sure in no time he'll be running after his big sister (or a soccer ball!)

Dancin'

The minute we put on music Ben starts "dancing" to it. It's adorable. It doesn't matter where he is...if he's in the highchair he'll clap & do a little head bob...or if he's standing up, he'll do this:

3 year photo shoot

I attempted to get the kids photographed together....it was after the individual shots, so Ben was a bit tired from taking pictures...but this is what we got!

I like this one....at any given time Jaelyn is always giving Ben a squeeze...whether he likes it or not!

This is fun just to see the height difference...

9 1/2 months

I've been trying to get Ben's 9 month pictures taken but it seems that everyday he gets a new bruise, fat lip, or scratch on his face....so his 9 month photo shoot turned into 9 1/2 months. He still has a couple bumps/bruises on his face & he got a little fat lip yesterday, however I figured I wouldn't wait any longer. I guess it's just the phase of life that he is in right now...so why not photograph it?!!

"Look at me...I'm hot stuff for standing all by myself!"

I had a mini workout session myself-he's a fast crawler & would be off as soon as I would set him down!

Party #3

We had a little family get together to celebrate Jaelyn's birthday on Sunday. I guess the girl turned 3...so she got 3 parties! I'm not so sure I'll keep up with this trend, though! It was another beautiful evening...cleaned up the deck furniture so that we could eat outside! Yay! :) Jaelyn was flying high & very excited to celebrate again! On the menu tonight: pulled pork sandwiches, fresh fruit & veggie platter, bbq chips & a Curious George cake/ice cream to round out the evening.

Birthday Celebration #2

On Jaelyn's actual birthday, we had a little family celebration for her. She decided that our dinner would be: brats on the grill (one of her fav's...it was between salmon & brats!), rice-a-roni, asparagus & cupcakes! Little did she know that we also had a little surprise for her!!

After we pedaled & pedaled & pedaled our little heart out...it was time for dinner & cupcakes. Oh, and of course the Happy Birthday song! Here is her rendition!

And here are just a couple more pictures of the birthday girl!

I'm three!!!

Make a wish!

We love you! We hope you enjoyed your special day!!

Curious George Birthday Party!

Jaelyn LOVES to watch the Curious George cartoon in the morning...so when I asked her what type of birthday she wanted, Curious George was the obvious winner! We love to be curious little monkey's around here!! We invited all her little girlfriends to come over for a little play date on Wednesday. It was lots of fun! The sun was shining...we had beautiful weather to be both inside & outside. We all played hard: jumped & jumped in the bouncy house, played in the sandbox, colored Curious George pictures, made a mess in the toy room & ate snacks monkeys would *eat* (banana bread, monkey bread, fruit & bagels). We can't forget about the yummy cupcakes too. What a fun morning!! Jaelyn is blessed to have great play mates! :)

Thank you for making my 3rd birthday party so much fun, girls! It was also fun to give a little gift to my friends as a thank-you...a Curious George book (the birthday surprise) & stickers plus banana chips! What fun! :)

Jaelyn's 3 today!

Happy Birthday Jaelyn!

Three years ago today, you entered the world! Happy Birthday, sweetheart!! What would life be like without you? I cannot imagine it!! You are such a joy to daddy & I!! :) We LOVE your spunk & your personality! Your giggle is contagious & that is one of the sweetest noises around! We absolutely adore listening to you sing at the top of your lungs or saying a sweet little prayer before bed....precious. Your stats at your check up with Dr. Dave:

Height: 38.25 inches (75%)

Weight: 31 lbs (55%)

We can't wait to see what this year brings! You are growing up way to fast!! We LOVE you!!

Teeth!

Ben's 2 bottom teeth finally pushed through...together...on 4.10.10. These teething biscuits are great, but messy!!

Easter Sunday!!

We had a wonderful, fun filled Easter as a family! Christ is risen!! The day started off with the kids opening up their Easter baskets. Jaelyn was super excited & couldn't believe she was getting a few presents!

Then Daddy & Jaelyn were off for a pancake breakfast with friends from his work before church. Mommy stayed back so that Benjamin could get a little shut eye before church & the rest of the Easter festivities. Jaelyn asks about Daddy's co-workers all the time & was looking forward to seeing Jessica & Reed. She makes pictures for them all the time & makes Daddy bring them to work!

Jaelyn & Daddy ready for their breakfast together!

After church we had a yummy lunch at Oma & Opa's house with Opa (Oma was on a plane to GR), Tom, Sarah & Elisabeth, and friends from church Darren, Kimberly, Kora & Celia. We played hard all afternoon. We ran laps around the house & screamed at the top of our lungs, rode bikes (thanks Hulst's for bringing them!), read books, did sticker projects, played hide and go seek, and of course had an Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun...but boy were we tired by the end of it!! Even though mommy wanted to take a nap when we got home, she managed to squeeze in her 30 min. recovery run..she ran 10 miles yesterday!

Easter Eggs!

9 months!

Some facts about Benjamin at 9 months old

Weight: 19 lbs 2.5 oz (25%)

Height: 28.25 inches (50%)

Favorite Toy: wooden spoon, learning house, the busy popper & anything that he can chew on
Favorite Food: finger foods: cheerios, yogurt, cheese, banana...learning to like a lot more too!
Fascinated by: his big sister & the tv.
Loves: be on the go! He is a fast crawler & can find the smallest piece of fuzz off the floor & get it into his mouth before I have a chance to get it out of his hands! He loves to pull himself up to standing & dances when he hears music. He loves to "chase" Jaelyn (with the help of mommy!) and play peek-a-boo & pat-a cake. He also loves bath time & would stay in all day if we would let him.
Hates: to have his diaper changed-does not want to lie still (I've resorted to giving him the cell phone to occupy him sometimes!)
Number of teeth: 0...but he's definitely working on pushing them through!
Latest Skill learned: he can crawl down the step into the living room...this has been a royal pain for mom to supervise all the time. Let's just say he's done a few head plants into the hardwood floor...but not any longer!! Hooray! Check out the video below. He's also standing unassisted for a bit before he plops back on his butt! He hasn't shown much interest in trying to take steps...but it's only a matter of time. :)





A typical day for Ben (more for me to remember!):

6:00am: Wakes up & nurses
6:30-8:00am: Play, Play, Play!
8:00am: Eats breakfast (yogurt, oatmeal, banana, cheerios at this point)
8:30am: Nap
10:30am: Wakes up for some more playtime or car seat time! This is usually when we run our errands for the day.
11:30-12:00am: Eats Lunch (avocado, little pieces of tortilla/bread, fruit, pasta, black beans, peas/carrots, shredded cheese)
12:00-1:30pm: Play time errands with Mom & Jaelyn
1:30-3:30pm: Nurses & then nap time
3:30-5:30pm: Play time, again!
5:30pm: Dinner
6:30pm: Bath time with Dad
7:00pm: Mom nurses & supplements with ~4 oz bottle & then to bed! Ben is down for the count...he is sleeping through the night however sometimes wakes up ~4am which we are trying to stop!

Look, mom...no hands!