Hey, Hollywood

My two favorite kids and I soaked up some sun and got out for some exercise before Thanksgiving.  Nat has located a pair of sunglasses and is insistent on wearing them at all times (along with her "purple shirt").  Check her out:

Tub Time and other random things from the past week

I guess all kids love the bath tub eventually.  For Natalie, our little water bug, bath time is almost more of a reward than a chore.  The kid has taken to even begging for a bath on non-bath nights.  For us, giving her a bath is like taking a ride on the Maid of the Mist.  Her love of water, and baths, has created an annoying problem.  She now insists on "helping" give Ben a bath, and "helping" me wash the dishes.  The dishes issue has mostly been (temporarily) resolved by delegating the stacking of rinsed dishes into the dish drainer to her.  But, Ben...poor Ben.

And now, put on your poncho and enjoy 30 seconds of bath time with Nat:

Random things....

I called Uncle RJ this week to see if he could counsel our little Ben.  Ronnie suffered years of torment at the hands of his big sisters when we dressed him up as a girl because we, apparently, so desperately wanted a little sister instead of a little brother.  Nat has already taken to dressing up Ben:

(He's getting a set of cheeks, isn't he?)

Sunday football with dada

Saturday we had an early morning visitor!  Daisy.  

Her, Nat, and Cici had a meeting to talk over the day's activities.

Saturday afternoon was warm, and we took the opportunity to get outside and enjoy what is likely the end of nice weather for awhile.  I had started a landscape project that needed to be finished, and we received an early Christmas gift in the form of 14 brand new trees that the boys worked on planting.

Having a picnic lunch with my babies

our new trees! 

I joked that we should run electric so I can string the all with Christmas lights

(only half kidding--wouldn't that be awesome?!)

Ben: 1 Month

Today is Ben's one month birthday.  Is it just me, or has the past month gone really, really fast?  In the life of a one-month old, every day is an adventure, but not much excitement to really report.  Ben is more and more alert all the time, and is starting to be able to focus on things (i.e. will track an object put directly in front of him, turn his head towards a sound--usually Natalie screaming his name, etc).

We are still trying to figure out a schedule that works best for him, but mostly to keep his days and nights straight.  Maybe because he was born late?  It seems he has a tendency to be a night owl, which does not jive with me at all, and I won't stand for it, I tell you!  I've also braved going out of the house alone a few times with both kids.  It's a real juggling act.

Funny story: I broke away with just one kid, Natalie, about 2 weeks ago to run to the grocery store.  Because neither of our kids will sleep straight through the night, I have been exhausted, and my brain has not been functioning as well as it normally would.  When we arrived at the store, I collected Natalie and headed to the door.  About twenty feet from the car, Natalie began pointing wildly at the car and saying, "Ben!  Ben!"  I told her we had left him at home with Dad, and kept walking, but she continued pointing and was so insistent that I actually did turn around to make sure that I hadn't gotten it wrong and left him in the car.  I am happy to report that he was, in fact, at home with dad.  Thanks, though, Nat for keeping me on my toes...

Anyway, if you've been following since Nat was a newborn, you'll recall that we tracked her growth by posting monthly pictures.  Here's a look at Ben over the past month:

Ben at about a week old

one month old already

Poor guy is losing all his hair, which is not surprising, but it's almost gone on top and still pretty full around the sides and back.  We kid that he looks like his Uncle Adam in that respect! Hah!

Barely tolerating my photo shoot, oh and he was up a lot last night...

Ben-Minnie size comparison, courtesy of Natalie

she remains one proud big sister

Second Child Syndrome: Professional Pictures

It's times like this that one of my favorite movies of all time, Sleepless in Seattle, comes to mind.  Do you recall the line when Tom Hanks tells his son, "You'll have plenty to tell your therapist about?"  Well, adding a second child to our family has sort of made me feel like that.  One of the kids seems to always have an issue that needs addressed at the exact time that the other one does, leaving one of them neglected.

When you have your first baby, you make sure to do all the "musts," including professional newborn pictures.  With Ben, I, of course, wanted his pictures done as well, but one thing led to another, and the result was that I opted out of getting them done and instead gave it a shot myself....hopefully, he'll know that it doesn't mean that we aren't just as proud of him (in fact, I have already ordered prints to be hung on the wall--now, to get them framed before his 16th birthday).  What do you think?  Still trying to figure out the color settings on my fancy new lens, so for now it's black and white only (which you all know I am more than ok with!)...

Hallo-brrrrr!

All summer I griped about how hot it was and now that it's finally fall, I think my body is in shock!  Though, I don't think I'm alone in saying that it seemed unseasonably cold on Halloween.  Thank goodness for a wonderful event at Grandma & Grandpa and Aunt Beth & Uncle Adam's church called Trunk n Treat.  It's an hour or so long, during the day, and in a parking lot well away from moving traffic.  And just the right amount of treats for an already wired toddler.

We opted for this again this year instead of heading out to the streets for Trick or Treating.  Worry not though, as soon as Natalie is old enough, she and her brother are going to get a lesson in hard core trick or treating like her mama used to do.  (We used to travel with pillow cases for candy, hit at least 3 different neighborhoods, and run from house to house to maximize the amount of treats we got!  Then, as soon as we got home, we'd dump our sacks and start to trade for things we liked better.)

Anyway, here are a few shots from this year's event.  Not many pictures were taken though because seriously, it was cold.  And windy.

Nat got a choice of costume this year, and she chose to be a bunny

(she even picked out gray over white)

Hey, Jack's here too!

If it had been warmer, Jack probably would have had a heat stroke in his lamb suit.

I love his sour puss face.  It's like he already knows that some day he might be embarrassed by this costume.  It was so cute, though.

In line for the treat trail

Ben slept through his first Halloween

His costume was mostly covered up by all the blankets, but you can notice the Carrot hat he is wearing.

Get it?  Bunny and Carrot?  You'd be surprised by how many people were a little puzzled by that one.