The Good Times...

Things are crazy. The house is a mess. I'm hoping to pull it all together by Christmas Eve!

But here, a few of the good times from the past week.

Oh, and Hailey has her first tooth! Came in December 19! Bottom, front! Ouch. She's handling it well. She's really chomping on everything, she's not sleeping as well, but she's still pretty happy!

My mother got Ben a drum set. Not so good times. Thanks Grandma. What did I ever do to her? But really, Ben LOVES THEM! And they aren't too loud.

Hailey with "that Grandma" opening one of her presents. Ben is just a little too helpful sometimes!

This was this morning. I usually place Hailey down on Ben's floor while we get ready. She LOVES his room. He wanted to read to her. I turned around and this is what was happening! TOO CUTE! I have to be careful, though. He does try to pick her up. He can drag her onto his lap which is cute, but then he uses his "super strength" to try to "teach her to walk!" That generally entails him picking her up with one arm under her arm, and the other...well..around her neck. I will keep them both alive. I promise!

Also, notice Hailey getting up on her hands and knees? Yup, crawling is right around the corner. I'm tired.

Happy 3rd Birthday Benjamin!

Three years ago today! Can you believe it? I will keep this brief. I have decided since I did all the work that day, I will also consider this my day off! Which means, my house is a wreck and I don't care. We are busily getting ready for birthday and Christmas festivities so it's getting hard to keep up with everything!

But, we did have 2 doctor's appointments this morning (Ben didn't need shots and it was the only time we had so I figured he'd get over it!!). So, here are the run downs of both appointments.

Ben: 3 years old TODAY! Height: 40.5 inches (above 95%), weight 36.7lbs (90%). Healthy as a horse! Absolutely no issues! Did great with the exam including his first blood pressure check which was 72/50 which is totally normal for his age.

Hailey: 6month check up! Height 27.5in (95%), weight 17lbs, 2oz (75%). Had 3 shots today which she wasn't particularly happy with, but otherwise did great! She, too, is as healthy as they come! Ben comparison at 6months: he was 29inches and 19.5lbs! Kind of funny to look at!

Hailey EATS!

SHE EATS! SHE EAAAAAATS!

Well, she tries to eat. And it is her first real solid meal.



More to come!

- Brian

I've been neglectful!

Sorry. Been busy here. Tis that time of year. But a lot has been going on. I only have a few minutes to let's hit the highlights.






We spent Thanksgiving at home. I made the WHOLE shabang!!! Ben ate the rolls and dinner ended in a time out.



















While in Michigan Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrated Ben and Meghan's birthdays! Those cakes were soon destroyed!












Having to keep a closer eye on Ben while with Hailey. He likes to use his "super strength" to pick her up. This is how I found them the other night.














Last weekend we hit a Christmas tree farm. Wasn't quite the Christmas magic we expected. There were no trees left at this farm, so we walked all around and ended up with a precut tree anyway.






Other highlights:
Ben: We continue to have to bribe him to eat ANYTHING! This morning I even had to bribe him to eat waffles. It's ridiculous and oh so frustrating. Who doesn't want waffles!!! ALL he wants is milk. Milk, milk, milk. I'm so sick of milk. I think it's time to cut him off completely. Seriously, I know milk is healthy, but he was drinking it at such a rate they had to do blood tests at his last check up as too much milk apparently causes anemia.

He'll be 3 next week which is unbelievable. And I totally see what people mean when they say 3 is worse than 2. He's very....opinionated all the sudden. And my sweet little boy is saying NO to me ALL the time! I have discovered the joys of having Santa on my side. It's nice for me and Ben to know that I have a direct line to Santa and can report bad behavior to him at any time.

Hailey: We have her 6 month check up next week so stay tuned to find out about our chunker! She eats a lot! Still just from Momma but I'm thinking after her check up next week we'll start some food. She's VERY interested in watching people eat. Way more than Ben ever was! Plus, maybe it will help her sleep a little more. We're...sorry...I'm up just about every night with the little stinker. Sometimes twice. She's lucky she's cute.

She continues to be a very happy baby! Just laughs and laughs! She's also enjoying her new found mobility. I can no longer leave the room for too long. Most recently I've discovered her under the tree, under the kitchen table, things like that. She's rolling everywhere, but also starting to pull/scoot herself forward with her cute, pudgy arms! We're working on sitting up now. She's just not getting it! At least she's good about staying on her belly. Ben would just roll onto his back constantly!

Time to go feed my young. Or in other words, threaten Ben that I'll call Santa.