Grandma Nel to the Rescue

 Marie and Bennett have been getting some extra time with Grandma Nel the past few days. Andy has been working some long hours and I was starting to feel a bit sleep deprived and needy for my mom. So, she packed up her pups and headed to Sioux City.  This is the exact reason we knew a move during residency was necessary...I was going to need some help.

Marie and Grandma had tea parties, ate ice cream, and played games.

 Bennett and Grandma had cuddle time and smiley time - she was always able to get him to smile.

And I was able to get some shopping done, take naps, and have alone time with both of my kids and my mom. Thanks again Mom!

Off to the Zoo

Andy was able to get a day off this past week so we headed to the Omaha Zoo with Jess and Hudson as our guides. 

These 2 are becoming inseparable.  They are going to get eachother into a lot of trouble someday...

We saw as many animals as we could but the heat was a bit unbearable for us all. 

 The aquarium was a favorite as well.

 Some monkeys got a bit up close and personal with the kids which was a bit frightening to them but it was exciting!

Afterwards we headed to a splash park to cool off- that was the biggest excitement of all I think!

It was a great day and we hope to do it again soon!

Bennett Boy at 1 month

Bennett Andrew is 1 month old already! 

 As you can tell he is filling out nicely - he likes to eat!

 He is still a great sleeper at night.  He usually sleeps 4-5 hours at a time with only 1 feeding at night.  Last night he went 9 hours!  Pretty amazing.

 Marie continues to be a fabulous big sister. She knows how to calm him down in the car especially.  She takes her role pretty seriously.

 I think she will have a little shadow someday who follows her around asking, "Can I play with you?"  over and over again...

He already loves reading books and it is a calming technique we use when those gas bubbles get the best of him...classic rock hits also help.  "Carry on my wayward son"  seems to be a favorite as of 1:00 a.m. this morning.

Happy 1 month Bennett!

July is slipping by!

Just about this time every summer I start to get worried about how fast the time has gone...until now!  I will not be working in the schools this coming year as a speech pathologist. Instead, I will be changing gears and working with adults in skilled nursing facilities starting in September.  I am looking forward to the change but am also a little nervous about how different my job will be.  But, until September comes, we are going to continue enjoying our summer with days like these:

Jess & Hudson's Visit:

Marie and Hudson had so much fun playing all day long.  Neither of them took naps and boy could the mommies tell when that 4:00 hour came!  They played in the water, watched a movie, wrestled, colored, molded with play-doh, and much more. It was such a fun and busy day! 

Back to Boji:
Andy had the weekend off so we loaded up our much-too-crowded vehicle and headed back to Okoboji for some more boating.  Marie is just loving the boat this summer and it is so much fun to watch her enjoy it.  Grammy & Bennett enjoyed some alone time in Spencer while Papa took us out on the boat.  We went swimming, tubing, skiing, ate ice cream, and played in the sand.  It was such a fun and relaxing day that we all needed. I am sure we will be spending some more time on the boat again soon!

Bennett Update

Our little guy is growing, growing, growing!  He left the hospital at 7 lb. 12 oz. and is up to

 10 lb. 7 oz! He is having NO trouble eating or sleeping and is such a good, relaxed little baby.

 At his 2 week appointment, a heart murmur was detected. Just to be safe, we had a visit with a pediatric cardiologist today. All seems to be normal and it should close on its own and cause no issues for him. That was definitely a relief to hear.

 Marie continues to shower him with tons of kisses and hugs.  They are best buds already.  She is able to calm him down in the car with just the sound of her voice. 

He is especially happy when he is outside. He loves looking out the windows and watching the leaves on the trees.  Bennett also enjoys books being read to him - especially "Brown Bear Brown Bear" which is Marie's favorite book to read to him.

Saturday in the Park

This past weekend was Saturday in the Park in Sioux City.  Grandma Nel decided to come stay with us since Andy had to work all weekend making it much easier for us to get out to enjoy the festival.  Marie had a blast on the rides, petting zoo,  and even getting some artwork on her arm.  Bennett enjoyed the fresh air and breeze in the shade - it was a cool 87 degrees and we welcomed the cool down with open arms.

Andy was able to join us in the evening for awhile, too.  He is busy with an ER rotation this month. He is getting to see many interesting things!

Hot, Hot, Hot

Just about everyone in the country has been going through a crazy heat wave...not very good timing for this new mommy to 2. Marie has been spending a lot of time in the house since Benett can't be outside as much as she can.  Top that off with Andy with at work much of the time and a dog very annoyed with the random fireworks going off the whole month of July and you have some stir crazy Muetings!  Luckily, we have had some visitors and other fun events to take our mind off of things. 

Don and Jean visited us on the 4th. They spent quality time with the kids while Bella and Charlie played and napped together.

That evening we watched fireworks and enjoyed sparklers in the backyard.

We have also been spending a lot of time running through the sprinkler and playing with our water toys in the backyard.

Sioux City had a mardi gras parade on one of the hottest evenings. We packed a bunch of water and headed downtown - Marie loved catching all the beads while Andy stayed in the shade with Bennett and some friends of his from the residency program.

  Even Bennett got into the mardi gras spirit with his beads!

Following the parade we enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt to help us cool down.

Okoboji Continued...

Marie was lucky enough to get to spend a few days alone with Grammy, Papa, Liz, and Andrew while the rest of our family headed back to Sioux City.

She not only was on stage at the green space in Arnold's Park during the dueling pianos,

but also spent time on rides...

and ate a lot of good food including as much ice cream as she wanted.

She even went tubing behind Papa's boat!  It was so good for her to have this time away with some of her favorite people, but we were very happy to have her back home...our house was too quiet without her even with a newborn at home!

Summer Time = Okoboji Time

We took some time away as a family and headed to Okoboji for fun in the sun. Marie was itching to get on Papa's new boat and so was Andy. 

We anchored the boat and enjoyed some quality swimming time.

 Meanwhile, Bennett strolled around Arnold's Park and the Emporium with Papa & Grammy. 

 It was such a great day of relaxation before Andy started his first rotation of residency on Sunday, July 1st - ER!