Our crazy days...

Here are the 3 kiddos I get to spend my "time off" from work with a few days a week.  I say "time off" loosely...I think I am way more exhausted after my days at home with these 3 than when I see my patients at work. It is interesting with 3 at home and we are going through a few growing pains but overall it is going great. 

 

Marie is learning to share her things, Hudson is learning that life with "siblings" means sometimes you have to be patient, Bennett is learning what NOT to do so he doesn't have to endure time outs when he is older, and I am learning how to divide my time and remain as in control as possible.

 

 

We are settling into a schedule when Hudson is with us and he is figuring out the way our house works.  He loves Charlie and spends so much time following him around, petting him, and even taking naps with him.  Actually, Charlie is a big help at nap time.  He goes downstairs with Hudson and lays on the bed with him while Hudson falls asleep. This keeps Hudson in the bed while I get the other kiddos to rest. 

 

Marie and Hudson are officially siblings...one minute they are fighting over a toy then next they are hugging eachother so hard that they fall down. They are there to defend eachother and also rat eachother out.

 

It is quite endearing...

 



I am 7 months old!

 

Hi, It's me again. I thought I would check in with you all and give my mommy a break. I am 7 months old and loving every minute of it.  I am almost always a very happy baby who is starting to really like playing with my toys.



 

When I play with toys I first look at them very closely to see which part would be the best to chew on.  I am still teething but no teeth have actually popped through yet.

 I am sleeping through the night most of the time, I still prefer eating with my mommy instead of bottles, and I LOVE eating my food...even the vegetables. I am picking up snacks and putting them into my own mouth, too.  I just started drinking from a sippy cup but I am still practicing at that.

 

My mom says I am getting more vocal..I like to play with my voice and make silly noises.  I have a funny laugh and you can really hear it when I am tickled by Daddy.  I like to read books but would rather chew on them. I think it's funny when my sister makes silly faces and when my mom dances and sings.

 

 

I have been spending a lot of guy time with Daddy lately.  We like to sit downstairs and watch football and basketball. Sometimes we take naps in the chair together while Charlie sleeps on the couch...just the guys. 

So that is me at 7 months...who knows what I will be doing by 8 months!



Ball Pit

A big hit since Christmas has been our ball pit in the basement.  I had this idea a long time ago thinking it would be a great distraction during the winter months for both kids. Andy helped me get it all ready by cleaning out our small outdoor pool and I filled it with bags of plastic balls found at Target. 

 

Marie loves to hide small toys and puzzle pieces in the pit and see how fast we can find them. Bennett loves to kick his legs to make the balls noisy and bounce all over the place.  Definitely a boy vs. girl way of playing, don't you think?

 

Yes the balls spend more time out of the pit than in, but that is nothing a quick game of "Let's see how many balls we can throw into the pit at once"  can't fix. 

Marie also loves to sit in the ball pit with Bennett and force him to listen to princess stories...he tolerates while trying to eat the book.

 

 

 

Busy Bees

What a week...not only did we finish our impromptu bathroom remodel but oh so much more. 

When we moved into our house, we quickly decorated and threw things into storage as quickly as possible as we were preparing for Bennett's delivery. Fast forward to 6 months later and we are now finally ready to deal with some of those boxes in storage and I am getting the urge to do more decorating to the house.

After finding out that we were going to host a party for some residents I decided it was time to get moving on some projects. We purchased a new ceiling fan, recovered some old ugly folding chairs, recovered a step stool, organized the spare room, decorated spare room, organized storage room, and of course finished the bathroom. I don't have photos of every little project but here is our new bathroom. Simple and only a total of $40 to do.

We also started babysitting and hosting Jess and Hudson.  Jess is doing some work with a OB clinic here in Sioux City for 6 months. So, I get to babysit him when she is working or on call. 

It is busy with 3 kiddos at home together but so much fun - Marie is loving the new playmate.

It was Hudson's birthday the first night he was here with us so we had to celebrate with an ice cream cake of course.

Our weekend was full too - dinner party that we hosted, hockey game, Grandma Nel babysitting for the kids while Andy & I attended a hospital holiday party, etc.  

Most of our weeks are pretty routine so all this added fun took it's toll on us and we were tired...which explains why Marie fell asleep at 7 last night!

As if we had nothing to do...

The simple question of where I wanted to hang a shelf in the downstairs bathroom led to this...

a complete mess that will hopefully conclude with a slightly updated cost-effective bathroom makeover.

 

We also made time for some fun in the snow. Marie thought she should take her turn pulling Daddy on the sled, too.

Bennett had a slight fever this week and felt yucky for a day or two.  He needed lots of cuddling and extra attention which Charlie was willing to help with as well.
 

 

Bennett is sitting up more now and is starting to move.  He goes from this position down to his tummy when trying to reach his toes and toys. Looks like we will have to start to baby-proof some things!

Fun on the Farm

 

 

Here are 2 ladies who LOVE animals...and they both got to spend time with Uncle Chris' piglets on Sunday.  This was Marie's first time and she was so excited.

 

She followed directions very well as she watched Alissa and Chris get the pigs to calm down.

 

And before we knew it, the piggies were eating right out of her hand.

Finally, after about 45 minutes, we coaxed her into leaving the barns so the pigs could get some rest.

 



We also got to enjoy the snow with some tubing on the farm.

Marie rode with mom and with Alissa & Abby in the tubes. It was a cold day but a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon with family.

 



 

Meanwhile, back in the warm house, Anneke & Bennett had fun with Uncle Paul and Aunt Keri. 

 

A great way to end our 2012 - here's to 2013 and all that is to come!