Our little Ben Ben is growing up fast, just turned 8 months
last week! He is 21 lbs and 30.5 inches
tall – he’s a big boy with chunky thighs and I’m obsessed!
Too chubby for my clothes
There’s a bunch of milestones he should be
getting close to for 9 months, so the doctor told us to work on waving and saying
mama/dada with him (the girls are very helpful with this), and he just started
holding his own bottle this week. He
really isn’t close to crawling or trying to pull himself up… honestly, he’s
kind of lazy (hence the thighs)! But we’re
working on these things too. Ben loves baby
food, but so far is not interested in solid foods. I tried feeding him some puffs,
which he thinks are gross – so now the girls beg to eat them. They taste like air. While he doesn’t babble much, Ben definitely
says “hi” back and forth with us, so we’re saying that’s his first word.
Still a generally happy guy
Evie had her last soccer practice last week. It was a rough start, but she got into it after a little while and really seems to like it. It was a good experience for her, but we'll be happy to get our Saturday mornings back!
So shy at the beginning
A natural
Evie's big moment:
Evie and I hang out on the playground while Maggie does dance class. She's about four and a half now, so I did a little interview to capture her sweet voice at this age.
Maggie wanted to compete in the school library's pumpkin decorating contest. She chose Rosie Revere Engineer this year, making her mama proud (based around Rosie the Riveter). Daddy helped, but most of the work was done by Maggie - it turned out great!
We Can Do It!
Maggie is doing really well in first grade. She just loves her new power to read things, and I'm always impressed with how much she figures out on her own. Maggie definitely takes after her dad when it comes to art:
Ninja Turtle, from memory
Jamie asked her to try and draw this toy ducky - she did pretty great!
Jamie's new job is going really well. The first week was really tough since our day-to-day routine
was totally rearranged, but this week things went much smoother. His students are good kids, and he already feels
pretty comfortable at the school.
Drinks after his first week at the new job! (it went really well!)
Here's some others:
Evie is obsessed with her new jacket (so am I, I want one in my size)
Jamie has been working non-stop to get ready to leave Foley;
I think he’s more worried about setting his students up for the rest of the year than he is about
the new job (which he starts on Monday)! He's heard so many wonderful things from his current and past students, and said yesterday that he has no doubt he chose the right career.
He has a tradition of having students paint ceiling tiles, and his classroom looks so cool. He of course had to leave his own tile for posterity.
FYI - that's Bob Ross, not Jamie wishing for more hair
His week has been full of kind messages, favors and treats
The girls opted to design some tiles also
I call this Horse with Golf Club Feet (which is better than actual club feet, I can tell you)
Evie's venture into the world of abstract art
Grandma, Grandpa and Grammer attended grandparents day with
Maggie’s class on Wednesday (Pops stayed at our house with Ben Ben).Maggie was so excited and proud to have three
grandparents there!
A very loved little girl
Celebrities
Too cool
The girls started dance classes several weeks ago.Evie does ballet for a half hour, and Maggie
has a jazz/tap combo class for one hour afterwards.Practice starts at 5:30 on Mondays, so we all
rush home from school/work, shove dinner in our mouths, throw on some
leotards and speed off to dance… I feel like the other moms judge me when I show up in a leopard leotard and tights, but I just look so good I can't help it... It’s a hectic way to start the week, but they
both are very happy doing it, especially Evie who is normally so shy when she
tries anything new.
No I'm a better dancer! No I am!
Maggie posing angelically while Evie contacts some evil spirits
There's my sweetie
This Monday was challenging, so the whole fam met up for ice cream after dance
Ben is such a fun little guy - I adore him and wish I had more time to spend with him! He's a great sitter, is super squirmy in bed (like full-clock rotations throughout the night), thinks belly-farts are hysterical, likes to "talk", enjoys his 2-girl fan club, and his exer-saucer gets him real excited!
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks in our family. Jamie was offered a job at his alma mater,
Lakeview High School, and he took it! He
will have a much better work schedule, fewer extra-curricular activities and a
pay raise too! That being said, it’s
been heartbreaking for him to start saying goodbye to his Foley kids. He’s gotten a lot of feedback from students,
parents and co-workers - he is a well-loved teacher who will be greatly missed.
His students are pretty bummed
Last football game at Foley
Don't be fooled - they are ready to claw each other's eyes out over who gets more to drink
We had fun celebrating my Dad's birthday a couple weeks ago! My mom had a bunch of silly "pops"-icle decorations - we love a good theme!
Looking good
Happy birthday to you!
Boy club
Teaching Ben the birthday song - not impressed
So much passion
Look what we can do!
Couldn't resist a sleeping-baby photo
Partners in crime
Evie is stubbornly whining in the background somewhere
Evie started soccer a couple weeks ago. She's not exactly a natural, but she is participating and not terrified - good enough for me!
Clear Eyes. Big Shirt. Can't Lose.
Just watching soccer makes me weary
Helping with soccer games
Game face
Her biggest fan
Maggie was a good babysitter
Not supposed to be a spectator sport!
We went to check out the new Tiger exhibit at the zoo - it was super cool!
So close
A little freaked out
Sometimes they like the bronze statues more than the real animals
Seriously
Angry that it was time to go
The kids had school pictures last week... they are not great at smiling genuinely on cue, so I do not have high hopes. Took a few photos before they messed up their hair!
Maggie - Age 6
Typical morning for Evie at age 4
Open your eyes!
A few others:
We celebrated Uncle Walt's 80th birthday this weekend!
We looked over and Evie was quietly eating an entire bowl of chips hoping no one would notice
Date night with his lady
This face...
Ben is all about the spoons now - eating, drumming, hitting himself, whatever...
