Eleven Months

Dear Benjamin,

You are eleven months old today! I didn't have enough clean laundry to put you into a cute outfit, and I didn't have a clean enough house to pose you someplace interesting. (You move too fast to pose, anyway.) I couldn't keep your big sister and her silliness out of the background.

But, we adore you, and you bring so much joy to our lives. I can't believe you'll be a year old in a month. I keep thinking about life one year ago and how ready I was for you to get here, even though you were not due until Christmas. We love you and we're so glad you're here!

Love,

Mommy

(He is 24 lbs., 7 oz., a pound heavier than a month ago.)

What to Post About?

Should I write about....how my kids had rice and beans from Taco Bell for dinner? How I was berated, in Spanish, at the chiropractor's office, by a patient who thought Benjamin should have been wearing a bib because he was so drooly? Which reminds me of the man smoking his cigarette, driving his scooter in the Wal-Mart parking lot, who told me that I was "freezing my children to death?"

Nah. I think I'll just share a picture of my adorable, post-bath baby who will be eleven months old tomorrow.

Taking Jonathan to School

It really wasn't that cold, but she loves her hat!

Better Late Than Never: Pumpkin Patch

The Saturday before Halloween, we visited our local pumpkin patch as a family. We went first thing in the morning, before Benjamin's nap, so we had the place almost to ourselves. We had a sweet, relaxing time exploring all that the pumpkin patch had to offer, and we even had our own private hayride. Here are about half of my favorite pictures. By the way, these are the pumpkins that became our jack o' lanterns.

For a Smile

I am so, so far behind on blogging...and just about everything else. Feel free to come visit me anyway, but I hope you're cozy with clutter.

Anyway, I hope this pic gives you a smile for the weekend!

Sweet Sleep

Halloween

Jonathan gave us four jack o' lantern designs to choose from. As you can see, we had to "check" our choices.

And here they are...

"Toothless" and "Smiley"

This year's pumpkin. Here is our pumpkin in 2005.

And the knight and lion. I am so grateful to our neighbors who passed down these costumes that their kids outgrew long ago. Because of them, I spent a grand total of....$0 on costumes this year. Awesome! All I had to buy was pumpkins and candy.

Our whole crew. We had a quick and fun evening of trick-or-treating. Halloween is a holiday that we don't put a lot into, but we squeeze a lot of fun out of it!

Brothers

Crazy Hair Day

We recently had Red Ribbon Week at Jonathan's school (which I think is a national thing?) and is a campaign to prevent drug use in kids. Whether it is successful long-term I don't know, but it sure is a lot of fun for the kids. Each day of the week was a different dress-up day, and as you can see, this was Crazy Hair Day. Jeff and Jonathan teamed up for this creation. They were both pretty proud of the result!

Mr. Big Stuff

Here are some pictures of Benjamin doing his latest tricks. He also cut his first tooth on Sunday and has been pushing up on his hands and feet, but I haven't captured either of those things on camera.

Making it up the stairs without help. (I do have gates at the top of the stairs and near the bottom of the stairs, which I keep closed unless he has someone with him, of course!)

Using one of his favorite toys to make his pulling-up muscles a little stronger

Pulling up! He is so proud of himself.

Of course, Grace is not far behind, telling me, "I'm big, too! I pulled up!" and then we have to congratulate her on her amazing feat. Nice.

Benjamin's dismount technique leaves something to be desired. He flops over when he's done or loses his balance. He doesn't like that part very much.

The playroom window seats are no longer safe places for Legos! Especially since he has reached the stage of finding teeny things on the floor and eating them.

I took a quick picture of this pose and then dashed behind him because of the aforementioned dismount technique. I see lots of bumps and bruises in his future. It sure is fun to see him learn and grow, though!