Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our herd of cows...MOO!

 This little cow had a little too much sugar tonight :).

 Let's just say Caleb did not want his brother in the wagon with him. If this was a video you would see Caleb yelling, pulling Ben's leg, and trying to push him out of the wagon!

 Caleb was ok sharing the wagon with Ben once supervised by dad and mom

 Caleb had fun with the neighborhood trick or treaters. They were all so cute in their costumes!

 And he was such a good helper handing out candy to everyone.

 Happy Halloween and good night!

Waiting for Hurricane Sandy

Ben is 3 weeks old today:). He enjoys spreading out on the floor, looking around, and cuddling. Caleb is a very sweet to Ben and is a great big brother. He always wants to kiss Ben's forehead, rub him, and rock him in the swing...then comes the slaps and bodyslams, but we know they are in love. I'll have to get pictures of Caleb in action sometime soon.

Caleb has found a new way to spread out as well. Actually daddy suggested it while we were on a walk yesterday and it worked out great.

Caleb also got a new hair do. This is what happens when you have breakfast for dinner :).

Earlier this week, my friend Cami and her son Owen came over for a visit. Owen was born 3 days after Ben. He is so adorable, look at that head of hair!

We will be indoors for the next few days, Hurricane Sandy is on her way...

Ben's first trip to the Shenandoah Mountains

On Wednesday Nathan, Ben, and I went to Shenandoah National Park to enjoy a nice fall day and have lunch at Skyland Lodge. Fall is in full effect in the park, the colors this year are a rusty burnt color and beautiful. I love going back to Skyland, it brings back so many great memories. Over the years Nathan and I celebrated many birthdays, got engaged and married, celebrated anniversaries, and Nathan's graduation at the park. We look forward to the day that our boys are old enough to understand how special this place is to our family.

This is where we had our wedding ceremony a little over 3 years ago :).

This was the aisle I walked down to join Nathan in marraige.

Ben enjoyed catching some rays and zzzz's in the grass.

After a delicious lunch at the lodge, we drove around the park and stopped at a couple of overlooks. The pictures do not do the fall colors any justice. I was shooting my camera on manual mode, so most of the pictures were overexposed.

We had a fun day bringing Benjamin to one of our favorite places!

Two Weeks and Growing



Ben turned two weeks old on Monday. We took him for his two week checkup today and the doc said he is just perfect. We sure think so ;).

 

Weight: 8lbs 4oz (25%)

Height: 20.75 in (50%)

Head: (10%)

We love you sweet Benjamin!



Weekend with Two

This weekend we took advantage of the nice weather and spent a lot of time outside. The leaves are more colorful each day. Here is a picture of the wood line behind our home.

On Friday morning, Nathan went hiking at Chapman's Mill, on Bull Run Mountain. It was a foggy morning and he took a lot of great pictures. Afterwards, Nathan, Ben, and I had a date around town. We went to a local catering place that makes fresh organic meals for lunch, and then we went downtown for cupcakes, coffee, and to read. It was a nice quiet day.

On Saturday, we met up with a few friends and went to Kidwell Farm at Frying Pan Park. They have a fall festival through October and baby farm animals year round. These piglet were born 2 days after Ben, aren't they cute?

Caleb had fun playing in a corn kernel box

Seeing the goats and other animals

And playing on the tractor

That afternoon we were able to get Caleb to sit still long enough to take a picture with Ben. I think they look so different as infants.  I guess only time will tell!

Today we went to Sunday school in the morning. Our class has been going through a great series called the Art of Marriage, and we did not want to miss the last week of the series. As it turned out, there was a couple that had a baby 1 day after Caleb and another who just had their baby this past Tuesday! Afterwards, we went to Mackenzie's soccer game and we got to introduce Ben to their family. I took so many cute pictures on my phone, but unfortunately it died this afternoon. Caleb loved running around with the girls and bigger kids. It's cute to watch how little kids are fascinated with bigger kids and bigger kids fascinated with the little ones. It was a fun weekend as a family :).

Fall Days

Nathan found a new park for us to check out. The park had a couple of playgrounds, trails we can walk with strollers, and lots of nice fall foliage. Caleb had fun running around and exploring his surroundings. Ben...he mostly slept!

Someone got a little too close to the pond:).

How sweet, big brother and little brother!

That wore me out. Goodnight!

Caleb 15 month update

I've grown! I had my 15 month checkup today, look how big I am:

Weight: 18lbs 5oz (<3%)

Height: 30'' (20%)

Head: 18.5'' (45%)

And I am getting my top two pre-molars

First Walk and First Bath

Yesterday we took Ben on his first walk. He was asleep for the entire walk, but who wouldn't enjoy a nice fall day?

Afterwards he was a brave boy in the bathtub and he did not cry even once.

Ben still sleeps a lot, and he is starting to stay awake more each day. So far, Ben is very easy going. He nurses very well, likes to look around when he is awake (especially when Caleb is close by), and he sleeps well. The past 2 nights he has slept 5 hour straight. We sure hope this trend continues!

Today the four of us took another walk and went to the playground. Ben slept through the outing, and Caleb had fun being outside and playing. Aren't their matching hats cute?

Caleb is 15 months old

Happy 15 months Caleb!  In addition to becoming a big brother to Benjamin Aaron, Caleb has developed so much this past month. He physically he seems so big now and is looking more like a little boy.

 We are amazed with the basic things that Caleb understands. For example, please sit at your table, bring us a book, give us your cup, where is your cat. He also added a few new words - cat, dog, woof woof, moo, milk, snack, and he tries real hard to say brother. It probably sounds like babbling to most people, but we understand what he is saying:).  Caleb also likes to wave to everyone, clap his hands, point to his body parts, and clap to songs. He LOVES our cat and he points at her and follows her around the house.

 The other morning Caleb and Nathan came to wake me up. From there, Caleb went straight into Ben's room saying brother and pointing to his crib. It was really cute and we know Caleb is going to be a great big brother. Caleb is interested in Ben, and has even given him a few friendly smacks to say he loves him. Nathan and I have a good learning curve ahead of us going from one to two kids. I'd say our first lesson was to have a safe place (aka - out of Caleb's reach) for Ben on every level of our home :).

Here are his latest stats. He goes to the doctor this Thursday for a 15 month checkup so I will update weight and height then:

Clothes: 12 - 18 months for tops, 9-12 months for bottoms

Diapers: Size 4

Eating: same as last month - mostly anything - different things on different days

Sleep: about 7:30pm - 7am - whoo hoo!!

Naps: usually one a day about 2.5 hours long.

Happy 15 months big guy, we love you!