We have been enjoying cooler temperatures and rain, which means winter is coming soon, and it has been nice to play outdoors (when it's not raining). We've haven't been up to much lately, just enjoying hanging around and living life. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. This is our apricot and nectarine tree in the back yard. We get a little bit of fall color change, and we will take every bit we get.
Biggest and littlest :) Caleb is very attentive to Eliza. He likes to help change her clothes and diaper, and reading to her. His voice makes her smile, and we are thankful for the sweet bonds the boys are forming with her.
Nathan takes Benjamin to a drawing class one evening a week. Benjamin loves art and he is excited to go and learn about drawing. Here is his first master piece :).
We get out sometimes :). A couple of weeks ago, we went to a Christmas Market to check out some local crafts and food.
And a Jordanian Santa was there, who only spoke Arabic!
This little girl lights up our day! She is getting very strong, and she is so alert. I think her favorite thing to do these days is watch her brothers.
For about a week, the boys wanted to have a slumber party on their bedroom floor. Why not...other than it's hard tile, but it didn't seem to bother them one bit!
Caleb is reading very well, and he loves bringing home new books from the library. This one was on mythical creatures - the Abominable snowman, Yeti, and Bigfoot...right up his alley!
She is such a happy little girl!
Daddy's mini me :).
And just another day in the neighborhood. Friday morning traffic jam while out on a walk.
This sweet love bug turned 3 months old last week. Eliza is smily, happy, and continues to go with the flow! And she has blessed us with sleeping through the night for 11-12 hours straight. I don't want to jinx it, but she is definitely the best sleeper in the house at this time, and we are very thankful for that. I'm sure there will be lots of waking nights ahead, but we will take the good days!
Her next doctor appointment is at 4 months, so we will know weight and length then. Three month clothes fit tightly, 3-6 month size is mostly what she wears now. She is still in size 1 diapers, just barely (mostly because I am trying to finish up the stack we have), and will move up soon. She eats about 6 times a day, nursing morning, afternoon, and night, and bottles during the day.
This month she found her hands and stares intently at them and likes to suck on them. This girl does not like her pacifier. She started drooling quite a bit, so maybe teething is coming soon, and she started giggling this month too! We all love finding her tickle spots and making her laugh, especially her big brothers :).
Oh how we love this sweet baby girl! Happy 3 months Eliza Rose!
Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice and quiet holiday, and spent the day together as a family. We started the day at our friend's 5kTurkey Trot. They started this tradition while we were together in Kuwait and this was the fifth year. I don't have any pictures, but we had fun. The boys ran about a mile and a half and we all worked hard for our meal :).
This year we had no turkey, just ham and a few sides. All were new recipes, and they all turned out great. I made a crock pot ham with brown sugar and pineapples, a sweet potato dish with marshmallows...I swear there are sweet potatoes under there, a green bean, cranberry, almond salad, and pumpkin pie. Tes joined us for dinner. We are so thankful for her, and for the great care she has provided our family over the past 5 years.
One of our family traditions is decorating the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving meal. We put our tree up a few days before, and saved the ornament decorating for that day.
We have so much to be thankful for every day, and especially this year, adding sweet Eliza to our family. As you can see, she goes with the flow...poor girl has the boys' knee socks and mittens on, haha!
This sweet girl turned two months old...a few weeks ago! She is such a content and easy going little girl, and has the sweetest smile. At her two month checkup, Eliza was 11 lbs, 4 oz (50th%) and 23 inches long (90th%).
Eliza is a great sleeper at night, and wakes up once a night (and sometimes not at all) to eat. She is not as big a fan of being put down for naps, but we are thankful she sleeps well during the day too. She eats about 6-7 times a day, two of which are bottles from Tes while I am at work, and she is taking them well. Eliza wears 3 month clothes and they are getting tight, and she is in a size 1 diapers...also ready to move up in size soon.
Eliza loves when you talk and sing to her, and it brings an instant smile to her face. She enjoys kicking around on her play mat and spending time on her stomach. Her neck is getting strong and her head is much less wobbly ;). She follows our voices around the room, and she especially watches and listens closely to her brothers. It is sweet to see how they are becoming more and more attentive to her needs, and they absolutely adore her. Life is so sweet with a little girl, we had no idea what we were missing.
Happy two months, Eliza Rose, we are so in love with you!
We have been back in Jordan for a little over a month and are mostly settled into our new routines. The boys were happy to be back to familiar sights, we are thankful for how well they re-adjusted after being gone for several months. We came back to great weather and have been enjoying playing outside and taking lots of walks. Nathan did a lot of work in the yard this summer, organizing inside, and setting up Eliza's room. Everything looked great when we got back.
The boys started school a few days after we got back. Their teachers made a big deal about their arrivals and the kids were excited for them to join the class. Both boys had good friends from last year in class, and they jumped right back into things. Benjamin is happy because in Kindergarten they go to special classes - Arabic, art, music, PE, and library, in pre-school he only got library. And Caleb has been enjoying Robotics class once a week after school.
This sweet little girl lights up our days. She is such a content and easy going baby, and seems to be enjoying life in Jordan so far. Tes adores her, we are so thankful for the great care she provides. I went back to work part time in the middle of November and go back full time in January. It's been a good transition, and I'm thankful for the extra time I have had at home with the kids.
We had a fun Halloween. The boys each had Halloween celebrations at school, and then the Embassy had a Halloween event that evening. Benjamin was Bumblebee, Caleb was Venom, and Eliza was just a cute little girl. I found the tutu and head band at the Pioneer Village in IL this summer.
Eliza sporting her Jordanian kufiyeh bib. She is such a happy baby and smiles all the time.
Just in case we get boo boos...which we do from time to time, we are covered. Thanks Grandpa Mark and Grandma Betty!
Caleb loves to hold his sister. He is turning into a very responsible big brother. He likes talking and reading to her, and I love the way she follows his voice.
Both boys adore her and they like learning how to take care of a little person...in small doses :).
And she is getting strong!
The boys are back into Tae Kwan Do twice a week and doing great. Ms. Irish works them very hard and we have been impressed with their focus.
Caleb breaking a board
Benjamin breaking a board
Hi guys!
The boys have been invited to some birthday parties. It seems like they never end....this one was at a big jump park called Gravity. It's a huge jump park, climbing wall, and obstacle course. They had fun and were wiped out afterwards.
Another weekend was a party at the Children's Museum. This was a huge dinosaur themed party, and they even had a magician!
We are proud of Benjamin for bringing home the Bee kind kid many times since the school year started. Each time they get to purple (great behavior for the day), they bring this home.
Caleb went on a field to an olive farm, and he brought home olive oil and fresh eggs. He told me they are fresh because they had poop and feathers on them :).
Caleb likes to write in his journal. He draws pictures, writes down ideas, and other stuff on his mind.
Nathan and I had the day off of Veteran's Day, and the boys had school, so we had a date day downtown. We visited a few shops, walked around, and ate at a restaurant we have been wanting to try. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time.
Aunt Elizabeth, thank you for the shirt...I hope to be brilliant like my Aunt when I grow up!
We got the boys a mini Nintendo as an early Christmas gift and they enjoy video game time on the weekends. Let's be honest, we are all enjoying it...kids little and big!
We got some big boxes for our baby shipment...they were beds for a few days, bedroom forts, and now they are forts in the glass room out front.
Eliza loves bath time with daddy!
This sweet girl melts our hearts....
That's what we've been up to in a nutshell. I'll try to blog more frequently now!
