Two Boys in the Bath!

In an effort to streamline the bedtime routine, I decided it was time for the boys to try having a bath together.  John was away Friday and Saturday this weekend, so I knew it would help me get through the routine if we could have baths together.  I had to explain to Logan that he couldn't have such a wild bath as he usually does...no splashing, throwing toys, pouring water over Bennett's head, etc!  He was great and protective of Bennett in the bath.  It was so fun!  The boys LOVED it and I loved it!  Gosh, they are just so cute, my two little boys in the bath together!

Bennett loves his baths more than any baby I know!

The only thing that could make bath time any better...

my brother!

  Bennett loved having Logan show him all the bath toys.  I can think of nothing sweeter than two adorable boys smelling so fresh and clean from their bath!  Yum!

Then Logan said, "Mommy I have to go potty!"  So I pulled him out of the tub and he went potty!  Logan is slowly developing interest in potty training.  We're not forcing anything yet, but he occasionally goes #1 and #2 on the potty.  Sometimes he even tries to force it to get a treat...he knows how to work the system!  :)

Brrrrrr...almost 8 months

We sure do have to be bundled up to go out these days!  We're in the midst of a cold snap with temps often below zero.  But, that hasn't stopped us from getting out.  Some of our outings this week included Tot Spot (while I grocery shopped), Sports Center, SAMmys, playgroup, Mom's group, and the mall.  We had a really busy, really great week!  The boys are growing so much each day, I am always anxious to see what the day will bring!

Bennett is almost 8 months!  He will be exactly 8 months on February 5th.  Its amazing to me how quickly the time has passed and that soon we will be counting down to his first birthday.  Bennett is soooo smiley and soooo chatty!  He has many sounds now like, "goo", "da", "baaaa" and some others.  He is always sure that we can hear him, even amongst his big brother!  Bennett also is close to crawling now.  Bennett likes to play with whatever toys Logan is playing with (and vice versa), so we are learning a lot about sharing these days.  He is starting to show preferences, some separation anxiety, object permanence, and is great at giving hugs and kisses.

By Christmas he was sitting up and rolling over like a pro and he now crawls every direction except forward, so I know that will come soon!  We took Bennett to the dr. last week and he was 19 lbs and 28.75 in!  Long and lean, for sure!  He is a strong little boy and likes to stand up as much as he can (no standing/pulling up on his own yet).

We still struggle a little with Bennett's sleep schedule but it is getting better.  I am continuing to work on a bedtime routine that will get him sleeping through the night again.  Bennett has started taking a bottle!  Just like Logan, Bennett decided at about 7 months that a bottle would be okay after all!  Its given me a little more freedom, so its a good change.  We're also still trying lots of new fruits and vegetables and eating cereal.  I can tell Bennett is ready for more as soon as we've covered the basics!  He loves to eat!

It wouldn't be too uncommon to say that Mom is baby's "favorite" person.  Well, I think I can honestly say that Logan is Bennett's "favorite".  Bennett beams when he sees Logan in the morning, after naps, after school, or anytime he has been missing him.  Logan is awesome and loves to sing, dance, and read to Bennett.  Logan recently has started reaching across the back seat in the car and holding Bennett's hand...all the while melting my heart!  Having two kids is so cool: watching the bond forming between brothers is one of my favorite parts!

So many milestones and so many more to come!

Apple from Great Grandma

In December, when Baggie came over to bake gingerbread cookies with Logan, she brought him a special apple from Great Grandma Marianna in Blue Earth.  Marianna had gotten a fruit basket and she picked out a special apple to send to Logan.  Well, Logan was thrilled...he loves to crunch on an apple!  We're thinking of Marianna a lot these days, so thought this would be a special post today.

Happy as can be!  Thanks, Great Grammy!

Caught Red-Handed!

Painting!

Mini-Barista

Almost every morning, John gets up with Logan, they make their breakfast and make "mommy's coffee".  Logan helps while John makes me a latte on the espresso machine.  Both yesterday and today Logan said "Mama, I wanna make a latte."  So today I said he could play with the espresso machine and pretend to make mommy a coffee.  He really knows his stuff...I think he's a Barista-in-training!

Getting ready...

This was our attempt at a smiling, thumbs-up photo!  I guess I snapped the photo at the wrong moment for this goofy face.

Espresso brewing...

Mommy's latte!  Yum!

My mom made this cute apron for Logan and he loves wearing it when we bake.  Today we made cookies for the YL leader meeting!

One More Wedding!

Jenn got engaged to Mike in early December!  We're so excited for them and all their plans!  This will conclude all of our Eiselt-Holbrook weddings: all of our siblings will be married!  We didn't get to see them at Christmas but they came home to work on some wedding plans last week so we got to see them and spend some time with them (I even got to be there when Jenn found "the dress")!

The boys sure were excited to see Auntie Jenny!  They hadn't seen each other since August so both boys have changed so much - especially Bennett!  We hope to see the again soon, but for now we'll look forward to July 2011!  CONGRATS!

Best Frosty Ever

Today we got a few inches of beautiful, wet snow.  Just the kind of snow we've been waiting for to make our very own Frosty.  Logan has been crazy about Frosty the Snowman since Christmas '08 when he starting singing along with us.  This year, he was a pro at singing Frosty!  Logan loves to shovel and walk in the snow.

Bundling up...such a process and so much work.  The kids are so good about getting all their layers on, thank goodness!

Bennett was napping and Mommy was making soup, so it was the perfect chance for John and Logan to get out and build a snowman!

Seriously...I think it really is the BEST Frosty ever!

Blackberry for Baby?

It never fails: kids like non-toys so much better than toys!  Bennett is in love with my Blackberry...especially when it lights up.  He has placed numerous calls and texts, probably even emails.  Yikes!  Good thing my "bosses" don't know how to read yet, right?

B is so stinkin' smiley!

"What, mom...I just have some texts to send!"

"On second thought....yummuy!"

Fun Visitors!

We love having visitors!  Our friends Kim and Avery came to visit us again on Monday this week.  They have driven to Eau Claire from River Falls, WI a couple times this winter and its been great!  Usually, they arrive while the boys are napping, so I get some special time to catch up with Kim and get in a few snuggles with Avery.  Its pretty special having a girl around this house...and Avery is a cutie.  Logan knows "baby Avery" by name is was excited for her to come visit, but wasn't in a very great mood when he woke up from his nap.  Bennett, on the other hand, was his happy self...all giggles and smiles for the ladies!

B and Avery are about 6 weeks apart...this shows how looooong B really is!  Avery was checking out B...she must have heard us talking about arranged marriage....hmmmmmm.

So cute!  More friends to grow up with!  The best!

Sesame Street LIVE

One week ago we were so lucky to have Nana take us to Sesame Street Live!  Nana said it was her birthday present to herself to take us, and she was so cute and excited for the outing!  She kept telling me that she never got to take us and was so looking forward to taking the grandkids!  I was really glad she took the initiative to get tickets, because we never would have.  Logan loves Sesame Street and he was really looking forward to seeing Elmo and Big Bird, but I don't think he had any idea how awesome it would be....

Both of the boys were so well behaved.  Even Bennett just sat with us and didn't even make a peep the whole time.  The show was done really well and it was entertaining and fast paced enough to keep the kids' attention.  And, the beauty of a show like this: the dull roar of kids making noise the whole time...no pressure to keep the kids quiet!

At intermission, they sold Elmo balloons (for a premium...beware!).  Of course, Logan had to have one...

After the show, we enjoyed lunch with Nana as an early birthday celebration!  It was a really great day.  What fun!  TODAY is my mom's actual birthday...she is celebrating from Mexico, but we're thankful that she wanted to "celebrate" with us by treating us to such a special day last week before they left!

Funny

My Tuesday morning Moms' Group used these napkins...how hilarious!  Its really just so funny because its true.  PS:  Yes, I totally want a minivan!

Christmas 2009...Part 2

For "Part 2" of Christmas, we loaded up the car and headed to Stillwater to spend time with Holbrooks!  We actually left a day early, not knowing what the great blizzard of 2009 had in store for us.  As it turned out, most of the precipitation ended up as rain between our house and my parents' house, but we were still glad not to drive in it!

Logan playing with a train set under a small Christmas tree at Papa and Nana's.

On Christmas Eve, we went to church at Five Oaks with Amy & Andrew and then spend a quiet evening with my parents.  Logan got to set out special cookies and milk for Santa and even some carrots for Rudolph.  Christmas really was magical this year, with the suspense of waiting for Santa and presents under the tree.  As the kids grow older, I hope to incorporate more meaning and traditions around such special days.

Our family - Christmas Eve 2009!

I was a little obsessed because the boys wore these cute outfits to Amy's wedding and I was never able to get a photo of them together!  So, I had to get one on Christmas Eve!

Christmas morning was so exciting!  Logan woke up early (he always does at Papa and Nana's house!) and we crept upstairs to see if Santa ate his cookies.  Sure enough, he had eaten cookies, given the carrot to Rudolph and left a cool present for Logan.  What fun!  We were soon joined by the rest of the family for breakfast and gift opening.  It was fun to see Amy, Andrew, Kyle and Ali...we had a big group, which resulted in a marathon gift opening - 2 full hours!

Christmas morning!

Let the gift opening begin!

Bennett's first Christmas...love that wrapping paper!

What a fun toy from Auntie Ali and Uncle Kyle!

Thumbs up, hockey fans!  Daddy and Logan's matching MN Wild shirts from Amy and Andrew!

Who knew cleaning was so entertaining?!

Bennett enjoying some paper...

And some time with Papa...

But it got to be a little too much for Bennett, who just fell asleep sitting up on Papa's lap amidst all the commotion!  We thought this was so funny!

But Logan just kept opening gifts (his own and other peoples', too), and passing gifts out, and playing with his new stuff.  He could have gone on and on!

Taking a break to play cars...

We had such a great Christmas, spending the day being lazy with such great company!  After a traditional raclette meal, everyone was full and tired, so it was time for a good rest.  The kids were tired too!  John and I even got to go see a movie with A & A on Christmas night while Papa and Nana babysat with boys.  It was so fun!

During our stay, we got some time to spend outside, despite lots of rain and then really cold temps.  There was some really pretty snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, but the rain that followed really left the roads and snow a mess.  Luckily, when it warmed up a little, Daddy and Papa took Logan out for some fun!

All bundled up and ready to go!

Shoveling

Playing....golf?!  Why not?!

Snowman!

Sledding

And swinging!

After the girls went out for some post-Christmas sale shopping, we decided to all take an outing into Minneapolis for the Christmas display at Macy's.  Papa and Nana took Logan last year, but we haven't been for a while.  The display was "A Day In The Life Of An Elf" again this year, so we knew it would be fun to see!  Amy and Andrew came along and we were lucky to walk right in to the exhibit - no lines!  We went through twice because Logan loved it so much!

Checking it out with Daddy.  Logan was totally in awe of the detailed display...

A few favorites...

Benny was there, too...but he will not remember!  Too sleepy!

We all enjoyed pizza at our favorite pizzeria: Punch in St. Paul on the way home and then got some good playtime in before bedtime...

Being silly with Amy!

Puzzle time!

Okay...that was part 2...part 3 (yes, part 3) still to come.  As if anyone cares anymore, right?!  Its almost February!  Haha!