Out and About

Despite the rain this week, we have enjoyed several walks around the block.  It's our "busy season" here at the Eiselt house and that means lots of long days at home for me (long days at work and track practice/meets for John).  One thing that seems to help is a late afternoon trip outdoors with the boys, no matter what the weather.  Even after a busy day, our time outside seems to calm us down and make the boys ready for baths and bedtime a little sooner.  This week we had rain pretty much everyday, but it was still ok for some puddle jumping and stroller walking.  When I asked Logan if he wanted to go for a stroller ride he said, "Sure, Mom!  In the big stroller?  The big green one?!".  You bet buddy.

After a long winter (actually, winter is still going...I know) the stroller has a new novelty!  Logan loves to jump in and go for a ride.  Its new territory for Bennett, too, getting to ride without being in his infant carseat.  I think he likes it!

Getting some fresh air...all bundled up.

Strapped in and but loving the ride!

Thursdays with Nana

We've been lucky to have Nana come over on Thursdays this year.  Logan has music class Thursday mornings, so typically Nana would stay home with Bennett.  Last week, Bennett started his baby music class, right after Logan's toddler class.  So, now I go with both boys: Logan has class, half hour break, then Bennett has class.  We pretty much all three interact and play for both classes.  The kids really like it and I didn't start music classes for Logan until after he was one, so its fun to start earlier with Bennett.  My mom still comes over on Thursday, just a little later in the day.  Logan looks forward to seeing Nana and I look forward to the company.

Nana always finds fun things to keep us busy!  Bennett sure liked riding in the laundry basket!

Nana and Benny.

Our Big Guy

This morning was our 9 month pediatrician appointment for Bennett.  John was able to go with and we had our friend, Katie, stay with Logan; so it was a nice little morning for John, B, and me.  I have to admit, Bennett is not as BIG as I thought he was!  But, its all relative to Logan's size for me.  Bennett measures 29.75 inches (78th percentile) and 19 lbs, 15 oz (40th percentile).  His head, however, is in the 99th percentile!  He's doing great, growing strong, and meeting developmental milestones as expected.  We always enjoy a chance to talk with Dr. Gilmartin about the boys' development and other concerns and questions we have "saved up" for him.

Getting ready for our trip to the pediatrician!  This is how B's hair was when he woke up! Ah!

I tried to tame it before we left, but was only mildly successful.

In honor of Bennett's 9 month birthday, we switched him into his big boy car seat this weekend!  Phew! Its so much better than carrying him in the infant carseat.  He sure loves it, but I think Logan might love it even more!  They have lots of fun laughing at each other in the back seat and Logan thinks B's "cow seat" is pretty hilarious!

John and a very mellow Bennett waiting for the doctor.  No shots for 9 monthers!  Yay!  Its a happy day around here!

Swimming!

Yesterday we got to go swimming at an indoor pool!  Some friends of YL have a really nice indoor pool that they offered for a little YL get together.  Leaders, families, and committee joined in for the fun!  It was Bennett's first time in the pool!  Based on how much he has always loved his baths, I expected him to enjoy the pool...I was right!  He loved it!  Splashing and swimming around with Mom was super fun for him.  Logan loved it, too.  Its been a while since we were in a pool, so Logan had to get re-aquainted with the big body of water, but he had a blast!  There were about 3 kids his age, so he got to play and swim with them a lot and loved it.

As you can imagine, this wave runner floaty was a hit with the kids.  Logan loved it (despite the goofy look on his face here) and I even sat Bennett on it and walked around with him.  

Isn't Logan's floaty suit funny?!  Another family makes their kids wear them and had an extra, so we suited Logan up and he didn't complain one bit.  I think he thought it was pretty cool.  He looked like an astronaut with the big ring around his neck!  So funny!  But, it was a great safety precaution with so many people and so many kids running around.  Logan didn't fall in and was pretty cautious around the water (until the pool cover went on and then he fell onto it - lucky its strong enough for adults to even walk on it, so no harm done).  Logan really couldn't get enough of the water and didn't want to get out.  John did a great job of working with him to practice kicking and jumping.

Cool dude.  Love those little swim shorts!

Thanks to the Westrates for fun, swim, and food!  What a special day!

Eiselt's Visit!

Baggie and Bopbop paid us all a visit today.  They brought a yummy picnic lunch along and played with us like crazy!  When Logan saw them drive up to the house he said, "They're HERE!  Come on guys, let's go see them!" and ran outside!  Its been a busy time for them so it was special to have them over!

I got a couple photos of Baggie and Benny, but Logan was too busy running all around to catch on photo!

Bennett keeping Baggie pretty busy...Thanks for the fun visit!  :)

9 Months!

Its true!  Bennett is 9 months old TODAY!  What an amazing milestone.  When I held Bennett as a newborn, nine months seemed so far away...so old...so grown up.  Here we are!  There is a part of me that is not ready for Bennett to be just three short months away from his first birthday.  I feel like the days pass so quickly without the time to really soak in all of his growing and changing.  I certainly do my best, but maybe I would fall short no matter what.  I know it will be a while until we have another small baby in this house, so I cherish Bennett's "babyness" so much!

Bennett is mesmerized by John's toothbrush, so John always lets B help him!

While I may feel that he's growing up too fast, I am joyful that is is healthy and strong.  Bennett is perfect.  He's a perfect little boy who smiles all the time, has an adorable contagious giggle, and loves to talk!  Bennett favorite sound right now is "Ma".  I like to think he is saying "Mama", but I know he hasn't deciphered that yet.  Bennett eats babyfood and just in the last week has really started to enjoy it and want more, more, more!  His favorites are bananas, sweet potatoes, and squash.  We play with a sippy cup of water, but he doesn't seem to care much about drinking anything out of it.

Bennett started crawling two weeks ago and prefers to "army crawl", pulling himself along with his arms.  He does like to get up on his knees, but doesn't really crawl on all fours yet.  He also shows a lot of interest in pulling himself up, but hasn't quite got the strength to do it yet.  Bennett's mobility has started to cause some trouble with sharing toys, but I know its just the beginning.  We have lots of lessons to learn in this house!  However, Bennett and Logan still do have a great bond and love playing together (sometimes).  Logan can make Bennett laugh harder than anyone else - that is so fun to see!

Finally, around 7 months, I got Bennett on a better schedule of two naps (one short morning nap around 10 am and one long afternoon nap around 1 pm) and a decent bedtime of 7:30 pm.  Life has been much better since I decided to be disciplined enough to give Bennett a better routine.  He has even started sleeping through the night again!  Yahoo!

Bennett has 8 teeth - all four front top and bottom teeth were in by 8 months (just like his big brother!).  He is working on getting his eye teeth now.  Those teeth are really painful, I can remember from Logan's teething days.  I think they take a long time to come in, too...hopefully it won't be too eventful.

I got to spend some special time with Bennett today because John took Logan on a road trip for the afternoon/evening to see Eau Claire Memorial High School play in the state hockey tournament.  Bennett and I ran a couple errands, looked at lots of books, had a nap, and even played with Logan's train (shhhh...don't tell Logan!) that Bennett has been dying to touch.  What a blessing our little boys are!  I'll update on Monday after Bennett's 9 month appointment with our pediatrician - can't wait to see those stats!

Here's Bennett and I just hanging out, doing some chores around the house while B enjoys his Baby Mum-mum cracker!  I've been using my sling quite a bit again.  Bennett is a cuddler, so he likes to be snuggled in the sling better than in the Baby Bjorn.  So fun!

Have a happy weekend!

Precious Photos

In early December, my very good friend, Holly, took Bennett's 6 months photos.  They are just so precious to me.  Holly does a perfect job of capturing the most organic, natural moments of the boys in our own home.  Bennett was almost 6 months and not quite sitting up, so he's popped up or rolling around in most of the photos.  You can tell he was extra wiggly that day (just like a 6 month old should be, right?!).  Holly and her husband, Jon have become dear friends and have two beautiful daughters close to our boys' ages.  They are in a super busy season of life right now and I honestly don't know how they get it all done, but I'm thankful that she took the time to do photos for us!  Take a look: Bennett's 6 month photos.