Just hanging out...

We just been hanging out here...enjoying some summer days!!

my superheroes!!

cute bennett

Eden loves the outdoors!!

j

Playing with Oliver

We had special visitors today!  My cousins are in the Twin Cities and my aunt Shirley came along to spend time with my mom, so they brought Oliver over for a little play time today!  Hockey was #1 on the list for this crew of boys.

Eden was happy to play in the water. And whatever else she could get into!

Thanks to Shirley and Oliver for the fun visit!

My Boys

Logan on his last day of school.  "Mom, I wanna look really handsome for my last day".  This has been an amazing year of growth for Logan - both academically and socially.  He is totally excited to stay at school all day next year and I feel like this year was the perfect stepping stone.  

Benny wanted to wear "handsome clothes" since Logan did...he is such a special kid.  We've had some pretty unbelievable days with Bennett lately and we're loving every minute!

The End of School!

We are finally coming up in the end of school!  Its been a long school year.  But, no worries, Logan has loved every single day! (Seriously!!)  For some fun, John and Logan have been riding bike to school for drop off in the mornings...

So excited!!

These two are left behind with Mom.  I'll take it: love having them home with me!

Eden's 15 month stats

Eden had a check with the doctors at 15 months for developmental assessment.  Its a new appointment that we didn't have with the boys, but they want to screen for proper development before 18 months.  She will go back for an 18 month, but at 15 months, we are happy to report that Eden is off-the-charts-awesome!  Here are some of Eden's 15 month stats!

21 lbs, 10 oz (30th percentile)

30.5 inches (53rd percentile)

head cir: 48.8 (98th percentile - go Eiselts!)

 These expressions are perfectly Eden.  :)

Eden has so many words and expressions.  Even when she isn't saying a real word, you can usually tell what she wants by the passion behind her expression.  She is loud, persistent, spunky, and adorable.  She is (hands down!) our busiest, bravest baby to date.  She is fearless, crazy, and so fast!  So, at the end of the day, we are exhausted (and so is she!!).  She is still nursing a little, but I feel that time is fleeting.  She is 15 months going on 3.5...we are not wasting a single minute - making sure to enjoy every exhausting moment!  :)  Love you Eden Olivia!

Bennett's 4 Year Stats

Bennett and Eden got to have joint 4 yr/15 month appointments.  We are happy to report healthy growing kids.  Here are some of Bennett's 4 year stats!!

36 lbs 2 oz (51st percentile)

3ft 5 inches (69th percentile)

We sent out this photo for Bennett's 4th birthday card...a perfect representation of him...if you know him - even just a little.  :)  This photo was taken when we did Eden's 1 year pics at a local garden center.  Its a gem because it captures Bennett perfectly!  He is his own individual - without a doubt.

At four years old, Bennett is so amazing.  We have struggled and worked hard with Bennett this year.  We've also had so much fun with him and love being his parents whether its an easy or a hard day.  Strong-willed, spirited, sensitive, sweet...Bennett is all those things rolled into one precious creation.  We are privileged to be his parents and learn so much from him, as he hopefully learns from us, too!  He loves Buzz Lightyear, riding his Skuut like a pro, reading books, playing with Logan, helping out Eden, coloring/writing/drawing, and watching movies.  :)

The biggest change in Bennett from one year ago to now is his ability to express himself.  His speech is awesome and he does a great job using expressions to get his feelings across to us.  We've worked hard with him on being able to identify his feelings and tell us about them so that we can help him before he is discouraged.  I still can't believe he is four.  It seems like he was the baby for so long...  For these few months the boys are only one year apart (5 years and 4 years) and they seem closer than ever!  I love to watch the kids grow and their relationships deepen.

Happy four years, Benny!  You are amazing.

Eden 15 months & One Year Photos

Today Eden is fifteen months.  Time is going by so quickly and our baby girl is fast turning into a toddler.  I can only imagine how quickly time will pass and our kids will be so grown up.  I remind myself of that every moment that life with littles seems overwhelming.  Eden is our caboose and we are savoring every moment of our young family.  She is well loved and for good reason.  She is so much fun for all of us!

At fifteen months, Eden is doing so many new exciting things!  She has weaned herself off baby food pouches entirely.  She isn't interested in them at all anymore.  Last month I was wondering how in the world we would ever get away from spending all the grocery money on pouches and then she surprised me by becoming so interested in all other foods.  She is a pretty good eater and likes some surprising things (tuna!).  She has also finally mastered water.  She wasn't too interested in drinking much water until lately.  I love watching her take big giant sips of water...so cute!  Milk isn't so great, but she is slowly drinking more.  I still nurse her a couple/few times a day, but I feel that time is getting short.

Eden has so many new words and even some of her previous words are becoming so clear.

"aaaa-done" All done; "baaaaaa" Bye; "IIIIIIII" Hi; "Peas" Please; "Wa-wa" Drink/Water; "nigh nigh" Good Night; "ma peas" More Please; "go"; "mama"; "dada"; "baww" Ball; "bun-bun" Bunny; "ba-ka" Blankie...and more.  Also, I am quite certain she says "Busss" for Buzz Lightyear.  She definately knows who he is and likes to play along with Bennett.  Its so much fun!  The boys, of course, are trying to teach her their names, too.

She pretends to read books and loves to clutch a book as she walks around.  She will "read" to anyone who will listen.  Eden also likes to pretend to talk on the phone (not surprising!).  She is now running and trying to jump.  Its crazy to see such a small little toddler running so fast.  Clearly, she does not want to be left behind her big brothers.  She is still wearing her 12 months/12-18 month clothes but I am now noticing her pants starting to creep up so I think she is growing longer!  She climbs anything and everything she can and its pretty exhausting!!

Her favorite toys right now are stacking/nesting toys, balls, puzzles (just playing with the pieces), and anything her brothers are playing with.  She makes "vrooming" noises for cars/trucks, "roaring" noises for animals.  She runs around and tried to get in on any game the boys are making up.  Most of the time, they let her in on it.  I love seeing them all play together.  Most recently, Bennett was Buzz Lightyear, Logan was Woody, and Eden was "Big Baby" - one of the villains from Toy Story 3.  It was such a sight (and well played out!).

Eden had her one year portraits done by my friend Molly.  She also did her six month photos.  She did a great job and Eden was such a tough subject - running around the garden center!  The boys were along, too, which made is challenging, but Eden is beautiful and Molly did a great job!  I will share a few here, but you can see more on Molly's website.

 Here she is...running away!!

Eden we love you!!!