Brotherly Love

Yep.  Its for sure:  these brothers love eachother!  Logan spent the weekend with my parents and just came home this afternoon.  Bennett was clearly so excited to see him.  He couldn't wipe the gaping grin off his face as he watched Logan come in and re-familiarize himself with his own domain.  Usually, I can just see Bennett thinking, "Ooooohhh...I am totally gonna do that....just as soon as I can walk/run/jump!".

Logan still asks to hold Bennett.  He gets a burp cloth, puts it on his shoulder and says, "I wanna hold Bennett now, Mama".

Before long these two will be causing me lots of "trouble"!  Truth be told: I can't wait!

Squeeze!  So glad to be back together!

Not At This House

We can't watch the Superbowl at this house tonight!  We don't even get CBS, so at about 3:30pm, John and I realized we wouldn't be able to watch.  That sure makes it sound like we live in the "sticks", doesn't it?!  I guess we'll miss the most-watched television event of the year.  But...that's ok with us, there are plenty of other things we can do with our time tonight...

Bennett doesn't seem to mind...he is ALL SMILES!

Weekend in Hayward

We got to spend the weekend in Hayward, WI with some of our Young Life leaders, staff, and committee. It was a great weekend for all!  Logan got to spend Friday and Saturday with Papa in Stillwater (my mom was out of town) and Bennett got to come along for the YL par-tay!

Our accommodations were pretty amazing...a committee members' cabin on Round Lake.  It was so beautiful and well equipped for such a large group!  I think we could have had about 20 people, each with a bed!

As usual, Bennett was a super-baby.  He is so awesome!  Everyone was in love with him - he got plenty of attention, that is for sure!  As the mom, I think Bennett is the cutest baby, but most of our friends commented about what an adorable, perfect little boy he is!  We're so lucky!  

We brought his little play station and here he is playing and reading with our friend, McKala!

McKala's husband, Nic...ready for a ride on the snowmobiles.  And, our buddy...the bear.

We always feel so lucky to have a community like the folks of YL around us.  We had such a great time reflecting, learning, exploring, and planning together.  There is nothing like a crazy YL weekend to reenergize us!  Thanks, everyone!

No pictures?!

Well, I can't believe it, but I don't have any photos from this week!  We've had a great week with lots going on and my camera has not been close by, I guess.  Our week started with some sadness as John's grandmother, Marianna passed away after a long battle with cancer.  We celebrated her life in Blue Earth, MN with extended family Monday and Tuesday of this week.  Our time there was bittersweet: missing Marianna, but happy to see Scott, Jess, Jenny, and aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I forgot the camera, but wished I could have gotten some photos of Scott and Jess with the boys because we rarely get to see them.

The rest of the week was a blur!  We've been busy with playgroups, outings, preschool, attending hockey games, and our new music class.  The boys have been especially good the last couple weeks.  Despite Logan being two and struggling through a couple weeks, I think I have found a better medium with Logan and we seem to be on the same page and working together a little better.

A few of my favorite things from this week:

Logan in the car said, "This is brother.  I love him all day long."

Bennett has started to give good hugs and kisses.

Logan can say his mealtime prayer all by himself "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food.  Amen".

Logan and Bennett reading stories together - when Logan reads, every book begins with "Once upon a time, there was...."

Bennett is finally going to bed at a decent hour (usually between 8-9pm) and wakes only once in the night for a little cuddle (I will mention this now, but know it could change by tonight! Ugh!)

We have a fun weekend ahead and I promise to take pictures so I have something to post at the end of the weekend!  Happy Friday!

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!