What are you thankful for?

These two pair of eyes give me many reasons to be thankful this year!!!

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We had a low-key Turkey Day this year. We spent the day at my parents. I'm sad, though, because I still didn't have a Thanksgiving meal with ME. Last year we were in New York, and she wasn't feeling well this year. Actually she slept right through dinner. :( As did Benjamin! ) But I'm so thankful that my family is healthy now...at least today! ME had pink eye and ran fever last week and I have been dealing with a nasty sinus infection. But we're much better now!

Benjamin's turkey feast.
ME's turkey feast.

The day after Thanksgiving. Did Benjamin have too much turkey?

23 months old, almost a big kid!

" I'm 23 months and have lots of hair! And I look identical to my mommy when she was my age."
This is the "aftermath" of the ponytail. And, yes, she has another "booboo" on her forehead in the exact same spot as this summer!

As I'm typing this post, I'm on the verge of tearing up because I realize that my baby girl is only a month away from not really being a baby anymore. But I love watching her discover and show what she's learned everyday, so it makes it all better.

Updates on our munchkin:

• As you can see in the pictures, her hair has really grown. The only thing is that it just keeps getting thicker and thicker, not longer. I love hearing people comment on how cute her "haircut" is. Although we have gone to get it cut to shape it up, this is basically just her hair growth. And, by the way, her highlights are all natural!!! I've had several people ask me if I've gotten her hair highlighted...sorry to mislead! :) And she'll only let one of her daycare teachers, Ms. Kay, "tix it" (fix it).
• She loves personal hygiene routines. She loves to brush her teeth like I do. I am obsessed with spitting all of the leftover toothpaste out of my mouth, so she pretends to spit in the sink when she brushes hers, too. She puts Drew's deodorant on with the lid. Although we're not pushing potty training yet, she loves to sit on the potty, wipe, flush, and wash her hands. If only we could accomplish the real deal!
• She loves to paint or "tolor" (color).

Here are some things she says all of the time:

• "Bebez"=Mary Elizabeth (It only took me 2 weeks after Ben was born to figure out she wasn't saying "babies".)
• "You otay?" (I love how compassionate she is! It almost makes me want to bump into something just to hear her say it.)
• "I'll do it"
• "Here I come" or "Come on"
• "This way" or "that way"
• "Bye guys"
• "My turn" especially when she sees Benjamin on her changing table.
• "Like mine" or "like yours" while nodding her head. (This is because she notices things that look like things that belong to her or others and says who it belongs to. But we correct her, while nodding our heads, and tell her "No, it's like yours or mine.")
• "No" and "mine" (Right now, these 2 words have the same effect as cuss words do with me and make me cringe. I know it's part of being a 2-year-old, so I know/hope these words will fizzle out of her frequent vocab. soon).

Mary Elizabeth, thanking for brightening our lives everyday. Just seeing the sparkle in your eyes melts mine and Daddy's hearts. And thank you for being such a great big sister already!

All Ben wants for Christmas is his 2 front teeth

Oh wait...our Little Peanut already has them! I didn't think it was true, but Drew and I both noticed that his gums looked kind of white at the hospital and we said that he'll get his teeth a lot earlier than ME did. I can't confirm it, but I think he actually had the top two front teeth when he was born. I just never said anything because I didn't want people to think I'm crazy (at least on this topic). But I held Benjamin just right in the light yesterday and noticed 2 white shiny things poking out of his gums. Can I just say that's crazy?

I know this doesn't show his teeth, but his Aunt Kari got him this onesie that says "Little Peanut". How perfect!

Guess who's all clean?

Benjamin's umbilical cord FINALLY popped off yesterday only after a month!!! I'm so thankful that I don't have to go through my 3rd bag of cotton balls and 2nd bottle of rubbing alcohol! I called the nurse on Monday to see what else I could do before I took him to the doctor's office to have them remove it since it was basically hanging by a thread. Her response..."Can I just pull it off?" Umm, yuck! No thank you! Well, luckily, it just popped off yesterday morning as I was wiping it. I'm just a little excited if you can't tell! So I gave him his first real bath tonight! He thought it was a little shocking at first, but he is all calm and relaxed now.

Whoa!

Ahhh! This is the life!

1 down, many more to come

Months that is...Benjamin is already 1 month old. WOW! Our first month has been great, too! He is such a cuddle bunny, which means that he doesn't like to be put down very often. Seeing how fast ME has grown up already and that I don't have much time for maternity leave this time, I'm not minding holding him all of the time (at least most of the time) since this stage goes by so fast. But I'm more thankful of the Baby Bjorn this time around, which ME has named "Mommy's backpack", so I can get a few things done.

One month old

I don't have much of an update but I can tell you what's gone on in Benjamin's 4-week-old life:

• He's nursing great and ME is leaving us alone while he eats or "bites" or has "brefest" as she says he's doing (this was a big concern of mine before he arrived). If not, she's cuddling with us during that time.
• Benjamin sleeps the majority of the day and throughout most any loud noises like ME's screaming and running episodes down the hallway before bedtime, and then is awake from about 8-12 at night. I'm hoping that time slot gets fixed real soon before I head back to work!
• His favorite holding position is with his belly draped over my left shoulder. He looks so uncomfortable, but that's his "happy place" as is his changing pad, too.
• Just like ME, he hasn't lost his umbilical cord yet...probably because it was so "healthy" when he was born! ;) He hates me cleaning his belly button and taking sponge baths.
• He is always grunting, snoring, or making some kind of very sweet noise that Drew actually thinks I'm suffocating him.
• He's still gaining weight. I took him back to the doc at week 3 because he still looked a little jaundiced, which he wasn't-he just has a slightly darker skin than mine and Drew's pasty skin-and he weighed 9.6 lbs.
• He had several firsts this past weekend: his first bottle on Friday and did fine with that, so that's one less worry that I'll have when I go back to work in a few weeks! He took his first road trip to Marianna on Saturday and did great in the car ride. He likes moving, rather it be in the car, stroller, or just being bounced in my lap. And he went to church for the first time today and slept throughout the entire service! In fact, he did so well that we took him to our favorite Sunday lunch spot afterwards, Buffalo Grill!

Here are my other attempts of a photo op for his one-month-old picture.

How's ME liking being a big sister?

I hear that question at least once a day. Just look at the pictures to decide...

She is always sharing...

She makes sure that everyone gets fed even while I feed Benjamin...

Is she doing it right?


She gives kisses to Benjamin everyday before and after school...

She helps him pose for all of the cameras...

She even has time to love on her Dixie dog still.

Some other things that she does is:

• Makes sure that I have Benjamin's "backpack" (his diaper bag).
• Insists on me taking the carseat with me regardless if Benjamin is in it or not.
• Brings him his "teeth" (paci) if it is in another room.
• Wants to "told" (hold) him, but only for about 30 seconds and long enough to squeeze a hug from him.

Being a big sister is hard work!

If you can't decide after looking at these pictures, she loves being a big sister and is becoming very helpful with him!

A Southern Yankees Fan

Drew is so excited that the Yankees won their 27th World Series title and that he got to share that experience with his son.

Doesn't Benjamin look too cute sporting his Yankees onesie? As you can tell, Benjamin was more interested in watching the game than me taking his picture. A serious sports fan already!

ME, on the other hand, was more interested in her new activity that I've taught her...water painting (no actual paint and it can last for hours!).

Happy Birthday, Kemp!

ME was invited to her first birthday party from school. We went to Gymboree and she acted like she goes there everyday, which she's only been one other time. But I think we'll be visiting again soon!

ME and "Temp" (not only does she say Kemp's name with a "t", but she kind of growls his name when she says it.)

Where does she get her fearlessness from??? Definitely not me or Drew! Everytime I turned away, she was climbing on top of something. No big deal! Every kid took turns riding on this sphere while everyone spun it and sang "Pop goes the weasel." This was her look the entire time.




Hula girls. ME and her classmate "Saddison" (Addison).
May I get some drums for my birthday? She carried the drumsticks pratically during the entire party and chose to play the drums during the music parade.

ME and her classmate Kade. Who's going to pull us?

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a little different this year since Benjamin was just fresh out of the oven. Here's how I got Benjamin and Mary Elizabeth excited for the big day a few days ahead of time.

ME's daycare had a Halloween party the Friday before. I decided to make a pumpkin rice krispy treat for her class. Why have I never made this super easy dessert before???

She and her classmates got to wear their costumes to school that day. She was a very sleepy butterfly before school.

I introduced Benjamin to the best food/word on Earth...chocolate! I think he likes it!

Please no more candy! (Just kidding)

Every year my extremely talented dad carves our pumpkins. He takes a lot of pride in this and so do I. This year he had his hands full considering that he had three to carve. It's just too bad that we don't get to enjoy them for a longer time before they rot!

"Oh look! A Dora puntin! My big puntin!"

From left to right: McKenzie's bird, Benjamin's blood-dripping initials, and ME's Dora.

Do you think she's as proud as her Dandy was?

My attempt to take ME's picture before we went to the Parrish's Halloween party.

To celebrate Halloween, we first planned to take ME on a hayride in my parent's neighborhood; however, someone didn't take a nap that day and was a little cranky when it was time to go on the hayride. So we just met VeVe, LaLa, Mama Sam and her cousin to show off the kiddos' costumes.

This was our trick...a family photo.

After that, we headed over to the Parrish's house to play with all of the kids. This was Benjamin's first "outing" besides going to the doctor. I don't think it bothered him at all.

"Please tell everyone to be quiet so I can sleep!"

ME enjoyed telling all of the trick-or-treaters "bye guys".

My little caterpillar.

Even during all of the fun, ME took time to love on her caterpillar .


A few of many attempts to get a picture of all the kids. Poor Sydney needed 10 arms just to hold the babies. I think it was funnier to see all of the adults trying to get the pictures. :)

Thanks, Sydney, for entertaining all of the little ones. They love you!

ME "wore many hats" throughout the night...

Halloween is exhausting!

Meeting Daddy Mike

I can't post about the grandparents without talking about all of them. Daddy Mike flew in the week after Benjamin was born. Although Benjamin and I weren't able to venture out with him, I know ME had a great time (I know this because she calls out Daddy Mike everytime she sees his picture now). Thank you for all of his goodies!

Benjamin teaching his Daddy Mike how to take a break from the Big Apple.

ME showing Daddy Mike how to love on her baby.