Family Vacation!

We left the rising waters at home to enjoy our first vacation as a family! We arrived at the beach on Monday and have had many days of fun in the sun. Hannah has had some classic quotes since we arrived. Upon seeing a boat in the ocean she said, "Mommy, I see Prince Eric's ship. I told you Ursula wouldn't be at the beach!" If you can't tell everything in her life revolves around Little Mermaid right now! One night we took a walk on the beach, and she was very excited to see the moon and all the stars. Her response to the night sky was, "Daddy, I think the stars are the moon's daughters." By day 3 we realized it was much easier to hit the pool during the day and do the beach thing in the evening. Ben enjoyed hanging out in the pool, and Hannah started swimming by herself with her "swimmies". She, of course, told us that she was swimming like a mermaid. Hannah also made a friend at the pool named David. She was very excited when David was at the pool 2 days in a row and kept swimming over to him to say hello. They had a lot in common because David had a baby sister close in age to Ben. Overall, we have had a fun week. Vactioning with 2 young kids is far from relaxing, but Jay and I have cherished the time we have spent with the kids and each other!

The Divided House...

Yesterday was the start of the college football season, so we all dressed in our favorite team colors to celebrate! The girls wore the AU gear and the boys wore the UA shirts. Hannah was very excited to dress up, but was less interested in watching the games with her Daddy. Ben is interested anytime the tv is turned on!! It won't be long until our family of 4 start going to the games together. Luckily both teams came out on the winning side yesterday!

The Laughing Boy....

Ben has really been showing off his personality this past month. He is always happy, smiling, and laughing. It doesn't take much to get him to smile. Hannah loves playing with her brother even more now that he is sitting up on his own. She is starting to understand that little brothers like to make a mess of all her toys! This is a video of Ben from the other night laughing away at Mommy.

5 months old!

Ben turned 5 months old last week. He is really starting to show his personality! He LOVES to watch Champ, and he is even more entertained when Oakley stays at our house. Hannah and I got out the animal train today and Ben was excited to watch the train roll on the floor and hold the animals in his hands. His most favorite thing these days is eating! He has tried carrots and squash and likes them both. He tries to grab our food off the table and put it in his mouth as well. He just can't wait to be big like his sister! Ben has been working on sitting up on his own. For the past week, he has been getting into the frog/tripod position. It seems like today he has finally got the hang of things and can hold himself up without assistance. We still stay pretty close by just in case! We are enjoying this independence before he starts crawling!!

Airborne Ranger Video

Airborne Ranger Shirts

Baboo sent Hannah and

Ben airborne ranger t-shirts. Hannah was so excited to try the shirt on, and couldn't wait to take a picture with Ben. She even made a special video message for her Baboo!

Ben's Baptism

Ben's baptism was at our church last Sunday. With the new summer schedule, it was a small service but Ben did wonderful. We were surprised because he was up at 5am that morning, but he was so happy throughout the entire experience. Hannah got to walk with him as he was introduced to the church. She is such an amazing big sister.

More Ballet Pictures...

We bought Hannah a special bow for her hair. During the performance, Ben decided to

poop and it leaked out of the diaper all over Jay's shorts. When Jay got up to change Ben, Hannah stopped dancing and said, "Where is my Daddy going?" It was too sweet!

Ballet

Hannah had her ballet performance on Friday afternoon. She did a fantastic job! We could not have been more proud of her.

4 Months Old!

Ben is officially 4 months old today! At his doctor's appointment yesterday he was 18 pounds 6 ounces. He is a BIG boy!!! It won't be long before he is crawling and chasing his sister all over the place. Hannah helped Mommy give Ben some cereal, and, go figure, he LOVES it! Hannah asked me who the big sister was when she was a baby because she can't imagine Mommy taking care of a baby without her help. Ben always has toys around him and his own personal entertainer to make him laugh. They will both be going to Miss Gloria's in a few short weeks, and I know he will have a smooth transition because big sis will be there to "take care of him" while Mommy is at work. She is already telling him about all the new friends he is going to make.

4th of July

We spent 4th of July with the Woods at their family's lake house. Hannah and Ella loved "fishing" off the dock with their noodles, and swimming in their "boats" with the Dads. Hannah was working on her tan in the boat as well. It's always a great time when we get these girls together. Hopefully Ben and Lily will be just as close....until they're teenagers ;)

Memorial Day

I just realized that I never posted these pictures!! We visited with Baboo at the beach over Memorial Day weekend. Hannah had a blast playing in the waves and building sand castles. She got lots of fun beach toys and found lots of shells. We are going to do a fun project in the next few days using all the shells she found!

Ballet Camp

Hannah started ballet camp this morning. She was so excited! She was up at 7am ready to go. Ben and I dropped her off, and she told me that she was going to make a new friend at camp today. When I left, she was sitting on a magic carpet waiting for class to start. I can't wait to hear all about it and see her new moves!

The glove....

Hannah has started the process of no longer sucking her thumb. After talking with her, we realized that she only does it when she is at home. She wants to be a big girl, so she is wearing a glove when she sleeps to help her quit the habit. We had a rough first night, but she has been doing well ever since. She has only fallen off the wagon once! :-)

VBS Performance

On Sunday Hannah performed the songs she learned at VBS. She stood up in front of lots of people and sang nice and loud and did the hand motions. We were so proud of her!

VBS and Bear takes a swim

Hannah is attending VBS this week. Jay and I were disappointed when we dropped her off on Monday because she is one of the older kids in the class and we were afraid she wouldn't get the full experience. We turned into "those parents" and talked to the teacher about moving her class, but the next class was full. Hannah told us that she had lots of fun and wanted to go back today, so she will finish out the week. As long as she's happy, we can deal with our disappointment :-) She even made a new friend and remembered his name!! While Hannah was at VBS this morning, I heard a funny noise in the yard. When I looked outside Bear was swimming in Hannah's pool. Splashing and having lots of fun. Needless to say, the pool is now full of grass and dirt!

Typical Day....

Here is a typical day at our house. Ben sitting in his excer-saucer while Hannah makes the toys move, make noise, etc... Hannah decides to start dancing and Ben spits up.....it's so silly, but so perfect :)

All the Single Ladies...

We were driving to get something to eat tonight and this song came on the radio. Hannah started dancing and singing in the car, so, of course, Mommy did too! Ben and Daddy were looking at us like we had lost our minds :-)

Hannah's Favorite Song

Hannah has heard this song on the radio and loves to sing along. She even sings the song around the house. We downloaded it tonight and let her make a music video. She loved watching herself on the TV after we were done. Enjoy!

Ben at 3 months

We can't get over the fact that Ben is already 3 months old! He is at such a fun age right now. He loves laying on his mat and hitting the bird and duck toys. He laughs and laughs at the singing star, and he loves when big sister joins him and "shows" him how to play. He has finally settled into a routine of 2 naps a day and a solid 8:30 bedtime. He sleeps all night long and lounges in the bed with Hannah and me when we are too lazy to get up in the morning! We feel SO busy with 2 kids, but we are loving every minute of it!