Stepping Stones Parade

Rosemary's preschool had a little parade of all the kids dressed up on Thursday. Parade here is used very loosely, essentially the kids just walked in a circle...twice. But that was pretty good for four year olds and younger.

Ben and I waited outside in the cold for the parade to start. Jonathan couldn't make it so I attempted to record it on video and take photos at the same time. It was interesting. And that perhaps explains the photos below. They're not that great, but not too bad either.

Rosemary was not in her best of moods. I think it was a combination of being up late the night before and the candy. She's usually pretty cheery and not one to always have to be with mommy. Despite the fussiness, I think she did a great job.

Walking around with one of the teachers. (Hi, Lark! Totally didn't realize you were in the shot when I took this.)

Saying hi to mom and Baby Ben.

Her classmates

(Well, some of them, at least Rosemary wasn't the only one crying).

Afterwards, we went through the pumpkin patch one last time.

Rosemary's favorite new dog. We let her watch a Charlie Brown show last week and she really seemed to like Snoopy.

Fall Festival

Wednesday night we went to Harvest's Fall Festival. During that week, Rosemary had seen Brian working on getting the room ready for the event and was very excited to actually be going. Jonathan went right to the church from work so I got to get the kids ready on my own. That was an adventure!

First, I needed to finish the pie for the pie competition. I was making a peanut butter and hot fudge pie and Rosemary wanted to help. She came over with her little chair and stood between me and the counter. She then proceeded to sneeze...on the pie. So here was my dilemma--take the pie and likely no one would know but potentially give a number of people at church a cold, or just leave it at home. We left it at home.

Rosemary got to lick the coolwhip bowl. That was just the start of the sweets for the night.

After I finished the pie, I put it in the fridge then went to get the kids ready. As I was putting Rosemary's shirt on, she pulled off one of the sleeves so I ended up just safety pinning it on for the night. Then I got Ben ready.

Here they are!

Buzz Lightyear and Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl

She looked really cute and I think she liked the costume. I'm so happy it turned out okay. We made the pants out of an old pair she had last year and just hot glued the cow print on, I found the shirt at a consignment store and added the yellow felt and yarn, I had the hat from an event at UF Housing, Rosemary helped make her belt buckle, then I found the shoes at Ross and she can wear those other places. Besides the shoes, her whole outfit was less than $5.


Buzz Lightyear was easy to make too. Ben had a longsleeve white onesie that I just added the felt to. His cost about $1.

Jessie waiting for the evening to kick off.

Me and Buzz

Rosemary just kinda skipped the games and went right for the prizes.

Her favorite spot of the night. She would keep going back for another heart on her cheek.

Bam Bam (Evan), Jessie, and Deena (Jen's mom) at one of the games

Jon Breman brought his tractor and trailer out for a hayride around the neighborhood. It was cold!

Rosemary loved the ride. As we were getting out she said, I want to go again!

A weekend of illness

Jonathan had Friday off of work to celebrate UF's homecoming. Becky, Steve, and Abby were supposed to come visit, but that morning Rosemary got really fussy, wouldn't eat lunch, then threw up. Such fun. I took her temperature (with the promise of a popsicle afterwards) and it was over 100. She got some Tylenol and by lunch on Saturday was back to normal. Unfortunately, by that time, Ben and I were fighting colds. We were bummed we didn't get to hang out with our friends.

In other news, Rosemary started calling me "Mama" this weekend. I've always been "Mom" or "Mommy" so I'm not sure where "Mama" came from, but it sounds sweet.

Also on Saturday, Ben started laughing. It was so adorable. Rosemary was fake laughing at dinner and it was cracking Ben up. She kept saying, "Laugh, Baby Ben. Laugh!"


Jonathan and Rosemary took advantage of the nice weather on Saturday and went outside to climb trees. Rosemary's a pretty fearless tree climber. Hmm...wonder which one of us she gets that from.

Pumpkin Patch

Rosemary's preschool has a pumpkin patch. It's really cute and a lot of fun, but almost impossible to bypass when I pick her up when school is out. Not only are there lots of pumpkins, but there's a bounce house and Rosemary wants to jump in it everyday before we head home.

I wanted to get a pic of the kids together, but Rosemary was off and in the bounce house before I could get Ben out of the stroller. At least she sat for the shot below!

Looks like he's mid-roll

This is so much fun!

The guys

Check out these handsome guys.

Family and a Festival

Last week, we went up to High Springs to have breakfast with Jonathan's parents and Tim's family. They were there for a church conference so it was nice to meet up with them for the morning. Rosemary spent a few days with Tim and Michelle's family while my parents were in the hospital and had so much fun. She was very excited to see her cousins again.

Breanna and Rosemary
Rosemary chased after Matthew and Olivia.

On the way back from our walk, Rosemary and Sarah hitched a ride with Tim.

That afternoon, we went to the Butterfly Festival. We went a two years ago when Rosemary was a baby. (Check out that post here). It was a smaller event than we remembered, but Rosemary seemed to really enjoy herself.

Rosemary picked up a butterfly mask and set of antennae inside.

Ben at 3 Months

In the midst of the last few crazy weeks, I managed to not post Benjamin's 3 month update. So here it is.

Benjamin is still an amazingly good baby. Everyday I feel so blessed because of this little boy. Last week was not an easy week with trips back and forth to the hospital and spending most of his time in his car seat. He did incredibly well. Thankfully, he also remained healthy. I would pray as we walked through the hospital halls that he wouldn't catch anything!

We didn't have a 3 month check up so I don't have exact stats, but my guess is that he's over 15 lbs. now. Such a nice sized baby. He moved up to 3-6 months clothes last week and this week I bagged up all of the 0-3 month ones (they hardly look worn!) and put them away to either store or return to friends. In the midst of this, I found that he only has one 3-6 month pair of pajamas. I'll be going shopping for those!

His sleep habits are great. Ben takes a short morning nap at the church then takes a really long afternoon nap (around 3 hours). That got a little bit off last week, but he seems to be settling back into that now. Nights are still around 12 hours.

In other news, we've switched to cloth diapers for Ben. Our friends Ashley, Jen, Katie, and Christine helped get me started by answering my questions and so far I really like it. I was concerned about the laundry part, but since the part of laundry that I hate is the folding part and you really don't "fold" diapers, it isn't too bad. He's got 6 bumGenius', 12 Chinese prefolds, and 3 Thirsties covers. I also made some cloth wipes from an old receiving blanket that I cut up then overcast the edges on the sewing machine. I just couldn't figure out a way to get rid of the disposable ones easily so I thought I'd give cloth ones a whirl. So far, I like them too. Today was my first day of no leaks in the prefolds. Woohoo! As far as Ben's concerned, I don't think he notices a difference.

And finally, below are his three month photos with the alligator from October 2.

This is very Ben...calm and happy.

Home

Mom and Dad are both home from the hospital. Dad came home last night and Mom just came home late this afternoon. Both are doing well, but continued prayer for good recoveries and adapting to some of the changes would be appreciated.

Thanks so much for the many prayers that were lifted up for my parents and for us over the last week. We appreciate them and you.

Dad's Surgery

My dad had his surgery today and everything went just as the doctors had hoped. Based on what the surgeon saw, he believes that all of the cancer was removed. Praise God! Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement.

My mom's doing much better but is still in the hospital. They'll take my mom down to see my dad tomorrow. We're getting to know our way around the hospital really well. :-)

One down, one to go

Update on my mom....

My mom just got out of surgery and they're getting her ready in her recovery room. Everything went really well. They got the filter in really quickly and were able to get all of the clots in her leg in just one surgery. There was a concern that they may need to do more than one, but that's not the case! She'll be here for a few more days...the doctor didn't say how much longer. But the doctors and nurses are saying that it went really really well so thank you so much for your prayers! We'll be back again Wednesday for my dad. Pray that his surgery is just as successful.

Prayers for my Mom and Dad

Tomorrow (Sunday) my mom will be having surgery to deal with some blood clots in her left leg and, most likely, her stomach. As some of you know, within the last three months my mom has been diagnosed with PMR and Lupus. The blood clots are a side effect of the lupus and if left could be life threatening.

On Wednesday, my dad will have surgery to have a kidney removed. About 3 weeks ago, doctors found cancer. The good news with that surgery is that once the kidney is removed, the doctors believe that the cancer will be entirely gone.

My mom will be moved tomorrow so that she's at the same hospital as my dad. We're down with them now and my brother is flying in later tonight. We believe in the power of prayer and just ask that you could lift them up in the days to come. Thanks!

Fire Truck, Fire Truck, Zooming Down the Street

Yesterday, MOPS put together a field trip for the kids and moms to a local fire station. It was just around the corner from the church so we took a break and headed over. Ben hung out in the sling the whole time, but Rosemary soaked everything in.

The fire fighter talked about getting down and getting out when there's smoke, then we got to walk through the station and then we saw a fire fighter in all of his gear. Rosemary didn't want to get too close to get a picture with him, but when they opened up the fire truck, she was one of the first to go through. She liked it so much, she went back around and got in line to go again.

The fire fighter explained that when there's smoke, you "Get down and get out."

Rosemary enjoyed going through the fire truck and getting a hat.

Future fire fighter? Maybe!

The one that got away...

A few weekends ago, we went to one of UF's Family Fishing Days. Rosemary likes to pretend she's fishing so we thought it would be fun to do. Secretly, I wanted to go because I've never caught a fish. After fishing an hour and a half on a stocked pond, the same is still true. I did get a bite, but the fish managed to break my line (and take the hook and bobber with it) before I could get it in. One of the guys on the pond with us called it a "monster."
Jonathan was teaching Rosemary about her fishing pole.

It was a beautiful day out. A little warm, but still nice.

Rosemary would lose interest in fishing and run around where we were standing. I think she still enjoyed it. Afterwards, they had a free lunch and doorprizes.

Our little setup. Baby Ben slept most of the time in the shade of his stroller.

Rosemary took this picture. I think it might be the first one she's ever taken. Not too bad. It's kind of artsy.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday, dear Jonathan

Happy birthday to you!

Benjamin is 2 months old!

We are blessed parents. God has given us two wonderful little ones that are a joy. I was nervous before Benjamin was born because I thought that since I'd already had one good baby, it was too much to hope for to have two good babies. But Benjamin is just as sweet as Rosemary was as a baby. He's a great eater, great sleeper, and just seems to have a calm and sweet spirit. I love this little boy!

Two month stats:
Length: 22 1/2 in.
Weight: 11 lbs. 15 oz.
Head circumference: 41 cm
Hours sleeping a night: 12
Feedings: 5-6