First Day of Preschool

Rosemary started preschool last week. She's only going for two days a week and I'm working during that time at the church. Rosemary's never been one that's had a hard time adjusting when I drop her off for childcare so this has been no different. She's been very excited about school.

Silver Springs

The Saturday of Labor Day weekend we headed to Ocala for a day at Silver Springs. Rosemary thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though Jonathan and I were probably a little less than impressed, it was a really fun day because she had so much fun.

Rosemary got to feed a giraffe a cracker.

One of the highlights was riding the carosel. Today (9 days later) she was telling us about how I rode an elephant and Jonathan rode on a rooster.

We rode the glass bottom boats while it rained. This was a very exciting part of the day since it gave Rosemary a chance to see fish up close. We saw one larger sized fish, my guess would be about 18 inches or so, that was bigger than most of the other fish. Rosemary gasped and called it a whale.

Ben seemed to have a good time too. He mostly chilled in the stroller or in the Bjorn with Jonathan.

More Newborn Shoot Photos

Below are a few more pictures from Benjamin's first photo shoot--we got a few with big sis too.

If you're in Gainesville or Orlando and need a photographer, check out Jaime Swanson. She did all of the pics and was so wonderful to work with. Her website is www.jlsphotographystudio.com and she is awesome! I couldn't be more pleased. I mean, I look at these pictures and can't believe how great everyone looks.

Benjamin Rolls

Yesterday, Benjamin rolled over from his back to his front. I think this time it's here to stick.

Banana Bread, Oven Mitts, and the Enormous Giraffe

Rosemary's doing really well as a new big sister. Of course, it's nice to have some one on one Rosemary time too. She's such a fun little girl.

We were cooped up in the house most of the weekend as Tropical Storm Fay came through. To help pass the time, Rosemary and I made some banana bread.

I'm not sure how this started, but those are oven mitts on her feet. (And this is probably one of those pictures that will be so embarrassing to her as she gets older but it's hilarious now...)

This is for our nephew, Ian, but Rosemary's enjoying it in the meantime. I asked her what its name was. She came over a little later and told me its name was "Little" because it's big (at least I think that's what she said). I didn't know two year olds got irony.

Family Time

Benjamin is all smiles.

Zzzz....

First thing in the morning.

Cousins

On their way back to Augusta, Elizabeth, Ezekiel, and Ian stopped by for a night. Ezekiel and Rosemary are just 2 and a half months apart in age so they got along really well...pretty much they're partners in crime. Here they were sharing a banana for a snack.

Baby Olympics Fan

Benjamin sports his red, white, and blue and shows his support of the US gymnastics team.

Weekend in Longwood

A few weekends ago, we headed down to Longwood to see my brother and for a "Meet Benjamin" party hosted by Becky.

Rosemary was 'reading' to Ben.

Benjamin meets his Uncle Jason.

A few of the party guests. I only got a few pictures from the shower and some were blurry, so I'll need to get some copies from Becky to post more.

Me and Becky after the party.

Summer Highlights

Our summer is just about over. Jonathan starts back to class next week and Rosemary starts preschool the week after that. It's been a good summer. Here are a few of the highlights for me, in no particular order:

1. Benjamin's birth. We're blessed with another wonderful baby (who is now sleeping about 8 hours a night). Even the extra time we had to wait for his arrival wasn't bad.
2. Five Year Anniversary. Jonathan and I celebrated our five year anniversary on July 19. We went to dinner and a movie while my mom watched Rosemary and Benjamin. We plan on doing something more later this year, but it was nice to just have a night out together.
3. Grandma Time. Both of our moms were so helpful this summer with getting ready for Benjamin's arrival and helping once we were home. The kids are very blessed to have grandmas who care about them so much.
4. Home time. It's actually felt a little like summer vacation since I was on a short maternity leave. It's nice being home all day with the kids and spending time with Jonathan.
5. The Olympics. I'm enjoying them so much. We missed the last few since we didn't get NBC, but we haven't really missed a night this time. Going to at least one Olympic event in person is definitely on my bucket list.
6. Longwood visit. I got to see my brother a few weekends ago and Becky hosted a meet baby Ben shower for my friends in Longwood. It was nice to get away and catch up with family and friends.
7. Wipe Out. It's a little embarrassing how much Jonathan and I enjoyed this show. I honestly thought that it might send me into labor because I was laughing so hard. I was in tears just about every week.

Announcements

Below are the announcements we did for Benjamin. I found some I liked online then had some fun with Photoshop Elements. I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I just did all three.

Benjamin at One Month

Benjamin hit the month mark this past Saturday. In some ways, it's hard to believe a month has already passed, in others, because so much has happened, it seems impossible to believe it's been that short!

Ben's really just a great baby. I didn't weigh him at the month milestone, but we like to say he's a "good sized" baby...not too big, not too small. He's sleeping consistently between 6 and 7 1/2 hours at night (I haven't had to get up in the night the past several nights) so we are once again very blessed in that respect. I think we caught a glimmer of a smile on Monday, but they're hard to catch. He looks very sweet with a smile.

You'll notice though, that when he sleeps he kinda scowls. This is just like Jonathan! The second picture is a photo of Jonathan when he was about Ben's age. See the similarities?


And finally, just like big sis, we're getting gator pictures each month.

Benjamin's Newborn Pics

We had Benjamin's newborn pictures done yesterday and had so much fun. Jaime (the photographer and now our new friend!) came by for the shoot, which was nice since I didn't have to pack up the two kids and be someplace at a certain time. :-)

She did an awesome job. Below are two of the pics that she's shared with us already from the session.


Jaime has some more of Ben on her website too--www.jlsphotographystudio.com--just go to galleries and then click babies.

Weekend with the Pate's

Steve, Becky, and Abby came to visit us this past weekend. It was great getting to spend time together. Abby has gotten so much bigger since we were last together in Orlando for the character breakfast. This time, I think since they were older, the girls played together really well. Rosemary taught Abby all about jumping on the bed.

I should have taken more pictures...I don't have a good one of the two girls together, but below are a few from the weekend.

We attempted to learn how to play LOST-The Game. Steve and Jonathan continued until the end.

Jonathan holding Ben.

Rosemary and Becky

Abby seemed to really like sitting on Rosemary's bed.

Dancing with Dad

The other night, I had a song stuck in my head that I'd heard on the radio earlier in the day so we turned it on at home and Rosemary started dancing right away. As the song ended, she would say, Play it again! After 3 or 4 times of listening to the song, I finally got the camera out to record a little bit of the dancing, which by that point had turned into lots of jumping.

Does the song make anyone else think of a VW bus and a workman named 'Roger'?

Bedtime

Benjamin's taking part in Rosemary's bedtime routine now too.

Benjamin Rolled Over

So I don't think that this is something that's going to stick quite yet, but yesterday Benjamin rolled over from his tummy to his back. He's a pretty coordinated 2 and a half week old.

Family Time

We've had some good time at home these last few weeks as we adjust to being a family of four.

Our most recent family photo after a walk around the neighborhood. It was almost 7 pm, so I'm not sure why Rosemary was wearing sunglasses...

Vote for Benjamin!

(Thanks to Jason & Nikki for the cute onesie)

Rosemary enjoys holding her baby brother and I enjoy holding them both.

Thank you, Ms. Betsy, for the balloons! They're a hit.

"My Baby Ben"

That's what Rosemary calls her little brother when she introduces him to people. He's "my baby Ben." She's really doing well adjusting to having a baby in the family. I'm not sure that she understands the permanence yet, but thankfully she's generally pretty gentle with him.





Benjamin had his two week check-up today and he's up to 8 lbs. 11 oz.--that's 13 ounces in 10 days--and doing well. This boy is an eater. He's also a pretty good sleeper. I've been getting about 4 hours straight at least once a night with him and I've found the perfect way to make late night feedings bearable--youtube. (With Rosemary, I had tried reading but couldn't manage to hold the baby and a book so I watched the news--about 8 times a day it seemed). This time, I've thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South (thanks to Lark for the recommendation) and Becoming Jane over the past few nights. Since clips typically are less than 10 minutes, it's easier to make my way back to bed at the end of 2 or 3 segments than if I had to stop a movie. As strange as it seems, I think I actually look forward to the middle of the night feedings this way.

Benjamin is one week old today and it has really been a wonderful first week. It's hard to believe that just last week we were being induced. (And as a side note-if I had the choice between Rosemary's fast labor and Benjamin's induced labor, I'd pick induction in a heartbeat. The fast labor just seemed more intense and scary. The first 4 hours with Benjamin were honestly quite boring...we watched Wimbledon most of the time). Janice has been with us the whole week so we have had lots of help adjusting to life as a family of four.

We had an appointment with our pediatrician on Monday and Benjamin had already gained 4 ounces since leaving the hospital. That wasn't quite back to his birth weight (2 ounces shy) but I would think that by now he is probably back to 8 pounds. Ben is eating well and, surprisingly, sleeping well. The last few nights we've had stretches of 4 or 5 hours. After being pregnant, 4 or 5 hours straight seems like such a long time to sleep so we are thankful for that.

I'm feeling pretty good, although I think that recovery has been a little bit different this time around. I don't feel nearly as tired or emotional, but physically I feel less than normal. I've had to slow down a little bit so it's been nice to have so much help at home. I think it makes things seem not so overwhelming.


This past weekend, both sets of grandparents and Uncle Zach were in town. It was a good visit.



Benjamin got to meet Grandpa Workmaster for the first time this weekend.

We were all feeling pretty good, so we went to church on Sunday. Benjamin stayed in service with us and was pretty quiet. He only fussed a bit during Gordon Lightfoot's "Edmund Fitzgerald" song.

Ben got his first sponge bath at home last night. He did pretty well. I tried to be quick. There's nothing quite like the smell of a just bathed baby.

And big sister Rosemary is doing well too. I'm really proud of her for how she's handling things with a new baby in the house.

This was a picture that I took right before Rosemary headed out with Jonathan to see "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" on the "big scream," as Rosemary calls it. They went yesterday too, but there were problems with the projector that delayed the start of the movie and they ended up leaving before the movie was over so they went back today. She's been talking about Larry Boy on the big scream ever since they got back.