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Ben is 6 months old! Half a year...where did that go?!Length: 27 1/2 inches long 85%
Weight: 16lb 8 oz  30%
Head circumference: 90% (he is a feenstra ;)
So, looks like he didn't gain much weight, it all went to his length! The dr said he looks great, so not to worry about the weight.

He is now officially sitting up. Eating solids galore. He has a pension for sweet potato and apple, but will eat anything. So far I've made broccoli, peas, plums, carrot, sweet potato, squash, apple and banana. He has the best laugh, it's like a squeaky wheeze. It makes me laugh every time he does. He continues to be a very easy going, happy little boy. He loves to grab my face with both his hands and give big open mouth kisses. He is working on holding the sippy cup, still no bottle, but is already showing less and less interest in nursing since we started the solids. Sleeping is going so much better. He goes down between 7-7:30 and doesn't wake up to nurse until 3-4am.

Brooklyn is 2 yrs and 9 months...3 months shy of THREE! Wowza's.

She can spell her name, can count to 30, can identify every letter in the alphabet (except Q & R), loves to tell people that her birthday is August 28th.

Funny brooklynism: we went to a birthday party last sunday. There were 5 or so little girls her age, but she didn't know any of them...at first. She walked right up to all of them and introduced herself "hi, my name's brooklyn, I'm 2 1/2". There is really nothing funnier then watching 2 year old "getting to know each other". There is no easing into conversation, ice breakers or hand shakes. It's a declaration of name, age, perhaps identification of a sibling or parent and then jumping right into a game of some sort. My child is bossy. She was ordering all the other kids around, telling them what they were in the make believe game i.e. pirates, princess, etc.

She disappeared into the house and emerged about 5 minutes later- in an entirely different outfit. She had discovered Paytons (the 5 year old of the house we were at) dress up box. She came charging through the back door in a full on leotard/tutu (on backwards so that both nipples were exposed) and a pair of high heels. I wish I had Matt's face on video. He was dying! It was absolutely priceless. She comes out and declares at the top of her lungs "I look so good!"

As we drove home from the party I could see matt was still thinking about it. He said very casually "no one elses' kid had a wardrobe change, she's like lady gaga". I have since laughed about 80x over that.

Brooklyn memorized her first bible verse, Matthew 7:7. Very proud of herself.

Lot's more updates to come! I have been without a computer since Friday, so soon!! We are officially in our new house though :)

my kids are so funny

My kids crack me up. Brooklyn at the dinner table last night said "dad, can I please have some more bechtables" it sounded very much like bitchtables and matt and I snickered under our breath. Matt said she sounded like a rapper. Then out of the blue she say's "my dad's name is gary". Matt responded "I certainly hope not". We once again burst into laughter. She is big into names right now. The other day shey came downstairs and said "mom, I found a man upstairs (long pause) and his name is matt". Brooklyn, you have so much personality and I love you so very much.
Other things we are big into, our puppies again. All of them have names, lily, spike (some days they are married, sometimes they are brother and sister :), pinkie (most of the time she's the one who has problems (i.e. is in time out, has a boo boo, needs some sort of help), sparkle and midnight. They get swaddled, put to bed, walked on home made leashes, fed and when she's feeling generous...shared with friends!

Other fun things from the past few months I haven't had time to blog about...

Park date with brae in the sun

Playing doctor with benny boy (and yes, she is wearing her leotard)

Super fun birthday party

Goofin around at home

House update: matt went and signed papers yesterday...if all continues to go effortlessly (with much thanks to our amazing realtor Emily Booth) we will be getting key's next tuesday. I am in denial about packing, cleaning, organizing, moving, etc. So I'm sure once monday hits I'll be a bit more uppity, until then that all comes second and I'm going to be outside with my children in the sun all day! Matt just left for his annual guys golf weekend at the coast, so it's me and the crew til tomorrow night.

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There are times, seasons where God reminds me everywhere I look of my long, amazing, rough journey to becoming a mother. The past few days have fit that pattern. Yesterday I made an impromptu trip to a park we never go to. I knew the kids needed some fresh air, so on the way home from the store I just decided to stop. There was another mom and her little guy there. One thing led to another and we ended up talking the entire time I was there. She asked how far apart B & B were and then said they were trying. She very openly told me she had been pregnant but lost the baby. Well, you know me...not shy at all, so I asked one simple question to see if she wanted to talk about it and the flood gates opened. She lost a baby boy at 16 weeks very suddenly. We shared both our stories and then she said "I am glad to know there's hope". She and her husband are now having trouble getting pregnant again, and she was feeling discouraged. I drove away with a heavy heart, yet encouraged...if that makes any sense.

Luke had already been on my mind...I was talking last week with some friends and mis-spoke when telling a story about ben, calling him luke. I felt foolish of course, but sometimes that just happens.

Yesterday I got a text from one of my closest friends, who is due in a matter of weeks, that her baby is measuring on the small side and they have ordered an ultrasound to take a closer look. My heart knows all is well, as this baby, like mine is a miracle child and God has huge plans for her...but in my pleading prayers to him since I got the text I have been experiencing only what I would imagine post traumatic stress would be like. Flash backs to the times I have laid on the examining table and heard the word's "I'm sorry" or "there's nothing we can do", "this doesn't look normal" or the dreaded "there is no heartbeat". If I could make it so no one every had to worry about their unborn baby I would. If I could take the pain of every stranger or friend who has lost a child; and still feels hopeless or alone, I would. BUT I know God uses these moments and seasons of "unknown" to teach us to trust Him completely. To rest in His goodness and peace.

The song blessings by laura story came on today in the car.
"What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy and what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms the hardest nights are your mercies in disguise."

Listening to that verse of the song while driving the tears began to roll down my cheeks. I kept thinking about Luke, what if he had lived? What if he had beat the odds that were stacked against him, then what? Would he have lived in the hospital for the duration of his life? Would he have been able to come home after surgery? Would he have had any semblance of a "normal" life? My greatest disappointment will always be that he and the other babies we lost are not here, that they will never smile at Brookyn the way Ben does. But...it is amazing to see God still using my disappointments and the achings I've experienced to pray more for others and find fresh appreciation for His mercy.

a simple day

I took the kids up to the nature observatory today (right down the street from our house) and we spent nearly two hours wandering the trails. So simple. So fun. 

Ben fell asleep and Brooklyn & I bird watched, played in the dirt, picked flowers. She kept picking up huge dirt clods, telling me they were "a birds nest". Love the imagination these days. She also saw a fellow nature go-er and yelled out "hey, is that nice lady going to say hi to us" at the top of her lungs. The nice lady turned around and was a dude with a pony tail. Hey, she just called it like she saw it. He was actually very sweet and let her look through his binoculars at the heron's on the water.

Wonderful Monday.

mother's day weekend

The kid's and I did the lake run on Saturday while matt was at class. Cris came to help me out and cheer Bethany and I on in the 5k, and Chuck and Lisa were there to cheer and help as well. Very thankful for all the extra hands.

Ready to get our race on!

All the kiddos in their tee's

Before (no after shot :)

They had a bouncy slide, bubbles, face painting and an arts and crafts table!

Right before the kid's dash! She did awesome!!

Then we had a birthday party that afternoon, so to say the least we were all ready for bed by 7. My gift to myself for mother's day was going to bed right after the kids...and yes, it was glorious! Ben went in for some snuggle time with daddy and brooklyn.

Sunday morning we woke up, went to church, grocery shopping (not glamorous, but it was so great to have matt there to help), then home for nap and matt whipped up the most amazing sandwich EVER. Smoked salmon and cream cheese with fresh herbs and red onion topped with a fried egg on a baguette roll. mmmmmmmm. seriously mouth watering.  

Then we had a low key dinner with family. Wonderful, wonderful weekend.

sweetness

Life is so very sweet...and so precious. A few weeks back a dear friend of Matt's from college passed into eternity very suddenly and FAR too soon. He was in his early 30's healthy, newly married and like we read throughout God's word, he was here one day and then gone in a moment.

To say the least, the news rocked a lot of people including myself and Matt. My heart has been aching for his precious bride of only 7 months (sweethearts for 10). It has caused me to pause long and hard several times and think about how precious every single day is.

A friend reminded me a while back about this song...and it is so very true. You all know my sentiments and feelings on being a full time mommy to two little one's, it's AMAZING and HARD. I can so easily be swept away by the emotions of frustration and feeling frazzled over the sweetness of every day moments.

We were challenged yesterday at bible study to find the things (even the teeny tinies that would usually be overlooked) to be thankful for every day. I felt inspired! Instead of shaking my head in disgust at the poopy diaper that is up my son's back in the middle the play boutique with no diaper and wipes (my bad) I could just simply treasure the ear to ear grin of joy on Ben's face while he's laying there.

Today I am blessed by the sunshine, my daughter thanking me at the dinner table last night for taking her to the park, my husband's words of comfort to me while I cried, baby slobber on my cheek from Benny kisses, a great conversation with an old friend (even if it was interuppted 10x ;), my mother in law who came and practically packed my entire kitchen in 1 hour in prep for the move, the smile on Ben's face when he see's me come into his room first thing in the morning, the smell of spring, the sound of the keyboard as I type in a quiet house and the SUN!

So much to smile at and be thankful for!

girlfriends

We met Dionne, Remi, Taylor, Kristin and Kali at the park the other day and had a great park date! These girls are so in love with each other and their personalities when together really shine. It's fun for us mama's to remember back to when they were all just babies and Tay was a toddler. Now they are all big girls! Ben is going to be in hog heaven with all his sister's good looking friends come high school.

The girls last summer

big girls this summer