Big News!

Big news from so many different fronts...

1. During bath time in the baby tub, Eli was splashing water all over my kitchen counter/ floor, so has now graduated to the Bath Duck. What a big boy!

2. We pulled my mom's vintage carrom game out of the back of the closet for Ben to "play" with. The copyright date on the instructions are from 1945, so this game has been "played" by many a kid... Ben loves it, even though he isn't following a single rule from the instructions and has made up many a game by himself (mostly involving stacking and knocking over checkers pieces and flicking pieces across the table to knock the others in the pockets).
3. Eli is still a very smiley baby (that's not really big news, but I still wanted to share the next picture anyway...)

4. I became an aunt (again!). Grant Edward was born on Nov 21st! Congrats to Aaron and Rhonda! He's soooo cute! (This isn't a prioritized list - just a chronological one which makes for easier picture editing - otherwise this would have been #1 for sure!!!)

both cousins completely sacked out.

5. Eli is in 6 month clothes (and even some 6-9 month) at 3 months of age.

6. Still smiling.

7. And more smiling.

8. and more...

9. Eli is rolling over consistently now.

10. Ben is still a big goof ball (in a very good way!)

11. We had a great Thanksgiving with Andy's family. Our family has a LOT to be thankful for.

12. We have booked our tix back to MN for X-mas and can't wait to see everyone there!

Back by popular demand...

Both grandma's really liked the last video, so I tried to capture a bit more of the giggling for them.

Andy and I spent all weekend raking and piling leaves. We're still not done. It's supposed to get down to 18 degrees here this week - I can't imagine raking up the rest when they are frozen... Hopefully, we will be able to get them in the trailer before they freeze.

I survived my first week back!

Mt first week back at school went well. I thought I was pretty good at time management, but man, I feel like I have to be an *all-star* time manager to make things flow around here now. I don't know how people with more than 2 kids can ever get anything done... The hardest part is getting out the door in the morning, but now Andy gets up with me and helps get the boys ready which is a big help. I walk out the door with 6 bags (3 large bags and 3 lunchbags), a kid in a car seat and one that needs to be herded to the car. Quite comical really. Except when it's pouring rain. Then it's not really funny. At all.

Some pics of my boys...

Here's a quick video of Eli "playing" with a toy for the first time...

Back at it (again)

Yup - I'm back at it (work, that is...). I have a feeling that the blog will suffer. I used to pick Ben up from daycare *before* his nap, and he would come home and take it here. I used the nice quiet time to check e-mail, pay bills, deal with paperwork, start dinner, blog, etc. Now, with the new daycare (which I really am liking), Ben naps there and then I pick him up... I get no downtime at home until the boys are in bed.

Anyway - It's good to be back at work. It's nice to feel missed - my coworkers have really helped me feel welcome. I forgot how hard teaching is. Wait, let me correct that - The teaching part I can handle, but it's the daily meetings, paperwork, homework requests, getting caught up on health protocols, IEPs and my own goals part that I don't miss... I'll get back in my groove soon enough. The boys are doing well at their daycare - Eli is a pretty big hit with his smiles and coos.

Here's a quick video of Eli and his belly laughs. I could only do one-handed patty-cake, because I was holding the camera... I'll try to get better video of this soon.


With Ben, we have entered the "Why?" phase. I could see it coming... Now it's:

Why is raining, mommy? Why?

Why do I go to daycare, mommy? Why?

Why does mommy have to work? Why?

It's still cute and innocent at this point, but I'm sure there will come a point where I start with the "because I said so" when the "Why's" get a bit test-ier...

Literally...

Ben: Daddy, what this for?
Daddy: We use it to plug a phone into.
Ben: Ohhhh

5 minutes later, Ben appears with his toy cell phone, and...

...well, literally, plugs it in...

The only semi-clear shot of Ben with the pile of leaves.
I have a million like the one below... He doesn't stop for long.
Eli is still as cute as ever and will completely crack up if you do patty cake. Super adorable.