Whew...

Merry, merry to you! Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2011!

We are taking a breather after a jam-packed December. I returned to working 1.5 days a week for 3 weeks (before having two weeks off for winter break), Zach closed on one of his major projects over the past year at work and we have attempted to keep pace with all the holiday hoopla with the addition of a new baby. This Christmas was made all the better because we have our babies to share it with, not to mention families we love.

Bennett, Camden and Cooper enjoying the Santa Tracker and snacks. Around lunchtime on Christmas Eve, Santa could be spotted near Russia on the tracker. Camden was so adorable...continually updating us on Santa's location. Camden and Carson are at the incredibly magical age of believing...Bennett and Cooper are not far behind. It makes me so excited for Christmas mornings to come.


Cooper and Bennett escaping our attempted photography session of all the grandbabies and family. Bennett talks about his cousins almost daily.

Christmas morning!!! Bennett was so excited to play with his train track. Success! He has carried Thomas around in his pocket for the past few days.

More train play. In his diaper (or as Bennett calls it, miaper.)

Christmas packaging is equally fun as the gift inside. He tried tying Poppy up with a ribbon on Christmas morning. Truth be told, Bennett was not into unwrapping gifts. He was quite excited to play with new toys once someone else did the opening.

Forgetful Mommy

I think I can chalk it up to trying so hard to be so organized...keeping all the balls in the air at the same time...wanting so much not to allow one to drop. Well...the ball that I can't seem to remember is the camera. I keep leaving it at home! As with most families this time of year, we have not slowed down. Santa visits, playing in the snow, fun at the Jolly Days and Yule Slide exhibit, cookie baking, cookie decorating, Bennett singing "twinkle, twinkle little star...", frequent smiles from our little peanut...the list continues.

So, we improvise with grainy pictures from our phones or borrowed pictures from much more organized friends and family. Above, Bennett and Elly Rose visiting Santa at our annual Brown County Christmas Tree Party. This year we had the added magic of snow falling outside the 100+ year-old log cabin, while Santa held our babies indoors.

Link to the last 2 years of pictures: http://fordupdates.blogspot.com/2009/12/beloved-holiday-tradition-for-zach-and.html

I had my money on Bennett not going within 10 feet of the big man, but he surprised us all by obliging when asked if he would like to sit on his lap. Maybe not particularly excited, but not screaming.

Elly Rose winking at Santa to make sure he knows just what to leave in her stocking.

Bennett loves to help in the kitchen, so I knew cookie baking and a slumber party at memaw and papaw's house would be a hit! It was...he rolled the dough, pressed the star cookie-cutter (his favorite one) and carefully moved the cut-out over to the tray for baking. We also attended a neighborhood cookie decorating party for the tots...so much fun. We love our neighborhood.

We can't wait to see family and just enjoy one another over the next several days.

Tree and Snow

We finished decorating the tree today. A week-long process at our home this year. Bennett helped by carefully placing a few ornaments, although I am certain he has taken far more off than he has put on the tree, and we have only had one casualty thus far...

While I have always loved snow in the winter (mostly just the month of December), in recent years, it has simply meant lots of shoveling, cleaning off my car and worrying about Fenny's bathroom routine. Today...the snow meant so much more and it made all the shoveling worth it one hundred times over.

Elly Rose enjoying the snow from the comforts of our sofa. Our neighborhood resembled a winter wonderland this morning.


Bennett sporting his mittens, boots, snow pants, winter coat, hat and other layers...he could barely walk.

Let the sledding begin! There was no stopping once daddy started...it turned out to be an exhausting work-out for Zach, but it produced so many smiles and giggles from Bennett. Just like every other outdoor adventure Bennett has experienced, he LOVES the snow!!

Look at that smile! It makes me wish for snow days everyday. I love weekends where we do a little hibernating and just hang as a family...no rushing out the door. Just us spending time together, enjoying the warmth of the holiday season.

One Month.

Little miss Elly Rose is already more than one month old! If only we could make time stand still...I keep taking mental pictures of her sweet little smiles and Bennett's "hug you" and "careful mommy...careful daddy" phrases that literally melt us. Can't get enough of these two right now...

Elly Rose cuddled (and cold) in my childhood doll cradle. Wonder what Bennett is thinking?

Warm and sleeping...her one month appointment went well. She was alert and cooperative for the doctor. She is such a good little eater and sleeper right now...hoping it continues. She weighed 9.5 pounds and nearly 22 inches long - so big, so quickly!


Our precious little girl with a full tummy.



Celebrating her one-month Birthday with miss Julia. They bore one another to sleep. The mommies could not have been happier. We had 90 minutes of uninterrupted conversation!!!

Worker Bee

Bennett's 2-year well-visit was last week and there is always a little anxiety around this for us as parents. So thankful to have this healthy little guy and always a bit scared to hear something other than "...he is perfect." And there is the stress around Bennett's own anxiety upon just entering the office. We reach new levels of sobbing once the nurse calls his name and we proceed to the exam room. Bennett surprised me by remaining calm and conversing with Dr. Cumming after no less than 15 minutes of crying while we waited. Best part of the visit, he is healthy. Two-year stats are 26 1/2 pounds and 34.5 inches tall.

This past year has been an amazing learning experience for all of us. We are continually surprised by how inquisitive Bennett is and his ability to mimic those around him. He is not only a busy little bee, but quite the worker bee. Constantly wanting to take part in any activity he sees us doing. From hitting a golf or tennis ball to vacuuming, climbing a ladder or spraying cleaner (or in his case water) on a countertop - he demands to be a part.

He takes "cleaning" very seriously. We vacuum the house multiple times a day. He can locate a vacuum anywhere and talks about it and the leafblower almost obsessively.

Here he is "drying" his hair.

...And the beloved leafblower. Actually, it is a bit of love/hate relationship. He does not like the part where Zach is starting it, but once on...he wants to be the operator.

We have found that giving Bennett a "job" is best...cooking, building with blocks, cleaning, running circles throughout the family room and picking up piles of leaves are just some of the ways our two-year-old spends his days.

Birthday Boy.

This past Saturday was our little Bennett's 2nd birthday. Having children of my own brings new meaning to birthdays. They are a celebration of one year ending and a new one beginning - sure to be complete with many more first discoveries, triumphs and trials - but also a celebration of the birth day. I love thinking about the day Bennett's little soul entered this world. I want to hold on to that day - the emotions we experienced - like it was yesterday.

Zach and I are trying to balance this new adventure of two little ones. We wanted to do something special with just Bennett, so Friday during lunch we arranged for Bennett to visit the Nora Fire Station. It was so much fun to see him checking out the big trucks and ladders.

The driver seat was his favorite spot. So many buttons and switches...the firemen were so incredibly kind - allowing him full access to all parts of the trucks.

We attempted to have him wear an actual hat, but they were so heavy on his little head...he wasn't having it. After being there 10 minutes, he warmed right up and was leading us around to where he wanted to sit or climb.

Right before we were leaving the firehouse received a call to check on an alarm. Bennett watched very seriously as the firemen climbed into the truck and turned on the lights and sirens as they pulled away from the station.


Afterwards we stopped for a cheeseburger and milkshake at Steak & Shake. Bennett's second time to have a milkshake was a complete success...he LOVES them! Once the straw no longer did the trick, he asked to take the lid off and began using a spoon, then resorted to just drinking the very last of it.



Saturday morning we invited 5 two-year-old friends over to play with Bennett and celebrate his birthday cookie-monster-style. Bennett enjoyed playing with friends - it was a great way to spend his birthday morning!

Cookie monster cookies and cupcake treats. The littles made cookie monster puppets to take home as treat bags. I love this stage of growing creativity and imagination. Bennett pretends to cook many things in his "kitchen" and mimics the sound of a vacuum and leaf blower with various toys, sticks and articles throughout our home.

C is for COOKIE!

Blowing candles out was not the priority, tasting the cupcake; however...this was a must. Thank you to Jake and Cooper who helped us blow out the candles!

Little friends to Bennett...Zach and I loved having the mommies and daddies here, as well. So nice to catch up with friends - sometimes difficult to do in our daily routines.

Celebrating TWO twice in one day is not easy. We had our parents and families over that evening for dinner and more Cookie Monster celebrating. This time around, Bennett did blow out his candles!!

Our little Cookie Monsterette, Elly Rose, was a trooper throughout the entire day. We ended the weekend on a perfect note of staying home all day on Sunday and playing with new toys and our friends spontaneously stopping by for a visit and staying for wine and dinner. I love unexpected time spent with those you love spending time with but don't always make the time to do so!

Life is Good.

Going from 2 adults, 1 toddler to 2 adults, 1 toddler and 1 baby definitely means making some adjustments to our comfortable routine, but we are adjusting well...so far. A tough transition for our little Bennett, but he is doing remarkably well.

My parents took Bennett, aka "Cookie Monster", to Zoo Boo with the Prather Family...a martian, a yellow crayon and an astronaut. It was a huge success and we look forward to joining back in the tradition with Elly Rose next year.

The yellow crayon and cookie monster on the train ride at Zoo Boo.

We made a couple trips up to Kokomo last week. It was a great way for Bennett to have new activities and for me to have extra help while still spending time with Bennett and Elly Rose. On Saturday, we spent the day playing then took all four boys to a farm with children's activities. The tractor driver made my entire family (except Zach and I) ride with the four little guys. Bennett loves spending time with his cousins...we love having family close.

Cooper and Bennett loved this slide. They tackled it on their tummies, too!

Elly Rose's first play-date with what is sure to be a dear little friend to her through the years...Julia Rose Hahn. Julia is 6 weeks older than Elly Rose and they both have big brothers who already play together!!

Elly Rose as a little piece of candy corn. More Halloween pictures to come...we joined neighbors for dinner and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We had a great time and Bennett loved getting the hang of knocking on doors and picking out a piece of candy!

Fenny is happy.

Fenny and I used to be able to claim "gender majority" in our house. Zach and I adopted her shortly after we married 6 years ago. Once Bennett joined the group - we no longer had majority and as a dog, Fenny's vote didn't weigh as heavily. Late Monday night, we welcomed Elizabeth Rosemary Ford (we call her Elly Rose). Fenny feels all is right with the world and hasn't even missed a beat with Elly Rose around.

Elly Rose was born at 11:50 p.m. on October 18th. She is healthy and we are soaking up that feeling of our hearts once again stretching to love someone so deeply. The joy we have already received from Bennett and Elly Rose is magic. She weighed 7 lb 5 oz. and was 21 inches long. Magic is also Elly Rose deciding to FINALLY arrive just 7 hours before my grandfather (her great papaw) was to board a plane back down to Florida after visiting for a week. He (and my uncle and cousin) waited up late to meet her and we are thankful.

Proud mommy and daddy just before leaving the hospital. I used to nanny for two little girls that loved having Zach around as much (or more) as they did me. It was beginning then that I thought it would fun to see him with his own daughter...still can't believe I am saying "daughter!"

We have added just a little pink to her gender neutral nusery. Poppy and Grams brought her this sweet little bunny, among some other goodies.



And this is my favorite picture. Bennett has been such a trooper this week. So much happening in this little man's life and it makes me love him more than ever. He loves to kiss her, touch her, hold her, rock her and give her toys. Oh, and he calls her "Brooky" - the name of his baby-sitters granddaughter who is sometimes at her house. We keep reminding him of her real name, but I think it is going to take a little time.

Sell Out Crowd.

Fall Saturdays spent in Bloomington with friends...tailgating, cheering on the Hoosiers, creating wonderful memories...was a favorite post-college tradition for Zach and I. Babies make that a bit more complicated. So a couple years ago we made it to a couple games and last year and this year, we have made it to just one game, but have continued to make the most of it. We look forward to adding this tradition back into our regular rotation of fall-Saturday activities.

A man on a tailgating mission. He was doing his best to be involved with the grill, the food table and any stray ball or bean bag he could get his hands on...all at the same time.

Thank you to Papaw and Memaw for taking us to the game (look beyond them to see the SELL OUT CROWD!). They and the Prather family were also instrumental in helping us keep Bennett entertained throughout the entire game...start to finish we never left our seat. I would have thought that impossible based on the first 60 seconds we were in our seats.

Bennett and Cooper. I am pretty positive they were plotting there way out. We kept them blocked between legs and phones did the trick for quite some time.


Bennett trying to smother daddy with his blanky because daddy's "other team" is Michigan and they would not stop scoring touchdowns on IU. In the end, it came down to who had the ball last and unfortunately Michigan had it with just enough time to score and win the game.


Again...love the sell out crowd in this picture and the newly finished north endzone...

Can't wait to make it down for another game next year!

One Apple Up On Top.

Summer is definitely a seasonal favorite, but leaving summer behind for the fall months ahead does not leave us feeling empty. Having football in full swing, the leaves beginning to change colors, thinking about all things apple and pumpkin, pots of chili and walks where the cool air will keep our littles cozy under blankets gives us plenty to look forward to...

I love Saturday mornings when we have the weekend ahead of us...time together. This past Saturday we decided to pack a small cooler and drive south to an apple orchard where we could picnic and pick your own apples. It was a wonderful way to spend time together.

As with nearly every hands-on activity we have ever introduced to Bennett, this little guy fully embraced apple picking and eating. He picked. And ate. And picked. And ate. And picked. And ate (and when we let him pick a tiny pumpkin, he tried eating it, too). I am quite certain that although he displayed no symptoms, his little tummy had to be turning after all the apples he ate on Saturday.

We continued on to Bloomington to visit our beloved IU campus. Zach and I are never disappointed with a visit to IU. Its like the campus knows just how to welcome you back and while we notice subtle changes as we walk about, it still speaks so much the same. We walked through the garden area just by Sample Gates and once again, Bennett confidently embraced the adventure calling for squirrels and picking up walking sticks.

We went to Nick's with our little guy!! How fun is that? We had such a great time looking at Bennett and laughing...thinking he is at Nick's and he isn't even two years old. The littles are only allowed downstairs and only until a reasonable hour in the evening. We had one of those great dinners where Bennett was content sitting, eating and talking with the sweet waitstaff who kept coming back to our table to visit with Bennett. Great way to end a fall day.