Unique Day

Sunday was a beautiful day. It was our little Elizabeth Rosemary's baptism day. A day where Father Bob reminded us that "....never before has a child been born like this and never again..." I love thinking that Elly Rose and Bennett are unique. God's creation. Just how He intended them. And they are ours. That still seems so unreal at times.

Like Bennett, Elly Rose was baptized wearing a gown that my late grandmother made. She cooperated beautifully and Bennett did too. His attention was captured by the beautiful music. After we returned to our seats following the baptism, he asked to go back up to be near the musicians/vocalists.

Kevin and Amber Vanes. Our dear friends and Elly Rose's Godparents. We feel quite lucky to have them in our lives and know they will (and already do with both our children) play an important role in her life.

Last Friday we visited Miss Sally (our nurse practitioner) for Elly Rose's 3 month well baby visit. I wished I had my camera and think I will for the next visit. We brought quite the crowd and I would not have had it any other way. At this appointment they do a developmental analysis. Bennett loved observing and we loved watching Elly Rose respond to all that Sally was doing.

Stats: 12 pounds, 2 ounces. 24.5 inches long.

This girl has been doing some yoga of her own recently. If on her tummy, she often will hold all extremeties in the air and she holds that head quite high. And just like her brother at this age, she will flip over to her back (although not so gracefully).

We love our babies and feel lucky to have these unique little beings in our life.

Happy January.

How do you exhaust four little boys and release any pre-game jitters? We found the solution...Amy and I witnessed our first all-boy wrestling match in the Quinnette basement prior to the Colts play-off game.

TACKLE!!!

It appears that Bennett and Coopers are holding up the entire pile. How did they end up on bottom I wonder?

Playing nice and resting. Ready for game-time. Just too bad the Colts didn't actually beat those Jets.



Back at home, we found a new way to exhaust Bennett when he doesn't have his cousins to wrestle with...building a snowman! It is hard work, and I was happy to watch from inside.

The first ball is rolled (bottom left of photo). Now the second one...

Finishing touches being applied...

...and a kiss. Thanks to Zach, Bennett likes to try eating the snow. Don't worry, I am teaching him about the yellow snow.

It is refreshing to see pink after all that blue. Baby girl is 3 months old today. We are headed to a well-baby visit at the end of the week and she has a big weekend ahead of her with a Sunday morning Baptism.

Gymnastics Love.

A little stir craziness settled in last week. On a whim, I signed Bennett up for gymnastics. We attended our first trial class yesterday. The outcome...it rocked!! We had a great time in "tiny twinklers" and look forward to returning on Fridays throughout these cold, winter months.

Great environment for Bennett to be introduced to the idea of a teacher and classmates. Miss Lisa was great and Bennett did a nice job of following her lead.

Bennett preparing to bring his toes up to the bar in a "pike" position. Zach likes to refer to this gymnastics class as "football preparation" class, where he will learn to take and recieve hits.

Our last station was sliding and jumping into the foam pit. Bennett thought this was fantastic. I think he jumped 20+ times. First holding my hand, then all by himself.

Love his feet...


On a related note, go Colts...beat the Jets! Bennett's football preparation class has him ready for tonight...

New Year.

New year...new start. I love this feeling. I crave it. The recent snow melt, combined with the return of a blue sky - already have me yearning for spring (the spring catalogs hitting our mailbox don't help). But not to get too far ahead of myself, because a new season means our babies are growing and changing. And while I can't wait for all that is ahead, I want time to stand still because it already seems they are growing up too fast. Today, in the car Bennett counted to eleven. He just spit them out one after another. I didn't think he had grasped much past 4. Not that he knows how many 11 is, but he has memorized the order - and here we are in 2011. Can't believe 11 years have past since celebrating the new millenium.

New Years Day bowling. They make bowling shoes in size toddler 6. Definitely the cutest part of bowling was Bennett and Cooper's tiny feet. The funniest part of bowling can be seen below...

Zach's score rivals Camden and Carson. And thankfully, he was not on my team (sorry, Amy). He claimed he just needed a little beer to get his game going, but I am not sure. He has been on the losing team for the past 2 years (sorry, Amy). This year, Cooper and Bennett teamed up to be one bowler - the lane bumpers automatically pop up each time it was their turn - perfect for knocking down some pins...even if it was at a snail's pace.

Bennett reading the morning newspaper with daddy. He loves to be read to...looking at pictures and asking who is who and what is what.

Miss Elly Rose has been my adorable photo subject recently becauase she can't move and she has a million expressions. I can just keep snapping. You just have to look and talk to her and she will give it right back. I literally can't believe she is already 2 1/2 months old.

Looks a bit like her holder brother in this photo. Love comparing pictures at each stage.

I mean seriously...this just took something like, "hi there sweet baby...." and this is her response. It explains that while she is sleeping through the night (full 8-9 hours), she is still in our room. Can't quite part with her just yet. I promise to do so soon. It seems like she will be so far away upstairs. I go back to work 2 days/week next week - she is going to make the move. Promise.