Clean bill of health

Benjamin had his 18month check up today. He is doing great. He is 33inches (75%) and 24lbs (almost the 50th %). The only minor concern is an ongoing one, his speech. The doctor actually isn't as concerned as she was at the last visit. At 18months, he should be able to consistently say 10 words and know their meaning . Ben can consistently say 7 words, but has about 20 words in his vocabulary. We are going to have him evaluated by Help Me Grow in the the next week or two. They come to the home and do assessments on all sorts of issues. They determine if there is a serious problem or if he's just progressing a bit more slowly than other kids. They will recommend a plan and follow up weekly to see how the child is progressing. The best part is, its all free! The doctor also thinks that once he is able to communicate better, we'll see a decrease in the tantrums. He's actually been doing a lot better with them. It just seems that they always come at the wrong times. Other than that, Ben is perfect!

Snow, snow and more snow!

Well, for those not in Cleveland, you are missing out. We got about 6 inches of snow over night and are expecting a few more inches tonight. We took Ben and Bailey out for some play time and had a blast.

Happy Birthday

Happy b-day to Aaron who turned 35 on Saturday and also to Tony, I'll skip the age, who is celebrating a b-day today. We had Jon's family over for Aaron's b-day dinner Friday night. We ate a ton of great food cooked by Jon's mom. Saturday night our church split up into 3 different houses and had a game night. The men played games and the women chatted most of the night. We didn't stay long because Ben's diaper sprung a leak and it was bed time, but we had a great time while we were there.

Back on schedule

Sorry its been so long, but we've had a lot going on the past few days. Ben and I are still dealing with our colds. We both feel better, but still have runny noses and a cough.

Saturday night we went to dinner with our friends Seth and Amy (sorry, no pics). We celebrated being pregnant and that they are going to start looking for a house in Lakewood.

Sunday was our church's one year anniversary. We had a guest speaker from the sending church in Arkansas then had lunch together at the church. Ben loved the pizza, but spent most of the afternoon climbing up and down the steps to the stage. Once again, I forgot the camera. Sunday night, we celebrated Corries last night of freedom before she went back to work. We had a fondue party at Aaron and Prasti's. Thanks to aunt Prasti for supplying the pictures because of course, I forgot the camera! While we were there, we got the news that Prasti is pregnant. It looks like she'll be due just before us. Our family is going to have a busy Fall.













Tuesday afternoon, Ben went to our friend Melissas house. Barb was sick, probably from us, so she did not watch Ben. Ben got to play with her daughter Layla. It sounds like they had a great time. They even gave each other kisses.









We went to story time last night. Ben is a pro now. He gets in there with the rest of the kids and grabs books, shakers and goes after the bubbles. Ben has been practicing his dance moves lately. They involve a lot of circles which usually end with him falling on his tush because he's so dizzy. With a little practice, he'll be headed for dancing with the stars!

Road to recovery

Benjamin and I have been sick for the past week. He got a cold and was kind enough to pass it on to me. We've been bums for the past few days while we've been recovering. Benjamin is definitely feeling better, but he still has quite a runny nose. I'm finally starting to feel better and sound like myself again, but I can't breathe and have a pretty bad cough. We haven't wanted to get anyone else sick so we missed church, story time and both our playrooms this week. Ben has been a trooper and I'm sure Bailey hasn't minded the extra company. Hopefully we'll both be feeling good enough this weekend to go outside and enjoy some of the snow.

And then there were 6!

Yes, it's true---I'm pregnant! We found out yesterday. We're about a month along so the unofficial due date is October 20th. We'll see the doctor in March and get a more accurate time line. We're all thrilled about another baby, and I can honestly say I don't care if it's a boy or a girl. Between the people and animals, we're going to have a full house in October! We'll keep you posted as things progress.

Take 2

Well, we got another dog. We found her at another rescue. She is a golden retriever mix, but we don't know what she is mixed with. She is 11 or 12 weeks old and looks like she is going to be a beast! We named her Bailey. Benjamin loves her. He didn't need any time to warm up to her. He's been petting her and trying to play with her all day, but she's slept a lot today. Overall, she seems to be pretty laid back. We went to her foster home last night to check her out. She was with a bunch of other dogs and kids so she's used to a little chaos. I think she's going to make a great member of the family.

Sad news

We took Reese to the vet last night for a check up and got some bad news. Reese has an overbite, which is common in dogs, but hers is pretty bad. She isn't having any trouble right now. When her adult teeth come in (at 4-6months) she could have a lot of trouble, which will require major surgery by a specialist. Of course that means mega bucks that we don't have. Jon and I have made the tough decision to return her to the shelter. We feel like terrible parents for returning a "sick" puppy, but we know we need to make sure the humans in our family are taken care of first and we cant do that while paying hundreds or possibly thousands in vet bills. Keep Reese in your thoughts and pray that she will find a family that can give her all the love and medical attention she deserves.

Happy Birthday

Sunday was Jon's birthday. We started the celebration Friday night with a great dinner made by Jon's mom. Benjamin approved of the cake. Jon got a couple presents (including our new dog, which we named Reese), but the best present was a win from the Giants! Ben and I took Jon to Sakura tonight and we will probably have dinner with my parents this weekend. Less than a year till the big 30!

Our new bundle of joy!

Nope, I'm not pregnant---we got a dog. She is a beagle/shepherd mix. She is 9 weeks old and weighs 8lbs. She is the smallest and most calm of the litter. They think she will be 40-50lbs. She should be perfect for Benjamin. He has come up to pet her a few times and even pinched her nose, but isn't quite sure what to make of her. We haven't decided on a name yet, but we have a few in mind. Katie is not thrilled. She came down to see the puppy, but quickly ran away.

Congrats to gram and pap on their second dog, Zeke.

Bubbles!

Benjamin discovered bubbles at story time at the library and loved them so much we had to pick some up for him. We tried them out last night and he had a blast. We got a "whoa!" every time they went flying through the air.