Constant Change

Benton has really been growing and changing a lot. He has his 9 month check-up next week already! He has four teeth and more may be close behind. He is gaining on Adaline quickly, and only follows her by about 10 pounds. He is constantly on the move and into everything. I was writing in the baby books the other night and noticed that Benton's 6 month numbers on the growth charts were the same as Adaline's 1 year numbers. Crazy!

Adaline continues to improve daily with her speech. She is trying out more and more words and will make an effort to put a few together (sit down, lay down, get up). The sounds are still a bit twisted and out of order at times, but we are impressed with the effort she is putting forth.

Baby boy memo

Several weeks ago Shane sent me this photo while I was at work. He dropped off the kids at school, and some of Benton's classmates were dressed just like him. So cute, just had to share.

Thanksgiving in Michigan

I had three days away from work for Thanksgiving this year, so we decided to take the family to Michigan. After taking both kids to CO this summer on a plane, there was no desire to fly with them again until they can handle their own baggage/car seats/stroller/etc. Therefore, we fed everyone dinner, got Adaline and Benton into pajamas, stuffed the car with all the necessities, and hit the road for an overnight drive. Despite rain for most of the way, it was decidedly a much less stressful form of travel with little ones. Shane and I shared the driving responsibilities so we both could catch a few hours sleep, and arrived in Grand Haven around 9:00 Wednesday morning. Shane's parents had already arrived from Texas, and we got settled into their condo pretty quickly, ready to start a new day.

Over the next few days we spent most of the time hanging out with family at the condo, playing games and catching up. It was fairly cold and windy outside, but we were able to try out a few of the local parks for a short time, too.


Grandma and Great Grandma enjoying the kids.

Benton was worn out from all the excitement with Grandpa.

We had a really nice time with family, ate a lot of food, took over the condo with all of our toys and baby gates, and then had to pack it all up and head home again. We look forward to many more visits in the future as the kids grow up.

Adaline's First Haircut

It only took 2 years and 9 months for Adaline to grow enough hair to have a haircut. I took her to see our friend, Jessica, and she got to get big girl treatment. Adaline did such a great job sitting in the chair and was able to stay fairly still the whole time without any complaining. I was a bit surprised at how well she did. She even got a sucker to munch on for her behavior. Her hair looks cute now, and much less like a mullet.