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.

Quick catch up

So, again, I have gotten so far behind in my blogging updates. These two children just keep me so busy that when I finally get them off to bed and finish up daily tasks, the last thing I want to do is sit at the computer and try to get creative. Therefore, I am using a little of my day off of work to play catch up. I know in the future I will want to look back and remember these moments.

Benton is growing so fast! Well, they both are, but Benton seems to be catching up to Adaline quickly. I took them both to the doctor a week or so ago (cases of hand, foot, mouth, which they handled in good spirits) and Benton weighed in only about 10 pounds less than Adaline. Wow! He is sitting up now and loving to roll around on the floor. He is making efforts to get his tummy off the ground, but hasn't figured out crawling yet. He also has his two lower front teeth in and is continuing to be a good eater. We are lucky that neither of the kids are very picky with food yet.

Benton has been mumbling and making many more sounds, even "ma" sounds, which excite me. It is very different than when Adaline was this age because she has always been so quiet. She didn't really even make these sounds until after her first birthday. However, she continues working with her speech therapist and with us, and is making some big improvements. She is imitating our words much more often and is trying new words all the time. We are still unable to have any conversations with her, but I do not think it will be terribly long. It is a lot of fun watching them "play" together and we look forward to more of that!

Adaline loves trying on everyone's shoes.

Nugget is home!

Nugget and Tallulah were made strictly outside cats over the summer at camp, mostly due to our lack of space up there and a new family member. They had lots of land to roam and would come up in the evenings to visit and eat. About a month before we left camp we stopped seeing Nugget around. We went out looking and calling for him in the woods around camp several times, but never saw him again. We were hopeful that he had just stumbled along one of the homes in the golfing communities near by. Anyway, camp ended and we had to head back to High Point without our second cat. However, a few weeks ago, Shane got a call from a vet near camp who claimed to have Nugget in hand. We had him chipped when we got him, and I guess those things work! Shane went to pick him up a few days later. He was pretty skinny and beat up looking, but I suppose after 4 months out in the wild, you would be too. Tallulah was semi-welcoming of his homecoming, and Nugget is happy to be home again, where there is always food.


Last weekend was Shane's last weekend at Cheerio this year. They closed up camp for the winter and he will mostly just be in the High Point office until spring. This is good news for me, as I will have helping hands for more of my weekends!

Halloween

This year was the first time we took Adaline out on Halloween to go trick-or-treating. We didn't go all out or anything; just dressed her in a tutu that a friend, Heidi, made for her and a pair of wings from the drug store. Wah-la...fairy! We hit about 10 houses or so and got enough candy to last her for awhile. Adaline wasn't sure at first about going up to strange homes, but I think she got the idea after a few. Mostly she was interested in people's dogs and cats. She could say "trick-or-treat" in parts, after prompting at home, but in front of strangers, not even in parts. We worked on saying "thank you" also, but only got a few barely audible ones.

Fall walks and playing outside

The Brown household has been trying to take in as much fall weather as possible. It is harder these days to spend much time outside, just due to two young children. We have been able to get in some walks around the neighborhood and some trips to the parks near our house. Adaline loves going to the park, sliding down the slides, and trying every swing at least once. Benton mostly just sits in the stroller and watches her play or sleeps. Even Shane was able to take a weekend away and get up to do some canoeing in West Virginia. He had been wanting to get on some white water for awhile now, especially with the new canoe, so I was happy he could get to the Gauley River with some friends this year.

Birthday Parties and Play-dates!

Over the last few months we have been able to visit a few friends for birthdays and play-dates. First, we made a family trip to Clayton to visit friends of ours from college, Anna and AW, and their little girl. Laurel turned one and had a nice party with lots of yummy cake and good times. It was nice for the kids to play together a bit, and I look forward to them growing up together. It was also the last time we had the chance to visit with some other college friends, Craig, Emily, and their daughter, Kay, before their big move to Hong Kong for a while. Although we are excited about this opportunity, we will miss them greatly!

Laurel enjoying her cake / Adaline and Kay look on

We have also been able to attend another birthday party of a high school friend's daughter recently, complete with pony rides. This was the best part of Kaylyn's party to Adaline; even better than cake. It was her first time on a pony, and maybe it will get her ready for the camp horses in the future.


Hopefully we can have many fun play dates in the future, for both Adaline and Benton, like this one with baby Lena!

For Labor Day weekend we were able to take a trip to Atlantic Beach. It was Benton's first time at the ocean, and the first time Adaline could really enjoy it.


We stayed at Atlantis Lodge, an extended family business, where there were plenty of kids and dogs to share in the fun! This was the first time I have seen Adaline sit and play for longer than a few minutes. She had so much fun in the sand, and the tidal pools were perfect for the kids to splash around in. Nana, Pops, and Trixie were there, too, and we all had a great time.




We were all worn out in the end, but cannot wait for a return trip.

Benton has been continuing to work on cereal and has gotten more and more in his tummy. We will start some veggies soon. He has also been able to roll over, and I have included a video below. Adaline can't wait until he can play with her, as you can see from all the kitchen supplies she loaded him down with.