hello world, we're back!
Without further ado about my little absence from posting, let's just get some stuff up on this little blog of mine, shall we?
~emme~
A week ago Sunday marks 2 months - yes, TWO! - since Emme was born. It's high time that she is included in our family blog history, don't you think? During my maternity leave, I don't think I turned on our desktop computer once.; it's crazy to think about, but I'm fairly certain it's true. As I write this, I'm downloading the pictures from our camera - all 376 of them. I think that's some kind of record for me. I usually take around 20 or 30 and dump them quickly into iPhoto. Transitioning to two kiddos have proven to be a little crazy.
So, to rewind. On Tuesday, November 13th at 7:27am, Emilia Alexis Goodwin emerged on the scene thanks to a c-section from my favorite OB, Deb Stemmerman, MD. At 6 pounds, 9 ounces & 19" long, she was a beautiful little ball of baby delight. Funny thing: she was literally smacking her lips, ready to chowdown, as they pulled her from abdomen. Much to my surprise, she was a rockstar eater and has never looked back; to date, she is a little over 11 pounds.
Everyone asks how she is, and honestly, I have no complaints. She eats well, sleeps well, smiles a ton, tolerates with great ease the noise & craziness that her big brother slings her way, and on occasion, she has even laughed out loud in her sleep. Babies LOL'ing? - it's basically the cutest thing I've ever encountered.
Here's a look back at the last couple of months:
Birth
One month
Two months
~benjamin~
The last couple of months have been a wild ride for Benjamin. He lost his room, lost his crib, gained a new room, got a big boy bed, got a sister (egads!), started preschool at Riverview Elementary, started riding the school bus, and left nursery for the grown-up world of Sunbeams & Primary. Despite all that has been thrown at him, he has handled it better than we anticipated; don't get me wrong, it's been a bumpy road and he has been a little more challenging lately, but man, who wouldn't be after your life has been turned upside down?
Latest scoop on this kid: he's growing like a weed - and has suddenly turned from a toddler to a full-fledged preschooler. At his last appointment, he was 34 lbs and off the charts for his height... although we can't be exactly sure how many inches he is these days, as he was set on not letting anyone measure him.
Loves Thomas the Train (and all accompanying characters)... or any type of train, for that matter (YouTube videos of diesel or steam trains are his latest addiction - we liken it to watching grass grow, OR the red train cake molds which he has even taken to bed!); his Monkey blanket; dancing; chasing or being chased; making trains with anything in the house (Ziploc bag boxes, cake mixes, containers, etc); fruit smoothies; milk; and, as any little kid would agree, SUGAR! He has also taken a liking to this dude named Santa who brought him Spencer & the Blue Mountain Quarry (Thomas stuff) last month; I see a deep & abiding kinship between them in the future.
"Benj" is the nickname that seems to stick; we do call him Benjamin too, but when people simply call him "Ben" I just think to myself "that just doesn't seem to fit him at all". As mentioned above, he's not a huge fan of the doctor. Thanks to Emme's arrival, he & daddy went in for matching flu shots the week before her birth; despite his aversion to the doctor's office, he handled it like a champ.
I've been looking back at pictures of him to see how much he and Emme look alike (a lot), and I've been struck with a wistful sadness... those little baby days rush by far too quickly. I will say that I love watching him love on Emme (even if he loves her a little too much sometimes). His favorite thing right now is to lie down next to her, wiggling & giggling... which makes me smile.
A new sister
Typical Benjamin antics
Fun Christmas projects
A Very Train Christmas
~dave~
Dave has been super busy; between family, work, church, Young Mens, scouting activities and outdoor adventures, he is always on the run. On New Years Day, his annual tradition to go ice climbing was slightly altered; the snow at Mount Baker was deep and beckoning, so he & his brother, Jon, grabbed their AT skis and headed for the hills. Jon, who is a CrossFit fan, has been inviting Dave to jump on the wagon - or at least give it a try. They've been working out in Jon's pseduo gym, otherwise known as his garage.
~michelle~
The holidays were a bit of a blur for me, but despite that, I tried to do some things to make them memorable. And I tried very hard to do some fun holiday activities with Benjamin, such as making a paper chain and decorating a gingerbread house, to make them special for him too. But, for those into family planning, I would highly discourage you from shooting for a baby born in the last quarter of the year... if you can help it. A baby born in mid-November basically shoots all of your plans out the window!
One of my greatest frustrations in my baking experiences is bad pie crust - it never turns out for me, and it's been killing me. Well, our bishop's wife (actually, her daughter) did a presentation of her world famous, no-fail pie crust. And as luck would have it, she passed the recipe on to our group. So, a week after having Emme, I decided that although we weren't going to do Thanksgiving formally, I would give my nod to turkey day by testing out the recipe. The results were AMAZING - and I topped the crust with my all-time favorite pie, Chocolate Meringue. And you know what? Nobody else in the family likes that kind of pie, so I sort of had to eat it myself. Bummer.
As I said, the holidays were a bit of a blur, but I always try to see these six ladies, no matter what! We had our monthly get together two weeks after Emme was born (sensing a theme? I now gauge all of my time BE or AE, before or after Emme!). It was fun night of cookies & cocoa but we had to cut it short; we had a baby that was hungry and a very tired little boy. Nonetheless, it made my heart happy and my holidays complete to spend some time with cherished friends.
Christmas was sweet and simple this year, which I've decided is my favorite way to celebrate it. My Christmas present came a little early this year, but you will get no complaints from me.
~Random bits~
COLD DAY AT THE ZOO: New Year's Eve Day at the Woodland Park Zoo with the Haladins was a special treat. To quickly sum it up, we saw animals, we chased our animals, we froze our fingers & toes, we had a blast!
DATE NIGHT: A couple of weeks ago, my mom was in the hospital while recovering from her stem cell transplant and a bout of RSV pneumonia. Ben & Kathleen were kind enough to watch the kiddos while we went down. She was in a droplet precautions room, so we had to gown up (gown, mask, eye mask & gloves), so kiddos just were not allowed. And I think that they had much more fun running around with grandma & grandpa anyway!
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