October almost over?! Already?

So much time passes between my posts, that it feels like there is an overwhelming amount of information to share. -But- I'm going to keep it simple this time.

Firstly, Bentley is learning to say sentences. It's adorable. The first sentence he said that wasn't repeating what Joel or I said was while we were driving home from church. I said "I'm HUNGRY, I'm going to eat a sandwich!" and Bentley said "I'm going to eat a sandwich too!"... Joel and I looked at each other with that "awwwwww!" look. Our baby is growing up.

Secondly, Jetta is practically 4 months old now. I can't believe it! Things about Jetta: She is a big time talker! She likes to suck her thumb and fingers despite my attempts to stop her and give her a pacifier. (My thought is, I can take a pacifier away, I can't take her thumb away... But it appears I am losing this battle.) She is snuggley (yay!) And she sure doesn't mind eating either. The girl is already close to 17lbs!! Considering that her 2 year old brother is 26lbs, I think she is quite the chunk! But I love it!

Christmas is coming and I'm trying to think of what to give the kids. I want to make Bentley a quiet book for church. My goal is to starting the planning of exactly what pages to make.  Then, when I start, I want to do at least 1 page a week until Christmas. I think it's a reasonable goal. So wish me luck!

We also just took family pictures with my parents and sister. Here are some of my favorites.

Learning

It's so exciting as a parent to be able to see the "fruits of our labor" when it comes to raising children. I felt like I was doing an okay job of raising our son until he started throwing tantrums... and then I thought "oh my goodness, what do I do?!" And I'm sure most parents have had this moment where they think "where did this come from?"... I still have these moments but I'm getting better at grasping the fact that all the other parents are wondering what the "right" thing to do or "right" way to raise a child, too.

Bentley is coming in to the stage of life where he has to test his boundaries and wants to be involved in EVERYTHING. Mommy wants to go to the bathroom by herself? I don't think so. Daddy wants to put the dishes away? I can help with that. Cooking dinner? Me too! I think we say at least once a day that Bentley is going to grow up to do/be _____. The most popular fill to the blank is basketball player. He is obsessed with Basketball. And it's a little surprising since neither Joel or I watch it on tv, play it or even talk about it. Bentley didn't even know we owned a Basketball until after this obsession started. One day at Grandma and Grandpa Krause's house, Basketball was on TV and my little toddler apparently stood there transfixed. And so it began... Now G&G Zwygart have a kid basketball hoop at there house for our obsessed little man... Their neighbors have a real hoop in their driveway so anytime we came to visit it was a serious tantrum if we didn't go outside and play. My not even 2 year old toddler is very good at shooting the balls into the hoop. And he says "put it in" or "put it in the HOOP" constantly. Everything can be made into basketball. A laundry hamper, the baby jumper, a chair... all can be used as a basketball hoop. And obviously all balls are a "bak-etball". And thanks to his loyal fans watching on the sidelines, he is also very quick to repeat "almost" or "I did it" after each shot.  Along with basketball, Bentley is also quick to be a little helper in the Kitchen. If he can get his way, he will be involved in the preparation of every meal. He LOVES to cook! What is his favorite thing to "help" cook you ask? Well eggs of course... why, you ask? We have no stinking clue! But he shoves a stool around the kitchen so he can climb up and be a part of all of it.

We also just got back from a quick Vacation trip last weekend. I was a little nervous to travel with 2 young children for 6 hours. In preparation for the long drive, we got Bentley a couple new toys that we could whip out when the crying, fussing or tantrums were too much to bear. But to my surprise, Jetta slept pretty much the whole time and Bentley didn't require a new toy until on the way home! We did however give him a new book on the way out and it was a lifesaver! I'm actually patting Joel and I on the back for this one because it is the best buy!! It has pictures and colors and numbers and letters... this kid was seriously entertained! (Having a picture of a basketball on one of the pages was by far his most exciting discovery) And now that we are home I am amazed at how fast he has learned his ABC's! He likes to sing the song (which he only actually says A B C D E and then a bunch of gibberish). And he can recognize quite a few letters! These are the letters he can pick out and remember. BEMNOPRSTUW-- While we were at church yesterday, during one of the more quiet moments (of course) he starts yelling 'T!' 'T!' 'T!' and points at the "Exit" sign above one of the doors. He was very excited about that. And of course Joel and I are hushing him and beaming big smiles at each other with how proud we are. :) My smart smart boy.

Another proud moment for Joel and I is hearing him say please and thank you to others without having been asked. Ahh... love it! And right now he's even saying no thank you. I'm such a proud momma!

Miss Jetta Leigh was born June 24th at 3:53am. Fastest labor I could have imagined! I woke Joel up just before 2am and said we have to "GO!". As soon as my parents arrived to stay at our house and watch Bentley we took off for the hospital. I woke up to contractions 6 minutes apart. By the time we arrived at the hospital around 3am they were 1-2 minutes apart. And Jetta was born shortly after. She was 5lbs 15.6oz and 20 inches long. By 5.5 weeks old she was 9lbs and being just over 7 weeks old now, I would approximate my little lady to easily be 10lbs. All I have to say is she likes to eat! She has just started giving us big gummy smiles and is coo-ing constantly. Here are some pictures of her at 4 days old.

Here is Bentley and Jetta in early July. Isn't he a cutie? :)

                                                              Smile for the camera!

It is so much fun being a mommy!

Finding time

I titled this blog "Finding Time" because it seems like the story of my life right now. There are so many good and wonderful things going on right now that it's hard to make time (and energy!) to do each of them.

Let me start with a small update of our lives.
Joel:
Just finished his 2nd to last semester of school with straight A's. So proud of you honey! School, work and time at home... how does he do it all? Joel's work also did a 'Biggest Loser' contest offering a gym membership with bootcamp during the 6 weeks of competition. Workers could choose to try it out on their own or go to this bootcamp class (or a little of both I'm sure!). At the half way mark, Joel was in 4th place! Yay! He chose to do this bootcamp along with school and work. The poor guy had a LONG LONG day where he'd be gone from 5am-5pm. His work only listed 1st-3rd places so sadly he didn't get to find out how he  compared. BUT he did win $25 to the Nike store. (woot) I think he's done an amazing job and looks great! These past two months he's lost a total of 25lbs! To add to all of his spare time (note the sarcasm) he has been working outside of our home trying to get our back yard in working order. A few of the things he (along with helpers) have accomplished: digging the back and front yard for a sprinkler system, installing sprinkler system, burying sprinkler system, pulling weeds, planting grass, moving firewood to new location, roto-tilling for a veg. garden, planting the veg. garden, hauling concrete away, clearing rocks/ debris out of yard, preparing and running a 5k. I know there's more he has done since the weather has turned nice but to say the least, we have not had a free weekend in a little. I must also mention that a birthday, anniversary, mothers day and family dinners were amongst all this.

Me:
I don't have nearly the list that Joel does. To be honest, I look back at my last couple of months and find it hard to make a list of things I've accomplished. However, I recognize that being a full time mommy and homemaker is never an easy job. Joel gets to the weekends off from work, but mine just keeps going. 24/7. So to be able to add to that and say I'm 8 months pregnant now... I think it's pretty fair that my list is short. Things I have accomplished include: finishing up nursery, dishes getting done, house getting vacuumed, toys get put away, groceries purchased, 7 freezer meals have been made, everyone is still alive, teaching in church, activities committee for church. :) AND, I haven't quite hit the weight I was when I delivered Bentley. woo :) Finding time and energy to get the normal things done around the house is getting difficult. I've got this surge of energy to clean though. Thank goodness for nesting! Otherwise nothing would get done!

Bentley:
Bentley has probably done the most of all of us these past couple months. Talk about finding time... This little man does not understand how to hold still. Instead of sitting down to play with a toy, he will squat beside them, always at the ready to go-go-go! He's been doing a lot of learning as well. He can now open doors and has thankfully only applied this to the bathroom door so far. I say thankfully because I can just imagine how happy he'd be if he could let himself outside to play or figure out that he doesn't really need to stay in bed... His vocabulary and understand of the world is growing considerably. Words that he uses and how they sound to me include:

Mama: grandma
Papa: grandpa
a guttural sound something like Ing-ya-ing-ya: strawberry milk
Ya-Ya: aunt Megan
Bob: uncle Bob
Daddy and Mommy
sheesh: cheese
sheddar: cheddar
kuck: truck
bus and car
baallll: ball (he adds a few ahh lllll's in there)
cat key or key cat: kitty cat
shadow: shovel
pots: as in pots and pans, which is usually yelled
juice
sandy: sandwich or used when referring to bread itself
ti-tu: thank you
more: more
verbal 'more' accompanied by signing please or verbal 'meese': please
shoes on: shoes
kocks: socks
no and yes
didi: baby
TD:TV
on and off
nigh-night: can mean he is going to bed, wants to lay down, or pacifier
ah-mo: Elmo
ah see: meaning "I want to see"
cow, goose, doggie, puppy
So that's to name a few of the words he understands how to use and can things he can recognize. He also just started understanding that if we ask him "what does a (input animal) say?" that he should respond with the sound of said animal. Currently all animals say 'moo'. :) In the past 2 months he has also decided that he doesn't want to sit in his high chair (or any restaurant high chair) anymore and that he prefers a booster seat. His pick? The chair he learned to sit upright in. Yep, the "bumbo." His legs still fit but probably not for too much longer. But it makes him happy and meals go a lot smoother. He's our big boy now. He has enjoyed spending so much time outside with daddy. He struts around like he's the most important person there ever was. It's cute! :) And he's definitely keeping momma busy. Run, run, run!

I'm so glad this pregnancy is almost over. Only 6-ish more weeks and I'll have a beautiful baby GIRL. Most importantly, I won't be pregnant anymore :) he he he