Joel and Chelsey: 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.