Long over-due update :)

The past few months have been filled with many challenges, but they have also held many joys for our growing family! Between sickness for me and the boys, general third-trimester discomfort, and two very busy toddlers, blogging has been the last thing on my mind :) Here is a run-down of the most exciting developments of the last 3 months:

Benjamin: Today, Benjamin is 28-months-old! He has had a language explosion and talks in complete sentences non-stop! It has been so much fun to communicate with him on this new level. His conversations center around trucks or trains, bugs and animals, or playing at the park with his friends. He never meets a stranger these days. He greets just about anyone who walks within 10-feet of him, whether they acknowledge him or not :) One of my favorite phrases he uses is, "Hi! How you doin'? I good!" (Good is pronounced "dood"...just so you know!) There is never a pause for you to answer the question :) He is still our little daddy's boy. His favorite part of the day is when Bram gets home from work. He loves to play with and talk to Bram about his day. He loves to "dress up" in Bram's shoes, tie, belt and badges and say he is going to work with Daddy (pronounced "Dah-ee!") He is a joy to be around and brings laughter into our day at just the right moment! We love our little Bubba!

Christopher: Gus-Gus (as I call him) has made the most outwardly noticeable changes over the last few months. He started walking about a month ago (that is, at 11-months-old!) He is now almost able to keep up with his big brother. He loves Benjamin and follows him around and pesters him to no end :) He has started saying a few "words" over the last few weeks. He now says "Bah" for ball and "MMM" for more. He barks like a dog whenever he hears our neighbors dog and makes the sound of a car when he plays with any kind of vehicle! Of course he says "mama" and "dada" a lot, though I'm not sure he totally understands that those sounds represent our names :) His current favorites are books (which he will sit and look at by himself for long periods), going outside, music, and anything Benjamin is playing with...haha! His first birthday is less than a week away (July 6!) He will make a very good big brother come August!

Baby #3: We found out at the end of April that we will be welcoming our daughter sometime in the first few weeks of August! We had a hard time coming up with her name, but Benjamin helped us out. I guess he heard us discussing names because at one point Bram jokingly asked him "Benjamin, what is "Sissy's" name?" To which Benjamin replied "Bethany!" Well, we couldn't go back on that! So, our little girl will have the name:

Bethany Lyneve

Lyneve was Bram's mother's name, so we are continuing the tradition of giving our children middle names that honor members of our family. We are getting anxious for her to come. Both the boys were born at around 38 weeks, so I'm anticipating that I have a month left to get everything ready before she arrives!

We will be busy until she comes and even more busy after she makes her way into our home! Here's a little picture of what life is like for us these days:

Dinnertime conversation

Let me know if you need further translation :)

Musical fun and silliness

Took this video of Benjamin yesterday - thought you all would like it.

(although the sound quality is poor) Thanks to Bram's dad for 

buying Benjamin the musical table - he loves it!

I'm not sure who's more entertained ... Sarah and Jenny or Benjamin!

Benjamin showing off!

Here's a video that shows off Benjamin's toddler status...Enjoy!

A new adventure

For the last 6 months I have been in pregnancy brain mode - in other words, I forget everything. I am very distractible and have a hard time remembering even the most important things. This is exactly the way I don't want to be, especially in this precious time when my children are small. I want to remember and cherish every moment I have with them. So, in the effort to mark this special time for posterity I have resolved to blog.

This also serves as an opportunity for me to start writing again. The past few years have afforded me very few opportunities to put pen to paper. If you would have told me when I was a teenager that I would not be writing after I got married, I would have laughed at you. But often our realities contain in them responsibilities and new passions that we cannot foresee when we are young. This realization has been bittersweet for me. What used to be a habit is now on the back-burner. That needs to change. Writing needs to be part of my routine for it to get done. I don't want to waste this opportunity to find time for writing in my busy days before my days get even more hectic. I am changing physically and Benjamin changes every minute, it seems, and the new baby comes in July. My world keeps changing...that is the only thing that will not change.

Case and point is Benjamin's latest development. Enjoy!