Benjamin's Fourth Birthday

Happy Birthday to Benjamin--a little over a month ago. We were still staying with Marianne and Eric and had a really fun time. We didn't know where our cake candles were so we used Aunt Marianne's tea candles. Below is the video of us singing to Benjamin.




Here is Benjamin on his big wheel--the present from Mom and Dad. Aunt Marianne and Uncle Eric got him some wind-up flashlights that he loves to play with.

For his birthday, we went to a nearby lake and rented paddle boats and paddled around. We all had a really fun time--though Aunt Marianne's boat was rather defective and hard to paddle, especially by herself!

Seth didn't really like the lifejacket at first but got used to it and had fun sitting on Mom's lap, feeling the breeze and playing bumper boats with Aunt Marianne and Benjamin!

We had a really fun time on the lake with Aunt Marianne--Thanks for suggesting it! Benjamin had a great birthday and is so excited to be four years old!!

Our New Place!

We are finally getting settled into our new place! We registered the van, got NC driver's licences, unpacked most of the boxes, and hung the pictures.




Here is a picture of the outside of our new place. It is a townhouse style duplex and we love the space we have. Benjamin loves having stairs (as does Seth though he hasn't really figured out how to safely go down). We have a front door and a back door (onto our deck) with two doorbells too! It has two bedrooms with one full bath and two half baths--one downstairs and one off the master bedroom.



This is in the boys room. I painted these letters months ago in Iowa but never got around to getting them on the wall. Seth loves to look up at the letters and picture to point and jabber (it entertains him at the end of a nap since it is over his crib).

Here is our living room with all our family pictures up on the wall. The coffee table is "new". The Culmers, our neighbors in Iowa, found it by the dumpster and pulled it out for us. It is solid wood and in good condition--all it really needs is to be refinished. Seth loves to use it to pull up and use as a walking aid. He doesn't want to try walking without support (crawling is so much faster) but does well with furniture or Mom's hands.

Here's another view of the living room. We have lots of large windows in this place that let in a lot of light (since we only have one lamp in the living room and no ceiling light, this is great!).

This is our big eat-in kitchen. I love the space (the boys can be playing in there with me while I'm fixing dinner and not get in my way) and the cabinet room is great for all my kitchen stuff and food. I especially enjoy the seven drawers I have.

It is great to have so much light coming into the kitchen. We actually get direct sunlight in the mornings (though it filters through the trees so it doesn't heat the house up). My plant is loving it and flourishing. It is also nice to be able to have the table in the kitchen (and not on carpet). I don't have to worry about spills, and it is easier for Benjamin to set the table. The doors on the right of this photo are to the laundry area. However, since we don't have a washer and dryer, it makes a great pantry!

We love our new place, especially since there is a yard area as well as a park that is only a three minute walk away complete with swings, slides, and an play excavator with sand (as well as a pond and ducks)! It is at the end of a cul-de-sac in a very quiet neighborhood but the interstate is only two minutes away. We can get to church in 7-8 minutes, and the university is close too! If anyone wants our address, just send me an email!

Justin's Graduation Photos!

Here are the professional photos taken at Justin's graduation. The first one is his favorite because it is in front of the Old Capital--which symbolizes Iowa City/UIowa to Justin. (It also helps that the building over his left shoulder is the Jessup which is where he had all his classes.)

I love you, Justin!! Congratulations!!!!

The Move to North Carolina!

We've moved to North Carolina!! While I have a lot of pictures to catch up with (especially Justin's graduation photos--CONGRATULATIONS JUSTIN!), I figured I had to start somewhere until I get the graduation photos developed (yes, we forgot our camera and had to buy a disposable one).

Here we are at a rest area in Indiana (above and below). I was meaning to document the whole trip with photos, but I missed Iowa and Illinois. Though I took the above photo (it only took three tries), I couldn't get a photo with us and the Indiana sign. Luckily a man offered to take a photo of us in front of the sign.

Here is a picture of Justin in the moving truck--considering I took the photo while driving, I think it is pretty good (I held the camera out at arm's length, hazarded one quick glance at the LCD screen and clicked).

This picture Benjamin took of us in our hotel room in Lexington, KY, where we stopped for the night. He did a great job! He was also a big help to me as we traveled the thousand miles to NC. He handed Seth toys and snacks--even when Benjamin was hungry too, I would hand him two crackers, tell him to give one to Seth, and he would! We even sang songs together to help Seth calm down the couple of times he screamed (really can you blame him--newly mobile, stuck in a car seat all day, and overtired too?!). We made it though and stayed with my sister Marianne until we found a place to live -- Thanks so much Marianne and Eric!!

Here is another picture I took of one of the mountain tunnels we went through. I tried to get a picture to capture the size of the mountain that you look like you are about to barrel into but... it didn't really work. It takes close to a minute to drive through it though. Hope you enjoy the pictures--I have lots of fun ones of Benjamin's birthday that are coming soon!!

Crawling!!!

Seth finally figured out how to crawl!! I was helping Benjamin brush his teeth when I noticed Seth two feet closer to me on his hands and knees still moving into the bathroom. Though he sat up, I ran and got the camera. I got down on the floor with it, and Seth of course came towards me crawling! Enjoy the footage!

Now I really need to make sure everything is well baby-proofed--right before our move!

Seth and the "Dew"

So I'm sure many of you have seen the picture of Benjamin shaking two cans of Dew when he was about Seth's current age (I'm on the wrong computer to look for it--I'll try to post it later). Well Justin still drinks Dew and thinks it is fun to let Seth play with the bottles--which of course Seth is fascinated by.

Here are pictures with thought captions!

"I got Daddy's 'spicy juice' Mom!"

"Hmm...I think this is the end I get something out of..."

"Maybe I can get something out now that it has tipped over..."

"My tongue is out! I know there is something to drink in here--if only I can get to it!"

Well, Seth, Mom is not about to let that happen!

Two Goose Eggs!

So one week ago on the 13th, I was working at the kitchen table. Seth was eating in his highchair and Benjamin was playing at the end of the table with a rolling duffel. The duffel has a retractable handle that locks when fully extended. Benjamin was pushing on the handle to retract it. It didn't immediately give way, so Benjamin kept pushing harder. It finally snapped out of lock and collapsed. Benjamin wasn't expecting it, so he crashed down into the edge of the table. Though I immediately got up, rubbed it, and iced it, he still got a large goose egg.

The side view so you can see how much it bulged.

Trying to get a good picture of the discoloration--the camera kept washing out the bruising.

Then of course, Benjamin being so proud that he has a nasty looking goose egg on his forehead!

Then a day or two later, Seth was wiggling around, got too close to a wall, started bouncing excitedly over something and got himself a goose egg on the corner of the wall (luckily they are rounded but he still got a little bruise and bump). I picked him up and was cuddling with him and Benjamin started laughing. Seth decided that maybe this wasn't such a bad thing since Benjamin was laughing so hard and started laughing himself. Then I took the opportunity for pictures.

So on the one above, I obviously was paying too much attention to getting Seth to smile over where the bumps were in the viewfinder--they still are in there though!


Benjamin thought it was great to have matching goose eggs and loves having fun with Seth. Seth was starting to enjoy the attention and getting to do something with Benjamin.

Family Photos--Seth at 9 months

Seth had his nine month appointment at the beginning of April. He weighed 20 lbs. 13 oz (55th percentile) and was 29 1/4 inches long (85th percentile). He really hasn't gained much weight (only a few ounces) in the last couple of months but is still obviously really healthy! Here are some family photos taken that day.


Obviously Seth's favorite person in the world is Benjamin--he loves being around him.

This isn't the best photo of us all but at least we are all looking at the camera!

Both Seth and Benjamin adore Daddy and love to cuddle with him. Seth also loves to stick out his tongue (as well as try to give wet kisses to all!!).

Often this big of a grin on Seth is accompanied by ecstatic bouncing and squealing!

North Carolina Trip

We drove to Raleigh, NC for a week-long trip over Justin's spring break. We stayed with my sister Marianne and her husband Eric. We were able to look around at different areas and find a few we would like to live in. I was able to meet the faculty at NCSU and get a better feel for the program. We had a great time--but of course forgot our camera! Luckily Marianne loves to take pictures and sent them to me.



This is Benjamin loving Aunt Marianne's big umbrella in the rain. The week before we went to North Carolina it had been 80 degrees in NC and 9 degrees in Iowa the day we left. The week we were in NC it was rainy, overcast and chilly (40-50 degrees) and sunny and warm (60-70 degrees) in Iowa. Just as we were about to leave it started to warm up in NC. Then when we got home, it was cold again in Iowa--not the best of luck!

We didn't have a highchair at Aunt Marianne's so we used an old belt and a pillow on one of her dining table chairs to feed Seth. It kept him in place better than trying to feed him either on a lap or sitting on the floor with him wanting to dive for toys or other things that were much more interesting than food. It also made for several cute pictures.


Just Seth being his cute self and interested in everything--including his bare legs and striped socks!

Seth was tipping over instead of eating and I kept sitting him back up--then when Aunt Marianne went to get the camera he didn't want to tip back over; just sitting there smiling at us.

Finally a picture of him tipping over !

I had a few things to do before feeding Seth and so Aunt Marianne was watching Seth. To keep him happy, we had him in front of the mirror. Needless to say, he loves interacting with the baby in the mirror and was entertained for at least five minutes.

We all had so much fun in North Carolina. Thanks Aunt Marianne and Uncle Eric for letting us intrude on your lives and share your home! We love you and look forward to living near you!

Graduate School!!

March 5th I found out that I had been accepted to the Master's in English program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC!! Either that day or the next, I had things to do at home, and Justin needed to run and get some things at school, so he took the kids with him. Well, they took longer than I expected and when they got home they brought this!! (Along with some daisies--the flowers were from Justin and the balloon was from Benjamin!)

It sings "Celebrate" (and is still singing though luckily softer than at first).

Sorry about the sideways picture. My concentration is Rhetoric and Composition, and I start classes in the fall (I just registered!).