Madeline's Blessing

We blessed Madeline July 4th. Most of my family was able to come--Mark was recently ordained an elder so was able to stand in the circle. Justin gave a beautiful blessing even though he was nervous doing it in church (we blessed Seth at home because he couldn't go to church for a few months). After church we took pictures. Benjamin was tired and cranky to start with and Seth got there soon afterward (5:30 and no dinner can't really blame them), so it was a little hard to get nice pictures. The results are below. Enjoy!

Here everyone but Benjamin is smiling but it's a great picture anyway! After we got over being frustrated by him not smiling we laughed at how silly he looks!

This was the closest thing we got to a good family photo (we had similar trouble with pictures at Seth's blessing). After this picture Seth asserted his forceful personality and demanded OFF Mommy's lap! :)

Through all the hassle and noise, Madeline is sleeping through it peacefully. It is amazing how much of her brothers' racket and noise she can sleep through. She is an angel baby (and sleeping through the night!!!)

She still did fit into the dress Justin's grandmother made! Here she is on the matching afghan also crocheted by Justin's grandma.

One of Justin's coworkers gave Madeline a cute diaper cover.

Cuddling with Daddy!

Our darling cute baby!!

So sweet!

We love our Madeline!!

Seth Talking!

So, Seth has never been very big on using a lot of words. I was somewhat concerned about his development since he wasn't using two word sentences like the charts said he should be. Well, this past week he came out with a three word sentence,"I want more." He had been saying a food name at dinner and we told him he had some of that food. Then he came out with, "I want more," in as calm and matter-of-fact manner as if he were Benjamin's age and had been talking for years. Today, he said "I want ketchup on bread" after just asking for ketchup (which was already on his plate). It was amazing to listen to him construct the sentence--he went through two or so drafts (in immediate succession) before he got it into the order he knew was the correct one with no prompting from anyone! Obviously he is just economical with his words--if mom understands with one word, why use more? :) He is realizing however that when he uses his sentences at dinner, mom is so impressed that she gives him pretty much whatever he is asking for (I did however nix the ketchup on bread idea!). He is growing up so much! He also came out with some other sounds that seemed like sentences but he was using so many new words that I couldn't quite make all of them out.



Here are some pictures of Madeline in a dress that Justin's grandmother made for him. We are hoping to bless her in it but it was a little tight getting it on a couple of days ago when I took the pictures so we'll see if it still fits for her blessing in July.



Here she is with one of her big, whole face grins!! Granted I didn't catch it at the most opportune moment but it is so much fun that she is smiling so much more now.

Madeline's Growth and Seth

Madeline weighed in at 10 lbs. 12 oz. at her 1 month check-up yesterday! As the picture below shows, she has the chubby cheeks to prove it. Her arms and legs still look a little skinny but her tummy is plump!
These pictures were taken a week or two ago--it is so fun dressing her up for church and errands!

She is starting to sleep pretty well, even at night sometimes! We will probably be moving her into her room soon (apparently she'll sleep better--at the very least Justin will!). We've always shared a room with our babies for at least 2.5 months (Seth was 7 months in our room) so this will be a switch but should work out well.

Here is Seth showing off his band-aids from when he dove off the back steps onto the concrete. He is a bundle of energy and loves getting into everything even though he knows he's not supposed to. He's been a terror at the doctor's office (we've been countless times this month) and quite mischevious at home as well. He gives new meaning to the stage "terrible twos" and he won't technically be there until next month!

We've been very busy these last few weeks but hope things are settling down.

Benjamin: Birthday and Poison Ivy

Benjamin has had an eventful month. He turned five and is very excited to go to school! We celebrated his birthday by riding paddle boats again (forgot the camera and haven't requested digital copies of Marianne's pictures yet). At the bottom is a video of him enjoying his birthday present--his first bicycle!


Also this month, Justin and Benjamin both got poison ivy rashes while working in our backyard. Benjamin scratched his and it got majorly infected (four prescriptions and at least that many trips to the doctor).

This picture is one of the first ones we took after the first doctor's visit--his arm continued to swell.

As this picture shows, the red got worse too and he developed a scaly layer of skin on his arm. Luckily it has finally healed. However, he broke out in another rash as a reaction to the antibiotic he was on. He has been an amazing trooper about the whole thing--he doesn't complain and the only real acknowledgement (aside from the occasional unconcious scratch/rub of the rash) is to ask for itch medicine when it gets too itchy.

Now, he avoids the backyard and only plays in the front while we figure out how to rid our backyard of the poision ivy.

Piano

Here's our new piano! It's wonderful to be able to fill our house with music.

Everyone loves to play (except Madeline who is still too small)

Our Garden and Pictures

So I know everyone wants pictures of sweet children over garden pictures (which wouldn't be that impressive anyway) but I counted eleven tomatoes on our tomato plants today!!

Below are some pictures of our sweet children. We are having a wonderful time with our growing family!
Both Seth and Benjamin love giving Madeline kisses--however, I was only able to get a photo of Benjamin kissing her.

I know doctors say smiles this soon are not social but they still warm my heart!

Here are the boys ready for family prayer with Madeline before heading off to bed.

We had given away the infant car seat we used with Seth so got to buy a new one for Madeline! It was hard to find one in a pink I liked; most of the ones I saw didn't fall in my narrow range of pinks I can enjoy--we had to order this one online and it arrived only three days before Madeline did!

Another sweet smile to gladden the heart!

We are so happy to have Madeline as part of our eternal family!!

Welcoming Madeline Ava Jorgensen!

Madeline Ava Jorgensen was born last Saturday. She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 20 inches long. While she had to make a brief visit to the nursery for about an hour, she was able to come home on Sunday. The boys are so excited to have a little sister and love her so much already. They give her soft hugs and kisses and love to play around her. She is growing well--she was 7 lbs. 8 oz. on Thursday!

Here is Miss Madeline in a dress Aunt Marianne gave to her. She wore it to church yesterday and is an absolute doll in it!

Since we forgot the camera (and couldn't find batteries for it anyway), Justin took pictures of Madeline with his phone. Above is the first non-blurry photo--she was alert for several hours after delivery.

Here is Madeline's first picture.

The boys came to visit Saturday afternoon and immediately fell in love with Madeline.

Welcome to our family Madeline! We love you!!

Updates: B-day, Fun, and House

Happy Birthday Justin!!! (So I know the post is a few weeks late but we celebrated on his actual birthday). We surprised him with a German chocolate cake, and he got to cook on his new grill.



This is the boys "exercising"--obviously they have been watching Mommy and Daddy do yoga!

Here is Seth sitting on one of the trikes. He and Benjamin both love to play in the garage--whether or not it's raining outside.


Here Seth got some help dressing up in Benjamin's fire coat and hat--he's holding his horse which Benjamin informed us is his fire ax.

Here are the curtains I made for our big window in the living room. Thanks to Emily and Marianne for helping me pick out the fabric (and watching the boys while I deliberated!).

Here is a picture of the outside of our new house! We are working on the flower beds in the front, and Justin added some more seed to help our lawn get better established.

Here's a closer view of one of the flower beds. I took out some of the shrubs and planted geraniums instead. I also planted some wildflower seed in between the shrubs and the house. Next to come will be a border of marigolds but only so much can be done on Saturdays in between homework!

We are loving our house, but most of all we love seeing Justin more since he doesn't have to commute so far!

New House!!!

We bought a house and have moved in!! It's a lot closer to Justin's work, so he won't have such a commute. The boys love the yard and the house.

I'll post a few pictures once we get internet connected at the house!

Hide and Seek

Since I'm on today and remembering, I'll post the video of Seth and Benjamin playing hide-and-seek. It's really funny. Unfortunately, I stopped recording just before Seth pounced on Benjamin's back--it was so cute!

Enjoy!!