5 months

Oh my!! Where does the time go and how does it get away from me all the time??? I can't believe it has been more than a month since I posted last.

Everyone is doing well. The babies had their 4 month check-up in early August and they are both doing really well. Bennett was over 18 lbs!!! and Delaney was 15 lbs 6 oz. Needless to say, they are both happy, healthy babies.

Bennett is my jolly, little giant. He is probably close to 20 lbs already and busting out of his infant carrier car seat. I am so bummed!! His 3-6 month clothes are belly shirts and the pants are capri's on him. I am pulling out the 6-9 month clothes. He smiles and laughs very easily. If you acknowledge him in any way you will get the biggest grin. He has the funniest laugh - almost a chuckle. He will laugh at you laughing. He especially finds his big sister Allison funny when she plays peek-a-boo with him. He will get laughing so hard that he can hardly catch his breath. He looks a lot like Troy and we have friends that call him TJ (Troy Junior). He has figured out how to jump in his jumperoo and can really get it rocking. He squeals and "talks" quite often and will occasionally get really loud to get one in over his little sister.

Delaney is my sweet girl. She is a peanut compared to Bennett. She loves to "talk" and gargle. She has many important things to say. She would rather talk than eat. She can roll over from her back to her tummy and will tolerate her tummy for about 10 minutes. Then she gets upset but can't figure out how to roll on to her back. She loves to stand and now has to stand to burp, she doesn't want to sit. Too funny! She is working on sleeping better and is doing well.

They are both loving their cereal and veggies. They have eaten carrots, peas and green beans so far. Next will be spinch, mmmm!! They sleep really well overnight - going to bed about 8:30 or 9 and getting up to eat between 5 and 6 and then go back to bed until approx. 8 a.m.

Allison is enjoying her summer. We went to grandpa's "little" (county) fair in early August. She loves the goats and we had to walk through each barn several times. Her little friend Brecken came with us and between Allison's multiple trips through the barns and Brecken's fascination with the tractors and lawn mowers, we were busy! Allison started talking to and playing with a sweet little girl and decided that she was going to go with her family and just walked away from us. Boy did that give mom and dad a heart attack. She couldn't understand the trouble with her going to see the horses with her new friend (whose name we still don't know)! Then ensued the conversation about strangers, etc. How do you tell your child to be cautious but not make them scared of everyone? She is very excited to visit grandpa's "big" (state) fair this weekend and help him show the goats. She was hilarious last year so I am sure she will be another "big help" to grandpa. She is spending 3 days at the farm this week before school starts for my mom. She doesn't have much time to talk when we call because she is very busy. My dad's cat Elmo has to be sick of her by now because she is constantly dragging him around. She even got to name one of my dad's baby goats. Each year he has a letter that all the baby goats names begin with. This year is Z - so the littlest one is Zipper and is HER goat. Boy has it been quiet around here without her chattering my ear off. She has successfully learned how to spell both her first and last names and has almost a little chat to help her remember it. She finished Littles 1 level of swimming at Foss and will be starting Littles 2 session tonight. I can't believe she is 3 and swimming on her own. What a life skill to have...

Troy and I decided to take the plunge and get a piece of exercise equipment to help me get rid of the rest of my baby weight and him to lose his sympathy weight. Now that I am at home, the kitchen is WAY too accessible and the scale is going to wrong direction. Shouldn't it be going down? We got an eliptical machine and Troy is excited to set it up tonight and get started on it tomorrow morning. I hope we can stick to it and see results.

We are doing the usual fall activities - juicing apples, making applesauce, freezing corn on the cob and making my own baby food. I have officially smoked my blender, oops. They love it and it is so much more economical than buying the little Gerber tubs of food for two!

I am going away for the first time since the babies have been born in a couple weeks for a weekend scrapbooking with the gals. We are going to Amboy again. I am very much looking forward to getting some more done and maybe, just maybe catching up on Allison's book, only to start on the babies' books.

I am going to join the MOMS (mothers of multiples) group and network with some of the other moms and have a support system. I have some great babies but we all know that some days can almost get the best of us. There is a large garage sale the group puts on in a couple weeks that members can get into early before the public. I look forward to picking up stuff that we have decided we needed another of over time.

Troy is working with a landscaper and we are hoping to have him rip up and redo our landscaping in September. I was skeptical of planting new plants in the fall but have since found out that it is the best time of year to plant vs. the spring/summer. Instead of working on growing and getting scorched by the sun, the plant grows a good root system and then goes dormant for the winter. Then in the spring it has a good root system to withstand the next spring and summer. I am excited to get it done because it was certainly a do-it-yourselfer job that was not done well by the previous owners. We will post before and after pictures for everyone to see.

I think I have written a long enough novel already and will end for this time. Besides I hear a little voice over the monitor that someone is waking up from nap. I love it when babies transition from waking up crying to waking up and talking/playing until you come and get them. Until next time, take care...