9 months and counting!

We now have internet at our house for the first time! That means I might actually post more often. It was very difficult to do on my phone...at least for me!

SO...what can I tell you about our lives since my last post?? Tons, I'm sure. I might have to break it up into a few posts (at least the pictures!).

Bennett has been a fun addition to our family. He is a very low-key and content baby. When I had Brenton I really thought he was an "easy" baby, and he was, but Bennett is a whole new (different) experience of an "easy" baby! Brenton's personality and Bennett's personality are almost exactly opposite in every way. Where they are not exactly opposite, they are exactly the same! Lol...if that makes any sense at all! After Bennett was born it took me about 2 weeks to realize that the things that "worked" for Brenton were not going to work for Bennett and with everything that I tried-- I needed to do the opposite. Haha...what a learning experience! Motherhood is never dull...

I had a great labor experience this time and am very happy that I switched doctors for my pregnancy with Bennett. We had some especially new/different experiences ("firsts") with Bennett. He experienced some jaundice for the first week and we had to use a light therapy blanket at home. He also got an eye infection very early, but it went away quickly. Bennett did great with nursing and I was thankful for a much better experience with that. He hated the bath for the first few months...yes, months. He seems to be much more of an introvert than Brenton and I quickly realized he did not like to go, go, go constantly like his brother or be the center of attention for too long. He has always seemed to enjoy being at home, having "down time", and especially sleeping in his own bed. Bennett is a very mellow baby. He likes to just. chill. :)

We started cereal around 4 months just as we had with Brenton and baby food shortly after...and Bennett was not thrilled. He made some of the funniest faces I've ever seen when I would put new textures in his mouth! It did start to grow on him after a few weeks, but he continues to surprise me with his preferences. There have been so many things I have tried with Bennett and have gotten the reaction-- 'you've got to be kidding me, mom!' in the way he looks at me!!! These boys may look alike, but boy are they different! It has been really fun for us to learn and grow and change- oh, life!

Right around the 6 month mark Bennett began to sit up on his own, roll over and finally quit waking up at 4am to eat! Since that time he has been developing and changing much more rapidly. He started saying "da-da" the last weekend in August (after my week long attempt at getting him to say "ma-ma" while I was home with the boys- stinker!). He loves to hold your fingers and walk everywhere. He will also walk on his own if holding on to the couch, etc. He chatters all the time and when he is frustrated he holds his fists out in front of himself and tenses up into a shake and yells and scowls- it's hilarious! I keep telling him he needs to learn some words because this momma does not communicate well that way!! He looks like he wants to crawl, but has not figured out how to actually use the crawling position to move. This week he figured out a new method of transportation that seems to be working for him, though-- he scoots anywhere he wants on his booty! I'll try to post a video on here, but you may have to track that on facebook.

Brenton has been a wonderful big brother-- very helpful and OVERLY involved most of the time...as he is in everything in life! haha! Brenton continually amazes us with his ability to process and understand. Travis and I have tried to spell things that we don't want him to hear since he first started paying so much attention to our conversations and that no longer works- he usually figures out what we're talking about very quickly. He LOVES school (he started pre-k this fall) and comes home daily with something new he's learned, made a connection with or associated with something else. He has a way better memory than I do and you can just see it in his eyes that he is cataloging new knowledge every second of every day. He is SO smart! Today at lunch, for example, he was discussing the need to aerate your yard with my older sister! ha! I just cannot imagine what he's going to be like as a teenager!

Toward the end of the summer my dad lost his job and my parents made the difficult decision to sell their house and move back to Wichita. We are thrilled to have them close again and actually my parents are watching the kiddos now so they have a blast every day! We continue to pray that God will show them the direction He has for their lives. My little sister, Moriah (not so little as she is a junior in HS), is living with us and is attending NW (where I went!). Travis and I joke that we adopted a teenager and that was never in our immediate plans-- parents are supposed to have 13 years to prepare for teenagers and we just jumped right into it! Haha...we are having fun with her here. My other little sister, Maranda (also not so little as she will be 20 tomorrow!), is studying Missions at Southern Nazarene University and is currently abroad for the semester in Ecuador! The amazing thing is that they are on the same time zone in Ecuador-- so with Skype and texting and all of the other wonderful technology we have now it isn't much different than when she is in Oklahoma (except that we won't see her until December). We are especially thankful for Skype, etc. and are trying to get better at using them because Maranda thinks she might be gone again next semester...and because my older sister and her husband, Michelle and Jason, will be moving to Miami at the end of this week. Michelle and Jason are SO close to us and our boys- we will be missing them like crazy, but we know this is an awesome opportunity for them. Plus, who can argue with a vacation in Miami?!?!?!

Ok...here are some pictures!

They are always SO tiny at first! :)

Bennett's dedication.

Surprise shower the day after Christmas!

Big brother-- in action!

Brenton LOVES to play in the snow!

Tulsa Zoo

Branson

The Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson-- hilarious to see Brenton looking at these!

4th of July

Big boy's 4th birthday!

Super-awesome birthday swing-set thanks to many family members!

Shower for new nephew, Maysen Joe, born Friday 9/23! :)

Washing dishes...mostly getting wet!

Ok...I know this is like the longest post ever...I'll quit! There is so much more that I could write and SO many more pictures I could post, but for now that will have to do! I am in the process of transferring pictures from my phone to the computer- it's amazing how little we use the "real" camera now! Hope to hear from you all soon!

Meagan

Life in the fast lanes...

It's been almost an eternity since I've posted anything!

Here are some highlights:
*We are thankful for our faith.
*We love our family.
*We feel blessed in our home.

Oh...it looks like not much has changed after all. :)

We've made some great memories since my last post- far too much to catch up on in writing- but I will leave you with some notes about our life as a family of 4. Bennett joined us a week before Christmas and it has been such a fun 5+ weeks. He looks (basically) identical to Brenton, but I can already where their personalities differ. Brenton adores Bennett- he is extremely helpful, possessive, loving...and much more all wrapped into one. He wants Bennett to do everything with him and go everywhere with him. He translates "Bennett talk" too...sometimes Bennett will be doing absolutely NOTHING and Brenton will say, "mom- Bennett said he wants some candy"...or insert just about anything after "Bennett said"...haha. He cracks me up!

Brenton has been home during my maternity leave up until today (and minus 4 days in Tulsa with Grandma Tammy) and I have really enjoyed getting to see all the little things he does during the day. We get to sing songs, learn, watch movies, go places, etc. for more time each day than I've had with him since I started working really...and it's been wonderful. He is such a high energy, intelligent, question asking guy and I can't wait to see how much he teaches his little brother about life.

I am singing in our church choir and really happy that I finally joined. I sang all growing up and especially in high school...and then completely dropped it cold turkey when I started college because I did not have time. It's been more than a couple years since then and I am glad to have that joy back in my life. Having music in your soul is not something that can be taken away, but when you are living it you have much more joy than when you are not. Travis is anticipating the coming softball season, learning how to be a handy-man at home and overall being the most amazing dad in the world. My mom said something to me recently about Travis and it really hit the nail on the head so I thought I should share. Travis has been a great dad at every stage. We watched him when Brenton was born (and now Bennett) and he is a great dad with a newborn...then we watched him as Brenton was months old and he was a great dad of a baby...and as Brenton turned a year old Travis was a great dad with a toddler...and then Travis was a great dad with a 2 year old (terrible and all!)...and with a 3 year old who asks "why?" 7,598,645 times per day- Travis is a great dad. I guess the point is that some men are really good with a certain age group...or stage in life...but I am very thankful and happy to brag a little to say that Travis has been awesome at everything that's come our way.

I'll leave you with that. I think I hear the little one waking up and it's time to go get big-brother anyway!

No internet...can you tell?!

Hi!!!!!!! I hope this finds everyone doing well!

We are moved in and fairly settled-- come on over and see us sometime! We LOVE our house and are so thankful for it. We cannot even begin to express how blessed and how grateful we are to such a loving God.

In other news-- it's a good thing we have an extra room upstairs because a new little one will be filling it later this year! Travis and I are expecting again- due over the Holidays this year. Brenton is adorable- already talking to the baby and playing peek-a-boo! He says it is a sister...so we'll see! :)

We've had so much fun over the past couple of months- it is hard to even know what to post on here. We've had great times with friends and family...busy, busy times...and then of course, the usual everyday stuff. Right now we are sitting in my parent's living room in Tulsa because my little sister is graduating high school tonight! Congrats, Maranda! Since we don't have internet at our house I thought I would take advantage of being here and post a little.

Breakfast is calling my name, though-- hope to catch up with you all soon!

10 days and counting!

In case you haven't heard- this will become a regular part of our family's life in just 10 short days (by that I mean 10 days that feel like an eternity long each!)!

We have asked for prayer for decisions and the ability to buy a house and jobs and countless other things and now all I can say is praise God for the blessings he is showing us! Of course I still have worries and would never want our friends would to stop praying for us as we have daily requests, but to say the least I am a very happy girl. :)

So...our lives right now consist of dreaming about hanging blinds...worrying about fitting things down the stairs into the basement...and packing, packing, packing.

In other news, Brenton has an upper respiratory infection- this winter has been killer for him. He's never been sick much before, but we have not been able to knock this cough completely. Previously the diagnoses have been "a cold" and "walking pneumonia"....and now the URI. This time, though, we referred to Aunt Michelle for treatment and she has Brenton on breathing treatments twice a day and they are helping SO much! Between these, his meds, and the weather finally starting to get warmer- I think we will be rid of it soon and I am so glad!

Hey- is the time change kicking anybody else in the rear?! I find myself staying awake forever at nights, waking up at 8am (instead of the normal 7am) and feeling like it is 5am! Crazy.

I am feeling a little random this morning- sorry for hopping all over the place!

We went to Tulsa a couple of weekends ago and 2 great things came of it-- Maranda did a great job in "All Shook Up" at her school; the entire cast was awesome and the show was outstanding AND my mom is getting better! Really getting better! I am so thankful that God has carried her through this time in her life and continues to do so as he shows her healing every day.

Last weekend we celebrated baby Jacksen's 1st birthday- always cute to watch a little baby dig into some birthday cake! That is our nephew for those of you who are lost. We also spent some time with Rhonda, Les and the kiddos (some of which are way taller than me and probably shouldn't be identified as kiddos anymore!) and the g-pa and g-ma.

I better run, but I'll leave you with this: Choose God.

Is it Spring yet?

It's supposed to be 39 here today....

can it get any warmer? Please?

We are all well now around here and are thankful for that. Brenton actually had walking pneumonia for a few weeks, but I can gladly say he has not coughed all week! Travis and I have both had the cold/sinus crud that has been going around and it really stuck around a while for me. On top of that I got some kind of 24-hour flu bug a week or two ago...

but like I said- we are all well now and so thankful!

Other than being sick we've spent the past few weeks spending time with friends here and there, working and, well, the usual. We have a few birthdays to celebrate this week- my dad turned the big 5-0 yesterday and we are going to head to Tulsa most likely for a party this weekend, Travis' brother, Tim, is turning 27 today, and our good friend Mira's birthday is today as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GANG! :)

Oh yeah! Travis and I have UNO on our Wii now so we have been battling each other in that-- it's pretty intense. He gets the UNO competitive drive from his mom's side of the family- they know how to play some mean UNO in Manhattan!

Brenton has been growing as usual. I can't remember if I posted this before, but he knows how to spell his name now and it is really cute! His baby-sitter taught him a little chant to help him learn it so he says "B-R-E.....N-T-O-N" and then we will say "what does that spell?" and he yells "BRENTON!". Here is a funny story while I am talking about him: A few nights ago I took him to his favorite place (he goes through phases, but this is his current fave): Emperor's. His attention span was about out and he had already finished eating so he started playing around, being loud, finding creative things to do as usual and he started standing up in the high chair he was sitting in. I told him to sit down twice and when he continued I said to him "Brenton, look at the floor- it is very hard. If you fall out of that chair you will break your head open and we will have to go to the hospital." He looked right back at me with a huge smile and said "and then they will have to put a new one [head] on!"

So much for trying, right?! :)

I have to run get the kiddo ready for the day- email or call us soon!

Something must be going around...

I think we've caught a couple of the bugs that have been going around lately. Brenton has had a terrible cough on 3 separate occasions this winter and it is not going away this time....and he woke up in the night with "other symptoms"....enough said. I sneezed once Sunday night and that one sneeze has turned into some sort of horrible cold or sinus infection- I feel like I've been run over by a semi-truck. We are headed to the doctor this morning....

In other news we had a great time at the Harlem Globetrotters last weekend- they were hilarious and it was a really fun time for our whole family. Not to mention our church choir sang the Star Spangled Banner before the game and did an excellent job! We are really excited to have pastor Brent at church now and SO looking forward to some new things that are coming- including a new SS class and probably some small groups. This is just what Travis and I needed!

Please continue to pray for us as we really hope to be making some really important decisions in the next few months! Hope to hear from you all soon!

B to the renton...

Thank you, Uncle Tim!