Funny Things Kids Say!

Every time Gunnar see's a pedestrian crossing sign he says: "Look Mommy, it's a human's walking sign!" Where does he learn something like that?? I suppose he is only pointing out the obvious... they are humans, and they are walking! I laugh every time he says it!

Bath Time...

The Boys playing in the tub while Bennett watches

Brothers! Conrad's face is sure changing... he's looking more like a little boy!

Conrad watching the water drip off his truck...

Bennett is 9 months old!

Bennett turned 9 months old on Saturday! I cannot believe she will be 1 soon... her first year has gone by so fast! Bennett weighs 16lbs 11oz and is in the 20%... She is 28 1/2 in tall and is in the 75%. So she follows Gunnar in the tall area and Conrad in the small/skinny way! At her doctors appointment today, I found out that she will have to see an eye doctor because she is crossed eyed. Looking at her now, I see it, but before this morning I never noticed it! She has a condition called Esotropia, which is the smart word for being crossed eyed.... I did a little reading and found out that there are 6 different kinds of esotropia. If this is in fact the correct diagnosis, she would most likely have congenital or infant esotropia. 1-2% of babies have this condition and it does not get better with age... surgical correction is required sometime between 6 and 14 months of age. We have an appointment on March 9th at the North Iowa Eye Clinic with an ophthalmologist. Please pray for Bennett's eyes... that whatever condition she has would be easily resolved without surgical correction. I am nearsighted and have worn glasses since the 2nd grade and one of my biggest fears was that I would pass my bad eye gene's on to my kids... let's face it, the chances were pretty high! I just didn't expect to have to deal with it all so early on. Pray that I would have a good attitude about all of it, especially if she needs to wear glasses. I just really hated wearing glasses my entire childhood and I don't want Bennett to feel the same way. On a happier note, here are some things Bennett is doing at 9 months old!

• Crawling on hands and knees
• Pulling herself up to standing and then getting back down to sitting/crawling
• Walking with toy walkers and when we hold her hands
• Taking 2-3 naps a day... I'm still working on cutting 1 nap out!
• Eating baby food and finger foods like cheerios and mac/cheese
• She can do "So Big"
• Waves Hi
• Claps her hands when you say "Yeah"
• She loves the bathroom and toilet paper
• She enjoys chewing on the darts from the boys' nerf guns.

Getting the boys to sleep through the night as babies was easy! Gunnar did at 4 months and Conrad at 2 months, but I can't seem to figure it out with Bennett! Letting the boys cry it out worked awesome... 2 nights of crying and then they were fine and still are for the most part. I have tried this way with Bennett multiple times and it seems to work for a few weeks or a month and then she is back to being up in the middle of the night... she has had 2 ear infections this winter, so I blame some of the sleep stuff on that... also, all the kids share one room so I am apprehensive about just letting her cry a lot because I don't want her to wake the boys... namely Conrad! So when I've tried to train her to sleep through the night I put her in the pack n play in the living room. So with all that said, I am looking for advice on how to get my 9 month old to sleep through the night consistently.... Also, just this week I have started feeding her solid food right before bed (Grandma Lori's suggestion!) and this seems to be helping somewhat!

Growing up so fast!

Bennett has been pulling herself up to standing for a couple of weeks now and today was the first time a thought to get the camera out!... She'll be 9 months old in a couple of weeks... I can't believe how mobile she is already!

New Thru 30 Thoughts

Thaddeus and I are doing a new testament read thru in 30 days with Elevation Church click here to view the reading plan. I just wanted to quickly share a few of the verses that have stuck out to me in the first 2 weeks.

2 Corinthians 4.16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Romans 11.33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. James 3.17-18 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. Romans 5.15-17 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Daddy Love

Reading Plan

Through the next 30 days, Thaddeus and I will be reading through the New Testament, following this plan http://newthru30.com/ It's not too late to start!