And it all started with a little dirt...

This past weekend was great. Although my kids kept me busy cleaning I had a great weekend. It all started when I thought Ben was watching the girls, but he was actually changing Barrett's diaper. When he was done he told me that I should check on the girls and to my surprise they had both gotten into the potted plants! Raina wasn't dirty, but Lauren was covered in it and it appeared that she may have even eaten a little bit! Yuck!

Then Sunday morning as we were getting ready to go to the GR Museum, Barrett decided that it would be fun to paint his face with my lipstick. He also thought it would be fun to open my vanity drawer and "color" everything in it! Lipstick is pretty much impossible to clean, but it sure was funny. Afterwards, we headed off to the museum with most of Ben's family. A new dinosaur exhibit had just opened up and we thought that Barrett would get a kick out of it. For the most part he loved it (especially the digging of fossils...rice covered bones), but the t-rex and the graphic hunting scene did startle him a bit. One dinosaur even moved and appeared to look at him...he decided to then take a few steps back. We toured the museum and the headed back to the in-laws for dinner. It was a very nice day with family.

Dinosaurs at GR Museum 2.22.09

Click on picture above to look at more pictures.

surgery

Grandpa Delbert with the girls after plowing our driveway

Gwen's "cheese" face

The best group shot I could get

The chaos that is trying to get a group shot

This weekend actually started on Friday since I didn't have to go to work, but rather I had to take Ben in to have sinus surgery. His sinuses were almost completely filled with "stuff" (for lack of a better word) and he needed to have his drainage openings made larger and his sinuses cleaned out. We were at the hospital a total of about 6 hours and then we were able to head for home. Ben was pretty out of it that night and into the next day. We were lucky enough to have Ben's parents watch the kids that night and even the next night. The girls did come home for a few hours while Sue went to a wedding, but then they spent the night with them again. Saturday while the girls were home, Barrett went with Aunt DiDi to vist with cousin Louie. Delbert and Mark came over to shovel and plow out our driveway. They ended up staying and playing some Euchre which was a lot of fun. I haven't played cards in a while. Then today we went to pick up the kids and came back home because the Edin crew were coming for a visit. Lynne and Mike came over too, because Gwen had been with them most of the week and they needed to drop her off with her mom and dad. It was a crazy afternoon and everyone got to see what it's like to be in our home on regular basis. Barrett throwing a tantrum, pushing his sisters, Lauren needing almost constant attention, Raina speed walking around every bit of furniture she can get to, etc. Crazy! Needless to say the girls fell asleep early tonight and Barrett needs to, but refuses. Ah, the life of a toddler.

Anyway, I never posted the girls 10 month stats, so here you go.

Raina @ 10 months:
::weighs about 19 lbs.
::sucks her two middle right hand fingers
::loves to cuddle when tired
::cruises around tables and furniture
::can walk while holding on to something (toy stroller)
::pulls herself up
::crawls everywhere (less army and more on all fours)
::has 7 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom)
::hair appears to be darker and has a faux hawk hairstyle
::blue eyes
::dimples
::loves to wrestle with Barrett and be tickled
::wants to always play with the "big" kids
::very curious and busy
::shovels food into her mouth
::naps twice a day
::drinks formula two-three times a day (4 oz during the day and 6 oz right before bed)
::sleeps on her tummy
::very independent when it comes to everything (drinking from a sippy, feeding herself, playing with toys)
::super adorable and very funny!

Lauren @ 10 months
::weighs about 20 lbs.
::loves her blanket
::prefers to just be left alone in crib when sleepy
::rubs her eyes when shes tired
::can pull herself up
::slowly cruises around things
::crawls everywhere (beginning to get tummy off of the floor)
::has 5 teeth (three on top and two on bottom)
::barely any hair, but appears to be lighter
::blue eyes
::prefers to play alone, easily bothered by Raina or Barrett running into her
::can hold her own bottle
::naps twice a day
::drinks formula two-three times a day
::loves to eat and feed herself
::takes her time eating, but always manages to stuff a lot down in her lap
::can walk while holding onto something
::loves to bounce while sitting (dance to music)
::loves to play patty-cake and peek-a-boo
::super lovable and precious!

crazy, fun weekend

Jocelyn and Me

Night out with the ladies

Cousin Jenny and Sheryl, the birthday girl!

Barrett with his owie lip

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Friday I left straight from work and headed over to Kyle and Melissa's house. We talked, ate pizza and got ready to go out for the night. Jocelyn, Cheryl, Kele, and Heather all met us there and we socialized some more before heading out. Jocelyn was so kind and gave us a ride (although we all felt horrible for her thinking that it must be so hard to not be going out with us). We definitely missed having her with us. Anyway, we had a great night dancing and mingling. There was a small situation with a camera and some clumsiness, but we all managed to get home safely. What a night!

Then Saturday was Sheryl's surprise 50th birthday party. Sherly is Ben's aunt and the babysitter of our kids. It was a great surprise and she had no idea that it was going to happen. Good job to her daughters who put on a great party. I also got to visit with an old friend, Lottie. I hadn't seen her in close to 9 months, so some catching up was necessary. It'd been far to long. We already have plans to get together again soon, so that will be nice.

Yesterday, Barrett came home with a fat lip, so I thought I'd share a pic of that, too. It's his first real injury and supposedly he fell on a box at the sitters. This morning he said it didn't hurt any more, so that's good. Oh, my poor little man.

fun, fun , fun

Raina in her sweater dress and fuzzy boots

Lauren in her dress and boots

Barrett on the way to Tatym's 1st birthday party

Andrea and Cheryl came to visit on Sunday

Gwen, Sammy, Raina, Lauren, Tatym, & Barrett (trying to poke the birthday girl)

Happy Birthday, Tatym!

This past weekend was so much fun! Saturday we headed over to Troy to celebrate Tatym's 1st birthday. It was a busy afternoon and evening, but great catching up with everyone. There were a lot of kids and we kept saying how much times have changed! :)

Then on Sunday, the Simons and Weages came to visit. It was so nice to see baby Kaylynn again, too. She is 3 months old now and starting to smile and fill out. Time goes so fast. It was a relaxing afternoon and a great way to close out the weekend.

Movin' and Shakin'

has it been 9 months already?

Chillin' in their denim

Too cute

Lauren @ 9 months old

Raina @ 9 months old

The girls are 9 months old today! Crazy to think although at times it has felt like they have been here forever other times I realize that these are the last of their baby stages. They are busier than ever, but so interactive and entertaining! Here are their stats:

Raina @ 9 months:
::She has 7 teeth (4 on top and 3 on the bottom)
::She sleeps through the night (8 pm - 7 am)
::She takes two naps throughout the day, one morning and one afternoon nap
::She sucks her two middle fingers (preferably her right hand, but will sometimes suck her left)
::She loves to be rocked, but can often go without (she's more cuddly than Lauren)
::She army crawls everywhere, yet she can also do the standard hands-knees crawl too
::Loves to create obstacle courses (she'll crawl over Lauren all the time or through the bottom of the exersaucers)
::She can pull herself up to things (her crib was lowered because I found her standing in her crib one morning)
::She is a good eater...she eats 3 solid meals a day, with 3 formula feedings throughout the day
::She eats like Barrett does, though, which means that she likes to shove as much food in her mouth at one time as possible
::Her hair is starting to come in although it sort of looks like a faux hawk right now
::She likes to play peek-a-boo and she thinks it's really funny when you suck on her fingers
::She has a great laugh that comes out when you tickle her tummy
::She love to say "momma" and I claim it as her first word (Ben would argue that point, but whatever)
::She wiggles and squirms everywhere and I call her my little runt
::I love her so much and feel so very blessed to have her in my life

Lauren @ 9 months
::She has 2 teeth (two on bottom)
::She sleeps through the night (8 pm - 7 am)
::She takes two naps throughout the day, one morning and one afternoon nap
::She loves silky things
::She prefers to just be left alone in her crib to sleep
::She can army crawl and roll to get wherever she wants to go
::She is very flexible
::She gets frustrated with crawling sometimes
::She loves to just lay on the floor (or sit) and play with something
::She loves to stand, but cannot pull herself up on her own yet
::She is a great eater...she eats 3 solid meals a day plus 3 formula feedings thoughout the day
::She loves to feed herself
::Her hair is pretty minimal right now...my little baldy
::She loves to play pee-a-boo and she loves to yell at the "kid" in the mirror
::She also can say "momma"
::She is a smiler and giggler
::I love her so much, too. How lucky I feel each and every day!

I don't want to forget about my little man, either. Barrett is so much fun these days. He is talking all the time and saying and doing the funniest things. He loves to build and he will often come over and ask "Mom, build" and he'll take my hand and bring me over to his blocks. I love it that he wants to sit and play with me! I loves to watch his toons and there are still times that he wants to just sit on the couch on my lap and watch. I love those moments. He laughs a lot and helps around the house with things when he can. He is starting to say please and thank you without probing him. He loves to run, wrestle, play with his tools and dinosaurs, and play outside on the big toys. He is definitely all boy, but he is still my sweet little baby. It's incredible watching him grow and change. :) My kids are the best!

Sprinkle & Snow

Jocelyn and Me at her baby sprinkle

Barrett asleep on the quad

Yesterday I met up with Monica and Erica to head down to Royal Oak to attend my sister, Jocelyn's baby sprinkle (baby number two, so not a shower...just a sprinkle..heehee). The weather was horrible (good job Monica who drove there and back), but we managed to get there in no time. It was a fantastic afternoon of chatting and laughing. I had a great time with some ladies. It's always fun to just have some girl time. Jocelyn seems ready to go and I think she's feeling like she is in the hoem stretch now. I just can't believe that she is going to have a baby boy so soon! I can't wait! The drive home was worse then the drive there, but we just took our time and enjoying the company. I think it took us about 3 hours to get home, but it didn't feel like it because I was having such a good time. :) Monica and Erica stayed at my house for a little while and we played Taboo (with Ben). It was a fun way to end the night.

Today Ben decided to take Barrett outside to play in the snow and go for a quad ride. About 30 minutes (maybe) of being outside Ben came inside to tell me to grab the camera. I walk outside and I saw Barrett on the quad fast asleep! He was zonked out. Too funny. :)

Barrett & the Weasel

More Christmas Festivities

The boys waiting to go sledding

Barrett and his helmet

Barrett had to try the helmet on right away!

Spitzley X-mas and Hanging out with Smiths

Last Sunday was our Christmas with Ben's immediate family. It was a nice day, yet with two sick babies and a sick husband it was not as ideal as one would hope for. One of the big presents of the night was Barrett's new snowmobile helmet (for his kitty cat sled). He loved it immediately and had us put it right on him (check out the pics when you get a chance).

Today the sun was shining and Ben was feeling better so he invited Sue over (she was watching Louie and Elizabeth for the day) to take Barrett and Louie sledding. They boys had a great time outside. I must say, it was hilarious watching Barrett walk around in his large helmet! He waddled somewhat, but he just loved the helmet! There are some great pictures of this also, just click the bottom picture above. After sledding the boys came in and we all played around the house for a bit. It was a fun afternoon!

We finally got the chance to all get together this afternoon for some catch up. It was great visiting with the ladies!

I wasn't feeling so good (either were the girls) and we all feel asleep together on the couch. Love the cuddle time, though.

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas in Saginaw. I forgot my camera for that mornings festivities at my dads. I'll have to get some from Erica. It was a great day, though. A bit of a scary ride home, but we managed to get home safely and now we are home trying to get over this bug that keeps going around our home.

Weekend @ Grandma's

Last weekend was the annual christmas weekend @ Grandma Lewis' home. We didn't go up until Saturday this year, because Barrett had been feeling pretty ill. We had a great time with the family. We opened presents, played Zuma, played Euchre, and played Cranium (yes, a lot of playing...gotta love it!). The next day was interesting because it had snowed even more (I think we have a total of 10-15 inches now). The ride home was treacherous, but we managed to get home safely. Barrett is still ill, but hopefully he'll be better soon for more christmas festivities. On a side note, Lauren is now crawling, too! She just went for it last week and has been nonstop since. It's definitely crazy having two crawlers in the house now. :)

my cubs

Lauren

Raina

Barrett (when he was 5 months old)

Girls @ 8 Months!

Antlers on Lauren

Reindeer Raina

The girls are now 8 months old!!! Whoa! They are so busy these days that Ben and I can hardly keep things in order! Throw a toddler into the mix and we've got chaos! :)

Raina's stats:
::Has 4 teeth on top and 3 on bottom.
::Can crawl by pulling her body forward, but has started to crawl on her hands and knees recently too
::Wiggles and kicks ALL the time...changing table, when you pick her up...whenever!
::Sucks her two middle fingers (prefers the right hand)
::Loves to play with the computer
::Swats at food/bottles when she is definitely done eating
::Loves to feed herself and will sometimes just make a mess to run her fingers through the food
::Prefers sleeping on her belly (she wakes up with a red nose from rubbing her face in the matress too much
::Eats well throughout the day (three solid meals with bottles in between)
::Sleeps from about 8:30 pm to 6:30 am
::Takes two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon
::Takes a little while to get her to smile, but when she does she lights up the room!

Lauren's stats:
::Two teeth on bottom
::Loves to sit and bounce in the exersaucer
::Loves to eat and is a really good eater (opens her mouth really wide and makes hardly any mess)
::Is beginning to crawl, but still gets frustrated because it is difficult
::Can roll wherever she wants to go
::Love silky things
::Loves chewing on toys
::Is extremely flexible
::Loves to smile and coo
::Sleeps from about 8:30 pm to 6:30 am
::Take two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon
::Loves to play peek-a-boo
::Loves attention and will sometimes cry when she thinks you've left the room
::Super adorable and fun to tickle!

Layla is here!!

My cousin Trevor and his wife, Kate, welcomed their daughter on December 1st (also my sister-in-laws birthday). Congrats to the new family!! We can't wait to meet her!

cute pics

All three in the tub!

Raina in the big tub

Lauren, too. She loves to curl her tongue like this!

Pretty Raina

Beautiful Lauren

Daddy tickling Raina

Barrett's wrestle eyes

Lauren sitting like a big girl

Raina can sit up, too!

The girls are growing up so fast

The girls stats @ 7 months:

Raina
~~Sucks her two middle fingers. Mostly her right hand, but is pretty ambidextrous
~~Loves to eat solids and even feeds herself sometimes
~~Rolls over all the time and can pretty much get to wherever she wants
~~Sometimes pulls herself up on all fours and rocks back and forth
~~Can sit unsupported
~~Just started taking baths in the big tub
~~Loves to jump in the exersaucer
~~Has two bottom front teeth, but upper right one is starting to make an appearance (she's been pretty fussy lately)
~~Naps two long times per day
~~Sleeps through the night (preferably on her tummy)
~~Thinks her brother is the funniest person alive!

Lauren
~~Smiles almost instantly
~~Rolls everywhere
~~Sits unsupported
~~Naps two long times per day
~~Sleeps though the night
~~No teeth
~~Coos all the time
~~Just started taking baths in the big tub
~~Love to eat... solids, formula, you name it
~~Pretty easy going baby until she's hungry :)
~~Loves everyone and we think she's pretty special too!

Barrett has been doing great, too. He loves his sisters. I often find him sitting next to them on the floor showing them his toys or "reading" them a book. It's too cute. Every time I try to get it on camera he jumps up to see what I am doing. Hopefully one of these times I'll be able to quietly get the shot without him noticing. Anyway, he is talking and talking all the time now. He can say so many words now. It's fun. He still naps once a day and this weekend I got some time to cuddle with him when it was nap time. He kept putting his arm around me. It was so nice since that doesn't happen so much anymore. He is so much fun to be around!!

Birthday Party

Friday night we headed off to O.E. to watch Portland play in their second playoff game. My step-brother was pulled up for the playoffs, so it was exciting to have the whole family there to watch the game. It was my dad's birthday, too, so we had even more reason to all be together and celebrate. Unfortunately Portland did not win, though. Saturday my dad wanted to get the family together for the day (since Friday was all about football). We all hung out at his house for the day and evening. It was so nice to be with family. :)

Kaylynn update

I just got an email from my friend Andrea and she said that her daughter is doing great. They were able to bring her home yesterday!! Earlier than expected! I haven't spoken with her yet, but I am so excited that everything seems to be going so well. Just thought I would pass along the good news!