I feel....

like I'm always playing catch-up.  Life just seems to be spinning out of control  faster than it used to.

So here's a quick update:

Though Ben is almost 6 months old, here he is at 5 months.



As of a couple days ago he is crawling all over the place!

We had a white Thanksgiving! A first for me since moving to the Seattle area.

Abby and Gerritt had so much fun building this snowman.

We hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!

Halloween

Here's my cute princess.

And my little kangaroo. Do you think he looks like Abby? Click HERE to see.

The two of them together after a long evening of Trunk-or-Treating.

Abby tells me these cute girls are her best friends! They had so much fun playing and trick-or-treating together.

Pumpkin Patch & 4 months!

We had the chance to go to the Pumpkin Patch with Abby's preschool class.

We went on a tractor ride.....

And checked out the fields.....

And picked out a pumpkin!

Though Abby isn't smiling in any of the pictures I took, she told me she had fun. As much as Abby fights taking a nap...she still needs one.

That same day Ben turned 4 months old!

His 4 month stats:

15 lb 12 oz  75%

25 in  50%

He is getting so big...and so much fun!!!

Playing Catch-up

The rest of September flew by.....

Abby wanted her picture taken because I was taking Ben's three month pics.

Here's Ben at three months. I just love his chubby cheeks. (They're the best for kissing!)

Abby also started riding the bus to preschool. She LOVES it! I love it too.

First day....

...of preschool! Abby started preschool today. She is in the ECE program at our local elementary school.

Cute as a button getting ready for school.

The morning started out a little rough. Abby cried when I left her in class, but her teachers said she did fine the rest of the day.

Happy as a clam at the end of the day!

The "C" Pillow

Abby is always claiming the boppy as her "C" pillow. Well, I finally got sick of her stealing it when I needed to feed Ben. So, I made her her very own "C" pillow. She loves it and has it with her almost always. My hate/hate relationship with the sewing machine is getting to be more amicable.

And not to be left out......her is Ben enjoying his "C" pillow!

My Boys

I caught these cute shots while testing out a new photo backdrop. Aren't my boys so cute handsome?

Look at those baby blues!

Baby Blessings....

We blessed Ben on Sunday July 25th. We had a lot of family that came into town to celebrate with us!

Ben was blessed in the same onesie that Gerritt was blessed in. (I'm so glad we didn't wait much longer to bless him because I almost couldn't squeeze him into the onesie.)

What a handsome little guy!

Here's Ben's Uncle Alan and cousin Lucas. Lucas is only 6 months older than Ben. I'm sure they'll be great friends! (and get into a lot of trouble together.) 

Here's Ben with his Uncle Brad and Aunt Erin. Ben really likes his new to the family Uncle.

In other news....Abby is really warming up to Ben. (I admit, I was worried for awhile.) She is always wanting to hold "baby brudder" and kiss him and help. It's really cute when she tries to get him to stop crying by shoving the pacifier in his mouth.  Ben just LOVES Abby. She can make him smile and coo better than anyone else!  I just love my kids!

Game Farm Park

A couple Saturdays ago we really needed to get out of the house. It was a beautiful day outside so we went to the park.  We hiked walked along the White River. Abby had so much fun, and Ben slept in the baby sling.

Amazon Girl & Mr. Chunk

I took both the kids into the Pediatricians office for their well-child/baby appointments. It was Abby's three year check-up, and Ben's 1 month appt.

Abby's new stats are:

39 1/2 in tall  She's in the 95th % (hence the new nickname)

33.8 lbs  70th %

Ben is growing soooo fast!

His 1 month stats:

10 lb 8 oz   75%

21 in long  50%

Hew gained a little over three pounds in one, yes just one, month!

Abby's 3!!

Abby turned three on the 15th of July!

She really wanted a "Princess and the Frog" party.

She invited a few friends over and they all had a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday Abby!

Welcome Benjamin!

On June 18th, 2010 we welcomed our second child.

Meet....

 Benjamin Gerritt McDaniel

7 lbs 6 oz  20in

3:27am

We went into the hospital at 9am on the 17th for an induction.  It was a long process, but definitely worth it!

Here's a picture of the whole family.

More pictures to come!

It's been a fun week!

Abby and I have had a fun week. (The week hasn't been easy or full of good news, but we've tried to make the best of it and have fun anyway.)

Tuesday morning I found Abby 'getting ready' for the day in the bathroom. She was pretending to put on make-up. What a girly-girl I have.

On Friday night while I was cooking dinner this is what I found....

Abby must have gotten into the pans and snuck one away before I closed the childproof cupboard. I didn't realize she had a pan, and then she asked me for her apple juice and a snack.  It got abnormally quiet and when I asked Abby what she was doing she says, "Making dinner."

Pretzels saute`d in apple juice.....yum. (She had a fit when I threw it out and wouldn't let us eat it for dinner.)

Summer has arrived.....for a day or two so we took advantage of the sunshine.

Abby splashed around at the park with a couple of friends this afternoon.

She LOVED it!

In baby news.....he's still not here, but he will be on the 17th whether he wants to or not. I'm scheduled for an induction that day. YAY! I'm sure we'll have some pictures soon after!

May: A brief overview....

We went to Utah for a whirwind wedding weekend. My sister Erin got married on the 8th so we were able to see both our moms for Mother's Day. (Though I forgot to take enough pictures.)

Here is Erin and Brad.

We even got a family picture....not the greatest, but hey.

I made it to 34 weeks....and 35, and 36.

Abby's preschool class took a fieldtrip to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for their final class.

She really enjoyed watching the monkeys....

And anything in the water. These were Harbor Seals.

May was a crazy month, but we managed to survive.  Here's to June....which I'm sure will be just as crazy(if not more.)

Easter Weekend 2010

Our Easter weekend was so much fun this year! We stated out Saturday morning making mint brownies for a potluck/Easter egg hunt. Abby always wants to help me when I'm mixing or measuring anything. She helped out so much that I let her lick the frosting off the beaters. She loved it!

Then we went to an Easter egg hunt at Abby's preschool teacher's house. They do this every year as a ward activity, and then invite a few other friends.

Abby had to show me her basket of eggs.....

Then try out some candy.

What a silly girl.

Here is Abby's Easter basket. I got a good deal on "The Princess and the Frog" as well as the other movie things in there. Turns out she really likes it, and we have watched it too many times since Sunday.

Abby got really excited when she saw her basket.......

and all the goodies in it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend too!