Smiling

Izzie started smiling just about the time Colin's mom came to visit, but it's rather difficult to catch the smiles on camera. This is the best we've captured so far.

Gaining Weight

At our 6 week appointment with the midwife Izzie weighed in at 11 pounds, 7 ounces. She has gained 4 pounds in 6 weeks! The midwife said babies are expected to gain about 1 ounce a day, which would be 42 ounces over 6 weeks... Izzie gained 64 ounces. Over- achiever!

The Royal Order of Diaper-Heads

Oh the silly things we do to keep our kids happy! We frequently have to catch Ben before we can change his diaper - he is far too busy playing to stop for things like poopy pants. One day while Mom and Karen were visiting I plopped a diaper on Ben's head in an effort to distract him from the distressing fact that he was about to get changed. This led to him indicating we should all do the same, and of course we obeyed His Majesty's wishes.

Big Mosh

Ben is talking more and more. Everyday we hear him using a word we didn't think he knew. He has known the word big for a long time, but recently added the word small to his vocabulary. Like any good language student he concientiously practices his new words. We often hear him repeating to himself, "Big, small." Then he uses his words in context. I first heard him making this comparison and holding up two blocks: "Big, small." Then he moved on to more complex items - he compared two chairs of various sizes. A few days ago he was in the kitchen and pointed to the doorknob of our cleaning closet and declared it to be big. Then he pointed to the handle on our cupboards and informed me that it was small. Unforunately he doesn't quite have the pronunciation of small down yet, so it alternately sounds like he is saying "big mosh," "big malls," or big moss!"
Ben's favorite thing to ask is, "What's that?" We answer that question seemingly hundreds of times each day, particularly when Ben is looking at books. I don't think it's a coincidence that his vocabulary explosion came after he learned that particular phrase - although for him it's all one word. We respond in our ever-so- tolerant-and-patient parental voices, "That's a wrench, that's a hammer, that's a blue furry monster, I have no idea what that is..." We failed to prepare a response for the day when Ben let forth a blast of air from his hind quarters and then pointed to his offending body parts and asked in a surprised voice, "What's that?"

Fall Excursions

Now that the leaves have started to change colours (colors, if you prefer), and the oppressive heat is slightly less oppressive, we have been taking the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the fall beauty. In the third picture the white blaze marks the Appalachian Trail. Ben still likes for Dad to carry him in the backpack and now Izzie enjoys riding in the carrier. I don't have a picture of me carrying Izzie, but if you click on the picture of Ben below and look at the reflection in the sunglasses you can make out Colin's head on one side and me with Izzie on the other.

Brotherly Love

Ben seems to be getting used to having a little sister. It has been a big adjustment and it is far from over, but he is making progress and might even be getting emotionally attached to her! Last week for one of his classes Colin and three other group members had to conduct a chapel service. I went along to play piano for them, so of course we had Ben and Izzie with us too. Some ladies helpfully offered to take Ben out for us, but he didn't want to go - until Izzie started fussing and left with one of them. Then he worriedly starting repeating, "Baby! Baby!" When I offered to take him out to see the baby he went with no protests and didn't even fuss to come back in with me.
He likes to help out with Izzie. Sometimes he's a little too helpful, giving me handfuls of wet wipes instead of one, or rocking the baby's car seat just a little too enthusiastically, but he is very well-intentioned. He likes to give her kisses, pat her on the back and will usually bring me a diaper and take the dirty one to the garbage. When Izzie is nursing sometimes he suggests that she is all done with one side and should move to the other. And, whenever she spits up he informs us by saying, "Oh, mess!"

More Baby Pictures

When Ben was born I felt like I took a lot of pictures of him, but looking back now, it seems like we only have a few. Don't get me wrong, we have a tonne of pictures of him, but not so many from those first six weeks when he was really small. So this time I have resolved to take more pictures during the first six weeks - and share them with you whether you like them or not!We obviously set this picture up. Don't worry, Karen's hands were just out of the frame, and as evidenced by the birth, she's pretty good at catching babies. Izzie is surrounded by some of the books Colin has been studying for school.I think these are Karen's hands holding Izzie.As you can see, her cheeks are getting chubby, and she's got a nice double chin!

Our Kids Being Cute

Ben has this funny smile that he does where he squinches up his eyes. He'll often do it in response to you smiling at him, which is how I caught this one on camera. I can't decide if it's a real smile or a fake one.And here's Izzie lounging in the crib.

Daddies Make Good Pillows

Ben...

Izzie...