Lil Tiger

We had decided to dress Zeke up so we could go to a pumpkin carving party and then hand out candy. Then we tried on the costume that we had borrowed from a friend. It was a little big...

Halloween Treats

Zeke's Yaya brought him a treat basket for Halloween. We let Zeke go through it a little early.



Zeke discovered the oreos. He LOVES all things chocolate. The following pictures express that love.

The discovery

Those cheeks are full of yummy goodness


Putting in as much as possible

Can't have oreos with out milk

What a happy chocolatey face!

This video shows what happens when you let a 14 month old have that much chocolate all at once...

Hello?

Zeke LOVES our phones. It is so cute to see him play with them. His favorite phone is probably his Nana's because there is a picture of him that he can see. He has recently started even putting the phone to his ear and jabbering away. He never actually does this when there is someone that we want him to talk to. Here are some pictures of his newest favorite toy

Daddy's magic phone

Mama's phone

He can even talk on two phones at once.

He can even use other things as phones :)

Clementines!

This video made me laugh...

Pumpkin, pumpkin...

round and fat, turn into a Jack O' Lantern just like that! Spence and Zeke cut their pumpkin. Zeke wasn't quite sure what to think of what his daddy was doing. He has been pointing or walking over to the dining room table since we got the pumpkin anytime we asked where his pumpkin was. Zeke did not like touching the pumpkin guts, but he did like throwing the seeds.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"I gotta spoon, dada!"

Pumpkin guts, YUCK!

"Zeke, stop reaching for the knife!"

Finished product

Phil & Ted

When we found out we were pregnant again, we knew that we would have to get a new stroller to accomodate our bigger family. We were able to sell our Bob on Craigslist. I would still recommend a Bob, we really did love it. But after researching, we decided on a Phil and Ted Sport with a doubles kit. This is a single stroller that you can make into a double with a clip in seat. The stroller works in a bunch of different ways. We currently have it as a bassinet for Ben with the clip on seat on the front for Zeke. We tried it out the other day and LOVE it!!!

Side view- you can't even see Ben hidden away underneath

Zeke in front- he really does like it, even though it doesn't look like it

This is the view from the back, you can peek in and see Benjamin

Impetigo

Just in case anyone was wondering who has the kid who can catch anything and everything. I win! Currently Zeke has impetigo. He ran into the conference table at the church offices. He kind of scratched his head. Apparently he then scratched at the scratch and created an infection. What you can't see in the pictures is the swelling. He is swollen all around the scratch and down his nose and over his eyes. He looks like he's been in a fight... SUPER! We are using a topical cream and hopefully it will be gone soon.

2 week stats

Benjamin had his two week appointment yesterday.
His newest stats are:
weight: 6 lbs 14 oz- 10 % (thats 10 oz in 9 days, yay!)
length: 19.25 in- 5%
head- 35 cm- 15%
Of course his head is the biggest percentage. At least he and Zeke have something in common right?

big stretch

he obviously thinks I am as interesting as I think he is...

Scheduled Induction

Today was the day that I was scheduled to be induced. I loved the idea because I am such a planner. I was able to write today's date on the calendar and plan for Benjamin's arrival. His early arrival was not as I would have planned it, but I would not have changed the past two weeks for anything. Ben has added and enriched our lives so much already. It is amazing how your heart can expand with love so swiftly. I praise God for my family of four! I am so glad that He is in control and that His plan is perfect.

Brothers

Zeke so far has been a great big brother. We of course have to watch him to be sure he doesn't hit Ben on the head. We are still working on being gentle. But he is still very interested and wants to be around Benjamin. He really likes climbing onto the couch with me while I am feeding or holding Ben. Here are just a few pictures from the past week.

Our first trip with two boys in the backseat

The only good picture of the two together...

Zeke escaping while I try to get a picture of the boys

Another outtake...

Not sure how Ben feels about Zeke touching his foot

"How about a cheezit?"

First trip out with mom (she survived it and so did we!!)

Sweet Ben

We are only a week into this whole second child thing and I am already feeling some guilt about the number of pictures we had already taken with Zeke and how many we have taken with Ben. Part of it is definitely the busyness of chasing a one year old, and part of it is the fact that you can only take so many pictures of a baby under the biliblanket. Now that we aren't lit up 24/7 I am in full picture taking mode. Here are some of my faves.

snuggled up with dad

Look at that SMILE!

Finally, some open eyes!!!

peeking at his mama

he loves sleeping in his boppy

Ben's first bath

Ben had his first sponge bath this week. You can't really tell anything by these pictures, but he didn't mind it so much. He only fussed for a few seconds when I washed his hair. We don't really have any pictures because we thought it would be easier for me to bathe Ben while Spence fed Zeke. These pictures and video are of me finishing up and Zeke joining the fun...

little skinny man

super close and blurry- I was washing his hair, so he wasn't super happy

It's the Great Pumpkin, Zeke!

Spence has spent this week at home with us. Zeke and Spence have tried to get out of the house each day. They have done manly things such as a trip to Babies R Us, trips to Target, a trip to Lowe's, a trip to the observation deck at the airport and a trip to the pumpkin patch. Here are pictures from the pumpkin patch. I can't wait til next year when we can all go together.

Daddy and Zeke

Checking out pumpkins

all these animals and pumpkins, and Zeke finds a stick...

Looking for a good one

Look at all this hay

The sticker that Zeke got at the farm

Found it!

Stay tuned for pictures of carving the pumpkin. I am sure that is going to be interesting.

Zeke the past few days

Of course the biggest thing going on with Zeke right now is his baby brother. He seems to already LOVE Ben. He grins so big when he sees him, he goes over to check on him when he hears him crying, he comes over to me while I am holding him and says "baby". But he has still been up to his typical cuteness. Zeke learned how to climb into his daddy's chair recently, he has found a new place to hang out, Spence is enjoying hanging out and doing some new videoing.

Zeke is so proud of himself for climbing into the chair

Zeke is loving the dining room table right now, he just hangs out under there

Zeke's uncle Rik, aunt Cindy, and cousins Maddie and Sophie came up for a visit to meet Ben. Sophie is 4 months older than Zeke so it was really funny to see their interactions. Here is Zeke's attempt at sharing...

Spence thinks it is funny how Zeke walks around with his cup and something to eat. This video was taken just after Zeke had yelled at a graham cracker that Spence sat on the shelf for Zeke to get later. He was mad that he couldn't hold both crackers and his cup. It was pretty funny.

Bili got it's butt kicked!

Bilirubin levels are down! WOOHOO No more blanket for our Ben. And at today's weight check we found out our peanut has gained 4 oz in 2 days. Are you kidding me? This kid can eat!!
Thank you so much for all the prayers, we have certainly felt it through out this. We know we are blessed beyond words to have such healthy kids.

Update on Ben

We went back to the hospital for blood work and to the doctor for a weight check this morning. Ben's weight has stayed steady and his bili levels are coming down. He has to stay under the light through Wednesday and then we go back to check things out. Here are some pictures of him from today.

close up under a blanket to keep the rest of him warm

Wrapped in a blanket on top of the biliblanket

This is just the biliblanket around him

This is with out the flash on so you can see it really lit up. His uncle Matt says that he is having a rave in his crib

Here he is with daddy at the doctor's office