So now that it's been OVER two years since I've updated the blog, Chad has directed me it's time:)  So the kids have changed a lot and me, maybe not so much.

Abi turned 4 this October and is going to preschool twice a week.  She really likes school...updating vaccinations she did not like so much!  Wow, what a lot of screaming!  Which surprised me a little, because she also got her ears pierced recently (6 weeks today) and she was very brave...no tears just a very concerned look.  There has been crying and fussing since when we "turn & clean" the ears every night, but we hit an exciting milestone today by being able to remove the original studs and got to put in new earrings today!  They are a very pretty light blue:)  So back to school - she has never been very interested in coloring and is enjoying that much more now (and doing a little better at it too).  She is also loving to trace letters and identify letter on signs we see...it's a pretty fun stage!

Benjamin has been in "big boy underwear" for about two weeks!  He's doing really good job.  Besides two days with puddles and wet pants, he's been almost perfect.  I don't get the dry for 5 days (even over night) and then 3 LARGE puddles on the floor the next day....then dry for a week and then 4 wet pants (two only little wetness and two puddles to clean up).  We are so proud of him though!  He's younger than Abi even and has been SO MUCH EASIER to train.  I'm not looking forward to the first "accident" away from home, but I guess that's all part of learning.

Both kids are doing great and have been so much fun!  They say the cutest things...that's for sure.  Abi has definitely turned into a "daddy's girl" and Ben sure is a "Momma's boy" but we are enjoying these special times in life. 

So I've been trying to ride my horse as much as possible.  Earlier this fall I went for a trail ride by myself and was galloping back through a corn field when I tried to move Colorado right to go around a power pole and he wanted to go left so finally I let him and he proceeded to go slowly onto the road into the other ditch and right through an electric fence!  So I had to go get help to fix the fence and of course he was a little bit crazy from running and getting shocked in the fence, but he was OK.  Then I decided we needed a little more work at higher speeds so the following week I did some work in the arena...he was doing great at a trot so we moved to a canter and he was doing good until I tried a full loop and half way through a large turn he changed directions on a dime, and bolted for the out gate.  I was very off balance as he slowed very slightly and then changed directions hard again causing me to tumble off at a full gallop and got kicked in the shin as Colorado ran off.  Well to make a long story shorter, I was injured but nothing permanent.  So now I have found a training who is working with him 2 times a week to try to make him a little safer and more responsive - especially at higher speeds!  I still love him and really enjoy riding:)

Adoption stuff is always on my mind and as Chad mentioned in the adoption blog I am trying to read and get connected into a community of fellow adoptive parents (and those waiting like us).  I'll try to write more about that soon:)  Maybe within the year:)

The kids have been keeping mommy busy lately with all the new things they have been doing.  Abi has been potty training fairly seriously since the beginning of November.  She actually had one day that she stayed completely dry (except for the diaper she wore for her nap).  We aren't quite ready for underwear, but it has been fun to see how proud she is to "peepee on the potty by self".  Of course her vocabulary has been getting bigger all the time and she talks more in sentences too.  She has always counted a little here and there, but yesterday and today she has been counting on her own to 5 and 10 (last night she was even saying 9-10-11-12!).  It's so funny how they pick stuff up even when they don't seem to be.

Ben has been a moving and a shaking.  He has been looking like he was ready to crawl for over a month.  He started sitting up really well by 5.5 months, and around 6.5 months could go from laying on his tummy and push up to his knees and "rock" for a while and then push back into a sit.  Just in the last couple of days has actually moved his knees forward a couple times.  Then this morning I saw him take about 6 "crawls" forward to get a cord.  Then he almost pulled himself up to a stand on the couch.  I'm sure cruising is not far down the road either.  He does quite  bit of babbling and sometimes I imagine the sounds of mama are him really calling for me.  He continues to be a very happy and content boy.  People always marvel at how good natured he is.  That certainly is a blessing.  But of course, he's not perfect because he has begun to refuse to sleep on his own.  He's been sleeping with mommy and daddy for about a week now and sooner or later I know we have to get him back to his own bed.  I just hate to hear him cry, I don't want Abi to wake up, and he's caused himself to throw-up several times and I just dread that....so it's a battle I don't want to fight, but know that I should.

I've really enjoyed horseback riding this fall and have been so pleased with how well my horse, Colorado, has been doing.  I started taking some lessons from MIssy,a friend of Chad's family,back in August.  She would work with me on Monday evenings for an hour.  We definitely started slowly with the basics of grooming and fitting tack and ground work.  After a while we started riding and, of course, that's the really fun part.  I had never trotted outside of an arena before this fall.  But a couple of weeks ago, I was able to go on a trail ride all my ourselves and we did a little trotting and a little running.  SOOO FUN!!  I had him do a little cantering (slow gallop) one time before then when Gwyn and I went for a trail ride, and I had also done a little bit in the big arena.  We certainly have work to do before he would be ready to do speed events, but I'm just so thankful for th progress we've made.  So hopefully next summer I'll be riding at the horse shows and Candice can take my place in the booth! :)

So now that it's cold(er) outside, my "night out" will be Tuesdays to play some competitive volleyball with some friends.  I am just soooooo excited.  Last year I played half the season because I was pregnant with Ben.  So this year I will feel so light on my feet being relatively skinny.  And I can dive for all the balls I want without getting yelled at by Chad and fellow players. 

Hopefully you've all had a chance to see our photobooks we have online now.....It has been a really fun thing to work on, but I'm always pleased to have one done.  I think I should start Ben's First Year book now, so I don't have to do it all at once.  Well, that's it for now.  Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

We just had Ben in for his 4 month well baby and he's a big boy.  He was 19lbs 1 oz.  Granted it was 2 weeks after he turned 4 months, but still!!   11 lbs is a lot a of weight to gain in 4.5 months!   He is 27.5 inches long which means we are supposed to move him into a new car seat!  Sad day!  It's just a little awkward for a little while because he can't quite sit up yet so the infant carrier was a lot more convenient.  I might try to borrow a bigger infant carrier....well see.  But I did buy a new car seat today for Abi so Ben can use hers.  She has a convertible (can go forward and backward facing) and the new one converts into a buster.  So it will continue to grow with her.

Ben has started to be more fussy.  Especially at night.  We are trying to have him fall asleep on his own but he pretty much just screams!  Last night it was only about 5 minutes of fussing/crying/screaming until he feel asleep.  Then he slept from about 11:15pm until 6:30 am!  Yeah!  He used to do that more, but lately, not so much.  I usually don't let him fuss during the night because I don't want Abi to wake up......Because talk about a nightmare!!!  She is scary in the middle of the night.   Nothing but mommy and daddy's bed makes her happy....but doesn't make us happy so we try not to.....which makes her CRY and CRY!   Any who.....hopefully he'll start learning to self-sooth a little better and faster and quieter.   It was just great to get a solid 7 hours of sleep...hooray!

Ben really loves his jumper and Abi likes to play with him while he's jumping.  They laugh a lot and it's very cute.  Mommy has to constantly tell Abi that she's not allowed to swing him in it.  Yes believe it or not I have to constantly remind a 22 month old not to do something she finds fun.

Abi is always saying new words and new phrases.  She is getting very good at communicating what she wants.  She likes to play lots of games like "ashes" (ring around the rosies) and "airplane"  (mommy or daddy or grandma lays on their back and Abi flies on there feet up in the air...can you picture this?)  It's pretty cute to see her mimicking our speech and actions.  I use my foot to start to close the dishwasher door and of course, so does she.  When Ben starts to cry she yells, "Coming Ben!"  just like mommy.  Some of her favorite phrases are "I can" or "my turn".  Currently it is difficult to do anything without her Elmo doll.   He has to sit with us at dinner in a high chair.  She likes to feed him and give him drinks from her sippy cups.  She likes to put him down for a "nap" and has even tried to give him a bath.  I insisted he didn't need one and somehow that worked.  We had to put clothes and shoes on him the other morning....thankfully not every day since.  It's very cute but sometimes can get a little old.

Well that's it for now.  Hopefully I'll write more soon!

So now that I've owned (and paid for) a horse for 5.5-6 years.... I am finally finding time to work with him.   It's not like I haven't ridden at all before, but in the last couple of weeks I started having lessons on Monday night and then making it a priority to work with him at least 2 other days of the week, even if only for 10 minutes. 

It has been so much fun and I really look forward to spending time with him.  It can be a lot of work at times and I have been a bit sore from riding but it is soooo worth it!   Both of us (Colorado and me) are learning so much!  Missy (my teacher/trainer) says that we are both doing very well.  She's very nice and does a wonderful job of encouraging. 

The other day when I was working with him on my own I was in the big arena with a couple barrels and poles and kegs set up and tried a couple of events at a trot and he did really well.  Before working with Missy the only times I had him at a trot he did it kinda sideways and I couldn't steer him at all.  Granted I was probably holding onto the horn and reigning with only one hand before.  But now that I've spent more time with him and riding I have learned to ride in a trot with both hands on the reigns.  This means I have to use my legs a lot more...so it's a good workout!

My lesson got rained out yesterday, but I can't complain because we really needed the rain!   I'm so excited to tell you all about my developing relationship with my horse!  So tune in next time!

At about 14 weeks (3 mo 1 week) Ben rolled over for the first time (back to front).  He's done it a couple times since and does a lot of kicking and rolling to his side and general squirming all over.  I think Abi didn't really roll till she was about 5 months....which maybe is a boy thing or maybe a personality thing.  Abi always liked to cuddle, maybe Ben won't be as content to be still and be held...or maybe it means nothing at all:)