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:)

It's official.  We are trying to sell our home.  So if you know anyone looking for a nice starter home in the Hamilton area....just send them our way.  Chad has posted the flier here! 

It was early June when we walked through a house I liked well enough to say it was time to get ours up for sale. So I spent a lot of time in June cleaning, boxing up stuff we don't need, and finishing those projects that we always put off.  It's been about 2 weeks now that we've had a sign in the yard and so far we've had over 25 fliers taken.   I know a lot of those are probably just people who are "curious" or "nosey".   Of course it would be great to sell it fast, but in the mean time we are just building more equity in our little home.

We plan on staying in the Hamilton School district.  But our current home is only 1200 sft and 3 bedrooms (one we use as an office).  So as a stay-at-home mother of two - I've decided it's time for more room.  Abi can be quite a nightmare if she wakes up in the middle of the night and so I've wanted to stay away from putting the two in the same room.  Ben often sleeps for 6+ hours but I'd like Abi to go 10 or more.  She's so much more pleasant after a good night sleep and she's such a light sleeper I think it's just better to have them in  different rooms.  And Ben has officially outgrown the bassinet (he's about 17.5 lbs and he likes to roll around) so we've moved him into a pack-and-play in our room.  It works but I'd love to have another room that we could put a crib in. 

So if you know of any good deals on houses in the Hamilton School district or if you know anyone interested in ours...please let us know!!

I have a hard time believing how quickly the kids are growing up.   Little Ben is now kicking and and giggling and cooing.  He is so very content, and most people comment on it when they spend some time with him.  I know this sounds like a good thing, and mostly it is, but I'm thinking it may also be bad.  I might get tricked into thinking babies are easy and want another one a couple of years down the road.  Actually, right now I  am often asked if we want another child.  I guess the answer is "We don't know yet".   There are days that can go both ways.  I'm just glad I won't have to really decide for a couple more years.  I guess they say you'll know when your ready for another one...maybe.

Little Ben was born just over 6 weeks ago and last friday I had my "6 week checkup".   I was delighted go get an "all better" report!   It's time to get in shape!!  Towards that end, I have started a 9 week contest with my family.  It is what I like to call a healthy incentive competition.  My mom and dad, my two sister-in-laws (Jen & Amy) and my brother Mike are all participating.  We each put $10 in the pot and the winner takes all.  The winner is the person with the most points and up to 2 points are earned each day - one for exercising at least 20 min. and one for eating healthy.  We started May 2nd and so far I haven't missed a point!!  I've done a bit of light jogging and now feel more comfortable pushing myself more (cause I've passed that magical 6 week mark).  My goal is to be back to pre-pregnancy weight by the end of the competition.

One of the best parts of getting the doctors OK is being able to go HORSEBACK RIDING!!!  That's right!  It's been about 10 long months since I've been able to ride Colorado and I was so happy to go last night.  He's now 7 years old and I'm hoping this is the summer to really get him dead broke.  Maybe even by the last horse show this year, we can enter an event or two!!  Chad got some cute pictures of Abi sitting on Colorado's back so hopefully those will be posted really soon (if they aren't already). 

Benjamin has been an incredibly good baby.  Of course he has his moments but they are so few and short that I can't complain.  He is sleeping very well and last night he went almost 6 hours.  What a nice feeling to get at least 5 hours of sleep without interuption!  He is also growing like a weed!  He gained 3.5 lbs and grew 3 inches in the first month.  I didn't know that was humanly possible!!  In the last week he has started to smile and even hold up some of his weight with his legs when I stand him up.  He's getting so cute and looks more like his big sister all the time (he's getting the cubby cheeks that Abigail always had).

Abi is getting more fun and more difficult.  She is very good with Ben, but sometimes is a bit smothering.  She is also not aware of how she could hurt him by stepping or falling on him.  She goes to bed well and is even very cute about going to sleep.  She's smile and giggle most nights when you give her the blanket and bears she cuddles with.  But nap time can be a different story.  And when she doesn't sleep long enough you have to watch out because toddler-zilla can be quite the handful.  For example....yesterday. I got up at 8:15am to take a shower and start getting myself and the kids ready I was still late to the 11 o'clock service at church thanks to my little cling-on. 

Abi is very cute and photogenic, I'm sure you've noticed how much her daddy  likes taking pictures of her!!  She talks quite a bit and I'm always hearing her say new things.  I don't always know what she's saying, which can be frustrating for both of us, but it's a lot of fun to see her blossom into a beautiful little girl!

I'll start with the short version, a quick recap so to speak.  We arrived at the hospital about 8:15 a.m. to be induced.  The doctor broke my water at 9am, I got an epidural at 4pm and I was finally dialated to a 10 at 8:30ish.  When they were ready for me to start pushing,  Benjamin was born after only a minute or two.  In only two partial pushes he was out!  It was very special!  Both Grandma's got to witness his birth and even mommy could see what was going on.  It was pretty crazy!

For those of you interested in more details...here's the "full account."  When I was 35.5 weeks along, the doctor checked me and I was 50-60% effaced and dialated to about a loose one.  Then every week we went back....no change.  So on Wednesday the 28th (now 2-3 days overdue) when the doctor AGAIN said "no change really"  - we were really getting frustrated.  But the doctor was willing to schedule an induction so we set up to come in on Saturday. 

I was really hoping for a March baby (and epecially not a April 1st  or April Fool's baby) so inducing on the last day of the month probably was a little "risky."  Especially because my doctor had said that there were a lot of people due within 3 weeks of me so I was a little concerned that we would get a call from the hospital telling us not to come in because they were too full to accomodate an induction.  But God answered that prayer and the birth center was actually pretty quiet when we arrived (and still is).  I was also concerned that the induction would take a while seeing for 5 weeks I had no change in dialation (even though I had some contractions for a couple hours twice in the last couple of weeks)

When I was first "checked" at the hospital, we were pleasantly surprised that I was dialated to a three, enough to break my water....now that is a strange feeling.  My water broke with Abi but probably less than an ounce came out and I had no "leaking" until after she was born (then there was a BIG GUSH!).  So she broke my water and then they let me be for about 2 hours to see if my labor would progress on it's own.  Well, my contractions weren't very big or very close but the next time they checked I was dialated to about a 4.  They decided to put me on petocin to get things going a little more, but started the dosing very small.  But my contractions weren't getting harder and closer so they kept up-ing the dosage (it started at 6ml/hr and by the time he was born it was 78ml/hr).   At about 3:30 the nurse checked me and I was about a 5 and she said my contractions were good enough that I could get an epidural at any time.  So I said "OK!"  The contractions stayed pretty much the same intensity and duration and for some reason the next 2-3 times they checked there wasn't much change.  The doctor came to check around 7:30 pm and I was hoping (and literally  praying) for at least some change and she declared I was a 9 but he was still a ways up the birth canal!  Man, I was thinking we were going to end up with an April baby after all that time without any change.  She also thought we'd be pushing within the hour.  About this time I had started to feel my contractions dispite the epidural but I didn't want to "push the button" if it was going to slow things down.  So once the doctor assured me it wouldn't change anything I started pushing that lovely little button every 5 minutes till I was comfortable again:) 

About 8 o'clock, Chad and I were visiting with our dads when I had the sudden urge to throw up.  And I did about 5 times.  That must have moved him down quite a bit, because when she check at 8;30pm I was fully dialated and he was right there.  Before I even pushed my mom could see his little head.  So the first time the doctor told me I could push a little, she told me to stop right away.  Then one more partial push and he was out.  The doctor and nurse joked that not many epidural patients could birth a baby without any pushing, but I probably could have! 

It was really cool because I could see almost everything.  My water had been leaking out all day, so my stomach didn't block the view and I was sitting up so much I could see him as he was coming out....and I couldn't feel a thing!  I didn't even know when to push.  What a difference from with Abi.  I pushed for 1.5 hours and had to work pretty hard at times.  But then again, she was  my first AND 1.5 lbs heavier and 1.5 inches longer.

 Well, that's it for now.  I just have to say that Chad and I are so blessed to have such a healthy beautiful little boy!