Can you tell?

A few days ago, I pulled up a bunch of the girls' photos from birth to two months and asked B to tell me which girl it was. He only got 2 right. So...I'm going to see if you can do better.

1

2
3
45

6

7

8

9

10

1. Iz 2. E 3. E 4. Iz 5 E 6. Iz 7. Iz 8.E 9. Iz 10. E

Emma's visit to Scottish Rite

We had a very pleasant visit today at TSRHC. E was very sleepy, but did a great job. It is heartbreaking to walk around that hospital. A large number of the patients you see are crippled. Babies are being pulled around in wagons with casts and braces on. Older children are being wheeled around in wheelchairs. It's a wake-up call for us parents of healthy children as to how lucky we are. I know B and I could be much more thankful...especially on those days our children push us to our limits.

About the appointment:

Her X-ray was completely normal. PRAISE GOD! Two different Dr's also did physical exams of the joint. One of them was Dr. Birch who remembered us from last time. He said her hips are absolutely perfect. I mentioned that we had another breech baby in the time since we had seen him last and he asked our permission to examine Isabel. Of course we said, please do! It seems that this tends to run in families, so he wanted to make sure both girls have healthy hips. And they do! Such a wonderful answer to many prayers.

Apparently E's hip click is being caused by a ligament and not a joint issue. He said a lot of children have pops every now and then, just like adults. It will go away in it's own time. We also asked about the funny walking she is doing. Dr. B said children often walk funny when they are learning, just give her some time to get used to it. The good news is, we don't have to worry about her hips anymore...ever. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Daddy and E getting ready for the Xray

E playing in the exam room
Mommy and E on the see saw outside the hospital
Daddy and E playing on the toys

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Big dude on campus

Well, J had a great day at school. Apparently 2nd grade is "so much funner" than 1st. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Anderson, and said the aide is nice too but he can't remember her name. He was so excited about all the new privileges they get now. "Mommy, we get to eat our dessert first now!" and "we have lunch and recess with the 3rd graders". Terribly exciting, no?
Also, he was impressed that they don't even have to ask to use the restroom anymore. They just put a picture of a boy on their desk and go. Wow, it just seems like they're asking for trouble with all this new found freedom in the halls.
Good times. Now if I can just get him ready for soccer, feed all three kids, find the missing school supplies and make it to the fields by 6:45.....we'll have an even better day.

First day of school

Well, I just sent my oldest baby off to 2nd grade. It sounds so grown up. I walked him to school and into his classroom to help him carry all the school supplies. He didn't seem as clingy this year. Just said Hi to the teacher and walked on in by himself. I dropped his school supplies at his desk, leaned over to hug him and walked away without him even noticing much. He was much more interested in which of his friends were in his class again. I hope he is enjoying himself!

What's up?

This last week of summer vacation has been a bustle of activity at Casa Bennight. We (I) have been running around trying to get things organized and ready for next week. Sadly...I look at my house today and it doesn't seem any cleaner, nor more organized. Hmmm.

Here's what else has been going on:

• Isabel smiled at me for the first time! Yes, in direct response to something I was doing. E and I were cooing over her bassinet and talking to her and she just started grinning ear to ear. I love it! A little personality is beginning to emerge. I also heard her belly laughing in her crib this morning after I put her down to change E. I had the mobile going and she was cracking herself up. SOOOOO cute!
• Jacob started soccer practices. Games won't start for another week or so. His team disbanded after last year so the remaining players were joined with another team called the Titans. Their coach is awesome. He has played professional soccer and coaches at the select level. He charges $100 per lesson. We are lucky enough to have his son on our team so we are basically getting 22 "lessons" for the bargain price of $40 plus a new uniform. You can't beat that!
• We are in the process of moving Iz's crib into our bedroom. I'm not really thrilled with the idea, however, she is outgrowing the bassinet and she is not anywhere near ready to be moved into the room with E. Well, it's more the fact that I just am not ready to deal with her waking up a soundly sleeping babe in the middle of the night. Hopefully in the next few months she will start sleeping even more and she can move in with big sis.
• B has been recording a demo all week with a new group he is involved with. It has kept him super busy, but hopefully it will get them noticed. He also had a deadline yesterday to get his doctoral paper topic approved. *Fingers crossed*

So...what's up with you?

Because it has been entirely too long...

Since I posted pictures of my beautiful, sweet Isabel.
She is 7 weeks old now and starting to notice the world around her. She regularly sleeps about a five hour stretch every night, nurses, then goes back to sleep for another 3-4. It's a nice change! Despite having colic episodes every night from 6:30-9:30 (ugh), she is very a very pleasant, quiet, and sweet-natured baby. We love her very much!

Look at me, I'm cute!

I'm not so sure about these crazy people I live with Notice E's foot in the picture, she was trying to get Iz to play with her...she didn't cooperate too well Just chillin'

Scottsh Rite Appointment

The day is set. We go to Scottish Rite next Tuesday at 10:15 AM. The nurse made it sound like no big deal..."Many children with normal hips have an occasional hip click. I'm sure she is just fine, but we will do an exam and X-rays to make sure". Well, I would love for that to be the case, but don't stop praying just yet!
We will keep you posted.

Praise God!

Just a quick update...E's bloodwork came back normal. YAY!

Re: E's hip
We should get a call from Scottish Rite on Monday to set up an appointment for her hip. I have read some scary stuff regarding the correction of hip dysplasia in toddlers. I don't want to give any negative energy to the hip though, so I won't get into specifics. We are going into this believeing that her hip is healed and the Drs. will just confirm that for us.

Trauma: Life in the Dr's office

Today we took E for her 12 month check-up. We knew going in it would be a bad day (she had to get 3 vaccines) but we had no idea what else we were in for. The actual physical went well for the most part. She is a whopping 30 inches tall (75th percentile...no shocking news there with her tall mommy and daddy) and 19 1/2 pounds (25th percentile). She does all the normal things a 1 year old should be doing and she was given a clean bill of health...for the most part.

Some of you may recall E had a mild right hip click at birth from being in the breech position. We took her to Scottish Rite hospital and after several visits, they determined she had normal hips with no signs of hip dysplasia. However, I have been noticing that her walk is a little funny at times, like she is peg-legging on the right side. We brought it up today and after a physical exam the Dr. found a hip click once again. So it's off to Scottish Rite Hospital we go again. I am a little afraid of what might happen with this. As a baby it was an easy fix of wearing a brace for six weeks. Now, who knows what they can do to eliminate the problem?

After the check-up she had to give a small blood sample and get three shots in the leg. She didn't even really notice the toe stick. The blood sample went off without tears. Unfortunately, the shots were not so easy. She cried so hard. It was probably more traumatic for me than for her. When I finally got her calmed down, they came in with more bad news. E's hemoglobin was below what is considered normal and they needed to take more blood to send to the lab.

Wait a minute. Can't we just supplement her for the next 3 months and retest at her 15 month c/u (I asked)??? No. No can do. Why do they torture children like this? This time I had to hold E in my lap and they pierced her finger. She was wailing and I had to steady her arm. B pointed out that blood was dripping down onto my pants and the floor. The nurse kept apologizing, but I was more concerned about her finishing her business and leaving my child alone. She finally finished, E stopped crying, and she brought me a Tide to Go stick to clean up the pants. What a nightmare!

I think I will start supplementing Iz the month before we go and have her iron tested. I don't think I could go through this again. In the mean time we are asking for prayers for E's healing. The iron is an easy fix, she will probably just need supplements, but the hip thing scares me. I will keep you all posted about any appointments for the hip. Scottish Rite is a great hospital with a caring staff. She will be in the best hands possible.

Happy Birthday Emma!

One year ago today, I gave birth to my first sweet little girl. It doesn't seem possible to me that she is a toddler already. Where does the time go? Why can't the savored moments stop time? Why can't she stay this age, my little girl, forever?

In one year she has gone from a completely helpless newborn to little girl with a personality. She walks, talks and feeds herself. She even dances when there is music on, or when she anticipates music that should be coming from a toy. Her hair has changed from a warm brown color to light blonde with spiral curls when I don't comb her hair through and let it air dry.

To document these changes, and to celebrate her day, I put together a photo video of her past year. You may want to go to the bottom of this page and pause the music before you open this new page.
Enjoy!


My Montage 8/13/07

The Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated E's 1st Birthday party. It was a very hot and humid August day, but was absolutely wonderful. Her cake time was probably the messiest I have ever seen on a 1 year old. We really expected her to be more dainty, but she dove right in. B says she must be Mommy's girl too because she went for all of the frosting and then threw the cake on the ground. That's my girl! She walked away with some amazing gifts from books, to toys to a whole new fall wardrobe. She has an army of wonderful friends and family who love her very much. One of these days I hope she is as thankful for them as I am.

Birthday Princess

Going for a swim

You can tell little sis is thrilled about the party

Look at me, I'm 1!!! Friend Josie cruising along
The cake

Hmmm, looks good

Big brother and cousins wondering where their cake is

Enough of this cake stuff...give me more frosting!

The game!

I survived Texas Stadium in August! I'm happy to report that I was away from Iz for 5 hours....and am here to type about it. not only did my boobs not explode, but Iz took an entire six ounces from a bottle. Up until now she has not been interested in artificial nipples at all, but she has even let people put a paci in her mouth in emergency situations.

My cousin Amy and I actually had a good time at the Cowgirls game. Besides having to park in Denton and walk to Irving and the fact that it was 100 degrees in the shade and we were soaking wet the whole time...it wasn't too bad. I spent most of the night watching Peyton Manning through the binoculars. He has a great bod...and Tony Romo isn't so bad either.

Admit me, I'm crazy!

Yesterday I decided I needed to get out of the house sans kiddos for awhile. Where did I go you may ask? To the mall? To get a massage? Nope. I decided that, even though I am not technically cleared to work out, that I would go to an aerobics class. And not just any aerobics class...a step/lift combo. We did 30 minutes of aerobics followed by 30 minutes of weights. Let's just say I can hardly walk today. My whole body hurts, badly.

And if that wasn't enough, my cousin Amy (in from CA) has an extra ticket to the Cowboys/Colts game tonight. Guess who was volunteered to go???? Yep, you guessed it. ME! Crazy. Don't ya think?

The Baptism

Our beautiful daughter was baptized Isabel Claire on Sunday, August 5th. It was a very beautiful service. Friends and family were there and Emma got her Birthday blessing. Our friends Ted, Donna and Blair sang a beautiful anthem and Sally joined with them on a variation of beloved hymn "Shall We Gather at the River". I really can't explain the wonderful day and do it justice, so you will have to settle for pictures.

Everyone. Parents, Godparents, siblings cousins and priest.

We tried to get a pic of the 5 us, but J bolted and E would not look at the camera.
Can we get this party started??? I'm sleepy.The cake. Courtesy of Aunt Dana and Tracy's cakes.
Isabel in her gown.

The blanket was a gift from Godparents Dana and Jason.

It says: "Isabel Claire was baptized on August 5th 2007 at

the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation.

'May He give His angels charge over you to guide you in all you ways'.

Psalm 91"

Godparents Dana and Jason
Big Sis
Fr. David with sweet baby
Mommy, Daddy, Fr. David and Godparents D & J and Brent and Candi.

A little bit of insanity

If you can remember, the last time I posted something I mentioned E being "cranky". Well, the poor girl had reasons. She woke up Thursday with a runny nose and fever. I called the Dr. to ask what I could give her for the nose and they wanted to see her to rule out an ear infection. Her ears and throat were clear and she was diagnosed with a cold. Her Dr had samples of the "good" Pedia Care when they were still putting Pseudaphed in the medicine. She gave me a huge supply of this "illegal" stuff. It seems to work well and doesn't make her wired or jittery. The problem is that Iz can't have any and she got the stuffy nose Thursday night. I was up every 30 minutes Friday night to suction her nose out. She hasn't had a fever yet and seems to be sleeping well otherwise.
Speaking of sleep: I hope I don't jinx this...but we seemed to have turned a corner in the sleep world. The last 4 nights Iz has gone anywhere from 4-5 hours without waking or needing to eat and it usually happens within the same time frame (between 10-3). For those of you without children, sleeping from 10-4 is considered to be "through the night" so we are almost there. Hallelujah!
And today...right now...they are both down for a nap...at the same time! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, August has arrived!

Know what that means??? School starts this month!!!! YAY!

Not much time to post today. E has been really cranky the last few days and today she woke up with a low grade fever and runny nose. I hope it's nothing more than a minor cold, although I am concerned since she has been tugging on her ears.

This weekend (and the following one too) are really big for our family and I have a lot to do. Isabel is being baptised on Sunday and we will have a small luncheon after at my parent's house. The following weekend I have family coming in from California and E's big 1st Bday party. I was planning on making the cake for E's party, but I may just have to resign myself to store-bought splendor with the two cranky kiddos. I would hate to not finish the cake and feel like a horrible mom. So, at some point this week I need to order two cakes. One for Iz and one for E. What a crazy schedule. August is nuts in our family. My niece and nephew also celebrate B-days, E has her 12 month check-up, I have my post-partum checkup and J starts school and soccer. Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about this month.

Enough about the craziness. Wouldn't you love to sleep this soundly???