Emma's school program

It only lasted about two minutes, and she wasn't singing because she was chewing gum the whole time...but it was still pretty cute!

Later that day on the carousel

Hair cut time again!

I took all three down to have their haircut on Tuesday. It was 29 degrees outside and misting, so I thought no one else would be there. Well, I was wrong. Everyone and their children were there getting haircuts for Christmas pictures. The woman that owns the children's hair salon is an old friend I went to college with. So she let the kid run around on the stage and eat sugar cookies and candy while we waited. The kids were actually really good, just a little stir crazy since we haven't been able to go out much in this weather.

The pics are blurry since they were taken on my cell phone. (My camera is about to burn out). And we decided at the last minute that Iz didn't really need a haircut yet. She still needs to grow in some more hair.

Think you can keep my hair straight like this???

I love haircuts!

Rock stars posing with their new cuts!

Let me walk on the catwalk J....I'm a model!

J picked his new 'do out of a child's hair magazine! Sharp!

Lessons and Carols

The Bennight house is under attack. 3 out of the 5 Bennight's have had the stomach flu. Lucky me, I have not. Not so lucky me, I get to take care of everyone else...AND the house. I'm sure you don't want any pictures of that!

On a happier note, this Sunday is our Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. It is one of my favorite times to be at church. The service is non-denominational and consists of the Scripture readings that tell the story of Christ's birth...from the very beginning. Carols and hymns support each reading and the whole evening is wonderous and beautiful.

This year is EXTRA special for me. Brad will be directing a small semi-professional group to do some amazing music...and I get to sing with him!!! I love working with him because he is amazingly talented and makes beautiful music.

The music we are performing spans many centuries: from a Spanish chant from over 1000 years ago "Iudicii signum", to the beautiful Baroque harmonies of Sweelinck, to a modern piece by Howells that highlights the wonder and amazement the Wisemen must have felt upon seeing Jesus for the first time! The last line is "Touched by such tiny hands and oh such tiny feet!"

The text to the chant Iudicii signum (also called The Sybil's Prophecy):

The sign of the Judgment:

The earth shall grow wet with dew.

From heaven a King will come who will reign through the ages,

as if present in the flesh, He will judge the whole world.

The sign of the Judgment:

the earth shall grow wet with dew.

And before this Lord all the kings will stand ,

and a river of fire and sulphur will fall from heaven.

The sign of the Judgment:

the earth shall grow wet with dew.

If you are interested the service begins at 7pm this Sunday, December 14th at the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, Lewisville, TX. Come one and all to experience this evening of prophecy and promise.

Transitions

This past Friday I took both girls to the Dr. for long past due well visits. Both are as healthy as can be and developing perfectly. They are practically like twins. They are both in the 75th percentile for height (no surprises there....look at their parents) and they both weigh 24 lbs!!! (Even though E is 3 1/2 inches taller than Iz). It's not even that Iz is big for her age, she is in the 50th %tile for weight...E is in the 20th.


One thing the Dr has been asking about for awhile is if we had moved E to a big girl bed. I have been putting it off for ages because I was worried about the transition, and how it would affect Iz with them sharing a room, etc. And we were really starting to enjoy sleep for the first time in 2 years!!!

She said now is the time, so this weekend E went from this:

To this!!!!

To our surprise the transition has been pretty easy for the most part. Nap times are not as easy, but she goes down just like when she was in a crib and stay in bed (asleep) all night long. Praise God!

We are also getting rid of the highchairs. Both girls want to sit at the big table now when they eat, so 2 highchairs and a crib are going away. Anyone need anything???

Can your 16 month old do this???

Great quote from our fearless leader

Ok, whether you are a Rep or Dem, conservative or liberal, you must agree this quote is absolutely the truth.


"You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual? We should have every child speaking more than one language...I'm serious about this...We should be emphasizing foreign languages in our schools from an early age because children will actually learn a foreign language easier when they're 5 or 6 or 7 than when they're 46 like me!"
-Barack Obama

Remember all those high school Spanish classes? What do you remember? Not much I bet. But, I guarantee your child will still be saying "Come on vaminos" when they get older after being exposed to Dora. Why? Children learn language easier, and retain it. And the earlier the better! Babies can learn a new language before they can even talk. Don't believe me? How did your baby start communicating with you? Non-verbal, then short sounds, followed by real words, finally structured sentences. This is how kids start learning a new language whether it is their 1st or 5th!

Your child can learn a new language here! If you are not in the Dallas area, try this one!

Makeover

As you can see I've done some remodeling around here. It was time. I realized this shortly after someone asked me "Wow, do you have another on the way?" Ummmmm, I certainly hope not. "Well, with the title....". Ahhhhh, yes, a bit misleading.

So don't update your links just yet. I am tossing a few ideas around....but we are definitely NOT making room for another baby.

Trunk or Treat!!!

Our church has a trunk or treat every Sunday before Halloween. We used to switch the clocks back that Sunday so it was dark, but now it feels like you are just walking around taking candy out of cars instead of really T-or-Ting. And sadly, the attendance has dropped WAY off. We still take the kids since it is a safe place to experience their first few trick or treats. Iz ran circles around the parking lot the whole time, so pictures are scarce.

After seeing Sleeping Beauty, this is the costume E wanted

Our little kitty kat

Princess E and cousin H

Random day at park

I feel like I am starting to title my blog posts like piece of art....


With the weather being so beautiful in October, we try to take the kids out as much as possible.

Look Mommy! A-pane!!!!

More from Jacob's Bday

This wasn't his real party. I didn't get any pics of that because I was busy trying not to fall over on my skates. But we did have pizza with the family the night before his Bday. I don't have any pics of the older kids. They were just too busy to stop and smile. And, honestly, we were too busy chasing little people around.

Iz riding the m-go-round

E's turn

E and her bff J

Look at my teeth!

Can you guess how old I am today???

He looks much more like a teenager in this picture. In fact, I got a little misty the first time I saw the picture in his backpack. I always think I have longer until he gets older. He was born a month early (his original edd was 11/14). He tried to join us in September, but the Dr. was able to stop my labor that time. As you can see he has always been eager to grow up faster than we'd like him to.

He now rides his bike to and from school with friends and didn't ask for a single toy for his birthday. He asked for a video camera to make movies (which he got from his Nana) and a cell phone (I'm still considering that one). He is the best big brother a sister could ask for!

Happy 9th Bday J!

What have we been doing???

The girls were a little under the weather last week, so everything came to a halt. We're not really sure if it's allergies or something else. It hasn't slowed them down much as far as playing though. I've been super busy with Lango as I start looking for those perfect teachers! And as the weather FINALLY starts to cool off, we have spent a lot more time outside.

E went to a model search event and got a free toothbrush

Sharing juice boxes...
Discovering nature

Nature at the zoo

Sharing a banana with daddy
Getting ready for church
Throwing a tantrum while getting ready to go to church
Reading a book
Oh my runny nose mommy!

Exciting news!

Some of you may have already received this via email:

I am pleased to announce my position as the new director of Lango DFW North! Lango offers foreign language classes for children ages 18 months- 9 years. At Lango, children learn Spanish, French, or Mandarin in small-group, 45-minute full immersion classes 1-2 times per week. Our teachers use culturally based music, art, games, and stories to teach a second language in an environment kids will love. Through immersion-based classes, children will make developmental strides, experience other cultures and make new friends.

My plan at this point is to have classes starting this January. In the summer, we offer language-immersion day camps! Right now my first objective is finding locations and teachers to hold class.

In the mean time, please feel free to check out our website at http://www.langokids.com/ . I don’t have the DFW North section up and running yet, so please feel free to ask any questions you may have. And, please feel free to forward to any parents you think might be interested in children’s foreign language as well as native speakers of French, Spanish, or Mandarin that might be interested in teaching. Must love kids!

If you have any questions, or would like to be on our mailing list, please contact me! langodfw@verizon.net

Something we all should be concerned with

About a month ago, I read a couple of books that started a new trend in our family. The books mostly talked about the health benefits of eating organic, whole, minimally-processed foods, but it also informed of hidden dangers lurking in everything we use. City water treated with chlorine, artificial sweeteners, shampoos with sodium laurel sulfates (SLS). The most toxic thing in your bathroom, one book said, is probably your lipstick!

Naturally I was concerned about the health of my family, so we have converted most of what we eat to organic produce, nitrate free lunch meats, whole grains, and we have ditched high fructose corn syrup. I bought natural shampoos, body soaps, paraben-free moisturizer and deodorants, and we are currently looking for a filtering shower head.

A lot of friends and family roll their eyes at me, but the truth is that these things (aside from the awful deodorant) taste better and make our skin feel better. We love making our food as colorful as possible by adding organic avocados, tomatoes, and spouts to ordinary turkey sandwiches! It feels better to eat and live clean.

Today as I was watching my morning news show, a piece came on about the dangers of teen girls an their products. From what I understand, they tested 20 random teens and every single one of them had harmful chemicals in their blood (such as parabens, SLS, formaldehyde). They also said that the average teen uses 17 beauty products a day. That seems like a lot, but add up what you use. (BTW, toothpaste has SLS in it too...nice hunh?).

They gave a list of ingredients to avoid in your products to reduce the amount of chemical exposure. My notes are included in red for your reading pleasure.

— DMDM hydantoin and imidanzolidinyl urea, which are toxic contaminants
DMDM hydantoin is a preservative that works by releasing formaldehyde into the product. It is used in shampoos and cosmetics to prevent molds, mildews, and bacterial spoilage.

— Fragrance and dyes, which can lead to allergies, cancer and problems of the nervous system
— Methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone, which can cause allergies and problems of the nervous system
— Parbens or “-parben,” which can lead to hormone disruption
Parabens are phytoestrogens (plant hormones) found in plants such as blueberries. They are used as preservatives in food, cosmetics, sunscreens, shampoos, and many other products...like lipstick.

— “PEG” and “-eth,” which are toxic contaminants
Polyethylene glycol. Used in toothpastes and creams as stabilizers. Some report that this chemical has a "low toxicity"...but when it is in everything you use??? Who knows.
— Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, which can cause skin damage
Commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to "lather".
— Triclosan and triclocarban, which can lead to problems with the thyroid and environmental concerns Found especially in antibacterial products and plastics with microban. Found in 75% of all liquid hand soaps and 30% of bar soap. Studies have shown Triclosan to be present in the milk of 3 out of 5 nursing women. Studies on regarding the effects on the thyroid gland led to evidence of a hypothermic effect (lowers body temperature) and a "non-specific depressant effect on the central nervous system. Good times.
— Triehanolamine (TEA), which can cause allergies and contain toxic contaminants

It's scary to see all the weirdness they put in things. Anyway, if you are interested you can check out the full report here and listen to what Dr. Manny had to say regarding the report. Something that really caught my attention is that for years we have been hearing people say that the average age of puberty-onset is dropping. One example was premature breast development in 8-9 year old girls. Now they are showing evidence of hormone-altering chemicals in teen girls' blood. Coincidence? You decide!

The full report
The analysis

Pre-school update

Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts. Emma had the worst day at school on Monday crying most of the time. Through those tears she somehow managed to make a baby Moses in a basket during craft time. She is very proud of it.

Today was the best she has had yet. She cried when she was dropped off, but Mrs. J said she didn't cry the rest of the day. She also took pictures of her and sent them home so we could see her playing happily and enjoying snack time. Her favorite thing about school must be the hand washing. She always wants to wash her hands over and over. Maybe she will pass on that passion to her siblings!

Tinkle tinkle

E's favorite song! She actually asks to sing "How I". Iz likes the same tune, but prefers "A, B, C".

Pre-school...take 2

Well, she apparently cried most of the day today and refused he snack again. *sigh*
She seems fine now though. Eating, playing, sleeping.

Prayers are welcomed.

E's first day of pre-school

We were late to sign up, but at the last minute we decided E needed to be in pre-school. She is painfully shy and we are hoping this helps her with socializing and learning. Right now we can't learn much at home with little sis always wanting to be in the middle of it.

I don't have any great pics since she was clinging to my leg the whole time. She cried when I dropped her off (even though I stayed in the room for 10 min with her). She was doing OK when I peeked back in 20 mins later. Then when we went back to pick her up (2 1/2 hours later) she was bawling. Poor thing. I know she will be fine once everything becomes routine because as we walked out she was telling me all about her new teacher, chapel, and pointing to new friends.

BTW- It was AMAZING how much I accomplished yesterday while she was in school. Having one at home is easy!!! She will go every Monday and Wednesday this year from 8:30-11:30. I can't believe I have 2 babies in school! Now if we could just ditch that paci...

E getting ready

Finishing up breakfast with Daddy
On our way!
Some of you parents will notice her car seat harness is not where it should be. Well, she doesn't like it there and moves it. Any ideas for how to keep it up where it should be would be greatly appreciated!!

I think this is hilarious!

J learned how to make flip books to show motion this summer. Now he is taking that skill and trying to do movies. Here is one set of frames....

E's first (and probably last) clavichord lesson

Good form

Great page turn
This is easy!

Well...not so easy on the instrument!

Totally random pics from the last week

I realize I am getting lazy, but we are in the middle of painting our house and remodeling. So things are crazy...and messy around here.

At our nephew, E's, party.

(Our E didn't really ride these go karts and I am glad. She would have been terrified)

J actually ended up riding with me.

Can't you tell he is thrilled???

I wanna be a cowgirl! (with chocolate mustache)
Where can I get some of that chocolate???
Our newly painted music room. The blue is actually turquoise. I love it!