Kaylee and Ben and the Pumpkins

I just love this picture of Kaylee and Benny and the pumkins.

A few Smiles to Share

Ben's 1st Babysitter

Pat and I went out at night for the first time without Bennett on Friday night. Grandma Grape was more than thrilled to babysit. When we got home, the house was quiet as a mouse and this is what I found in the sink. Looks like both of them had their bottle before bed. Grandma Grape was drinking on the job:) That is ok...we love you grandma! Benny was in good hands!

Lost Camera

I cannot seem to find our second digital camera or our flip anywhere. Did we leave it at anyone's house? I have not seen in in the last couple of weeks. Let me know if you have any idea on it's whereabouts. Until then, I am praying St. Anthony will help us out.

8 hours and a Giggle...What more could I ask for?

Benny Boy ate at 7:30 last night. He went to bed around 9:30....when Pat and I were ready for sleep too. We fully expected that around 11:30 we would be up for a feeding...but low and behold little Benny Boy did not make a peep until 3:30 this morning. I have done the math several times in my head thinking "He could not really have gone eight hours could he???@!!" But yes indeedy...7:30 to 3:30 is eight hours. Every time I post his "Great Sleeping" milestones on the blog he seems to hear me and remember that he likes to eat at night...and digression happens. But even if it is one step back for every two steps forward, he is definitely moving towards sleepless nights. Yay Ben!

I took the day off today to spend some mommy kiddo time and I am remembering fondly my days of maternity leave. It's so nice to be home during the day...to be there for all of his bottles and burps and even his poops. Today he even gave me a giggle. I was not even doing anything funny. I was just talking to him and there it was a little laugh. His smiles are so cute and I cannot wait to see more of these little laughs. His personality is starting to emerge. Tomorrow is back to work, but even having one day in the middle of the week to be home makes a big difference. Now we are off to Costco...

Ben's Future Baby-Sitters

Ben enjoying some time with the only "Jordan girls" ..... Molly and Kaylee.

Jordan Family Campout 2010

This year marked the third annual Jordan Family Camp out in our backyard. For the last few years, we have set up a couple tents in the backyard, fired up a bonfire and invited all of the nieces and nephews over for a camp out. It is a lot of fun and hopefully it creates memories that the kiddos will cherish for a long time! This year, we had planned the camp out for July 10th in an effort to have it before the baby arrived, but the rain ruined our plans and we had to issue a rain check. So Friday we redeemed the rain checks and hosted the camp out and Benny was able to join in the festivities. This is the latest we have ever done it so it was a bit chillier than in years past. Everyone of the nieces and nephews made an appearance. Adam and Critter were still a little too young to sleep outside so they just came for a bit. Benny was all bundled up so he could be in on the action until bedtime and then he and I snuck inside to sleep. I figured a midnight and 4 am feeding would not be much fun in a tent full of grade schoolers so I opted for the indoors this year. But Pat weathered the cold with them and around 7:30 am they all came running inside for some warmth and some breakfast. It was a fun time. One benefit of a fall camp out was that it got darker much earlier so bedtime came much more naturally...and a little earlier than in years past. For us "old people" that was not a bad thing.

My camera takes terrible pictures so this was the best I could get.

Benny may have been a little overdressed for the fall weather. But he sure slept good all bundled up in his winter attire.

Pat challenged all the kids to an obstacle course at the neighborhood park. That kept them busy until their moms and dads came to get them in the morning.

All 13 of the Jordan kiddos.

A Peanut Sat on a Railroad Track

What has our life come to? This morning at 6 am, Pat and I were singing the children's song a "A Peanut sat on a Railroad track" in around as we were getting ready for work. Ben enjoyed it.



A....who is up at 6 am? Let alone, cheerful enough to sing at 6am?

B....1 month ago, we did not even know that song:)



We really do love our new life.

Ben's Hernia

We noticed Ben's belly button was very puffed out last night...not just a little puffed out, it was blown up like a balloon. It seemed to inflate when he cried. It made us a little nervous so this morning we took him in to see the Doctor. She was able to tell what it was right away..... he has a hernia. His muscles underneath his belly button did not grow together so he has a hole under his belly button. No need for concern, it does not bother him and the Doctor said it will likely self correct in the next year...but in the meantime he has a puffed out belly button when he cries. We are learning new things everyday!

2 Months

Sunday marked Ben's 2 month milestone. At two months he is 9 lb and 15oz.....almost a ten pounder:) He is giving us an occasional smile and lots of pleasant looks. When he is awake, he is so wide eyed as if he cannot possibly take it all in. He moves his tongue all over the place and likes to make an "O" with his lips. He will sit and stare at me or Pat while he eats which I love. He gets so excited when the bottle hits his lips. When we read to him, he stares intently on us as if he is listening so hard to what we are saying...he does not yet realize that there is even a book involved in story time...he just thinks we are talking to him. He loves music. When it stops playing on his swing or in his crib, he starts to fuss as if to tell us to turn on his tunes. He has lost most of the infant hair that he had on his arms and face, but he has seemed to keep all the hair on his head which we LOVE! His cheeks seem to round out more everyday and I love that they are like perfect little apples. Since I returned to work last week, we have not quite found our new schedule. With us going to bed earlier, Ben is a little confused. Sunday night was AMAZING....he slept for eight hours (8 pm to 4 am). But he followed up with a really rough Monday night. He woke up at 3 am and insisted on being up for the day. We are still working through some of the hiccups of our schedule change but he is a good sleeper, so even getting up once or twice at night does not seem too bad.

Here is our little Benny Boy in his Baptism onesie. We found the number 2 block and it made an appearance in a few of the pictures....

Here is what Ben looked like at one month.

Bennett's Baptism

On Sunday, September 12th Bennett Anthony Jordan was welcomed into God's family. Grandma Grape had his gown made out of my first communion dress which was very special! God Bless you Bennett!

Labor Day 2010

The Hammock Swing was a Crowd Favorite

We rented a cabin with my parents and sister and Wes for the long Labor Day weekend. It was not overly warm but that did not matter at all given that it was a super cozy cabin with all the comforts of home in the up north setting. We made it out for a couple boat rides, the boys caught some fish, the girls did some shopping, we all crammed in the sub to go and fetch wood (complete with the axe), we all took turns swinging in the hammock swing in the living room, we took lots of pictures of Bennett and we ate lots and lots of food. What a nice way to end my maternity leave as today marked my first day back at work.

State Fair

We made our annual trip to the state fair last Friday. We started the evening with a turkey sandwich from the turkey growers association.......YUM! And we left with a bucket of our most favorite Sweet Martha's Cookies. And we enjoyed lots of treats in between. We looked all over for formula on a stick for Bennett and it was no where to be found.

1st Boat Ride

He slept through the whole boat ride. We interpret that as he loved it! Many more boat rides to come!