Comparisons

I've been meaning to post one of these since Bryant was born, and I'm finally getting around to doing it.  I pulled up pictures of all 3 kids at 8 months.  I was kind of surprised at how different they all look, considering everyone thinks they all really look alike.  See what you think!

 Bennett

 Miles

Bryant

First Grade!

Bennett started 1st Grade on Wednesday! Monday evening they had a back to school BBQ where she got to meet her teachers and see her classroom.  She was very excited! Her teachers seem great, and I hope she has a great year.

Bennett with her teachers Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Hilleren at the back to school BBQ.

Bennett was really excited to give Mrs. Allen the gift we made for her

Bennett found her desk (a real big kid desk this year!) and was happy to be sitting by some of her buddies from Kindergarten.

 Bennett was very excited for her first day, but once we got to school she was a little apprehensive when it was time for me to leave.  She did just fine though! 

 Unpacking her school supplies

 Getting started on her first piece of work in 1st grade! What a big kid!

Last week of summer!

I can't believe the school year has started again (well for Bennett at least)! We had so much fun during our last week of summer! We tried to get in lots of fun activities, many of which were things we meant to do all summer long and didn't get to until now.  We all had a blast and were thoroughly exhausted every night.  It was a great way to end a fun summer.


Wednesday Meredith came with us to the Zoo.  It was one of the best Zoo trips ever! The weather was gorgeous, some schools had started already and we got there right when it opened so it wasn't very crowded, and all of the animals were out and very active.  It was tons of fun! I don't have a picture, but both Bennett and Miles pet the stingrays also.

 A picture full of monkeys! :)

 The cheetah was prowling

 Even the lions who are always sleeping were awake and moving around.  One was even playing with a ball in the water.

 We even got to see Priyah, the new baby elephant.  We were about to walk away, and she walked right out with her mom and came right near us.  It was awesome! She has really fuzzy hair that sticks up on her head just like Bryant's! 

On Thursday we headed to the Magic House.  We also got there right when it opened and it wasn't busy at all.  That is a miracle at the Magic House! It made me really glad we waited to go until some schools were back in session already.  Also it was another gorgeous day so I think we were the only ones who were crazy enough to choose an indoor activity! Mom was nice enough to watch Bryant so I could just take the big kids, which makes the Magic House much more manageable!

On Friday, we hiked around Laumeier Sculpture Park.  Pa joined us, which was very fun because he used to always take Meredith and me there to hike when we were little.  The kids had fun exploring the sculptures and hiking around!

On Saturday, Bennett and I had a little "Girl time" and went to get pedicures.  This was the first time she had gone to an adult nail salon and boy was she proud!

We also had to say goodbye to Meredith and Chris because they moved back to Philadelphia.  They came over and played with the kids for awhile and had dinner with us.  The kids had an absolute blast with them.  We will really miss them living so far away! :(

We also squeezed in the park as a family on Sunday and another park playdate with some friends who go to another school on Monday.  

Girls day and other pics

Last week, Miles had soccer camp. One morning Meredith came over to watch Bryant and Bennett and I had special girl time. I know I'll miss having her around when school starts again, so it was fun to get to have some quality time just with her. We went to a place called Swing Around Fun Town and played putt putt, and went on Go Carts and Bumper Boats. We had so much fun!

Godparents

Last weekend, Katie and Josh and Chris and Meredith came over for a cider brewing fest/BBQ.  We commented how both of Bryant's Godparents were there, so we made sure to take a picture!

This weekend, Bubba came to visit us.  I made sure Meredith came over so that we could get a Godparent picture for Miles.  Considering Bubba lives in London and Meredith is on her way to living in Philadelphia, it will probably be really rare that we ever have them in the same place at the same time again!  Aunt Erin and Uncle Jake- Want to come visit so we can get the trifecta of Godparents??

It was really nice to have Bubs here.  I know Brandon truly enjoyed getting to hang out with his buddy.  He was also a total trooper and tolerated a BBQ that we had with another family that included 7 kids under the age of 6!

Here are a few other pictures just from hanging out this weekend!

8 months

Bryant is 8 months! The past month has been a big one for him. It took me leaving for 24 hours and a lot of patience from Daddy, but Bryant finally takes a bottle- and now he absolutely loves them! We started a new bedtime routine of a bottle downstairs, then up to his room to look at books and sing a little. It has been working out nicely and he goes to sleep really well. His 3rd tooth on the bottom has come through, and he currently has 3 top teeth that are all trying to push through and are driving him crazy! I hope they get through soon for the poor guy! He still wakes up around 2:00AM, and 6:30 for the day. His army crawl is getting quicker. He gets so excited that he can go places that he usually giggles the whole time he's crawling! He's eating a lot more baby food and also doing well with some finger foods. He loves fruit! Vegetables, not so much, but we keep trying!

Oh and his hair is totally crazy! It sticks straight up!

This month's chair photos were quite difficult! All he wanted to do was jump off the chair and peel off the sticker.