Guess who's sitting up on her own?

Isn't she cute? I know I'm biased.

(Sorry for the poor picture quality. Doesn't help that A moved.)

Our weekend - Home, ear infections and birthday celebration

What a weekend! I have to admit that it wasn't an incredibly wild weekend but a slightly crazy weekend. Friday night, Ellie had a birthday party for her friend Ali. As we were about to walk out the door, I ran upstairs to get Annie only to discover that she had urped everywhere! I had to give her a quick bath. She did it again after her bath. I finally got us all in the car, picked up E's friend Serenity and headed to my mom's to drop off M. On the way, I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for Annie. So, I took E and S to Maumelle and passed them off to Brian for the party. I turned around and headed back to LR for A's appointment. Turns out A had an ear infection. I'm not totally convinced now that she might not have also had a bug. The only reason I think that is because E ended up getting sick Sunday afternoon. YUCK! Can I just say that puke is my absolute least favorite thing in the world. YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!! Fortunately, E handled things well. We'll just leave it at that.

Back to Friday, after A's appt. we had dinner at my parents before heading home, bathing M and E and putting everyone to bed. Saturday morning, Brian headed out back to get the leaves up and to hopefully get rid of bugs. We've found a couple of fleas on Gidget. UGH!! Ellie had a great time helping her dad!

Saturday afternoon, I ran to Conway with my friend Tammy to pick up Brittney's birthday cake. Britt is Tammy's oldest. We love her!! Anyway, Tammy and I ran to Target and to Children's Place while we were up there. Brian and I met the Segars clan and the Carneys at Texas Roadhouse to eat dinner for Britt's birthday. We had a great time visiting!

Annie slept through most of dinner.

However, she was awake at the very first of the evening and at the very end.

Blake was super excited about his mama's birthday.

I think Britt was most excited about her cake from Ed's Bakery.

Several in our group made sure that the wait staff knew that it was Britt's birthday. They brought out a saddle for her to "ride" while we sang to her.

Kelly, me, Britt and Blake after dinner. It was so good to be back with my girls!

Me and Britt were going to take a quick pick - Ryan couldn't resist.

Me & Brian

Thankful Feasts

Last Thursday and Friday the two big girls had their thankful feasts at their schools. Mollie had her feast on Thursday. They dined on chicken nuggets, cheese and crackers, grapes and a dessert. Apparently, Mollie enjoyed it because she was ready for bed when we got home. This is always a fabulous thing. We all know that being mom of the year is terribly difficult. I managed to not get any pictures of Mollie's party. Yes, I remembered the camera - just forgot to use it. Nice, right?

Ellie's party was on Friday. Their feast consisted of turkey, turkey & cheese and cheese roll-ups, carrot sticks & ranch, fruit, cheese cubes and cookies. The kids loved it! Mrs. Bricker had all the kids in Indian costumes. I thought it was funny that Mrs. Bricker chose the exact same Indian name for Ellie that Mrs. Laws had chosen for her last year. Her Indian name was Tiger Lily. Isn't that just perfect??? Unfortunately, Ellie got really nervous right before they came in the classroom and ended up not dressing up. Seriously though, the kids had to walk into their classroom where 20+ adults were standing around. It was a little intimidating. Ellie settled down and ate with her friends. Then, they performed a short program for the parents. They sang a few Thanksgiving songs, did the cutest interactive poem and each said their own line to a Thanksgiving poem. Ellie and her friend Kathryn had two lines. They did a great job!

Ellie at her Thankful Feast.

Ellie and Me at the party

Ellie performing with her class.

Ellie had a great time!

After everything was finished, the class presented Mrs. Bricker with a cross that had the kids' signatures on the back and a book of special pictures they kids had created especially for Mrs. Bricker. She was so excited and even teared up. To me, that's the mark of a great gift!

Mollie took a picture of one of her coloring pages. :) At least, she didn't get left out. This is a very good thing.

A weekend at home & 6 months

Weekend at home - Oh, thank you Jesus! We had a weekend at home. For the first time in weeks, there was nothing major on our schedule this weekend. Thursday and part of Friday were dedicated to focusing on Brian's parents. His dad had a heart ablation on Thursday morning. Things went beautifully! We are praising God. Friday night, I went with a bunch of girls from church to Holiday House. Can I just say that I "heart" holiday house? It is so fabulous. It is definitely the shopping event of the season. Plus, I adore the time I get with my girlfriends. God has been so good to give me an amazing group of women as my friends. They love God and they love being together. After we shopped, we ate a very late dinner at Chili's. I haven't laughed that hard in a very, very long time!

Saturday, I spent part of the morning picking up the house and attempting to get things in order. I also tackled a major project I have been working on/avoiding for several weeks. I sorted and organized all of our hand-me-down clothes. I am praising God that we found sleepers for A and a few other outfits I have looked everywhere for but couldn't find. I also found a few more things for M. I loved the sense of accomplishment I felt when everything was finished. Brian was sweet enough to carry all of the bags back out to the shed for me.

12-24 month size clothes


2T to 6x clothes - WOW!

While I was working, Annie napped and the big girls played outside. They began their time outside being so sweet. They were playing on the swing set and having the biggest time. After a while, the angels came in and asked for playdoh. I quickly squelched this idea (let's not forget the playdoh-bubbles fiasco) and quickly chased Mollie out the door in order to get the playdoh away from her, which I did. So, the girls settled on bubbles until Mollie spilled a small bottle on her shoe. I'm not quite sure what else happened. I suggested chalk. I mean really, what harm is there in chalk? Hahaha! When I went to check on the girls, I found this.....

Not sure if you can see what is on Gidget's back, but it's chalk. I found Ellie holding Gidget down while she colored her back blue and pink. Her face had been outlined in chalk as well. It was special. Then, I noticed that both E and M were COVERED in chalk. I wonder how it got on their backs? Curious! Then, there was the dead plant that got turned upside down and dirt poured on E's shoe. Oh, we must not forget the sliding class door that Ellie got to clean because they chalked it as well. Needless to say, all 3 were bathtub bound. I guess the good part is they had a grand time. :)

This past week (Nov. 11th to be exact), Annie turned 6 months. I cannot believe she has been with us that long. It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. It is simply amazing how much things have changed since May 11th. Annie had her check-up with Dr. Feelbetter on Friday. She was an angel. She smiled and cooed and was simply the sweetest thing ever. Dr. Feelbetter was so upset that they were going to have to make A cry. And, cry she did. Poor baby. We are participating in a study for a new meningitis vaccine for infants. The study is in the final stages. Annie got the shot for the test in her right leg and the other 5 (yes, 5!!) shots in her left leg. Plus, she got the oral rotovirus vaccine. She was such a trooper. By the way, we are praising God that A was able to get the H1N1 shot. God worked it out this week so that all 3 girls got it much to their displeasure!

Annie on Friday morning before we left for work and the doctor.

Annie's stats: 16 lbs. 14 oz and 27 inches long! I can't remember what her head measurement was. Annie is just a delight! She smiles constantly and gives the BEST kisses. She has started reaching out and touching your face when you pick her up. She has even started giving hugs. She gets super excited when she hears Ellie and Mollie and does everything she can to get herself turned around to be able to see them. She loves to be talked to and is making the cutest trilling noise. Annie is rolling over and is trying to pull her legs up under herself. If you sit her up, she lasts for a minute or two, and she's trying to lift her body up off the floor. I am just smitten. God has given me several times over the last couple of weeks where I have been able to sit and hold her while she sleeps. I haven't gotten to do this much because we always seem to be on the go. I treasure these moments. She still loves to sleep with one of her lovies. She hugs it while she sleeps. Annie is the perfect compliment to our family.

Now that Annie is 6 months old, we have given her her first baby food. My goal is to make the baby food, but I haven't had a chance to pick up the book I need with all the recipes and tips. So, I bought a couple of containers at the store this weekend. I tried pears and sweet potatoes first. Annie wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I think the fact that her nose was running was a major factor in the taste of the food. ha!

What a difference 6 months makes

This past weekend Karen came to visit. Oh, how good it was to see her. We always "joke" that we feel normal again when she's here. For a short time, it's like everything is "back to normal." We had a great time, but it never is long enough. We had dinner at our house Friday night with the Segars and Brian's dad. Then on Saturday, we had a big breakfast, went to Target, Toys R Us and the Hallmark store before heading to Blake's 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Saturday night we grilled out at the Segars and Sunday we went to church together. It was so fun.

Before K and James headed back to Texas, we took a picture of us and our babies. Our babies are 3 months to the day a part.

Me, Annie, James and Karen Memorial Day Weekend

Me, Annie, James and Karen this Sunday at church.

I thought she was watching High School Musical 3....

Not so sure that Clinique's Rose Aglow is really Mollie's color. She kept saying, "Mama, don't I look bootiful?" How could I resist that face? Praise God he showed me where the camera was so that I didn't miss this one! Ha! For the record, I didn't laugh!

Mollie's first field trip

With all the rain we have had, First Kids Day Out (the MDO that I run and that the little girls attend) had to cancel our field trip scheduled for Oct. 22. We were headed to Belgian Meadow Farms to feed the animals, take a carriage ride and get a pumpkin. Very long story very short, we took the kids last Thursday. Let's just say I was a little less than excited about going because I really did not have the time to be out of the office. However, we went and I am so thankful that we did. It was such a wonderful time!

The kids got to feed the horses and the goats before heading to the pumpkin patch. They had a grand time take a ride in the carriage. We also had a snack of goldfish, fruit snacks and apple juice. Yummy! ha! Best of all, Mollie had a grand time. It was fun to get to focus on her for a little while. I got tickled at the moms on our little trip. Several of them told me that they were so thankful for the field trip - it was just what they needed. See, God knew what they needed and it wasn't about me and what I needed to do. Life's better when we focus on others. I'm thankful for the reminder.

Miss Mollie just before all the fun got started.

Mollie attempting to feed one of the horses.

Mollie picked out her very own pumpkin that we gave to Mimi.

Mollie and Anderson - She loves her some Anderson!

Anderson's mom Kellie and I got so tickled watching the kids. Somebody said something about giving the other one a kiss which they do quite often. Mollie was all about it!

A day with the Indians

Last week, the kindergarten at AB headed to Pinnacle Mountain State Park for a field trip. Their first stop was at the Visitor's Center for a demonstration and talk about Indians by a local Native American woman. After their time at the visitor's center, the kids headed to the playground, played and ate a little snack before heading back to school.

I was going to go on the trip, but Ellie insisted that Mimi go with her. It worked out great for me because I had a ton of work to do. Most importantly, Ellie had a fabulous time having her Mimi with her. E was elated!!! Mimi is such a good sport and had a great time with her girl.

Ellie just before they got to learn about Arkansas Indians.

The kids were asked to join in for a little dancing. Mimi was so proud of Ellie. She jumped right in and did what was asked of her. Go Ellie!

She is growing up!

Ellie and Serenity - these two are so funny they both have very strong wills and are quite a combination!

Ellie enjoying a little down time on the jungle gym.

Ellie had a great time on her field trip. She rode the bus with her friend Madelyn and got to leave the field trip with Mimi. We all love the days that Ellie gets to come home early. They are great nap days! Thanks, Mimi, for a great morning!

Ellie's Class

A few weeks ago, Ellie's class along with the other 2 K5 classes at ABSS visited the Heifer Village as part of the farm unit. According to Ellie, it was a great trip! Brian took the day off and went on the field trip. Ellie has a great group of friends in her class this year. We are so blessed!!

Ellie is in pink standing on the back row. She's next to her friend Tripp. I think they are really good friends. :)

Trunk-or-Treat 09

Halloween 2009 was a fun time for the Bennett family! We had a great time at Trunk-or-Treat at our church. I was busy working, but Brian and the girls had a great time visiting with friends, playing games and getting tons of candy! I got tickled watching the girls as they made the rounds with all their grown up friends. Britt, Alli and Anna were great to help with the girls. Kelsey and Micah were a huge help with Mollie. I honestly don't know what we would do if we didn't have all these wonderful people in our lives! Annie spent most of the night with Mimi, but she had fun hanging out with tons of friends too. Mimi, Papa Jim, Nannie and Pawpaw all came out to watch the girls have fun. It's so incredible to be able to go to a church where we can reach out to the community around us and invite in them in to our church home.

Ellie as Eloise


My Little Flower - Annie
This was her first Halloween.

So very serious....such a sweet flower!

(thanks to Mandy for the tip on the outfit!)

Mollie Ruth as Hannah Montana

She didn't last long in her wig. :)

Mollie was a little shy at first. She spent the first part of the night hanging out with BooBoo.

Then, she found her Dunna and wouldn't let go of her.

Hannah Montana and Dunna

Isn't she precious?!!?

Miss Eloise

Ellie and Dunna


Micah, Kelsey, Mollie & Ellie

They call me the Cowgirl!

Mollie Ruth just before we headed out for the day on Tuesday. Little did she know we would also be making a stop at LRCC for a flu shot. Poor baby! She did great!!