Elise Marie Benson

In this brief window when our internet is working I'll jump in and post pictures of our sweet baby girl. She was born on April 15th at 11:48 pm. I was induced because I was terribly uncomfortable and they thought she'd be a big girl but the sweet little papoose turned out to be 7 lb 12 oz and 20 inches long. It was a long day but not an incredibly hard one. Joe and I played Canasta up until the time came to push (Sorry, maybe too much information) and my friend from church was our fabulous nurse (she even stayed over 2 hours afer her shift ended so she could be there when our little one was born- thanks again Emily! We hope you have since recuped some lost sleep!!) and my midwife could not have been better- and the end product is adorable. We named her about an hour before we left the hospital and we still call her baby sister out of habit. Carter loves her and loves to hold her- it's hard to get her back from him! We went to the hospital today, after we picked up Grandma Linda from the airport, to drop off some papers and things and when we got back to the car Carter said, "we're not going to return baby sister?". I said no and he was so happy!! Sweet boy, I'm glad he wants her home for keeps. Sorry for those of you we haven't called but should have, we love you but life is a little crazy right now...

Do Not Call List...

We have reached the point in this pregnancy where we just can't call anyone. You know- as soon as you say hello everyone gets so excited thinking you have had the baby and then you get depressed that you haven't and that drives you to eating. Which packs on more pregnancy weight and leads to more depression (viscious cycle...). So I'll just post on my blog instead. The good news is that I am being induced tomorrow, so there is an end in sight- soon we will be at liberty to call people again! Joe's Mom got here Saturday so Carter won't even be aware that we're gone at the hospital the next few days (which makes me both happy and sad. I don't want him to be distraught at my absence but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he at least NOTICED I wasn't here:). Please keep us in your prayers, I was SO excited to have this baby out of my abdomen but this morning I started to get nervous- I forgot how scary having a baby is...

Easter weekend...

Some friends of our set up a great picnic/easter egg hunt/park evening the saturday before Easter and it was so much fun, we're talking somewhere around 100 people were there! Carter kind of got what was going on during the Easter egg hunt, but really his favorite parts were the park and playing baseball.



He wasn't really into the candy on Easter Sunday either, he carried around his bucket of easter eggs for almost three weeks before it was all gone. The kid has got amazing self-control, we have no idea where he gets it. Joe and I downed a whole box of wheat thins last night, someone needs to start cooking dinner around here- but we'll save the lazy housewife post for later. Grandma Benson sent Carter a whole bag of non-edible goodies (so smart) for Easter and we have read his new Curious George and Thomas the Tank Engine books EVERY DAY since Easter. I think we need to expand our book collection in these categories becasue I have every work memorized. I felt bad about my parenting at the end of the day on Easter though because I know we failed to really celebrate this most important holiday of the year for what it truly is. While we talked about Jesus, it wasn't the focal point of the day. Next year I vow to do it the right way, while still enjoying the lighter side (he will only be 3, though an easter basket full of sugar won't get old at any age:).



Here is the only picture we took of our big boy in his Easter outfit- he looked so grown up it made me sad. Can't he just stay this age forever?

It's Spring (for the most part...)!

So I'm still playing catchup on the last month of our lives, here is another installment. Here's a picture of Carter on the first really warm day we experienced (that would be March 13th). He looked like an hunky little athlete until he insisted on throwing the tie on (aren't those shoes cute- thanks Grandma!). Carter is ALMOST three but he's started talking and reasoning like a much older child. Not only will he tell Dad "but Mom said I could", the other day he refused to take a nap and when I went up to tell him that Mommy was tired and really needed him to take a nap he said to me "Okay Mom, I'll watch Curious George while you take a nap". Really not a bad idea, so we did it- who's parenting who here?


Joe and I have decided to stop pretending we don't have a yard, we now wish we had gone with a smaller lot. Between mowing, raking, planters and weed control we are out there every night, though Carter could not think that was any cooler. He is very helpful, and he hangs out with Dad because his tools are cooler than mine (my trowel can't compete with the lawn mower) so I get to be outside in nature all alone- it's fabulous! We think when we get this yard under control it's really going to improve our relationship with our neigbors...

Considerate sickee...

It's midnight and I'm up because I can't take my happy pills! Carter has been throwing up on and off for hours (sorry for the weak stomached) so I can't fall fast asleep:(. Though Carter has been very kind, he always starts to complain about his throat and bawl before he does his business so we are able to make sure it's contained. What a sweetie. It's so hard to see those little bloodshot, teary eyes and flushed face- as a parent I really do hurt when he hurts. We're hoping for a one night stand so tomorrow we can be all better, but if not- I've promised Carter a lot of Curious George episodes tomorrow...