Eleanor is 4!

This sweet peanut is 4!  Which seems crazy to me.  She is turning out to be one amazing little girl.  She is very generous and helpful, loves snuggles and attention from mom or dad just to herself (middle child!).  Eleanor loves playing with Bennett and totally looks up to him.  She adores Isla and acts like Isla is her baby. :)  Eleanor is also silly/funny and I can see her being that way with friends once she warms up.  Elle is my girly girl for sure, and loves all things fancy, pink, and sparkly.  We had a LONG period of time where she would only wear a dress each day, but lately she's been doing more pants and tee shirts.  Fitting that she chose "Princess" as her theme for her birthday party this year.  

Eleanor can have a hard exterior at times but can also be super sensitive and get upset/embarrassed/hurt easily.  Elle is a smarty and seems to soak in what she hears and often will reiterate things her teacher/brother/parent has said verbatim.  She loves praise and sharing things she made with people.  Something pretty cool is that Eleanor is growing a big love for Jesus!  I absolutely love that she hears about Jesus at home, church, and school.  

Eleanor seems to like school and is doing well, but unlike Bennett, she doesn't get super excited about school.  She'd rather be with mom. :)  She was THRILLED when I came in for her birthday to read a book to her class.  At school (and in groups), Eleanor is on the quieter side, but listens carefully and follows directions really well.  Her teacher said that Eleanor plays well with everyone and is the one kid who's always willing to try new activities and centers.  She prefers the art/writing and kitchen centers.  Which fits at home.  Her favorite things to do are draw pictures at the craft table and play "Family" or pretend.  Eleanor chose to go bowling for her birthday which was fun!  We did duck pin bowling... :)

Eleanor had a good doctor check up for 4 years, too!  Though she's still small, she's growing well and the doctor was pleased to hear Eleanor is turning into a decent eater.  Elle is 100cm tall (41%), and 32  lb 10 oz (31%).  She made great growth from her 3 year check.  She did recently have an ear infection and small case of pneumonia, which she had exactly one year ago too.  The doctor said we'll keep an eye on the pneumonia if she gets it again....possibly a chest x-ray to see where it is in the lungs and what exactly could be causing it since normally kids her age wouldn't get it.  But otherwise Eleanor is "perfect!"  Eleanor has recently done a little ballet and gymnastics class.  She loved ballet and wants to do that again, but she was really good at gymnastics - she is super lean and muscular.  She starts ballet again next week! 

We sure love this sweet, loving, silly girl!!!

The Grinch!

Last year just before Christmas the kids and I saw their first movie, The Star.  They LOVED it so we went back again this year just before Christmas and saw The Grinch.  It was a good remake and the kids really enjoyed it!  So fun to lounge in the chairs with popcorn and root beer and candy!  They loved it!

Christmas Programs!

The kids were so excited for all of their special Christmas programs this year.  Here they are at the church program which was VERY cute.  Bennett gets super into it, and Eleanor just seemed to be floating along, lol. :)  She did not like when the boy next to her was misbehaving a bit...

Eleanor had a sweet little 3k program too!  She was so proud!

Bennett's 5K program was the same day, so Grandma and Grandpa made it to both.  So special!

Green Bay Christmas Lights!

Brad was in India for a week in December so I took the kids up to GB for the first weekend to have a change of pace and some help!  Casey and Amanda took us to see the GB Botanical Gardens - they do an awesome light set up each winter.  The kids loved it! :)

Then on Saturday Uncle Casey and Amanda took the bigs to Home Depot while I took Isla to run some Christmas shopping errands.

Ben, Isla and I drove back on Sunday morning but left Eleanor in GB because she got to have a special Eleanor night and go with them to see the Polar Express train.  She was so excited but once there they said she was quiet and shy/nervous.  She still was excited to tell me all about it! :)

Thanksgiving

Per our usual we got to see both of our families for Thanksgiving!  Went to Oostburg Wednesday night, church there on Thursday morning, then headed to GB Thursday night.  Kids love visiting our families and we do too! So thankful for our family, church, and friends!

Our 2018 Christmas Tree!

Over Thanksgiving weekend we again went with my family to Whispering Pines Tree Farm to cut down our tree.  Unfortunately although Saturday wasn't too cold, it was misty rain, so we didn't spend quite as much time choosing our tree as we normally do.  But it might be our prettiest tree ever!  It's a beauty!  The kids also loved grabbing some hot cocoa and meeting Santa (Only Bennett was brave enough to sit on his lap, the girls just high-fived him) & getting a candy cane.

Bennett is just so so fun and loves Christmas/traditions.  He was super excited to help me decorate the tree on Sunday afternoon.  Eleanor helped too, and I had to redo most of her ornaments.  She put like 10 on the same tree branch, lol. :)

Brad put up our lights too!  Even got to the second story although it was NOT easy! :)

First Snowfall!

I'm pretty sure every adult cringed waking up to snow last Friday but the kids were SO excited!  Bennett has off on Fridays so we ate breakfast and then headed right out.  Isla wanted to go too, which meant I also had to go out.  Brrrr.... but so fun seeing how happy and excited they all were.  And they even lasted 20-30 minutes!

Waking up to snow!

Bennett loved making snow bricks

The girls were really into sledding.  We alternated between me pulling them both and Eleanor pulling Isla.

BEI: Little Update...

Bennett is 5.5 and such a sweet and loving boy.  He loves cuddles and hugs, following the rules :), and loves working at the craft table.  He is great at soccer and enjoys that too.  He can ride a two-wheeler, write his first and last name, and is learning to read.  Bennett loves school and loves riding the bus.  He continues to be super outgoing and friendly to everyone he meets.  He plays so nicely with both Eleanor and Isla.  Bennett can still be very sensitive and gets sad/nervous still at times. He dislikes any timed task because of the pressure.  He is always making pictures and cards for people he loves!  Bennett is great at self-entertaining but also loves watching TV.  He really loves helping out with tasks, like making the grocery list, folding laundry, and working with Dad/grandpa. 

Eleanor is 3.5 and is also sweet and loving, but she definitely has her own personality from Bennett.  Today at her conference her teacher told us she is the one in class who tries every new activity/center without hesitation.  That is the opposite of what we are always told about Bennett.  She also tends to be quieter and more reserved both at school and in situations when we're not at home.  She also can be sensitive when it comes to being in trouble/needing redirection; she tends to get upset and shut down in these situations.  Eleanor is ALL GIRL.  I don't know where she gets it but she would wear pink, a dress, heels, and jewelry all day everyday if I would let her.  She's also particular about how I do her hair.  Eleanor is a great helper and loves to play with Isla.  Isla doesn't always have patience for Eleanor but she's getting better as she gets older.  Eleanor has tons of energy and loves to run around.  She isn't as independent as Bennett and needs some help with playing independently.  She tends to come sit by me and want to snuggle if she's "bored" instead of going and finding something to do.  She is starting to love making art and pictures for people and her drawings are adorable.  She can also (kind of) write her name!  She likes school but she'd rather be home with me.  :)

Isla is 1.5 and she is something!  Haha.  She is still 100% a mama's girl and most times wants me to be right with her playing or doing whatever she's doing.  She loves to be held and snuggle and can be whiny when she is tired/hungry/bored.  She knows what she wants/wants to do and gets upset quickly if that doesn't happen.  Isla is my worst at independent play at this age and always wants you to be interacting with her.  She can sure be exhausting....BUT she is also turning out to be one awesome girl.  Isla is an amazing talker and can say short sentences and most any single word.  She is also super sensitive towards people's feelings and is always asking "ok Bennett?" if he's sad.  She gives pat pats and hugs when people are crying.  She hugs and warmly greets all of her friends at nursery and playdates.  She shares easily with just a little prompting.  Isla LOVES babies (dolls and real).  She absolutely loves running around, puzzles, books, dolls, and helping with tasks like unloading the dish washer and putting clothes into the dryer.  She copies Bennett and Eleanor with everything they do and say.  Thankfully Isla does pretty well with nursery and babysitters now as long as mom isn't around.  All I have to say is "Mama's going to a meeting now," and she'll say, "Okay mama! Bye bye!" and head off to play happily.  If I don't tell her I'm leaving and say goodbye then the transition is not as smooth.  Isla sleeps all night and is eating a little better too but definitely still hit or miss with meals.  She wakes up super early (5:30/6:30) which is rough but she takes a nice 2 hour nap every day.  She often randomly says, "Love you mama/daddy" which is just so so sweet.  It's really hard to picture our family without her now!  We love this spunky girl :)

Halloween 2018

We did Trick Or Treating in our new neighborhood with Missy, Kyle, & Della.  Our friends from church, the Clines, joined us for part of the night too.  The kids were very excited to T-or-T and Bennett loved helping hand out candy from 5-5:30 when Dad got home from work and we could leave to go get candy ourselves. 

Bennett was Aaron Rodgers thanks to a helmet, jersey, and shoulder pads Grandma found for him.  Eleanor was a ladybug, and Isla was a duck.  She was nice and warm and seemed to enjoy trick or treating with us for the first hour!  We pulled Della and Isla between houses and up driveways in the wagon.  Isla even said trick or treat "Treat!" and Thank you.  The bigs and I kept going for another 45 minutes after the babes went home, but they quickly tired out too.  :)  Our neighborhood was very active and will be so fun for the kids once they are older and can go more quickly.  :)

After school, we carved Bennett's pumpkin from his Pumpkin Farm field trip that day!

Duck, pig, ladybug, Aaron Rodgers :)

Trick or Treating in style...

"Trick or treat!!!"

Fall Leaves...

The kids have been begging to make a leaf pile to jump in but our yard here just doesn't have big old trees like at our old house.  This week a decent amount of leaves blew into part of our yard from our neighbor's tree, so we raked up a pile.  Bennett was so excited to get off the bus and see us playing in the leaves.  He jumped right in!  Our neighbor didn't mind a bit and was happy to let the kids collect more from his yard. :)  They all LOVED jumping in the leaf pile!

Eleanor: Gymnastics!

Eleanor took a little Saturday gymnastics class at Wildcard for the last couple of months.  She seemed to do really well at it, but said she'd rather do ballet next instead of another gymnastics class.  She is REALLY strong and it seemed to come easily to her! :)