Life goes on...

Well we finally got to move back home on labor day weekend so we've been back for about a month. I suppose it has taken just almost that whole time for everyone to really get settled and back into routine. I can't imagine what we would have done without my mom living here with 3 extra bedrooms for us to stay there for 2 months. It wouldn't have been easy to live a normal life that's for sure. We have made lots of home improvements so I'm posting some pictures here of our new digs. We pretty much got a remodel for the downstairs of our house. Some good came out of everything bad after all.

They couldn't match the brick on our house so we got stone on the back of the house. They also rebuilt our deck which isn't pictured here. We got a new kitchen table, hardwood floors and new couch/chair for the living room. And of course I've bought all kinds of extras to go along with our new digs as well.

Plenty is going on with the girls and us outside of our house debacle. So life did go on. Maya started kindergarten at the end of August and she got into a really great school. I did so much research and applied for transfers to 5 different schools and for once something worked out perfectly and she got into the best school around and her daycare can pick her up after school. So far she is loving school. Here's her 1st day of school picture :)

Katelyn is an amazing 1 year old - she's already creeping up on 16 months old. She has such a great personality and is so funny. She loves music and she loves to dance which are two things we didn't have when Maya was her age. She is just too cute. There are a few good videos out on photobucket of Katelyn since she turned 1 so you can see how big she is. Since we're so far behind you'll just have to go out to my album and see what you've missed. I'm working to upload more pictures but the videos from summer are updated.

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/

And then of course there's this rumor about a new baby coming in 7 weeks! Holy moly! I am very slowly getting into baby mode but I've mainly been in house nesting mode since we moved back in. That's helping me out getting ready for baby in a roundabout way. I have one more decorating project I want to do and then I'll worry about washing baby stuff and unpacking. Just last week I hit that point where my ankles don't change size overnight and my wedding ring doesn't fit. It's pretty hard having a 1 year old and being 8 months pregnant at the same time. Every time I hold Katelyn Chris is bugging me to make sure she isn't sitting on the other baby. It's not a cake walk and I can tell that I'm getting more tired and uncomfortable with the passing weeks. At least I haven't gained as much weight this time! Thanks to Maya and Katelyn for that! Well I've spent many hours on this computer working on pictures and videos this weekend so I think I'm gonna go watch some football and eat some ice cream. Until next time...which may just be the new baby post!

The Fire

Here's the story:

I was in the middle of warming up the grill for a steak dinner. I smelled gas and turned off the grill and doubled check the connection to the propane tank. I turned the grill back on and I didn’t smell any gas of any sort so, I went inside to grab the steaks and when I returned outside their was flames shooting out of the propane tank. I immediately ran inside and told Kelly and the girls to run outside because the grill was on fire. I grabbed the phone and dialed 911 and when the girls where safely outside, I returned inside to see if the house was on fire yet and then the propane tank blew up. The back porch windows, deck and back door were all in flames. Within 5-7 minutes the fire department came and put out the flames. Maya and Katelyn were invited into a neighbors house to play as the fire truck came by. The family is safe and that is the most important part. Thanks for you prayers.

Here are a couple pictures:

Maya's 5th Birthday

Thought I'd catch up on the 3 months of blogging that I have missed. Before I get to the reason that we've missed so much, I wanted to take a few minutes to blog about Maya's 5th birthday party back at the beginning of July. It was a grand success, we had the party at our house and I rented dress up clothes for all the girls. It was quite the production and we had way more dress up than we knew what to do with. We had a fashion show for all the girls and attempted to have a dance party. Maya had a really great time and we had a great turnout of friends and family as always. We are so lucky to have such great people arround us! Here are a few pictures. I have TONS of pics because our house photographer Zip was here, so I'll post the rest out on photobucket.

Maya at the fashion show

Maya blowing out her candle (homemade jello cupcakes were yummy)

Baby GIRL #3!

Yes it's true, and the proof is in the pictures. The baby is perfect and healthy and that's all that matters! Now to pick a name...at least I don't need to buy anything!!

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/Baby%20Girl%203/

Trip to Mexico

We just got back a few days ago from our trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico, an area just south of Cancun. We all really enjoyed the getaway although family vacations are definitely exhausting. Maya LOVED swimming in the pool and that is really almost all we did while we were there. We spent a little time on the beach, just enough to build a sandcastle, and one afternoon we took a trip into Cancun to take the girls to the aquarium and do some souvenir shopping. Otherwise we just enjoyed relaxing at the resort. We stayed at the Azul Sensatori which I would recommend to people with little kids as well as adults as there is an adults only side to the resort. The pools were really amazing, and although I couldn't partake in the drinking I could certainly appreciate the open bars all hours of the day. The girls did really great on the plane rides, Katelyn just laid her head down and took a nap on both flights without our normal crying/fighting routine to get her to sleep (which is a lovely new phase we're in right now). Anyways we had a really great time.

Here's a link to our online album with some pictures and video from our trip. We did get some cute pics of the girls and you can see some of the fun kids stuff that they had as well - Maya got to be in a puppet show and even danced on stage.

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/Bennett%20Mexico%20Vacation/

Well next up, Maya's birthday is just around the corner and I'm sure the rest of the summer will fly by. Chris and I both have outings and things going on the next couple weeks, including a business trip I have to take up north for a few days. So her birthday will continue to sneak up on us - I really need to get on the ball. Things with baby #3 are going just fine, everything's still been easy so far and I really hope it stays this way and I don't get big and pregnant this time (hey a girl can dream right?). We find out if we're having another baby girl or a baby boy this THURSDAY and we are very excited so keep an eye out for email/text/facebook updates with our news!

Katelyn Turns 1!

Katelyn's 1st birthday was a huge success a few weeks ago - we had a family birthday party at my aunt's house where all the kids got to swim, and Katelyn had her first experience with birthday cake which was very cute and messy just like it's supposed to be. We are very blessed to live so close to much of our family that many of them could share her birthday with us. And Thank You very much to everyone who sent your well wishes!

Here is her birthday video:

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/?action=view¤t=Katebdayparty.mp4

Katelyn loved her blue frosting!

Maya and her cousins swimming in the pool at the party

Katelyn and Maya on her actual birthday after opening gifts. Of course Maya had to play with all the presents just as much as Katelyn did.

Maya Dance Recital

Maya did such a great job at her first dance recital in May - we're looking forward to many more! Here's a link to the video from her dance. She even got flowers from Uncle Thad after her performance.

http://s205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/kbennett79/Maya%20Dance%20Recital/