Blessings and "Ben-isms"

Although Thanksgiving isn't for a week and half, Brant and I find ourselves so very thankful and blessed for our family. Ben is seeming more and more like a little boy and makes us laugh continually with his comments and conversations. Abby is a snuggly, adorable baby and has reminded us how amazing the miracle of life is. It is incredible to think how much she will change in such a short amount of time.

On a lighter note, here are a few "Ben-isms" that have been made lately:

On the day we came home from the hospital, Ben said at supper, "It is so nice to have a baby!". We replied, "It is so nice to have our big boy back!" Ben continued, "It is so nice to have my mommy and daddy back!"

Ben while peering at Abby in her bouncy seat: "I'm just hanging with my baby!"

Random comment while running errands with Brant: "Solve my riddle! Nobody crosses my bridge!" (We have figured out since then that this came from a Dora movie)

While feeding Abby one night and getting ready for bed, Ben came into her room and exclaimed that there were monsters in the hallway! He then shut the door and said, "Listen to me! This is our castle and we'll be safe here." We then proceeded to play "castle" for the remainder of the feeding session.

Brant was looking at the real estate ads one day and asked Ben if he liked the brick house. Ben responded that he did because, "Then the big bad wolf can't blow it down!"

At bedtime, we get on jammies and then brush teeth. After teeth brushing, we ask Ben what time it is an he jumps up and down and says, "Time for hugs and kisses!!"

Love it.

Welcome Abigail Carleen Ausenhus!!

On October 26, at 7:01 a.m., we welcomed our new baby girl into the world! Abby weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches long. She is so very precious and an absolute doll!

If her arrival is a precursor to anything about her personality, watch out! From my first contraction to delivery time was only 2 hours. We obviously weren't expecting things to progress so fast, waited to make sure the contractions were about 5-6 minutes apart, and arrived at the hospital at about 6:30, thank goodness. I will say that I did walk into the hospital (which in retrospect, was probably not the smartest decision) but required a wheelchair by the time we reached the doors. By the time I actually made it into the delivery bed, I was dilated 9 centimeters and from there, the rest is history! We are so blessed to now have two beautiful, healthy children! Words can't express our love for each of them!

Abby was named after my mother, Carleen, who was the most loving, caring person I have known. I know there are two very proud grandparents smiling down from heaven!

Fall Fun

I love fall! I love the weather, the colors of the trees, football, the food, and all the fun activities that fall tends to bring. We've been trying to soak it up as much as possible over that past few weekends, as we wait in anticipation for Baby Girl to make her appearance, which is now less than two weeks away.

Last weekend, Ben and I went up to ride in the combine with Uncle Nick. Ben was in complete awe the entire time. In fact, he said only about 3 words for the entire hour we rode. However, we didn't even make it out of the field drive to go home before he exclaimed, "That was really fun!" He now talks about the combine daily and is constantly playing with his little plastic version, pretending to dump corn into the wagon.

We also went on a fall walk around ISU's campus several weekends ago. When we parked, we realized we could hear the ISU marching band practicing. Ben was able to watch for several of their songs and even see them march past us when they were finished. We had a great time pulling Ben around campus in his wagon and reminiscing about the good old days of college, while admiring the pretty trees. We finished the morning with a stop at an Ames favorite, Hickory Park, where Ben thoroughly enjoyed his ice cream, as you can see from the picture below as he is trying to drink up every single last drop!

Yesterday, Ben, Grandma, and I went to Center Grove Orchard to pick out a pumpkin. We found that it was much more than just pumpkins and apples! Ben enjoyed looking at animals, jumping in a corn pool, eating lunch, and even going down a super slide with Grandma. We were all worn out by the time we actually picked out a pumpkin!

Ben is eagerly looking forward to Halloween and is insistant that he wants to be a ghost for Halloween. He reminds us often that he will scare us when he says, "Boo!" He has also informed Brant that he should dress like a bear and that he wants me to be a cat. We'll see about that...

Well, I hope that our next post will be announcing the birth of Baby Girl! The pregnancy has flown by and we are very excited about finally meeting our daughter!

A Ride on Thomas the Tank Engine

Today was a big day! We braved the cold, rainy weather and Ben took a ride on Thomas the Tank Engine at the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad! Despite the glum look on his face in front of Thomas (probably because of the downpour), he really seemed to enjoy himself. When I put him down for a nap this afternoon, my heart melted when I whispered, "I had a fun time with you on Thomas today," and he whispered back, "Yeah, me too." Who knew two parents could be just as excited to see Thomas as their two year old? Or, should I more accurately say, just as excited to see the reaction and wonder of their two year old!

New Overalls

This weekend the temperatures were in the 50s and the rain was falling... and we discovered Ben didn't have a single pair of pants that fit him. This called for an emergency trip to Kohl's for some new fall clothes, none of which Ben approved of except for these adorable overalls. He wore these the remainder of the day! Of course, today was back in the muggy 80s, so all those new pants will have to wait a little bit longer!

On that note, my personal request to mother nature would be that the temperature could just stay at 72 degrees with low humidity until baby girl arrives. This way, I could continue to wear my comfy, less restrictive summer maternity clothes and sandals, and yet not have to sweat constantly or just always feel so hot. Five and half weeks until the due date!