August 2010

AUGUST CAME & WENT!

Ben has a big smile now with all 4 teeth! More are on their way, too!

His new favorite thing is "giving hugs." It's so darn cute! He'll hug anything - books, the floor, a chair, or a leg or hand :) Look at those gorgeous eyes!

Ben loves the swing! We took a stroll to the park in our neighborhood. Yep, he's still in his PJs ;)

Ben is very mobile - crawling, pulling himself up on anything, standing on his own (but not realizing it), and climbing up stairs like a mad man! No walking yet... he's taken a couple steps here and there, but hasn't figured out how to link them together.

Thad & Sarah Update: Thad has been feverishly working on building his office. It is definitely coming along! He hopes to have it finished by mid-September. I started school again - both teaching and grad school - so things have been busy, busy, busy! With my mom being sick, we had to figure out what we'd do with Ben for childcare. I want to give a HUGE shout out to our friend Kristy who offered to watch him everyday!! Kristy, I hope you realize what an amazing blessing this has been for our family and how you've put my Mom's mind at ease. :) You are the BEST! Also, our friend Maureen is picking up the Wednesdays that Thad is out of town. Praise God for awesome friends!!

Thad's big travel season is coming up. He will be gone for half of Sept & Oct so I already know my sanity will be hanging by a thread! I've had some medical issues this past month with my tummy. The doc said I tested positive for a bacteria called C. difficile so I was put on antibiotics to help treat it, but they didn't seem to be working. I go back to the doc today, so hopefully September's blog update can say I am cured! I'll keep my fingers crossed...

Murr-dog: Oh Murray, what can I say? I told him I was going to put him on Craig's List or E-Bay if he didn't start listening! He went from being a total indoor dog that didn't want his paws to touch the grass, to a dog that needs every trick in the book to get him back inside! He's a good boy, though :) He behaves very well with Ben and it's pretty cute to see them play together!

July 2010

A BUSY MONTH!

Ben turned 9 months old on the 23rd of July. Here are the latest stats according to his check-up:

Weight: 21lbs 5oz (60th %ile)

Height: 30 in (90th %ile)

Head: 18.25 in (75th %ile)

Since last month, he has started crawling, pulling himself up onto furniture, walking along furniture, sleeping through the night again (thank goodness!) and eating more "adult" food. Holy cow! I can't imagine updating the blog and saying "Ben is walking now..." that just seems so far away, yet it could possibly be part of next month's blog! YiKeS!

As always, here are some pics/videos from last month:

Hanging out at Mimi & Papa's for the 4th of July

Uh Oh! All this moving around comes with consequences... Ben's first boo-boo!

(He was pulling himself up on a chair and slipped)

Hey Cutie! A mini-photo shoot with Mom

(we were bored!)

Just hanging out with Murr-dog!

Make sure you check out those chompers! He has 4 of them now...

Thad & Sarah Update: We had quite an eventful month! We spent the 4th of July in Mahomet at Thad's parents' house. Then, we spent one night at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells with our friends Shaun & Shelley. The next weekend was the Nurmi-Taylor reunion in Mahomet. We also celebrated our 5 year anniversary this month! That's half a decade, folks! To celebrate, we went to dinner and putt-putt :) Great times!

4th of July Weekend in Mahomet

The Kalahari

July 11th

Our 5 year Anniversary

July 29th

June 2010

Ben turned 8 months old...

Wow!

There are only so many things you can say with words. I thought I would flood this month's blog with pictures & videos instead! Enjoy :)

Check out those "teefers!" (He has top ones peeking through, too!)

A fun game of Peek-A-Boo while folding laundry!

Straight Chillin' with my bottle, watching Elmo

What? You want to fight about it?

This is the hat that we brought Ben home from the hospital in!

Working on our standing skills!

Who doesn't love a little tickle time??

If you've ever watch Dumb & Dumber, you're familiar with this scene:

"Want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?"

He'll get it one of these days!

Thad Update: Thad was on the road A LOT during this month. In fact, I think he was only home for 6 or 7 days (and they weren't consecutive!) Now that July is here, he can relax a little bit as his big travel days of demo-ing are behind him! Until the next trip, of course ;) Thad celebrated his first Father's Day this month, too. He did so by sleeping, hanging out with Ben, and having Tacos El Norte for lunch :) Another major event that occurred this June was the passing of Thad's cousin, Jordan. Needless to say, this was a difficult time for him and his family so please continue to send prayers their way.

Sarah Update: Well, I had a heck of month being a single mommy! I can't say that I got much done other than caring for little dude. I have only one class left in my summer course. It flew by! I enjoy my classmates and my instructor is great - I hope the next one is, too! My family has been struggling through a hard time as well, but I will touch on that at a later time.

We look forward to July as we have some fun things planned: 4th of July weekend at the Lake, a night at the Kalahairi, Nurmi-Taylor Reunion, and our 5 year Anniversary! It will be so nice to be together as a family again.

Until next month.... enjoy your July! :)

BENNY BOY ::: 7 Months

Benjamin is yet another month closer to his first birthday! Some milestones this month were expanding his consonant sounds (dada, mama, rara, lala, nana) and his first tooth is visible, just not completely cut through yet! It's the bottom right tooth... we'll see when it decides to fully surface! His new thing is sleeping on his side or belly. We put him to bed on his back and he inevitably ends up on his tummy! His hair is getting blonder and curlier - and that smile just keeps getting bigger! Another new thing is making a "scrunchie face" - he scrunches up his nose and lips and breathes really fast - sometimes he even snorts! He does this when he's really excited. I'll try and get a video, but no guarantees! Here is a cute "dada" video, though!

We went to Mimi and Papa's house for Memorial Day Weekend - it was a blast! Here are some pics of Ben at the lakehouse:

Thad, our brother-in-law Matthew and I held our 2nd annual Bass Master Competition:

Thad Update: Thad is excited to be getting back into the swing of things. He's been wakeboarding, wakeskating and - just for kicks - barefooting! Our summer is off to a warm start so hopefully he will be able to have many more days out on the water!

Sarah Update: I am officially on summer vacation! Woo hoo! I have an ambitious list to get done this summer, so we'll see what happens! My graduate class is under way - it started mid-May. I'm excited to get my Masters... even if it is two years away! :)

April 2010 ::: 6 Months!

Ben is 1/2 a year old already!

April marked Ben's first Easter, and first Easter Basket of course! He got some new onesies (12 month) and couple of new summer outfits. He also got a few Cubs outfits since the season started this month! You can see he was already reaching for his new toy, too! He turned six months on the 23rd - some things he accomplished this month: sitting up (still topples, but we're getting better!), holding his own bottle, rolling over back to tummy, and he's eating like a horse! I can't believe all this happened in one month - I can't wait to see what month 7 brings! Here are his stats from the doctor:

Weight: 19lbs

Height: 27.5 inches

Head: 17.5 inches

All of these measurements fell in the 75th percentile - what a well-proportioned little man! Still no teeth, but I think they are coming! Just take a peek at this video... he does this new "fishy face" that I think is a result of some itchy gums! You can also see he is "itching" to crawl!

Here is a peek at some of Ben's new skills!

Holding his own bottle, straight chillin'!

Watchin' some TV!

Oh, hi Mom!

Wakeboarder in Training!

Thad Update: Thad has been a travelin' man this month. He was only home for a week at best and has been all over the NE - from Ohio to Maine and back. He'll return early May. Business is picking up since the summer season is fast approaching!

Sarah Update: Work has been very busy and with Thad being gone so much, there has been very little time to do anything. I have a new appreciation for single moms, that is for sure! This month I had the Science Fair and Talent Show - both a success! I am trying to get everything straightened out for Grad School which starts mid-May.

Murray Update: Murr-dog has spent a LOT of time this month with his buddy, Reggie, at Grammy and Grampy's house! Since Thad is gone and I've had some "extra" activities with work, I didn't want him to be home alone all day! He still enjoy's hanging out with Ben though!

Until next month! Happy May Everyone! =D

The Month of MARCH

"March Madness"

Ben is quite the charmer in front of the camera! This month, he turned 5 months old on the 23rd. His four month check up put him at 17 lbs and 26 inches long, so we'll see what months 5 & 6 do! His newest thing is sticking out his tongue, and he gets especially giggly just before going to sleep. He loves soft things - especially on his face! We are working on rolling over... keep your fingers crossed for that one! :) The doctor gave us the go ahead to give him solids after his 4 month check

up (February 23rd) but we waited to start fresh at the beginning of this month. Here are some snapshots of how that went down:

Everything is set up and ready to go!

Ben is thinking, "I'm not sure about this cereal business!"

It was so good, he licked the leftovers off his bib! :)

Check out this video!

Then of course, there was St. Patrick's Day. We went to Lewi & Bonnie's annual party. They even had "flare!"

<3 Thad & me: Thad had been traveling around doing boat shows on the weekends, but except for a trip to Michigan, he was home for most of March. I have signed up for Graduate School and start in May! We both ventured to the dentist this month for the first time in many, many years... the verdict was NOT good! Thad had four cavities and I had.... drum roll please!..... NINE! Oh my, I wish I was speaking German so I could say I had none ;) haha It will be an adventure getting those bad boys taken care of! Aside from that, we are still silly and have the best time together! Our five year anniversary is coming up this year in July :) Yay for LOVE!

Murr-dog: Murray turned 4 last month and is doing okay. He still has those random seizures, but we just continue to love him and keep up to date with all his shots and Heartguard pills! He seems pretty happy-go-lucky otherwise and now that the weather is warming up, he looks for his friends Beckham (golden retriever) and Rocko (german shepard) to play with through the fence! He also likes to snuggle with Ben at Grammy's house and do tummy time in Ben's room

Other than that, everything is going well in the Nurmi household. Stay tuned for the April update... don't worry, that one will be timely ;)

A New Blog Solution...

Okay, I think I have a solution for this whole blog thing... I will update MONTHLY!! :) There is just way too much going on day to day for me to update this regularly. This way, I can give the month in a snapshot. Also, I know you will all be anxiously awaiting the new post! hehe

March's Blog Post coming soon...