Aron with Friends and Family

Benjamin at 14 months

This month was a little difficult trying to get a good picture since Ben is on the move.  It's like a switch was flipped with him with regard to his personality.  He is still so funny and energetic, but he is definitely showing his ornery side partly because he's growing up but I think part of it is due to the attention his new little Brother is getting.  I'm sure that's a hard concept for a 1 year old to understand.  Ben is actually doing really well with Aron.  He has moments where he tries to pat Aron's head a little harder than he should, but most of the time he just wants to love on him.

Ben is jabbering up a storm and we think even more than Emily did when she was Ben's age.  He loves music and can often be found walking/dancing around the house listening to Emily's new CD player.

During this cold season we are very excited that Ben has learned how to blow his own nose.  We are working on him getting only the kleenex in the trash since it seems he likes to throw additional items in there as well, but he's getting it.

We're also thankful Ben is learning to use a spoon these days.

I love this shot of Ben and Holly.  I know there's a good caption for it, but I can't think of one right now.  Maybe - Holly asking Ben if he ate all the Peanut Butter

Merry Christmas from the Groff's

We had quite the hectic Christmas this year with our new bundle of joy that entered the world just 4 days before.  Since I had the privilege of holding Aron that meant the camera had to take second fiddle.  We had a great Christmas as always, filled with lots of laughter, food and fun and some special memories.  The gate from my Sister was very useful this year with a curious 1 year old on the loose.  The tradition lives on of going to a local tree farm and cutting down a live tree.

Merry Christmas!!!

More birth pictures

All during this pregnancy Emily thought I was having a girl so when Aron was born we asked her if she was pleased that I had a boy instead.  Her response...."I'm glad you had a boy, he's so cuuuuute."

Aron was blessed with a handmade Christmas hat made by some volunteers at the hospital.

Baby Groff #3 - pre and post birth

Well "they" say the more kids you have, the fewer the pictures and unfortunately I proved "them" right.  I didn't get a lot of pregnancy shots taken with this one, but here is an 8 month shot from Thanksgiving.  Folks said I looked like I swallowed a basketball with this pregnancy.  I was so blessed again with a very easy pregnancy and also enjoyed the fun of sharing the experience with a close friend who was due only days from my due date of Dec. 22.  We thought this little guy was going to be born on Dec. 16.  I was already dilated to 5 cm and went to the hospital due to a little concern with lack of movement, but the doctor sent me home instructing me to come back when the contractions were more intense.  So......

.....after being induced (because of the weather and my history of fast labors the doctor did not want the potential of me delivering at home) and about 4 hours of labor on Tues., Dec. 21 Aron Marshall Groff entered the world at 2:13pm weighing 8 lbs. 15 oz. (exactly the same weight as big Brother Ben)

 

His middle name suits him because he looks more like the Marshall side of the family.

Emily - 4 years, 4 mo. - Dec. 16

This month opened a new door of sisterhood for Emily as she added another sibling.  She has done really well with the changes and basically has become another little Mommy.  She was very excited to get to go to the hospital this time since she wasn't allowed when Ben was born due to the H1N1 outbreak. 

Emily really enjoyed Christmas this year.  She was especially fond of the gate that surrounded the tree since we had a toddler and dogs to watch out for.  She loved pretending that was her own special hiding spot.  The choir group from church was scheduled to sing We Three Kings which was something very exciting around our house, however with the weather and then sickness she didn't get to sing with her friends. We've enjoyed singing it/hearing it even after Christmas.

I found a cute picture of Emily in her Misson Friends class in Oct. 2008 and had to post it.  Oh, how fast time goes.

Ben in his first suit

Our friends left us a suit that I thought would be too big, but it turns out the shirt was a little snug.  I can't wait to dress him up in more suits and ties when he gets older.