Two Months

Bennett had his two month check-up today! He passed with flying colors. He's such a good boy.

Here's his stats:

Height: 23 3/4" (75th%)

Weight: 13 lbs. (80th%)

Harvest Festival

Saturday was the annual Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival. We had a great time! The weather was beautiful. It was a perfect day to enjoy our last Fall here in Vermont. Chloe wanted her face painted but was a little nervous. She didn't move the whole time and had such a serious expression on her face. She told the girl she wanted a 'pupple butterfly'!

I think the girls would have played on the tractors the entire day. They had fun pretending to drive on the farm.

Bryan and the girls went on a hay ride. It was a wagon pulled by horses but there was no hay! I'm not sure why they call it a hay ride. Chloe calls horses 'yeehaws'. They are both into horses right now so they were in heaven.

I am feeling a little sad that this is our last fall in Vermont. It is so pretty here this time of year. I love the cool, crisp morning air when the kids and I go walking in the mornings. It's so refreshing and a great way to start our days. I will definitely miss the New England Fall season when we move in the Spring. There's nothing quite like it anywhere else.

Flag Football

It's flag football season again. I can't believe it's here already, where did that year go?! Bryan's team has been the Champions for two years running. Maybe they will continue their winning streak this year. We have fun going to watch. The girls love playing with their friends too. This is Chloe's new friend Ethan. They look so much alike, they could be twins!

Niah and her friend Gracie.

I love that the guys get so into their games. Their competitive sides emerge! You can see them focused in on the play that Ben is drawing on his hand.

Good luck to team 'Youth in Asia' !

Game Day

Bennett is excited for the game today- almost as excited as his dad.

GO COUGARS!!!

Potty Training

Potty training has begun! Chloe doesn't seem to think that peeing in the potty is as cool as Mom says it is. She's starting to get the hang of it, but I think it's going to take some time. What better way to pass the time than talking to Grandpa Mike on the phone and playing some guitar?!

Wish us luck! We're going to need it.

Six Weeks

Isn't this the cutest face you have ever seen?! Our little Bennett is six weeks old already. I am amazed at how fast the time has gone. It's kind of sad in a way. I want him to stay little forever.

Bennett is now smiling and cooing at us. I haven't caught a full smile on camera yet, but when he smiles it melts my heart. He is so handsome. Niah is very good at getting him to smile.

He has gorgeous dimples on both cheeks. You can kind of see one of them here. The one on his right cheek is deeper than the one on the left. I can't get enough of them!


The girls adore their little brother. They don't call him Bennett very often, it's always 'Brother'. I know I have said this before, but they are great helpers and awesome big sisters.

Bennett is covered in rolls that are so cute. He is a little chunker! I love to kiss his chubby neck and arms.

I hope I can remember his 'baby time' forever. It goes so fast. I am trying to freeze every little thing into my memory.

Love you Brother!

Rochester: Part Two

The second day in Rochester we went to Palmyra, NY to see all the church sites there. Both Bryan and I had been there before, but it was nice to go see it again. Niah was excited to see where Joseph Smith lived and to see the 'Secret Grove'- that's what she calls it. There is such a peaceful, special feeling there.
Here's the kids playing around and exploring Hill Cumorah. I finally got a darling picture of Chloe!!

Sitting outside the old Smith Family log home.

There were so many pretty flowers at all the sites. They were so bright and beautiful!

All of us inside the log home.

Niah and Addi being silly. They are best buds, they had so much fun together.

The Sacred Grove. I think my family has a picture of us all sitting on this exact bench the last time we visited here. Now I have one of my family!!

All the girls checking out the stream.

On the way home from Palmyra we stopped and fed the ducks on the Erie Canal. I think this was one of the girls' favorite things we did.





I love that we were able to take Niah and Chloe to see where Joseph Smith lived and had the first vision. They both know the story so I think they loved seeing where it actually happened. We also drove them by the temple. Bryan went and did a session that morning and when he left I told Chloe where he was going. Her reply was, "I'm going to the temple too! He leaved me!" She didn't understand that we were going to meet him there later on. It was so cute, she was so excited to see the 'emple'.

Thanks Mickelsens for letting us stay with you and for showing us a good time. We had a blast!!