The Linns in Minn

It's feels like is been a very busy summer and fall, but it doesn't seem like we've really done anything. You certainly begin to realize the value of free time when you don't have any. After a bunch of visits from all the grandmas and grandpas, we got settled into being a larger family pretty quickly. Melody stayed home with Bennett until the end of September and really enjoyed the time alone with him.

Ruby has been a great big sister. She's really sweet with Bennett and is always trying to help calm him down, play with him, and make sure he has plenty of toys to play with. She's been a big help and has started doing a lot of things on her own because she knows it helps out Mommy and Daddy.

Halloween was a fun time. We took another trip to a local apple orchard to check out the petting zoo and pick out pumkins. Ruby invited her friend Sydney and her brother Nathan and we all had a good time. Ruby got TWO costumes for Halloween. She wanted to be a fairy princess and was able to borrow a pretty dress and wings from one of Melody's co-workers. But she also got a unicorn costume from her cousin that was too good to pass up. So she was a fairy for the Halloween parade at daycare, and trick-or-treated in our neighborhood as a unicorn. She also been big into watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so she wanted a Mickey Mouse pumpkin which she was really excited about.

A couple days ago, Daddy and Ruby spent a day out running errands and doing some early Christmas shopping. As a special treat we went to the new Chuck E. Cheese and had a great time. She said she didn't even want to go back...until tomorrow. Needless to say, she already has plans for her next birthday party there.

We are starting to get ready for our trip to Michigan to see family. It's going to be an interesting (long) trip with Bennett still needing to be fed every few hours, not to mention diaper stops. Ruby might be getting an early Christmas present to keep her occupied in the car...and a couple new DVDs to go with it.

He's Here!
Name : Bennett James Linn
Birthdate : July 2, 2011 (12:05 am)
Weight : 8lbs 6oz
Length : 20.25 in

We didn't mess around. On Friday night, Melody's first real contraction was around 10pm. The second one was 15 minutes later. After that they all came three minutes apart. We left the house on the way to the hosptial at 11:06pm and he was born 59 minutes later, just barely into Saturday. One of 9 babies delivered that night, we were the last to arrive and first to deliver. Melody was once again a super trooper and everything went very well (and very quickly). We stayed through Saturday and came home on Sunday around noon. We are very glad to have our whole family together. Bennet is doing great, eating well and apart from some occasional gas has been doing very little fussing. As I am typing this, he is sleeping peacefully in my arms, barely 48 hours old.

More updates to come, pictures are in the usual place. Time for me to try to get some sleep!

It's a new year and we're settling in to ride out the remainder of the winter. We had a nice holiday break and got to get out and enjoy some of the snow we've gotten this year. Ruby got to go sledding down a real hill for the first time and had a blast. She was a little apprehensive at first and was whimpering as she started down the hill, but halfway down I heard her shout, "Wee! Look at me!!" After that she was hooked.

Ruby had a good Christmas and started to learn about Santa. She left out cookies and milk and even made reindeer food to spread out in the yard for Santa's furry friends to munch while the big man was taking care of the presents. She was a little disappointed to learn that Santa only comes one night a year when there weren't any new presents under the tree on the day after Christmas. But she got over it quickly and is already looking forward to next year.

Speaking of bundles of joy, Ruby is expecting another present in early July in the form of a little brother or sister. She's already preparing for taking on the responsibilities of a big sister, deciding which toys she will share and where the baby will sleep. And it's a good thing she is because I'm sure we're going to need all the help we can get.

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