Birthday Celebration

Kate had a nice, quiet birthday party at Queenie and Grandad's yesterday. Our mistake was opening the presents before cake(no one ate any cake). We got off to a good start...

New books

Opening her new "all cladish" pots and pans from Granny.


And then Queenie and Grandad's present was revealed.

THE KITCHEN

The kitchen was entertaining for everyone because Kate was cooking up a storm.

She even decided to check out the plumbing beneath her sink.

She ended the day where she had ended it the day before, reading a good book with her Uncle B.

Birthday Lunch at Eastside

With Queenie and Grandad in town, the weekly Friday lunch at Eastside resumed. Today we had Uncle B to join us. A little bird mentioned to Donna that we had a birthday girl among us and Kate was given a giant piece of carrot cake with a candle after lunch. Here are some pics from Kate's favorite part of lunch-the garden...



That night we headed to Queenie and Grandad's for dinner. She spent MUCH time with her Aunt Funny but it was out of the range of a camera(we are still not sure what they were doing but we do know that Kate never wanted to leave her side...) Kate also found a new "book reader" in Uncle B...

Overnight with Queenie & Grandad

During Lauren's surgery, Kate stayed with her Queenie and Grandad. She had a ball and was not happy when she was returned home to mom and Lauren. Here are some pics from her first overnight at Queenie and Grandad's house. Eating...

Eating on Queenie's furniture

Playing in warming drawer...only at Queenie's house

Grandad and a clean girl in her pajamas

Kate is 2!!

Happy Birthday Katherine Grace

Hard to believe that two years ago we were at the hospital and the twins were about to make their entrance! Amazing how much can happen in two years!

Dan and I were very humbled yesterday in our visit to Children's Hospital. Seeing so many kids with issues and to know that we never had to go there with Kate. Lauren's nurse saw that her sister was born premature and asked us about it. She was shocked that Kate was so perfect because she was so early. Telling people how far Kate has come and what a miracle she is will never get old.
July 2004


June 2006

This day also reminds us of Luke. I can not help but think that he continues to watch over us and his spirit lives strong in his sister.

Lauren's Surgery

We are home from Children's Hospital. Lauren did great and the surgeon was able to get all of the nevus removed. Right after she got to recovery, she woke up very hungry(a good sign)and was able to eat to her hearts content(another good sign). She is still pretty groggy and has slept for most of the afternoon. Sadly, I already miss her constant smiles!

Speaking of, a doctor approached me as we were leaving and said that she had been in the operating room. Apparently when Lauren was brought in she was all giggles and smiles. Nurses were wanting to take her home and no one wanted to put her "sleep mask" on. Another Benzon baby that likes to charm doctors...great....

Sisters

Post-Lauren, Kate is a huge help around the house. She will bring me diapers or blankets and she kisses Lauren at every opportunity. We know she loves her sister but there was one thing she refused to do until this weekend. Saturday she asked to hold her sister.

Milestones

What I failed to mention about our holiday weekend was a little thing we are calling a "language explosion". Kate has suddenly decided that she has some things to say and is not held back by baby talk. She is speaking words clear as day and has a few two word phrases (i.e "oh cool", "see ya"). Some have said that this whole talking thing is a blessing and a curse...knowing how far little miss Kate has come, it is another true blessing. Hard to believe that a week from tomorrow she will be 2!!
Here is Kate telling her sister how she feels about Bush's immigration proposal.

Not to be outdone by her sister, Lauren decided today was the day to roll over from stomach to back. And rather than leave the demonstration for mom, she did it just as her dad walked in the door! Already another Daddy's girl...

One more picture of my matching pink girls....

Fourth of July

Rain soaked most of Austin for the Fourth. We needed the rain and the Benzon's still managed to have some Fourth of July fun. Before anything, we had to have sisterly kisses...
And a picture with Dad....
The day began with the neighborhood parade. Kate loved her position on top of Dad's shoulders but Lauren found the parade a little tedious this year.

We spent lunch time at the Druins where Kate modeled her swimsuit.

Everyone came home to crash for the afternoon and while we were sleeping the thundercloud rolled in.
Because our street's party was pretty much rained out, Dan let Kate be the sparkler queen...
What was so nice about the Fourth was having Dan home on a weekday! He may be a Judge Judy convert yet!

A sentence from the "quiet" one

Kate has been in summer camp this month. She went Tuesdays and Thursdays for a couple of hours in the morninng. From the second day, she would get excited as we pulled into the parking lot and would pull my hand into the building. She loved both of her teachers, Miss Dorothy and Miss Wendy.

Last week, Miss Wendy asked me if Kate ever talks. She said that she had heard her babbling but Kate would never respond to any questions. She did not think Kate was shy because she would look her in the eye and not turn away(like her shy students). We figured that she must be a "quiet" child and left it at that.
When I picked Kate up today Miss Wendy said you are not going to believe what I heard. Kate was playing with another little girl and she heard Kate say "No, you can't do that." A SENTENCE! Not only did the quiet girl speak but her first words at camp were in the form of a sentence!
Sadly, today was also the last day of camp. Kate really loved going and I was impressed with the staff and all that they did with the kids.
In other news, we went to the doctor yesterday for green snot. Kate has had a cold since last weekend but green snot appeared yesterday. She has a slight ear infection but after one round of antibiotics, she is a new girl! We did get weights on both girls, Lauren is now 12 pounds and Kate is 24 1/2!!
Lauren "vogued" for me this morning so I will include two of those pics.

So miserably hot

The heat of the summer is killing our fun! We have to get everything outside done in the morning(which comes sooner for some of us than others...). For afternoons, Kate and I have read every book at least ten times and no person has ever sung the "itsy bitsy spider" more in a given day. I am not complaining just recounting the facts(did I mention there has been a little CourtTv action as well??). I did manage to shoot a couple of cute shots of the sisters...

The girls

Happy Baby!

Why settle for the 6 toddler size when you can wear Mom's shoes??

Kisses

White House bound??

"You only think I am going to do what you tell me..."

Barefoot Junior(aka Little Queenie)

From yesterday...she heard the music that starts the show and came running.

Swimsuit Optional

In an effort to make the backyard a little more green, we decided to get a baby pool and a inflatable water "park". We have not quite accumulated enough hot air to blow up the "park" but Kate did not seem to mind...


Ok so Kate probably had too many clothes on the first day. Sunday, however, she and her dad played for over an hour and she wore much less(she DOES own a swimsuit but it is a little difficult to put anything on her once you say "let's go outside").
I'll end with a smile and wave from her sister....

Three months later...

Lauren is 3 months old! Hard to believe that she has been here that long...time flies by when you are having fun(most of the time). Here is little Miss March...

Kate post-battle with spoonfuls of peanut butter(she won)

Thank you Mr Raley for Lauren's new seat(he must have read my mind-I have been looking for one of these for weeks!) Lauren loves it!

Picture speaks for itself(that is the Barefoot Contessa on the screen-Kate did not miss a second of the episode...so long Elmo...)

Saturday at the Zoo

We took our first adventure to the Austin Zoo. It was so much more than had been described. Dan and I were impressed with the number of animals and the ability to get "up close and personal" with them. Kate did not share our interest and we left within 45 minutes of arriving. Here is the only photo Kate would sit still long enough to take...

Dan also set up our "backyard playground" for Kate. Grandad found this great "tent" that provides shade where there is none. Now Kate can go outside to burn off some energy(she took a 3 1/2hour nap yesterday post-Zoo and backyard fun). We will be adding a baby pool and more pleasant accommodations for the adults in coming days...


One note on Lauren-As you may or may not know, Lauren was born with an abnormal nevus(aka mole) on the back of her head. We have consulted with our pediatrician and dermatologist who together advised us to look into getting it removed.
We met with the surgeon on Wednesday(and Lauren was weighed in at a hefty 11 pounds 8 ounces!). Dr Sanchez wants to get it off as soon as Lauren is physically able(ie it would not require a hospital stay post-surgery). The reason for expediting the surgery is primarily because of the ability of a babies skin to stretch and regrow. As she gets bigger, her skin becomes more taut and we run the risk of having to have two or more surgeries to get it all closed up.
Lauren is not in any danger and to leave the nevus would be to significantly increase her chances of melanoma later in life(especially with our family history). Surgery is scheduled for July 11th and I will update through the blog how everything goes.