2nd child syndrome...already

We are already experiencing 2nd child syndrome. By this I mean we have no pictures, I haven't written a word in a pregnancy journal, and I have no idea what is going on inside my body. (I think the baby is roughly the size of a grapefruit?) Lest #2 feel neglected and unloved, I should add that I have been equally neglecting in taking pictures of Benjamin lately and journaling his latest and greatest accomplishments. To put it simply, this pregnancy is just taking a lot out of me! So for those of you who have been wondering, "what happened to the frequent updates and myriads of pictures?," there is your answer. It's not good, but it's an answer.

Having said that, I am desperately attempting to rectify the situation. (Those annoying pests known as laundry, dishes, picking up, making dinner, and bathing keep getting in the way, darn it!)

Benjamin just started to babble happily in his bed, meaning it is time to get him fed and on to the next discovery, but briefly:

Benjamin is 11 months old today. He is crawling proficiently, "pulling up" on furniture and Mama/Daddy's legs, "cruising" from one furniture piece to the next, and walking a little while clinging to Mama or Daddy's fingers or pushing something in front. His recognizable sounds ("words") are: "Da Da", "Ma Ma", down("DAH!"), all done ("a-da") and-- as of this morning-- mouth ("maaa!")

Seth is into his semester at school and doing well keeping up with working 30 hours per week and all his homework, which mostly consists of translating portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Hebrew to English. (Yes, he knows they have already been translated.) His newest news is that the Bible Dictionary he contributed to (roughly 20 articles, I believe) is newly published. We received our copy this morning. For those interested, it is called Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words and is published by Zondervan. It has been highly praised by the scholarly community as the new "Vine's," for those of you who are up on Bible Study tools.

I am now 17 weeks pregnant and feeling better, but not completely healthy and energetic yet. Unfortunately I was anticipating this happy turn of events about 4 weeks ago. The good news is, a sick mama means a healthy pregnancy so I remind myself, "this is a good sign." Meanwhile I am finally feeling like I have a pretty good routine for getting the house in order and taking care of Benjamin. After 11 months, it's about time! I knew a baby would change my life, it's just that no one can predict the specific struggles each new mom will have. I feel like I'm finally coming out of the deep water... just in time to have another one :)

Well, I've taken more time for this "quick update" than I meant to and now those happy babbles are becoming more like impatient grunts. "Mama, where are you???"

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Love,
Kiersten (for Seth, Benjamin, and Baby #2 too)