First words, first bottle, and a volcano

This was Michael's first week back at work and it was full of ups and downs. Ben is now cooing at us, he got his first bottle this week (with momma's milk), and we've been dealing with a volcano eruption. Mt. Redoubt is 100 miles southwest of Anchorage and it erupted for the first time late on Sunday night. It has erupted about 10 times this week. Anchorage has only had to deal with a "trace" amount of ash so far but other communities haven't been that fortunate. Whether or not we have ash depends on the wind directions at different elevations. Hopefully we won't have to deal with anymore ash but we'll see! It has wreaked havoc on air travel as well. We are so glad our family visits were before this week!

This week went alright. Ben is sleeping about 6 hours each night so he will probably move to his own room this week. He wiggles in the cradle and ends up with his head on the edge of the cradle. Amelia is still adjusting to all the changes in her life. I feel like the hardest change is being at home all the time. She and I were on the go so much the last 2 months of my pregnancy and she was able to spend a lot of time playing with other kids at the hospital's YMCA program. Now it's just me and, well, my attention is a little divided these days! We'll make it through but she's ready for her cousins to visit. She talks about her cousins and Oklahoma all the time! Here are a few pictures and a short video from the last week. Ben has got some really strong legs but I didn't catch them on this video. Maybe next week! Keep praying for us as we adjust to our new normal. The volcano has relocated some of the aircraft and workers from Michael's shop so he's had to work long hours and extra shifts and it comes at a tough time for me!