Just for Fun

We've certainly had our fair share of snow this winter! Because of this the kids have had to get a little creative while playing inside. I thought of would share of few pictures of what they like to do inside and outside this time of year.

Their favorite activity is hauling each other around the house at a fast as they can go in the lego wagon. Elijah has been in several wrecks! Thankfully no major injuries to report. :)

Elijah loves to take off the vent covers and pretend his equipment is stuck.

Ethan has been wiggling his loose tooth. He finally asked Mark to pull it out on Saturday. I was impressed how well he did and that he actually asked Mark to pull it out with a pliers!

After school Ethan grabs a snack and heads outside to work on his snow fort.

Getting a little help from Dad on the fort.

Amelia our little snow princess!

Elijah doesn't like to miss out so he too braved the weather to help on the fort.

One Week Old

It's hard to believe Anton is already a week old! Our first week with him has gone well. I've stuck close to home with the exception of a Wal-Mart run and a Momshine meeting at church. Which helps keep up the energy level. He still sleeps most of the time with a strange 2-3 hour wake time then it's back to sleep again. Thankfully when he is awake for a long time he is happy for the most part. I usually have to wake him up during the day to feed him and he wakes up on his own every 3 hours at night. He's had a few nights were he's wide awake for a couple hours, which isn't fun! I'm not sure how to best resolve that but we're working on it! I've added a few more pictures of him from this week.

Anton at three days old, snuggling in a blanket Grandma made.

Daddy giving some love. :)

Elijah is doing better then I thought at not being jealous. He still has his moments but that is to be expected. He seems to like his baby brother and often "pets" him like he's one of our cats. :)

Amelia has been very helpful! She loves to hold Anton while watching cartoons. This is especially helpful when I'm helping Elijah or making a meal. She also does a great job getting me things while I'm nursing him. I'm so thankful for her help!

I gave Anton his first bath after the other kids had gone to bed. I know they would have loved to help but I didn't think three helpers would be very relaxing for Anton. :) He enjoyed his bath!

Anton Mark

We're happy to announce the birth of our son Anton Mark. He was born on Thursday, February 11 at 3:19p.m. He weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz's and was 21.5 inches long. So far all is going well. We made it home yesterday and survived our first night without nurse support. :)

A picture of Mark, me and Anton shortly after he was born.

I love looking at babies, just seeing what makes them special!

Anton about an hour after he was born.

Just had his first bath.

Anton - day 2 in the hospital.

All the kids meeting for the first time.

I think Ethan looks like a proud big brother. :)

Going home outfit.

All bundled up.

Ready for the Iowa weather!

Roundup Ready 2 Yield Challenge

Monsanto just printed an article about Mark winning a soybean yield contest in several area newspapers. It's been a lot of fun hearing peoples response to this, thanks for all the well wishes! Below are a few pictures of the field and a copy of the article Monsanto wrote about Mark. We look forward to telling you about the trip next month, and maybe we'll come home with the grand prize, a Ranger fishing boat!

Mark, Elijah and Amelia standing in our bean field on July 5th. As a family we spent some time walking through the field looking for a 5-bean pod. (This was another contest Monsanto was doing.) While we weren't successful at finding a 5-bean pod it was good family time for us.

A picture of us harvesting the plot area for the contest. It isn't the best picture but it shows how tall the beans are when you look at Dana walking through the field. The 40 acre field averaged 77 bushels per acre and our plot area was 89.3 bushels per acre. Very impressive for our area!

Another picture doing the yield check.


Local Farmer Named Finalist in Soybean Yield Contest

Mark Boender wins trip to California and chance at grand prize
Oskaloosa, Iowa, February 5, Farmer Mark Boender of Oskaloosa, Iowa, has been named a finalist in a soybean yield contest involving new soybean technology designed to help farmers increase their yield and profit potential.
With his 89.3-bushel-per-acre entry, Boender is one of three finalists in the Asgrow® brand Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Challenge. He will receive a $1,000 prize and a trip for two to the upcoming 2010 Commodity Classic – one of the nation’s top farm trade shows – in Anaheim, California. There he will have the opportunity to speak with agribusiness leaders, network with other successful farmers from around the country and possibly win the grand prize, an Asgrow edition Ranger® bass boat.
Mark Boender has been raising corn and soybeans for the past 10 years. He currently farms with his father, Steve, and brothers, Mike, BJ, Kurt and Karl. He was among the first U.S. farmers to plant Asgrow Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans in 2009 and is excited to plant them again this spring. "I can’t speak for other farmers, but on our farm if your yield averages get above 60, you’re doing pretty well," he says. "We’re really excited about this technology."
Boender and his wife, Stacy, look forward to attending the Commodity Classic and hope to bring back the grand-prize as their souvenir. "We’re pretty pumped," Boender says. "We get more excited every day."
The Asgrow brand Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield Challenge was established to recognize farmers and generate enthusiasm for the latest soybean trait innovation – Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield, which enables the same dependable, flexible weed control that farmers have experienced for over a decade with first-generation Roundup Ready® soybeans, now with significantly higher yield potential.
Farmers interested in more information about planting Asgrow Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield in 2010 can contact their local seed dealer or visit Asgrow.com.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: http://www.monsanto.com//ohttp://www.monsanto.com/blocked::http://www.monsanto.com/. Follow our business on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo/ohttp://www.twitter.com/MonsantoCoblocked::http://www.twitter.com/MonsantoCo, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo/ohttp://www.facebook.com/MonsantoCoblocked::http://www.facebook.com/MonsantoCo, or subscribe to our News Release RSS Feed.

The past week

It's been another busy week at our house. Mark and I spent the weekend in Des Moines at a Young Farmer Conference. It was great to meet up with friends and also meet some new couples! I also enjoyed a break from the kids! :) Sorry no pictures of this.

I've had Elijah to the doctor twice and chiropractor twice and still I'm not sure how to handle his injured leg. Last week I took Elijah to the chiropractor and had his hip adjusted. It was misaligned which made it "shorter" than his left leg. Several hours after his adjustment I noticed he was walking much, much better. He isn't very careful and as soon as he was able to get moving he climbed on the bouncy horse and started bouncing away. I was vacuuming and didn't notice that Amelia had climbed on with him and really started bouncing. Long story short, I shut off the vacuum to hear Elijah screaming & see him hanging upside down from his bad hip off the horse; resulting in trip #2 to the chiropractor. We knew he had more going on than the hip issue so I brought him to the doctor yesterday to have another x-ray. This confirmed that he had not broke anything and that his ankle is sprained. We give him Tylenol a few times a day and Mark wrapped his ankle hoping to give him some support. Any suggestions for care of a sprained ankle on a toddler who won't sit still are welcome!

I realized today that not only our TV, DVD player and lamp got fried by the generator but also our sleep # bed. I was thinking my side was a little soft and went to change the setting only to find it was dead. Bummer! This picture is of Ethan taking apart the DVD player to get out the movie and DVD. He really enjoyed this!

Sunday afternoon Mark went ice racing on a marsh near Oskaloosa. The kids and I went along and hung out by the truck. This is Ethan and Amelia pushing snow off the ice. Mark was to far away to get any good pictures.