Hello SPRING!

Wow, I cannot believe that we have had an entire week of weather in the 80s! It almost hit 90 degrees here yesterday! Crazy! Benjamin and I have been taking full advantage of it, and I am afraid we got a little too much sun today. But, we couldn’t resist a play date at the park with friends, followed by a picnic. It was so hot, Benjamin’s hair was soaked from sweat. Thankfully, he is wearing his sunglasses and hat without a fuss. What a blessing that is! He also lets me put sunscreen on him.

Alas, I did not take photos of our time in the park today. But, it was adorable to watch him play with his friends. He is an energizer bunny that never seems to stop. And, he is quite social. Our latest issue is trying to teach him that “My turn!” doesn’t mean he can get what he wants whenever he wants it.

So, here are some photos from the week. We went home last Wednesday to visit family and give Jeremy some time to work on projects at work. He is so stressed and overwhelmed. So, having us out of the house helps him focus a little more.

 

Uncle Brian gets my favorite relative of the week award for getting Benjamin to eat carrots. I was shocked, but it is now a food that merits a “yummy” from this picky eater. Next time, we must try broccoli!

Benjamin LOVED going to Bluffton park to feed the ducks. We aren’t allowed to feed ducks at any of the parks here, so it was a new experience. Grandma Jan had plenty of bread for the occasion.

These ducks were not shy!

After we ran out of bread, Benjamin made a beeline for the playground. He LOVES slides.

My mom helped me sort through boxes of clothes that were given to us by friends…some for the new baby and some for Benjamin. We found this hat in the mix. So, Benjamin put his on and Papa put on one that was similar. What a pair!

Benjamin calls it his conductor hat, and likes to say “All aboard!”

He helped mommy do laundry.

And, we lounged with Nana on the porch. Benjamin insisted that Papa get the red chairs out…he noticed right away that the furniture was missing.

We drove home later on Saturday, and then we went to church with Daddy on Sunday. It was Jeremy’s first day off in three weeks, and it was so wonderful to spend the day with him. I got a lot of compliments on this dress my friend loaned me, so we took a picture.

Here Benjamin and Dada had “Bible study.” Benjamin is always asking about “Bible study,” and wants to look at the pictures in his Bible. It is so precious. Whenever we pass our church, he says “BIBLE STUDY!” He gets so excited.

Tomorrow, we are heading to the zoo with a friend. So, I will try to take pictures of the zoo blooms. I don’t think the tulips are in bloom yet, but I sure we will still find some impressive displays. Can’t wait!

Spring picnic

Just have two photos to post, but wanted to share our Spring picnic with you. Benjamin sat on the blanket the entire time, happily chowing down on whatever I gave him. Guess we need to eat on the floor more often! It was a beautiful day! We went to story time and then joined our friends Katie and Tyler for a fun afternoon at the park.

 

B’s first friend birthday party

We had so much fun tonight at The Little Gym for Dominic’s birthday party. Our good friend here turned 3, and it was a big event. We practiced singing “Happy Birthday” the whole drive over. It took Benjamin a few minutes to warm up. I don’t think he felt well today, because he wanted to sit in my lap and cuddle, which is so unlike him!

But, he eventually got into the swing of things.

Bubbles!

And a parachute…

Benjamin got to tumble to his heart’s content…even off the end of a giant wheel.

My little monkey enjoyed hanging and swinging too.

He was especially fond of jumping off this mat onto another mat. Apparently, he is quite advanced at this skill. Fearless.

He also loved the balance beams. I couldn’t take a photo of the bigger one, since I was holding his hand while he walked on it. But, here he is on a smaller one.

This inflatable was a hit as well. He got to sit on it while it filled with air.

And, then while other kids played a game, Benjamin wandered off to hang some more from the bars.

When it was time to eat, he was SO excited about getting a cupcake with a “Cars” toothpick in it.

I told him to give Dominic a hug. This photo cracks me up!

He clutched his balloon from the moment it was given to him until we got home. He also was super excited about the presents he got for going to the party. I asked him if he had fun, and he very enthusiastically told me “Yeah!”

This and that…

Ok…get ready for a bunch of random photos!

First, Benjamin, Jeremy and I got to go to the zoo together one morning before Jeremy went into work. It was so nice to spend time together as a family! It was kind of cold, but we needed to get out of the house!

A couple weeks ago, I went home to pass some time while Jeremy was working. It was great to see family, and Benjamin seemed to forget that he was missing his Daddy a lot.

Here he is with GG and Bob Bob.

And of course, there was plenty of cuddle/TV/Ipod/reading time with Nana and Papa.

I should have known something was wrong when Benjamin all the sudden developed an interest in snuggling with everyone. But, I didn’t realize it until later that night that he had a 103.6 degree fever. It wasn’t until a few days later that we realized he had Roseola…a harmless childhood disease that causes a high fever and a rash. Isn’t it funny, though, that a “symptom” of illness for Benjamin is cuddliness?

Anyway, we also had fun visiting with Aunt Keri and Grandma Jan. We took a walk at Aunt Keri’s new house, and Benjamin LOVED running in the “tunnel” of pine trees.

On a rare night that Jeremy was coming home for dinner, I needed to put Benjamin to work. So, he helped me make toasted cheese sandwiches (per Jeremy’s meal request). We melted butter, and I handed a very willing Benjamin a baster brush to “paint” the bread. He loved having a job.

Unfortunately, he kept trying to taste the sandwiches before I could cook them. So, several had small chunks missing from corners.

Here we are on another really nice day! We love this mild winter! Jeremy took him on the playground before work, and I loved being able to sit on a bench, rather than chase him up climbing structures.

Benjamin and I went back to Entertrainment Junction to see Thomas once more before he left. (It was a one-month promotion).

And, the other night we were being goofy and I took a bunch of photos. Benjamin loves to sing, and here he is singing “Jesus Loves Me’ with a stuffed bear that sings the tune to him.

Peek a boo!

BEnjamin loves his play food, but especially the ice cream.

He looks like he is practicing his Olympic victory stance.

We spend a lot of time playing trains…