May update!

Our camera died on us a few weeks ago, so I have been an absent blogger. But, never fear, I am back! We LOVE our new camera, and I will definitely show off all those photos. Unfortunately, all the photos my grandparents took when they were here are on their camera…so sorry GG and Bob Bob…no blog photos of your visit. But, you were greatly appreciated and kept me from going crazy while Jeremy was out of town.

Tomorrow is my 39-week doctor appointment, and so far it doesn’t appear a baby is making an appearance soon. But, we are getting ready! Jeremy is still waiting to hear about a job in Cincinnati, but we should know by early next week. In other news… we got a new Honda Civic, since his was a total loss after the accident a month ago.

We had a not-so-welcome guest in our garage this past week. Jeremy measured it at just over three feet long! Ewww! Later, we found two more snakes, but we haven’t had any luck killing them yet.

Benjamin asked to pet the snake…like at the zoo.

This past Sunday, the ladies in my small group at church threw me a baby girl shower. It was so sweet!

Benjamin had a field day with the balloons I brought home!

He has been enjoying a new game of “painting” the house with a paint brush and water. Our siding is so old, he actually leaves shapes and squiggles behind. But, we are getting it replaced soon, so it doesn’t matter.

We set up his pool this week, and he has been so excited. He talks about swimming pools non-stop.

He is kind of big for his pool, but luckily our neighborhood pool will open at the end of May!

I will post more later since this blog is getting long!

Gearing up…

We are in the home stretch, and I think everyone around here is  nesting.

We likely will have a few more weeks…but no more than four, so I have been doing my best to get ready! I don’t think there is any way to really prepare as much as I want. It is hard enough keeping Benjamin entertained and the house picked up. But, we are enjoying our time together.

Here are a few random photos of Benjamin. It’s a parade!

 

I love this little guy! We are having so much fun. He is mastering his colors, shapes and numbers. We are getting better at letters, though 26 of them are a lot to learn. He continues to LOVE socializing with his friends, and he is getting SLIGHTLY better at sharing. We are working on this constantly. Benjamin LOVES to run, and rarely wants to sit still…unless a train or a car are involved. He is wearing size 8 shoes, 2t tops and 18-24 month bottoms. His pants typically are too short, but he is super skinny and weighs about 26 pounds. We are glad to be moving into shorts season. He is very chatty with me at home, but around a lot of people, he tends to smile and want to be in the thick of things, but says very little. I love how he repeats EVERYTHING we say, and even attempts long words like “cooperate.”

He adores reading, and sometimes we read the same book five times a day or more. He is really into names and titles. So, he will tell you the exact name of the book he wants to read. He asks what everything is called, and he loves to point out where objects are from…like if he received a toy from a relative or if he got something from a certain store. Benjamin has a song in his heart almost always, and it is precious to hear him sing all day long. He especially loves to sing the Barney “I love you” song to us. Today, he asked me to play the same song in the car three times. It was something along the lines of “Love the Lord with all your heart, la, la la, la la la …” He sits in the back singing on the top of his lungs.

Well, I better get going, but I will keep trying to take photos. He makes it difficult, since he wants to see them before we even take them, and typically a battle over the camera ensues…

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful time visiting with family this weekend, even if it was a bunch of very short visits. Benjamin was so exhausted, when we got home he continued his nap until 5:30 p.m. even after we tried several times to wake him up! We have never seen him that tired!

Anyway, here are a few photos I have. I hope to get more from the other people who were snapping shots of Easter egg hunts and such, because my camera ran out of power!

We gave Benjamin his Easter basket before heading up to Bluffton. He loved the pinwheel! We also got him special straws for his cup. He likes to drink orange juice as a special treat, and he usually wants a straw. So, these were kind of fun. He also got chalk shaped like various sports balls and some Easter stickers.

At Nana and Papa’s house, he got a giant bag of balls to put into his jumpoline.

We dropped the jumpoline off at my parents’ house, because I could not handle it in my family room any longer! I suppose we will bring it back next winter, but for now…he can get energy out of his system by running outside!

Here we are before the Easter egg hunt at Grandma Jan’s house.

Benjamin loved getting to play with all his cousins…especially Asher, Eden and Levi! They are so good with him, and he loves to follow them around.

Hanging with Benjamin

Benjamin can wear me out with all his energy. So, if he decides to get up extra early, I sometimes let him watch TV while I doze on the couch. Other times I catch up on cleaning the kitchen or the downstairs. One morning, he was especially cute and I had to snap a photo.

Somehow, this didn’t look all that comfortable!  His favorite shows are Thomas, Chuggingtons, Dora, Veggie Tales, Mickey Mouse Club House and Bob the Builder.

One day this week, I decided to make Easter eggs with Benjamin. I can’t remember if this was in a previous post, but here you go again if that was the case. I ended up accidently breaking most of the eggs while draining the water, but we put stickers over the ones we salvaged. Benjamin picked out the “Cars” Easter egg kit. He LOVED sticking on the stickers, and didn’t’ mind that mommy did the rest.

On Saturday, we took a trip to see my aunt and uncle in southern Cinci. They are about 45 minutes from us, and we don’t go very often. So, it was a special treat. Benjamin loved playing with his cousins Davis and Emily!

On Monday, I got a call from Jeremy telling me he was on his way home from work. Then, I got another call 20 minutes later telling me he was in an accident, and needed me to come get him. So, we are very grateful he wasn’t hurt, and neither was the other guy (who was at fault). But, Jeremy’s car will be in the shop for a while, I imagine.

I told Benjamin that we were going to see Daddy to make sure he didn’t have any ouchies. (Any ouchies around here need a kiss and or a sticker to be “all better.”)

I told Benjamin Daddy’s car went “CRASH!” Benjamin likes to make his cars crash, so he thought this was very interesting.

Today, I decided to take him to the zoo. Every time there are predicted thunderstorms, they miss us. So, I chanced a storm and was rewarded with BEAUTFIUL weather. We actually were dressed too warmly! I tried again on some flower photos. But, I had to give Benjamin an apple to convince him that two times on the train was enough and we needed to do something else. So, he worked on that apple for about 30 minutes. He eats it to the core, and sometimes he eats that too!

Me: “Benjamin, PLEASE smile! PLEASE look at me! Say cheese?”

The result…”CHEEEEEEEEESSSSSEEE.”

I don’t know why I bothered with the stroller, since most of the time I pushed it empty. We walked over to the flamingos, and got a good close look at the giraffes. Then, we went to the elephants and got to hear one make its trumpet call. I think it was calling back to the storm sirens that were being tested! Benjamin thought it was hilarious to hear the normally quiet elephant make noise. By the time we left there, I decided he had walked entirely too much, and was making me crazy with his wandering. So, we made one more stop to see the big owl (since we spent a while with the baby owl in the children’s zoo) and then I wrestled him back into the stroller for a ride to the car. Thank goodness for buckles!

Zoo blooms and the Easter Bunny

Benjamin and I went to the zoo this week and got to see all the beautiful tulips and spring flowers in bloom. Unfortunately, Benjamin was in a BAD mood. And, I had trouble getting any good photos. And, since I didn’t have the energy to force the issue, we just won’t have many pretty pictures of the flowers this year!

Here we are on the train. It is a good thing we aren’t planning to take Benjamin to an amusement park any time soon, because after waiting for the train to fill and empty twice before boarding, he had the biggest melt down. Granted, it was 80 degrees, sunny and nearing nap time… but I think my nerves were shot by the end of that wait! He was much happier when it was his turn!

Our friends Tammy and Dominic came with us.

Here are my other attempts at getting some photos.

Saturday, we had the helicopter egg drop at church. Benjamin LOVED having his daddy there to play. They attempted a cup cake walk, but Benjamin was not pleased that he didn’t get a cupcake after four tries. So, we left with the promise of a cup cake when we got home.

He got his photo with the Easter Bunny.

And, he got his face painted with a baseball… his choice.

Then, he got a temporary tattoo.

Both the face paint and the tattoo didn’t last long before they were smeared or peeled off, but they were fun while they lasted.

Benjamin decided to make a cross craft next.

He was so excited that three of the friends he invited came! One was Ella from his baby sitter’s house.

He Kept trying to give her a hug, and she was definitely playing hard to get.

Finally, here are the photos from the egg drop and hunt…

Benjamin didn’t really care what was in the eggs, but he did enjoy placing them in his bag. And, he has been enjoying carrying them around the house in a little basket.