September fun

It has been a crazy busy month, and it has flown by! Here are some of the highlights.

Benjamin and Mommy have been going to the Build and Grow workshops at Home Depot. Benjamin LOVES to help nail projects together, and then paint. It is the most excited he has ever been about arts and crafts.

We had some cool weather hit, and then all of a sudden we were back in the 90s for a couple days. So, we got the baby pool and the hose out. The kids played for nearly two hours!

Benjamin had his third visit to the dentist.

We went to see Papa for a weekend, while Jeremy studied for his board certification test.

Abby was terrified of Aunt Keri’s barn cats at first, but then she started chasing them around, and I had to drag her away from them!

While in Bluffton that same weekend, we picked A LOT of apples from Aunt Rachel’s farm. Benjamin helped me for an hour, before the novelty of slicing apples wore off.

We have also made a few trips to the zoo to enjoy the nice weather.

Abby is getting so big, and she wants to do whatever Benjamin is doing. So, she tried out his glider bike. Papa got Benjamin his own bike, so now they both are able to ride.

We also squeezed in another trip to the Glendale Gardens. Abby got SOAKED, but had so much fun playing with the water pump and buckets. Benjamin and his buddies spent quite some time looking at the tadpoles and frogs.

The kids had a great time at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Benjamin had forgotten all about his past trips there, so it was like a brand new adventure.

This month, our Recharge! group went to the Niederman Family Farm to walk through the corn maze and go on a hay ride. The kids had a blast exploring the maze!

OK. That’s enough photos for one post! I have been on deadline for a freelance writing project, and I have not had a minute to spare (aside from the millions of other activities we had going on).

Preschool!

Benjamin started his first year of preschool this past September. I am finally getting around to posting the pictures!

On his orientation day, he asked at first that Mommy not go with him. He just wanted Daddy and Abby. He also requested that Abby wear a dress and a matching bow. He took special care with his outfit, and he was beyond excited to meet his new teachers. I had a meeting that morning for MOPS, so, he was a bit disappointed in the end that I wasn’t going, but he had a great time!

Here he is on the actual first day. He wanted to be sure both Jeremy and I would take him, and be there to pick him up. But, there was no hesitation on his part. He just walked right into the classroom, introducing himself to his new friends. I cried the whole way home.

Our goal for Benjamin this year at preschool is that he will learn to share well with the other 10 children in his class, and that he will improve his fine motor skills like cutting, drawing and writing. So far, he is doing great and having a great time. We are so proud of him!

End of summer fun

It has been sad to see the pool close, the leaves start to turn colors and people are already gearing up for Fall. Meanwhile, we are having hot weather, and it just doesn’t feel like summer is over yet.

We have been busy! I am super excited about the moms group my friend and I started at church. We have now had five meetings, and the kids/moms are really having fun. Here is Benjamin sporting our visor craft from August. We also had a splash party.

The kids continue to grow and develop. It is fun to see their personalities shine through. I just had to share this Abby photo, because she can make the most awful faces when she is unhappy.

We had a bad stomach flu strike a few weeks ago. Luckily, just the kids got sick, but Jeremy and I still felt a bit under the weather with this one too. It meant a lot of TV time.

We took advantage of the last few days before school by hitting up some of the school playgrounds.

What else have we been up to? Oh so much! We hang out with friends often, so it was a great treat to meet the Chic-Fil-A cow at our last visit. My kids don’t care for the food there, but we go anywhere since it is a nice place to meet people. We also have people at our house a lot, and we LOVE the fenced in backyard. A neighbor gave us their play set, so the kids have been having a blast playing on it.

Jeremy took Benjamin to the last regular Kings Island Day, and guess what? Benjamin grew to 40 inches! He was so excited!!! He got to ride a new coaster, and Jeremy purchased the precious picture from the first big hill.

Benjamin is motivated to grow more now. He knows there are more rides awaiting him. Each day, he asks for things like milk and avocado so he can grow bigger. He asks me about all the super foods, because he is willing to eat anything that might help him grow a bit. He is the pickiest eater right now, and he just eats a tiny bit here and there. It makes us crazy. Sometimes we have to beg him to eat. Abby, meanwhile, eats triple the amount of food Benjamin consumes. She is happiest with food in her hands. On a side note, Abby is really good with a spoon…she now insists all food is delivered to her in a bowl and not on her tray.

She also is into acting like a big girl. She asks me to put her shoes on, and then she waves “dye dye.” Abby also learned recently to say “Abby,” instead of “Abba.” It made me a little sad to grow out of that stage, but it is seriously cute to hear her repeating over and over again, “Abby, Abby, Abby!” while admiring herself in the mirror.

We also took a trip to Jump And Jacks on a particularly hot day. Abby insists on sliding all by herself now, even on the biggest slides.

We went to Findlay this past weekend, and these two became quite the couch/bed potatoes as they watched Disney Junior on Papa’s TV.

That’s all for now. Benjamin’s first day of preschool is Tuesday, so stay tuned!

Lorain

It has been a few weeks, but I wanted to be sure to post our photos from our trip to Lorain. It was great to see GG, Bob Bob and the Lorain/Vermillion family. It was a long drive, but the kids did really well with their DVD players and naps.

We took the kids to a fair-like amusement park in Cleveland that was designed just for small children. They had so much fun. We also had fun hanging out at their house, grilling pancakes, taking walks and exploring.

The kids were so sad to leave. They had a great time, and loved the attention!