We Were Beautiful People...

We were beautiful people once...not saying that we are for sure now, these family photos were taken 4 months ago...and yes I am SUPER slow at doing anything with them, but our friend Heather Weekes did an amazing job. I am super lucky because I got to keep all the fun ones that are normally bloopers but to me just make them real and genuine. So here are our family pictures for 2013...and maybe I'm a little proud, but seriously I think we were beautiful people, well mostly my boys, and to get such adorable boys I must have had something small to do with it so maybe I'm not so bad myself. Anyway, since Ben has started crawling, and now walking since these were taken lol here they are for viewing pleasure. I don't think that Heather could have captured our family more beautifully. Thanks so much Heather!

One Year of Baby Ben

Wow! Can't believe it for one second...I feel like Ethan just turned 1 and now my sweet baby Ben has hit his year mark...ok so sweet may not be the BEST descriptive word for his current state....lets say energetic, or maybe silly, or social. He can be VERY sweet, but also VERY devious. I have realized that the second child, especially coming after an older brother who is very busy and determined himself, makes for a fighter. Ben knows how to get what he wants, and makes no questions about it. He is still chubby chubby chubby, which is just fine by me, means I get to squeeze his baby muffin top a little longer. He is the smiliest child I think I have ever seen, and he loves making other people smile. He growls a lot, instigates wrestling matches regularly, is walking all over the place, and is one of my favorite things to bump into when I turn a corner. He has brought so much joy to our family this year and it warms my heart to see my two little boys who love each other so much. Couldn't ask for anything better...Love my little Ben so much! so here's a tribute to a full year of baby Ben!

Newborn Baby Ben...just home from the hospital

One month old

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six months...double take

Seven! And so began his love of soccer balls...mom and dad are hopeful

Eight! Beginning to crawl well, still doing the worm a bit

Nine! Crawling pro and eating everything in sight!

Ten Months and such a character! Just starting to take some steps

Eleven months and a walking pro...could also be the cutest heavyweight champ...love them rolls!!!!

 

So the video didn't work very well, it's seriously slow motion...but that is what Ben loves at 1 year old...to run around the house kicking a ball...he's obsessed, and he's adorable. Cant believe I was lucky enough to get this little guy! Happy one year to my sweet Benjamin- I love you!

The BEST Life

I know we all have our days when our children win every battle, the sun never shines, you are knee deep in poopy diapers, no chores get done, and your house is a mess...but thankfully there are those days, those blessed days, when from nowhere the sun is so brilliant you can't open all your blinds for fear your house will catch fire, and you know that this day is going to be INCREDIBLE! It is on these days that I try to soak up enough sunshine, cuddle my boys till their chubs hurt from being squozen (not a word apparently according to spell check) and I take pictures until my shooter finger hurts so that when the other days come, I can look back, and forward to these blessed days, and remember that I have the best life on the planet. I can't help but rub that in, because seriously, my boys are dolls, my husband is a handsome, hard working provider, I know that my life has a purpose and that my family loves me...what else can you ask for...(I'll refer back to that question in a few days when I am at my wits end) So to continue my huge brag for the day...Ben is 10 months old, still sleeps through the night, 12 hours (since 2 months old)and has the biggest smile I have ever seen on a child. His whole face smiles. It's RIDICULOUS! so here he is...my baby sunshine

Wow I could just eat him up! Good thing Ethan does enough of that for me!

The  smile that says "I'm about to attack" and he actually does, he comes and bites my legs...

The crooked teething smile

Oh Ben...this totally catches his personality!

I can't believe he's ten months already! Times flies- Ben is truly the sweetest little thing...he does attack me a lot, but I think it is meant out of love, he just got the biting idea from his brother who yells "attack" and then makes it look like he's biting you...but Ben actually does...love my boys

Thought I'd end with this "totally Ethan" picture....yes he is indeed a character, and believe it or not this was AFTER I tried to fix his hair...darn it his hair is something else, but it fits him

The Children are Nestled all Snug in Their Beds

Unfortunately they are probably not having visions of sugarplums and puppies licking their toes...they are probably just trying to not think about how cranky we all have been today! Ben is teething (where has my angel baby gone) Ethan is 2 (need I say more) and I have a cold sore! All in all it adds up to disaster and  not one of us has handled things well today. Ben woke up and wanted to nurse...unfortunately for him he was such a horrible biter for the last couple of months that I couldn't nurse him regularly...I HAD to start giving him bottles because I was getting torn apart...SCABS I tell you- it was ridiculous, so my milk dwindled back to nothing despite my best efforts, and now he has decided he wants to snuggle up and nurse again- little stink- I am having unnecessary guilt over it.
Ethan was helping with laundry and saw his favorite shirt in there- naturally a sweatsuit shirt, and he wanted to wear it. So I tried to help him, but then he wanted to keep his jammy shirt on so I said fine and set the sweatshirt down, then he wanted the sweatshirt, so I tried to put it on, (do you see where this is going) I finally got the jammy shirt off and started putting the sweatshirt on and then he panicked yet again and wanted the jammy shirt back on...after a few minutes of this nonsense I was done and I left him in his room kicking and screaming, with NO shirt ! Ha toddler- I showed you- then I caught my own look in the mirror with the glint of evil delight in my eye that I had just shown up my 2 year old and started to bring myself back to the adult world until I did a double take, saw the GINORMOUS sore on my lip, and reverted back to teenage whiney girl who is devastated about the stupid red thing on her lip...for some reason I still get mopey, cranky, and feel like it is a punishment...so silly, but there you go...long story short I needed to do something to bring a smile to my lopsided lips, so here it is, I started looking at pictures of my boys. Now you may wonder why I don't just go peek at them while they sleep.
1. Don't want to ruin a good thing, what if I wake them
2. When I am cranky with them it is NOT beneficial to look at them in the PRESENT hoping to get feelings of immense longing for snuggles because in the present they are little monstrous creatures lol therefore...I must find a moment in time from the past and reminisce and look at their documented wrinkles and dimples and see myself snuggling and reading books etc. etc....it works every time I'm telling you.
 So that brings me to the next part...these are the pictures that are saving my children's lives today, and saving my sanity for the future...thank goodness for the sweet moments that erase the rough ones!

first ice cream cone! 

He LOVED it! Can you tell?

my smiley chunky little man cub

so typical of their personalities...ben with a big old smile and Ethan making a crazy face

They play so well together...when Ethan doesn't think he's a toy rather than a playmate!

On Being Two-

I only have one two-year-old, and to be thorough,  he's not even 2.5 yet so I guess I can't say I am a pro with two-year-olds. But I feel as though I have learned a few valuable lessons that I need to keep note of for when this glorious time rolls around, round two.

Being two means that the phrase "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" is just silly...some days there is no right side, some days there are only wrong sides, or maybe it's just that you woke up at all. Maybe it is that your hair was tickling your face when you stirred from a dream about puppies and trains, or maybe your puppy was riding the train in your dream instead of you, and when you woke up you were angry at your puppy, so you threw him on the floor, then you realized you threw him on the floor and you're mad because you want him back and you are somehow incapable of  picking up the puppy yourself...one never knows what really went wrong, not even you because you have the memory of a goldfish, but needless to say, something didn't pan out the way it was supposed to so therefore the moment is ruined...thank goodness, once again, for your memory of a goldfish which means that in thirty seconds you will more than likely be completely fine...and once again, no one will have an explanation as to why.

Being 2 means that food is merely a means to an end. You rarely eat something just to eat it. You must examine and explore it...you must test the boundaries of food as we know it...but only on the limits you have set for it. If it has a mooshy consistency and you are spreading it around with your hands, that is fine unless it then drops onto your pants.Somehow it's ok if you wipe it on your shirt yourself, but heaven forbid it should get dropped accidentally...and then your goldfish memory kicks in and all of a sudden you realize you have a mess all over your hands, so naturally you must scream and wave your hands wildly to try and fling it off, this typically results in particle splatter, and then you realize it's on the chair now too, and the floor and somehow your flinging hands just keep flinging, and you're not happy about it, but you can't stop because now you are screeching, and frequently screeching and flailing go together. What you are currently experiencing is a meltdown, and it's ok, because in 30 seconds once mom has wiped your hands and the floor and your pants and the table, you will realize that you have a bowl full of mushy stuff and your hands will be drawn to it once again...darn you goldfish.
Now while we are on food, lets talk about shapes, colors and textures. These are important. It cannot be too soft or too hard, too bright or too plain, too rough or too smooth. What falls under these categories is subject to change at any moment...typically you will want something processed, macaroni and cheese, spaghettios, dino nuggets, etc. or at least something not in it's easiest and most natural state meaning that you may also want a sandwich or apple slices, or orange slices, but then comes the tricky part. With a sandwich, naturally the crust must not be eaten, and this conclusion can be reached a number of ways...1- you begin eating and realize it looks different...unacceptable, you will eat until you reach it and then discard 2- you notice it right off the bat and insist that it be removed...and typically mom removes it incorrectly resulting in complete devastation and an attempt to reattach the severed crust to the bread  3- you notice it but think you can get through it so you eat all the way to it, are still hungry, so you take a bite, then the texture gets you and you realize this will not do, so naturally it must be rejected...you may gag a little for emphasis, then slowly let the slobbery intruder slide from your mouth to the table...and then who wants to look at that while they are eating, certainly not you, so you scream until mom has removed it from the table. what mom? you think you need to use a napkin? certainly not, there is no time for that- you MUST use your hand...

Once the crisis is averted you move on to your apple slices. There are peels there. Why are there peels there? You don't have time to mess with mom cutting the peel off, so you decide to move on, but you CANNOT let your mouth touch the peel, so you take one bite from the very center of every slice, and then you move on...but next time you will just want to eat the whole apple, not cut, not peeled, just bite straight from it. It is ok to eat a peel that is fully intact and even the seeds in the middle, but once the apple is cut, the peel is inconsumable (that probably isn't a word in the human dictionary. but neither are 3/4 of the other things you say)

So lets say you had dinosaur nuggets and orange slices instead...now we're talking. This is a meal that really serves a purpose. It's like dinner and a movie- and it can go any way you like. The ending is yours to decide. If the dinosaurs have all behaved properly, then they will get more than two minutes of roaring and romping around on your plate. They may get enough film time to be remembered, to bathe in a sea of ketchup or ranch, and then be mercifully consumed ...no remaining limbs, quick and clean, and it's over. If your prehistoric friends have behaved inappropriately then it is likely that you will solely remove their heads so their faces don't offend you...once the heads are removed they serve no further purpose and will be discarded in a heap on your plate.

Then come the orange slices...they can go so very wrong. peel, no peel, how to peel or how NOT to peel. Darn it peels can be tough on you. Thank goodness there are more oranges in the fridge because typically the first one is done incorrectly, which, once again, may vary from day to day. What is that mom, there aren't more? UNACCEPTABLE! You must then beat your hands on the floor for a while while mom takes the orange out of your sight...but wait, you want to eat it so you scream until she brings it back...you scowl as you eat it because 1- how dare she peel it wrong 2- how dare she not have more 3- how dare she take it away and 4- she left some white strings on it which are now stuck from your mouth to your chin...resume screaming.

This is probably the beginning of many memoirs I will be documenting in honor of my sweet two-year-old. Somehow it helps both of us, I think, to be able to write it down and read it later while laughing hysterically over the silliness of it all! So for now we will assume this is part one, and now to conclude...

There are so many thoughts I have on being 2...it is such a beautiful disaster...If we never got to experience it, there would be fewer moms ripping their hair out, less trips to the E.R., more boxes of band-aids on the shelves at wal mart, and less crusts and apple peels discarded in trash bins, On the flip side, the boundaries of creativity would never be so stretched, the world would never be so thoroughly explored and the importance of the moment never so fully appreciated. There are moments when you do the sweetest things and make Mommy squeal with delight at how adorable you are...

 There are moments so irreplaceable that I cry at the thought of never having them again, because, lets face it, time is fleeting. There are moments so terrifying that being 2 makes you do the craziest things, like lean over the drop off of the play toys at the park, or see how many steps you can skip on the stairs, or dig through the silverware drawer for a butter knife and then, naturally, run with it...but these things MUST be done, for you are two and if you never got to be two then you would never get to be 3 (which I hear is worse) and 4 (which is a toss up) or 14 (which is a train wreck) and then darn it you would never get to have a two year old of your own, and experience the joy and wonder of life so vibrantly as to feel two again yourself. Thank goodness for 2, and for newborns with their sweet smelling heads, for 6 month olds who smile at the silliest things, and babies learning to crawl and walk. Thank goodness for young children learning in school and playing make-believe in their self made forts. Thank heaven teenagers don't last forever. Thank goodness for young love which leads into mature love, which makes families, and new life. Thank goodness for the opportunity to be parents and experience it all over again. Thank you for this perfect life.

Thanksgiving festivities

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone...can't believe that means another year has done the same. Last year about this time we were in Minnesota, getting ready to come back to Idaho for the holidays and then move to Louisiana. Then have a baby. We had no idea how much could change in a years time. How much Ethan would grow and learn, and the joy our new little Ben would be to our family. We are blessed with so much it is practically impossible for me to find words. So let the faces tell all. We have it ALL and are so grateful to a loving Father in Heaven. Here are some of the festivities...

Since Ethan's name is hard for children to say we get various adorable pronunciations from his friends, but the best is his own version of his name, Ee-hee, so this picture depicts one of his favorite things to do as he coins it ee-hee howp (Ethan helps) If you cannot tell, he was delighted to help roll out cookie dough!

A whole lotta wrestling happens around our place...even the baby gets mixed in!

Love how much my hubby loves his boys, he's the best dad in the world!

Ben in all his chubby glory, even his rolls have rolls, and every one is delightful! No one can get enough of him!

Already such a character! Can't believe he's already 8 1/2 months!

Ethan giving kisses to "Flat Lizzie" Aunt Liz is on her mission so we bring her lifesize photo self to family gatherings...Ethan was a little confused...

Ethan following Ba pa "howping" with yardwork

This was a serious highlight for Ethan...he LOVES things with wheels that go vroom...in fact he calls them vrooms and another phrase we hear on repeat while we are riding in the car is ee-hee dries (Ethan drives) because he wants to go to home depot and ride in the carts with the steering wheels...oh to be two


Ethan also gave us a lesson on Vrooms over the holiday. He loves grandpa's truck, which is a diesel and makes a delightful vroom, Ethan calls it Ba pa's vroom. The orange car which I drive is typically called Mom's vroom (occassionally it gets to be Dad's vroom) and when we pulled out the vacuum at Grandma and Grandpa's house Ethan dubbed it as Grandma's vroom. Sorry Katie, that really seems like you got the bad end of that deal.

Well that's about it for that holiday....now on to another update that will take me a month to do haha!