Hello Dentist

Well Ben's first appt to the dentist was a wonderful success. He was very excited about it when he woke up this morning and by the time we actually got the appt he was jumping all around with excitement. Finally they called his name and we headed back.

All morning I had been telling Ben, "when the dentist comes in make sure you say hi to the dentist" so when the dentist came in Ben blurted out really loud "Hellooo Dentist". We were all cracking up. At first I sat up in the seat next to him but eventually he just wanted to sit up there on his own. They put the chair up and down and forward and back. They looked at his teeth without a light and with the dentist's special glasses with a light on them (Ben thought those glasses were pretty funny). Ben loved to show everybody his teeth and opened his mouth and said "AWWW" for anybody that would look :) He had me cracking me! This appt was a super success! On the way home I asked Ben if he wanted to go to the dentist again soon and let them brush his teeth (meaning a cleaning) and he shouted "YAY!"

I am so proud of him for being so brave and not being afraid. I am proud of him for brushing his teeth every night. And it was super cute to see him so proud of himself today :) I love this kid!

Dr. Del Brunner and Ben


My big brave boy!

Meet the Dentist

Tomorrow is Ben's first appt with the dentist and he is really excited! We practiced playing dentist today and looking at his teeth with the flashlight and counting his teeth. Tomorrow is a "mock appt" meaning that they just show him all the tools, the chair, and look in his mouth with the little mirror. He is pretty excited about the appt tomorrow- we will keep you updated tomorrow with pictures :)

Crazy Swinging

Ben just loves to go crazy on the swing- cracks me up!

Lots of Fun Popping Up

My cousin Holly got Ben this great little popper for his birthday and he just loves it. It cracks me up how it catches him off guard every time :) Thanks Holly what a great gift idea!!!

Baby Update: Graduation Day

Today I graduated- from the specialist and am being released to the high risk OB. This is a super exciting step for us! I also found out today that I can stop one of the 4 meds I was on (to keep the PG strong). Each of these little steps, such as changing doctors and stopping meds, is really exciting for us because it means that things are going well and progressing as they should be and brings a little bit of peace.

Today I am 9 1/2 week pregnant and getting very excited to be done with the first trimester in hopes that it brings me less sickness and more energy. A girl can hope right? :) The appt today was really fun because not only did I get to hear the heartbeat but the baby was swimming around in there which made me giggle which made the baby move more. It was a great time!

My next appt will be Friday Aug. 6th with the high risk OB (the same one that delivered Ben). This will be a big appt for us because they will do what is called a Nuchal Translucency Screening (it assesses your baby's risk of having Down syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.)

If you click on the picture it will get bigger and you can see the arm and legs buds. Also if you look really close you can see a ring around the baby- that is the amniotic sac.


Video of the baby's heartbeat (turn the volume on)

Snap Snap

Ben has been really wanting to get a crab for the fish tank every since we switched the tank to a tropical fish tank so today I thought it would be fun to take him to the fish store and let him pick one out. So after church we headed to Tats Fish Store.

At first Ben was a little bit overwhelmed by the all fish but soon we were on a hunt and looked in each tank for crabs. He walked by each tank saying "nope", "nope", "nope" until finally he jumped back and said "snap snap mommy" and he was right- he had found the tank with the crabs. After getting a crab and a couple other fish we headed home. Ben just loves watching his "snap snap". It has one really big claw that it moves around and Ben thinks that it is dancing and starts laughing- pretty cute and the entertainment it brings is well worth my $4.00 :)

Ben watching his "snap snap"


Mr Crab

Ben's 2 year Check-Up Updates

Today Ben went in for his 2 year check up and he got two thumbs up on all areas of development. The dr was really pleased with how he is growing and the things he is doing and Ben tested at having the development of a child that is 2 years 9 months old- which is great! Here are the stats:

*he is 29lbs (he has only gained 2 lbs in the past 9 months)
*his head is 19 inches (his head has not gotten any bigger in the past 9 months)
*he is 37 inches tall (he has grown 4 inches in the past 9 months)

So overall he is thinning out and growing taller. After measuring his height today they estimate him to be 6'2" when he is done growing :)

In addition to checking on his development he also got his finger pricked to test his cholesterol (total normal- they are looking to prevent childhood health issues) and if he was anemic; he is not anemic and his cholesterol levels were great! Then at the end of the appt he got his Hep A shot. All morning I had been telling him that he was going to get a shot and that it would be ouch but only for a quick second and we talked about him being brave and getting a lollipop. So after lots of talking the time came and he gave me a nervous look but I told him it would just be real quick and then he could have a lollipop and he was fine with that. So the nurse gave him the shot and his little lip quivered but I said "you're ok, all done. Ready for your lollipop?" and he said yes and then thanked the nurse for his shot- Oh my too cute! What a brave little boy. The nurse said he was probably the only little boy to thank her for a shot. LOL! With that out of the way we got a lollipop and a sticker and headed off to run an errand.

Ben's "owie sticker" (aka: his bandaid)


I was so proud of Ben for being so brave with his shot that I decided to take him for a little treat so we headed to this delicious bakery called Panera Bread. Ben picked out a muffin cookie and I treated myself (um I mean the baby) to a bear claw! :) I loved just sitting outside with Ben enjoying our treats and talking about what a brave boy he was at his appt. I can not believe that he is already 2- I am so proud of him!

Racing with the Big Kids

Here is a fun video that I came across tha I thought would bring a smile to your face. (It was taken when we were camping about 3 weeks ago.) All the big kids were doing races when Ben decided that he needed to join in on his scooter. I am not really sure who won, but I am pretty sure Ben thinks he did :)

Friday In A Nutshell

Library Time:
About every 2 weeks we head off to the library to exchange books. Ben loves the library and for the most part understands that it is a place to be quiet so he tries his best to whisper :) Recently they started the summer reading program where you track how much time you spend reading and then you get prizes when you come back with your sheet filled out. This time, Ben was really excited because he got to pick out 2 prizes. Without hesitation he chose a fish sticker and bubbles. It was like Christmas- he was thrilled. I am glad that he loves to read books :)





Dinner Fun:
That night we met up with Bryan's mom for dinner and had a great time catching up and hearing all about her new place and the changes she is making. Ben had a great time playing cars with this awesome toy my friend Amy made for him for his birthday. Thank you Amy, Ben loves it!

Music Time with Ben

Today Ben and I took his birthday money and went to pick out a new toy. My friend Kelly has a keyboard and Ben just loves to play that thing so I thought this would be the perfect thing to get him and boy was I right. I really needed a laugh today and between Ben and this keyboard I was laughing till my eyes were watering. The keyboard came with a microphone too which Ben just thinks is so cool. In fact when he woke up from his nap today instead of wanting to watch his cartoon he asked to play with his piano- this just might be his favorite toy.

And with all the many terrible, life shaking, and horrible things that have been going on in my dear friends lives lately I thought we could all use a smile and a good little giggle. I hope these videos bring you both :)

Ben loves to hear himself in the microphone


Each time he pushes the button (for a premade song) and the music starts he get this look on his face. It just makes me laugh hysterically!


He loves the premade songs and just runs around dancing to them. This went on for about half an hour! This kid is hilarious!

Where the Wild Things Are

Ben is really into animals and the noises that each one makes. He likes to act like them and he likes to make sounds like them. So what better thing to do today than to head to the SB Zoo. I had been talking to him about it the last couple days, so when I told him we were going after breakfast he could not finish eating fast enough. So we met up with our friends Amy & Ada and Nicole, Elton & Peyton and headed to the zoo. The weather started off kinda yucky but soon the sun came out and warmed us all up. It was a great day and Ben has been talking about the animals and their noises all night. But if you ask him about his favorite part of the zoo, he will tell you it was the train, which he rode for the first time today. He thought that the train was just the neatest thing. He liked the way it moved and the sounds it made and he loved at the beginning when the conductor said "all aboard"! He has been going around the house tonight saying "all aboard" and "choo choo"- love this kid! It was a great day- thank you Nicole and Amy for taking us along :)

Ben checking out all the animals at the zoo with his friends Elton & Ada












Ben and Elton sharing a quick snack


Amy and Ada


Me and my litte guy


Ben getting ready for his first train ride


He just looks so grown up to me in these pics

8 Week Update on Baby #2

So I just thought I would check in real quick about baby #2:

We are about 8.5 weeks along and so far everything is looking great with the baby. It is growing right on track and measuring right where it should be. (About one inch long and the size of a rasberry) My due date is Feb 25th but I will probably be induced a week before that due to the clotting disorder I have. (same as with Ben) We will go for our next US on July 27th and the Dr said we might be able to see the baby swimming around by then- really excited about that. If all goes well at the appt I will be released from my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) and will start seeing my high risk OB. YAY!

As for mom, I am still sick but things have been getting better. I have stopped loosing weight but am not gaining weight, but as long as the baby is growing fine the Dr is not worried. And even though I am not gaining weight my belly is starting to show. I am getting to that stage where I need a shirt that says "I am not fat, I am PG". HAHA. I am also super tired but my amazing parents have been coming over every night (or we have been going to their house) and they have been helping me out beyond what I could imagine. They are so supportive and never complain, even though I know they are tired themselves. Thank you mom and dad for all your love and support to get us through this hard time. I LOVE YOU!!!

The 8.5 week baby bump:

More Birthday Fun

Today Ben got a package in the mail. He has gotten a package before but never really understood it but this time he saw it and smiled and asked me "Ben birthday?". When I told him yes and he could open it he was really excited.

First he got a package from his cousin Joy and her family. It was a great book with a puzzle piece for each page and the book says his name. He has been having a great time with this book :)


Second he got a card filled with stickers from his Aunt Chris. He is really into stickers right now and was finding many places to put these stickers :)


Finally, he also got a card from his Uncle Daniel and Katie! Inside there were 2 gift cards, now I was not really sure he knew what gift cards were but apparently he does because I told him it was money to get a new toy and he made the swiping sound as he pretended to swipe it :) HAHA!


This boy is just too sweet. I love the funny little things he does, like this face:

Vroom Vroom

Ben got this car yesterday at his birthday party so today we decided to give it a whirl! At first Ben was a little afraid of the car getting him but after learning how to work the car he was pretty into it. I love to hear his little giggle when the car flips over.

Party Time!!!

We have been talking all week with Ben about his birthday coming up and how he gets to have a big boy party. We practiced singing and blowing out candles and Ben was very excited! So when the time came today for his party Ben was beyond excited. His friends came and we all ate good food and played in the nice warm weather. Ben had a great time eating his cake but was not to sure about us all singing to him- his face cracked me up!!! Ben is so blessed to have such a great friends and got some great new toys to play with. Thank you for everybody that came and made Ben's birthday such a great day- we love you all!

Birthday Set Up


Ben Celebrating with His Friends








Ben Loves his friend Paralee


Ben Opening His Gifts


Check Out These Cool New Glasses


Ben's new art easel


This is the face he made when we sang to him. He is not really sure what is going on- I love it!


"why is everybody singing?"


Ben's Dino Cake


Gotta Love this Cake Face


Ben's Surprise Face


My little man is growing up




Mommy and my Little Man

Birthday Morning

Ben's birthday started off with a good breakfast to get him through the day. We went to Grandma Donna and Grandpa Dave's house for a special birthday breakfast! He ate like a champ and filled his tummy up. When breakfast was done, we headed to Toys'R'Us to get some new pool toys for his birthday. Once we had our new pool toys we headed home to get ready for swimming. After a few party preparations were done we headed to the pool to get some of our wiggles out and have some fun before nap time. Thank you for cousin Mark and Grandpa Dave for playing in the pool with Ben today- what a special birthday treat :)

Making whale sounds with Papa Dave


This boy is a great splasher




This boy loves swimming


Fun Time with on a Noodle Ride


Ben loves jumping in


E-Ticket Ride with Papa Dave


Ben and Cousin Mark


Getting splashed