Grilling with Papa Dave

Tonight we went to my parent's house for dinner. Ben and Papa were outside grilling on the BBQ and I caught this cute pic of Nathan checking out what the big boys were doing. He just can't wait to be old enough to go out there and help too!

Brotherly Love

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon so after church we ate some lunch and played outside until nap time. And what better to do while playing outside on a nice sunny day than to have a mini-photo shoot with my 2 favorite boys! 

Ben is currently 3yrs 9 1/2 months. I can't believe he will be 4 in 11 weeks!!! He is really growing up fast, full of life, personality and has a real love of all animals, people, and Jesus. He is learning verses, how to pray, all about the weather and calendar and at school he recently learned about space. He is currently learning at school, all about modes of transportation- his favorite so far is a bullet train. Ben loves crafts and can do just about any puzzle that is put in front of him. In fact his teacher recently told me she had to go get puzzles from the bigger classrooms for him because he had done all hers :) Ben also loves to ride his bike, play in the dirt and loves to play with his brother. While making good choices the first time is something we are working on with Ben, he really is a great, sweet boy and I just love him more and more every day! If I had to pick one thing right now that is my favorite about this stage in Ben's life, it would for sure be all the funny things he says. My current favorites are:

***Me:" Ben, why did you make that bad choice?"

Ben: "I have no clue!"

***Ben: "mom, here's the deal...."

***The other day Ben and I were playing phones (where we call each other and have a conversation) and he turned to me and said "mom, stop calling me. I'm texting you"

***The other day I told Ben he was not the boss and that he needed to obey. So he stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes and said "Dear Jesus please make me the boss so I can tell mommy I don't need to clean up. Love, Ben"

Nathan (aka: Maffin") is 14mo old and in a totally awesome phase. He still listens when you tell him no and is constantly doing funny things like copying faces I make. To say he loves to play catch, is an understatement. Whenever we play catch he just giggles and cracks up and never wants to stop playing. He loves any kind of water: bath, pools, puddles, water tables, the potty (if we're not careful, haha) and he loves to eat! He is pretty much walking as his major mode of transportation but still reverts to crawling if he wants to get somewhere super quick! He is a MAJOR talker with about 35+ words. Nathan is also a MAJOR snuggler. He loves to grab a book, crawl up in your lap and have you read to him (forever). I love the snuggles and I love this little stage he's in.

I just love these 2 boys and I am so blessed and thankful that the Lord chose me to be their mommy! I prayed for these boys and wanted them more than they will ever know. They are my answer to prayer and proof that the Lord makes everything perfect in His timing! 

Sound the Alarm!!!

Like many kids his age, Ben really likes firetrucks! He likes to watch them drive down the street, he asks questions about them, he likes to read books about them, you get the point. So what better to do than to tour a fire station. So this morning we met up with Ashley and her mommy and headed for our fire station tour. We got to see the trucks, see all their tools, ladders, hoses, and where the firemen sit. We also got to see where they work out, eat dinner, watch TV, sleep and even go potty (as requested by Ben) haha! It was great to see their little minds at work processing this new experience. Ben has been talking about it pretty much non-stop and thought it was "awesomely cool". When I asked him what his favorite part was he said "watching the fireman slide down the pole"- which I have to agree was pretty neat (those poles are high). This was a great experience and we can't wait to go again!

My favorite Ben-isms while we were at the fire station:

• Ben asked the fire man "where do you go potty at?"
• When Ben was looking in the sleeping quarters of the fire station he stopped and asked the fireman "where are all your toys at?"

Backyard Fun With My Boys

Sometimes you just need to not answer your phone, tell Facebook to wait, tell work to wait, and enjoy a sunny day with your boys. After all, work is always there but my boys will never be that age again.

a tonka truck for his tonka shirt

every boy needs tonka trucks!

Nathan loves to catch a ride with Ben

Happy driver

Nathan loves the water table

I just love these little baby feet!!!

Park Day

My boys love the park and now that Nathan is walking he was having a great time exploring all sorts of new things!

Ben is afraid of heights so doing by himself was a really awesome!

Nathan's first time walking at the park!

Before

After

14 Month Comparison

Thought it would be fun to compare how the boys looked at 14 months! While they look pretty different there is no denying that they are brothers :)
My favorite feature that they both have is their gorgeous blue eye color!!!

Nathan: 14 months

Ben: 14 months

Interesting fact: Ben (fluently walked) just 2 days before Nathan did!

Nathan James: 14 Months

Nathan is growing more and more each day and constantly surprising us with the new things he is learning to do.

Nathan is typically a quiet and laid back kid, not really ever making much of a fuss. But when he has something to say- everybody will know it. As I have posted before, he is quite the talker with currently about 31 words all being said in the sweetest voice. And while talking is not a new skill for Nathan, walking is. For about the past month he has not been much of a walker, typically only walks if he sees something he really likes such as food or keys. But this past week, Nathan has finally decided that he ready to do the majority of his transporting via walking. He looks a lot like a drunken sailor but it is totally cute and funny to watch.

And if you don't see Nathan walking about and you don't hear him talking, he is probably sleeping. He is a wonderful sleeper! He sleeps about 12-14 hours at night, 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon; that's 16-18 hours a day- crazy!

He is also a great eater eating just about anything except for Jello. And while he is eating, he loves to say "more" as he shovels handfuls of food into his mouth. This kid can't get enough but luckily most of his favorite foods are healthy such as oranges, yogurt, cheese, applesauce, and bananas.

One of my favorite things that Nathan does right now though is his willingness to take pictures. Anytime I pull the camera out, he stops what he is doing, smiles at me and says "cheese"... MELTS MY HEART!!!!!

I love you Nathan James! You are the best surprise I have ever gotten!!!!!

Walking around

This face cracks me up-
he wrinkles his nose and then sniffs in and out of his nose! 

Gearing Up for Summer

If there is one thing that my boys both love and can't get enough of . . . it's water! So Uncle Kevin was awesome enough to make them a water table all of their very own. And needless to say, within minutes, the boys were soaked and giggling up a storm and it also goes without saying that they were very upset when dinner time rolled around and they had to come in. This toy is going to be the hit around our house and I think it is so cool that whenever they play with it, they will be reminded just how much their Uncle Kevin loves them!

Thank Uncle Kevin- you are awesome!

water in, water out

Nathan loves to splash!!!!

The expression on Ben's face is priceless!

Playing around with Uncle Kevin

First head dunking by Uncle Kevin

Hanging Out With Nathan

 I love spending time with my little guy- he always makes me smile and laugh!

More Ben Swim

More swimming lesson pics! This week Papa and Grandma Donna came and surprised Ben which he thought was really cool! He loves the pool and we can't wait to spend time in Papa and Grandma Donna's pool this summer!

What a goof!!!

My little fishy swimming through the hula hoop