Never said he was a genius

Ben and dad started off with a fun game of catch. It quickly turned to this.....

Earlier today we had a pajama play date. We were slow to get moving this morning so we headed out in our pj's to see Oren, Ella and Lindsey who were also in pj's. I'm not sure when Lindsey became a Purdum, but Ben called her aunt Lindsey all morning. It was very sweet.

Morning walk

This morning, the kids and I headed out for a long walk. We ended up at the library where we ran into aunt Prasti and Emma. Ben managed to wiggle into Emmas story time.
Sam always enjoys checking out the scenery, but he always goes back to his toes!
After the library, we headed to momo's (my moms) office. There was a book fair going on and Ben ended up with several books and a light up ball. Thanks momo.

Silly boys

Today was our weekly play group at McDonalds. After spending March there, Ben still has not found the courage to go in the tunnels in the play area. We're off to a new location for April. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to get him in there.

Ben practicing his fish face:Sams play time:

Family visit

Last Sunday, Gram conned Prasti and I into letting her take Ben and Emma to mamaw's (great grandma) house. She picked them up Sunday night and they didn't come home until Tuesday afternoon. It was the longest 2 days ever, but knowing they were having a great time made it easier. Gram has finally updated her blog (thanks gram!) so check it out for a more detailed look at their adventure.

Painting time

Ben has been wanting to do some painting for a while so we finally got everything out and painted some pictures for dad and some family. All I can say is thank goodness for washable paint! Play group last Thursday: Out to dinner with friends last Friday:

Happy anniversary baby

Today Jon and I have been married for 5 wonderful years. It seems like just a couple months ago that we were in Chicago celebrating our engagement. Looking around, its clear that it was more than a couple months ago. A house, 2 beautiful children, a major job change, a new faith.....it's definitely been a great 5 years. We've had some tense times, but the good greatly outweighs the bad. Each day I'm reminded of why I fell in love with Jon. The #1 reason...he makes me laugh. Unfortunately, its not because he can tell a good joke (sorry baby, I had to). Each day when I see him with the kids, I fall in love a little bit more. Its been an amazing ride and I can't wait to see where we go next!
Jon and I will keep with tradition tonight and watch our wedding video and try to recreate our first dance. Pray that we don't get any major injuries!

It never fails

We have a home full of toys, a castle to color, airplane and Mickey movies, things to do outside yet the toy to have this weekend....a box!
We spent Saturday celebrating Orens 2nd birthday. Oren got a lot of fun stuff and we had a great time. Happy birthday big guy.

Story time

We signed Ben up for some story time at the library. This was week #1 and I think Ben had fun with them. Tuesday is Shake, Rattle and Roll at the Madison branch. Mr T. leads the kids in songs, stories, dancing and even a little parachuting. It is definitely a great way for the kids to get out some energy. Ben was a little hesitant with some of it, but he loved playing with the parachute. Wednesday is Pajama Party at the main branch. The kids come in pj's and participate in a bit more subdued story time with Mrs. G.
After story time, some of the gals got together to celebrate Debbie's b-day which was Monday. We met up at Alladins for some treats. Melissa and I shared a piece of cake. I'm not sure of the name of it, but it was chocolate goodness on top of more chocolate. I highly recommend!We had play group yesterday at the McDonalds play area. We had some new faces, and of course, tons of fun. I took Sam with me to girls night while Ben and dad had a man night last night. They started at the grocery store where Ben held the basket for dad the entire time. I wish I had a picture of that one. Sam practiced his rolling over and even said mama while babbling to the ladies. I know it wasn't on purpose, but its so nice to hear.

Total regression

Ok moms, I need help. Ben was so excited about the potty and loved the dancing that followed each success. However, all of the sudden the phrase of the day is, "no poo poo in the potty!" He'll still tell me when he has to go (although more often its while he is in the process of going in his diaper) but he refuses to get on the potty. So what happened? Why the sudden aversion to the potty? I'll take any advice.

On a completely different topic, thanks to Dave and Mary for hanging out with us last night. We had a great time.

Game night

Every few months our church splits itself up between a few houses and has a game night. Last night was another game night and we had a blast! It always seems that the men and women separate and it was the same last night. The men played a boring game of rummy while the women played Catch Phrase and a Wheres Waldo type game that I can't remember the name of. We had 9 kids, so they had a mini game night for them selves. They did really well until about 9pm. Thats when all the melt downs started and people started heading home.

Sam with future girlfriend, Ella.

Camden showing off his smile.

Rock star Ben.

Thanks Alan, Lindsey and family for hosting. We had a great time.

Warm weather tradition

I had to document today, no one will believe it was actually 68degrees in Cleveland in the beginning of March! Since it is so warm, the kids and I packed a picnic and went up to Jons office to watch the airplanes. That has become one of Bens favorite things to do and we try to do it as much as we can weather permitting. It was warm and perfect when we left. However, it is actually cold and windy at the airport. None of that mattered to Ben. He had a great time finding the planes. They actually came about every 30 seconds for a good 5-10 minutes. It was a great day to get out there.
Notice the new shades. Unfortunately, his old ones broke. These aren't as loose as his old ones so he's still warming up to them. I have a feeling these will become a semi permanent fixture on his face in the next week or two!

Walk in the park

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather tonight by going for a walk in the metro parks. We had a great time, especially Ben who made sure to point out everything, especially the "bicycycles."

Ben and I tried out a "craft" yesterday. I found this on a craft web site for toddlers, but no creativity is really involved so I don't view this as a real craft. Regardless of what it was, Ben and I had a lot of fun together.
Our Frootloop sand is going to have to be a work in progress. I'm still looking for a real bottle to put it in and we're going to need a few a few more sessions to fill it up. I'm sure we'll continue to have just as much fun!

Quiet time

Gram and Pap came up yesterday to take Ben and Emma to The Rainforest. Even though the favorite part of the day seemed to be watching a monkey pee, it sounds like they had a great time.Sam and I spent some quiet time at home. We thought about going out for a while, but I decided to stay in and catch up on some of the things that usually get pushed aside. We got some quality cuddling in while I did some reading, made some phone calls and things like that. I missed Ben, but I have to admit it was nice to have a quiet house. Even when Ben is taking a nap, I'm usually feeding or playing with Sam, doing house stuff etc. and have to hope that he falls asleep at the same time in order for me to get just me time.

As always, it wouldn't be a car ride with out Bob the tomato. They took Bens cd with them and Ben and Emma did a beautiful rendition of "This is the Day."

Ben surprised us last night by reading us one of his favorite bed time books. He was doing a great job until he lost the rattlesnake:

Ben just heard an airplane:

Sam being his cute self.

It sounds like everyone had a great day. Thanks Gram and Pap.