Feed him more...seriously?

Both kids had a doctors appointment this morning. It was pretty routine for Ben, but we got a small shock on Sam. Here are the stats:

Ben: height: 38.5" (80%) weight: 30.5lbs (51%). We are going to take him to get his eyes checked out. Since he is wearing his sunglasses every chance he gets, I think he has developed a small sensitivity to bright light. While no one thinks its anything serious, we're going with the better be safe than sorry philosophy. I think we'll want to start weaning them once summer starts winding down. Its also time for him to see a dentist. Its actually now recommended that kids see a dentist with in the first 6 months of the first tooth so Sam will be heading in soon too.

Sam: height: 27 3/4" (48%) weight 18.11lbs (25%). If you are keeping track, at his 6 month check up he weighed 18lbs and was in the 75th percentile. While his big drop isn't terrible, it definitely needs to be addressed. The boy with the biggest thighs I've ever seen on a baby, needs to start eating more. He just started eating baby food once a day. That needs to get bumped up to 3 times a day and ice cream is now on the menu per the doctor. Just once I would like a doctor to tell me I had to eat ice cream!

We were expecting both of them to get shots, but got a great surprise--neither one of them were due at this visit. It turned out to be a great morning.

Game time

With all the rain we had last week, Jon and I decided that was a great time to have our first game night. We got Hungry, Hungry Hippos and some pizza and had a blast. Ben showed his competitive side by cheating (must have got that from dad) and really enjoyed the wins. We all had a lot of fun and I'm sure Ben is looking forward to the next game night.Since the last post, Sam has discovered baby food isn't that bad. A day after getting his tooth, he ate some peas with out any problems and has been non stop since. He still wont eat real food, but its a start.
We headed back to Jons office for some lunch and airplane time on Friday. Ben took a few minutes to play catch with the tree in between plane sightings!
Saturday was Ellas first birthday. We had a small get together at the Brewer house. Her allergies kept her from enjoying her cake, but I'm sure she got plenty of other treats. Ben had a blast on Orens roller coaster. I guess its time to head to Kiddie Park.

Our new friend Luke headed back to Arkansas today. We went to a going away party for him yesterday afternoon. Its always a good feeling to see the kids sitting still and eating.Finally, we want to say congrats to the Delong family on the birth of baby Aelyn yesterday. We can't wait to meet her.

No more gummy smile

Sam is now a member of the big boys club. His first tooth popped through yesterday. The bottom two have been on the verge of popping up for a little while now. The left one is taking its time, but the right is up and on display.If you look really closely, you can see the tooth past the glare.

Sunday night we had dinner with some friends and met the biggest basset hound I've ever seen. His name is Buster. He is extremely friendly, and he really likes to eat.

Last night we went up to Sullivans to visit our mugs with gram, pap, Aaron, Prasti and kids. Emma was very cute with Sam. Every time she came over to see him, she giggled and said, "I think he likes me."

Another busy weekend

We've been busy as usual. Here is how we spent this weekend:

We got our porch swing last week. Jon got the hooks in (with a lot of help from Reid--thanks) and stained it. It looks great and has already got a lot of use.We started Saturday morning with a little bit of play time. Ben was all about sharing yesterday.

Jon and I went to The Melt a long time ago and weren't really impressed. The entire menu is basically grilled cheese with different extras. It turned out that we were the only people in Lakewood that weren't completely in love with this restaurant. Jon got a gift card to go back for his birthday so we decided to give it another try (we've actually tried to go several times but refuse to wait 1+hours for anything when we have 2 kids with us). Well, they have redeemed themselves. We went when they opened, so we didn't have to wait for a table. The food was really good and there was a lot of it. They don't have a big kitchen so it takes a while to get your food and it takes even longer to eat all they give you. We now understand why the wait is always so long! I don't know that it will be top on my list the next time we are trying to decide where to go, but I think we'll be back.After lunch we headed to Tates 4th birthday party. The cake was excellent and we had a lot of pinata action.
After the party, we headed to the first annual street walk. Part of Detroit Rd was closed for a bunch of activities like a rock wall, break dancing, zumba, belly dancing, bands, skate boarding etc. We had a lot of fun checking things out with everyone, but the best part was definitely Ben and Emma dancing. They danced the entire time. Unfortunately, my battery died just as they started "pole dancing." I think Prasti got a video of that so I'll let you know if she posts it. Heres a small clip of Bens moves.

The worm, part 2. Sam is still doing his own thing. He looks funny, but he is getting all over the house.

That brings us up to now. As I type, Jon and our new best friend, Luke are outside digging post holes for the deck we are going to build in the back yard. Did I forget to mention that Home Depot delivered the wood at 6:30am yesterday morning? I'm sure we are truly hated by our neighbors now.

The new "Brat Pack"

Dawn and family were nice enough to share their pretzels with the entire play group this morning. This is the only time you will see all of them sitting still at the same time.

Those Calaway kids are too cute!

Aunt Prasti on swing duty.

Apparently we talked for too long at lunch.

Outside with Ben yesterday:
Me: Can you draw me an airplane?
Ben: I can draw an airplane.....long pause...no I can't draw an airplane.
Me: Can you draw a house?
Ben: I can draw a house.....long pause...no I can't draw a house.
Me: What can you draw?
Ben: I can draw a rattlesnake!
He definitely did not get any of the Purdum artist genes. Sorry kiddo!

Remember when

For the most part it doesn't seem like there was ever a time when we didn't have kids. I vaguely remember I had to get up early every day and work, but that seems like so long ago. However, one thing I do remember pretty clearly are weekends. There was a time when Jon and I would sleep in until 9am. We would make the long journey from the bed to the couch and think of what we wanted to do that day. Cartoons with breakfast. Maybe a movie, putt putt or even bowling. If we wanted, we could just sit on the couch all day long, which we sometimes did. All of the sudden the weekends are gone. Sleeping in has been replaced by a 6:30 feeding and a toddler wanting to watch Special Agent Oso with his pop tart and milk. Relaxing on the couch lasts as long as Bens attention span which is usually about 10minutes. Impromptu trips to anywhere have been replaced with day trips revolving around Ben, kids birthday parties, home improvement projects, errands etc etc etc. I spend most Sunday nights wondering where the weekend went and trying to figure out when Jon and I will have time to sit down together to just relax. I wouldn't trade my kids for anything, but one day it would be nice to have a weekend again.

Play ground

We found a new play ground for our play group this month. I'm excited about this park. Its shaded, not too big or too small, secluded and apparently perfect for Ben. He had a great time hanging on the bars, going down the slides and climbing a fake rock.
Sam has been feisty the past few days. His bottom two teeth are going to pop through any day now. On top of that crankiness, I think he is starting to experience separation anxiety. I guess I should be grateful that he wants his mom even if he is a bit cranky.

Sam pretending he didn't just pull Baileys hair.

If I only had 2 more hands

This morning Ben and I were sitting on the couch. Ben was eating his breakfast and I was feeding Sam. After Sam was done, I picked him up and his belly was hanging out. I started kissing it and Sam started giggling. Of course, this got Bens attention. Ben reached over and said, "let me see that belly" and started tickling Sam. Sam laughed even harder which made Ben laugh which made me laugh. It was such a sweet moment. I wish I had more hands so I could have got it on video.

PS
Thank you to my hubby (my king) for the crown. It was another sweet moment. I love you!

Busy day

Ben has been asking to go back to the Zoo for about a week now. I finally gave in and we headed there yesterday. Unfortunately, the northern trek was closed because of the construction so we missed a lot of Bens favorites. Ben was really only interested in seeing giraffes and zebras yesterday (he gets fascinated with a different animal each time we go). We saw plenty of giraffes, but the zebras must have been on a coffee break all morning. We didn't see any of them. That seemed to be the theme with a lot of the animals. Or, if they were out, they were sleeping. We went through pretty quickly which left us plenty of time to meet Jon at his office for a picnic and more airplanes. That is always a summertime favorite.

The worm???

Sam is definitely a kid with a lot of determination and his own way of doing things. Instead of crawling (or doing the army crawl) like a normal kid, Sam is doing this scooting thing that I can't really find a good name for. He will move forward on the floor with one arm and his toes. Its effective, but it looks like he's using a lot of effort unnecessarily. You just have to see it to get it. Unfortunately, he stops and smiles every time he sees the camera. He doesn't get the whole video concept yet so this is the best I've got so far!

"Look, Look fireworks"

We headed over to the Calaways last night for a cook out and some fireworks. Someone was listening to our complaints of the fireworks being too low last year. We had an almost perfect view last night. Ben kept telling daddy to look up in the sky for them and he was extra excited to see some of the fireworks shaped like a heart. Sam wasn't as vocal as Ben, but he couldn't take his eyes off the sky. I was amazed at how well they both did for being up so far past bed time. Actually, Ben is usually awake until late at night singing in his bed, but Sam will only tolerate being up late for so long.

Ben, Gabby and Tate
Sam waiting for his sparkler.
Todd and Kasen
Ben and dad watching intently.
My boys.
The faithful (the half that didn't head to the park to watch the fireworks).

Silly boys

Jon is out on a man date tonight so the boys and I are on our own. While I was helping Ben build steps with his blocks, Sam took a few minutes to entertain himself:
While I was taking pictures of Sam, Ben showed off his spelling skills: