Take me out to the ballgame

PNC brought Columbus and Pittsburgh HR employees to Cleveland for the past three days. They've had a bunch of day and evening activities and one of them was the Indians game last night. At the last minute, we got a call from Jon saying they had extra tickets and the boys and I were invited. We packed up and took the boys to their first baseball game. Ben LOVED it! It didn't hurt that dad bought the boys a baseball which Ben started asking for before we even got in the gate. He was a little sad that we didn't get to go play (it probably would have been an improvement---we lost...again), but both boys had fun and behaved perfectly.

Ben got a new pair of shoes for his birthday from his uncle Dave. As soon as I mentioned we had to get a picture of them, Ben made us stop in our tracks so we could take a picture of each shoe!

Ben showing off his shoes and his new baseball:

Thanks for the tickets Bethany. We had a blast!

The gang

Ben always looks forward to Thursdays so he can play with his friends:

Ben conquered the rock wall!

He's a lucky kid!

Happy wedding

My old boss, and good friend, Jill got married today. They had a small ceremony with family then invited friends to join them for drinks. Jill was stunning and looked happier than I've ever seen her. I'm so happy for the newlyweds and wish them lots of happiness.
Tonight, Lakewood High School hosted the annual Marching Band Invitational Festival. 8 local high school bands performed a few songs for a larger crowd than I expected. Sam seemed to like watching the show, but it went past his bed time so we didn't stay for the whole thing. We did get to see Strongsvilles show. A Strongsville tradition is the trombone suicide (formerly the tuba/trombone suicide---I guess the tubas couldn't handle it anymore). I'm no expert, but I think its cool to watch. My husband, the band geek, thinks its cheesy. Judge for yourselves:

Little fish

We signed Ben up for swim lessons which started Tuesday night. It took him a couple minutes to warm up to the process, but I think he had a good time. He was not happy about having to wear the bubble though. We've had lots of play time the past few days:
We have a potty training update: Ben has used the potty 2-4 times a day for the past 10days! We still have to ask him if needs to go. He's only told us two or three times that he needed to go. Once he realizes he has to go, he does it with no problem. It wont be long now!

Sam wanted to have his own update too, so this morning he started feeding himself. He is still the most picky eater I've ever seen (he lives on bananas and sweet potatoes). However, he has tried two new foods that he seems to like and was thrilled that he could shove them into his mouth by himself.

Sam was mad that I packed up his yogurt bites!

Lots of picnics

Sunday was the final picnic in the park for Cross Point Church. Not only did we have a huge feast, but we had water balloons! After watching the water balloon toss, Ben just had to have one. It popped after about 30 seconds, but he loved it.

We went to Jons office on Monday for another picnic. While we were waiting for dad to come out of the building, Ben pointed to a plane and then looked at me and said, "That plane is aerobatic." Aunt Corrie got him an airplane book for his birthday. Ben has been paying close attention during story time!

We had some friends over this morning and had a picnic on the deck. Ben loved being able to share his table with someone. I can't wait until Sam is able to keep up with Ben and have picnics with his big brother.

Love a guy who can cook

Jon has started to let Ben help in the kitchen a little bit more and Ben is loving it. He is now a pro at making pancakes and chili.We went to the Science Center on Thursday. Apparently that is the time to go because we were the only people in the majority of the building. We were there for about three hours and ran into maybe 5 other people. Ben loved being able to run around and touch everything with out waiting for other people.
Sam was very sad I got a gutter ball at bowling yesterday:
I did think of 1 more comment from the last post. Ben came up with this one all on his own, I promise.

While drinking juice:
Dad: Ben, drink your juice.
Ben: It goes in mouth to my belly then to my peanut!

Kids say the best stuff....

At the bowling alley:
Me: Oh no. We got a gutter ball.
Ben: Don't worry mama, it will come back.

Most mornings we knock on Bens door:
Ben: Who is it?
Us: Its mommy and daddy.
Ben: This is Ben and frog, would you like to come in to Bens room?
Today, after announcing it was dad, he got:
Ben: Oh, I have to plug in my airplane. (We told him when we put him down for his nap not to unplug his airplane nightlight).

While cooking:
Ben: What is this?
Dad: Its tomato sauce.
Ben: Its Bob the tomato sauce? (Veggie Tales reference for those without kids).

While listening to the radio:
Ben: What song is this?
Me: Its Dancing Queen.
Ben: Dancing Lightening McQueen?

While eating goldfish:
Dad: Ben, can I have a goldfish?
Ben: Daddy, say the whole thing.
Dad: Ben, May I have some goldfish please?

While reading a story:
Dad: Where does a kangaroo live?
Ben: Aspatula.

Parents say some good stuff too:
Ben, get your fork out of your hair!

Ben, lets go home and play with your balls. (He just got a ball play land for his birthday).

Eat your bacon and then you can have some grapes!?!?

Ben, lets make the car toot.

Ben, let Sam play with your toes.

There are so many we just can't think of right now. We need to start writing this stuff down!

Long weekend

We had a great holiday weekend. We headed to Laylas 3rd birthday party Saturday night. The cake was so good that Sam actually ate some (you know that is a major accomplishment for him right now). We had to leave a little early, but it looked like Layla had a great time. Thanks for a fun time DeLong family. We hope you enjoy your presents Layla.We went to a cook out at Dave and Marys on Sunday. Ben spent the evening watching Goofy and Sam was the hit of the party.We headed to Gram and Paps on Monday for a Purdum family picnic. Gram set up a pool for all the kids and Ben was in heaven. We spent the night out there and even though we were in the same house, we barely saw Ben. I don't think he left Grams side the entire time we were there.

Ben and Sams sleep over:

We got Ben a bike helmet. I was surprised that he took to it so quickly. Ben is becoming a pro at bike riding. We just have to work on pedaling, steering, holding on to the handle bars and not sliding off the seat. Other than that, hes great!

Jon is on vacation the rest of the week. We played a new game that Ben got for his birthday today. I think he had beginners luck because he beat us. Mom and dad want a rematch!

I think we're heading to the Science Center tomorrow. We'll post more soon.