In the jungle.....

Ben's been begging to "go zoo". We've been super busy, and the weather hasn't been all that, but we were finally able to go on saturday. Ben adores the zoo! He loves that train and the fact that he's got so much space to move. He's such a runner that we had to get one of those kid "leashes" so we wouldn't loose him. Luckily the monkey is his pal and hangs onto his epi-pen for him. So for those far away, especially Auntie Annie, here's our day at the zoo.

We're Friends

Today Ben and I were sitting on the kitchen floor drinking our cups of water. He looked at me with such sweet earnestness and said "Friends, We're friends mommy." I live for moments like those.

We're cougars (again)!

Last week Tyson was accepted to WSU's School of Molecular Biosciences to pursue a Ph.D. After much thought and prayer we have decided to accept the offer. We are beyond excited! Of course we are also sad that we'll be leaving behind family and friends here in beautiful Portland. But a new adventure awaits!

Meet Green!

We have a new member of our family. If you ask Ben he'll say his name is Green. He's soft, comfy, and smells like febreze. Meet Green....

Of course before being fully accepted as a member of the family Green was subject to some rigorous testing provided by our in house expert.

Test #1: Check out that leg action!

Test #2: Are you Dizzy yet?

Green pasted with flying colors.

I know it seems really silly. But I am super excited to finally have a rocking chair. Especially this one. It reminds me of the chairs at my grandma's house.

Big Boy Bed-ish

Ben has finally decided to take matters into his own hands and climb in and out of his crib. We being somewhat responsible parents, of course responded by taking the side off his crib to give him a "big boy bed". He LOVED being able to get in and out so easily. In fact he was so excited that he would frequently race over to his bed to get in it, forget to put on the breaks and crash right into the side. By the end of the day he had a good half dozen bruises on his shins. Of course he still couldn't get over the fact that it's still so darn fun to climb into the crib.

(He was trying to retrieve a lost toy)

Of course we were interested to see how this first night of freedom would play out. How many times we'd have to put him back in bed, how long it would take for him to fall asleep, and how many toys would he be sleeping with by morning. So this is how it went.....

Pre-bath time and tickled pink with his "new" bed.



All tucked in and pleased as punch.

We said good-night, turned off the lights, closed the door and waited.......and waited......and waited. 8:30....9:00....9:30....not so much as a peep. At 10:30 we decided to check.

Dead to the world.

We did our parental duty and moved him back into bed. He barely noticed. Silence the rest of the night. A little later....

...still in bed and still sound asleep.

In the morning it was same old, same old. Despite the new found freedom he sat on his bed and called us "dadddeee come back!!!" "mommee big hugs" till we came to get him. All together an overwhelming success. What can I say, he's well trained.

Up and at em'!

Happy Birthday Onion!

So it's my little brother's birthday today. He's affectionately known as onion, and not because of his aroma (he actually smells quite lovely for a teenage boy), but because that's what it sounded like when Ben tried to say William. Now he'll be stuck as Uncle Onion. I think it has a nice ring to it. I asked Ben if he wanted to sing happy birthday with me. I was doubtful, but he joined right in. Without further ado EUtopia Productions presents...Sir Benjamin the Small singing his version of happy birthday! (Accompanied by his not so vocally talented mom.)

Like father, like son.

There's not really anything interesting to say about this picture. I just love it so much I had to share. Ben is definitely a daddy's boy.

Just gas...

Ben is obsessed with gas as of late. Whenever he's smelling a bit fishy and we ask him if he needs a diaper change he nonchalantly states "gas, just gas". Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's not. Well the other night at Young Women's (I get to work with the youth or our church), during a particular quiet moment he let out such flatulence you'd have never though it had come our of a pint sized person. It of course sent the girls into hysterics, which only increased when Ben looked at me and informed me, with a knowing look, that it was "just gas". I have included a sample below.