Better With Age

I would like to think that I, much like wine, get better with age.  Surely I have at least gotten a little wiser in my old age (though these pictures might not depict that same story)!  Well this past weekend my lovely husband planned a little get together for my 31st birthday because I was busy growing a miracle for my 30th birthday which is the more common birthday to celebrate.  We rented a bus and headed out to the wineries.  It turned out to be a SPECTACULAR day full of great friends, great family, food, wine and most importantly FUN!  I had an absolute blast and hope that everyone else did as well.  In reviewing the pictures I do believe a good time was had by all.  I guess we'll have to celebrate my half birthday as well, October is a great time for the winery I do believe.

I am posting a lot of pictures, but in my defense it was really hard to pick.  I came home with a lovely 685 pictures.  Don't get too excited, once I deleted all of the blurry out of focus ones…I was down to just under 200.  Lots of people thought they could play photographer for the day with my camera, and while I appreciate their efforts it landed me with about 400 pictures of nostrils, trees, blurry heads and butts.  Lots and lots of butts, I'll blame those on Curtis.

So here we are in all our glory, we start out pretty subdued but towards the end it gets pretty interesting!  Gotta love the wineries, and if you don't…you've obviously never been with this crew before!

At this point is where it really gets blurry.  When we got back to our house with the bus we decided the party needed to continue at the local wine bar.  Julia was able to join us at this point so she had some making up to do.  Apparently she did because we definitely found the need to have a dance party in the rain.  I now understand why kids love to splash in puddles, it really is liberating.

Confession

I know I usually put "fun" "nice" things on the blog, but I have to admit that not everyday is a Holiday over here.  In fact Thursday evening was pretty much a nightmare.  I debated writing this on the blog, mainly because I'm sure my sister in law will read this and will totally give me crap, but since I use this for documentation purposes I thought I might need to remind myself in a few years why Bennett is scared to death of stairs.  So Thursday night, while on my watch, Bennett took a tumble.  Not like a regular fell backwards and bumped his head tumble, like a top stair to bottom stair tumble.  I was in the kitchen putting away his dinner and had just set him down.  By the time I got from the sink to the stairs it was too late.  I was unaware that Nolan had come back upstairs and he left the door open. Bennett seized the opportunity and took it upon himself to get to the basement without any assistance.  He screamed, I screamed, he cried, I cried…it was really lovely.  We called the exchange and they told us the stuff to watch for (unfortunately I already knew all of this because when Nolan was about his age he took a tumble off the bleachers!).  So we went through all the motions and fortunately he seems to be thriving.  

I spent my Friday off watching him like a hawk and of course giving him some extra love.  Poor guy.  Not to mention that since Thursday I swear he has knocked his head about 50 times.  Nolan was so cautious as a child, Bennett…not so much.  I'm going to have to put that child in a bubble.

So here are some random pictures from Friday.  I LOVE the one of Bennett and Nolan where Bennett is giving him "the look", like what the heck are you doing in my picture?  He's special that Bennett, as you will certainly see…

On a side note I do really appreciate the fact that I have told multiple people this story now and MULTIPLE times after I finished they responded with…yes, __fill in the blank with child's name__ fell down our steps too.  While I don't love that multiple children have fallen down their stairs, I do love that I'm not alone and maybe I'm not as awful of a Mom as I was feeling I was.

Rockin' the Rain Boots

I don't even know where to start with this post, I think the pictures basically speak for themselves.  

This is Penelope.  She is ADORABLE.  

That is all.  

I will say she went from "pouty" to slap happy in about .2 seconds.  She can really put on a show when she wants to.  Her aunt happened to be there on this particular day so Penelope decided it was her time to shine, and shine she did (even though it was actually raining)!

I love her tu-tu, I love her bow, I love her boots and I love her smile.  I REALLY love the fact that her Mom picked out one bracelet/necklace combo and she picked out about eight…and she won.  A girl can never have too many accessories!  

Can I get an AMEN?

Just So We Are All Clear

Lightsaber (Wikipedia's definition)
A lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 meters (1.45 yards) long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close combat, or to deflect blaster bolts. 


Lightsaber (Nolan's definition)
Anything that can be held in your hand, slightly resembles a sword and can aid in fighting off bad guys.  
Bonus: brightly colored.

Warning:  Do NOT tell Nolan this is a bubble-wand, you will be swiftly and sternly corrected.

Bennett's Baptism

Yes I realize Bennett is 8 months old and we are just getting him baptized.  I have no excuses other than poor planning on my part.  But we did it, FINALLY.  Bennett has now secured a spot in heaven so Jessie you can sleep easier at night!

We had a minor glitch with the photos, the church told us no flash and then proceeded to utilize this awful spotlight that shot down on us like we were being interrogated!  Needless to say the pictures did not turn out well, but I have a few that I salvaged in black and white because quite frankly black and white makes anything look better!  I will tell you that Bennett totally stole the show.  He was smiling at the crowd, grabbing for the water, reaching for the pastor…you know everything a cute little baby does.  Well Nolan, who originally decided he did not want to join us on stage, saw the impact Bennett was having on the crowd and decided he wanted to be a part of the fun too!  So mid-way through the ceremony he came up on stage as well, one big happy family!

Here is Mr. B getting passed around to all of his parents.  His actual parents, his Godparents and his Grandparents.  

What a lucky boy he is!

While I was disappointed that I didn't have that many pictures from the baptism, I have to say I got over it rather quickly.  When we got home Bennett blessed (get it) both me and my Mom with a great picture with him, something that doesn't happen all that often.  

Check them out…not too shabby!

Nolan Strikes Again

The other day I took the boys to the mall, shocker I know.  Well of course any good shopping trip ends with some well deserved time at the playground.  Some might call it a "bribe" I like to think of it as good quality time together as a family.  I was sitting along the edge with the other Moms (you know the type, the stay at home moms wearing the Juicy Couture jumpsuits), while I sat there un-showered with barf all over me.  Nonetheless I had made a few friends during my time at the park and then Nolan came back and was ready to leave.  As we were leaving he looked at the lady sitting next to me and said (not in an inside voice)…"Is that a Karate Mom?" Of course I just rushed him along and didn't answer the question and didn't really understand the question but knew it was probably embarrassing.  As I turned the corner I glanced back at the "Karate Mom" and noticed she was wearing a long white jacket that had a thick black belt around the waist.  And yes it looked like a karate outfit.  At least Nolan thought she was talented enough to be a black belt, I mean really it was a compliment.

Victim Number 2: Well, like I said we turned the corner quickly and in the next breath Nolan said (again not in an inside voice)…"Why does that girl have red hair like that?"  Lovely.  As the chick turned around to see what smart a** child was commenting about her hair I tried the whole "well everyone has different colored hair, we are all different" spiel.  But in all reality I was wondering why this chick had that color hair as well, as it was literally the color of a firetruck.  

Moral of these stories…if you see us at the mall RUN.  Nolan will find something wrong with the situation and he will point it out.  No one is safe.

On a totally unrelated note, I have no idea why Nolan can't hit a baseball…do you?  This is actually not true at all, he's getting pretty good at hitting the ball.  Something tells me it might all be luck though!

Cry Baby

The other night it happened that we had three babies at our house all within like 8 weeks of each other.  So I decided it would be a good idea to take their picture together…HA.  Jokes on me.

Here is the "best" picture I got…

Now If I was a nice mother I would just leave it at that.  But I'm just not a nice person.  Check out how Bennett really felt about the situation, he screamed so much he eventually made Thomas scream as well.  Violet on the other hand just sat there, smiled and clapped.  I love the grin on Violet's face.  I feel like it's a little devilish grin, kind of like she's saying "ha ha I pinched him and made him cry".  In all reality though I just think Bennett was being a cry baby on this particular night and I think the black and white picture really enhances that emotion!

Speaking of Violet just sitting there and clapping, I mean how precious is she?  And those eyes!  Hands down the bluest eyes I have ever seen on a child.  Her parents are in for it!

And don't worry Julia, you look like a natural…

Easter Finale

After how long it has taken me to get these pictures up you would think they were totally FABULOUS.  When in fact they are nothing special, however the kids that make up these pictures are pretty fabulous.  They are all of Nolan and Bennett's cousins and each of them have a special little place in my heart, and each one for a different reason.  When I was growing up all of my cousins lived in other states, and I always wished they were closer.  I'm so excited that my boys have cousins close by to grow up with…now if we could only get their future cousin Cy to move back as well ;)

This set of pictures almost deserved it's own post, but I thought that would be totally pushing it with the Easter posts.  But it was HILARIOUS.  I was standing on the deck and glanced down to see Favorite Uncle Eric unwinding some fishing line and giggling.  Upon further observation I saw that he had attached said fishing line to one of the eggs out in the grass.  He then proceeded to sit along the edge of the grass waiting for his victim to come.  Reid was the poor lad to fall for this awful trick.  He bent down to get the egg and Eric yanked it away from him, but Reid did not give up he jumped halfway across the yard to try and get that egg.  Enter Nolan.  He definitely watched Reid struggle with getting the egg but that did not stop him.  He too went in to try and recover the egg, no such luck.  

Mean…maybe.  Funny…absolutely.

Good Morning Bennett

I was talking to one of my friends the other day about how fun it is to see Bennett in the morning.  He is instant smiles and gets so excited he bangs his head on the mattress.  I attempted to capture the moment yesterday, and though he doesn't do major head banging in this video he does do a little (never quite performs the way I want him to when I get out the video camera!).  He's so sweet and so is that big brother of his…even if he does greet him with a morning punch!

Then of course Nolan wanted to take a picture with Bennett.  He always does this when they are both in Pajamas with major bed-head (Bennett's bed-head really never goes away though) and I have my junky camera, but I'm not complaining.  Oh wait maybe I am.  But of course they are both looking at me and smiling and of course they did this on the first shot.  Why can't they do this when I have them dressed cute and in a location other than Bennett's bedroom.  Why? Why?  Because they are my children and they are difficult that's why.  Little do they know…i'm persistent and will not stop trying.  They should really just give in.  

Dear Julia

Dear Julia,

My mom says you think you are really funny and like to use a new phrase these days, sometimes when it's not even appropriate for the situation. Well, I too think mustaches are pretty funny. So, "I Mustache You A Question"…are you totally jealous of my shirt?

Sincerely,
The Kid that Rocks Awesome Shirts His Mom Buys…aka Nolan

And if you all were wondering if we were getting odd looks at the park holding our mustache faces…yes, yes we were. But I thought it was totally worth it, and Nolan was getting a kick out of it too. Win/Win. I'll get back to the One Millionth Easter Post tomorrow, I thought this was WAY more important.

Easter Never Ends Around Here

No, I'm serious it seems as though Easter will never end on this blog because I can't lie to you…this is not the last Easter post either.  I split up our Easter day festivities into two separate posts because in my mind that makes it okay to post more pictures without "overloading" the post. Genius really.

So for this post we will focus on Easter morning.  Easter morning was pretty simple at our house.  We woke up, went to early church, came home and enjoyed the blessings from the Easter Bunny and then had a little brunch with my parents.  I will confess now that this post is heavy on the Bennett side, but I'm going to defend it because a.  It was his first Easter and b. I don't think he makes the next Easter post at all.  I just thought I would explain myself now so I don't get accused of favoritism!

Check out the baskets the Easter Bunny brought for the boys.  Nolan's was full of choking hazards (aka "Squinkies" and other tiny "guys") and Bennett's basket was equipped with cars, books, balls and of course puffs!  I'm pretty sure at least one of the boys was pretty excited about his loot.  Check out this reaction...

Next we headed outside for the big Easter Egg hunt.  Nolan was gracious enough to share ONE egg with Bennett.  But luckily Bennett thought that one egg was pretty spectacular.

Next I wanted to stress myself out and try and get a picture of the boys together.  Nothing earth-shattering here, of course they aren't looking at the camera…but I do see two smiles.

Here are our dinner guests/entertainment…Grandma and Grandpa.

And then I tortured Bennett a little more for a few pictures because lets face it...I'm mean.

After all the morning fun both boys needed a good old nap and that's just what they got.  Then we were off to Chad's side of the family where the real craziness is!  And that, I promise, will be the last Easter post.

Let the Easter Fun Continue...

Last Friday I got together with a bunch of girls I work with and all of their offspring.  CRAZINESS does not even begin to describe these children together.  Poor Lynn, she had no clue what was going to happen to her house once our children invaded.  And let me tell you...there was no toy left untouched!

We decided to start a new tradition of Easter Fun with the kiddos.  And as a self-proclaimed Easter Fanatic, I was totally on board with this recommendation.  So we planned a day of egg hunting, treasure finding, egg dying, sugar cookie decorating, junk food eating...FUN FUN FUN.  Tell me you all don't wish you were our friends right now?  We are pretty awesome and I don't mind saying so myself.  I mean check out the kid's snack for goodness sakes...prepared in plastic eggs and egg cartons.  Beat that...I dare you (but if you do, invite me).  

I must confess that Mr. Bennett slept through the majority of this little party.  I am fairly certain next year he will make up for lost time.  However, I did want to point out one thing below.  The wee little tooth that you can barely see poking out in the picture below.  About two weeks ago I heard Nolan screaming from Bennett's bedroom "We've got a toofer, we've got a toofer".  I said "Did you see it?"  Nolan said "nope…I felt it".  I was going to question why his finger was in Bennett's mouth to begin with but I just let it go and promptly stuck my finger in his mouth as well.  Sure enough a toofer…thank you Nolan for bringing it to our attention.