Ben's Birthday Party

Ben had a party with some buddies a few days after his big day. We had the kids out to our house...for a little chaos, lots of laughs and giggles, with a few wrestling/super hero moves thrown in the mix.

We had kind of a Superman theme going on so here was my attempt at any sort of cake decorating. :)

It proved difficult getting very many good pictures in...between everyone running in different directions, doing a little videoing and trying to keep track of everyone, but here's the gang (Ben would be the one not looking)...clockwise from Ben, Nolan (neighbor), Benjamin (preschool bud), Zachary, Owen (preschool bud), Ava (neighbor), Taylor (neighbor - Nolan's sis), and his 'lifelong' bud Brady. :)

The brave girls... Ava & Taylor.

Ben & Nolan - Gotta love black frosting...yes, Ben was having a little too much fun with it.

Benjamin & Zach

Taylor, Brady, Ben & Nolan

Oh boy...I hope I got all the frosting out of Owen's hair before I sent him home.

The gift excitement... every little boys dream... nerf sword, spiderman car that shoots webs, transformers, star war guys...

Zach was in the midst of it all throughout the party...he loved hanging with the big kids!

I'll have to get back to sorting through my videos and get some posted...we had planned on going outside, but it was kind of cold and windy so we ventured downstairs and did a little Wii dancing and bowling...and your general running around like Indians.

Needless to say everyone took a nap after the party. :)

Baby Riley

Beth & Sean welcomed beautiful baby Riley on Feb 6th... she has been a much anticipated little princess and it's so fun finally getting to meet her. The boys finally got passed some colds so we were able to take them over to give little Riley some love too.

Zach loves babies...I guess that means he's not one anymore :( I could barely pry her out of his hands!

All smiles! Even with a dirty little face (both boys are sporting)...apparently we didn't clean up after dinner.

Riley was such a good little sport with these crazy boys. She has lots of years ahead of them terrorizing her. :)

Ben hits the big FIVE

Everything about Ben tells me he's five...he's tall, he's smart, he's inquisitive, he can do most stuff without mom's help...he reminds me everyday how big he is...verbally and through his actions... but it's still hard to believe he's actually five. I guess you just take things in stride...and although a part makes me sad how fast time goes, it's fun and exciting to watch him grow and learn new things. This last year we made the transition from daycare to preschool and he has loved every minute...sure makes these steps in life easier on his mom. :)

The day before I took Ben to the store after school and let him pick out birthday doughnuts for everyone...his criteria was chocolate and jelly, thankfully we found the perfect one.

Zach wasn't quite ready for birthday celebrations...you never know what might set off an almost 2 year old...this morning it was scooting his chair over by Ben.

Miss Danielle made the birthday boy a crown to wear for the day at preschool.

Me and my guy.

We had a little celebration after dinner. Speaking of...I let Ben pick dinner and he told me mac-n-cheese (it was a toss up between this and ravioli...chef boy-r-dee style)...I made a yummy gooey home made baked mac-n-cheese. Ben had a few bites before informing me he never wanted that kind again...he only wanted the yellow kind out of the box. Thank you Kraft.

Gramma is bringing a cake when she comes in a couple weeks so we settled for birthday doughnuts and birthday cookie pops for the day.

New book, new game for the Leapster...

...and puzzles!

The little cheeseball.

Home Bodies

After the hustle & bustle of the holiday season, and football season...we kind of enjoy our low key weekends just hanging out.

Interesting get-ups...the boys were playing with their cowboy hats and when I went in to check on them they had these ties on...or as Ben kept calling them...their 'ascots'... yeah, I had no idea what he was talking about so Nick googled it...sure enough, ascots are a kind of tie. Hmmm...is there a super hero out there sporting an ascot tie these days, cause I have no idea where he picked that up!

We did finally manage to get a little snow so we made sure and get out and take advantage. There's a little hill in our neighborhood so we met up with our neighbors... Nolan & Ben had a great time.

Zach too

We had to make some cookies for Ben to take to school for treats for his birthday...my little helpers, a.k.a. beater lickers.

Swim Lessons

We got Ben in some swim lessons this month Saturday mornings at the Ridge. He likes the idea of swimming, but is still a little skeptical of going in past chin deep. They tie 'noodles' around them like a pretzel which he appreciates!

Breaking out the kick board.

They even got to try out some little flippers...great for splashing.

He likes his teacher, Miss Brittany. We're going to get him a couple private lessons with her to hopefully try and increase his comfort...sometimes the fingers dig in a little deep around the neck when you take him out where he can't touch.

One of the Saturday's Dad & Zach swam too so Zach got his own little private lessons.

Yes he loves the water.

Ben lined up with his class.