Can't get enough...

of this baby...or this camera!

A whole hand

Yesterday my sweet boy, Bennett, turned 5! We had one of those days that will go down as perfection in my books. I'm going to remember it for a long time. Jon was out of town and I'm sad that he missed it. (He'll be here for his actual party. Not to worry.) We started out his birthday week on Sunday with a trip to the cereal aisle at Target. I started a yearly tradition last year with him where they get to choose whatever box of cereal they want to eat that week. My mom asked if I was living out my childhood dreams through my children. Yes. Yes, I am. So he ate his Trix for breakfast and then around 11 when we were all loaded up and off for the day, we drove through Krispy Kreme for a birthday donut. They chose chocolate with sprinkles. I chose original glazed (two, if we're being perfectly honest here). Then we drove to a park that we hadn't been to this year yet (Greenbelt).

"Mom, can we go down there?" Thinking....thinking....thinking. What's the worst that could happen? "Sure!"

So down we went, under the bridge. Channing sat peacefully in his stroller above our heads where I could hear him. It made me chuckle though, every time I heard a bike ride over. They had to have been wondering who abandoned this baby, but no one stopped! I love letting my boys play in creeks. They're in hog heaven. I just wish we had some pretty ones around here with actual rocks and boulders rather than broken up concrete. Ha!

After the park, we grabbed some lunch and drove over to Judie's. The two little boys napped there and I surprised Bennett by taking him to a water park in Ankeny. He was so excited. We hadn't been to this new one yet. We pulled up and they only took checks & cash (seriously? I didn't know any place like that existed anymore). So back we went to Judie's. My always positive, rarely complaining son pipes up from the back, "Well the good news is, it's a short drive back!"

I asked a lifeguard if Bennett could ride the big slides. She said yes, in a double tube together. So we waited in line at the top during the 10 minute swim break. We finally get to the front of the line and she measures him and says, "Sorry buddy. Not tall enough this year". Seriously?? Dang, I was so frustrated. We paid $7 each to get in and he couldn't even ride the slides. But I tell ya, that boy didn't complain at all. We still had a lot of fun and it was so wonderful to run around and swim with him, just the two of us. He said at least three times, "That was so fun, Mom!"

We went back to Judie's to pick up the rest of the gang and headed out for Bennett's birthday dinner at McDonald's (I refrained from veto-ing that choice on his birthday). He opened a couple presents from us and they had fun at the playplace. Then we went out for ice cream. The boys did great and it was a stress-free evening (aside from the part where we were leaving and couldn't find his new Leapster game. Yeah, the ones that are about 1 inch x 1.5 inches big. Bennett said he gave it to Dawson to look at. Dawson said he put it in the trash. I actually dug through the little trash can in the bathroom stall where Judie had changed him for that $20 game. Judie ended up finding it in the play area. Phew. Disaster averted.)

I kept asking Bennett how it felt to be five and the whole day he insisted, "I'm not five yet. I haven't eaten my birthday cake!" So in his mind, he won't be five until his party on Saturday, when he blows out the candles. If only it worked that way...I just wouldn't ever make him a birthday cake so he could stay my baby forever!

I couldn't help but think about this ice cream outing we had on his first birthday.

Bennett, I am so proud to be your mama. I've heard on multiple occasions from friends and teachers that you're a delight and such a sweet boy, even when I'm not around, and that makes me want to burst with pride. I know not everyone can see it, but I have the great honor of being with you day in and day out and I see your great sensitivity towards others. You so rarely get mad about anything. If something upsets you, you get sad about it. You just exude love for your brothers. You're constantly hugging and kissing both of them. And you're so encouraging. I love hearing you say, "Good job, Daws!" And I'll try not to brag on here about how smart you are but I get so much joy out of watching that brain of yours in action. Your reading has exploded over the last month or so and you can read all the easy reader books we bring home...and with fluidity and inflection! You've learned that I love to hear you so much so you take advantage of that and stay up later by reading to me :) You're no stranger to punishment though! You've always been a sneaky little thing and try to get away with all kinds of stuff like drawing on things, sneaking food and sneaking out of the house with your brother! You are one brave boy and I'm proud of the way you try new things and don't hold back! You're also quiet and introspective. My hope for your life is that it's filled with lots of adventure and fun. I also hope you learn to express your feelings and share them with me and your dad. I don't want you bottle stuff up inside like I always did! And most importantly, I hope you choose to follow Jesus with your whole heart and serve Him with your life. That tender heart of yours will take you far in this life. I can't wait to see how God uses it to touch others. Happy Birthday, my sweet sweet boy.

Photo Dump

Here's a little smorgasbord of photos (from my phone) for you that don't quite deserve their own post but deserve to be blogged!

One evening after we'd had a huge storm, I put the boys' suits on and we went out for a puddle walk. This was so much fun. We'll definitely have to make it a summer tradition while they're young. 

We live in a really pretty neighborhood and this pond is just a few minutes' walk from our house. Our library is just past that barn.

Dawson's first dentist appointment! I was a little nervous about whether or not he'd cooperate. He did well for a while and then he'd just change his mind and clamp his mouth shut every few minutes. I was able to convince him to open it back up again each time but at the very end when the dentist came in to have a look, he outright refused. He was just done. (This didn't surprise me one bit!) Thankfully after several minutes of coaxing and pleading and all my tricks failing, I had the idea to open his new Tow Mater toothbrush and that worked like a charm. The dentist worked around him while he had his mouth wide open and brushed his own teeth.

 Bennett was so sweet. While she was adjusting the chair, he kept saying, "I'm right here with ya, Daws. I'll be right here."

We visited the Red Rock Wildlife Center located upstairs in Merle Hay Mall--totally worth a trip, if you're local. They only ask for a $1 donation per person! The boys had gone twice before with Judie but this was my first time. They bring out different animals for you to pet every 3 hours. We didn't get to pet the coyote but we did get to pet the bear cub! (She also brought out a opossum. I didn't think that one was photo-worthy).

This bear cub made the craziest noise the whole time she held him. She said he was purring. It sounded like a noisy air conditioning unit. He sucked on her hand the whole time too.

 And in case you were having a bad day, this one will snap you out of that:

And if you were having a good day, just the thought of this one will probably put you in a bad mood (I'm kidding. This trip actually went surprisingly well):

And lastly, a few shots from our Memorial Day (not from my phone). We spent it at the pool that belongs to a family from John & Judie's church that we've been going to for summer holidays since Bennett was a baby. Bennett actually had his first sleepover that night too...with his cousin Caleb (who just moved out of John & Judie's house and into their new house in Ankeny! They love it and we're all so happy for them to have more space). The backpack was Jon's idea so he had room for his pillow pet:

Smiles for Nana:

Side note: I made semi-homemade whoopie pies from this recipe and they were delicious and easy. (Side side note: if you do make them, this recipe made way too much frosting. Not a problem in our house since we just used the leftovers on Graham Crackers at home :) Also, I made half with Devil's food cake and half with carrot cake. Both turned out great.)

3 months.

I'm a couple days late with this one but Channing is now three months old. He's added lots and lots of talking to his list of accomplishments this month. He starts up right after he finishes eating and only talks for a few minutes and then he's quiet again. He sounds so serious and sincere when he's talking, it makes me laugh. He can sometimes suck his thumb while he's on his back or sitting in a bouncy seat now but usually he just grabs at his shirt or blanket and sucks on it. He also dropped another feeding so he's only eating 5 times a day! So easy now. That's about it. Smiley. Happy. Chatty. Channing.

(One month. Two months.)

Short and Sweet

My best friend, Candy, and her daughter Ava flew in for a short but very sweet visit last week. I would give just about anything to live in the same town as they do but we'll take what we can get. Candy is one of the kindest people I know and is so encouraging to my soul. Somehow, although we only see each other once a year, she's managed to be there for me over the years more than anybody. I can't say enough how much I love this girl.

Bennett and Ava 2007:

 And 2010:

I'm kinda hoping it'll be like the Swan Princess story. Remember that one? We'll just get them together once a year and eventually they'll fall in love and get married (and hopefully skip the part where she's cursed and turned into a swan).
Jon had just filled up the pool the day before this so it was freezing. But kids seem immune to freezing temps.

Big Poppy had been in Africa for 6 weeks so we all went over there to greet him when he arrived home. I love how Ava is so comfortable being one of the grandkids in this shot :)

Ava had a true Midwestern experience this time--making deer jerky (She's more of an Iowan than I ever wanna be!):

We went downtown to the sculpture garden and to splash in the fountains (my favorite place to take the kids in Des Moines in the summer). Jon meant to have Bennett hold the "B" but I pointed out later, I love how it says "B-O-Y" with his face as the "O":

Judie had the boys and Ava all day on Friday so Candy and I enjoyed some shopping and lunch in the East Village and then Jon joined us for dinner at Americana that night (so good! And thanks to a certain hostess, we scored some free "birthday" dessert.)

Candy and I spent some of our time on Friday at TJ Maxx and wanted to get each other's kiddos a fun little present. I had been wanting to do something with Bennett for a while that I had read about in FamilyFun magazine so we took the idea and ran with it. We threw a "pretend birthday party" for Bennett and Ava since they both have summer birthdays and never get to go to each others' parties. It was basically a way to teach your kids how to be grateful gift receivers. You just turn it into a game by wrapping up silly stuff from around the house and then taking turns opening up the "presents" and the goal is to say thank-you and say something positive about each gift, no matter what it is (rather than the typical response from a kid: opening each gift and tossing it aside, quickly searching for the next one which my boys always do). Jon and Candy and I all went first, opening a silly gift and saying thank-you and something nice about it. Then we let each kid open a fake gift to practice and then they each got a couple of small real gifts too.

We even made a birthday cake. It was so much fun and took hardly any effort (Trader Joe's cake mix I had in the pantry already and homemade frosting):

We ended the weekend with a hike in the woods near our house on Saturday evening. We've managed to find lots of great hiking trails close by to do with little kids. They just love it. I, unfortunately, managed to pick up something poisonous on this hike and ended up with my right ear swollen about three times its normal size and itchy for days. I get stuff like that so easily. I should just start wearing a bee keeper suit when I hike.

We miss these two already. Until next year, my friend. 

My Preschool Grad

Bennett on his very first day of preschool in 2010. Dawson was wearing this exact outfit yesterday! *sniff*

On his first day of this year. Look how much he grew in that year!

At his end-of-year presentation. They performed a song with bells and sang 3 songs.

This is long but I wanted my Mom & Dad (and Poppy who was in Africa!) to see it. It was so cool to hear these 3 & 4 year olds create such beautiful music!

For some reason, this sight made him seem so grown up to me. They show a DVD slideshow of pictures from the year. Last year during that DVD I was holding him in my arms with tears rolling down my cheeks. This year he and all his best buddies from school were sitting on the floor together talking and giggling and pointing through the whole thing. I was watching him from off to the side with tears rolling down my cheeks. Phew. It's tough to see them turn into their own individual little self that needs you less and less. I'm getting teary-eyed just typing this. My boy is growing up. That leap between 4 and 5 is a big one.

I walked with Bennett back into his classroom after the presentation to snap a couple pictures of him in there. It was empty except for us. I was telling him we needed to go and he said, "wait a minute, Mom". He went back to the white erase board and wrote "I heart U Ms. Tiffany" and signed his name. Melted my heart.

And a picture with the best preschool teacher ever, Ms. Tiffany. She was so incredibly wonderful at her job. I really hope Dawson and Channing have her someday too.  I completely lost it when we were saying good-bye. I was a mess. Is it going to be even worse when Channing goes through all these milestones??

So we are officially on summer break. This feels like the first real "summer break" since last year Bennett was only at school two days a week. Plus, its really the first time in my life to have two active boys at home all day every day to keep busy. Dawson was only about 20 months old last summer. That's a huge difference (and there was a whole lot less fighting!). I made a decision that I wasn't going to just wing it day by day. Frankly, that would just be miserable for all parties involved. I want to be proactive and have fun activities at hand. One of the worst ruts I've gotten into as a mom is sleeping until my kids get up, which is pretty late--usually 8:30 at the earliest. (Bennett's up by 7 but goes straight downstairs and turns the TV on). Then, by the time I nurse, pump, get breakfast for myself and Dawson, its 9:30 or 10. Then I take a shower and I'm not even ready to leave the house or do anything else until 11:30 on a good day! I felt like I still had the "I have a newborn and need to catch up on sleep" excuse. But Channing's sleeping great and I'm getting a good night's sleep. Its just not fair to my boys to waste away half the day trying (and getting increasingly frustrated with every interruption) to get ready, only for it to be lunch time and then naptime.
I've been very proud of myself these first 3 days. I've set my alarm and gotten up before Dawson and Channing. I even exercised one morning! (Ok, it was like 10 minutes but hey, you have to start somewhere, right??) We made it to the dentist on time yesterday at 10 and today we went to TWO stores before lunch with relatively low stress. That, my friends, is a miracle in my book on multiple counts. I've really been present for my boys all day and it feels really good. Sacrificing 45 minutes of sleep has HUGE payoffs for me and the kids.The days have felt long but we've stayed busy. We've done two craft/activities so far. Neither was a huge hit but I'll save that for another post. I made refrigerated granola bars today (Thanks, Em!) and need to share that recipe. They're easy and delicious and I'm tired of breaking the bank on snacks so those will become a weekly ritual.

I always see mixed reviews on Facebook from stay-at-home moms regarding summer break. Some are complaining about their kids being home all day just a couple days in and then there are two or three of my friends that say how much they look forward to it and cherish those days with their kids. Three days in, I can tell you, it definitely takes a LOT of energy and patience but I want nothing more than to enjoy these days and fill them with fun memories for my boys. I just want to be one of the moms who looks forward to it and enjoys it (for the most part. I'm not delusional. Of course there will be days that I can't wait for school to start). So many things in this life are what we make it. And I choose to make it a good one.