3 Years...NO WAY!!

I honestly cannot believe that my baby boy turns three today (yesterday actually, posting a day late). He is such an absolute blessing...funny, kind, smart, obedient (most of the time), affectionate, loving, all boy. Down the road, I know his little brother/sister probably won't be such an easy kid...don't tell him/her I said that. I'll say that you're lying.

Anywho...I am so grateful for the last three years with my amazing little boy. I look forward to watching him grow into the godly young man that I pray he will be. Brian and I consider ourselves blessed to call Benjamin our son.

AMAZING!

So my husband is amazing. He and his dad spent Friday night and most of Saturday putting together Ben's new swing set...or playground, that thing is huge. Here's the crazy thing about my husband and his dad...they actually ENJOYED spending their day together, in the 100* heat, putting together the set. Craziness!

Ben and I escaped to Temple to stay with Brian's mom while the building was going on. She spoiled us and I had a gallstone attack, which completely sucked! Anywho, we headed home on Sunday morning and took Ben out to the backyard immediately. He loved it...all day he kept saying, "I love my swing set." So worth it...as much as that thing cost, the kid better be swinging on it when he graduates from high school!! Just kidding...(sort of.)

Not for the faint at heart...SERIOUSLY!

Ok, I'm warning you...if potty talk grosses you out, do not read any further. It's about to get nasty in here.

So, Ben is in the middle of potty training. He can practically pee on demand, but only when told to head to the bathroom. The poo part has been much more difficult. At one point, we had stressed Ben out to the point that he didn't go for two days. We decided to go with the flow a little more, but the kid is almost three. A few people have told me to let him clean himself up after he goes...that it helps the child not want to do it anymore. So I decided to try it out. Let me just say, before we finished there was poo on Ben, myself, the floor, and Ben was screaming his head off in the shower. Another issue is my reactions. I'm sure everyone is surprised that I can be a bit loud at times. The first time he went in the potty, I screamed. Tonight, when the contents of his diaper dumped on the floor, I screamed. Brian tells me I need to stop screaming.

If this child makes it through potty training without permanent emotional scarring and hearing loss, I will consider Brian and I successful.

Party Time!

Ben went to his friends, Kennedy and Evan's birthday party. He was so excited...it was at a splash pad at a park in town...great location. That morning I took him to shop for presents for Evan and Kennedy. Ben had a horrible case of the "I Wants." He did not understand that the toys were not for him. He threw a borderline fit, but recovered nicely. I ended up buying him a little "Hungry Hippo" game. He made sure that the game was for him, asking me several times, "Me, momma, not Evan?"


Toddler flip-flops are the cutest!!)

Ben had a blast at the party, and hung out by the cake for quite a while. He was quite mischievous...once the lid was off the cake, Ben's fingers were in the cake. Evan was a little shy when it came time to sing and blow out the candle. Ben got tired of waiting for him to blow it out, so he did it for him. After cake, they played at the splash pad for awhile. Ben got tired and actually told Brian, "Time to go home, Daddy." When he got back to the pavilion, he proceeded to strip down to nothing, exclaiming he was soaked, completely oblivious that there were co-workers and perfect strangers around.


Who likes my trashcan in the background?? Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Lego Fun...Thanks, Uncle Cliff!

My brother Cliff gave Ben a ton of his old Legos. Ben was so excited, as was I b/c that saved me who knows how much money (those Legos can get expensive!). Ben loves his legos. He gets out all the little men and plays with them. Brian and I have both gotten in on the action.

Ben and I built a house for his little Lego "guys." I don't like to brag, but I thought we did a pretty good job. There's a kitchen, bed, couch, dining table. The structure is a little questionable, but I'm guessing it will be destroyed rather quickly and we'll have to move on to the next build. :)

Random & Travel

Here's some random thoughts/happenings from recently...

Our electricity bill was DOUBLE what it usually is. I shouldn't have been suprised with the temperatures staying over 100* for three weeks. Still, seeing that large of a number preceded by a dollar sign on my utility bill is a little shocking.

Ben has two hiding spots that he sneaks off to in order to "do his business": Beside the couch and under the kitchen table. Kids are so gross.

I found a new dish soap that I'm in love with...Apple Dawn.

Every cig lighter in every rental I've been in hasn't been broken...my GPS charger has been. Here's the bonus...Brian found an old Blackberry charger in my car and it fits in my GPS! I cannot tell you how lost I have been these last two weeks...it's shameful!

I'm in love with everything in the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog...they make shelves out of wagons, people! How great is that?

As far as travel goes...I'm having to go out of state to place a child in her adoptive home. I always get nervous about traveling by myself, with a child, hotel by myself...I've done it several times, but still nervous. Prayers would be appreciated. I've been trying to get this trip going for over a month, so I'm glad that she will finally be in her new home. That's all for now! Hope the rest of the week is a good one for you guys!

Long time, no blog...

I have taken a bit of a break from the whole blogging thing. I place most of the blame on my blackberry b/c I really have little need to get on the computer with that thing. The rest of the blame lies on the fact that I have taken almost no pictures this summer. And let's be honest, pictures make the blog fun.

Life is plugging along...Brian's enjoyed his summer off. I'm working like a crazy person, it feels like. I get to tell a kid that we found an adoptive family for him/her tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. Can you imagine waiting for a family for over a year and then hearing, we found you a mom?? So great.

Ben is such an amazing little guy...he's freakin' hilarious! He comes up with the funniest stuff. He tells us he's mad and puts his hands on his hips. He thinks the word "vomit" is hilarious, probably b/c everyone usually laughs when he says it (We should stop doing that). He tells us that he needs to go to the potty, but only when he's in time out. We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives!

Don't be fooled by the big boy underwear...his pull-up is underneath. He just walked out of his room like this one afternoon. And yes, those are gloves.