Tuesday, July 29, 2008

More Dancing

Don't you just love the doubled up cloth diaper look under the pajamas? :) I took this video as I was attempting to put Benjamin to bed. Matt got me an iTunes gift card for our anniversary and we were trying to pick out some songs that would be fun for working out. Matt was at the computer and I was on the floor giving Benjamin his milk. As soon as the music came on, Benjamin sat up and started moving side to side. Milk went everywhere, but it was just too cute!

See below post for the first dancing video.

Little Dancing Boy

Benjamin loves to dance. He gets his groove on just about anytime I turn on music. Sometimes I will be in the car and a song will come on the radio that I really like so I'll turn it up. Then out of the corner of my eye I see his head going side to side behind me as he moves to the music. If he's really into it, the car seat moves a bit too. It just cracks me up!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

This and That

Well, apparently I have not been posting enough pictures to satisfy my sister Rachel. :) I was determined not to be one of those moms who takes pictures for the first year and then gets too busy, but this past week was one crazy week. Plus Benjamin is now so active that I have a hard time getting him to be still long enough for a picture. We NEED a video camera! So this past week was Matt's birthday. It was also the week that I decided we had to get cabinet locks on our kitchen cabinets, and that a new washer had to be purchased. Someday I will learn that I can only handle one out of the ordinary project in a week.
So start with the washer. Last week I decided that I was not doing laundry again before we got a new washer. But then the weekend came and went and we did not have time to look for one. So on Tuesday after finding that the diapers needed to be washed, as well as our clothing, I checked out craigslist and made a few calls about some that seemed decent. I found a washer for $100 (a God thing) and we went and took a look. While we were there, the lady and her husband offered to use their truck to deliver the washer to us since we were close by (another God thing). So by Tuesday night we had a washer sitting in our garage.
Enter Wednesday. My goals for this day were to put locks on our cabinets, make a German chocolate cake for my sweet husband's birthday, and get rid of our broken washer. Oh yeah, and I was going to let myself sleep in that day. So the sleeping in part did not happen because Benjamin woke up at 6:30 and Matt was up early looking for something he had lost in our room. I moved on to making the cake. I got a new recipe from our neighbors and something went terribly wrong. The cake did not set up and instead ran all over the oven. So by 9:45 I was ready to go back to bed and start over. But the whole downstairs was filled with a smoky haze and the oven needed to be cleaned, so I pressed on. My next task was to list our washer for free on Craigslist. 30 minutes later I was taking calls in between scrubbing the oven and keeping Benjamin out of trouble. By now the house was almost 90 degrees because I had to open the windows to air it out. By 3:30 pm the washer had been picked up and the oven had been scraped out enough to run the self clean (praise the Lord for giving us an oven with auto clean.) Benjamin had gotten lunch and was down for a nap and I had everything I needed to get the cabinet locks put on while he slept. But of course nothing is as easy as it seems it should be and I drilled a huge hole through the first cabinet as I attempted to install the lock. Now I figured the day couldn't get any crazier, so I just started laughing. I mean what else could I do? I am no handy woman and I managed to get two more locks installed incorrectly before giving up on them. The rest will have to wait for another day when I am feeling brave. :) The best part of the day was using all the muscle I had to help Matt move our new washer upstairs and then turning it on and having it work. Wooohooo! Praise God for His blessings in the midst of our crazy days. So......that's just a glimpse into why I don't have as much time to take cute pictures as I wish I did. But here are a few.
Time to call the fire department
Almost enough air to blow all 28 out
Benjamin is becoming a little helper
So big! Drinking his milk while standing up
You can't really see it, but Benjamin got his first busted lip last night when he fell against the corner of the wall.
Benjamin and his friend Cale hard at play
Bubble time!
Little cuties in their matching onesies
Going for a ride on my legs
Playing with Daddy

Thursday, July 17, 2008

More Travels to Indiana

Well it's Thursday and I'm finally getting caught up after vacation. Now I need another one. :) So the plan for this summer was to take advantage of the fact that Matt was not in school and have some down time and some time to get a few projects done around here. Two months after graduation and we are finally getting a little down time. Our summer turned busy faster than we realized. But we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Indiana over the 4th of July and had a great time with both our families. It's been a while since we were there in the summer and having a reprieve from the Texas heat was wonderful. Benjamin had a great time with his aunts and uncles and he got to meet his Great Aunt Vicki and his Great Grandma McLane. He was not too fond of the plane trip since he had to be confined to our laps for 2 1/2 hours, but we were very thankful to be able to fly rather than having to drive.

While we were gone Benjamin continued to work on his walking skills and is becoming quite proficient. It's taking me a while to get used to looking up from working in the kitchen or around the house and seeing him standing in the middle of the room or toddling around. I'm not an extremely sentimental person when it comes to milestones. I love to keep track of them, but I don't usually get sad about them. Walking however seems to be different. It's like he's gone from my little baby to my little boy. I love it, but it really makes me realize how fast the time has gone. And realizing how fast the time has gone makes me a little sad. Yet another reminder to treasure each moment and thank God for them.

Matt and I had a fun little date while we were staying at his parents’ house. We took a picnic to Matter Park where we had our first date and where he later proposed. Then we went to IWU and reminisced about dating and engagement. So much fun! We topped it off by going to Ivanhoes – a favorite ice cream place of ours when we were in college. It’s always so much fun to remember how we fell in love. :)

This post has a ton of pictures so be sure to scroll all the way through. Enjoy!
A little unstable, but standing alone
He does well when we walks with something in his hands :)
Playing with the little boy Matt's mom babysits. They had a little duet going on.
Just a cute picture of Grandpa Davis and his grandson
Pushing Great Grandma's walker with some help from Aunt Connie
Out for a walk with Great Grandma Hilliman
One proud Grandpa!
Daddy and Benjamin out for a walk
Fun with the slide at Matter Park
The place where Matt proposed on September 2, 2001 while we were on a picnic

Spending time with Grandpa Anderson
Benjamin loves his Uncle Joel
My whole family went out to eat (18 in all) and I had to take two pictures to get us all in


Matt had some fun with the sparklers
Everyone at once!
Our aspiring little musician
Benjamin loved my parents new little kittie
Swimming in my parents pool and enjoying Benjamin's floatie from our friends Brian and Katie

Meeting Great Grandma McLane
My beautiful mom with her grandson
Already learning to drive. Yikes!
Hanging out with Aunt Abby and Uncle John
He just loves the swings! (and look how green that grass is!)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Milestones

Today is an exciting day! Benjamin took his first steps. I know that life will get even crazier once he is really walking, but seeing those chubby little legs take those two tentative little steps was so precious. He seems to be setting a pattern for himself. He pulled up on furniture the day after he turned 9 months and took his first steps the day after he turned 1. I am one proud mommy! :)
Here is the little video clip I caught of his steps. It was taken with our digital camera so I can't flip it. But it's still cute even though it's sideways.