Real Men

clean up vomit!
Allow me to explain:
Last night we had a wonderful dinner with Matt and Kim at IKEA with the kids. Lukey consumed some great Scandinavian fare and was a delight to shop with. The boys enjoyed playing with Emilee and Megan and polished off some cinnamon rolls and ice cream before we headed home. Apparently, the late night meal coupled with the cake, pizza and candy from cousin Noah's party was a little much for Luke's little tummy and we were awakened at 1am to his cries. Brian went in to find Swedish meatballs all over Luke and his blankets and floor. He proceeded to clean up the mess, dry heaving and all, while I bathed poor Luke, too sick to go near the smell. We crawled back into bed an hour later.
It somehow slipped my mind when we were dating to ask Brian if he would be up for late night puke patrol and all the other nasty, crummy jobs he does when I am out of commission. I guess I just got lucky! The ultra-chiseled, bouquet bearing, elaborate date planning idea of the perfect guy is great and all, but real romance, in my opinion, is found in the middle of the night when no one looks good and he takes one for the team. Now that is sexy!

Tile Help!

Anyone have any great suggestions on how to keep lots and lots of tile clean? Someone tell me there is a better way than my tired old broom and mop!

Our final resting place...

We are all moved in and right now I feel like doing this: I will post pictures of our new home when I get some sleep! (The transition has taken its toll on poor Jeffey as well)

"There is no charge for awesomeness"

Nuff said!

Happy Five Birthday Benjamin Peter

Benjamin, I can't believe you are five. For as long as you've been four you have wanted to be five. You are such a great big brother to Jeffey and Lukey. At five, you definately are becoming quite a little man. You are very particular about the way things are and are very methodical and cautious. You like organization and knowing what to expect, however you have patience with your anything but organized mom. You have always been such a good boy, you are obedient and helpful. You are very smart and love to learn. You are starting to learn to read and write and enjoy going to school. Star Wars, anything to do with the ocean and sea, riding bikes, hitting baseballs and playing basketball are among your favorite things. Above all, you love your friends and family. You are so social and love being surrounded by "your people". Also, you are very competitive and love playing games and running races. My favorite thing about you is that you will still cuddle up next to me on the couch and watch a show. We love you so much Ben and are glad you are part of our family.

Last year, fourth birthday.

Three years old.

Second Birthday.

Eating cake at one.

Our first handsome little boy.

March 14, 2004. 8lbs. 5oz. 21 1/2 inches. You make us so happy Benjamin boy.

Ben's Birthday Week

Somehow, we always end up making it a week long event when someone has a birthday in our house. So here is the documentation of Benjamin's: The traditional trip to Toys R Us, Ben got to spend his birthday money from his grandparents and got a really cool lego set. In true Ben fashion he didn't spend it all!

My sister in law told us that their kids get to pick a restaurant on their birthday and we thought it was a fun tradition. It was no question that we were off to IHOP with cousins and Grandma and Papa to celebrate the "real" day. Ben ordered his "usual", ate it all and was full when his sunday came. His family was happy to help him enjoy the treat!

Who doesn't love pancakes with four kinds of syrup?

Sweet Ave enduring being the only girl with Grandma.

Ben's face was completely red when they sang him the birthday song.

Daddy was on shopping duty for the gift this year and came home with a SWEET bike for Bejamin. He is so excited to learn how to ride like his cousin Noah.

A week earlier we had a little party at the park for Ben and 22 of his closet friends! He is quite the social boy and loved having all his people in one place. We ate hot dogs, cupcakes and played. It was such a fun time. When he got home he put all his gifts in one room and opened them one by one, playing with each one and then putting the trash away and starting on another. It took him about an hour and is so indicative of his personality!

Avery and Noah at the party.

I love this picture of Benjamin and his buds. We love Spence and Diego.

We also celebrated Ben's birthday at Grandpa and Grandma's house with our other cousins. We love Caroline!

Grandma came through with the coolest Star Wars cake ever! I was so glad, because making cakes was not high on my list this week. Thank you to all our friends and family who helped celebrate Benjamin turning five!

Gotta Have It...

We love Zingo! If you need a fun game that works with a wide range of ages, head on down to Target and pick up this little treasure. I can lay on the couch and the boys can basically play it by themselves. It has broken up the packing, pottytraining and morning sickness. Oh, and I am loving Zofran right now also, I actually slept last night!