Our Little Dude

You can move on if this is boring stuff to you... Ben will be 15 months old the 3rd. Quite honestly, I can't believe how fast time flies by and how big and smart he's getting. It's so exciting to see how quickly he learns something we teach him.He holds the sides of his head when you play peek-a-boo!

• Just now I was doing something on Facebook and he was sitting at the front door with a book and I could hear him repeating a word and then I started paying attention to what it was. He was saying "eye" and pointing to his! We've been working on that for like a week or so, and so I am proud of him! He got really excited when I told him good job. I said "You're so smart, I'm going to call Daddy and tell him what you just did!" He giggled and giggled! We're working on where his nose and ears are... but he's close!

• He loves to put shoes on people if he finds them laying around. On meaning, upside down or backwards!
• He's a little character. Right now he's standing next to me holding on to my chair and has his mouth wide open just cackling at me... like he's the funniest person alive.

• He's starting to not want his food torn apart or broken in to pieces anymore. In fact, he wont eat it unless he can bite off it himself or take it apart himself.

• His new words he's saying are "juice", "eye", "happy", he tries to say thank you although it's more of the syllable sound instead of the actual words. I've heard him say "please" too.

• He likes to lead us to places; like to his room when it's time for bed, the bath, outside to play in his farmhouse... it's pretty cute.

• He still loves his blankets for the crib and the car.

• Has a huge aversion to vegetables right now, which mommy is NOT happy about.

• He just got his 6th & 7th teeth up on the top this last week. So he's still lopsided on the bottom with only three down there. That 4th bottom tooth is trying SO hard to break thru.

• He will be advancing to the next class up at daycare in the next week or two, which means he gets to play outside and sit at a table with his friends to eat, he'll learn how to eat with a spoon all by himself which I think he's really ready for. I think this will be an adjustment for me than him.

• He got a Thomas the Train for Christmas and it came with a tall red handle that comes off and he LOVES that thing. He will take that EVERYWHERE with him. It's hiding right now... and he knows where and isn't happy with me about it!

• He loves to give 5 to people, and he's learning to give mommy kisses.

• Ben loves to WALK. He just walks and walks and walks. He'll stop to play for a second with a toy or a book or an empty container or cup. Then he takes it with him while he walks. I'm convinced that's another reason why the kid sleeps so well at night.

• He likes to be in the same room as mom or dad. He likes to follow his daddy around like his little shadow. If it's just him and I at home, and I'm on the computer he plays in the room with me.

• Ben gets a little bit of a temper, but is very well behaved. If he wants something he cannot have, he gets angry- but usually gets over it pretty quickly. I am grateful for that.

• We have recently found out that he prefers the slide at the playground over the swing now, and has NO fear of going head first! He in general, has no fear...well of certain types of dogs and cats, yes... but of most other things, no.

• We also discovered that he can climb stairs on his own too with out any problems.

• Ben loves to be outside. I am so grateful for that.

• He is starting to have a preference in the music he and I listen to in the car. It's funny to look back at him and see which songs he likes to dance to.

• After bath time I put lotion on him since he has eczema still, and he LOVES when I rub his legs and feet. I'm sure they're tired from all that walking!

• He likes to put his legs out for his pants, and is learning to put his hands through the arm holes now. If he finds a shirt or a tie, or even one of Ryan's soccer socks, he'll put it around his neck like he's trying to put it on.

• He STILL only wants his daddy when he wakes up in the morning. If he's not there, then I will do!

• Ben loves to pick on Ally; he'll get on his hands and knees and head-butt her, he's learning to "pet" her nicely, he thinks it's funny when he hits her tail and she jumps, and they are starting to chase each other around. She's VERY good with him, and puts up his teasing and picking on her very well. She's a good girl. He loves her, and still calls every dog he sees "A-yee".

I was reading my blog book from when he was born and a few months old and I was looking at how little he was. It's so fun the stage he's in now. And just like then, I STILL love watching him learn... watching him explore and talk and express himself. I love seeing what an awesome little person he is and will be. He's so smart, and sweet and just seems to have come to Earth with a personality that our little family REALLY needs. I think that someday (no time soon...) he will be such a good big brother. We are SO blessed to have such a wonderful, good, handsome, funny, HAPPY son. We are two VERY lucky parents, and don't you think for one second that we don't know that!
Here's a silly video from today. He woke up from his second nap really annoyed and grumpy. It's funny because he knew exactly what I was saying and what it meant. And usually when I sing the Happy Song he dances and smiles... not so much this time. Little Stinker.

It's official. I feel like poop. And so does Ben. So does Ryan. Ben and I usually get "the sickness" first, and then Ryan last... whatever the sickness may be at any given time. This weekend we were glad we didn't really go anywhere (out of town) or do anything too stressful. I had a fever twice since Saturday, and Ben started getting goopy eyes and threw up Sunday and has been coughing since Saturday like me. I don't know what's wrong with me... but my body aches, I'm all congested and sneezy and coughy, and the fevers are just really unusual for me. I think the last time I had a fever was when I had Ben. Ben went to the doctor today and he's got an ear infection poor kid. All this while breaking through teeth 6 & 7 on top. Ryan's pretty sure he had a fever too last night, we couldn't even sleep in the same bed. It was rough. I'm home today thank goodness, mostly for Ben- but I am glad because I just want to sleep. I don't know how much of that is going to happen though. He is being a stinker and pretty much refusing to nap even though I know he is SO tired. I hope we don't have the SWINE flu. :)
This weekend we took it pretty easy for a Memorial Day weekend. Friday night we went out to eat with the gang and then went over to the Terry's to watch a movie. Luckily the little dude fell asleep in the car, so we were able to transfer him to his pack n' play for him to sleep in for a couple more hours until we were both about to fall asleep ourselves. Saturday I don't remember what we did during the day, but that night we went to a housewarming party. And all of a sudden I started coughing. That night's sleep was HORRIBLE and I broke a fever I'm pretty sure during the night. Sunday both Ben and I felt like poop all day (he threw up once) and we just chilled basically. Everyone came over for dip night dinner and played Mario Cart. Monday we went to a BBQ and then helped the Terry's shop for a couch with Clint. Then ate pizza and rearranged their living room for the arrival of their much anticipated couch. But both me and Ben were pretty miserable by that point.... we've stayed home every day since. I went in for a minute today to do something that I only have access too- but other than that, we've been here.I haven't been able to talk for like 3 days though. I'm starting to feel better, but still feel gross. I hate being sick. But it's been super nice to be home with my guy. Delinda came over yesterday to help and that was really nice. We're just all really ready to take our vacation in a couple weeks! Well, that's it for now- Ben's sleeping so I think I will too. No pictures from the weekend, sorry.

A Weekend Fieldtrip

Saturday, I was supposed to take pictures for a friend for her engagements. But plans got changed and so we got to go with Ashley and Jacob and Clint on an adventure in Northeast Georgia to see the Georgia Guidestones. What are they you ask? You can read about it HERE, they are also sometimes called the "American Stonehenge".

As you can see people disagree with what these stones are trying to tell us to do if the world so happens to be destroyed and only a few people are left to repopulate... silly graffiti. One of them had a drawing of a foot with a sandal on stepping on a pyramid and it said "Jesus stompin pyramid"... okay... sounds good... And on the above picture you can see that someone had taken lacquer or something similar and threw it on that tablet.

It was very interesting to say the least. It was a fun little road/day trip though and Ben had a ball just running around and playing. He practiced walking up and down the little hills and climbing on to the "Explanatory Tablet". He got little rosy cheeks from playing so much! Needless to say, he slept AWESOME that night! The boys thought they might be able to move one, but they couldn't. Okay, they didn't REALLY! Ben even jumped in there, he thought- if all the other dudes are doing it shouldn't I?

Farmer Ben vs. SUPER BEN!

I'm grateful I have this blog as a reminder of all the fun things, cute things, annoying things and weird things that happen in our family. Especially with BEN! Of course!
This weekend as we headed to the mall with the Terry's we saw that a neighbor of ours had put a sign on a "Little Tykes" play farm that read "FREE/LIBRE". So we uh, made a quick stop & picked it up... and by picked it up I mean that Ryan had to carefully maneuver holding it while not getting chopped in half by the back hatchback door of the car and me driving ever so slowly! Anyway, we got it home and then cleaned it up the next day and put it out in the backyard for Benny to play in. He already loves going outside, so this is an even better excuse for him to get out there and play.All I have to say is SCORE! It's in really good shape, and all it needed was a good wash and bleach job and it was ready to play in! He already LOVES it... in fact yesterday when we came home he grabbed my hand and took me to go get Ally to let her out and then after I let her out, he grabbed my hand again and walked me to the back door and then out to the deck and then out to the edge of the deck. I took him down the stairs and he giggled when he saw the little house!!! He's so cute... that kid of mine. And now whenever he wants to go outside he says "bye-bye?" I guess that's how he associates being out of the house.We also had some laundry near the garage door to be done and he found a new super hero cape... it fit around his neck just perfectly and he had something to drag making his flying abilities amazing. Only one thing... he had to give it back to me because I'll eventually need it to contain my super hero powers! (He's going to kill me for this one day!)Well, speaking of going outside- I think I'll take him out there. He's probably could use some fresh air, as well as me!

Mr. Handyman

I finally got some before and after shots from Ryan's handy work. I'm glad I have a guy who knows how to use his hands and get things done around this place!

Here is the kitchen. When we moved in, the previous owners had put up some kind of "Storage" system from IKEA or something that just didn't work. It was kind of junky and not put in correctly and put large holes in the wall and paint. NOW we've got lovely glass tile! It looks so nice and sleek! (I still HATE our counter tops though...ech...) We plan on doing the same tile eventually on the opposite wall above our stove.

Here is the bathroom! There are still some finishing touches to be done, but at least here you get the idea!

We felt VERY blessed after Ryan got started that we had decided to do this remodel because under the tile and even behind the backer board in the shower we found all sorts of mold and rotting as seen below. The floor tile was cheap vinyl tile squares and weren't placed correctly. We found like 3 different layers of flooring underneath it even. Ryan was able to get down to the concrete to lay the new tile. We basically replaced EVERYTHING in there. Right down to the toilet paper holder! We love it, it's our little relaxing paradise! I love the green and oranges and the dark & light colors of wood in there. It turned out so beautifully, and more over I'm so proud of my hubby for working so hard to beautify our house!

We're getting... Old.

Ashley and I at the Fox Theater... you can BARELY see us!

(Death Cab during the song "Grapevine Fires")

It's a known fact that I am a big fan of going to concerts. Well, for the bands I like of course. Last night we went to the Death Cab for Cutie concert. I hated that it was on a week night, but it was so much fun! We went with Clint and the Terry's and had lots of fun jamming out with all the teenagers in their cool clothes and ability to not be exhausted the next day with only 6 measly hours of sleep... Ryan and I have realized that staying up late is just not a good option for us. I complained to Clint how old I was in comparison to the majority of the crowd there... how I SO don't fit in with the cool kids, and I'm a fat mom, hahaha! Then like 2 seconds later I said "I need my glasses, I can't see anything" and he laughed hysterically at me. Punk. (But I love ya...)

On the way to go pick up the Terry's, Ryan was talking to his dad and told him we were going to a concert, when Ryan told him the name of the band his dad automatically said "WHO? WHAT?" that made me think to myself- where on earth DID they come up with that name anyway?... silly Ben Gibbard. Apparently there was a song in a Beatles film called Magic Mystery Tour called "Death Cab for Cutie". And per Wikipedia: In the style of several early death rock songs, such as "Teen Angel", it tells a story of youthful angst: "Cutie" who goes out on the town against her lover's wishes. "Last night Cutie caught a cab, uhuh-huh..." She is killed when the taxicab she is in runs a red light and crashes. Interesting huh? To me anyway...

So anyway, we saw them at the Fox Theater and we had good seats. (They are who we saw the night we got engaged 2 1/2 years ago at the same venue!) We were pretty close, but I wanted to get a little closer so I talked Clint in to going up to the front for a second until we got caught and he humored me. We stood for a minute and watched and then saw the security guard telling someone else in front of us to get going so we did too. I got a little bit of video though for you D.C.F.C. fans.


They also sang our "Benny Song" which was fun. Ryan wanted me to record a little bit of it too. It was a fun night!


I think Ben is getting some teeth. I'm not sure how many exactly, but I'm thinking at least 3 all at once. Poor kid has a nasty diaper rash and is grumpy and probably in a lot of pain. He got to hang out with Aunt DJ last night though and even did an iChat with Grandma and Grandpa in UT! Before we went to the concert we had to go get dog food and while we were at the pet store I let him walk around by himself instead of holding him. He enjoyed it a lot! I think it's fun to see things from that perspective for him! It's so fun seeing him grow up. He's blowing kisses now and saying "by-bye" when he does it! So cute. And he's figured out where shoes go, and tries to put socks on by himself. He found a pair of Ryan's the other day and tried putting them on himself, so Ryan helped him out and they came up to his thighs... but he was walking proud! We were doing an iChat with my parents the other night and he was walking around playing and he brought one of my shoes to me and tried to put it on my foot! He's a smarty pants... in my humble opinion. He's saying "Ally" a lot too. He understands words and is getting in to his habits. He knows where to go when we say it's time for bed or let's go to your room or in the morning he'll say bye-bye when he knows it's time to leave. Our goal for the next few months, to get him away from the binky. Wish us luck! This may be a little bit of a battle!
I wish more than anything right now I was in bed, asleep. Oh man, our soft cool sheets sound so comfy right now. Here's to hoping I'll get to bed early tonight!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

BEEP, BEEP!

Benny likes it! We've been waiting for the day Ben was big enough to put him in the cars shopping carts at the grocery store. Well, we tried it this weekend and he had fun! I think he would've enjoyed it more if he wasn't so sleepy, but he kept honking the little "horns" and would talk and had fun. He got antsy if we weren't moving too. AND he was pretty dang cute in there too if I do say so myself!!

Fortress of Femininity

Because I have such an AWESOME friend (EMILY HATCH), I was able to make a very QUICK trip out to Orem,UT this weekend (Sat-Mon) to visit Andrea. I left Saturday morning and got in SLC around 12:30 and Kate picked me up on her way home from Bountiful. I was kind of sad because it was rainy and cold. I was hoping the weather would've been as nice as it was the whole week before I got there. My brother Greg let me borrow one of their cars to drive around, which was WONDERFUL. And so we went and picked it up and then I headed down to Orem to surprise Andrea. We often do iChat with each other, and haven't in a while- for obvious reasons, and so I called her after I'd pulled up to her house and parked near the end of the driveway. I asked her if she wanted to do a chat with each other since I hadn't seen her in so long. She didn't answer her phone the first 3 times I called it, so I had to get Travis to take her his phone. He was in on the surprise, so he helped a sista out. Andrea agreed to do the iChat, but what she didn't know was when she was sending the invite to chat, she was just sending it to Ryan in GA and I was at her front door! She said "hi" to Ryan, and just about the time she was about to ask where I was I had walked through the door and said "HI!". She was SO confused and said "WHAT THE HECK! What are you doing here!?!!!" Ryan got to see all of it, which he was super excited about since it was all his idea to do it that way.

We had a lovely time with each other. I am really glad I got to go out and spend time with her and talk and cry and laugh and see her family and listen to the funeral and talk about how wonderful Sister Green was. I really will miss her. She was such a bright influence in the lives of many. She was always so welcoming to me and all of our friends, and always, ALWAYS had a smile on her face. There is a quote they have hanging in a picture frame on their wall in the living room that says "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened". I don't believe it could be more fitting for what they are going through. I know it will be especially hard in the next few weeks to come though... I can't change that. I wish I could make things easier, but I know they are relying on the Lord heavily and will be blessed with comfort and peace. We got to go to the grave site and there were still flowers from the funeral there and so Andrea and her sisters picked a few out they wanted to dry. And it was cloudy and gloomy and then all of a sudden, the sun came out and shown down on us and the grave and lit it up. It was a neat and special moment for me. I was glad I got to be there. We ate at Cafe Rio! YESSS! I also got to take some pictures of Travis and his CUTE fiance Tiffany, not with my own camera, but I borrowed Kate and Ryan Webb's and they turned out pretty good! (You can see a few of them here!) I got to spend some time with my Em, and even got to stay at the F.O.F. where I lived with her and two of her sisters and Jill W and Korina. It brought back a FLOOD of memories and it was fun to stay there again. I went to Church with Greg and Sam and the CUTE girls. So it was a good visit.

I did miss my boys like crazy, and we did iChats a couple times which was nice. Ryan is a wonderful husband and father and supported me going and being there for Andrea. I felt very strongly that I needed to be there for her (and Travis) and I'm grateful for all the help from Ryan while I was gone. I know it was good for he and Ben to have some Father and Son time- even though Sunday pretty much every diaper change was a poop! I can't wait to take my boys with me next time. I don't think Ryan will let me go anywhere alone again anytime soon either!

Ben is starting to associate pretty much ANY animal with Ally and calls anything that doesn't look human "Ayee". It's pretty cute. He's knows where his shoes go and when I go to put them on he'll grab the other and hold it up to his foot. He's also blowing kisses, and he makes a sound when he's doing it like I make when I do it. I asked him the other day if he wanted to go night-night, and he said back to me plain as day "nigh nigh". It was cute. He hasn't said it again... but I got excited anyway. When we leave the house he says "Bu bye" because we usually tell Ally that before we leave. I'm a little anxious to see how he does on the plane out to UT. He's a good kid, I'm just afraid he'll get a little antsy and claustrophobic. I guess we'll see!

I'm really in to this season of The Biggest Loser... I am so amazed with and proud of those people. Yeah, I know- they like lose that weight in an unnatural time frame... but still. They look so good. And I look so gross and huge. So why is it... that whenever I watch it, all I want to do is eat ice cream?

P.S. Does the first line of this post make you want to sing "Because I have been given much..." for a second? Because it makes me want to.

Blurb.com RULES!

We got our Blog Book today! I am so glad that Jessica turned me on to this idea. The page quality is really good. I think there are a couple of things I will do different however. I don't think I'll do a black background for the front unless there is a jacket. And I'd do a bigger book then the Standard Landscape size next time, and watch my picture sizing. Other than that, I'm excited to work on the others I've got going on! It almost didn't make it here, supposedly the driver left it on our doorstep at 2pm yesterday- but Ryan was here all day. So I went to our neighbors house to see if they got it and they hadn't. I called FedEx though and they got it taken care of for me.

Since I've finally got clearance from my boss to take vacation I will let y'all know we'll be in UT the middle of June! I hope we can see some or all in the short time we're there! I am REALLY excited. I am very homesick for my family and mountains, and diverse landscape and my friends... not that I don't have great ones here. I would miss them if I was away from them too.
It's thundering outside and the sky is really weird and pink and it's not windy and humid outside. That's kind of a scary thing here in the South... that's tornado breeding weather. And that's one of the things I HATE about living here besides traffic. Other than that I'm good. There's something disturbing about the sound of the weather radio, and it's strange to me that my kids will grow up hearing that and knowing what it is. I had no idea what one was until I moved here... or rather, cared to know what it was. There's also something about gathering shoes, and blankets and pillows and extra sets of clothes and things that are important to us to take in to our hall bathroom so we can take cover if something were to happen. OH and lets not forget the sirens outside and how friggin' scary that is to me. The whole thing is just nerve racking. There were tornado watches and warnings (which is what you REALLY watch out for) and sirens going off on Sunday night at 11:30pm. Yeah... thanks... so much for sleep. I couldn't sleep until I knew it had passed. Ryan and I just sat on the floor by the front door and watched the lightning and rain. I got some cool pictures!!!! And in the video you can hear one of the reasons why I love living here and hearing the rain... FROGS! And in the middle picture- it wasn't day time out, that was at 9pm!

Today was a contemplative day for me. I wont go on and on about it, but my best friend Andrea and Travis's mom passed Monday and today was her funeral in Utah. I wished SO badly I could be there for it and for them. From what I've heard though it was beautiful and packed to the rim with people who loved her and that Andrea gave a wonderful talk filled with beautiful and funny memories of her sweet mother. Sources tell me people were crying from laughing so hard. To me that's what it should be like. I am so proud of The Greens and hope their recovery time is short and that the Lord will continue to bless them with comfort and peace.

A Red Hen

Ben did a cute little art project at daycare last week, I thought I'd share. Usually he's very opposed about putting his hands in paint, but he did it this time! And I think it's pretty adorable.Friday night we went to hang out with some friends and eat pizza. We brought the pack n play to see if Ben would fall asleep- and luckily he did. Even in the hallway where he could hear all 9 of us talking and carrying on. He's a good sleeper that kid. We had fun hanging out and then we got home (put Ben in his bed) and did some stuff for a little while before we went to bed, and by that time it was around 11:30pm. We were sound asleep when at 2:30am we heard a LOUD BUZZING sound coming from... the bathroom. Well, you know how it is when you're woken up from a nice deep sleep, especially if what it is that woke you up scared you... you run around like a chicken with it's head cut off! (ew... just had a visual.) Ryan ran around trying to figure out where it was coming from, but couldn't find it. He was looking out the window, feeling the walls, and he ran out of the room to see if it was coming from the other bathroom or to see if the A/C maybe broke. I got up out of bed and went in to the bathroom and found THIS had turned on, all by itself while sitting in it's charger.Creepy! So Ryan came back in the room, I handed to him and said "figure out how to turn it off" because (if you look at the picture) the on/off button became inverted somehow. Like it was just sucked right in! He couldn't get it off, so from bed I yelled "Put it on it's charger and plug it in!" so he did, and it turned off... and never turned back on. That's an expensive little gadget, so Ryan got on Norelco's website and did a live chat and they're sending him a replacement, for free! Great customer service, psycho little body groomer. Needless to say, it was a little bit hard to get back to sleep!
Yesterday morning Ashley came over to babysit and Ryan and I were able to go to the temple to do sealings. It was a really neat experience and it was an awesome reminder of the covenant we made with each other and Ben a little less than a year ago. I love being in the temple, and I'm reminded of that every time I go. We were able to do some family names for a couple of women in the room with us and it was neat to be able to help them accomplish their work and to assist them with that. That was the first time (besides are own) that we had ever done sealings, so it was a neat experience. I, of course, got a little misty eyed looking at my hubby there in the sealing room all over again.
We came home and did a little project with Ben... I missed out on doing it when he was born. We know for next time to do it when they're little. We were given two plaster hand print kits... so I thought since he just turned one we'd do it for that monumental occasion. Yeah... it didn't go as planned (which in the back of my mind I assumed it would be this way)- but it's so him and it's still cute. Don't worry, he didn't cry the whole time. He liked the feeling of it squishing between his fingers! Hence the way it turned out!
Last night we celebrated Poppy's (Ryan's dad) 60th birthday and Delinda getting her new job at SAIC. The Terry's came with us too! We went to Taco Mac (of course) and had a lovely time with each other. We laughed and ate and enjoyed the nice weather.
My best friend Andrea was supposed to be here with us this weekend, but her mom's health is failing and she needed to be at home with her and the family. Please pray for her mom's comfort and that she can be as pain free as possible. I love Sister Green and Andrea's family so much, they mean a lot to me. Here is a blog that Andrea and her family created to update all of us on what's going on with her. http://memoriesofmarilyn.blogspot.com/
Well, we bought tickets to go to UT to visit in June! We are so excited, and so are my parents!!! They get to see Ben! It's almost been a year! That's all for now- Happy Sabbath.

This is the Sound of Benny

I guess it's time to update. There isn't much to update about though. It's been a pretty mellow week for us so far. Luckily Wednesday has now come and is almost gone, which means one more day of dress up for work and then Friday marks jeans day and the weekend! Well, for Ryan it's jeans day everyday. Lucky guy.
Right now I can smell brownies cooking in the oven, hear the TV and probably snoring momentarily and the chirping of the birds outside and Ally barking at them. It's a small little bark though, more like a barklette. Ben's asleep so I figured I'd write. I decided last week, and felt really good about this decision, that I was only going to visit Ben at his daycare during the day on the days that Ryan and I carpooled. I don't have anywhere to go on those days- so I figure 1/2 hour for eating and 1/2 hour to visit Ben. So Monday and Tuesday I had the car and had errands to run and decided I would not go those days. The reason why I'm doing this is because Ben's starting to go through the separation anxiety phase, and every time I leave him he cries. Not for long, he gets over it pretty quick, but I can imagine it's probably a little on the traumatic side for him. PLUS... it's hard on me to see him upset like that, my natural motherly guilt turns on that I can't just be with him all day and in turn makes me want to cry. Which I have a good few times. I think it's particularly hard on the days I only have literally 2-3 mins to spend with him, I run in and then run out- and he says "hey! You just got here! Why aren't you playing with me- DON'T GO!!"... well that's what I imagine he's saying in his head anyway. He's not that well versed yet. Monday I was alright, I was proud of myself for handling it as well as I did. Yesterday was a little harder, I missed him- but I was alright. Today I went to see him, and he was REALLY happy to see me (and I of course was happy to see him)... he ran to me and hugged me and it felt good to be with him again. It's a fact that not seeing him everyday will be harder on ME than it will be on him...
He's singing the words to his first song... okay- well the chorus anyway. And it's not like they're incredibly HARD lyrics... but HEY! He's doing it! I'll have to take video sometime... the song is "The Sound of Settling" by Death Cab for Cutie and pretty much in the chorus they sing "Bah, bah... this is the sound of (we fill it in with) Benny. Bah, bah... bah, bah". He's got the "Bah, Bah's" down! It's pretty cute.
He is going through a growth spurt right now and is really enjoying eating. A LOT. BUT he's now 13 months old and STILL wearing 9 month old pants! His shirt size is right according to his age... he's just a shorty. That's alright, "great things come in small packages" as my 6th grade Student Teacher told me one time. (She was short like me!) He's a happy kid, and people everywhere are so surprised to see him walking because he's so little looking. They always ask "How old is your little boy?".
OH, my sister Delinda got the job in Chicago! She found out today and is quite relieved. I'm torn, I'm SUPER happy for her and this is going to be an incredible experience for her- but REALLY sad she wont be here anymore, which means I have no family near me anymore. BUT... it's a new place to visit as Ryan said. And we are all so happy for her and feel it as a HUGE blessing. She's SO great and we're all so proud of her. What an awesome accomplishment! That's my bis sis! We need to celebrate!
Well... I guess that's all for now. I'm pretty much obsessed with the website blurb.com. Why you ask? Well, I just completed my first "Blog Book", which means I was able to export all of the posts and pictures from everything I've written so far into a book format. (We're using it much like Jessica as a family history book.) I cut it down to a year-a-book, so I did 2008 and ordered it yesterday (should have it next week or so) and am now working on 2007. BUT I am also making a photography book, sort of a portfolio book of sorts to have to show potential "clients". It's quite affordable too which is a plus. And I love looking at all the people's books on the site that have chosen to allow for a preview. It's pretty awesome. Wow... for not much to update I sure wrote a lot. Okay, I'm done... for real. It's time for a warm brownie.

Heather hearts Ryan

I'm grateful for date nights. I'm grateful to have family and friends around us that can watch Ben so this is possible. But more over, I am grateful for my husband. We had a WONDERFUL night last night. Delinda and Jen came over to hang out with Benny. And the Terry's gave us a gift card to a fancy-schmancy restaurant for Christmas, so we first went there for dinner. It was a NICE place... I think we may have been a tad bit under dressed, but luckily we fit with in the "Dress Code"! We had a wonderful dinner; calamari, cheeseburger, steak and the BEST Caesar salad I've EVER had... seriously. We sat close to each other and had good conversation and cuddled. Afterward we had tickets from my work to go to a Thrashers game (hockey) at Philips Arena in the Suite seats. I was a little "eh" at first about going to a hockey game, but it was actually A LOT of fun! It was cold in the arena so it gave Ryan and I a good excuse to cuddle a lot and enjoy each other. It was just a good reminder for me of why I love him so much and how important it is that we spend US time together. Yes, Ben is a our little sunshine- but our relationship is so important and it will determine the health of our family. It's also good for Ben to hang out with his Aunt and for her to be able to spend some one on one time with him. So... it was a $35 date (tip for the waiter and parking) and SO much fun. I am so grateful we had that time together... I can't explain how much it meant to me. I LOVE MY HUSBAND!I also got my hair cut yesterday, three inches! It feels great! I've decided that I need to not let it get that long again. And I've also decided it's hard (for me anyway) to find a good hair stylist. I had one I really liked and she upped and moved to UT... of all places. HA... just kidding. Luckily the other people in the salon she was at are still good and I can still go there. It's a swanky little hip place... so I enjoy going.
Also... sad, but understandable news... our "Week of Andrea" will have to postponed until a later unknown date. She has to tend to some family goings on- and not so great ones unfortunately. And that is MUCH more important and I only wish the best for her and her family. We love you Ang and Sister Green.
Today was a BEAUTIFUL Easter Sunday. We went to church and had a restless tired boy who couldn't sit still. Afterwards we went over to Ryan's parents house. Ben was somewhat grumpy today... ONE 20 MINUTE NAP IS NOT SUFFICIENT for a walking, busy, growing boy. Hence his bed time at 6:45pm tonight! He's usually a really good sleeper, but not today. Oh well, I count my blessings everyday for how well behaved and happy he usually is. He's walking really well now, and can get himself into a standing position all by his self. He's still a little drunken looking, but loves to get around!
I've been a little nostalgic this evening. I am looking for a picture of my mom from when she was about 3 years old, and I can't find it- BUT in the process of looking, I did find A LOT of old pictures from high school, of when I lived in my first apartment in Provo, Lilith Fair in my Bug (that's you Jessica)... I have to include it. That was a fun night... going like 20 MPH up the hill to Park City!!!! My poor VW Bug was running on 2 cylinders or something crazy like that and so we had to drive in the emergency lane because we were going TOO slow! But we made it! We got there!Anyway, that's all for now I guess. Happy Easter to all, and to all a good night!

April Snow Brings May Flowers??? HUH?

Friday night the Terry's came over, and by the time they got there Ben was in bed so it was a nice adult evening. We ate something... and then hung out and watched TV and talked. Saturday morning Ryan was invited to go play Ultimate Frisbee with some guys from Church and he enjoys doing that a lot. He asked if Benny and I could come along watch and enjoy being outside. Unfortunately it was a tad bit colder that morning than I would've liked. BUT, while they played Ben and I bundled up and went for a little walk by a lake near where they were playing and looked at the ducks and enjoyed the sunshine we could find. We listened and watched conference afterward and then that night Ashley and Hillary came over and hung out with us.
Sunday we enjoyed both sessions of conference at home with our friends by watching on the TV via the Internet. In between sessions we ate some spaghetti and went for a walk to the park by our house... it was SO nice. Ben was even in shorts and flip flops! Then after the last session we had homemade Cafe Rio (thanks to Jessica for divulging that AWESOME recipe!) and it was DELICIOUS. It was almost as if we were there.Today... it snowed. IT SNOWED! So annoying. Stupid cold fronts... here it was all nice and toasty Sunday and it's snowing Tuesday! Luckily it's supposed to warm back up again this week. Ryan and I are going on a date this weekend and DJ is going to hang out with Benny! The Terry's gave us a gift card to a really nice restaurant chain we finally get to use, and then I got free tickets from work to a hockey game at Philips Arena. So it should be fun.
We are preparing for the arrival of Andrea next week. I am SO excited. I will dub it the "Week of Andrea" even though she technically will only get to be here like 2 days. Tonight Ben & I cuddled on the couch and he must've been super comfy because he just bombed out! Must be all that walking around he's starting to do! He's getting pretty good at it! He'll be a pro by the end of the week! I'm tired, so I must go to bed now. See ya later.

Well, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've been putting off writing because it seems there's a lot to write- but then the longer I wait, the more stuff there is to write. I don't even really remember it all so I'll just do my best.
Let's see...two weekends ago, we were able to visit with Nate & Erin and Ella Bunderson. We sure love and miss them being here and in our ward. Ella is BEAUTIFUL, and we're all convinced Ben's future girlfriend or possibly E.C.??? Ha, ha... he's got a lot of girlfriends- so only time will tell.
Last weekend we went to Columbus, GA with Jacob & Ashley to see Brandon and Ashley (now) Johnson getting married and go to their reception. They were married in this really cool old church. It was RAINING hard pretty much up until we left to come home. Made for a soggy and sometimes stressful and scary drive! (That was a lot of S's.) You gotta love the South! And if you've never been here, come and visit! Even if you have!
This weekend we're listening to and watching conference and doing house work. Ryan took on another much needed house improvement project. He decided a couple weekends ago while at Home Depot looking for molding for the bathroom, that he was instead going to tile a "back splash" of sorts in our kitchen. So he picked out and brought some tile home (that I liked thank goodness) and put it up! He grouted it today, and will put on new light switches and plugs. It looks AWESOME. We still need to figure out if we want to change the wall color, although he's really into the red and I'm kind of done with it. We'll see though. I don't hate it. We also need to someday get new cabinets, but a little at a time.
I was out in the garage doing laundry this afternoon and I had to throw something in the garbage can that was at the edge of the garage and saw our neighbor and her twin babies, Steven & Cecilia, sitting out on their front lawn. I went to go say hi, because we don't really have a relationship with any of our neighbors yet and I would really like to gain one with some at least. We've talked a few times, so we're getting there. She's really nice, she seems a little quiet. And we were both honestly surprised to find out they had babies because he's an older man and she doesn't look super young. In fact, I found out today he has three other children and the oldest is 34 and the others are in their 20's. Anyway, it was good to sit there with her and the babies and talk. They're really cute and fun to hold and it made me realize that I'm okay with where we're at in the kid department right now! I mean, yes, I want more kids- but I'm not ready for the baby stage again for a little while. I think Ryan feels the same way. Ben is at such a fun age, and he's starting to get around more and more and I just can't imagine having a little one and him to look after. I know it's possible, and if the Lord would want me to do it- I would. And I PRAISE those who can. And yes, I understand... it will always be "hard"... I'm just not ready yet. Speaking of Ben getting around really well, here's some video of his really good attempts to walking! He's also sucking through straws now, which is stinking cute. To me... his little lips are cute. He has 5 teeth now. He says "uh oh", "Ally" kind of, "hi", "ball", "dadda", "ya", "day" for yay, "mah, mah, mah" for more... I think that's it. He's said "bu-bye" before, but hasn't really said it again. He's chatty though... always making noises. He's going to be a "Vrrrroooom" kid for sure. He's eating all kinds of food now. LOVES chicken like his daddy, loves cooked squash and mini teddy grams. No candy yet... I'm going to hold off on that for as long as I can.
My brother Greg seems to be doing better, I'm really grateful for prayers and I'm sure he is too. Actually I know he is. I'm grateful for him too... he's a good brother and I love him so much.
I have also started a Grant Collier Family blog, in an attempt to gather some material of my mom and dad's lives both separately and together and to gather memories from them and us and the grandchildren. Our own family history that I can later publish. I decided only to maintain it a couple times a month- or when I get the chance, so I don't over do it and stress myself out with things to do. Things to do... oh so many of them, one of which is fold laundry... the immense amounts of laundry. Ech.