Don't Forget to Lick the Spoon!

Check out Ashley and my new Recipe/Foodie Blog called "Don't Forget to Lick the Spoon"! This is going to be fun! There's only one post, but we'll be loading it up soon I'm sure! (There's a link to the left also for you to check back frequently, or become a follower!)

Yesterday, All My Troubles Seemed So Far Away...

Yesterday was a good day. I'm not sure if Ben isn't feel great, well, I'm pretty sure he's not- but either way he was SUPER mellow. He didn't cry I think once.. He slept a LONG time... he was happy and playful...over all just a lot happier than he has been lately. Ryan did the taxes and it turns out we're getting a decent return this year which will allow us to pay off some debt. It was also a good day because we got to go see Ryan's parents and Ben LOVES to see Nana and Poppy. Knows where the toys are and just loves to be there. And to top the day off we got to see my sister Delinda! She was down for a conference and we went to dinner with her. I miss her so much so I was so glad to be with and see her. We went to Uncle Julio's for dinner. YUM.
The only thing that was that when we got home from all of this fun, we had gotten an email saying our E-file was rejected for our tax return because someone used Ben's SSN# AGAIN for the second year in a row. Oh, don't you worry- they're going to hear it from us, and they WILL fix it. We'll probably have to end up changing his social because of all of this. It makes me incredibly furious. And now we'll have to mail our returns in, which means it'll take longer to get the money. BOO. Stupid jerks who stole my sons identity. KARMA people. KARMA.
I went to go get him to get ready for church this morning and at some point in the night he'd thrown up and had a messy, MESSY diaper. Poor guy... no fever or anything either. He's sleeping now. I love that little guy. We taught him in preparation for his birthday Wednesday to say "two" when we ask him how old he is. So cute. :)

It's been a rough road lately with our little toddler... Our almost two year old (1 week! Yikes!). He's definitely growing up, and although very fun and exciting- it can be MOST challenging as well. Look, I know I'm not the only one that's gone through this- but I am the only one that's gone through this with MY KID. However, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO grateful for people who do know what it's like and how tidbits of suggestions and experiences to offer me. Which is why I say today I'm grateful for the Internet and sites like blogging and/or Facebook that allow me to correspond and chat with friends/acquaintances that are going through the same thing as me- or have been through it and tell me to buck up because it'll get better, or that it'll get worse! Depends on who you talk to I guess! Anyway, I guess I'm on the look out for some 2 year molars or something... but it's good to know that mommy's are going through this same thing as me right now and that I'm not alone. I tell you what, being a mommy of a toddler is NOT easy. But I sure do love that little booger. He cracks me up constantly... well, okay when he's not having tantrums and stuff. Sometimes those are funny too, especially when he's faking it.
I've decided the way I blow my nose is kind of embarrassing, not the way I do it- but the way it sounds. It's really loud and trumpety. TMI? Sorry.
I don't know if this ever happens to you, but I'm about 98% sure it does because it happens to me ALL the time. But some days at work, 5-6 of us will wear similar outfits or colors. Like today apparently is black and red day. I think it's kind of strange and coincidental. Do you think there's some kind of phenomenon behind that?
Last thing of note; It really annoys me when I think a banana isn't to the ripeness of my preference. I can usually judge when one is JUST RIGHT... but this morning- I judged wrong. And now my teeth feel all funky from it... and I can't go on eating it. Am I the only one with this issue too?

cheapskate

I love bargain shopping. I just bought a $59.99 jacket for Ben for next winter at JCPenny.com for $14.92 with shipping!!!! If you are looking to buy something from JC Penny online plug in Promo Code TEN4YOU and get $10 off! (Not sure how long that one will last, but it just worked for me!)
Got a pair of tennis shoes (size 9) for Ben that he'll wear... someday... but for just $2.47 just from digging through the clearance bin at Old Navy! I'm not afraid to get down on the floor in my work clothes to find these deals!
It's just so exhilarating to shove it to the man. :)

Ben Videos

In this video he's telling me all about the "no" which is snow of course. He points to me and says "hair!" and then he says "Jackey" for jacket, meaning it's on your hair and jacket!
This one is just him checking it out. He got scared to walk on it alone so I had to hold his hand.

This one you have to kind of turn up, it was a lot louder in person than on the video. But he was SUPER congested and you can hear it when he's breathing out. He was OUT!

Snowmagedon

This past week wasn't so bad. Thursday afternoon around 3:45pm the power in my building at work went out. Which is actually quite strange because there are literally 5-6 HUGE generators right outside the back of the building that kicked on right away. At about 4:15 my boss told me and 3 others to go home and then we found out right about the same time we were walking out it came back on. But lucky for us we didn't have to go back! So I went and got the dude and we had a little extra time together at home. He really wanted to watch Sesame Street on the computer. I love watching him watch it. And I love seeing how he learns from it. Well, it snowed yesterday! The daycare closed at 2pm (which that whole situation annoys me just thinking about it) and so I got to leave work early again. But they let people go home at 2:30 anyway. It's so funny to me, if it starts snowing they tell people to go home that early to avoid traffic. It took Ryan over an hour to get home and he left at 3. We got a good amount of snow too! It was quite lovely and stuck really quick and we probably got about 2-ish inches here at our house. Of course, with the way our property faces the sun- it all melted today even though across the street it's still covered. Silly sunshine- but I love you, so you don't have to go. Anyway I woke up before the boys did this morning- well kind of, Ryan had a bad headache and when he wakes up with one of those they make him throw up and that's actually what woke me and after nursing him back to sleep I couldn't sleep anymore so I went and sat on the front couch and looked outside at the sun coming up and the beautiful blue sky and pretty, fluffy soft snow everywhere. I took some photos too because it was just so pretty and not something that you see too often around here. I kept singing that song "All things bright and beautiful..." in my head while I was sitting there enjoying it.Ben waited patiently for us to eat breakfast (as seen above), after which we went outside to play for a LONG time and we played in the snow, made a snowman- who has already left us for a better place, and tried to get the heavy snow off Ryan's "favorite trees" on the side of our property. Some of the branches broke from the weight of the wet snow and he didn't want anymore to get injured. Ben loved the snow. He ate some for the first time even. I showed him how I could eat it and then he wanted as well. I think it must've felt good on those sore gums. He probably could have stayed out there much longer but his cheeks were getting too red and I'm pretty sure he's got another blasted cold- so it was time. After snow play, we brought Ben in for a warm bath and then thought for sure he'd be WIPED out for nap. Nope. He acted a few times like he was about to fall asleep- but he didn't. We did however let him "rest" for the same amount of time he would've napped. But bedtime couldn't have come any quicker tonight! He was grumpy by like 4pm! I have to remind US of patience when he gets like that! Note to self too: using the snot-sucking-bulb-thing while child is sleeping is A LOT easier and less of a battle!!!

We watched the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver last night with the Elton's. Man, junk food mania. Pizza, chili-cheese dip, and caramel popcorn (blech). None of us were super impressed by the opening ceremonies... there was one part where the whales looked like they were swimming on the ground and that was cool... but other than that I thought a lot of the segments could've ended quicker than they did. Anyway... I do love the Olympics. I particularly love the snowboarding events and the ski jumps and stuff. So I am excited for them. And we had a lovely time with 2 1/2 Elton's. :)
We really didn't do much of anything today. Neither of us felt great, both had headaches and like zero energy... too bad because my house is a MESS. Someday... someday I'll get it organized. I hope.

Best of 2009

Yup, I'm going to attempt to do this. The reason why I say "attempt" is because my memory has had better days. I'm sure there is SO much that I will miss that we did. But I will highlight some of our favorites (with Ryan's help of course) from last year. (Thank goodness for pictures to remind me!)

January

The Terry family was created (well there already was one obviously, but specifically Jacob and Ashley!)
Ben had his first trip to the ER with an ear infection that the doctor supposedly didn't see earlier in the day when I took him in! Poor little baby, but he got better and we got the cutest mini hospital gown out of it!

February

Ben's first swing experience, went to Knoxville, TN to see the Finney's and went to the zoo.

March

Ben turns 1 and Heather turned the big 3-0!!!

AprilBen walks!
Heather flew to UT to be with her BFF Andrea after the passing of her mother.

MayDeath Cab for Cutie Concert (awesome) and a field trip to the Georgia Guidestones

JuneA birthday for Ryan and a trip to UT, which we also visited Las Vegas (Ryan's first time)
Michael Jackson died. What? He was a ROCK ICON.
We had our 1 year Eternalversary (sealing anniversary)
The Atlanta Temple was closed for renovations

(skipping July... nothing out of the ordinary)

AugustJiznin (Sister Garrett) got home from her mission! YAY!
Went to the Red Bull Soap Box Derby- which was really fun

SeptemberWe went to Destin, FL to the lovely condo at the lovely beach.

OctoberSwitched Ben's daycare
Annual Pumpkin Patch visit
Ben went Trick-or-Treating for the first time! (although his second Halloween)

NovemberNo more Binky for Ben
New daycare... again
Heather starts selling Scentsy
Thanksgiving in Chicago with DJ! Drove through TN, KY, IN to get there! It was one totally fun trip!

DecemberHoliday festivities, but best of all Heather's parents visiting from UT for Christmas!

What a fun year we had! We got to visit FL, UT, NV, IL, IN, KY, TN, (drove through AL & AZ). Saw a lot of cool new places, and got to spend lots of time with our families. Good stuff. Here's to more fun in 2010!

I've decided that being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be when you think you want to be one when you're a kid. When you're younger you dream of having a house, a baby or 2, a husband, your own car... all these wonderful symbols of "freedom". These things however, are not sources of "freedom". I mean, they're great- don't get me wrong. But freedom is not what I think of when I think of our mortgage payment, our car note, etc. These things are binding... that my friends, is not the definition of freedom.

Another part of growing up is the body getting older. And all the people that were youngish to you growing up getting older and older too. Like our parents. Our older brothers and sisters, or even younger siblings... them too! It's so weird to think that I as the youngest, will be 31 soon and my oldest sister is in her mid 40's! When did THAT happen! Right now on my side of the family we're all a mess. Well, mostly my parents and 3 oldest siblings. We've got anything from a recent car accident with broken ribs and a fractured arm (no other harm though thank goodness), to oxygen to kidney problems to paralyzed stomach to CFS... it's scary! And it's frustrating! There never seems to be a good answer for what is wrong. That's a whole other blog post for another time, or maybe never. Anyway, it's so hard for me to be so far away from them. I wish I could help, and want to- but feel SO helpless this far away. Prayers are the best far away remedy or show of love that I can think of. Other suggestions are welcomed. Maybe I should do some sort of Care Package or something...but shhh, don't tell them. Anyway, thank goodness for wellness week at work and a free massage yesterday. Too bad it was only 10 mins and not like 5 hours. Like my mom always says "I'll give you 2 hours to stop". That's my part of feeling old. My bones and joints don't move like they used to. I have a pinch in my shoulder blade that makes my right arm numb from being on a stupid computer all day long... but man I am so grateful to be alive and relatively healthy. I really want to stay that way. I just need to get more motivated to exercise and continue to try and eat right. But man, I love me some food. I mean, it's very obvious by the way I look (yes, I know I'm fluffy). In fact, I love it so much that (HERE'S A GIANT PLUG) me and Ashley are in the midst of creating a "foodie" blog where we will post recipes and other crafty creations. I will let you all know when it is up and running. Maybe something fun will come of it.

Anyway... focus Heather, focus. (another part of getting older... ) My point is kids... even with all this sometimes not-so-fun growing up to do, there is SO much fun that comes along with it too. I love that I get to see two of the best smiles in the world everyday from my boys. I love that we get to have the coolest little guy as our kid- and realize that even though at times it's the HARDEST thing EVER in the world it is such an honor and blessing too. I feel blessed we even have a house, I know that a lot of people would be envious of that. I am SOOOOOO grateful for my little CRV, because I love it. I love my car. I love the way it looks and how we feel as a family in it. SO much better than that nasty Neon I formerly drove... ugh... I am SO glad we were able to find someone who needed it. Not a kid friendly car (but so many fun memories!). I'm also very grateful for the fact that the older I get the more I realize who the important people are in our life and who we need and what kinds of people or things we could do with out. The older I get the less acquaintances I have, but the more BEST friends I have acquired. The ones I know that will be around for a LONG time are still with me after years and years and I appreciate that. They are no longer acquaintances, they are FRIENDS that really care what's going on.
I've thought a lot about what's happened in the last 13 years (YIKES!) since I graduated high school and how much changing I've done. I even listen to the same music I have this whole time differently. Lyrics to songs have a whole new meaning to me now then they did back when... but there are things that have stayed the same too. And really, I don't know about you all but I would've never pictured myself where I am in my life and what it's like to be what I thought would be like when I was a kid. (did that make sense?) It's not bad, it's just... life. One thing though I've realized, is that I need to lighten up a little. Have more fun. Laugh more. I used to all the time, and now that there is SO much more stress in my life I forget to. There is so much to be happy about and laugh at, even myself... no wait, MOSTLY myself. So remember that Heather, BE HAPPY. LAUGH. SMILE!

"I guess when it comes down to it Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up These are the best days of our lives The only thing that matters is just following your heart And eventually you'll finally get it right."- The Ataris

Because you loved me...

Someone from General Mills must've read THIS BLOG ENTRY of mine. Because they finally did it. They did it, I think, because they love me. It's the Chex Mix that I love oh so much, only with out the crap in it that I don't love so much. (Okay, "Crap" is a harsh word, but now you know how I really feel about it!) And it's 100 calories which is even better! Thank you General Mills.
Love,
Your BFF Heather

Up-chuck a-rama!

So we just got done doing an iChat with my parents. We try to do it once a week so that they can see us and we can see them, but mostly so they can see Ben- let's be honest. Tonight when we did it, right toward the end I got him laughing pretty hard, and I've mentioned before that ever since he could laugh, if he does hard enough he gets the hiccups. Well... tonight he got them and got them so hard he threw up from laughing and hiccuping all at the same time- all while we were doing our chat! And ALMOST in my face! Ewwww! Ugh... sweet potatoes and mac & cheese... barfarama!!!! And then there's me, gagging from the stench and the site (and having to clean it up) and everyone's laughing but me- even Benny was laughing and all this time, my dad was RECORDING IT! That will be a priceless gem. Too bad there's all the mumbo-jumbo at the beginning!
Needless to say, we did a bath right away and then made sure we brushed teeth right after bath! I am so grateful for Fluoride Free toothpaste!

Our weekend was actually kind of tiring. We were really super busy! Friday night we went and hung out with our sickly Ashley. We took some sketti over and then played (and won) Super Mario Bros on the Wii! We beat GigaBowser! We had been really trying hard to beat him for a while, and we finally did it. Not sure how... but we did! Then Saturday Ryan ran to take care of some unfinished business and me and Ben hung out then after Ryan got back we went and picked my rings up from being cleaned and buffed and re coated and then went to lunch. Then I drove to Brittany to get my hair done, much over do! When I got home we went to the grocery store so we could make some dinner. We ended up making Fried Fish! Then we decided to fry some zucchini, and then Ryan thought let's see what else we can fry! So he tried one of Ben's goldfish! He was a fan. So we had fish and chips and watched "Up" and fell asleep. By the time we ate it was like ten... it was so late and we were so delirious and in the middle of it all my FAVORITE PITCHER from Crate and Barrel fell off the top of the fridge and broke. It was so sad. We got it as a wedding gift and it was seriously one of the coolest things I've ever owned. Ryan was mad too. :(
Anyway, Sunday was Stake Conference. It was the Regional one so all of the Southeast had the same broadcast and Pres Eyring was speaking, but not until the end and right as he started the satellite or whatever they used to transmit the broadcast went kaput. So we only got bits and pieces until finally the Stake Pres decided to send everyone home 15-20 mins early. I just have to note a couple of cute things Ben did while we were there; I swear it was like looking at Ryan for a minute or two. There was a young couple with a little boy just a couple months younger than Ben sitting behind us. Their little boy was quite talkative and outgoing and Ben is still pretty shy when he doesn't know the people he's around. He watched him VERY carefully and observed him, and would look at me, and then back at him. And I can't describe it but it was SO Ryan, facial expressions and all! Then later, there was a teenage girl sitting on the stage in the back and she was waving at him and he would kind of keep his head down and eyes up at her and discretely wave back to her with quick and short waves. It was SO cute! During one of the rest hymns while they were fixing the video he decided to go in the middle of the aisle and I let him since nothing much was going on and he stood and watched the chorister and started leading the music along with her! Then he'd run to me and snuggle his head in my lap and run back and do it some more. During the closing prayer, he was sitting on Jacob's lap. And Jacob told him to fold his arms and he did very reverently and he started to wiggle and move and look at Jacob and Jacob kept his head down and shook it like "shhh" and Ben just sat there a little longer quietly with his arms folded. It was adorable. He loves those guys!
That afternoon Ryan got a bee in his bustle and decided we needed to clean out the garage because the Christmas stuff needed to go up- so why not do it all at once. Ben decided that he didn't want to take a nap, but hung out in his crib and talked to himself and pointed to the pictures on the wall and to the picture of Jesus on his dresser. I took him some books to read and shut the door and peeked in on him and he was doing the motions to The Wheels on the Bus and pretending to rub his eyes for the "Wah! Wah! Wah!" part of the story! I love watching him when he doesn't know I am.
THEN... I made dinner and chatted with Clint who came over after church stuff and then everyone came over for dinner- sans the Terry's. Poor Ashley got sicker that night. Ben had a friend (his size) to play with, the Hutchison's came and so he and Hallie had a ball together! They even took a bath together and he just watched her as she had a ball splashing around and playing all of his toys! Afterward, when I pulled him out he kept saying "Hallie, bah! Hallie, bah!" like "Mom! Hallie and I took a bath and it was fun!" Of course, I have blackmail photos! Too cute not to! But I'm a little weirded to post them online, now if this was a private blog I might. Hallie is a pretty girl! I think Ben has a crush! Ben has also discovered (unfortunately) that he can climb up the wooden stool we have. It was behind the couch, and he'd climb up and giggle at Geoff and then Geoff would grab him down and he'd run back and do it all over again. Seriously, thank goodness for good friends who humor our kid! His smile and laugh though are pretty convincing! He looked kind of like a regular sized person up there behind that couch!We had a good weekend though. Very busy but lots of fun. I made Chicken Enchiladas for dinner and will be posting about the recipe next. Seriously, T.D.F. (To Die For!)

I think it's time for a thoughts post

• I'm listening to the radio and they're doing a panel of single guys that single girls are asking questions to regarding what they need to do to get single guys (in general) attention. I had to turn it off, I was really just saddened by the whole "game" that is played out there. And I mean, the LDS World of Dating is TOTALLY different than non-LDS because well, it's kind of assumed that eventually you will have sex with that person... and I don't mean AFTER marriage. I don't want to go on and on, because then this wouldn't be a "thoughts" blog post, it would be a one thought post... but I am SO grateful that I didn't have experience a lot of jerks before I met my ONE, Ryan. I am glad he is a good guy and that it didn't take long to know he was THE ONE. And I'm glad I'm married, not that it's an easy thing... but I just really hated dating.
• Yesterday as I was looking out the window of the building I work in, I was watching the cars go by and then (this may sound utterly ridiculous) I remembered that those weren't just cars, that was a whole bunch of people that just DROVE their cars past me. People going to work, or the doctor, or home, people who lived and breathed just like me. Sometimes I feel very in my own world, and very much like me and Ryan and Ben are like almost the only ones in it and the other people we come in contact with everyday are part of it- but I mean, I don't really see too many other people than that in my everyday life. And I just have moments when I realize that Heavenly Father has so many millions of children and he still loves each of us individually and a lot. Cool huh? Okay, maybe just to me.
• I'm glad January is almost over. I am starting to be super ready for Spring and warmer happier weather soon. Or at least for the land to look greener.
• I love all my brothers and sisters so much. I am so lucky to have them to look up to.
• I'm pretty sure that they put new toilet seats in our restroom here. Nice!
• Does anyone else (whose had a baby) feel random "Phantom Kicks" occasionally? NO, I'm not pregnant... I'm just really curious because I do all the time. Maybe I'm just more aware of movement in there since having a kid! HA! Or as my friend here at work calls it "BG's" for Bubble Guts!
• Continuing about the Radio, Q100 here in Atlanta kind of sucks when it comes to the music they play. One day I kept track of one of the songs they play all the time, they seriously played it every 45 mins to an hour. I have the emails to Ryan telling him it was on again to prove it. Take it off the loop people!
• Sometimes... there's nothing better than a plain ol' Hershey's Kiss. Just the plain Milk Chocolate. All by itself. Sometimes I suck on them and let them melt, sometimes I like to just chomp away. Good stuff.
• I am SO grateful for friends. I am a very blessed person. I just love how comfortable Ben is around "Ashee" and "Caco" (Jacob) and how loving they are towards him. Same with ("Kint") Clint and Jen and the Burkes and the Eltons, and all of our other friends.
• I can't believe just how shy Ben is sometimes. Ashley totally called it yesterday, she said he is totally fine around grown ups for the most part but gets SUPER timid and shy around other little kids. He reminds me so much of Ryan sometimes!
• My goal this year is not to just do Ben updates on the blog... but to write more. Even if no one reads these things anymore. Seems like almost everyone does their stuff on Facebook anymore. I still like to read blogs though!

I read someone else's blog today that led to this article and I really liked it and wanted to share it as well. I think I need to take this person's advice and start "cleansing" as it were, my life.
STUFF

Thundering Waters

I don't know about you, but after the Holidays I get pretty bummed. Mostly because there isn't much to look forward to until March-ish because of birthdays. January and February usually suck for me. My dear Ashley heard from a friend or coworker about this cabin she and her family had gone to up in Cleveland, GA near Helen. It was a reasonable price, especially with a few people chipping in and not too far and something to do on the MLK Day weekend. Some of us had it off, some didn't but we decided to go for it. And boy are we glad we did! We had a very enjoyable weekend. We all took food up so we could cook breakfast and dinners together, and we basically snacked for lunch. The scenery around the cabin was beautiful. When you walk out of the house to the back deck the Chattahoochee River is literally right there below you. And the river splits over an island across the water from the house and so there were two rapids on each split and then again where it goes together. The Cabin is called Thundering Waters and for a good reason! It was gorgeous! We did some exploring Saturday but after that it started raining so we stayed inside and watched TV, played Wii, did a puzzle, some people read, napped, ate, talked... it was just nice. That's basically all we did the whole weekend. Sunday we went for a walk and that was really nice. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves and plan to go again and again!

My B

I just had to note a few things that Ben is doing right now I find either REALLY cute or REALLY annoying. We'll start with the really annoying first to end on a good note. We'll also see how this goes since he's making me hold him right now while I type.

The first annoying thing is this:
It frustrates me SO bad when he hits himself when he's having a tantrum or when he's in trouble... any suggestions? Part of me thinks I just need to ignore it and maybe he'll stop. But then I don't want him to think he can keep doing it, hurting himself is NOT okay. (Update: we got advice from a friend who said their kid did it and when they acted like they didn't care she stopped... so that's what we'll attempt to do too.)
The tantrums in general suck. But we DO ignore those for the most part. When we do he quits pretty quickly.
Most of these little tantrums are happening at night, when he's tired of course. And he occasionally will fight us to go to sleep lately too. We are thinking of getting him a toddler bed. But we have some time and aren't too stressed about it.

The cute things:
He's talking SO much. In almost whole sentences too. I stayed home today because I've got my usual January ickies and the first thing he said to me when I got him out of the crib was "Momma, nunny, ee-oh's" Which translates to "Momma I'm hungry, I want Cheerios". He likes to "CULLAH" a lot, which means coloring. :) He's actually now coloring next to me and just yelled "yay cullah!". Oh! I have an idea; since we live in such a technological society- I'll just add some MORE video!
My parents taught him to say "OH NO!" and now he says it to almost EVERYTHING, but it's really quite cute.
When he gets a boo-boo or hurt he comes up to me and points the body part that hurts towards my mouth so I can kiss it better. He'll even kiss my boo-boo's better too if I ask.
If he is in his high chair in the kitchen and I'm in a different room, he'll shout out "MAMMA!" just to make sure I'm still around.
He's really good about cleaning up. He likes to wipe his high chair and sing "me-mup" for cleanup. When it's time to get out of the bath, he'll put everything back where he got them from and watches the bubbles or water tornado go down the drain. He'll clean up pretty well when we ask him to put away his toys. He's a very good listener, when he wants to be of course. But then again, don't we ALL have selective hearing?
The kid loves to wear hats. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything he can fit on his head, he calls a hat.Him and Ryan give each other five when they see each other at night. They're so excited to see each other, but to keep it "macho" they high five. Pretty cute.
He LOVES applesauce (he calls them apples). He ate like 3 bowls full this time and had it all over his shirt. When I pulled his shirt off, the applesauce came off the shirt on to his face. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a LONG time! He just sat there looking like he wanted to be bugged he had applesauce in his eyes, but wanted to know what momma and daddy were laughing so hard about!He likes to sit on his beach ball and try and fall off of it. He likes to jump in his crib before he lays down. He says "chh, chh, chh" and then falls on his bum and then gets up and does it all over again. We tell him to get all his jitters out!
He STILL gets the hiccups when he laughs too hard. Sometimes even throws up... which I feel bad about, but I think it's pretty funny.
He keeps us on our toes. He's such a good kid and we are so lucky to have him. We get excited the minute we're done with work to rush to go pick him up. I only wish and hope and pray that I can be at home with him more in the future. It's my goal. I just miss him too much.

Goodnight Sweetheart, well it's time to go... ba-doom, ba-doom

Well, we say goodbye to my beloved parents "Granola" tomorrow... sad face. We have had a good time with them and are VERY grateful for their visit. Sleeping on a sloped, crooked bed and the floor and couch have all been worth it. Ben has enjoyed his Pumpa and Mah-ma SO much. He will miss them so much, and so will we.

Christmas 2009

Well, it's pretty dead at work today and it's unfortunate I'm AT work the week after Christmas but this will actually at least allow me some time to update the blog.

Last week was, of course, busy busy busy! Well, really from Saturday the 19th on it was! We had a party that night at our house and we had a lot of fun, but we spent most of the day cleaning and running and cooking. We had a great group of people come and play games with us, talk eat and enjoy each other's company. There were even other little ones for Ben to play with! Here he is with Addison!

Monday Ben wasn't feeling too good and had thrown up at the daycare. It wasn't a lot, he's just been really congested and it was mostly that stuff. Either way, he had a low grade fever so when we got home I sat and held him and he squirmed out of my arms and down to the floor on a pillow and fell right asleep. He slept there for about an hour and then woke up and we took him to my room on the bed and gave him some apple sauce and some crackers and had him take it easy on my bed. He rested on my bed and played and read books while I cleaned up our room. And then he eventually fell back asleep. I mean it's hard not to, our bed is WONDERFUL.

Tuesday was a crazy day. I had a wedding to take pictures at that night, so Ryan's mom agreed to pick up and watch Ben that night because Ryan usually comes with me to help and/or shoot candids if we happen to have an extra camera. Unfortunately because Ben hadn't been feeling good the day before- right about 4pm I got a call saying we needed to pick him up because he had a fever. The poor little dude. Luckily she was able to go get him and he got lots of Nana & Poppy love and broke his fever while he was sleeping and when we came to pick him up he was a sleepy sweaty little balled up dude! After that, besides a littel cough, he's been feeling fine. I still wonder though when those darn teeth are going to come in! And let me tell you what, I will be SO glad when it's all over with! No one really warned me about the kid getting teething for like almost 2 years! I only thought that was a baby thing! UGH!
My parents flew in from UT on Wednesday night. The flight went well for them and they arrived here safe and sound and even a few minutes early! We went straight home, except for a quick stop at Little Cesar's and ate and visited until we were all too pooped to stay awake anymore. Our plan for Christmas was to do a Collier Christmas on Christmas Eve- with our traditional dinner and other family traditions we've done my growing up years, like reading "The Christmas Whale" and the story of the birth of Christ, and opening up one present. Christmas Day we planned to continue the Collier thing in the morning and then all of us go to The Smith's for the rest of the day and have dinner there and open presents from that side of the family. Well, the plan worked out pretty nicely. Christmas Eve I was lucky enough to get the day off, and that morning we had to run some errands and pick up some extra food and then we went back to the house and mom cooked and dad played with Ben lots and me and Ryan helped and just hung out. Ben has a ball with "Papa" (he can't quite say Grandpa yet) and Grandma. Even in their old age (ha, ha!) they can still run around and play with him. They were both worried he wouldn't really know who they were and be standoffish, but Ben took to my dad right away- even the night we picked them up. It's probably because he was wearing a silly hat and Ben digs hats. :) Anyway, Delinda & Jen had come in to town for the Holiday and came over early evening and we ended up eating at around 7. The food was delicious and perfect. I made Cornbread Sausage stuffing for Ryan, which was delicious. Ryan made the reindeer brownies, mom make the Yorkshire pudding pictured next to the stuffing in the oven below, we had roast beef and potatoes and salad and trifle and everything was just yummy. But because we ate later Delinda and Jen had to go to her parents house right after dinner and Ben was pretty much ready for bed after that- so we didn't get around to reading or opening a present together... which was okay. Just missed. We did get to watch a little of the Nutcracker on TV though, and Ben enjoyed it while dancing with his deflated floaties on. So random!This is my cute nativity set I got for SUPER cheap online! Joseph's staff was broken, but super glue came to the rescue!

Christmas morning we opened gifts of course, this really being the first year Ben understood that when he tore the paper there was a treat inside! We had to show him how to do it and then he got excited when ANYONE opened a present and wanted to help them too. I'm afraid his grandparents spoiled him a little, but isn't that what grandparents are for?
This is how excited Ryan was to get Ramen in his stocking... but hey! That's his favorite flavor!Look, I was tired okay?We plan on taking some of the things he hasn't yet played with and storing them away until a birthday or something like that. One little dude who is perfectly content playing with a pitcher and a wooden spoon does not need 100 Hot Wheels and lots of other toys! We really want him to appreciate and respect his toys and his "things" and not to get too greedy. Anyway, after breakfast and playing some Wii (Ryan got me the Wii Sports Resort game that I was SO excited about) and Kidder (my sister's dog) throwing up LARGE amounts on my carpet and all of us laughing about it and all of us almost gagging.... we went to Ryan's parents house minus Delinda. Ryan's sister Kelly and her family were there, along with Uncle Tony as well. More presents were opened, one of which we gave Ryan's parents that turned out to be a tear jerker for my mother in-law! I found a frame that said "Grandchildren are a blessing" and it had 8- 4x6 frames that surrounded the saying and a couple months ago met up with Ryan's sister and her family and took pictures of all the kids individually and together plus a photo of their whole family together and the one of our little family in Chicago. Their family hasn't had a "family photo" since their first was born so it was good for everyone to have! Here Ben is with his cousins on Ryan's side of the family, and then his sister's family.We ate spaghetti and lasagna, Ben even got to eat at the big kid table this year! And then we enjoyed each others company. Ben blew blow fish face on the door out to porch room which was funny. And we even got a picture of our dude with all of his grandparents! Look how blessed he is!
It was a wonderful Christmas and we are very lucky to have had my parents here this year! What a treat for us! It was the best present I could have gotten and did get, and love them so much for making the sacrifice to come out here. They leave in just a few days so we are relishing the time left with them. There will be more pictures to come from the rest of their visit I'm sure!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010 here we come!