First Day of Spring at our House

On what looked more like the first day of Summer (it was 85 degrees here yesterday), we broke out the bubble guns to welcome the first day of Spring.

Happy Spring to all. We hope that your world is less pollen-filled then ours right now!!!

Trip to Orlando 2011

We had a long-planned trip to Orlando in February. At one point, as Brian's mom's health decline, we put the idea of the trip on hold. We ended up going a week after Gebee passed away. It was a nice time for us to be together as a family. We had great quality time and lots of fun with the boys!

Benjamin and Ethan had never been to any type of a fair or amusement park. They had also never stayed in a hotel before (we stay in condos when we go the the beach). We go to the hotel (after a 9 hour drive) and the boys were so impressed with the lobby and the luggage cart. Who needs theme parks when you have a luggage cart!!!

We got up early the next morning and headed for Legoland - it is about 45 minutes away from Orlando. Most of the rides, they boys were able to ride -- it was a nice introduction to theme parks for them.

They loved the water-skiing Pirate show.

And, what little boy would not love driving Lego race cars?

On Sunday, we headed to Sea World. We were able to meet up with Brian's nephew and his family. It is always fun when we get to see them -- they have a son that was born 2 months before Benjamin. The cousins love hanging out!

Brian, me and the boys rode a rather tame roller coaster at Legoland to have the boys experience a coaster. (There are no pictures from the 4 of us riding -- I was too busy hold on the Benjamin and comforting him!) We got off the roller coaster and Benjamin was crying, never wanting to ride again. Ethan looked at Brian and I and said "That was fun. I want to ride it again and again and again!!") So again he rode - at Sea World. Brian took Ethan and we took their picture.

Brian had to work for part of our trip. So we dropped him off at his show and the boys and I went back to Sea World. We timed Brian's pick up so that we could watch the duck procession at the Peabody Hotel. The boys loved seeing the ducks walk. And they were fascinated by the Duckmaster and how nicely he was dressed. (You can see a duck to Benjamin's right in this picture.)

And, last but not least, Magic Kingdom......

We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride several times and the boys loved zapping Zurg!

And, when asked, both Benjamin and Ethan love the People Mover!

We had a wonderful time as a family and as we pulled out of Orlando, Benjamin and Ethan were already asking when we could go back!

Missing Gebee

Our family suffered a great loss in February. Brian's mom - lovingly referred to as Gebee on the blog - passed away. Though she had been in hospice and her health had been declining over the last few months, her passing was still very difficult for all of us. She was able to see and spend time with close family in the hours before she passed away and we are so grateful for that time with her.

Brian and I had begun preparing the boys for her passing (but how do you really prepare anyone, let alone 3 and 4 year olds?) and the boys have asked a few questions since Gebee passed away. I am also very grateful that someone had suggested some ways to keep Gebee's with us. When her health was better, she did scrapbooks with each of the boys and also read recordable story books for the boys. We also took lots of videos of Gebee and the boys.

Here is Sue (Gebee) with her three sons:

Sue with the boys:

She loved reading to the boys (and they loved hearing her animate the stories):

The boys withe Sue at brunch with Santa last year:

Though we miss her every day, we know that Sue is in a better place and we cherish the time we got to spend with her.

Benjamin's Actual Birthday

I am very behind on my postings. We have had a lot going on here in the last month. The upcoming posts will go into all that has been happening. Let's just pick up right where we left off -- Benjamin's 5th birthday.

Here is the birthday boy with fresh, home-made waffles on his birthday.

And then a few special people dropped by school at lunch (I was there too!) to help Benjamin celebrate with his class.

The look on Benjamin's face when he realized that we were going to sing to him:

Once we started singing:

Papaw and Uncle Evan with the Birthday Boy:

Benjamin's birthday continued into the next evening, when Brian got home from out of town -- Benjamin picked Barburritos for dinner!

Happy 5th Birthday Benjamin!

Benjamin - you are a five year old today! How can it even be possible that the last 5 years have flown by but yet is seems like you have been in our lives forever. Mommy and Daddy often talk about how we don't remember life before Benjamin. You give us many reasons to smile everyday. We are so glad to have you as our son!

The last year you have truly grown into a little boy who is very outgoing and very eager to tell us (and others!) a story or what you learned at school. In fact, you recently transitioned to more advanced Pre-K class at school and your new teacher had to ask you to be quiet (not once but twice) on your first day!

You are very loving and are always ready with a hug, kiss, bump and a high five when we drop you off at school or say good night to you. You are caring and concerned for your brother -- we have even seen you come to his defense on the playground!

The things that you have learned in the last year have been nothing short of amazing! You can write all your letters -- upper and lowercase, can recognize and spell about 250 site words, are reading beginner books and can do basic addition and subtraction. You are fascinated with the solar system, dinosaurs, and the human body. (We were not prepared for the things you have learned this year and got a kick out of your correcting us - there really are only 8 planets now -- Pluto is now a "dwarf planet.")

You have adjusted well to moving into a new house this year and have made several friends who will be in elementary school with you in the fall. We have a swing set (with a "rock box") and you would be content to play outside every day - rain, sleet or snow! Our new house has a level driveway and basketball goal; you have been able to add basketball to your list of sports. Your love for baseball has continued with two seasons of t-ball under your belt! You are ready for coach-pitch baseball now!

Being constantly on the go requires a lot of fuel -- you eat more then we do! You are a great eater and love your fruits and veggies. If asked, you would say your favorite food is pizza or Mexican food.

Benjamin you are a thoughtful, caring, independent little boy. As we say good bye to Benjamin, the newborn, baby, toddler and pre-schooler, we look to the next year and are so excited to see what is in store for the school-aged Benjamin -- a "Bigger Boy" (as Benjamin would say).

48 Months:

50 Months:

51 Months:

52 Months:

53 Months:

54 Months:

55 Months:

56 Months:

57 Months:

58 Months:

59 Months:

60 Months:

Happy Birthday Benjamin, we love you!

(At this exact moment (7:52am) 5 years ago, we met Benjamin for the first time.

Just a Typical Friday at our house......

clowning around!

We went to the library near our house and instead of the usual story time, they had two clowns from the Ringling Brothers Circus reading a book and performing. (The circus is coming to town in a few weeks). The boys wanted to sit in the back and leave early. And, Benjamin told me that he was not going to laugh. Ethan agreed with him. They had so much fun and we got to bring home clown noses!

Hope you have time to clown around some this weekend!

What we have been up to......

Things have been moving at warp speed at our house. Brian was home for a long time over the holidays and we enjoyed every minute of it. We took the boys bowling for the first time. They loved it -- but, what's not to love about "gutter guards"?

We also enjoyed a very nice dinner with Gebee at Buckhead Diner. The food was great and the guests at my table did not spill anything or fight with each other (great job boys)!

I took the boys down to Uncle Evan's with me. After a trek through Ikea (I really love that place), all the boys felt they needed to relax a little!

We have been working hard to get things back to normal here after the holidays and have started tackling some of the projects around the new house. Don't worry, you will start seeing more of us on the blog......