Quick Picture...

Today has been a full day of church and a church Harvest party this evening....with the afternoon spent prepping things for the party.  Peter and I are both tired so I don't have energy to post all my pictures, but here's Benjamin before church this morning.  Such a little man (or funny boy as he likes to refer to himself) :-)

Be back with more pics tomorrow (hopefully!)

The fall crazy

I like to refer to October as the beginning of the "fall crazy."  Okay, so I don't really often refer to it as that but it does seem fitting!  It's just that once October hits, so does the crazy busy schedule.  Since I feel behind on what we've been up to, I will resort to the good old fashioned bulleting system to remember a few things!

*  Our EPIC girls went to watch Oregon State vball last Friday.  They got beat.  But only because the girls from Washington University were freakishly tall.  Seriously.  We're talking 6'5".  We followed it up with Yogurt Extreme so it was a good night.

*  A couple of our girls stayed the night with us after the vball game so we hung out while Peter went to an elder prayer retreat all Saturday.

*  Peter and I shared sicknesses.  It wasn't fun.  We both had zero energy for a few days, I went through boxes of Kleenex, Peter is still coughing a bit, and I think there was a headache involved.  But we survived.

*  We had our friends Kristen and her kiddos over for dinner Tuesday while her husband was gone.  Benjamin loves having his friends over.  Peter thought it'd be funny to dress them up....literally.

Benjamin fussed the entire time Peter put the dress on.  Micah, on the other hand, didn't want to take his off.  Sorry Kristen :-)

*  Today I met up with some of my old co-workers for a quick hour at a fun little Gelato place.  It was fun to catch up with their lives and think about old times.  None of us work for the company anymore (gladly) so it's fun to enjoy how we've all moved on.

*  I even got a couple hours to browse Michaels and grocery shop at WinCo (with a decaf Starbucks) before we met up.  Of course, the day I leave after Benjamin falls asleep for a nap he decides to sleep for 3 hours.  Why oh why will he never do that when I'm home???  So unfair.

*  Lots of other little things like co-worker wedding showers, babysitting friends kids, organizing Harvest party games, making dessert for our Harvest Party, worship team, doctor's appointments, and all the normal in's and out's of life like laundry, cooking, grocery shopping.......it's just been full, full days. 

*  Oh yeah, and this little booger keeps me quite busy.

he still drinks milk like there's no tomorrow

He seriously is at the cutest age.  He talks ALL.THE.TIME and is just a smart cookie.  It's so fun to watch him put together new sentences and recognize new concepts.  And he's just a wild man.....constantly jumping or doing crazy dances all across the living room.  He's big into "follow me, follow me" and insists that I chase after him wherever he goes as he giggles like a hyena.  It's somewhat dizzying but I love every second.  I want to freeze time.  But I know I can't, and I know that in about 15/16 weeks we're going to have another little boy who I am going to be just as crazy about....it's so weird to think that.  I'm just amazed that God gives you the ability to love your children instantly, equally and unconditionally.  It really is a blessing and I can't wait!

*  Okay, I think I'm a bit caught up thought I've been slacking in the picture area lately.  Oh well.  It smells good in my house right now.....do you think the church would mind if I donated a white chocolate caramel cheesecake to the dessert auction that already had a slice taken out of it????  Okay, okay, maybe not.  Guess I'll have to get my dose of late night sweetness from this little guy!

will update soon!

Benjamin just wanted to show his cute little face and say that Mommy will be back to update the blog really soon.  It's been a busy week and I don't leave Mommy much time to blog.  See ya soon :-)

Fall family walk

This afternoon was just beautiful so once Peter came home from work we decided to talk a walk before dinner.  We grabbed a few carrots for the horse we always visit and we were off.

It was perfect light jacket weather and it's always nice to catch up with each other on how our days were while Benjamin talks nonstop about everything he sees.  He seriously doesn't stop.

We made it to the horse and as always he was so happy to see us (or at least our carrots!)

Benjamin insisted on walking around on his own, out of the stroller, for awhile while he explored the neighborhood.  We are just loving this age, it seems like everything (okay, almost everything) he does is cute or funny.

Daddy even managed to find the very last of the edible blackberries.  Who would have thought there would still be any in mid-October!  Benjamin was absolutely delighted!!!  I think Peter won Father of the Year with this find :-)

We came home, ate leftover taco soup, and now we're vegging for a bit before Benjamin goes to bed.  We've both been feeling a bit under the weather today so we're going to call it an early night and might eat some chocolate cookies and watch our PBS show in bed.  Sounds kinda nice!

I love seeing these two together :-)

Benjamin's first Sunday School

Today Benjamin had his first Sunday school class.  Normally, he stays with Peter and I while we teach the high school kiddos but the Sunday school superintendent Elaine wanted to start a little class with Benjamin.  He's the only one his age that comes to SS so it's super sweet of her to offer to do this with him.

He played a fishing game with her, sang some songs, colored a sheet (sort of), put a sticker on it, and then played.  He seemed to really enjoy it and I think Elaine enjoyed getting to know him a little more too.  It was kind of nice to have our Sunday school class be a little less distracted by the crazy almost 2 year old too :-)

Here's his first Sunday school sheet to ever bring home...

I cannot believe he's getting so big.  I just want to freeze time yet I am absolutely loving this age.  He just seems like he's growing up soooo fast and becoming more of a little boy way too fast.

Relaxing Weekend

Friday night we went on a Costco date night as a family.  I had already gone earlier in the week for the items we needed but that doesn't stop us from going back for a fun night of samples and cheap slices of pizza!  So that's just what we did.

Afterward we ran to Target to get some stain remover spray for 25 cents thanks to a coupon (and we may have picked up some yogurt covered pretzels and AirHeads from their $1.00 section.......who can resist everything from there anyway?)

I got a free item from Bath & Body Works (thanks to another coupon!) and we got Peter some new work shoes (with yes, another coupon!)  Then we headed to Coldstones for some ice cream, where......you guessed it, we used 2 more coupons.  Ben got a free kids size and we had some cheap small sizes for us.  Of course Benjamin eats 5 bits and is completely done. He is so weird, who would have thought that we'd have a child who doesn't really like ice cream??  Peter and I both decided that Coldstones is not really our favorite and unless we had a coupon we don't really go.  Anyway........

We came home and watched some more of our PBS show and relaxed after Ben went to bed (which for the record, was the first night in about 3 weeks that he didn't cry when I left the room.  Hallelujah!)

This morning Peter had a men's prayer breakfast at church and then it was all church workday.  I hung out with Benjamin at home for a few hours (he was up at 7am) and then we went to church to "help"  We're priming the youth sunday school room and we're going to repaint it with a fun, more youthful design so the teens have a room to hang out in.  We'll put in a foosball table, air hockey table, etc....should be fun for them.  Benjamin managed to be quite a nuisance and there's even a handprint of his in the primer to show that he was there!  We ate some potato soup then headed home so he could nap.

Peter worked on computer stuff while I actually took a nap!  Oh bliss!  I've just been sleeping so badly in part due to Benjamin, my baby in utero, and allergies, so it was nice to rest some.  We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Benjamin who I swear gets more adorable every day.  We ate the lazy dinner of chicken nuggets and tator tots which oddly tasted great tonight, then Peter and Benjamin did puzzles while I made some chocolate chip cookies.  We're planning on devouring them while we watch some more PBS shows tonight after Ben goes to bed. 

It's just been an overcast, kind of dreary day today and I think our family time, warm chocolate chip cookies, tator tots, crazy cute little boy, naps, puzzles, and a bit of work at church made for the perfect day.  I know I've bored everyone with all this detail but I like looking back at what we were up to.  I don't have any new pictures from today but here's an oldie that I love.  It sums up our lazy feeling day perfectly and I just adore how much this father and son look alike.  Hope you're having a great weekend too!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Here's what I'm loving on this pretty October day!

*  I'm loving that it's cool enough outside for apple cider in the evenings.  With a little bit of caramel and maybe a bit of whipped cream.......yummy!

*  I'm loving that we bought a mantle for our fireplace.  We have to paint it this weekend, but it's going to be so fun to put stockings up there for Christmas this year.

*  I'm loving that my friend Kristen and I swapped kids for a day this week.  I watched her kids on Monday so she had a day off and she watched Ben all day yesterday.  I went shopping at an outlet mall, drank hot chocolate while I sat in a quiet house and browsed for Christmas presents, and ran a few more errands.  It was so fun though I missed my little man.  We might make this a regular thing we do, it was great!

*  I'm loving that my husband and I don't miss our cable one bit.  I do watch a show or two online every now and then but it's great to save a little $ and not even miss it!

*  I'm loving that I'm going to start teaching another sweet 8 year old girl piano.  She'll be starting from scratch so I'm a bit nervous but excited.

*  I'm loving that I'm finally wearing maternity pants and remembering how comfy they are.

*  I'm loving that tonight is our small group meeting and that I don't have to cook dinner, yeah!

*  I'm loving this beautiful fall weather and the trees changing colors

*  I'm loving my sweet hubby of 7 years, my adorable 20 month old and my precious baby boy to come!

19/20 Months!!

I really need to be on time with these posts, but life is just busy!  I cannot believe our son turned 20 months old on the 3rd.  That's just crazy!!  Here's what he's up to....

Height:  Last month he measured 35 inches at his dr. appt which was right at or above the 100%

Weight:  He had actually lost a little bit of weight (probably because of his growing taller and a 1/2 week of sickness) but he weighed 29 lbs. 8 ounces (around the 90%)

Likes:  You love to be outside!  You love to read, jump, wrestle with Daddy, watch the Wiggles, work on puzzles, go to the library, help Mommy clean, play with cars, build towers with your blocks.  You point out everything you see and are very observant and verbal.  You still love all kinds of animals, trucks, bulldozers, tractors, and you love shouting out what color things are, or what shape they are.  You love to find numbers and letters on everything!  You love to read Bible stories with daddy and have mommy sing songs about Jesus to you.  This month you have liked Tis So Sweet, Jesus Name Above All Names, Step by Step, Trust and Obey, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, and Jonah to name a few.

Dislikes:  You do not like it when you don't get your way, ha!  I know this is normal but it's quite funny to watch your little meltdowns.  Okay, maybe not funny!  You don't like holding mommy or daddy's hand when we are in a parking lot, you prefer to run on your own.  And this month you have decided you don't like to sleep very much but more on that later.  You are better about getting your face washed and you don't cry at all when getting your teeth brushed.  You only cry a little bit getting water dumped on your head for baths, but usually only when you are really tired.

Eating:  You have had quite the appetite lately!  You still love vegetables of all kinds, and have really been into apples this month, even eating them like a big boy.  You love macaroni, chicken nuggets, vegetable soup, noodles of all kinds, olives, cheese, popsicles, chips, grapes, blueberries, homemade applesauce, sausage mcmuffins from Mcdonalds and chocolate!  You're still not a huge sweets person but you will eat a bite size candy bar making quite the mess.

Sleeping:  About a month ago I would have said you were sleeping great!  You went down without a fuss and slept from 8:30 until 7:30 with a nap from about 1 until 3.  This month you have decided to not fall asleep until 9, you cry when I leave the room, and you either jump around like crazy or cry for more songs about Jesus.  You have been waking up sometime between 6 and 7 in the morning which is not fun.  And you fight your naps with the same crying/jumping routine and have only been sleeping a little over an hour.  Let's hope this is just from the teething I know you are doing (because your teething bibs are SOAKED) and that it ends soon.  Mommy (and daddy) are tired!  You also started using a big boy pillow are really seem to like that and of course you still have your 2 floppy's and your blankets for bedtime.  Daddy reads bible stories to you and mommy sings to you.

Personality:  You are so much fun at this age!  You are just so smart and talkative and observant.  You're a little bit shy mixed with being a little bit of an attention ham.  You can count to about 14, you know all the main colors, you have lots of lines from books memorized.  You don't fuss at all when we take you to nursery.  You're always talking to yourself and are always in your little play corner working on a puzzle or reading books to yourself.  You're starting to want to do everything by yourself and don't want any help.  You like to run away from mommy in stores.  You love to be tackled and tickled.  You're still not sure about other babies but you love to kiss your baby brother in mommy's tummy and tell him "I love you brother".  You're stubborn and independent and I'm learning how to best direct and discipline you through this.  You give great squeezes and kisses and you really recognize all your immediate family members now.

Highlights:  Poppy & GongGong came for a visit and we went camping twice.  You had your first non-family or non-Zderad babysitter while we went out for our anniversary.  You now have a big boy pillow.  You've learned sooooo many words and concepts.  You can now get air when you jump.  You had your first haircut in a barber shop.  You went to your first pumpkin patch. 

I cannot believe that in less than 4 months you are going to be 2 Benjamin!  That is just blowing my mind.  It is an absolute blast to watch you learn and you are so fun to be with each day.  Each morning I tell you that I love you to the moon and back, that I love you with all of my heart, and that I love you so much.  And your daddy and I mean every word......we love you Benjamin!

Our Anniversary Date

We are lucky enough to know a great high school gal from our church who was available to babysit for us on Saturday.  She's a gem, we like her :-)

Originally we had thought of going to see the movie Courageous, but since it was seriously soooo nice outside we decided to go Par 3 golfing instead.  It was probably about 70 degrees and mostly sunny and just beautiful.  So we headed to Eugene for a great afternoon of Par 3.

Well, by Par 3, I mean we actually golfed on a Par 3 golf course, but for us it's really more like Par 6 (or Par 8 for me)  But we had a blast.  It was really fun to be out doing something fun with my hubby.

Afterward we ran a few fun errands, like going to Home Depot, Goodwill, and Kohls.  Of course, we had to end the night at Outback Steakhouse where we may or may not have consumed an entire bloomin' onion and split a steak and Alice springs chicken.  Um.....YUMMY.  We didn't leave a bit on our plates. 

We came home to relieve our sitter and see our little boy.  We always miss him and talk about him, but it sure was fun to get away for an afternoon!  We ended the night watching a BBC show and eating some of the ice cream bars I had bought for the sitter.  Don't say I didn't warn you, but Twix ice cream bars are a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

I realized I forgot to take a picture of us together at the restaurant so we took a self-timer, out-of-focus picture once we got back home.  At least we have the memory of being together for our 7th year celebration.

Thanks for a fun day sweetie, love you!

Our 7th Anniversary!

Today I'm celebrating 7 years of marriage to my best friend Peter.  It's a beautiful October day here, just like it was 7 years ago.  On that morning, we were busy getting dressed, doing last minute flower arrangements, taking pictures, finishing the reception room.....and we were so excited to see each other at 7pm that night!    My Dad married us, our sisters sang, we had the cutest flower girl and ringbearer and we were surrounded by people we knew and loved.  It was such a fun day and a special memory for both of us.

Here are a few pictures from our big day :-)

This morning we aren't going to be getting into fancy dresses and tuxes.....instead, we were woke up at 7.  But we were woke up at 7 by the cutest little boy we know.....a little boy that is all ours!  Right now, I'm watching my oh-so handsome hubby make coffee, Benjamin is pushing a toy bus across the living room floor in nothing but Elmo pajama bottoms, and I'm being kicked in the womb by our second little boy.  This afternoon we're heading out for an afternoon of Par-3 golfing and a dinner out alone, it should be wonderful.  Who would have thought that 7 years later our lives would be this full of blessings.

Happy 7th Anniversary Peter, I love you more and more each day!

Worn out!

My sweet boys have worn me out today.  My second baby boy wakes me up early in the morning by kicking his mama over and over.  While it's so amazing to experience that, I kind of wish he'd wait until 8am.  Though his brother always has me awake at 7:15am every morning anyway, so what's the point?

Benjamin continued his pattern of orneriness and only napped half his regular time.  He was pretty needy while I was giving a piano lesson and really only wanted to sit with me and be read to afterward.  That is, until Daddy came home....then he decided to act like the cutest boy this side of the Mississippi and wrestled with him, laughed hysterically, and acted like a goofy.  He then ate a huge dinner (his appetite lately is making me think major growth spurt!) and spent the next hour or so entertaining himself happily with his toys. 

Ummm, hello??  Where was this boy all day??

Hmmmppphhh.

Don't worry though, he came back at bedtime.  He always wants me to sing songs about Jesus to him, but tonight when I put him in his crib afterward he was crying hysterically.  Crying "Mommy, mommy, mommy.....Jesus!"  I went back in and sang some more thinking he had finally fallen asleep.  But no....I left and he cried "Mommy, mommy, mommy......Jesus!" This time I knew he was tired and it would be best to let him cry for a few minutes so he could go to sleep.  And he did just that.  But not before he officially wore his mama out.

Thankfully, most days aren't like this and I can laugh about it all with Peter at the end of the day.  He may wear a mama out, but I love that boy more than words could ever say!  I'm so grateful that it's ME and not any other woman who gets to be the mama that he wears out.  It's a good life!

One of those mornings

The post title says it all.  If you're a mom or a dad you know what I mean.  One of those mornings.

It seems that if there is a boundary, it's being tested.  If there is something to be thrown, it is thrown.  If there is something to get into, it's already in progress.  If there's a fit to be thrown, might as well let the whole neighborhood hear it.  Yep, one of those mornings. 

I adore my son.  My heart could just burst sometimes when I look at him.  But, this morning, just for a split second (okay, maybe a few minutes) I wanted to close my eyes and open them without having to take care of another little life.  To not have to say the words "No, don't touch that," or "Benjamin, what did Mommy tell you?", or "what is the matter, why are you using your whining voice?", or "please stop throwing that block at mommy's head." 

All mom's have been there.  And I know that it's just one of those days.  Hopefully a good nap will do us both some good and while he's sleeping I will think of all the wonderful blessings Benjamin has brought to my life and how much I just want to squeeze him all day long.  And I might have a piece of cake and ask the Lord to give my an extra heap of patience the rest of this day :-)

First "professional" haircut

I finally decided to take Benjamin to get a real, "professional" haircut.  At least as professional as you get at Great Clips....because I'm not paying more than $10 for a haircut for him :-)

We took him Saturday after the afternoon at the Orchard.  We had let him nap in the car for 1 1/2 hours while I ran a few shopping errands.  We figured it was a good time to get his haircut since he might be a little more mellow after sleeping.

He sat right on the salon chair, with a booster, and they had a special kids cape that had marine life on it.  How perfect!  Benjamin loved the octopuses, sting rays, sharks, etc.  It was the perfect distraction.

 oh, he was so cute sitting on that chair

 I've never used the clippers on his hair, so he was nervous at first.  But she let him hold them and he calmed down once he saw them as a "toy"

the hair is getting shorter!

He did cry just a tiny bit toward the end when she was cutting the top.  I had to distract him by pointing out the animals on his cape, but overall he did excellent.  It was kind of sad to see him acting so grown up!

His few tears quickly faded when the lady picked him up and told him he could have not 1, but 2 lollipops!  He was in heaven.

 he was so excited

it wasn't until later that I realized the front part was a bit uneven so I have to fix that.  I think she just rushed a bit toward the end since he was crying a few tears.

We finished the Saturday by eating at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (YUM!) and headed home.  Benjamin got a bath and acted like a crazy man until we made him go to bed.

 what a goof!

this is his reaction to trying some of daddy's Fresca pop :-)

Can't believe my cute little boy had his first real haircut.  Stop growing up already!