Bowling Fun!

Peter worked almost 16 hours on Tuesday so he was able to take today off.  We were excited for an extra long weekend!

He had been wanting to take Benjamin bowling for awhile now so we figured it would be the perfect day for it, especially since, yes, you guessed it....it was raining again.  Seriously Oregon, this rain thing is getting a wee bit old. 

Anyway.

We had a couple of free bowling game coupons so off we went.  Benjamin was SO excited.  But when it came time for him to use the ball ramp they give kiddos to help them get the ball down the lane, he wanted nothing to do with it.  So we just let him regular bowl for awhile and he loved it.  I think he was confused because we have a toy bowling set at home and he wanted to bowl like that.

 ready to watch his big brother go bowling!

 Go Daddy!

 fun!

 doing his happy dance

 apparently bowling isn't too interesting, he slept a lot of the time

 his first time bowling

what a big boy

He had a lot of fun and kept clapping and dancing after he would send the ball down the lane.  Peter only had to go rescue the ball once when he didn't push it hard enough to make it all the way to the pins.

Eventually he wanted to use the ball ramp once I told him it was just a slide for the ball.  We let him enjoy bowling for all 3 of us for the last couple of rounds since he was having so much fun and he even bowled a strike for me :-)

 he could carry the green ball by himself....fun action shot

 so strong

 a strike!!

 pushing the ball down the "slide"

He had the greatest time getting to choose what color ball he would use each time!

After we finished our game, we went to McDonalds for lunch to complete a "perfect" day for our little guy.  He had fun running around and I tried to not kill myself when he was "stuck" at the top of these windy stairs/steps and needed help getting down.  I kept hoping I wouldn't pull a muscle or contract some nasty virus from all the germs, ha! 

We came home and all four of us took a 3 hour nap. Yes, you read that correctly.  All FOUR of us took a 3 HOUR nap.  It was glorious and so wonderful.

We're just hanging out tonight.  I made fettucine, the boys are working on a puzzle and it's a very peaceful evening. 

(Benjamin's after-nap hair is out of control but oh so cute!)

 Daddy had spiked his hair with gel this morning.....that in combination with a 3 hour nap makes this fun style :-)

 LOVE my boys!

 A very enjoyable day off indeed!



Brothers

Peter and I already know how blessed we are to have these boys.  And we pray that these boys will soon know how lucky they are to have each other.

P.S.  Thanks for the tie shirts Heather, they are all kinds of adorable!

Simple Saturday

Friday night we just stayed home and watched March Madness.  We took a family walk then ate curry for dinner.  Benjamin watched Finding Nemo while we watched basketball.  One sweet moment I want to remember is how I was holding Ben on my lap, but then all of a sudden he slid down so he could rest his head on my chest and then he put his arm around me.  Melt.  My.  Heart.  My non-cuddler can still sometimes be a sweetheart :-)

Saturday we had a low-key day.  Benjamin was been waking up at 6:30am every day for the past 2 weeks.  SO NOT FUN.  I had some things to return to the Outlets so I took Jonah with me and we had a Mommy/Son date.  It was a beautiful day so it was fun to go for a drive.  But pushing around a stroller in cramped stores with lots of people and a baby who starts to get fussy....yeah, not so fun.  So our shopping was shortlived.  Again, its just a season of life we're in.  I still loved our brief "date" together!

Meanwhile, Peter and Benjamin went to the hardware store for some wood then came home for naptime.  Later on after dinner, they played outside together.  I think they enjoyed their time together too!

We watched a bit more basketball that evening, gave the kiddos baths, and relaxed a bit.

A simple, but enjoyable Saturday.



From the mouth of Benjamin

Two year olds are hilarious.  And exhausting.  And stubborn and creative and inquisitive.  And exhausting!

I wanted to remember this fun stage and write down a few of the things that come out of Benjamin's mouth now, both good and bad!

*  when singing "God made the mountaintops" he sings, "but the best of it all is that God made....Daddy"  (instead of saying "God made me")

*  when its time for bed he'll say "maybe have two, three, seven books"  He's quite the negotiator

*  before bed he always says "Mommy/Daddy will sing to you"

*  "Mommy/Daddy will hold you"

*  whenever he almost falls, he says "I almost hurt myself....Mommy will kiss it."

*  his first joke was "peas please" (because it rhymed) which was then followed up with "What do you call a cheese that isn't yours.......nacho cheese!"

*  when he's talking back at us because he's mad he will say "Mommy Sommy Lightsaber"  Have no clue where this came from but it's like his 2-year old version of cursing out his mama

*  He's also added "Big bird will sing to you" as his sassy comment back to us when he gets in trouble.  At least he's creative right??

*  "I need some milk"

*  when its time for bed he says "goodbye mommy" instead of goodnight

*  I always ask him "guess what?"  and he says "I love you too!"

*  He completes these phrases:  "Mommy loves you.....to the moon and back."  "With.....all my heart."  "How much?......sooooooo much!"

*  "please find a stop sign for me"

*  "shut the lid"....he hates to have the lids of ketchup bottles, etc open on the table

*  "I will get my feet out"  he hates to have his feet covered with blankets while he sleeps

*  "I cannot believe it!"  (from the Little Einsteins show)

*  He calls the shark from Finding Nemo "Goose" instead of "Bruce"

*  when we button up his jeans he says "suck. it. in."  :-)

*  we tell him it's time to eat and he comes running and says "YEAH!  Breakfast time!"

*  "I will get a treat!"

*  "I love the oatmeal box, I love the oatmeal box."  he sings this while playing the drums on whatever is around him

*  "I will throw the ball in the hoop really hard"

*  he jumps off the stairs and says "introducing......benjamin....daniel....klingler"

*  "Daddy is stinky!"

*  when I was still pregnant with Jonah he would try to lift my shirt and say "I will unwrap brother"

*  and this is how he pronounces "ladder".......to him it is "yadder" and I've been working with him on saying "la, la, ladder"  Too cute :-)  (ignore the giant piles of laundry ready to be put away in the background, ha!)

We love, love, love hearing what comes out of our verbal, smart, articulate and adorable little boy!

Snow Day!

Yesterday morning we woke up to...............SNOW!!!!!

In Oregon.  In March.

SNOW!!!!

It was pretty exciting.

Even more exciting was the fact that Peter got off work for a snow day.

Jonah was pretty excited when I told him the news.

We had such a great day at home together.  Benjamin wanted to go out into the snow so we got him bundled up to go play....

Peter took him outside to throw snowballs and build a snowman.

It didn't take him long though to start feelin cold and wet and he started crying and said "I want to go home, I want to go home."  Ha ha!

While he was out in the snow, Jonah and I were having a fun (and warm!) morning inside together.  He was just smiling and smiling.  Sorry for all the pictures, I just can't help myself.

I gave him a bath and the smiles continued before I wrapped him up in what I like to call a "baby burrito" for a nap :-)

After Ben and Daddy came inside, he got a bath too.

Then it was naptime, a bit more playtime and we headed out to our small group to enjoy some soup and fellowship.  It was a fabulous snow day!

A morning unplugged

Since we were dealing with sickness last week, and we worked on a few projects this weekend, and honestly, because I've been a little tired....Benjamin has watched a few too many shows and played a bit too much by himself while I lazily did things online.  I'm not anti-tv for kids or anti-independent play by any means, but I knew he needed some more attention from Mommy.

So this morning we unplugged.  We didn't watch Sesame Street or Little Einsteins or WordWorld and Mommy didn't get on the computer.  We had a morning unplugged from those distractions, just enjoying each other.

(okay, so the enjoying each other happened after Benjamin spent a good deal of time in timeout for getting out of his room AGAIN in the morning, then sassing his mama when she told him to stop banging on the piano)

But after the power struggle between me and the two year old, the fun was started!

First off, we made airplanes out of clothes pins and popsicle sticks.  I found the idea HERE on Pinterest.

Benjamin had a lot of fun painting the pieces and zooming the airplane afterward.

We also made fun puzzles made with popsicle sticks.  That idea is HERE on Pinterest as well.

 I first used a picture of Benjamin's cousins....he loved "piecing" them back together after I used a rotary cutter to split the individual pieces

 I also used a teddy bear cut from the front of a gift bag I had

then I used a picture of Bert from one of his coloring books

It was super easy to do and it provides some new puzzles for Benjamin to do that are a bit more challenging!

Then we built towers....and of course knocked them over again and again!

Then we worked on shapes using those same blocks.  He loves shapes!

We also had a little dance party (no pictures, ha!) and Benjamin "chased" Jonah and I with his new airplane. 

Jonah spent his time watching his brother paint from my arms, having some tummy time, and napping.

Then it was time for lunch which means Daddy comes home for a quick visit, and now its naptime for both boys (one in bed, one in the swing!)

I know there are always going to be days where I have outside responsibilities that mean Benjamin and Jonah will have to entertain themselves more but I think I was letting myself slack a bit too much and was feeling convicted.  Yes, I am up multiple times during the night nursing Jonah, and Benjamin comes into our room at 6:30am ready for the day, and that makes for a very tired Mama....but I want to always make sure I stay invested in my children and show them how much I love them through the time I spend with them.  Balancing taking care of the home and children and other ministries is tough.  Disciplining your kids consistently is exhausting.  But God is good and His mercies are new every morning to get me through day by day.  Sometimes I just need to unplug and remember that!