2 Teeth!

Bennett has officially cut his two first teeth- his bottom front ones. Finally! :)

Pee-Pee in the Potty!

Ethan has been sitting on the potty for me!!!!!!!!!! We are so excited for him. This may seem like a small feat for some of you, but for many of you who know our potty training whoes, this is a HUGE deal for Ethan. He actually put a little pee-pee in the potty a couple of days ago. It made him very nervous to let it out, and once he did he did not want to do it anymore, but hey...it's a start!!! (I took a picture of it for Ethan and was going to post it but I thought that may be too much information!:) We are making progress, finally!:)

Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend we decided to take our first trip as a family of four to Minneapolis. Surprisingly, we had no major meltdowns- the boys did a great job even through exhaustion.

When we got there on Friday evening we had a little bit of time before dinner so we decided to go to build-a-bear for the first time. Ethan picked out a puppy for himself and also one for Bennett. He named his "Fluffy" and Bennett's he named "Puppy"- very original!:) Ethan really enjoyed the entire experience and Bennett enjoyed chewing on the tag of his puppy.

I realized as I was going through my pictures tonight that we hardly took any pictures of Bennett. Probably because he spent the majority of his time in our arms or in the stroller, but I still feel bad! So, the pictures that you see of him are just put in to balance out all of the ones of Ethan...they aren't necessarily good!:)

Bennett enjoyed watching the fluff machine...

Our first opportunity to meet Fluffy (which, by the way, has not taken the place of Baby- as also seen in the picture)
After the workshop we went to Rainforest Cafe where Ethan wanted to LIVE for the next three days. He LOVED the monkeys, wasn't a big fan of the thunder and lightning (neither was Bennett) and adored the tree frog man. I find this very strange...Ethan is typically the more shy, timid, and sensitive one in the family yet, he adores large characters that often scare little children. Bennett screams bloody murder when he sees one, yet, he will free fall backwards in his crib without flinching.

Ethan loved Lego Land. We played there for almost an hour while Adam tried to stroll Bennett around on Saturday to get him to nap...which wasn't going to happen, by the way- you would think we would at least know THAT about Bennett by now!:)

On Saturday morning we headed to the aquarium that is inside the mall. I would have to say that this was our favorite part of the trip. In fact, we came back again later on in the day because we enjoyed it so much.

Ethan loved seeing everything so up close...I did too! I was in awe of the beautiful creatures that God has created for us to enjoy.

Looking so grown up...

The sharks and sting rays were our favorite. Bennett loved the aquarium too. He could see everything right from his stroller as the fish swam over and around him.

Ethan had a hard time taking his eyes off of the fish and coral long enough for us to take a picture.

Again, large scary looking scuba mannequin that Ethan loved...

On Saturday afternoon we went to Como Zoo in St. Paul. It was so much fun! The weather was gorgeous and we got to see so many animals up close. Ethan's favorites to watch were the monkeys, giraffes, and the lions.

On Sunday morning we went over to the mall to hang out for a little while before lunch and heading home. We decided to let Ethan try out some rides for the first time. He had a blast.

Bennett enjoyed his graham crackers and the sunshine!

So cute...

The carousel was his very first ride. Here I am trying to convince him that he was going to live through it.

I know that was a long post- thanks for bearing with me!

Pulling to Stand

Yesterday Bennett was having difficulty falling asleep for his afternoon nap, and when I finally went upstairs to check on him I found the light on in his room and him standing up against the back of the crib! Needless to say, I immediately set up the pack and play in his room so that I knew he could be safe to sleep (although he ended up not sleeping at all!) and lowered his crib all of the way down! I was so proud of him, but a little freaked out as well...what if he had pulled himself up on the other side!!!!

I wish I could get Bennett to actually smile for a picture....

Like his big brother! :)

Only one feeding left!

For the last two nights I have tried to nurse Bennett before bed and he has refused it. He still adores his morning nursing session, but that means we are now down to one feeding a day. My baby is growing up so fast- I know, I know, he is almost 14 months and it may be time, but it still makes me a little sad. I have loved nursing both the boys- Ethan for 13 months (I got pregnant with Bennett while nursing him) and now Bennett for around 14 months (I secretly hope he wants his morning session for at least a little bit longer:)

5 New Posts

Don't miss our excitement! :)

"Benne Your Silly"

Ethan's New Bed!

Ethan has finally moved to a new bed. We are super excited. He slept in it for the first time last night and did a great job despite the storm. I thought for sure that he would get up with all of the thunder and lighting!

I won (it felt like a battle!:) his comforter set on ebay for $40 dollars. It is absolutely adorable and his LOVES it. All that we need to do now is some wall art- a summer project!

Here is his new room with his "comfy" bed- that is what he likes to call it.

Golfing With Dad

Ethan went golfing for the first time last weekend. He had a blast! The even saw a train which Adam captured on video and Ethan talked about the rest of the day! (The videos are on the bar on the side)

The beautiful choo-choo!

A note for me to remember: Ethan has been having a difficult time with being scared of bugs for about a month now. I have read that this is completely normal for his age- at around 3 years old a child's imagination really grows- and with a big imagination, things can seem bigger/scarier/more exaggerated than they really are. We are just trying to expose him to bugs in a safe, non-threatening way, and comfort him without putting him down, and hopefully he will work through it soon!

Summer Daze

Ethan is terrified of our vacuum- actually, I shouldn't say terrified anymore, it has gotten slightly better than it used to be, but still not thrilled AT ALL when we run it. But, on the other hand, he really likes to pretend that he is vacuuming- it is like he is working through his own fear. :) So, I saw this vacuum at Toys 'R Us the other day and got it for him. He has been keeping our house "spotless" ever since! Here he is helping daddy.

We are keeping busy already this summer. It has been so wonderful to be at home with the boys. We have gone on at least one walk a day, painted, played with rice, gone to the park, played outside, napped....all the great stuff of summer and there is only more to come!

Pushing Bennett in the doll stroller again. Bennett just tolerates it. :)

Laying around with our sweet puppy dog...

Playing in the rice. This has been SO MUCH FUN for Ethan. When we first did it I just got a big bowl out and he poured it into cups using my measuring spoons and cups. He played with it for almost an hour! Now, we dump it in a deeper cookie sheet that I have and he "loads" it in his dump trucks and such. So cute, sometimes a little messing, but so worth it!

Getting Stronger Each Day

Look at Bennett standing on his own! He is now pulling himself to a kneel and has even pulled himself to stand a couple of times. We are so proud of him, of course. He looks so adorable standing next to Ethan. Bennett is also waving and saying bye-bye!

Go Bennett! Sorry this video is side-ways!:)