a baby sprinkle

until yesterday i did not know that a baby shower after your first baby is called a baby sprinkle.
i'm not always up on the latest trends, so that's really no surprise.
but whatever it's called it was a wonderful treat when my friends from the library surprised me with one yesterday morning.
i received beautiful baby gifts - many handmade, and all very special.

did i ever mention how much i love books?
even though finding the time to read seems to be the difficult part these days.
L.O.V.E.
i even used to pretend to have a library in our house when i was little and i was the librarian.

and i don't remember if i ever really mentioned it but i had been working at our local library part-time since last december.
but since the beginning of september i have been off the schedule. 
we decided it was best with baby arriving in november and the library was changing hours too.
i do miss working there and the friendships i made... but i am happy to be at home full-time again too.

a special thanks to my friends at the library!
you've always made me feel at home.

hunting, fishing & tiling

that pretty much sums up our weekend.
saturday morning was spent out at "daddy's office".

it was national hunting and fishing day.

each year there is a morning of activities for families followed by a hot dog lunch.

there was great weather this year and we had a wonderful time.

such a good time we all came home and took a nap.

and yesterday, my professional handyman was busy all day in the bathroom.

look how much he accomplished!

i love the way it's looking!

and for his first tile project - i think he's doing an excellent job.

he is quite the perfectionist, and it shows.

we hope to be back to bathing at home again soon.

power naps and a picnic table

oh, friday at last!

we're looking forward to a weekend at home with some small town events, 

and hopefully finding the time (and energy) to complete our bathroom project.  

speaking of finding the time, i've still got a big list of things i am working to complete before baby arrives but this last week i've napped for 45 minutes each day. 
i read ben his nap time stories and then lay down for a recharge. 
the guilt of napping has become less and less each day. 
and the funny part is i've woken up at 2pm each day - just need that 30-45 minutes. 
it's making all the difference in my energy level to make it through the day. 
especially for a night owl like me.

and look what we brought home for FREE last night!!!

i couldn't believe it when i stepped out to get the clothes off the line after dinner last night,
and this picnic table was sitting out across the street behind our neighbors house with a FREE sign on it. 
i quickly asked (shouted) at jake to come outside. 
there were plenty of cars were driving by and checking it out - i figured we had to move fast!
jake quickly walked across the street and looked it over.
not perfect, but usable for now and easily updated with new paint on the frame and new lumber.
another project to add to the list for next spring.  :)
jake stayed with the picnic table while ben and i asked a neighbor to come help carry it back to our house. 
a few minutes later we had a our own picnic table.

a place to eat outside - had our first picnic today.

a place to do projects/crafts outside - already thinking about pumpkin carving.

a place to pot plants - need to go get some mums and pansies.

and many other backyard daydreams.

for now it will stay "as is" but we do hope to freshen it up one of these days.

tonight i had dinner ready a little early so ben and i could head to the local high school football game.
it was the first time ben had gone to one, and we had a lot of fun.
jake stayed home to work on the bathroom, but ben and i met up with friends.
the kids ran around, we visited, and ate popcorn and m&ms.
a great small town friday night.

the day after

yesterday was the official birthday day, and honestly -

it was not the "perfect" day i had been planning...

it was actually a really difficult one.

i think someone forgot to tell the birthday boy to enjoy his day! 

and someone forgot to tell his mama to quit having unrealistic expectations  - i just can't control everything.

(you think i would have figured that out in thirty-three years!)

but this morning the sun came up, and we enjoyed a wonderful day together.

in fact, everything that "was not" about yesterday "was" today.  

a happy boy woke up and immediately started to play with his new birthday toys, 

went to a playgroup with friends,

was laughing and smiling all morning,

ate a good lunch with mom,

cooperated and listened,

read stories,

took a great nap,

went to his first fiddle/music lesson,

went for a drive in the country with mom,

enjoyed a nice dinner with mom and dad,

played candyland with mom and dad,

played trains with dad,

picked up toys,

got a wash down (still no showering/bathing in this house),

and headed to bed like a big boy after three stories.

it was a good day!

three

happy birthday benjamin!

it's hard to believe you are already three years old...

seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home.

you make everyday "new and cool".

we love you!

mom and dad

a garden party

this year we decided to have a destination birthday party for ben.
our destination - botanica, the wichita gardens.
not only does ben love visiting there, but they just opened a children's garden over the summer -
it was AMAZING!

dad made an early morning run to get donuts to start the day.

 listening to raffi radio on the way to wichita.
ben still has no idea "where" we are going.

 totally spoiled with undivided attention from nanna and grandma.

 the butterfly house

the vegetable garden

 the playhouse - complete with a great kitchen for our chef

 making music

 so much fun!

in fact we were having so much fun,
we missed taking pictures of many other features in the children's garden.

so you'll just have to go yourself to see it all.

after exploring the gardens, we had our picnic lunch.

ben opened his gifts - playing with each one before going on to the next.

then it was time for cupcakes - YUM!

happy birthday ben!