enjoyment

these pictures are from last weekend.
definitely not today - it was cold today!

one of my favorite things about grabbing the camera and clicking away,
is capturing moments like this.

being a kid is great!
and i hope our two get every possible ounce of enjoyment out of their childhood days.

four years

last month we celebrated a 4th birthday.
it was almost a month ago already - hard to believe.
but it's also hard to believe he is four.
we had a wonderful day on his birthday - just the four of us.

and we also had a great time celebrating the following weekend with friends and family.

we love you ben!

preschool

this picture melts my heart.
wearing a backpack, on the porch steps already?
so many new adventures these days.

most of you know that ben started preschool last week.
it was a bit of a transition,
but it seems to be working out well.
lots of fun and learning -
can't wait to hear all about it.  :)

sunflower fields and windmills

that's where you find the dove.
or at least that's what i hear.  :)

a happy boy and a proud dad.
they had a wonderful time.
and of course, they did have a little noise "practice" for ben before heading out.

n is for nocturnal

this post is all about ben.

even as a baby, ben often left me questioning my abilities to be a mother.
maybe it was just because he's my first,
or maybe because there were so many changes taking place in our lives four years ago.
i really don't know.
but back then i frequently felt like i didn't know what i was doing -
it seemed he was looking at me saying "why are you my mom?"

he's always been an observer, a thinker, smart, strong-willed and stubborn.
(i have NO idea where he might get some of these traits from!)
don't get me wrong - he is also caring, thoughtful and loving,
but when all these ingredients are mixed together the combination can often be challenging.

over the summer he's done some serious growing - in many ways.
and jake and i have both been watching in amazement as ben is becoming a "kid".
he makes us laugh daily, blows us away with braininess and fills our hearts with joy.
we are lucky to be his parents.

this leads me to my story...
at supper tonight ben suggested that we say the alphabet,
and he would think of a word that started with each letter.
he did a great job!
and we were completely surprised with some of the words he chose -

a - apple
b - banana
c - carrot
d - duck
e - elephant
f - fish
g - giraffe
h - hippo
i - ice age
j - juggle
k - key
l - lion
m - mom

n - nocturnal ("like the owls")

o - octopus
p - pea
q - question mark (needed a little help with this one)
r - rain
s - snake
t - turtle
u - umbrella
v - vase
w - whale
x - x-ray
y - yummy yogurt
z - zipper

and if you are still reading here are a couple more ben stories from today...

he's been enjoying doing preschool worksheets with matching, mazes, letters, numbers, etc.
today he was doing some pages with matching -
the directions said to draw lines to match the items shown (shoes for example),
then find and circle the one thing that did not have a match.
so what did ben do?
he carefully looked at the worksheet and then told me which one did not have a match -
before drawing lines to match the other items.
that's my ben.  :)

we decided to give ben an alarm clock to prepare for going to preschool.
tonight jake plugged it in beside his bed,
and for the last 20 minutes ben has been watching the numbers change,
and then running out to tell us what the number just changed to -
he is SO excited about having his own alarm clock!  :)

i have often tried to get ben more interested in coloring or art/craft projects,
but they just don't seem to be his favorite thing.
and usually don't hold his interest for too long.
he does surprise me every once in a while when he'll ask to watercolor without me prompting him.

i think it used to bother me that i couldn't get him more interested in coloring, painting, etc,
but not anymore.
i'm sure there will be a day when he is more focused on arts and crafts projects (or not),
but at the present time he would prefer to cook in his kitchen, tell in-depth stories with his trains,
read books with us, do worksheets, play games on the computer or phone,
or just sit in the yard playing with his construction vehicles.
he's an independent guy and usually content to do his own thing.
i think he must have inherited this from his dad! (something i am very proud of)

next month he'll be turning 4!
and i can only imagine what exciting adventures the next year will bring.
we love you ben!
you make us so proud.
every. single. day.

last week

was a busy one, but packed with fun!
ben attended vacation bible school...

his favorite thing was snack time - that's ben!
each day they were suppose to wear a specific color,
but i didn't realize this until tuesday morning when i dropped ben off and he was wearing blue on red day.
oh well, we got it right wed, thurs and friday.
and then it was pretty funny when he told me he needed to wear yellow to their program friday evening -
i hadn't heard this from anyone else,
but i found a yellow shirt for him to wear.
however, i was not surprised when we arrived and there were kids in many different colors of clothing!  :)
i was a bit concerned at the beginning of the week because he kept telling me he was nervous and didn't like me leaving him.
but by friday he said "mom, i had fun today!".
that made me super happy.

we also had friends over on wednesday for lunch and playtime while they were in town to get their pictures taken.
it was a lot of fun!

did i mention our dishwasher decided to retire?
yep, that means it's all on us now.
which is really okay - jake and i didn't have a dishwasher for a long time, so i've just gotten spoiled.
much rather have the dishwasher gone than my washing machine!  :)
it retired when ben was a little guy and sick with the stomach flu - talk about bad timing!
we've decided we have enough projects going on and we'll wait and shop around before replacing it.
and i entered the diy network ugly kitchen contest and feel like i have a good chance of winning the makeover - have you seen our kitchen???
it's functional, but not efficient or attractive.
but considering i don't remember winning anything - ever.
i doubt it will happen, but a girl can dream.

i am also excited that my dad will be returning back to kansas from three years of commuting out-of-state.
first he was on the west coast and then on the east coast.
either way - we've missed having him close by
safe travels dad!

and i'm sure you probably saw my previous post,
but my brother turned 30 this weekend!
that's a big deal in my book.
happy birthday again paul!

and while i was searching for a photo of paul,
i found these...

made me smile. 
i remember that trip to kansas city,
and that old camera.
who knew i would be taking pictures like crazy and blogging back then???

we've also had a good weekend and pretty productive.
jake finished some projects (my dishwasher might be broken, but the garage door works again!)
around the house and we enjoyed some good family time.
it was nice but HOT!

this week should be a bit quieter.
thank goodness - we've been going pretty fast around here lately.
hopefully we can spend some more time outside with the pool,
and a little time working on tidying up this house.
oh, and if i was close to one - i'd be eating at chick-fil-a on august 1!

waiting for fall

fall has got to be my favorite season,
and this year i am ready for it NOW.
until then i guess we'll keep going outside later in the day,
listen to the a/c run, run, run,
and continue giving ben a bath almost every night because he is covered in dust!

i took these pictures wednesday evening before we were blessed with thunderstorms.
thank goodness we got some rain!
it was wonderful to go to sleep listening to the drip-dropping and thunder rumbling last night -
but not tonight.

look who managed to take the swing when someone wasn't looking!
and look at that hair!  :)
so glad tomorrow is friday!
it's been a busy week.

ben's vacation

we are so happy to have ben back home,

but very happy he had a great vacation with grandma and grandpa.
he was only gone for one week,
but he seems like he's done some serious growing - in many ways.

 we are so proud to be your parents benjamin!

and a big thanks to grandma and grandpa for the wonderful time you spent with him -
and these great pictures!

one short

this week there's just been three of us around the house...

 it's quiet.  really quiet.

and though i often find myself just wanting five seconds of silence to think straight on most days,
i am missing my favorite three year old.
he's having a BLAST with grandma and grandpa,
and we are so glad that he is having a wonderful time and making great memories...
but i know jake and i (and julia too!) are looking forward to seeing ben on saturday.

sending lots of love to you ben - and grandma and grandpa too!