Harvard, here we come!

Chad found this old school desk at a garage sale for $5! Ben loves climbing on it with a good book. I'm in the process of making him a super neato name tag for the front of it. I can be crafty when I wanna be.

We had another hot one this weekend and all I wanted to do was stay inside. We did attempt a few outings. We had to send off a good friend at the airport this morning. JD is going to Afghanistan until early 2011. We will certainly miss him, but he and Chad will be at Tuesday wing nights again before we know it!

Mom and auntie Donna are coming in on Tuesday to take care of the little booger while we venture to Colorado for some hiking. I am tired of looking at the beautiful pictures and want to see the real thing. I am imagining mountain streams, wildlife, fresh air, and aching feet :). Good thing I have comfortable shoes and a husband who owes me a foot massage. Luckily Ben is a super good boy, so I'm sure he will behave while we are away. He has lots to keep him busy, but we will miss him terribly. I will never tell him that Henry went to Colorado before he did!

Happy Fathers Day!

Head stand!

Self portrait of the parental figures.

What a lovely day. Since today was Chad's day, he picked all our activities. In true Chad fashion, one of them involved a trip to Sam's Club. Ben took a three hour nap while we cleaned up around the house and took a nice nap too. It was a late night last night for all of us, so it was good to get a few more hours of sleep. We took Ben to parents night out with his daycare so we could have a date night. We went to see a hilarious movie, and missed Ben so much that we went to get him right after! He was up watching Toy Story with the other kiddos when we go there, so he went to sleep pretty late. He did sleep in until 8am this morning though! Anyway, we also played out in the pool today. Boy it was another hot one. I sat under the tree and out of the sun of course. I burn way too easily, and I loaded Ben up with sunscreen too. Then we had some homemade banana pudding - a recipe from Chads papaw.

New babe is doing quite well in there. We can see the belly move from the outside at this point, and he really packs a punch like Ben did.

1 1/2 Years Already!

Ben celebrated his 18 month birthday on Monday. Completely hard to believe! He was all giggles as he has finally passed whatever it was that was making him super sick. His 18 month checkup is on Friday, so we will get his new height and weight percentages. He lost a few pounds last week, so I imagine he will be low there. Will let you know how it goes!

Minor Miscalculation...oops!

This is Henry! He has 10 fingers, 10 toes, and is due 3 1/2 weeks earlier than expected (hence the title of today's blog). We thought he was due to arrive in November, but it looks as if October 20th is our new date. I couldn't be happier! October sounds like a great month to have a baby! Plus he will be a little further in birthdays from Ben which is nice.

Admittedly, I was hoping for a girl (sorry baby). However when I saw him on the screen bobbing around in there, all I wanted was a healthy baby Henry. I just love pink! Good news is, he will get to wear all Ben's hand-me-downs and save us a fortune. Also, I just can't imagine what another little boy would look like. I look at Ben and think he is the perfect combination. What will Henry look like? What will his personality be like? Will they beat up on each other? Probably! But I am really excited for Ben to have a little brother to play sports with, get into trouble with, and have a best friend who is also his brother. I will have a house full of boys, but I'm really excited! Chad is of course thrilled. We both want a little girl someday, but as long as our babies are happy and healthy, we will be happy too.

It is just amazing what seeing your baby before he is born can feel like. I have felt him move from the time I thought he was 12 weeks, but was actually 15 weeks. But just like with Ben, seeing him makes all the difference. It definitely makes me want to put down the cookie and head for the apple...maybe not all the time :). We did take Ben on a nice bike ride this morning. He loves them. We are trying to keep him out of the heat, so we went early. His belly is still acting up, but his fever seems to have gone away. It looks as if he has tooth number 13 on its way in. That could be a big part of it, plus his eyes are red like it's allergies too. He is napping peacefully right now.

We are looking forward to Colorado in a few weeks. Ben is not going, but my mom and auntie Donna will be taking good care of him. We plan to hike, relax, see plenty of wildlife, and enjoy as much nature as we can in a few days. I haven't been there since my auntie Donna took me and cousin Nicole back in grade school. I will never forget riding a horse down a mountain who took off and tried to kill me. My fear of horses remains with me to this day. I don't even want to look at one. That was a great trip though!

Ben didn't get better over night, so he stayed home with Chad today. His tummy was really upset, so we went to the dr. to make sure he was well hydrated and didn't have anything else to worry about. Doc said he looks ok and just to keep an eye out for signs. He was in typical Ben spirits all day, bouncing around. So, Chad took him for his first ride in the master cycle. Thanks to Kristy who donated it to us last year! Although Lucas had outgrown it, Ben can enjoy it for a few summers! Then when I got home we went out again. I hadn't been on a bike in ages, so no doubt I'll be sore tomorrow. However we had so much fun and the weather was perfect. Ben is asleep now, so we will hope for the best tonight.

It's HOT!! It was 98 on Saturday, so we made a trip to the YMCA water park for a dip. We also bought a whale pool for Ben so he could swim after daycare too! He loves it. I got in today with him and must say I enjoyed myself. The Y was packed of course, but Ben enjoyed all the water features. He did not want to be held or let us hold his hand. He wanted to swim all by "self!" He looked so darn cute in his trunks and water shoes. I was worried about him burning like his mommy does, so I caked on the sunscreen. The only thing he didn't enjoy was the lazy river. It was only because he had to sit still and he was not about to do that when there was a giant pool only a few feet away.

Kim found Ben a sandbox and play set at a garage sale this week. We have been looking for one, but my trusty garage sale buddy found them! Ben has so much fun climbing all over. He played in the sand for about an hour this morning, and then took a 3 hour nap. Yippie! This afternoon we put the slide into the pool and let Ben go down into the water. Blast! Our yard is becoming more kid friendly all the time!

He didn't feel too well tonight though. Although we try to keep him cool and hydrated, I think his body handles sun and heat like mine does. Too much and we get angry! His belly was acting up, which is no treat when you have to change a swimming diaper, let me tell you. After a cool bath and some pedialyte, he all but fell asleep in my arms as I rocked him. He is a tough little boy and he plays like it. Keeps us busy and on our toes. In fact, I napped for over an hour while he did today. I zonked on the couch with the fan going. Pure bliss is what I like to call that. Everything can wait - mama was tired.

Memorial Day Weekend!

Baby Jillian...just about to steal the book from Ben!

My new tool belt!

My favorite Uncle Brian.

Running through the sprinkler naked as a jaybird - cute!

Memorial Day parade.

Our first family photo as the four of us :).

They ran around for hours!

Ooh a bird bath!

This was the best weekend and I am definitely sad that it is over. Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio & Michigan! Oh what a trip. We drove home to Indiana to visit family and my brother and sister in law came from Virginia. The best feeling in the world is being surrounded by family. We had cookouts, parades, and beautiful weather the entire time. Ben ran around with a bunch of little kiddos and loved all the attention. We even drove up into Michigan to visit family who has never met Ben. While the drive was 15 hours on the way in, Ben did surprisingly well. We took videos, books, games and plenty of snacks. When he became restless, we stopped to let him run around. The drive back was mostly through the night, and he was a great sleeper.

Ben came home with a bunch of new toys, and lots of great pictures! I love the one of him on my brother's shoulders. Ben would run around the house saying "Brian, Brian!" It was adorable. He was a little shy at first when he saw someone new, but it never lasted long. He is such a friendly baby that he was running and playing in no time. I loved watching him interact with all the other babies. It will be so much fun to watch him become the big brother too. We also saw great grandma, who we have been looking forward to seeing for several months. He sat on her lap and gave a bunch of kisses.

On Memorial Day, we went to the parade that we have gone to as far back as I can remember. It sure has changed over the years, although we have missed quite a few living so far away. Ben loved all the high school bands, horses, dogs, and floats. Then we all went to auntie Annie's house for a yummy breakfast. I love family traditions! After that we went to Chad's mom & dad's where Ben played happily with Papaw and his new tool belt! Ben was mesmerized by him. Then we went to eat and play the drums at my dad's! My dad played a bit for us, then Ben took over and made some noise. He is actually quite good :).

Although it's always nice to be home, I would love to rewind the clock and do it all over again. It's not often that we can all get together, and I look forward to it again sometime soon. With the new babe on the way, it looks like we will be doing less traveling over the next several months. Visitors welcome!