Brotherly Love

Henry is under the weather. Ben let him lean on his shoulder for comfort. Big moment folks.

Belated Valentine's Day

I'm adding the Valentine's Day photo's a wee bit late. No surprise there. The boys took cards and cookies to daycare, and came home with a bag full of yummies. Ben chose some motorcycle cards with little rubber erasers for the kids. I of course had to confiscate the erasers because the little wheels popped off. Can we say choking hazard?! I saw this fun idea on Pinterest a while back, and wanted to do it for the boys. Well, I didn't get to it but one of the other moms at daycare did. Darn her! (FYI these aren't here kids...it's from Pinterest).

Mom brought them home some delicious cupcakes. Ben ate only the icing, while Henry ate only the cake. So you know what this meant...an entire cupcake all for me! Sure I had to place Henry's discarded icing on Ben's licked up cupcake. Hey, I'm a mom and can do those things.

I'm looking forward to making fun Easter treats with the boys though. Here are a few I had in mind.

They look fairly easy, but lots of fun for little hands. Plus, I'm sure there will be left over nutter-butter cookies for us to enjoy!

I spent yesterday with my momma, shopping and dining. We also went to see the movie Gone. I'd say it was pretty darn good. Our hearts were racing quite a bit. Plus, I saw a preview for a new Nicholas Sparks book, Lucky One. Zac Efron is playing the lead role. He grew up quite nicely :). Think I'll be seeing that one! The last few movies made from Sparks books weren't up to par. Nights in Rodanthe (my favorite of his books, aside from The Notebook), was such as horrendous disappointment in movie form. There was no chemistry between Lane and Gere. I hope this one makes up for it. I'll have to read it again before it comes out, but true to most of his books I think this one has a sad ending.

We also did some fun shopping for the new house. The brushed-nickel hardware on the cabinets makes such a difference. I found a great shower curtain and rug for the boys bathroom. They will finally get a kids themed bath! Maybe this will entice Henry to want to brush his teeth instead of rolling, crying, and fighting me everytime. Nah. Not likely.

Well off to get some things for dinner tonight. I'm making shrimp fried rice with dumplings. Then a trip to a new church and the house for more work. Love Sundays!

Oh a few baby items before I sign off! My cousin Nicole and her hubs Darin found out Friday that they are having a boy in July! Max and his little cousin will only be a few months apart! Living so close is even better now. They can grow up together just like thier momma's did. This mean Christmas with 5 boys under four when my little nephew comes home. This also means the race for the first girl is still on. I waved the white surrender flag on that when we found out Max was a boy. We all know I didn't really mean that...

15 Month Comparison

I found it! Let's see how these brothers compare...

Benjamin @ 15 Months
Weight: 22 lbs 8 oz, (19th%)
Height: 30 1/2 inches, (30th%)
Head Cir: 46 3/4 cm, (40th%)

Henry @ 15 Months
Weight: 25.5 lb (30%)
Height: 32 1/4 in (79%)
Head Cir: 18.5 in (41%)

The look so much alike! Ben's eyes were already lightening up at that age. Henry's are still quite dark blue. Oh how time flies.

Chad's 2nd Visit

They Mean Business

Dress-Up Time

Play-Doh Creations

Always Fun with Daddy

Fun Hair Day

Lincoln Logs with Grandpa

Henry 15 Months

Henry was in the middle of telling me something very important...his face is priceless

Ben & Gia-Gia working on slot cars

Henry went for his 15 month check-up last week. His current stats are:
Height: 32 1/4 in (79%) Wow!
Weight: 25.5 lb (30%) This surprises me since he eats like a horse
Head: 18.5 in (41%)

When I have more time to look up Ben's stats, I'm sure they will be quite different. Henry is a bruiser! At 15 months, he should be able to say 4 words clearly. Well, we have another talker. He says so much more, and we can actually converse with him. Ben was the same way. Some of Henry's favorite words:
Up, down, bye-bye, hi, phone, remote (can't get enough of those buttons), more, yuckie, water (wa-wa), sock, shoe, hot, NO, mommy & daddy. Plus, he tries to repeat just about everything. He is so smiley, unless of course he is hungry and needs to eat ASAP. He is not patient when it comes to food. He also still sucks on his two middle fingers on his right hand and puts his other arm over his face like a blankie. He is a fantastic sleeper. In his crib by 7, and sleeps all night. What an easy baby - so I'll probably pay for it later. He & Ben go at it all the time. Mostly because Ben refuses to share with him and Henry gets mad.

It looks like my uterus is behaving itself, so no need for a c-section as originally thought. I went in for a sono last Friday, and it made my day when the tech told me everything looks normal. That darn doc for worrying me. At least I was able to see little Max again. He was sucking on his toes. It still makes me weepy to see that little black & white picture of him. I'm excited for him to get here...just not the lack of sleep to follow.

This weekend we went to the library and I picked up a card so we could borrow books and movies for Ben. He picked out Rango (not a kids movie!). I thought it was, seeing as how it said something on the front about being the #1 kids movie of the year. Well, I don't remember kids movies using words like damn and hell. Not even for older kids. I was shocked to say the least. We returned it, pronto. Plus, there was a big, scary snake in it. It even creeped me out.

Also saw The Vow yesterday with Lauren. It was pretty good. I did get teary-eyed a time or two. I'd say it's worth a trip to the show. I also saw a preview for The Hunger Games. That looks fab-u-lous.

Visit to the Windy City

We made it to Chicago this weekend. Our initial plan was to visit the Shedd Aquarium, but when the wait was 1 1/2 hours we decided to try the Field Museum instead. Ben didn't know the difference, but I was a little disappointed. Note to self: never try to visit the aquarium on Bank of America free Saturdays! I knew it would be busier, but come on! I guess that just means another visit in the near future. Worse things could happen I suppose.

We started the morning on Ben's first train ride into the city. He was enthusiastic about it for 15 minutes. It wasn't going fast enough for him. He did great though and wasn't an antsy as I anticipated. On our way home, Pastor Stitt who married us and baptized our kids, was in the seat in front of us! Small world it is! It was nice to see him, and I could put a bug in his ear that his services will be needed in the future with little Max on the way :).

We decided to first go into the city for lunch and cupcakes from NYC's famous Magnolia Bakery. Sad to say that the Chicago location has a bit to learn. The cupcakes, while beautiful, were a bit dry. I had such high hopes since my last tasting when Chad & I were in NYC in 2009. They did have yummy cookies and cake - yes we tried about everything, just to be sure they were doing the name justice. I'll give them another shot someday. I'm such a martyr.

We then headed to the aquarium, and after seeing the line, headed to the left to the museum. It was a bit cloudy, but still fairly warm. They are located right on the lake, and even on a cloudy day the lake and skyline are a sight to behold. I look forward to going again in the summer when we can take advantage of the lake too.

The Field Museum was still fun for Ben. He ran through it like a mad man on speed. What is that, what is this, why is it that color...etc.? He as a bit scared of the large dinosaur bones right when we walked in, but he quickly moved on. Seeing all the animals was pretty neat. I had no idea how large some of them could get in the wild! I did spot this lovely brown bear staring at me, so I snapped a shot. I think he smelled the cupcake icing on my face...

Quick Pics

Learning to shave. He says his daddy taught him.

Auntie Donna had a birthday this week - Happy Birthday!

Busy week, and looking forward to a fun Saturday in Chicago. Should be some nice weather in the mid 40's. My camera has been dying to take pictures of the city and fishies. It told me so.

There are so many movies out that I want to see. One includes The Vow with Rachel McAdams. Usually the type of movie I would drag Chad to only to hear him gripe and snore the whole time. Or it would be a fun girls night with Andrea so we could swoon over dreamy Channing Tatum. I'll need to find a suitable stand-in because I'm not missing this sappy love story.

So I had my first OB appointment with my new doc yesterday. We are already off on a bad foot, although not his fault. He tells me we will confirm with a sono next week, but becasue of the placement of my placenta I may have to have a c-section. Bad news, Charlie. I had envisioned another one-push delivery. Not a surgery. I guess we will know for sure next Friday, but I'm bracing myself now.