Weekend Recap: Family Fun & Date Night!

Happy Monday!  It's been awhile since I've had some free time on a Monday night to write a blog post.    I could be finishing up some notes for work but…they'll still be there tomorrow. ;)  We didn't have much planned this past weekend, which I was happy about, but it turned out to be a pretty darn good one.  I'm drawing blanks on what we did on Friday night besides stay home and watch Dateline.  We were both so tired we barely made it to the end.  It was our usual Saturday morning of music class for Ben and me and studying for Andy.  Ben and I stopped by my mom's after music class.  Even though they had big "to-do" list, Nana and Papa John graciously offered to take Ben for several hours so I could get some stuff done.  I was a little sad to leave him, but it was so nice to have some free time!  My mom was inspired by my blog post from last weekend and wanted to check out the park we went to.  It is a good 45 minute drive, but totally worth it!  So while Ben was doing lots of this:

I was busy doing this:

I did some much needed organization of all of our baby clothes before my pager went off.  I'm on call 1 week a month and I typically get 1-2 calls a week, but I had to go in on to see a patient on Saturday.  At least I didn't get interrupted doing anything fun! ;)  On Saturday night, my dad came over so Andy and I could have a date night!!!  We really don't go on many dates these days and we especially do not go to movies, and we decided that we were due for one!  Again, I was sad to leave Ben, but he was SO excited for grandpa to come over.  Despite his 20 minute power nap in the car earlier in the day, he was in a great mood.  This boy LOVES to play baseball, and I love any opportunity where I don't have to be the pitcher.  (Mostly because he hits the ball nearly 100% of the time and he hits it HARD.  Andy got pelted in the arm right before we were about to leave and the ball left a mark.  He has a tee but apparently a real pitcher is more fun…)

I do not know what he is doing in this picture, but I do know that he did NOT want to stop playing to take a picture.

And of course, we needed one of us, since it was such a special occasion!

We tried a new local "farm to plate" restaurant and it was excellent.  We will definitely be going there again.  After dinner, we went and saw "Gone Girl" which we both really liked.  I want to read the book now!  It was our first movie since we went to a movie in Belgium when I was pregnant with Ben.  We kept saying, "we need to do this more often" and we definitely do! 

We missed Ben, but I'm pretty sure the only thing he missed was Grandpa not being there in the morning.  "Grandpa go?  Grandpa come back to Ben's house!!!!"  (Almost with tears, I might add.)  So he did the next best thing: played with the new toy from Grandpa.

Later on Sunday morning, we went to our cousin Lydia's baptism.  Andy and I were both too busy telling Ben to whisper and that he can't eat a granola bar in church that we didn't have time to take pictures.  (Side note, he later received a sucker in the middle of the service after he went up to the front with Auntie Anna and the rest of the kids.  He is probably going to want to start going to this church on a regular basis…)  I only managed to get a few pictures from the day.

As always, Ben loved hugging and kissing baby Lydia.

After I tried REALLY HARD for over an hour to get Ben to take a nap, I accepted that a good nap was not in Ben's plans this weekend.  Instead, we decided to take Rosco to the dog park.  We didn't last very long because it started to rain, but it was still fun.  There were about 25 dogs there and Ben wasn't scared at all until this giant dog came over by him.  I was scared too!  Mostly he just watched in amazement.  Love those little folded hands.

My boys!

We wrapped up our weekend with some much needed grocery shopping and an early bedtime.  Ben was asleep before I even left his room!  That never happens.  Have a great week!

Weekend Recap: Lots Of Family Time!

I better get moving because I am weeks behind and it is almost the weekend again!  (Yesss!!)  I am going to recap this past weekend while it is still fresh in my mind.  Ben was counting down the days (more like asking every day) for Maddie to come over.  Maddie, Sarah, and Joe joined us for some Friday night homemade pizzas.  Ben loved having a buddy with him at his picnic table.  

We had to keep the party inside thanks to a hail storm, but no one seemed to mind.  Sarah and I got in lots of girl talk while the daddies entertained the little ones.  I see many Friday nights with Sarah and Maddie in the near future when the big boys are at school!!

Saturday morning was swimming lessons.  It is more like open swim, which is not what we were expecting, but they at least sang a few songs last week.  Ben loves his music!  

This kid is so brave.  He makes the other kids seem like newborns he is such a big boy.  ;)

We had to rush home from swimming to go to our family reunion of sorts.  My uncle passed away unexpectedly 20 years ago, so my aunt had a "family and friends reunion" to remember him.  The weather was absolutely perfect and there was a great turnout.  Ben was in heaven because two of his favorites, Emmy and Hannah, were there.  He loved going down this huge slide, but then got mad because we wouldn't let him go down by himself.  (He would have flown right off of it…way too fast to go alone!)

Ben played so hard yet somehow only slept the car ride home. :)  

He obviously had enough energy to make Grandpa a birthday card!  Love how hard he worked on this. :)  (The red mark on his cheek is from the sticker he put on his face before swimming lessons…like 10 hours earlier.  I guess he has sensitive skin??)

Although Andy and I were probably ready for bed before Ben was, we did have enough energy for some wine/fake wine and Scrabble!  My kind hubby bought some sparkling grape juice and some "alcohol removed" wine just for me.  For the record, it isn't quite the same as the real deal.  ;)

On Sunday morning, Ben put the finishing touches on birthday card #2 for Grandpa before we met him by the lake for brunch.  

Sunday's weather was even more beautiful than Saturday's, and it almost felt like fall.  (Fall weather is my favorite!)

Auntie Anna brought a whole loaf of bread just for duck feeding.  Someone LOVED feeding the ducks.  Actually, everyone did.

When he wasn't busy with the ducks, he was trying to climb trees.  I never really understood that phrase "he's all boy" until I watched this guy in action.  I guess he is "all boy," as they say.    

I'm pretty sure Grandpa had a great birthday celebration with his kiddos!  We had to get a picture by "his" tree.  We hope you had a happy day, Grandpa!  We love you so much!!  xoxo

One final family photo.  :)

And since neither Andy nor I can remember what we did the rest of the day, I'm going to wrap this up. :) Goodnight!

Weekend Recap: God Bless America!

Get ready for loads of pictures!  We had the best 4th of July weekend yet.  I'll get right to the fun.  We started our day by picking out our most festive outfits.  Surprisingly, I didn't have something planned for Ben to wear for one of my favorite holidays, but don't worry, we found plenty of options.  We grabbed a quick breakfast at Panera before meeting up with some friends for the parade.  I just love July 4th.  I am so proud to be an American and I am so grateful for those who made this a free country!

Just like the Memorial Day parade a Ben was clapping and waving like it was his job.  He was also collecting candy with the best of 'em.  I guess I shouldn't say "collecting" because that would imply that the treats didn't disappear within seconds of Ben getting his little paws on them.  "One more! Eat!"  The little stinker would run back and forth between Andy and me, which I later learned was so that he could get both of us to open candy for him--so smart sneaky!!

After the parade we attempted a nap, but after eating a pail full of candy, sleep was not on Ben's agenda.  And thus, we did the next best tiring activity---swimming!!  Ben is becoming quite the dare devil in the pool and wants to jump in 100 times in a row.  "Again!"

***having some video issues!!**

And what trip to the pool is complete without a popsicle--a patriotic one at that!

At around 4:00, Ben decided that he would take a nap.  The length of his nap was the deciding factor of whether or not we were going to go to the fireworks.  Andy and I haven't gone to the fireworks for years.  Actually, I don't know if we have ever even gone together.  We kept going back and forth on whether or not we should go, but when he woke up around 6:00, we took that as a signal that we should go.  It was soooo beautiful outside, so we walked to the park from my mom's house.  (The park is essentially in her back yard.)  A kind runner offered to take this picture for us on our walk, and I'm so glad we got a festive family picture.  :)

There were a ton of activities going on at the park and Ben was loving the people watching.  He played on the playground with Auntie Anna as we patiently waited for it to get dark outside.  We were prepping him for the fireworks saying the were so loud, "BOOM! BOOM!" but so pretty too.  He repeated everything he learned about fireworks over and over again.  "Fireworks!  Boom!  Boom!  Loud! High!"

When it finally got dark outside, we got our glowsticks going before the fireworks started.  Ben was pretty excited to see the moon for the first time.   (He loves that darn  "Goodnight, Moon" book.)

It was finally time for the fireworks to start, but after a few loud BOOMS, Ben decided he was DONE.  We spent the entire fireworks show covering his ears, snuggling him, singing to him, and counting down the minutes until it was over.  He covered his eyes and put his blanket over his head.  Our hearts were breaking for the poor guy.  "Boom! Boom! Scared! Rock!" (meaning he wanted to be rocked…at home)  We would ask him if he wanted to take a peek at the pretty colors every once and awhile, but we got a meek little "no" every time.  

Ugh.  This picture still makes me sad.  Thankfully he slept through the night without issues, though he was still up with the birds despite his late bedtime.  We decided to get an early start on our Saturday with some strawberry picking.  Hopefully this countered all of the firework scariness.  Nana and Auntie Anna came with us, so he was back to his happy little self.  

We got to ride a tractor to the area where we picks berries, so that instantly made him happy.  "Tractor! Fun! Again!"

He was such a great helper.  

I knew he loved he strawberries, but I wasn't really expecting him to try and eat every berry in sight. 

I am pretty sure more ended up on his face than in his mouth, but at least he was sharing the love.  

After we rode the tractor back, Ben got to feed the goats and play on the play set that had tons of slides.  He was a happy boy.  

It was definitely time for a nap when we got home, because Ben had to get ready for his first sleepover at Nana's!  Nana has stayed with him at our house before, but he has never stayed elsewhere.  He was so stinking cute with his backpack.  He even picked out the book he wanted to clip to his pack.  

While Ben kept Nana and Papa John busy, Andy and I had a night out at my cousin's wedding.  We I take so many pictures of Ben, that I thought we should probably take some of the two of us.  

It was such a beautiful wedding!  The views of the lake were stunning and the flowers were amazing.  

Not to mention, the bride herself looked fabulous!  The ceremony ended with a "Love Actually"-like surprise with singers singing "All You Need Is Love" out of the windows of the reception building.  It was so cool!

I shouldn't be surprised that the food was unreal (my cousin owns a catering company and several higher-end grocery stores), but it was enough food to feel the guest list for at least a week!  It is hard to tell in the picture below, but the charcuterie table was overflowing with delicious cheese!  I took more than a few trips up there!  There were 4 different stations of food, and each one was more jaw-dropping than the last.  

But truth be told, I made a bee-line for the children's table that had mac and cheese and chicken tenders in addition to the fruit bowl that was probably too heavy for me to even carry.  :)  Even better than the food was the fact that I got to hang out with my family!  I love my sibs and of course my dad!  Two of my fun aunts were at our table too.

Staying out late (by our standards) 2 nights in a row has to be a recent record for Andy and me.  It was actually weird going to sleep without the baby monitor on.  I missed the sweet baby boy!  I woke up at 5:45, but I shockingly was able to fall asleep again until 7:45!!!  Amazing!!  We both were missing Ben like crazy by this point, so we went and picked him up.  My friend/co-worker asked us if we wanted to come "shopping" at her house as they were trying to get rid of toys.  Ben made out like a bandit!  He was in absolute heaven!  We got a few fire trucks, a fire house, and a big bag of tools, in addition to some toys that I am going to hide for awhile.  He has been "pounding hammer!"ever since we got home.  :)

We ended our weekend with a trip to Home Depot and Menard's.  Ben was right at home with his tools. He was happy "fixing" the cart with his hammer and screwdriver until we made the mistake of letting him get out of the cart to "fix" other things.  He instantly bolted and we found him "hiding" under one of the shelves.  Back to the cart you go, buddy!

We are still working on our 2nd floor makeover, but we took a nice break over the weekend.  Hopefully we will get more done this week.  Andy is going to do some painting and I am itching to order new carpet!  That 3 day weekend with my boys was just what I needed, but it's back to reality, for now! ;)

Weekend Recap: Trains & Chores

I better get this written before it's time to write Ben's 14 month update!  In one word, I'd say this past weekend was productive.  We had NO PLANS for the first time in a long time (and for a long time) and it felt good.  No matter how hard I try, I (we) crash early pretty much every Friday night.  I actually ran to the store on Friday night and stopped at the Red Box on the way out.  It took me a few seconds for me to realize that I was crazy to think I would actually be able to stay up to watch a movie.  I was correct; I barely made it to 10:00.  Thankfully, Ben slept through the night, so we were all able to get some much needed rest.  We did our Saturday morning routine of gym/music class before heading home to start tackling my massive to-do list.  After raking about 500 (now snow covered) piles of leaves, it was time for a break.  We decided to hit up Train Fest!  I did not previously know there was such a thing, but apparently there are a lot of train fans out there.  Ben loves trains, so we thought he would like to check out tons of them.  We were right.  There was so much going on that his little eyes didn't know where to look and his little fingers didn't know where to point.

The only problem was that he preferred touching to looking, so he was not a huge fan of the ropes that were attempting to keep him away.  Luckily, there was a kids area with some hands-on train displays.  He looked so dapper all decked out in his train sweater.  Unfortunately, I did not get a good picture of him in his cardboard train conductor hat...probably because it was only on him for a millisecond.  I could only stop Ben from putting his hands in his mouth while playing with the trains that a million other kids has touched so many times before I was ready to go.  We hit up an early, as in 4:00pm early, dinner at which Ben made me want to do cartwheels in the restaurant he was such a big boy.  Not only did he sit nicely in his highchair essentially the whole time we were there, he was also eating sweet potato fries like it was his job.  Food + Benji = Happy Momma

Saturday night was perfectly low-key.  I put away the rest of the Halloween decor, and I may have snuck out a few Christmas items that I casually intermingled with the Thanksgiving stuff.  I love Thanksgiving too, but nothing beats Christmas lights, music, and of course, the Christmas countdown calendar my siblings and I used when we were kids.  I am trying to hold off as long as possible, but it's hard when Thanksgiving is on the later side this year.  Ben is getting equally excited for the holidays, and has even been on the look out for a certain someone who supposedly comes down the chimney...

I won't bore you with the laundry list of errands that I/we did on Sunday, but rest assured that it was productive.  Aside from the hour we were at church, we were in our pajamas the entire day.  Well, Andy and I were, Ben had to wear his Aaron Rogers jersey for the game, of course.  As you can see by Ben's faces, it was an emotional game.  The Packers lost, but Ben and daddy had fun bonding nonetheless.  

Grandpa and Auntie Anna stopped over to see Benji for a bit after the game.  Grandpa just so happened to have a train set sitting around his house just waiting to be played with, so you-know-who was the happy recipient of that gift. While he doesn't quite get how it works just yet, he loves it!  When he gets tired of pushing the trains around, he stacks up all the pieces.  He tries over and over and over until he makes a nice tower.  After he gets bored with that, his new favorite thing is using his chair to climb on to the couch and then he throws all of the pillows from the couch on to the ground and runs back and forth until we get too nervous he is going to fall.  He just laughs and admires his handiwork.  He can keep us entertained for hours!  Love him so much!!

And last, but definitely not least, on Sunday night, Andy made possibly the most delicious soup in the whole world.   (This is coming from perhaps the most picky eater in the whole world.)  It was chicken noodle, but it also had rice, carrots, corn, garlic, and onions.  As usual, he had the other spices exactly perfect and it was completely flavorful and healthy--no salt added!  He could seriously open a restaurant with all of the delicious and nutritious meals he comes up with.    He also always manages to get the presentation just right as well.  And then he cleans everything up too.  What a guy!  I am one blessed girl.  Nothing beats a weekend with my boys!

Weekend Recap: Wedding & Mudder-ing

A "weekend recap" on a Wednesday means we are almost to the next weekend already.  Woohoo!  And since I took off on Friday, tomorrow is like my Friday--double woohoo!  AND since I can wear jeans to this culture training course I have tomorrow--triple woohoo!  Even more exciting yet is the fact that my sweet little baby turns ONE on Friday!  I've been far more emotional about this milestone than I ever thought I would be, but I'll leave the sappy post for later. :)  We started the weekend with a "goodbye to summer, hello to fall" street festival.  (I made that name up, but that's kind of what it felt like.)  I do love summer, but I am also one of fall's biggest fans, so I'm ready for cooler temps and fall scented everything.  We didn't have a ton of time, but with corn on the cob, glowsticks, and climbing on street signs all in absolutely perfect weather, you can't go wrong.

According to Benj, what good is a street festival if you can't be in the street?  He took full advantage of the roads being closed.  The little man was walking around like he owned the place.  He even convinced me to let him try a snow cone.  The guy loves weekends as much as his mom.

Saturday was the wedding of my former coworker and running buddy but current all around awesome friend, Hannah.  I would post pictures from the ceremony, but they are perhaps the worst pictures I've ever taken.  (Worse than the blurry touchdown pictures posted below.)  I cannot even blame it on the fact that a wicked storm took out the electricity in the church for the entire ceremony.  Fortunately, there were plenty of candles and it was debatably even better without the lights.  The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was quite stunning as well.  Think barn wedding pintrest style.  I feel like I am always writing about how I am not an animal lover (maybe I am just in denial??), but I have always loved the rustic yet classy and tasteful look of an outdoors, country reception.  Her parents live on a beautiful piece of land.  Andy and I were in love with it!  Congrats, Hannah & Matt!  You 2 are a fabulous pair!

Cutting the gluten-free pie.

Andy + Benji + Animal = Happiness

Love these boys so much.

Eating ice, showing the flower girls his sticks...just another day in the life. 

Sweaty baby who doesn't seem too interested in his momma. 

We had an amazing time and I wish we could have stayed longer, but we left fairly early to get Ben to bed and to rest up before the Tough Mudder on Sunday.  Andy and I have both done this "challenge" before, but never together, so we decided to give it a whirl.  (Another one of those ideas that seemed awesome in the winter when we signed up...)  Our team of 6+ ended up being a team of 3, but we still had fun!  I wasn't as competitive with myself as I was in the past, so I did skip a few, but I think I'm still tough.  I'm not at tough as Andy who dominate every obstacle.  However, neither of us are as tough as Benji---toughest guy I know.

It appears as though I also lost 10# during the run.  Sweet!

Although we had an awesome time, despite my ridiculous sunburn, I was more than ready to get back to my Benji.  He and grandpa loved their quality time together, but being away from Ben on the weekend is something I do NOT like to do.  We were able to watch some of the Packers game together before bedtime.  Although these pictures are not the best, he is still the cutest little fan ever.  He learned "touchdown" so quickly!

As you can see in the middle picture, his hair has really grown.  Thus, he got his first haircut this week! It was pretty much the cutest thing ever and it deserves its own post.  So much to write about and so little time!  Did I mention that I will soon have a ONE year old?!?!