Father's Day Car Massage

Benjamin was pretty excited when I told him what we were making Mike/Dad for Father's Day. It's hard for him to keep secrets and he almost lead his dad to the hiding place the day before.

We found this idea on Pintrest. It's a shirt with a road map on the back. The kids get to play on their dad while he gets to relax with a car massage. Mike thought it was a great invention.

Below is the print out of the road map with the shirt.

Here is more detail. I added a duck pond to give it an additional personalized touch for Mike.

The front of the shirt has a hand print of each of the boys. That was Ben's favorite part!

Both boys had a fun time with their dad. Happy Father's Day Mike! The boys sure do think you're the greatest!

Sleeping Baby and Then Some

I used to post pictures of Benjamin sleeping all the time and now I have a small collection of Levi. These boys are so precious to me and I love seeing them sleep, looking so peaceful.

 Levi started to grab his own feet and put them in his mouth three months ago.

 We started feeding Levi solids almost two months ago.

Benjamin is still adorable when he sleeps. Below are some more of Levi.

Welcome Levi!

 We welcomed Levi into our family on March 27th. He is so adorable and precious to us!

 Above Levi is in his take-home outfit with the toy Benjamin gave him.

 At two weeks we were able to give Levi his first bath. He's not too fond of bath time.

Here is sleeping Levi. He looks like Benjamin except for the darker hair. It will be fun to watch the boys grow up together.

Christmas ~ Disneyland ~ Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush

We had the opportunity to spend Christmas in California. We had a great time and loved seeing Benjamin enjoying himself. We didn't know what to expect with Benjamin's reactions to the rides and huge crowds, but he did well. He was very curious and did a lot of observing. We're thankful that my parents and sister came to meet up with us in Aneheim. Benjamin loved hanging out with Nonna, Abuelo and Aunt Ariana. They would stick around with Benjamin in the park so that Mike and I could enjoy a ride together.

Below are pictures from our trip. But first I have to tell about the missing toothbrush.

Our little Benjamin plays the part of a monkey very well. This little monkey was playing on the bed. Momma was in the bathroom washing her face and daddy was trying to get little monkey to brush his teeth. One little monkey started making a pile of pillows; jumped on top and bounced right off. Monkey's toothbrush flew out of daddy's hand as he dove after the little monkey. Momma came in the room and scooped monkey off the floor. No more monkey jumping on the bed for the rest of the trip! The little guy was comforted and checked for bumps and bruises. Only one bump on the forehead and thankfully nothing else. Once everyone was calmed down a thorough search of the hotel room was done for the toothbrush. It was never recovered. That night, the little monkey got away with getting his teeth brushed. And so, the Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush goes unsolved and will forever be a mystery.

  Benjamin's expression throughout our trip...wonder and amazement.

 Mater from Cars.

 Mickey after lighting the Christmas tree at California Adventure.

 Mike's childhood home in Thousand Oaks.

 Exhausted!

 Western town at Paradise Ranch in Malibu.

 Feet in sand at Zuma Beach.

 Waiting to go to the Tiki Room. Benjamin was fascinated and danced.

 Pirates of the Caribbean.

 Dancing to the 80z All Stars.

 Space Mountain is one of our favorites.

 Benjamin loved "it's a small world"!

 After the Disneyland Christmas Fantasy Parade...it snowed!

Tow Mater's Tractor Pull.

FHE - Reindeer

We missed going to the Timpanogoes Symphony Orchestra tonight for Family Home Evening, so we went to see the reindeer at Thanksgiving Point. Benjamin got to see the reindeer up close and laughed in delight at seeing them.

There was also an ice sculpture demonstration. We saw the sculpter working on his last piece for the evening, a flower in a small block of ice. The process is pretty fascinating.

As a bonus, we saw the Chick-fil-a Cow. It was a fun evening and we are happy to be creating some fun memories for Benjamin.

Sunday Best

I love seeing Benjamin in his Sunday best. He looks so adorable and sweet. However, looks can be deceiving sometimes.

Benjamin Proof Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is Benjamin proof this year...at least I'm hoping! I kept everything simple. I focused on putting ornamants that Benjamin can play with on the bottom third of the tree. So far, he has plucked several of them off, snapped one of the snowflakes, broke off one of the teddy bears from an ornament and stepped on a tricycle ornament getting an ouchy.  I even caught him crawling under the tree. I'm sure there's lots more fun to come!

Santa's Arrival

Yesterday we had a great Thanksgiving day meal with a wonderful family, the Andersens. We love this time of year and have a lot to be grateful for: family, health, home and friends (and so much more).

For Black Friday, we kept things simple and went to see Santa's arrival at the University Mall in Orem. Above you might be able to make out Santa's hand waiving out of the window of the helicopter. We were a bit surprised at the force of the wind that stirred up. Benjamin was a little scared, but handled it all well.

Here are Santa and Mrs. Clause being assisted out of the helicopter and below, we got another wave.

While we waited for Santa to come round to our area, Benjamin saw the Build-a-Bear and went right up to him for a bear-hug. He was so adorable, not wanting to let go of the bear, but cuddled happily in his arms. So sweet!

When Santa arrived at our group, he picked Benjamin out of the kids around for an individual shot. Lucky Benjamin! We were happy that he didn't freak out or cry, but was curious.

We even saw Mrs. Clause. She was trailing behind Santa a bit and we heard him call out "come along Mrs. Clause". It made us chuckle. We had an overall good experience and think Benjamin enjoyed the festivities.

Walking In Daddy's Shoes

Here's Benjamin trying to walk in Daddy's shoes. He didn't get very far, but he had fun trying.

Fun Art Project

I finally got around to putting some art in Benjamin's room. I had fun making his name with all those monkeys hanging around.

Tuckered Out Sock Monkey

This little sock monkey experienced a fun Halloween today. Above, Benjamin is ready to go out. I took him trick-or-treating at my work. He wanted to explore and say "hi" to everyone more than get candy. By the time we were done making the rounds, he was exhausted. When we got home, he had a late afternoon nap. After dinner, we went out again to trick-or-treat at the neighbors' homes. This social little guy tried more than once to go into their homes. He saw groups of kids going from home to home and was so excited he wanted to follow. He would yell..."go, go, go, go, go"...and then would try to walk faster. I'm so glad he had a good experience!

Fall Fun

Fall fun for Benjamin while Mike and I worked to clean up the yard. Benjamin would laugh as the berries fell off the tree. He would shake the branches and then throw the berries that fell on the sidewalk back under the tree. 

Benjamin figured out on his own that piles of leaves are for jumping on. The leaves got every where--in his socks, shoes, pants, shirt and even in his diaper. Fun times!

Benjamin was happy to be outside doing whatever as long as he was outside with his mom and dad. We are happy to have him with us too!