Cake #1

I think these pictures speak for themselves

The Birthday Boys

These two little guys are both turning "1" this week

These two cousins had a party together on Saturday... pictures to come soon

So sweet... This is how Ben fell asleep tonight

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Boy things

That's how I feel when it comes to pirates. They are so not my thing. I guess I don't get sword fighting and treasure maps. It just so happens that it's Ben's thing. He loves all things pirates. His new question of choice now is "do you want to play sword fighting with me?"

Oy vey!

Here is someone who can relate to him (in case you can't tell, that's little Drew, 6 years old)

I had to throw this one in since he's so cute.

A flashback

Do you remember this picture?....

Sweet little, bald, 9.5 month old Benjamin

Well, here is Jack at almost 1 year old, taking after his big brother

Yes, both of my boys like the dryer. Every time I do laundry, Jack is right there next to me, pulling clothes out of the dryer, trying to climb in or closing the door.

Yo ho, yo ho

A pirate's life for Ben

Not only did Ben get to try on dad's old pirate hat

he got to wear the whole costume

Could he be any cuter?

Jack is growing up

17 nights!

That is how many nights that Drew will be gone for work training this month. And there's a good chance that he'll be gone in Missouri for half of April for a class he's been trying to get into.

It's going to make for some long days and weeks here. The boys and I will have to find plenty to do to keep ourselves busy and hopefully the weather will be warming up soon so we can spend lots of time outside. The fresh air always helps. The first little training that he will be going to starts this Thursday so Ben, Jack, Lewey and I will be heading down to Fresno for a few days.

On a side note, Loree told Ben that she has Drew's old pirate hat (from Halloween when he was little) and Ben has been so excited to see it. Today when he got to gym class, he told his teacher "popi and mimi have pirate stuff at their house." I'm sure she was thinking what kind of family does this boy come from.

Baseball with Grandpa

Last Sunday, my dad and DeAnn stopped by for the night on their way home from a trip down the west coast. We enjoyed a nice visit with them on Sunday evening and Monday morning, Ben was ready to go outside to play with his Grandpa. 

Trying to tag him

Ben telling everyone what to do. If you've ever played "baseball" with Ben, you know what I am talking about. He directs everyone on what position to play and then right when you think you are about to play, he changes it all up again.

Don't know what he's doing here

Pretty good that I caught the ball in motion here

Do you see the resemblance?

I see so much of Drew here

We are waiting for the day

that Jack starts walking. It is getting close. He stands all by himself. He has taken one step before falling. He can cruise around anything ridiculously fast. It's not far off.

17 more days until our little guy has his first birthday. We will be having a double celebration that will include all of the Grandparents. We will be down south the weekend before his birthday where we will have a joint celebration with his cousin Luke (who turns 1 three days before Jack) and then the day after Jack's birthday we will be at home with Drew's family visiting.  Jack will be getting his fill of cake this month. That boys loves to eat so I'm sure he won't mind.

W*A*S*T*E

We were in line at the post office yesterday and Ben asked me about the trash can that was in the counter there. I told him that it said waste on it which meant that it was a trash can. So he looks at it and slowly says, W A S T E. What! My child can identify letters? This was news to me and I couldn't believe it. It was definitely a proud mom moment. So since then we have been practicing identifying letters and while he doesn't know all of them, he knows the five letters that are in waste (and quite a few other ones too).

1 stubborn me + 1 stubborn three year old =

1 frustrated and tired mom

Our biggest battle yet will be coming this month... potty training. Have you ever met someone who is afraid of the toilet? Well, Benjamin is. Very scared of it. Like scream for his life if you put him near it. 

The time has come though and he must part ways with a friend that he has outgrown, his diaper. Wish us luck, we're going to need it. Potty training officially begins on March 23. We will be locked in the house for a week. Boy, I haven't dreaded something this much for a long time. It must be done though and I'm going to go into it with a good attitude and as much patience as I can find. I'll update you at the end of the month and let you know how it all went.