Photos from the Week....

Benjamin hanging out with Aunt Sarah outside of Cheeseburger in Paradise.

My first alcoholic drink in years... It wasn't very alcohol-y, so it was super tasty!

Jacob's first Lego plane. He can pretty much follow the directions and assemble it by himself!

Benjamin working hard to learn the piano.

The hard work paid off! He's advanced to Haydn.

And the "before" picture... We went to Klubhouse Cuts for Kids for his first haircut. They didn't have printer ink at this location, either. So, no cute first haircut certificate. :(

This costs how much?!? You don't have any color ink? What kind of joint is this?

I can't even achieve eyelashes like his with the help of mascara!

Shredding a paper napkin under the table. (Probably the highlight of his day!)

I'll post a couple of Jacob stories tomorrow!

Benjamin's Progress

On Friday night, we saw Benjamin's top two teeth! I've been checking and hadn't seen any sign of them at all, and now they've already surfaced! Crazy.

Benjamin's also able to stand and do "So Big!" without wobbling. I don't think he realizes this yet.

We switched to formula on Friday, and Benjamin is now sleeping 4-5 hours stretches IN HIS CRIB!!! Before switching to formula, he could never get full and he'd wake up every hour and a half or two (after fussing from 11-1), and this was all in our bed. Woo hoo! :)

A Conversation with Jake: Kids & Houses

Riding home from dinner...

Jake: I'm not going to be a dad for a long time.

Me: That's a good thing.

Jake: Yeah, I think it won't be until 2010.

Greg: Well, I hope it won't be until around 2030.

Jake: Wow, 2030!

Me: You have a lot of things to do before you become a dad. You have to go to a lot of school, get married...

Greg: You'll find a girl you really like...

Jake: But I don't know who I will marry!

Greg: Well, you probably haven't met her yet. You probably won't meet her for a long time.

Jake: And I might not live in the same house forever.

Me: Right. You might have your own house before you get married.

Jake: Yeah, 'cause our house will get old.

Me: Well, some old houses are really cool.

Jake: Yeah! Like houses that have pictures of Monster trucks on the outside!

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And a random side snippet heard earlier this evening (Jacob talking about a toy snake):

Jake: I have a friendly snake in my pocket!

Hee hee.

Proud Boy, Talking Animals, and No Haircut!

Benjamin is pretty excited whenever he gets to play with "big boy" toys. :)

Greg ran 3.5 miles to McDonalds to rent a RedBox DVD, one of the dog movies with a bunch of retriever puppies. Jacob loves movies with talking animals. He wanted Greg to watch it with him. Poor Greg. Jacob smiled and laughed throughout the entire movie. It was so cute!

Benjamin has been standing a lot lately! Here's a classic "under the table" pose.

He's just a tiny bit proud of himself.

Looking like a fairer version of Jacob at this age.

Just hangin' out, standing around... no big deal.

On Monday, we tried to get Benjamin's first official haircut. Due to a few factors, we ended up postponing it.

1. I forgot my camera (but was still able to get a photo with my camera phone).
2. Benjamin wasn't in a suitably cute outfit for a first haircut.
3. The haircut place didn't have any color ink, and therefore could not print a "Baby's First Haircut" certificate with his photo on it (the reason we went there).

How Big is Benjamin?

Benjamin is now doing the classic baby, "Sooooo big!" and raising his arms above his head. :)

I'd Be Eliminated from America's Top Chef

On Friday night, I made sausage links and scrambled eggs with onion, bacon, and Swiss cheese. Jacob loved it. Throughout the dinner, he kept saying things like, "Wow, this is really good!" "Great job with dinner, Mom!" "This tastes soooo yummy!" "I hope we have this dinner again!" "You are such a good cook!" "Thank you so much for making such a good dinner, Mom!"

He was just piling on the compliments.

On Saturday night, Grandma Mimi came over to babysit. I asked what Jacob wanted to have for dinner. His answer? "The same dinner as last night!" So... I made the same thing, casserole-style.

On Sunday night, I made a pasta bake with homemade spaghetti sauce with ground sausage and cheese. Jacob doesn't like red sauces, so I made a special white sauce for him with melted cheese. It was pretty tasty! Bowtie pasta, diced ham, broccoli bits, and a cheesy white sauce. Yum!

Jacob: Mom, you did a really BAD job with dinner tonight!

Me: Jake, you can't say things like that. If someone cooks for you, you can't say that. It could really hurt someone's feelings.

Jacob: But it just tastes so bad!

Me: You have to eat it. It's just part of being a kid. You eat what your mom cooks for you.

Jacob: But it doesn't taste good at all! It's really bad! It just tastes so bad!

(I think I might have gotten this reaction with anything other than scrambled eggs and sausage.)

Home Repairs and Jumparoos

Greg's been doing some updates around the house. He added a new light over the kitchen sink. Jacob was very proud to be helping out.
Pulling the wire through the wall for Dad.

Jacob. Yes, there is food on his face, but he's actually willing to just pose for a photo - I'll take it!

Benjamin playing with my favorite blanket. He was busy playing peek-a-boo. He plays peek-a-boo with anything. Water bottles, paper, toys, whatever. It is hilarious!

My sweet, sweet baby boy. We'll probably go for his first (official) haircut soon.

Watching Jacob.

And many, many photos in the Jumparoo.