Ben's Walking Stick and The Air Show

Benjamin likes to take the stick we use in the sliding door and use it as a walking stick. He also likes to try to bang it into things... 

On Saturday, we went to the Air Show. To help keep the kiddos safe from the sun, we built a tent with a sheet and two lawn chairs. 
Benjamin had to wear a hat. He wasn't very fond of it, but tolerated it for a couple of hours.
Jacob pretending to sleep on our food, even though I told him to get off of it several times.
A compromise. Benjamin was getting tired of the hat, but kept it on a little longer after I flipped it up so he could see more. 
Watching the jets.
Not watching the jets.
Crawling around in the tent, looking for trouble.
I guess this was something pretty amazing.

Hot, tired, and ready to go home!
Did you know Jacob has a mini head on his shoulder?



During the finale by the Blue Angels, we were all pretty impressed with the show! Benjamin, despite the loud jet engines flying directly over our heads, slept in my arms. 

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Tonight, Jacob was a REALLY bad sport about losing to Greg in Candyland. I told him he had to apologize to Greg. He was standing in front of Greg, looking very distraught, and I was holding Benjamin. Benjamin made a big fuss, so I put him down. He walked over to Jacob and hugged him. He put his arms around, put his head on Jacob's stomach, and just held him. It was soooo sweet.

Karate Tournament: Form I Routine

Karate Tournament & A Random One

Once again, these photos are rather blurry... the karate studio is not the best for photos! Here's Jacob about to do his jumping jacks.

Jumping on the circles before ending with a punch on the target.
Jacob showing off his medals. He said it was too funny for photos.
The view from the back of our house during one stormy night.

Cute Little Bugger!

So just when Jacob is trying to see how far he can push us, he does something really cute.

After heading off to bed last night, Jacob came out a couple of minutes later dressed in his striped footie pajamas. Greg was giving Benjamin a bottle. Jacob handed Greg Benjamin's matching pajamas and went back to his room. I heard him say, "Now we'll be twins!"

Soooo cute.
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Yesterday, Benjamin and I went to the the store while Greg and Jacob went to karate. Sarah called me and I talked with her a few minutes while shopping. When I hung up the phone, Benjamin smiled at me and held his hand up to his ear, mimicking holding a phone. :)

He's being copying us a lot more lately, which is completely adorable.

Last night, though, he kept waking up and fussing. I only had to pick him up one or two times, but getting up to put his pacifier in his mouth every 15 minutes is pretty exhausting!

We are really hoping it's a short phase.

Next week Benjamin graduates into the next classroom!

Karate Tournament!

(Pictures will be added soon... possibly a video!)

On Saturday, Jacob had his first karate tournament. Four Little Ninjas showed up, and they divided them into two groups -- beginners and advanced. Jacob was in the beginner group.

The tournament consisted of a timed obstacle course and a Form presentation (they present themselves to the judges and demonstrate a routine).

Jacob won the Form presentation and placed second (out of two) in the obstacle course. He was not happy about coming in second.

We explained (for several minutes) that second place is good. We told him he had done a great job and that we were very proud of him. We also told him you can't win every time, and that it was great that he and Caden had both been able to get 1st place one time and 2nd place the other time.

Jacob: "But I don't like losing."

We kept explaining that not coming in first doesn't mean you didn't do a good job (apologies for the awkwardly worded sentence).

I then told Jacob he needed to be a good sport. I said he should be happy for Caden for winning. I said, "When someone beats you, you need to say, 'Good job' and be happy for them."

Jacob thought about this for a minute.

Jacob: "I am happy for Caden getting second place for Form."

Smiley Boys

A Professional Steps In

So, you should check out my sister-in-law's photography blog for some adorable photos of the boys. :)