Wonderful Ben has a Birthday!

Right on the heels of my birthday is Ben's birthday. On September 18th our Ben turned 6! I can still remember when he was a baby. He was such a quiet baby. Greg would ask me all the time, "Do you think he's OK?" I even asked the doctor about it. Of course Ben was OK. Now he has grown into a delightful, pleasant, happy boy who knows what he likes. He has an innate goodness about him. He tries so hard to do what is right. He looks for ways to help and lift others. Some of the things he loves and knows he is good at are soccer, cooking, and singing. He calls them his talents. He is right! All of those things bring him a lot of joy. And that brings me a lot of joy.

A lot is going on in his six year old life. He started kindergarten this year. We felt like he was ready last year (he missed the cut off by 3 days) and the transition has been a breeze for him, much easier than for the girls. He loves his teacher, Miss Manning (and so do I; she is wonderful). He loves to write numbers. He has a goal to write all the numbers from 1-1000 before parent teacher conferences which are Nov. 22. I think he is already at 600 something. I don't think he will have any problems meeting that goal. We also just got a note that he will be pulled out of class for small group work with the ELP teacher for reading. He is reading so well. His favorite things to read are the scripture readers we have. He has been reading the Old Testament one a lot lately. When he was first starting to read, I would have him read out loud out of those for 20 minutes a day. Now they are what he reads most. That makes a mother smile:)

He has recently lost 2 teeth and is sporting a cute gap in his mouth signaling this wonderful time in his life. He did very well in soccer this year. He is awesome at defending. He excels at offense when his team is struggling. When there is someone else who will take the lead he lets them and is there to help as needed, but when no one takes the lead, he gives it his all. It is because he wants to help the team. It has been fun for him to score some goals this fall.

He also loves helping in the kitchen. Greg is the baker in the family and patiently works with Ben in the kitchen at least once a week. They love doing that together, and we all love the results ;) I recently changed how chores are done in our home and now one of the chores the kids rotate through is helping with dinner. Ben has been my most enthusiastic helper. It is wonderful to have his company in the kitchen.

His singing also brings a lot of joy to our home. I usually sing one song to him each night before bed, but lately he's been asking to sing me a song. His teacher uses a lot of music in their class so he has had an ever expanding repertoire to share. He will also often ask me to sit down and play the piano on Sundays so we can sing together. I hope he will always love music. I think it is in his soul. Most recently the other kids have had a lot of fun playing "Heart and Soul" together. I have been working with Ben at the piano for about a year but he isn't where the other kids are yet, but one of them showed him how to play the higher part and he has patiently been working on it. It is sounding pretty good now. He will also often sing along as he practices his piano pieces, as most of them have words with them.

One last thing. He has the most wonderful smile! We are so grateful to have Ben in our home. I often think how grateful I feel for him right now and how grateful I am that he and Jake will still be here with us after the three older ones are gone. Is that weird to think about? Ben, we love you. Happy Sixth birthday!

Baby Ben at 5 months.

Ben at 2 years old.

Here is Ben on his first day of kindergarten.

These are the yummy doughnuts Ben and Greg made for us one Saturday morning. They are seriously the best doughtnuts EVER!!

Ben after losing his very first tooth. Now the gap is even bigger after losing the second one.

Ben wanted cupcakes for his birthday instead of a cake, so cupcakes he got. Chocolate with Strawberry (yes, pink) frosting. Happy Birthday Benner!

Our wonderful boy's smile. Isn't he cute?!!

My Birthday

I haven't blogged for a while, and part of the reason is I haven't wanted to make this post. Hopefully it will be short, just to get it over with. It is much easier to blog about the kids. My birthday passed over a month and a half ago (Sept. 10). I turned 35. That doesn't seem too old to me yet, with the exception of thinking about my child-bearing years coming to an end soon. I didn't really do anything much that day. I did pick up some lunch for Jake and I. Greg took over in the evening. He cooked dinner and baked a cake for me and went crazy on buying presents. My favorite present was the SCOOBA, the robot that cleans my tile floor (you know it's sister the ROOMBA that vacuums for you). I hate mopping!! I also appreciated phone calls from my dad and my friend Leah. Happy 35th to me! That's really about it. It seems like you don't need a whole lot when you aren't a kid anymore.

Pictures of me are hard to come by these days. Who wants to point the camera at me when there are 5 cute children running around? Not to mention I am usually the one doing the camera pointing. Sooooo, I thought it might be fun to include some of me growing up.

Here I am with my brother Todd. My guess is I am about 4 years old.

Here I am on my 16th birthday. My family had just moved from Utah to Virginia.

This was not on my birthday, but here I am at 35, with my buddy Jake.

Here is the cake my wonderful husband made for me. We are going to run out of room for candles soon!

Jacob's Birthday

On August 2oth our baby turned 3! I can hardly believe it. We have never had one make it to 3 without having a new little one. It just can't be (and truth be told we would love to have another one here already, but it is not always up to us). It has been a delightful 3 years. Jacob has always had a very pleasant, happy disposition. His teacher at preschool calls him "smiley". He is quick to laugh and smile and is just enjoyable to be around. Now he can be down right funny.

He is amazing at talking and it is fun to see what comes out of his little mouth in his cute little voice. He loves planes, trains and automobiles, as well as Buzz and Woody, and all things "cowboy". He carries around a white and pink jump rope he calls his cowboy rope. He has Toy Story cowboy boots which he is extra proud of. He will wear them with church clothes or pajamas. It makes no difference to him.

He loves his brothers and sisters and has all of us wrapped around his little finger. Maybe he is a little spoiled, but I see no way around it with 4 adoring brothers and sisters. We are so grateful to have Jake in our family. He is all the wonderful things about childhood! Happy (late) Birthday Jacob.

Here is Jacob blowing out the candles. He wanted blueberry coffee cake for his birthday. Go figure. It sure was yummy though!

Here he is opening is silly squishy guy. He was so excited by such a little thing.

Smiles from the birthday boy.

Here he is with his new cowboy hat and new scooter. Both a big hit!