February was a fun month for our family! The boys loved celebrating Valentines Day, especially decorating cards for Daddy at the library! Benjamin was so excited to give Daddy his gift (a bag of spicy, hot cheetos) that he had a hard time keeping it a secret! We bought it the day before Valentines Day and I had Benjamin help me hide it so Daddy wouldn't find it, but the first thing out of his mouth the second that Ammon walked in the door after work was "Daddy! Daddy! We got you Cheetos!!! Haha! I'm glad he gets so excited about giving gifts to people he loves :)

Benjamin and Isaac were both excited to wake up to their Valentines gifts too! Heart shaped balloons (that quickly turned into swords, they only lasted about 10 minutes, haha!) and their own box of chocolates (which didn't last much longer than the ballons!)

Ammon did a great job spoiling me, too! We ate a breakfast of french toast and strawberries together before work, and then I went back to bed for a couple of hours. When a came down to the kitchen later, I found he had left me some Valentines surprises! A dozen roses, a piano book of love songs, Brazilian treats, and my favorite dark chocolate sea salt caramels from the BYU Bookstore! Wow, he knows me so well and makes me feel so loved! <3

The boys also had fun wearing matching red sweaters and playing with their brand new red soccer ball together! It was definitely a Valentine's Day to remember!

Winter finally decided to make an appearance after all this year! We only had snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, so the boys were happy that we got another chance to try out their new sleds. Isaac only lasted a few minutes, and then was just happy to sit and lick the snow off his gloves. Benjamin loved it though! He went sledding down a hill, made snow angels, and really enjoyed kicking the snow off of the tree branches.

Benjamin's birthday was a HUGE celebration and highly anticipated day! He had been talking about turning 3 for months and was so excited for his choo choo train party with all of his cousins at Gigi's house! 

Since his party was on the Saturday before his actual birthday, we decided to spend his real birthday, February 20th, with his buddy and birthday twin, Sam Hess! These two get along so well, and I think it's fun that they are exactly one year apart and get to share a birthday! We celebrated at the Kangaroo Zoo and then went to Angie's house for lunch, a pinata, and cupcakes!

Luckily Benjamin was able to have a lot of fun the first half of his birthday week, because the second half of the week we pretty much stayed cooped up inside the toy room. Yup! Potty Training has begun! Benjamin is doing awesome and makes me so proud! He was kind of reluctant at first, but we went to the store and he picked out Paw Patrol big boy underwear that he is pretty proud of. He is definitely growing up fast!

Benjamin's showing of his big boy underwear and his favorite birthday toy from Grandpa and Gigi: a tee-ball set! He has a hard swing, but has a hard time remembering that the goal is to just hit the ball, not to knock the entire tee over, haha!

Isaac was a great sport during potty training! He loved eating the salty snacks with Benjamin and running with him to the potty whenever it was time to go! In this picture his is sporting his latest bruise, from slipping on the bench at McDonald's and face planting into the edge of the table. His whole nose was swollen and black and blue! 

After a couple of days of potty training inside, we definitely all needed a trip outside. Benjamin requested snow shovels "like Daddy" so we spent an hour digging in the snow. They had a blast!

I love how these two boys love each other so much!! If you ask Benjamin who his best friend is, he will quickly shout "Isaac!!" and if you ask Isaac who his best friend is, he will just as eagerly yell "Men-Ma-Min!"  haha! These two make my heart happy!!

Benjamin's 3rd Birthday!

Benjamin James turned 3 years old this month! He has been so excited for months and asked every day if it was his birthday yet. When we asked Benjamin what kind of a party he wanted, he immediately shouted "A choo choo train party!!!" So a choo choo train party he did have!

My favorite moments of the day were probably right when he woke up in the morning! He was so cute and excited, the day he had been waiting for for so long had finally arrived! We gave him his present from us (a train table) and showed him his cake. Then we headed down to Provo for the big party at Gigi's house!

I was pretty proud of how the cake turned out! Benjamin loved it too, so I call it a success :)

We chose finger foods that Benjamin loves: chips and fruit and pulled pork sandwiches!

My wonderful neighbor let us borrow her Polaroid camera for the party, so each kid got a picture of themselves dressed up as a train conductor! 

Benjamin is a huge bookworm, so I knew we had to start off his big day with story time! I found this cute book about a train turning 3 at the library, and the kids loved blowing train whistles everytime the train went "choo choo!!!" It was adorable!!

The "toss the coal into the engine" game was a hit too! 

Ammon had the genius idea to let the kids play "Pin the Conductor in the Train" with their Polaroid pictures. They had so much fun and it ended up looking really cute! I think they could see pretty well through the bandanna, haha!

PINATA!! Nothing cuter than watching 3-5 year olds hit a pinata with a plastic bat! haha! In the end we had to help them out by ripping a hole in the bottom. But they still LOVED it!!

I love love love Benjamin's smile in this video! Sometimes Benjamin gets really shy when he is the center of attention, so I wasn't sure how he was going to like having everyone sing to him. But I didn't have to worry! You can tell that he just feels so happy and loved! Thank you to all my wonderful family who made Benjamin feel so special on his big day! 

So now I officially have a 3 year old! Benjamin James, you make my days so happy and fun with your bright, smiley, silly personality! I'm so grateful that I'm your Mom and that I get to watch you grow and learn more and more everyday!

9 months

Benjamin James - 9 months old!

This has been a fun month to watch Benjamin James learn and grow!  His most exciting new trick is Crawling! Well, kind of. It's more like an army crawl, because he doesn't use his legs at all! It's so funny and cute to watch. He begins by interlacing his little fingers and gripping his fists together, and then plants his hands down into the carpet and drags his body forward. His little legs just drag behing like deadweights!  Haha, it is slow moving, but he is thrilled to be mobile and to be able to decide where he wants to go!



This little boy has also discovered that he LOVES cheese! He doesn't eat a lot of solids yet, but he'll finish a cheese stick in one sitting! It is definitely his new favorite food. He also has started to learn the art of teasing (maybe he is training to be an older brother!) and he loves to hold out his food for the dog, only to pull it away as soon as he opens his mouth. It makes him laugh so hard!

Fall has always been my favorite season, but I have loved it even more this year as I watch Benjamin James discover it for the first time. He is fascinated with the crunchy leaves all over the ground and loves to play with them! Last Saturday, Ammon and I raked a huge pile and set Benjamin down right in the middle. He was covered in leaves all the way up to his neck! I was a little worried that it would make him nervous, but he just got the biggest smile on his face and waved his hands excitedly while grabbing as many leaves as he could in his tiny fists. He was probably the happiest I have ever seen him!

Ammon and I also have been taking Benjamin on his first bike rides. We got baby seat that goes into between my seat and the handle bars and a tiny baby helmet. He looks so adorable! He loves it for the first little while, but I think it will take a little getting used to before we will be able to go on long bike rides. He doesn't like the cold wind in his face for very long!

I am amazed every day by how much this little boy is learning. He definitely recognizes the words "mama" and "dada" and looks to find us whenever he hears our names.  He also loves playing Patty cake with Grandpa Gee and will even do the "throw it in the oven!" action at the end. Great Grandpa Gibson gets the credit for teaching Benjamin how to give "high fives"!  He always calls Benjamin his "Grandpa-Pal" and is so great at playing with him and making him smile.  Benjamin also loves clapping along to "If You're Happy and You Know It" and gets so happy as soon as you start singing it! What a smart, fun little boy! I love you too much!!

8 months

Benjamin - 8 months old!

Benjamin James is growing into such a fun, happy, energetic little boy. He loves people and is very friendly to everyone who wants to play with him. In fact, sometimes he can be a little too friendly :) His favorite way to show you that he loves you is by eating your face off. He dives toward your face with his mouth wide open, leaving you feeling very loved and very slobbery :)

We always find Benjamin sleeping in the funniest positions. His favorite is to sleep on his side with his little body arched arched and his neck tilted so far up that the back of his head lies almost flat against his back! It does not look comfortable at all to me, but he loves it! When he does sleep on his back, he always has both arms raised with his hands behind his head...he looks exactly like his Daddy! It is so adorable when I find them sleeping side by side in the exact same position.

Lately Benjamin's favorite sound to make is growling like a lion. He does it all of the time! So, of course, we decided we had to dress him up as a lion for Halloween. Ammon and I decided to dress up as the Scarecrow and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz so we could all match! Benjamin was the most adorable lion ever! He didn't love the mane, but put up with it long enough for us to get some cute photos :) We even got the whole family to go along with the theme with us: Grandpa was the Wizard, Gigi was the Wicked Witch, Jared was the Tin man and Justin was a Munchkin. Haha, I was so happy (and surprised) that my brothers agreed to dress up! Benjamin has them wrapped around his little finger, and they are so sweet with him!

Benjamin loves his cousins! Especially Celecta Rose - she is definitely his favorite. Whenever she walks into the room, he get's the biggest, happiest smile on her face. Last week in church, we sat behind Celecta Rose and he kept wanting to play with her. She turned around and leaned over the bench toward him, and he grabbed her face and gave her a big, slobbery "eating your face" kiss! :) He adores her so much!

Benjamin's new favorite game is knocking down towers! We were trying to figure out a way to motivate him to army-crawl across the room, and we quickly discovered this passion of his. Whether it's blocks, or books, or stuffed animals, as soon as we stack more than 2 on top of each other, Benjamin can't rest until he manages to knock them down! He'll wriggle his little body all the way across the room to get to it, if he has too. It's a great way to get him to practice crawling, and we can tell that he is getting more and more mobile already!

My absolute favorite new Benjamin-ism is one that I hope he will never stop doing! His new smile is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Whenever he is happy he squints his little eyes, lifts his chin high up to the ceiling and gives you the cutest, smirky smile! It melts my heart and makes me burst out laughing at the same time. How is it possible to love this little guy so much???

7 months!

Benjamin James - 7 months 

My baby is 7 months old! This month Benjamin got to experience his first BYU game and he got the best sit in the house right one Grandpa's lap. He was a little confused at the loud noises and cheering...especially when Tanner Mangum threw a Hail Mary in the last seconds of the game for the win! What a great first game for the cutest Cougar fan!

Benjamin has also become quite the little acrobat! He does not like lying down, on his tummy or on his back, and insists on sitting straight up so he can look around the room. He is great at sitting by himself and can completely support himself now, only falling over is he tries too hard to grab a toy that is out of his reach. Before this month, Benjamin would recline quietly in his bouncer chair while I did housework or cooked. Now, within minutes of being in his chair, he will arch his back and twist his body in the strangest positions! I am already getting a glimpse of how my life as a mom will be changing as this boy gets more and more mobile!

Benjamin's new favorite food is definitely RASPBERRIES! Grandpa and Gigi have a lot of raspberry bushes in their backyard, right outside our bedroom door. Picking and eating raspberries has definitely become one of our favorite daily activities. Benjamin just devours them, faster than I can pick them! He also makes a huge mess. I'm still not sure how he can get so covered with raspberries from head to toe so quickly! But it is a happy mess though :) And a cute one!

Benjamin's newest trick is clapping his hands. I think it came from playing "Patty cake", but now he does it all the time! He has also learned how to wave "bye, bye!" and tries to mimic us every time we wave to him. He is such a smart boy!

It has been so much fun living at home with my parents. Benjamin especially loves all the attention he gets from Grandpa and Gigi and so many adoring aunts and uncles. He is in heaven! Benjamin also loves the doggie and kitties and squeals in delight whenever they walk into the room. They seem to like cuddling with him too.

Benjamin definitely has us all wrapped around his finger. We love you, handsome boy!

6 months!

Benjamin James - 6 months old!

Half a year old already! I cannot tell you how much happiness this little guy has brought to our lives for the last 6 months. Life just gets more fun every day with our Benjamin James! 

The cutest thing that Benjamin has learned how to do this month is blow raspberries! He loves to stick out his tongue and puff out his checks and make the funniest sounds, over and over! It is too adorable, especially when he grabs your cheeks and blows big, slobbery raspberries right against your face!

His new favorite toy is definitely Daddy's Intel badge that he takes to work every day. As soon as Benjamin spots it, he will do anything to get his hands on it. And once he has it, there is no getting it back until he has completely sucked on every last inch. Most days, Ammon ends up finding it dripping with drool. What a silly boy we have! :)

Benjamin is becoming quite the little eater! He is not picky at all and loves to try everything, but his favorite, by far, is mango applesauce. I barely have time to scoop another spoonful before he's diving toward me, mouth wide open :)

 This has definitely made it more difficult for us at meal time. Before, Benjamin would just sit calmly and quietly while we ate our food. But ever since we let him taste a few things, meal time has become his favorite time! He grabs at our food and grabs at our forks and wants to try everything we are eating.  One time, Ammon was holding Benjamin on his lap and eating his dinner, when suddenly, Benjamin's hand shot out like a flash of lightening, and he grabbed a fistful of Ammon's rice and gravy! You have to keep a close eye on this boy!

Unfortunately, eating all this solid food has been a little hard on his digestive system. Benjamin has been getting really constipated lately and having tummy aches. We have had to help him poop the last few times with a Q-tip, because his poops are so hard and big. Not fun for the poor little guy! :( Hopefully we can figure out how to help him!

I have also realized this month just how much Benjamin loves music! There is nothing in this world that calms him as much as singing him a song. Whenever we are in the car and he gets grumpy in the back seat, I just have to turn on the baby music app I have on my phone, and he is entertained for hours! Or sometimes he can be restless or playful in church, but as soon as the congregation begins to sing a hymn, he immediately sits still and listens quietly throughout the entire song. At night, we like to turn off the lights and lie him down between us in bed and sing lullabies until he falls asleep. It usually just takes a verse or two to turn a fussy, tired boy into a peacefully sleeping angel. Our favorite songs to sing him are "Eu Gosto de Ver O Templo" (I Love to See the Temple in portuguese) and "You are My Sunshine".

One day, our neighbor's baby, Alexis, was crying and crying so we sat her down next to Benjamin. Immediately she stopped crying, cuddled up to him, and grabbed his hand! It was so sweet! Benjamin looked pretty pleased with himself too. He definitely knows how to get the lady babies!

Benjamin still isn't very mobile....unless there is an iPhone within reach! He will stop at nothing to get to the bright screen!

I just love life with Benjamin James!