FFF-Best Buddies

This week's Fave Foto Friday theme from Hannah's blog is U-pick, so I picked Best Buddies. I think you can see what for yourselves:-) These certainly aren't the best technical pictures (notice the giant shadows), but they are still some of my favorites because my babies are sooo happy! For more FFF's, click on the button above and head on over to Hannah's blog!

Sweet Nicolas

It seems like I am always posting about Ben and his antics, so I wanted to dedicate this post to my sweet baby Nico. He is such a happy, easy-going little guy. He smiles almost all day long and has started giving me great big belly laughs whenever I play silly games with him. He LOVES watching Ben play and you can almost see his little brain trying to figure out how big brother is doing things so that he can do them too. I am so very blessed to have the privilege of calling this ray of sunshine my son!

Bubbles, Birthday, and Blanket

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here, so here's a quick view of some of the highlights!

Ben playing with bubbles, one of his new favorite toys

Ben eating birthday cake. This cake was just for our family-he'll have a big party in 2 weeks when Will is home again.

And last but not least, Nico on his new blanket handmade by Triple G (Great Grandma Gloria) and delivered by her this week!

These boys keep me hopping all day long, but they are such sweet, wonderful children that it is pure JOY!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Benicio!

My darling son,

On the day you were born, I did not yet know about you. But God did, and he knew you would become my son. Believe it or not, on the day you were born, we had an earthquake here in Indiana. I remember being woken by it as it rattled the windows and furniture. I had no idea that the day which began with such a surprise wake up would end with the birth of you, my first born son.

Words cannot begin to express how very much you mean to me. When you joined our family, my life changed forever. You were, and still are, my dream come true, my answered prayer, and my heart.

Over the past year, you have grown and changed so much. You have gone from that 18 pound peanut who couldn't yet walk to a 30 pound ball of energy who runs and jumps all day long. You went from calling me "Mama" in your little baby voice to saying, "Love you, Mommy" all in a matter of a few months. You learned to feed yourself with a spoon, help dress yourself, dribble and shoot a soccer ball, drink from a cup, talk up a storm, charm everyone you meet, and so much more. It's amazing to have witnessed all of the new things you can do.

This year you went from being an only child and the center of the universe around here to being the oldest child with a new baby brother. In true Ben fashion, you never missed a beat. The moment you first saw Nico's picture, you called him Bubby without us ever even telling you he would be your brother. And when you saw him for the first time in the hospital, I have no doubt that you loved him immediately. Watching you be such an amazing, gentle, and loving brother to Nico has made me love you even more, if that is possible. Nico is one lucky little guy to have you for a brother-even when you poke him in the nose or steal his pacifier on occasion.

I want you to know that I am so very, very proud of the boy you are becoming (way too quickly!). I love your heart of gold and how you go running to anyone who is hurt or crying and give them hugs and kisses to cheer them up. I love your outgoing personality and how you say Hi to everyone, everywhere, with a big smile that almost always makes everyone else happy too. I love how you always want to help with dishes, laundry, trash, and cleaning up. I love how you sing along to your music CDs in the car and how you keep right on singing even when the CD turns off. I love how you dribble the soccer ball up and down the soccer fields at half time just like you are one of the big kids playing a game. I love how every time you fall down, you jump right back up and try again. I love how you wrap your arms around my neck and say, "Love you, Mommy!" every night before I put you in bed. In fact, I love everything about you, my precious son.

So, on your second birthday, I just want you to know that I hope you will always be just exactly who you are. I hope that you will always know how much we love you and what a blessing you are to me. I pray that you will find your mission in life and that you will use your tenacious spirit to complete it. And I pray that you will keep God and Jesus in the center of your life so that you may know true joy.

I love you, my sweet son. Happy 2nd birthday.

Love Always,
Mommy

On the eve of a new era....

I snapped these pictures right before bed time tonight. I can hardly believe they are the last pictures I will ever take of him as a 1 year old. Tomorrow he will officially be 2. It doesn't seem possible. It is amazing how one little boy so thoroughly changed the course of my entire existence. I have no idea how I ever managed to entertain myself without him here. I am well and truly blessed to call this precious boy my son.

FFF-Funny (baby) Face

When I saw the theme on Hannah's blog for this week, I knew immediately that I was going to use an older picture because it was perfect for the theme. This is Ben, about 5 months old, doing his imitation of someone who has had a few too many drinks! It cracks me up every time I see it.



For more FFF's, click on the button above and visit Hannah's blog!

Stuck

We had a play date at the park yesterday with some new friends. Ben was having a great time and running around like crazy. I was watching him and chatting with my new mommy buddy when I heard Ben say, "Mama? Stuck!" I was watching him the entire time, and he appeared to be trying to climb up on the park bench, so I thought he was telling me that he couldn't get up there when he said stuck. So, like any good mom who wants to encourage their kids, I told him to keep trying and he'd get it. A few seconds later, I hear, "Mama? Stuck!" again. This time I go over to look a bit closer. What I saw had me grabbing for the camera to capture this moment:





That's right! He was, indeed, stuck! He put all of his fingers through the holes in the bench, then when he flexed his hand they got stuck :-) After pausing to take his picture, I was able to get him loose just by getting him to unbend his fingers. It was a totally priceless moment!