Farewell Old Friends

With the season changing, it was time to sort through the boys' closets in my semi-annual giant clothing swap wherein everything from Hank's closet gets moved to Max's closet, everything from Max's closet gets moved to Ben's closet, and so on. In the process, I cleaned out six boxes of clothes that are too small for my BABY! There was a part of me that was kind of excited to say goodbye to those clothes that I've washed, packed up, unpacked, and washed 5 times, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit it was little bit bittersweet to pack up for the last time those little outfits that have clothed my babies. I remember dressing each of my babies in those outfits in what became almost a ceremony..."oh, he's ready to wear the 'little squirt' top," and "let's see if the "Mariners shirt" will fit him,"...taking pictures and reliving the stage through each baby. It really is hard to believe that five little boys grew out of those clothes in such a short time. One minute Hank was swimming in my favorite little plaid Sunday outfit, and the next minute Rocky was bursting out of the same outfit. Those clothes have survived five owners and served us well--farewell sweet baby clothes!

Lego Whiz

I know I've brought it up before, but it's significant enough to repeat, this kid is CRAZY about Legos! I am not exaggerating when I say that he puts his Legos on the kitchen table beside him while he eats breakfast, he works intently on them all morning, he packs them in his backpack to take to preschool, he builds creations all afternoon, and he takes them to bed with him at night.

Since Ben learned how to take a "selfie," he will often ask me to take a picture with him:

When I dressed Ben in overalls one morning, it didn't take him two seconds to put this idea together: pockets + Legos = Heaven!

Unlike Hank, who will build something once and then never want to dismantle it again, Ben will build something just long enough to say, "Mom, look!" and then take it right back apart again, just to build something different one minute later.

Spring Break

Since we're leaving in the morning on vacation, I didn't feel a huge need to knock myself out entertaining the kids this week over Spring Break, but we did keep ourselves occupied with a visit to the Dinosaur Museum, trips to the park, a sleepover and bike ride at Nana Grover's house, late nights playing family games (unfortunately no corresponding sleeping-in in this family of early risers), afternoons playing outside with friends, a family picnic, and I even bent my own limited screen time rule and allowed some movie watching once or twice.

Dinosaur Museum:

We drive by the dinosaur museum multiple times each day and EVERYtime, Joey points at the big dinosaur on the outside of the building and yells, "rrrrooaarr!" He was pretty excited when we I took the boys to visit the museum and he got to see real (fossil) dinosaurs.

While Hank, Max, and Joey played in the sand and water table, building dams and excavating fossils, Ben discovered how to take a "selfie:"

Park:

It even got warm enough one day this week to bust out the boys' shorts and spend the morning playing at our beloved park!

I thought Rocky might be ready to give the swing a try, but he was still a little to tipsy to enjoy it. We'll try it again soon.

Bike Ride:

Ben is 4!

Fun Things About Ben:

- Ben's favorite things to eat are Fruit Loops, chicken nuggets and french fries, cool ranch Doritos, and M&Ms.
- Ben loves to sing primary songs and has a pitch perfect voice. His favorite song is the "ding-dong" song, aka "In a Little Manger."
- Ben gives a "thumbs up" by pointing with one index finger and expresses the sign for "I love you" by holding up two fingers in a "peace" sign. Always makes me smile.
- He drinks a concoction of almond milk, prune juice, and multivitamin...and likes it!
- Ben is obsessed with collections and containers of all kinds, but his favorite thing to play with are Legos.
- Ben likes to play at the park on a warm day, but he doesn't do wind. Period.
- Ben has the best dimpled smile and gleeful laugh!
- Although the transitions took some time, Ben loves his preschool class and Sunbeam class. He is the favorite of all of his teachers.
- Ben is very possessive about his collections and will hit or push if he feels his collections are being threatened. We're working on this;)
- Ben ASKS to go to bed as early as 6:30 every night. We usually try to hold him off until 7:30, and then he happily goes to bed. If he has a bad dream during the night, or just gets the inclination, he brings his pillow and his blanket and comes downstairs to sleep between Mom and Dad. Although he complains about being squished, I'm pretty sure Aaron secretly loves snuggling with Ben all night.

It's no secret that Benny has us all wrapped around his little finger. His smile is irresistible, his laugh is infectious, and his spirit is radiant. I trust Ben's judgment of character implicitly...he tends to attract the love an attention of random strangers he comes into contact with; I know I can trust those people who recognize his light. Ben is a gift. I marvel at my great fortune to be his mother, receive daily inspiration on his behalf, and witness the workings of the Savior in us both. I love you, Benny!

After his breakfast of choice of Fruit Loops and Cocoa Puffs, I took Benny to his one of his new favorite places: the farm. Ben enjoys riding the horses at the farm so much that we decided to enroll Ben in horse riding lessons.

After lunch and a short nap, we met Mindy and cousins at Jump on It for some trampoline bouncing fun. I can't figure out why Ben was all sweaty when I was the one holding his 48lb body while we jumped together!

Nana and Papa Grover joined us for dinner at Red Robin at Ben's request. After eating a dinner of mainly french fries, Ben ate his special birthday treat, M&M cookies.

More Legos!

Joey is 2!

Fun Things About Joey:

- Joey is my best book reader. He loves to read stories while I feed Rocky and before bedtime. His favorite book is The Little Blue Truck.
- Joey is a peacemaker. Big brother Ben is very possessive over certain toys and rather than snatch Ben's toys and yell, "mine!" like most 2 year-olds would, Joey voluntarily returns the toy to avoid a battle.
- I call Joey my "wild card." While he still carries his brothers' trademark ears and signature big bottom lip, he has his own little look about him with his fair hair.
- Joey is such a smarty! He is a little talking jabberbox and loves to mimick his brothers.
- He gets super excited anytime we see a construction vehicle, train, or airplane.
- Joey loves to be outside and will sneak out the door if I don't keep the doors locked.
- I like to call Joey "Speedy" because when he runs he shuffles his little feet close together and picks up speed fast.
- One of our favorite nicknames for Joey is "Joebot" because he's just like a little wind-up robot.
- Joey can count to ten and sing his ABCs, but he doesn't really care for music and singing.
- If you want to make Joey mad, all you have to do is say the words, "Momma help you." He is very independent and gets upset anytime assistance is offered.
- Joey's favorite thing to eat is meat and fruit.

Joey spices up our family with his playful, rascally, and precocious little personality. He holds a tough spot in our family by following up Ben and having baby Rocky coming up from behind close on his heels...its easy for Joey to get overshadowed by Ben's needs and the special attention given to the baby. Sometimes I will literally go upstairs late at night, pick up Joey from his crib where he lay asleep, hold him close against my chest, and rock him in the rocking chair. While I hold his little sleeping body in a chest to chest hug, I try to somehow transfer all of the love that fills my heart to the brim to his little heart. We rock, and my heart speaks to his, and I tell him how special and loved he is. I love you precious boy!

Joey's special day started with a birthday breakfast of two of his favorites: bacon and strawberries (as well as waffles that he mostly ignored).

A friend of mine offered to make this fabulous birthday cake for the boys:

After pizza and cake, Joey opened a few gifts...toys for his sandbox!

Family Service Project

I can remember like it was yesterday, sitting at Ben's cribside in his hospital room in the PICU, studying his sweet little face, trying to ingrain his features permanently into my memory....his dark hair that formed a widow's peak at his hairline, his long forehead just like his dad's, the faint crease that ran down the center of his perfect button nose, his pudgy cheeks and full lips, and, my favorite, his killer dimples in each cheek...because there was a very real possibility that my little 5 week old baby wouldn't come home from that hospital. That little baby fought like a champion and did come home...and today he turned four years old! Ben's birthday is not just an occasion to celebrate our special Benny-boy, but also an opportunity to give thanks for the miracles that we've experienced and the support we've received from family, friends, and strangers. This year we decided to commemorate Ben's birthday with a family service project and prepared sack lunches at the Ronald McDonald House for the families of sick children. Although it was just a small token of service, it was really special for our family to be able to brighten some poor parent's day who may be sitting beside their baby's cribside, dreaming about being able to celebrate future birthdays with their child.

Sandbox

In lieu of cheap-o, rinky-dink birthday presents, we decided to give Ben and Joey something they would play with and use for years to come...a sandbox! Not just any sandbox. A special, dad-made sandbox. When Aaron came home one afternoon with a truck load of sand, we let Joey skip his nap (since Rocky was asleep and Ben, Max, and Hank were at school) and spend some special solo time with Aaron finishing up the sandbox together.