The past two weeks our family's immune systems have taken a hiatus. First, Jon got some weird stomach bug that we thought was some odd kind of food poisoning. Until I got it. Then we realized it was some kind of bug, since food poisoning isn't contagious. And let me just say this was not a oh-I'm-so-nauseated-I-could-just-puke kind of bug. This was the most awkward stomach PAIN I have ever had. It was seriously weird. Anyway, just as we are on the mends, Benson comes down with a cold. This boy doesn't do sick well. His cold spread to Vanessa who ended up getting croup two nights in a row. We loaded both kids up with Night Time Triaminic, okay we didn't load them up, but gave them a reasonable dose, and they are sleeping soundly, hopefully getting better. No, we will NOT be taking them to church tomorrow. Not only do we not want to get all the kids in nursery sick, but I don't want them catching anything! We have been avoiding the public like the plague! I thought one sick kid was rough, but two. Two is enough to kill a person. And being sick and still having to take care of kids isn't much fun either. But, now that I have whined enough to make you all sick yourselves, I will say that last night I got a beautiful 8 hours of sleep, only slightly interupted. It. Was. Glorious.
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| I just gave Benson a buzz. I know you can't really tell, because poor guy didn't have much hair anyway. But ironically, more people have been telling me since the haircut how much his hair is coming in. Go figure. Doesn't he look so cute in this pic? I love it because it is a classic Benson look. He puts a lot of effort into his scouting around and he will always lay his head on his hands like this to take a break. |
So, the day after the fourth, we went to the Miami Seaquarium and the beach right next to it. It was nice to have free parking, but the beach was kinda gross (I think I dug up some dog poop, yuck!). It was still funn and we just stopped digging in the sand after that.
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| Vanessa is obsessed with jumping and climbing. Can you tell she is jumping in the pic? You might have to enlarge it to see, but she's got a small vertical there. I'm stoked to actually have an income and put her in gymnastics. I think she would be so good. I also secretly think she would be a great flyer (as in cheerleader) but I really don't want her to be a cheerleader so we'll keep that thought a secret. She has also mastered dragging chairs and stools over to get things off of tall shelves. Nothing is safe anymore, namely chocolate. Ha ha. |
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| Jon is seriously the most amazing husband and dad. He is so patient with me and I love him to death. He does give me funny looks sometimes though. Understandable, I am losing my mind. I can't believe we've only been married 3 1/2 years. I told him so today as we was describing to me exactly what I would do in a certain situation and he was dead on. He just knows me that well, and still loves me, crazy isn't?! |
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| This is another classic Benson. He always has to see what is going on. And if you put your head in his face to get his attention, ya, he'll just swat it away. And growl. Nursing him has become a serious challenge because there can be NOTHING going on in the room. Also getting him to sleep is a little tricky, especially because Vanessa wants to follow and her little jabber keeps him quite enthralled. Though we do love her chatter (most the time, ha ha!) |
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| Our nail biter. I am not allowed to touch her nails with clippers. She absolutely freaks out. I've tried to do it in her sleep. She's a deep sleeper, and it ain't happenin. So the biting continues. Why is biting your nails a bad habit anyway? |
Other things of note, Benson started pointing at the aquarium AND said his first word, "WOW." He also says "whoa." And I am pretty sure he knows ball, but it comes out more like "ba." He gives open-mouth kisses, claps, has a wounded soldier scoot, plays with his toes, loves the water, eats sand, loves balls and anything Vanessa is holding. He hasn't been a great eater due to his recent sickness and has made me rather nervous. But I think his appetite is slowly coming back. He LOVES milk. He seems to always know which sippy cup has milk in it and he can scoot over to it surprisingly fast. Sadly though, it still makes him really sick. Trust me a baby with a cold, and a gurgly, sick tummy is NOT fun.
Vanessa's favorite color is purple. Her favorite toys are her animals. Her favorite song is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She loves to color and put stickers all over things. She still hates strollers, but likes shopping carts. She has started copying phrases we say a lot, such as "how 'bout..." "that's so funny!" "That's so pretty!" "My hair so pretty!" She loves her silky nightgown but her first choice is always being naked. She has learned though that she has to wear clothes to go outside. If we start talking about leaving and she's naked, she will point to her naked belly while running into her room saying "I need clothes."
We still haven't heard where Jon will be in September. It is frustrating to no-end. We would really love to know how to plan things, but we are just waiting on that bit of news. There is a chance that Jon could be here, in South Florida. But regardless, we have decided the kids and I will head to Utah for September. We are excited to see family, so it'll be nice. But it will be sad to be without Jon. I won't pretend for a second that I like being without him. I want him around, why else did I marry him?!
I've written a million posts in my head the past week while trying to calm crying babies in the middle of the night. As interesting as they are, I'm always too lazy to write them. Or, at least they are interesting to me. I get rather, uh, passionate about certain topics. And usually, they are just my opinion on random things. Maybe I should start my own opinion blog. I know EVERYONE would be dying to read it, lol. I love talking about topics with people who are equally passionate about them as I am, as long as we have the same philosophy. I am not into debate, ha ha. I don't really enjoy on-line forums though. I feel like people get really catty and immature. And, don't laugh at me, but I can't handle poor grammar. Seriously, can't stand it.
So what else have I been doing with my abundant free time? Well, today I made sugar cookies that Vanessa dumped a bunch of extra baking soda into. Ever wonder what that will do? It makes them dense, hard, crunchy, something like that. They still taste okay though. I am also reading a childbirth book and have at least 8 others waiting. When I was pregnant with Vanessa, I read two books a week. No kidding. I read the Twilight Series in a weekend. I have been working on this current book for something ridiculous like a month and a half. I like to read random articles on-line. I like that I can start and finish one, haha. I also throw in a YW lesson couple times a month. I suck up all the extra time Jon has right now for everything it is worth. We watch the Office, even though I don't really like Steve Carell. I've been wanting to make some cute fabric flower headbands. I have all the materials, I just need to do it. I think I'm waiting till I can use my mom's sewing machine in September. And obviously, blogging. And I probably spend more time than I should on facebook. Blogging is at least a journal. Facebook is just, well, facebook. And that sums up my life. Sometimes it feels really monotinous, because it is. But being home with my kids is yet another one of those things I am so passionate about. So, it's kids, cooking, cleaning, and a few random hobbies I enjoy sporadically. As for now, I think I will choose to read myself to sleep.
Benson recently discovered what makes him a boy... and every time he finds it, this is his face.
Vanessa is becoming quite the artist. She loves to color in books, on the walls, and on herself.
Sadly, we sold the motorcycle. Benson enjoyed it while he could.
Sleeping Beauties (which is now Vanessa's favorite movie)
We were probably watching a very manly movie, like Care Bears or Curious George.
Vanessa is becoming quite a good swimmer, though she still doesn't like going under water.
We'll be leaving Florida in just a few weeks after living here for the past 14 months. It'll be interesting to see how the kids adjust to a new place. They're used to going to the beach, pool, splash park... pretty much swimming everywhere they go. We've become accustomed to all the lizards, snakes, frogs, and ducks everywhere. The reptiles love to hang out at our front door and even get inside every once in a while. We now have two alligators living in the pond 30 yards away from us. 
