Happy Birthday Best Buddy

My baby is one! Holy cow. It does not seem like a whole year has gone by. It literally feels like I had him about 6 months ago, max. Christian may be my 3rd baby, but I have a lot of "firsts" with him!

He is my first......
To Never leave my side after I had him.
To nurse minutes old.
To Never attend the NICU
To Smile while still in the hospital (while dreaming).
To Have blue eyes.
To Never have separation anxiety....yet.
To Be so mellow, yet SO determined.
To Be in the 25% percentile.
To Only have 2 teeth by the age of 1.
To Be the easiest baby to put to bed.
To Be so social. He loves everyone and would go to just about anyone.
To Be my first baby that I feel totally relaxed and comfortable as a mother , thus making me enjoy him all the more!

He is just the best. I'm sure I could think of a ton more firsts of why this sweet boy is different and special in his own way. He loves his big brothers and loves to be where the action is. They love having a baby around and are super sweet and cute with him. He is definitely a HUGE blessing to us all. We love you so much Midge!

Conversations with Jake

Jake is called Brave Beaver in our house. He is really not afraid of anything. His favorite ride is Tower of Terror, loves to go outside at night in the pitch dark, you name it, he likes it. So, we had never been to this haunted house before that a family from our stake puts on. We decided to go check it out, but when I asked my friends husband who was doing "door duty" if it was suitable for kids, it was a resounding "no". So, I went back to the car and broke the news to Jake. Of course, Ben had already decided he wasn't about to go anyway. Jake was ticked. He was begging us to go and pleading his case that he wouldn't get scared. The answer was still no, to which Jake said through the sobs and in quite an angry voice.....

"Then I'm voting No On 8!"

Classic.

Randomness

So, this is just a totally random post about some happenings lately. This little fellow pictured below was sitting just above my couch. Ben thought it was a fake spider when he pointed it out! Needless to say, we were freaked out, with no chance of Ryan coming home to do the manly duty. It was totally traumatic, but I did it. Later I showed the picture to my neighbour who said it was a baby tarantula!

My BFF Edie and I like to go to concerts together. For her birthday this year we went to see Weezer. One of the best concerts I have been to. It was such a fun night. I always have fun with this girl. Before the show, we took these beauties. I kept making her husband take more because I thought I looked fat in all of them. Then I just realized....I am.

Prom

Love Braden in the back. Still look fat....

This is what happened when I had the great idea of getting on her back. I seriously could NOT jump. I felt like I had weights on my legs. So, I hit my chin and fell to the ground. Sucks getting old.

B-Ry

Ben loves photography. When I go to upload my photos to IPhoto, I always have little gems like these on there. I think he has a good eye!

This was seriously THE FUNNIEST note I have ever gotten. I got this after making Ben go inside and sit in his room. He was riding his bike and he asked if he could ride in the street (He does with dad). I said no, not now, since there was no adult riding with him. 2 minutes later I see him do a wide turn in the street. So of course I make him get off his bike for the day. He was not pleased, as you can read. The best part? The note originally said, "Mom, I was your friend, but you "F'd" me. What!? So, when I asked him what the f stood for, I found out to my pleasure that it was failed.

Losing another tooth! This time Ryan offered him $6 bucks and to be able to stay up an extra 20 minutes if he pulled the thing out. It had seriously been hanging for weeks! Ben did it, like any boy seeking such a sweet reward, and the tooth came out, but the pulp was still hanging. It was so nasty.


Last, but definitely not least. My update on sweet Ben. Ben is seriously the raddest kid. He is smart, funny, charismatic and super sweet. He is also getting a major "tude" which is so not like him! Ryan and I were just commenting on how Ben is kind of getting a little attitude and likes to debate you on everything. He is definitely getting his own voice! Hence the above letter. He is going to make a great attorney....like when we had this conversation a week or so ago....

A little background: ever since reading a terrible blog about a young boy choking on a pretzel in the car and dying, I do not let me kids eat in the car. Well, the other day leaving Ikea, the older boys were finishing their ice cream cones while sitting in the car. We were just in the parking lot waiting for them to finish. Well, Christian was done. Done with waiting, and especially done with 2 older brothers eating ice cream in front of him. So, when I put him in his carseat, he did the classic backbend to make a statement that he was NOT going in his carseat. Just then Ben said he didn't want his cone..So, what does any desperate mother with a screaming baby in the car do knowing she had a half hour drive home? I gave Christian the cone and told Ben he was on baby duty. To watch carefully to make sure he doesn't get any chunks off the cone(which I didn't think would happen since the poor guy is almost 1 and still only has 2 small teeth). About 10 minutes into the drive I hear the baby making a choking sound and this is what proceeded to take place.....

Mom: "Ben...Ben, what is going on? Is he ok!? (Starting to kind of panic and realizing it was so not a good idea to give the baby food or put the responsibility of safety on a poor 7 year old!)

Ben: Yelling, "I don't know!"

Mom: "Well figure it out!" ( What can I say, I was panicking.) "Does he have a chunk of the cone in his mouth?"

Ben: "I think so, I don't know!" Oh, he was just gagging himself with his fingers like he always does."

Mom: I start to relax...."Jakey, please take the cone from Christian."

Ben: " I told you not to give that to him! (He had voiced his concern leaving Ikea) We're not supposed to eat in the car, remember?"

Mom: " I know sweetheart, that wasn't smart of mom. And I'm very sorry for yelling at you. I just got really scared. I should have never given him the cone, I guess I just thought that he wouldn't be able to get a piece off."

Ben: in his most condescending tone...."Well, he has teeth, doesn't he?"

Gotta love the rhetorical questions. How many times does he hear me say, "How many times have I told you not to jump on the couch?" or "You're not out of bed are you?"


Anyway, moving on! A lot has happened to the big guy since I last posted, as you can see from the pictures. He turned the big 7, started first grade and started another season of soccer. He is doing great in school and learning a ton in soccer. He is still a great big brother and both younger boys worship him. We are loving watching Ben get older and mature. He is a cool kid to hang around with and is often Ryan first choice of buddies to take to a game or to watch the Laker's with. We love that we have an older boy we can hang out with. We love you buddy.