A Night at the Zoo

Between nursing and napping it's hard to get out of the house sometimes. Doug makes it a lot easier and will watch Ben while I run errands or do fun things (hurray for an awesome husband!). Similarly, we don't go out as a family nearly as often as we used to so that Ben can fall asleep for the night in his own bed. Makes sense, right? So then you can understand why I got so excited for the Halloween ward party! Here was an activity that was all planned out for me, on a Friday night, and that ended at a decent time.

Sooo want to see pictures of some random zoo keepers and their pet tiger? 

Not so thrilled to be a tiger I guess.

Don't worry Ben, we're doing this for your own good.

It was surprisingly easy to decorate our trunk as a zoo.. seeing as most of Ben's toys are animals. Plus I only spent $5!  - on the candy and the hanging leaves. The costumes were all free too (shocker... wait, you weren't thinking, "where did she get that vintage camo shirt?"?). Speaking of, does anyone want a 3 mos tiger costume?

I'm looking back over the pictures and the trunk looked so much better in real life. Right? .... And some kids definitely reached for the toys - we got our candy from the dollar store so I don't blame them.

Happy Halloween!!

My favorite part of the day? 

Making Ben laugh

The most satisfying part of my day?

Calming his frustrated little heart.

I love being a mother.

Tech vest day

Wednesday was "tech vest day" in our house.

Also, I just have to say that I don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't like to read. And I realized that my favorite thing to spend money on is discounted books - in my case: the library book sales.  

My most recent purchase includes:

• The Story of My Life - Helen Keller
• 5 Newberry books (They all came together): 
• The Sign of the Beaver - Elizabeth George Speare
• Dear Mr. Henshaw - Beverly Cleary
• One-Eyed Cat - Paula Fox
• Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Elizabeth George Speare
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - the movie.. heh heh, tricked ya!

Our little library is growing!

 PS, organizing your books by color is really fun - try it!

I love to see the Temple

This documents Benjamin's first trip to the temple! Unless you count in utero.

Doug and I like to go to the temple as a couple but it was a new experience to go as a family. Click to learn about why we have temples, what we do at the temple, and view the gallery of temples all around the world.

Flying with Angel Moroni :)

The Raleigh temple is (relatively) small but beautiful. It's one of 139 operating temples worldwide!

Did you notice Ben's favorite expression? We've got ourselves a smiler!

Brunette to Blonde

Like most babies, Ben rubbed off the hair on the back (and sides) of his head. Needless to say, it's not the cutest hairstyle. I contemplated trimming it for a few weeks until I worked up the nerve to cut it.

Before:

Pleasantly waiting for me to get started

Side shot

After:

What a cutie!!

A great picture of the grass, but you can see how blonde his hair is!

I knew he was growing in blonde hair, but I didn't realize that trimming it would make such a difference! He's practically a different child! He looks more grown up, more VanDerwerken and less Standage, and more cute (if that's even possible!).

Ben didn't really like the actual cutting process - I'm sure the noise and vibrating of the clippers had something to do with that.

My little 4 month old is growing so fast! He loves his pacifier (even more now after going a week without it!). He doesn't tolerate being cradled in your arms unless he's going to sleep. He sings along with us as he's going to bed. It takes a lot to get him to laugh. He has realized that the carseat is really boring and lets me know it! And he gets totally bored when in the stroller, cart, or carrier. Instead of looking at the world around him he just sits there staring forward, totally zoned out. He sleeps great at night and well enough during the day. He's really righteous ;). The computer mesmerizes him. He loves baths and diaper changes. He's quite good at tummy time, sitting, and standing (with support, obviously).

Basically Benjamin is the coolest kid around.