Well this is what happens when you lose your camera: no pictures. Go figure. Combine that with summer laziness and you get a lapse in updates for which I'm sure you've been sitting on the edge of your seat!

The first big piece of news is that Maria got married to Jeff (hooray!) and they are now living in Wymount in the same apartment that our best friends lived in. Hah! So we've eaten more dinners, played more wii, and generally spent more time in their apartment than they have so far. Wild, right?

Secondly, while we were in Spokane celebrating their marriage, Ben decided to walk. Don't be surprised when you see him crawling though, it's still his favorite mode of transportation. [I would love to show you the video we have of him but I can't get blogger to post it - help, anyone?? Meanwhile, see facebook.] In other news, Benjamin is still as adorable as ever. His hair is getting a little unruly but he has made it quite clear that the clippers are not getting within 3 feet of him. So that's a no-go. Hopefully his hair just stops growing until he can be reasonable?

He also speaks and signs. It's adorable how thrilled he is to communicate with us. We are constantly amazed at how quickly he is becoming a kid instead of a baby. In case you're interested, and especially if you're not, here's a list of the words he says (*signs):

• mama
• dada
• aus (I want that)
• vroom
• *more
• *ball
• *all done
• *milk

So we are having so much fun. He absolutely loves steering wheels, things on wheels, and balls. His favorite things to do are go on walks in his stroller, go swimming, and chase/get chased by Doug. He hates church and restaurants (correction: sitting while in church or at restaurants).

Doug started school again. His research is going well (though not as quickly as he would like) and he always finds time to play with Ben, eat dinner with us, and help around the house (most of the time anyway...).

I'm busy entertaining Ben (and teaching him how to entertain himself so I don't have to work so hard!), reading tons, and working 6 hrs a week babysitting/cleaning houses. Side note: PLEASE go on goodreads and add me as a friend. I'd love to know what you're reading and especially what you think of the books you read. I'm seriously on there once or twice a week; I've made a goal to read 50 books this year and I'm on track to make it. Plus, book club starts next Tuesday *squeal.* I'm also starting a ballet class which starts this Saturday.

I'm a little worried I'm busying myself too much so I'm going to have to actually try to stay home or we'd be leaving the house every day - and that's just exhausting. In that spirit, you might not see another blog post for a while...so here's to not over-exerting myself!

Benjamin's First Birthday

Benjamin is one and I'm only just barely getting around to hanging up some adorable 6 mos pictures of him. hah! C'est la vie.

We celebrated the big ONE with family in New York with all the grandparents, cousins, most of the aunts and uncles (missed you, Brian!), and even some second cousins. Because I'm totally lame when it comes to picture taking all these NY pictures are photos Carrie took (thanks, Carrie!).

On Saturday early early morning, ohhhh around 12:28, we were driving home and stopped to think about this time 12 months ago. Okay, so we actually missed 12:28, it was more like 12:32 haha, but let's just pretend here. I would go through pregnancy, labor and delivery all again ten times over because he is so worth it. (11 times is pushing it though...)

Ben doesn't really like being thrown, but we do it anyway ...

That evening we celebrated with cupcakes (the mix inherited from the Blevins!) topped with whipped cream and raspberries. YUM. Benjamin liked it too!

Benjamin's personality shining through:

• He's beginning to tantrum 
• His favorite food is/are raspberries 
• His favorite book is How do Dinosaurs go to School (this SAVED us on the airplane!)
• He definitely understands the words: Benjamin, Ben, diaper, light, milk, outside, bath, pacifier
• He probably understands the words: bottle, Momma, Dadda, park, stroller, food, eat, book, TV, fan
• His best friend is Zack Ransom - though he likes any kid under 2 that walks through our door
• He still loves his paci
• His favorite game is toppling over towers or getting chased

I am so looking forward to this next year with my boys. We have such a wonderful little family :).

Date night

If you are at a loss for fun date ideas, add this one to the list: sportsplex. We went to one in east Durham and had more fun than I thought we would. So either I had low expectations, or Doug makes anything fun, or it's nice to have some alone time. Or all three.

See the resemblance?

My form is horrible.

And my hands are still bruised! 

Aye.

I barely made the cut ;).

Afterwards we had to get pizza, of course. Ben loved it, of course.

How else do you eat pizza?

SEVEN months?

I know that I really haven't posted in a long time when Doug (he reads the blog? Who knew.) said to me in the middle of the day, "you haven't done a blog post...just in case you're bored." To which I responded with a bored? hah! here's my long to-do list. I've thankfully completed that list, but you know how lists are, they just keep multiplying. So basically what I'm saying is I don't know how anyone blogs anymore. Especially with a broken dishwasher.

I would love to tell you about our delightfully long vacation to NY. Essentially, Benjamin was adorable, got sick and developed some naughty night-time habits (fortunately he's back on track now!), learned that wrapping paper is really fun to play with, was loved on by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and went sledding! Did I miss anything? It's hard to remember without pictures and it's hard to take pictures when you leave your camera in NC... So much for adorable first Christmas pictures.

I can't get enough of him! 

• Ben is loving real food. Absolutely loving it. He coos and hmmms while eating or when he sees it coming. I gave him a taste of ice cream last night... he loved it, of course. Other than that we feed him healthy food, I promise! I think his favorite foods are grains, no seriously, this kid loves his carbs. If he doesn't like a food (ahem-carrots!), I mix in some barley or rice and he's game. Or I'll top off a meal with some cereal and he's the happiest kid on earth.
• His preferred toys are that triangle toy pictured above, baby spoons, and pacifiers. Go figure.
• Ben's new name is Kicking Legs. He kicks his legs when he's excited (happy or upset). i.e.: I sat him down next to Elsie Wilson and he couldn't stay upright for his excited kicking legs! He'd fall over every time we tried to sit him back up. Apparently she's the cutest girl around :).
• We have a pterodactyl in the house. Hopefully this phase doesn't last too long.
• Ben is still sleeping 4 to 5 hours during the day and 11-12 hours at night - L.O.V.E. Hopefully this phase lasts forever.

He is the most pleasant child. Maybe we'll have another? Maria's just eaten up all the deductible so why not. Doug, what do you think?

Oh yes, and Doug sprained his ankle. We have pictures of that, but not Ben on his first Christmas morning. Something's wrong here.

Lovely, honey.

Christmas (not so much) Surprises

Doug is too smart for his own good, it seems. And so are advertising algorithms!

I really can't think of one gift that I have given to Doug he hadn't already figured out. Wait - I take that back, I know of one. So this year I was going to try really hard and not give him any clues, intentionally or otherwise, so that I could actually surprise him! Is that really too much to ask?

I decided to get him a nice, indoor basketball. Exciting right? Well, you may not think so, but it's actually quite astonishing that we don't own one already. Naturally I look online (can I just say that I'm so looking forward to cyber Monday!). I even log out of Amazon so that they don't put it under "recent searches." Clever, right? Well later that day Doug is playing with Ben on the floor, listening to Pandora and guess what the ad is for? You guessed it - a new basketball!!!! "Sweetie, did you buy me a new basketball?" I hear from the living room. What is a woman to do? Sheesh. Instead of trying to play dumb (which I would have been horrible at) I get mad at both him and Pandora for making the connection.

Why me?

Don't worry, I have something else up my sleeve ;).

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!!

Packing light

I dragged I convinced I forced Our family decided to go to the beach. Emerald Isle to be precise. I knew it was going to be so much fun, especially since I dragged I convinced I forced the Fergies* decided to come too! 

And of course I was right. Ben only cried for 1/4 of the drive, the front-desk-lady charged our credit card $700 for a one-night stay (who knew King sized rooms were so expensive?!), and I forgot the suitcase that had all of my (and consequently Doug's) clothes. Actually, make that 'stuff' - I forgot all of our stuff. Who forgets the swimsuit but remembers the Dr. Pepper? On a trip to the beach no less. And the most frustrating thing is that I had spent practically all day packing and had remembered everything. Except putting the bag in the car...

Thank heavens for Walmart. After buying all the hygiene essentials we found swimsuits on clearance! One teensy little problem: apparently everyone is my size so I was left with a hideous, too-big tankini top paired with boy shorts style underwear for bottoms. tmi? The plus side (haha get it?) is that it only cost $8 for the whole outfit. Doug, being a man, had no problem finding everything he needed. 

Doesn't Ben look like he's having a blast!?

No, but really, it all turned out okay. The Fergusons supplied us with everything else we needed (thanks, guys!) and the hotel only ended up costing $39. 

So...want to see a video of Ben touching the ocean? Of course you do. 

Other than these few minutes, Ben spent his entire beach experience in the baby tent (also courtesy of our awesome friends).

Look, I even remembered the football and chairs - go figure.
Tent in background.

Doug and I both quietly agreed that it probably would have been easier and more fun without Ben (oh I feel so guilty writing that down) but we wouldn't have it any other way. Despite the things that went wrong, most things went right and I absolutely loved our mini-vacation. Loved it enough to go again! But next time I'll remember to put our luggage in the car.

*Did you know that's my nickname for your family, Em? Speaking of 'family nicknames', Doug and I often dub nicknames for our friends because sometimes it's just that much easier to remember and definitely that much more fun. So, if you want to know yours, just ask. But don't be offended if we haven't made one up for you yet!

Blessing Day

Doug gave our adorable Benjamin Michael his baby blessing yesterday. No last minute name-changing happened (phew). The blessing was beautiful; you're a lucky boy, Benjamin. It was wonderful that so many people came to support us and we're sorry that not everyone could come. 

A family photo:

Ben is wearing the outfit that my dad, and my two brothers were blessed in.

We managed not to get it dirty - imagine that!

Look at how big he's getting! (He's basically 2 months old now.)

I know I don't have to comment on all these pictures, but seriously, I look like I'm 14.

Though I'm sure you didn't need me to tell you that.

Yeah, these are Ben's go-to expressions, haha!

After church, the extended family got together to eat a delicious meal and pass baby around. Life has changed so much and yet it seems like Benjamin has always been a part of our lives. Catherine told me that days go by slow and weeks go by fast. How true is that! We all know the years pass quickly but it's frightening when generations do too. I treasure these moments when Ben is small and absolutely perfect. Yesterday I glimpsed eternity as I pondered all that I hope for Ben. I can't put into words the joy I feel because we are sealed together. Because of Jesus Christ, our family is forever.

11,111

As of today there have been 11,111 views of my blog - pretty cool, huh? 1 more or 1 less wouldn't have been nearly as exciting.

Evidently, this baby hasn't decided to make his appearance yet so we're still chugging along doing fun things here and there.

Still goofy

Still happy

Daniel loves lacrosse!

 Wanna see him score??
He's #25

We went to Proctors to see Beauty and the Beast!

It was super fun :)

Belly shot in my lime green, childhood bathroom
38 weeks

Look at my mom's cute shoes!
And face of course. :)

We seriously do hang out with Doug's family, for some reason I've just forgotten to take pictures whenever we do! This weekend we went to Schoharie and had dinner with grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. I love living so close to so much family - there is always so much going on that's it's easy to keep busy. 

It all started when

Did you know that FB keeps all your messages?

So I happened to be writing my favorite husband a message when I wanted to see what Doug and I were talking about the last time we messaged each other. Soon I was reading about when we were first married, and then engaged, and then before engaged (it's so fun to be reading a story when you know that exciting things are just around the corner!) and then when we had just started dating, all the way back to the very very first message.  Wanna read it?

Haha! apparently I hadn't counted on his negotiation methods :).

Unfortunately FB didn't keep our chats. Otherwise I could share with you the chat in which Doug asked me out on our first date. Yes, via facebook! Despite that minor faux pas, he was rather clever. Now that we don't have firm evidence (and our stories differ slightly) we'll just have to go off what we wrote in our journals. Of course Doug completely skips over how he asked me out (and doesn't even write about it until a month later!) and I basically transcribed the conversation the day after. So whose do you think is more reliable, eh?

And almost four years later we're having a baby. Who woulda thunk?

Let the countdown begin!

Only six weeks left until my due date! (June 16th) I don't quite know what to think. 

But this is what I look like these days:

Sometimes I'll be walking around and forget I'm pregnant. It usually doesn't last long because I either spill on myself or bump into something.

Last week Katrina put on a baby shower for me. It was great!

The food was fantastic (this doesn't show all of it).
Notice the pretty landscape in the background!

And a shout out to Kate for making everything look pretty.

And to Sarah for providing the backyard :).

Some of the crew

Typical me, by the time I remembered to take pictures the party was over. 

Haha, so we just gathered up who was left. 

Oh, and my neighbor, Elise had her baby this week! It was delightful to hold a precious newborn and a little unnerving to realize my baby is currently only 4 inches shorter. How can they fit in there?

An outfit I made (I didn't make the onesie...) for the
lovely little lady

In other news we're getting really excited to go to NY for the summer. My last day of work (perhaps EVER) and Doug's last day of finals is Wednesday. Hallelujah!

Anniversary

On Tuesday Doug and I celebrated our third anniversary! In the morning I surprised him with a candy bouquet (I forgot to take pictures before all the candy was removed from their skewers haha) and he surprised me with two dozen roses delivered in the middle of the day:

After work/school we went to Nana's Restaurant where I enjoyed a delicious risotto, braised veal, shrimp with red peppers. Yumminess! Doug ordered their house spaghetti with lamb meatballs. He said it tasted more like noodles in french onion soup than anything, hah! For dessert I had creme brulee and Doug had their homemade vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. The atmosphere was classy and the food, divine. What a wonderful day.

And what a better way to end the day than a few episodes of Monk.

Thanks, Doug!