Weeeeee!

This little park near our apartment doesn't offer much in the way of out-door equipment. But, it has a few slides and sometimes that's good enough! These two "baby slides" offered them over 40 minutes of entertainment this morning!

More fun than it looks?

I guess showering your head in tanbark is really, really fun. Emily decided to get in on the action today, prompting an encore from Ben and inspiring Hazel to join in, too. I'm just going to take thier word for it, as I prefer my hair to be wood-chip free;)

Benny at the park

My mom and I took the kids to the park this morning! Ben loves going to the park, not only for the playground, but because he usually meets new friends, too. We didn't end up playing with any other children today, as Ben was enjoying the one-on-one attention my mom and I were able to give him while he played. He was in rare form today, hamming it up for the camera and being his usual happy, silly self. Here's some shots from our playtime!


Always the daredevil, Ben quickly learned that it's MUCH more fun to go down the slide in creative, yet dangerous ways. My only issue is when other kids(like Emily!) watch and emulate. Sometimes we're not the most popular people on the playground once Evil Knievel starts showing off. He's always very proud of himself, as you can see!

I have NO clue why he started doing this, or why it was so much fun! He had himself a grand 'ol time showering himself in tanbark. Yes, I let him do it for as long as it took me to get the photo-op;)

Just before this picture was taken, Ben yelled at me for trying to take a video of him. He told me, "No pictures!". Finally, he consented to having his photo taken again, and even have me a smile. Isn't he handsome?

Mr. Laid-Back decided to kick his feet up and enjoy his snack in style. I seriously adore this little boy=) Every day he does something new to make me laugh/

Emmie at the park

It's so much more fun now that Emily is big enough to really play at the park with Ben. She loves to try to copy Ben, which often leads to minor heat-attacks on my part. She doesn't understand that some things are OK for bigger kids to do, but not her. Since my mom was with us today, we were able to each take a kid and focus on their playtime until they decided they wanted us to switch. Here are some pictures from my time with Emmie=)

Emily has a new-found love of steering wheels. When she sees them, she yells, "I drive, mommy!" and then she makes the funniest growling noise to simulate the engine sounds. Who says women drivers are bad? Emily is an exemplary driver.

This girl has very healthy self-esteem=) Whenever she accomplishes a task, she says, "I did it!" and gives herself a round of applause. Here she is patting herself on the back for "sliding down" the pole behind her=)

She will also be an accomplished horsewoman. She loves to ride these springy horses and already has great balance.

"Swing, mommy!" The swing has been a long-time enemy of both Ben and Emily. I think I have the only two kids in the world who hate the swings at the park. Emily has recently branched out and given the swings a shot. We have to go REALLY slow and I have to stay in front of her, otherwise she yells, "Get up! Get up!" right away. She stayed in the swing for almost 5 minutes today, which is a new record=)

Guess Who's Gonna Be A Big Sister!!!

Me!!!!! I'm going to be a big sister!!!! My mom( 48-ish years-young) is making me a big sister, FINALLY!!! I always wanted a younger sibling so thank you, Mom!!! Who says 49 is too old? 50 is the new 40, after all;)

What?! You don't believe me? Ok, I guess it's a little too early for April's Fools jokes, being that it's still March and all. Only kidding. My mom isn't really the one expecting;) Ok, ok. Without further ado...allow me to introduce the REAL word's best big sister-in-training.....
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Emily!!!!

Yay!!!! We're very happy to finally(!) announce the impending arrival of our third baby, due July 20, 2009!!! Ben and Emily can't wait to introduce the newest cast-member of The Benmily Show and couldn't be more pleased to be getting a new baby sibling=)

Well... Most of the time!





Oh yeah! And by the way....

The Future Ms. Callie Josephine G. cannot wait to make her debut on the family blog!

Here's a short video of Emily enjoying her Future Big Sister cupcake(Ben enjoyed his while Emily was napping! He's even more excited because he actually knows what a baby sister is! He can't wait to have two baby sisters=P)

A break from the rain

The rain came back in full-force this week, so we haven't been able to play outside very much. Dan was off today, so once Hazel went home, we took them outside for some fresh air and exercise. Ben played a little kickity-kick ball(soccer for you non-"Wow! Wow! Wubbzy" fans) and Emily explored. Once they tired of this, we took a walk around the neighborhood and found sticks, pretty flowers and other interesting sights!


Ben WILL be the next David Beckham. Probably even better;)

Emily loves to say hello to Cracker, our neighbor's cat. He likes to watch us disdainfully from his window-perch.

"Look, mommy! Cracker!" is what she said upon seeing him.
It sounds more like, "Yook, mommy! Wacker!" but I know what she means!

Ben was being impossible to photograph, but I managed to snap one cute shot of the most handsome boy in the universe!

Flower Girl

Emily was so cute and content to be wrapped up in her flower towel after her bath the other night. I just *had* to take her picture! whoever invented decorative hooded towels is a genius. So cute!