What Ben likes - October 2010

In an attempt to be fair, I wanted to get all of the kids "Favorite things" post up the same month, so I better get my butt, I mean, back side, in gear

A few of Ben's current favorite things...

1. Legos: Hence the theme of his birthday this year. He loves to build with legos. We typically find miscellaneous lego pieces lying around the house, which doesn't make me happy, but, alas, his creativity must not be squelched by my need for tidiness. So, I just pick them up and go on my merry way to put them back where they belong...(in his room, in his toy box, in one of the many organizational bins that I have designated for legos.) He received lots of legos for his birthday.

2. Art supplies/Drawing: He really loves to color and draw, and he is actually really good at it, in my very unbiased opinion. Our fridge is typically covered in his works of art. He loves crayons, markers, and the very coveted glitter glue pens. All of which he received at, you guessed it, his birthday.

3. Remote control anything, but in particular at-the-moment, helicopter: He likes all things remote control including the t.v. remote control. In fact, he often hides it when he leaves the room so no one else can get it while he is gone. His favorite hiding spot - beneath the pillows. A source of real contention in my home, but I digress. He is really into remote control vehicles, especially helicopters. He is really good at controlling it, which isn't as easy as one might think. Most of his landings are pretty flawless right now. He just got his own remote controlled helicopter for his birthday. I'm noticing a trend here...

4. Exploring: Ben is really interested in exploration right now. He just bought a backpack and "exploring" gear recently with his Wal-mart gift cards that he received for (everybody say it with me now) his birthday. In addition to the backpack, he bought a lantern, binoculars, and something else that for the life of me I can not remember right now. We added a few other items to his backpack at home....like bandaids, magnifying glass, ziploc bags, and we've considered putting his camera in there as well. He likes to collect "stuff" from outside and go on "nature walks" which is why he wanted this exploration pack.

5. Dragons: For a few months now, he has really liked dragons. I think it may have started when How to Train your Dragon came out in theaters. We did not go to see it but he loved all the stuff he saw to go along with the movie like the t-shirts, coloring books, etc. He has a few of the shirts, folders, etc. that have the dragons from the movie on them. Recently, he purchased the DVD (with birthday gift cards!) and we have watched the movie at least 227 times in the past week or so. I had my doubts, but the movie is really good! Dragons and vikings are not usually my thing but I really enjoyed it - all 227 times! I thought the story line, animation, and ending were all really good but that's just my opinion!

6. Icecream: He could live off of it! He definitely got the icecream gene from his daddy.

7. Food: Lately, it seems we can not feed this child enough! He eats like no other child I have ever seen! For lunch, I send him deli meat (no bread, he is not a sandwich kind of guy) and 3-4 side items such as chips/crackers, raw veggies, pudding, fruit cup, sweet items, etc. He is suppose to save one thing for snack. Most days, he eats EVERYTHING. Some days, he comes home telling me to pack more in his lunchbox. People, I am telling you, I pack plenty. My serving sizes are not small by any means. The kid can eat but you would never know it to look at him. The other night for supper we had burritos. He ate THREE! Plus, chips and salsa. Plus, something else but I can't remember exactly what it was. And, he wanted MORE. Routinely, he will eat supper before going to the ballpark and then will eat AGAIN at the park. He loves junkfood at the park but also wants the hotdog. Even after we have already eaten. From what I have been told about teenage boys, we are in for some TROUBLE when he reaches the teen years! We may not be able to keep up with his appetite!

8. Computer games: He loves,loves,loves to play computer games. It's the first thing he wants to do when he gets home from school and usually the last thing he does before going to bed.

9. Kissing Ada: He seriously loves the baby. He is always kissing or touching her which is wonderfully sweet and precious but can be aggravating to say the least while trying to feed her, get her to sleep, or keep her asleep. But, I am so blessed that he loves her so much - in fact, all the kids really adore her!

10. Airplanes: He loves, loves, loves paper airplanes! And, wooden airplanes! And, plastic airplanes! Anything that he can fly in/outside. Every Sunday after church, he gets a fellow churchgoer to make him an airplane. As church ends, he always says" I gotta go see Drew." Last Sunday, Drew gave him one of those wooden airplanes that you take the pieces apart and build, and he loved it! (I actually found the one pictured below when I was cleaning out one of our cabinets this week. Great find in Ben's eyes!)

Those are just a few that I could think of off the top of my head! I love my Ben!

Lolly

Fall Family Picture 2010

120

....is the number of fingers and toes we have in this family.

....is the number of toenails and fingernails we have in this family.

100 is the number of toenails and fingernails I am typically responsible for cutting on a regular basis.

Which can be a bit challenging at times. Which brings me to the following questions that seem to always pop into my head regarding fingernails/toenails. (Can you guess what I just finished doing?)

Why is it that you only notice that your kids' fingernails/toenails need cutting at the most inconvenient times....like just before you are leaving for church? Or, when you get to church? Or, when you are just about to have family pictures taken? Or, right at bedtime when all you want to do is just go to bed? Or, when your son decides to wear flip flops and that is when you notice that - Oh, my Goodness, can toenails really get that long? And, then you notice that your kids' feet are getting bigger and bigger and are becoming more like big people toenails and well, it's kinda gross to cut them...

Anyway, we are having a toenail/fingernail cutting session at the Richard household. Anybody wanna join us?

And, the sweetest fingers and toes of them all...

Lolly

Saturday Morning Escapades

So....this morning was full of interesting conversations. Let me set the stage for you....It was around 6 am and none of the kids had gotten the memo to sleep in because It's Saturday! Ada Grace began to rouse from her sleep around 6:00 so I picked her up, held her and laid back down, hoping that she would fall back asleep and let me sleep in until at least 7:00. That's not asking for that much...but by 6:15 she had squirmed and wiggled and fought with her paci until I knew she was just too hungry to go back to sleep. As I was getting up to prepare her a bottle, Cora's eyes pop open and our conversations of the morning began.

Cora (to me): "TURN THE TV ON. GET ME SOMETHIN' TO DRINK."

And, as if on cue, Ben pops into our room to join our already crowded bed. All the while, Craig is attempting to continue to sleep.

I obligingly turn on cartoons, go get a bottle for Ada, a sippie for Cora, and return to feed Ada in the bed so that I could stay under the covers a while longer. As I am settling into the pillows, adjusting them so I can feed Ada, Craig must have turned over to face Cora. She begins WAILING, "Ooooh, Mommy! Daddy stinks, You STINK Daddy, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE..." Evidently, Craig's morning breath was not very appealing to Cora this morning!

During this little exchange, Ben has left and since returned with his pillow, blanket, and newly purchased light saber that lights up and has accompanying noises. As he settles into a "spot" on the bed, his light saber goes off and I shout, "May the force be with you!"

As Ben is settling in, Cora is now frantically searching for her bear and bunny both of which she has decided to name Lucy. (The bunny was Lucy first, then she got a new bear and I tried offering names like Bonnie, Daisy, and my personal favorite, Yogi Bear, but she insists it be named Lucy as well.) We find the bear and bunny and then Ben pipes up, "Let's throw away Cora's bear and bunny!" and then he laughs in typical big brother tormenting little sister fashion. Cora starts crying, "Ben's gonna throw away my bear and bunny!" in typical whiny, frantic little sister being tortured by big brother voice.

I then say, "No one is throwing away your Lucies, Cora."

Craig then says, " I'm still trying to sleep here."

What????

To which I reply, "There IS NO sleeping now..."

Let me just take a moment to remind you that all of this is going on while I am feeding Ada her morning bottle.

By the time all of this exchange has taken place, Ada is finished, and I now need to take a shower.

So, I escape to the shower and when I am finished and am re-entering the bedroom, this is what I overhear Ben saying to Cora, "I'll trade ya the vampire teeth that glow in the dark for ....." To which Cora replies, "Oh, I LOVE vampire teeth."

What?????

And, that folks is how we started our Saturday morning.


(And, by the way, the vampire teeth trading thing - it was Silly Bandz - the latest craze...)

Lolly

Shady Grove Camping in Pictures

Around Ben's birthday, we went camping at Shady Grove Campground. What can I say...when we go camping we like to go all of 15 minutes from home.... Anyway, it was great! This was part of our campsite...I don't know if you'd say it was the front or the back but anyway, you can see we were right at the lake with this great woodsy, sandy, dirty, outdoorsy, naturey stuff all around us. The kids loved it and said it was the BEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE.

Here is Ben, collecting shells and stuff. And putting the "stuff" in our chair cup holder.

Our friend, Lane and Cora exploring the "beach".

Ben collecting "stuff".

Lane collecting "stuff".

Tate and Ben collecting "stuff" and having deep conversations about it.

Brotherly Love, Take 1

Brotherly Love, Take 2

Ahhh....Brotherly Love, Take 3

This is the best day EVER!

Cora striking a pose, #1

Cora striking a pose, #2

Cora Striking a pose, #3





Cora Striking a Pose, #4

Ben enjoying all of nature while playing his DS and demonstrating to us what happened when he was sitting on top of stump #1 and stumbled, caught his shirt and fell onto stump #2, narrowly missing poking one of jagged edges from stump #2 into his eye and puncturing his wrist. Whew! I am still not sure why we don't end up in the emergency room more often but so far so good. Knock on wood. Knock on lots of wood.

Lolly

The kiddos

What Tate likes - October 2010

In an attempt to record what the kids like at any given time, I want to devote a few blog entries to their likes/dislikes. I hope to do this periodically so that one day, I might have a record of this to show them. Hopefully, I will follow through with this plan and actually print this blog as a type of memory book. We'll see how that goes!

Anyway, at this very moment in time, the following sums up what Tate is into these days:

Baseball, silly bandz, Bass gospel singers, fishing, bologna sandwiches, cereal, and meat

Tate loves, loves, loves baseball! He plays it, he watches it on TV, he practices it, he plays it on the Wii, he talks about it, I'm sure he probably dreams about it, he lives, eats, and breathes baseball.

When he is not watching or playing baseball, he is watching Bill and Gloria Gaither gospel singing and singing along with any of the bass singers. He is, after all, the best 7 year old bass singer that there is (his words). He cracks us up because he will go around the house "singing" in his bass voice and acting just like the bass singers (holding his hands to his ear, etc.). When we are in the car, he wants to hear certain songs on our gospel CDs so that he can hear the bass singers.


Who knows...he might be the next best baseball playing bass gospel singer that there ever was!

He is OBSESSED with silly bandz. He wheels and deals and trades them like there is no tomorrow! Always on the search for the RARE tie-dyed ones.... (so rare that you can go to most stores and probably find packs and packs of them).

His favorite things to eat are bologna and cheese sandwiches, frosted flakes cereal, and he is a meat eater (chicken and steak are his favorites). He is definitely a fan of all things processed. Not so much a fan of fruits or veggies.

He is an outdoorsy kind of kid. Loves to play outside (baseball or baseball related games mostly these days), loves to fish, plays hard and always gets incredibly dirty. He has always been a dirt hog.

And, he is currently missing a few teeth.

Lolly