Ben and the Robot

Ben loves robots. He has perfected a robot voice, was a robot for Halloween, and spends many hours playing robot. After his fabulous participation in the ward Primary Program, we got him the movie WALL-e. (I am not above bribing when it comes to things like that:) He did not like the movie, there was a scary part and that was that. On Friday, at the Target day after Thanksgiving sale, I found a movie titled (are you ready for this- I bet you can't guess) - "ROBOTS". Did you guess? Anyway, Ben watched it. Didn't like it, but loved the robots in it, which are all made of random pipes and other such hardware.
Did you know that robots are made of parts that people no longer use? Neither did Ben, until his mom (unknowingly) told him. I should also mention that Ben loves things that people have thrown away (lovely) and would actually collect garbage if I would let him. I do not let him.
When he found out that robots (his favorite thing) are made from old discarded things (his other favorite thing), he almost fell over. Ben was shocked to say the least. And then he decided that he needed (NEEDED!!!) to build his own robot. Quite an undertaking for a 4-year-old, I assure you.
Not one to be discouraged, Ben rummaged through the basement with his dad, and came up with many treasures, all of which could be part of his robot. And he did it, with the help of a very handy dad- he made his own robot.

May I present to you Rocket Star:

Ben was so excited about his new robot, that he actually had tears of joy in his eyes. I have never seen him so proud of himself!

It is amazing how much joy an old outlet and some wires can bring to a boy with a BIG imagination!

Yay Ben and his new robot!

Tom the Thanksgiving Turkey

This is Tom, our Thanksgiving Turkey. Or his name may be Yarny. You decide. Tom (Yarny) is a very special turkey, especially now. We have been feeling less than thankful this year, with the economy crashing every other day, people losing their homes and jobs, and other sadness that is constantly in the news.

We needed a reminder to be thankful for the things that we have, and Tom has been that reminder. While not the fanciest of turkeys, Tom is thankful to be here, in our home, to keep safe and warm while it is 20 degrees outside. He is thankful that we have enough food that we do not have to eat him, and he is thankful that we are all together to make him. Tom may not be made of real feathers, only construction paper and craft sticks, but he is grateful for the colors of his feathers. He is thankful that we took the time to wrap him in warm yarn, and give him 2 eyes and a beak. We are trying to learn from Tom, and be thankful for that which we have, instead of worrying about that which we do not.

Ben is thankful for Elmo, his (wooden) kitten from Grandma Sophie, his mom and dad and sisters, and the time when he no longer has to have eyedrops (gotta love pink eye).
Grace is thankful for mom and dad, Emma and Ben, her new doggy, and scissors and crayons (when the above mentioned new doggy does not eat the crayons).
Emma is thankful for food, and bright sunny days. (according to Ben and Grace)
I am so thankful for Josh, Ben, Grace, and Emma. I am thankful for Josh's job, the food on our table and in our basement, and all of our friends and family who love and support us.
We have learned a lot from Tom.

Super Star!

Today was our ward's Primary Program, and it was the first time that I had a child participate in the program. Ben is a SUNBEAM this year, and sat with his friends and teacher. He did so well, speaking in the microphone three times, and doing so clearly and without any added comments or sounds. During the practices, he thought it would be much better if he said "I Am a Child of God" and then blew loudly into the microphone. Or made funny noises. Or whatever. Unfortunately (for him) no one else felt that this was necessary, so his leader physically removed him from the podium immediately after saying only his designated lines. Nothing else. No improvising, no making up his own scriptures. It worked well. He said what he was told, and sat down. If you know Ben like I know Ben, you know that this was a great challenge to him, to only say a few words and be done with it. Yay Ben!
It was a beautiful program, and all of the children did well. Ben sat still, and sang along with all of the songs, and I am so proud of him!!!

You would think that the first picture on this post would be of Ben, but this is how the pictures decided to present themselves, and I am unable to do anything about it. I wanted to show you pictures of all three children dressed for church, and I did. They are here, just not in the order I chose. Computers really do have a mind of their own, don't they? And why did the computer put the pictures youngest to oldest? (just something to think about, for next time).

So here is Emma, as she is the youngest and clearly that is how my computer thought the pictures should be shown. She is pretty in pink!
Here is a cute brother/sister shot- completely unposed. I was trying to get a different pose, and this is what they did. Much better than my chosen pose.

Grace in her new cute dress- I love this snuggly winter dress. Next year she will be a Sunbeam!

And finally, the reason for the post-Ben. Such a handsome little boy, don't you think?

Great Job Ben! I am so proud of you!

Emma is 7 months!

So Emma is 7 months today. I love this age, and am glad that Em is growing and developing as she should be, but I sometimes wish time could stand still, just for a month or two. I worry that I will not remember her first year, and am very glad that I started this blog, for all of the small things that I will likely forget.

Emma started sitting on her own this month- a huge deal in the life of a baby. Now she can play with her toys longer, and she must feel like she is keeping up with her brother and sister a bit more.

Here she is, praciticing her new skill- (she cannot have a toy without pillows around her yet, as she will dive for the toy if it gets away)

What a sweet little girl Emma is! She loves loves loves to laugh and smile. She is developing small parts of her personality, and thinks it is so funny to get away with things, like not napping. When we get her out of her crib after a non-nap, she looks so proud! Is she testing us already?
I know that you are looking at her legs, and thinking "can legs actually be that chubby?". I assure you, they can and they are. Actually, she is thinning out a bit, now that she is mobile and rolling all over the floor (another huge development this month!). Yes, Emma loves to eat and yes, she wants to eat NOW!!! Green peas are her favorite, and most fruits are so yummy, too. She started puffs and Cheerios today, and they were a hit!

Em still loves her brother and sister, and they love her. They read her books and tell her stories, and Grace has decided that she should be able to pick Emma up off of the floor now. We have decided that she should not. Grace thinks that this is still up for debate, I think that it is not. I win every time. Ben is excited to have found an attentive audience for his elaborate ramblings, and Emma thinks that his rambling is fascinating. Really, everyone wins.

Happy 7 months baby girl!

Late Fall Fun

Two weeks ago, when the weather was still beautiful, Josh had made the kids a super fun leaf pile, and even covered it at night with a tarp to keep the leaves dry. Ben and Grace had the best time jumping in the leaves, and throwing them in the air. I had to take pictures, and thought that you would like to see them.


A very happy boy:
Jump, jump Gracie:

And jump again:

What goes up must come down!

A leaf pile is a great way to spend a late fall afternoon!

Happy Halloween

I know that you know what yesterday was, and I also know how much you have been looking forward to seeing how adorable my children were in their costumes. Without further ado, I present to you my most adorable (and at times quite spooky) children:

This is Ben, aka ROBAR (his self-pronounced robot name). We had a hard time finding him a costume that was exciting and fun, while at the same time not too scary (and not too hard to wear). I googled homemade costumes, and saw some robot pics. This is our version of a friendly robot:
It is amazing what you can do with boxes, foil, and dryer vents. Ben loved loved loved his costume, and it was a huge hit at his school party, as well as with those handing out his tricks-or-treats. We even added a light on the front, for fun and safety's sake.

The weather this year was so warm (lower 40's with little wind and no snow or rain- we actually saw stars on Halloween) that Emma came with us for most of the trick-or-treating. She has a new down snowsuit which kept her quite snuggly. Actually, it kept her so snuggly that she took a 45 minute nap (at 6:15 in the evening- I had visions of a late night Halloween party in our house, but she went to bed like a good little girl). Anyways, here she is thinking it was all clearly a trick, with no treats in sight. Emma was a trooper, only crying to get the show on the road.

Which witch is your witch? This is my little witch, and a cute little witch she was! Winter hats were necessary (this is Minnesota, after all), as well as heavy fleece jackets, but they fit nicely under the costume. The costume had a nice addition of glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets for safety. The better to see you with, my dear. Safety is an important part of Halloween, and we say the brighter the better!

Grace was so excited to be a witch, and never wavered from her decision. We had the cute witch dress, left over from my Mom's days of making costumes. I decorated the broomstick with a black cat and two bats, and her hat was embellished with some glitter glue. Fun black boots completed the costume, and 'poof' we had ourselves one witchy witch!

Please excuse our pictures, they are not the best. Things were a bit hectic, trying to get everyone out the door. I think that you get the idea, and can see the utter adorableness (and none of the spookiness) of this fun Halloween!