Ben's Party

Ok, so Ben turned 5 on Wednesday. You read the post, said Happy Birthday, and thought that was that, right? Oh, no. Turns out in our house we have birthweeks, not just birthdays:)

I told you about his actual birthday, about his dinner at McD's and his special new pet, Hammy. It was a fun day, and we all enjoyed celebrating Ben's birthday.

Then on Friday, I brought cupcakes to Ben's school so that he could celebrate with his friends. The cupcakes were Birthday Monsters, after the book by Sandra Boynton. Ben and his friends liked them, and Grace loved hers. I guess they tasted great, even with all of that bright green frosting. The ears and tongues (pink things hanging off of the cupcakes) were made from taffy, and the nose was a skittle. I felt a little guilty sending them to school!

Today was Ben's birthday party. He looooves Wall-e the robot, and wanted a Wall-e cake. Here is my take on the special earth cleaning robot:

What did my sweet boy say about his cake? "Well, it doesn't look EXACTLY like Wall-e, but I like it". Please remember it is cake. And rice krispy treats (head and neck). And licorice. And it took me 5 hours of forming, cutting, decorating, and yes, stressing. Rice krispy treats are heavy, and they melt if they get warm. I ended up putting on the finishing touches in the freezing cold porch, just so the rice krispy treats could form. And then the head started falling apart right before the blowing out of the candles. Fun!

Ultimately, I think that Ben loved his cake, and had a great party. He had so much fun, and got some great gifts. He got an electricity set, a pirate ship, Transformers, a gift card, some fun books, and a telescope. Wow! His guests certainly know what interests Ben!

The cake was chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, and Ben loved it!


Here is Ben with his new telescope. He cannot wait for a clear night so he can look for special stars and planets.

Happy Birth(week)day Ben! We love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Birthday Boy

Five certainly is a big number, a milestone of sorts. It is the age when a child starts kindergarten, they usually start reading and getting more academic interests, and they go from being a pre-schooler to being school-aged. It is a big step for a parent, as well. As a parent, we need to start letting go a bit more, sending our children for full days of school, sending them off with friends, and letting them explore a world separate from that of their parents and siblings.


Today, Ben is five. He is preparing for kindergarten in the fall. He is developing friendships that are teaching him other ways of life, and about different people and different thoughts and ideas. He is starting to let go just a little, looking out to the world, and wondering about the things he sees and hears.

Ben is inquisitive and always ready to learn something new, whether it be about science, electricity, or plumbing. He is starting to read, and learning new things about the world around him through the books we read together. Ben loves Wall-e, Handy Manny, and Bob the Builder, and loves everything about robots and rocket ships, trucks and pipes. Every afternoon Ben has computer time, where he (safely- thanks to Kidzui) explores the internet, finding more tidbits of information than you could even imagine.

Our Ben is so sweet and loving, and so full of life and ideas and knowledge, and he brings so much joy and love into our lives. He loves his sisters and his family, loves his grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. He loves to be outside, exploring with his Dad or Grandpa, and he loves to be inside, playing with his sisters.
We are so proud of how far he has come, and are so excited to see where his future takes him!

For his birthday, Ben got a hamster. He loves hamsters, and they are not animals that need to be touched and held often (Ben does not like to touch animals very much. Except worms. What is that all about????!!!), but they are super fun to watch, and help to teach some responsibility.
The hamster is a panda bear, and her name? Why, Hammy of course! Named after Uncle Nate's beloved hamster. We were talking about names one day, and as soon as I said "Uncle Nate had a hamster named Hammy" the discussion was over, and we had a name.

Here is Ben with his new hamster in her fun ball:

This is the cage that we got for Hammy- they certainly have some neat cages for hamsters!

Tonight, we are going out for a birthday dinner at..... McDonald's of course! Is there any other place for a birthday dinner? Ben's good friend from school is coming with us, and he is very excited about that.

Saturday will be the big Wall-e party. Ben is so excited for his party. He calls today his "real birthday" and Saturday his "present opening birthday".

We love you, birthday boy!!!

Catching Up

We've been busy and I thought that I would do some catching up-

Ben: is getting ready to turn 5, is staying busy in school, and has started Occupation Therapy at St. Scholastica. Yay for great student therapists and their knowledge of sensory therapy. We have great hopes that this will help us in some challenging areas. Ben loves Wall-e and electricity, and Handy Manny. He is going to miss his mom when he goes to kindergarten next year, and he is NEVER GOING TO COLLEGE. Unless I go with him, and considering that I will likely still be going to school in 13 years, it is a possibility!

Grace: has been very busy cooking and taking care of "our baby" Emma. Grace is a Sunbeam this year, and is doing well (if we can convince her that it will soon be singing time!). She loves Aunt Alli 'more than the sunset loves the house' and her very favorite book is "Pinkalicious". Have you read it? You should.

Emma: had a 9-month checkup and is doing very well. She weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces, (50th percentile) and is 27.75 inches long (50th percentile). She is busy rolling around the house, getting in to EVERYTHING! Heaven help us!

Josh: Busy with work and EMT refresher and ambulance calls. Has been spending most of his free time alternating between shoveling large amounts of snow and warming up the cars for long periods of time, just to defrost the windows. We are not exactly fans of winter up here!

Me: school started, so I am busy trying to find time to study and do coursework, while still caring for the house and kids. It is balancing act, and my world often seems in danger of crashing around me. I have been able to keep that from happening, at least thus far.

We have been doing some various work around the house, trying to increase storage and organization, as we feel that we will be living in this house for a while- it just does not make sense to make any changes right now.

Winter has been long and hard around here, and we are counting the days until SPRING. Sadly, we will be counting for a looooong time still. Oh, my.

If you read this, long enough to reach this paragraph- thanks! If you did not, I understand. This is just for me to remember this time in our lives. (can you tell I am a bit shocked at the idea of having a 5 year old, and I am trying to remember the past 5 years? Well, I am.)

A horse is a horse, of course...

... unless it's a cake!

This is the cake that I made today for Josh's sister's stepdaughter, Breanna. It was her birthday party, but she actually turned 9 on the 9th, so it was an extra-special birthday. She loves horses, so I spent some time on the internet, trying to find a cake that would be fun and not too difficult. Yeah, right!

The body is made of two 9x13 cakes, two 9 inch round cakes, and a bowl with cake mix in it. The head and ears are made of a great big rice krispy treat, with chocolate frosing all over the horse. There are flaws, things that I look at and think "that is just not right", but I think it turned out pretty well.

Breanna loved it, her friends liked it, and it tasted great. That makes it a great success, in my book!

Nine months

Emma was born nine months ago today- or at 4:36 pm, to be exact. She has accomplished much in these past nine months, going from a helpless (not so) little baby to a baby who can move around the house, feed herself, and play with her brother and sister! Emma does not crawl, but has instead discovered that rolling and walking with her hands gives her all of the mobility that she needs.
Emma continues to love Ben and Grace very much, and they have been so good to her! They play with her, watch over her, and even read her books! She is lucky to have a big brother and a big sister, and they are lucky to have her!

Due to her newly found mobility, life in our house has gotten even crazier! My new favorite sayings are "where is Emma" and "what does Emma have"??? Oh, and "pick that up before your sister gets it!!!!". Fun, fun!

Emma loves to eat (food and toys, and anything else she can find), she loves to read books, play with her toys, and be with her family. She spends most of her days rolling around the floor, exploring the world around her. This is such a fun age, she learns and discovers more every day and it is so fun to watch!

Love you Emma!

Spay What?????

Yesterday we had our puppy, Daisy, spayed. She came home in pain and drugged up, and if you know my Grace, you know that the sicker, the better. She loves to be needed, and to care for those who need her. Seriously, the best gift we could give her would be to all get sick at the same time, except for her. She would LOVE IT!
Anyways, Daisy was in her crate and Grace was sitting by her, talking quietly to her. This is what she said:
"Daisy, it is okay. When I was a little puppy, I was spayed too, and I am okay."
Oh, Dear. Not only have we never spayed Grace, she has also never been a puppy. Just to clear that up.
Both kids have been concerned about the spay for a while, and Ben has been quite concerned that we are going to have him spayed as well. I have spent the last few weeks convincing Ben that he is A.) a boy and cannot physically have babies, thus no need for a spay, and B.) he, like Grace, is not a puppy and this particular surgery is only for puppies.
I fear that his five year checkup could go something like this:
"Dr., please do not spay me. Do I have to get spayed? I do not want to get spayed!!!" OR
"Dr. my mommy does not want me to get spayed because she wants me to have babies."
I truly have nothing further to say on this subject.

Christmas Recap

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great holiday season. I love experiencing the Christmas season through the eyes of my children, full of magic and beauty, wishes and dreams. We spent the holidays with both families, celebrating for three straight days! What a great time we had, with many memories made!

Santa came and went, leaving some very happy children some very fun gifts. Here are a few pictures:


Emma and her new learning table- a great toy for a baby learning to stand!
Ben and his new tool bench- a must have for the budding builder (and plumber, and electrician, and mechanic)!

Grace and her baby nursery- what every new mommy needs!

Here is one more picture of our knight in shining armor- he likes to protect his sisters from the often irritating puppy.

The New Year holiday was fun as well, with a quiet New Year's Eve, and a fun New Year's Day that ended with a sliding party and pizza with grandparents.

We hope you all have a happy and healthy 2009!