Making Fun of Mommy...

A couple weeks ago we were walking out of McDonalds and in front of everyone Ben pushed out his tummy as far as he could, started waddling out the door and announced "Look, I'm walking like mommy". Real nice kid... :)

Final Days of Summer

It's a bittersweet time - not only is summer coming to a close, but it's also our last few weeks as a family of 3. It's like Ben knows he's going to be a big brother soon and has grown so much recently. Here are his 3 big recent milestones:

1. Last weekend Ben finally said goodbye to the "mimi" (pacifier). He lost it and when daddy and I found it we decided it was time for mimi to be lost for good. He had a tough time the first night - he kept asking us to look for it and begged us to "go to Target and get a new mimi". He hasn't even mentioned it in a few days.

2. It also looks like Ben has decided that he's too big for his 2-3 hour afternoon naps. :( We think the loss of the mimi had something to do with it - but we had a pretty good run - 3.5 years.

3. This weekend - with a little help from our friends The Polkinghorne's - Ben started going poo-poo on the potty!!!! He has an accident now and then, but every day he's getting better and better.

Here are a few recent pics - he loves playing with his best buddy Sean...

Football and Guns

Well, it's out with the trucks and in with the guns, football and even some video and computer games. Our little guy is growing up...

Baby Lauren Update!

We had our 30-week ultrasound today and Lauren is as healthy as can be. This isn't the best picture in the world but she's looking straight at us.


My doctor's nurse compared Lauren and Bens' measurements and both she and the doctor agreed that they are measuring very very close. However, Lauren probably has Ben beat in the weight department...why does that not suprise me? :)

They are 2 completely different pregnancies. With Ben it was blissful, not very painful, he usually only kicked at night and my mood was amazing. Little Lauren has turned mommy into a hormonal monster at times. She's a constant kicker and mover and it can be pretty painful. Something tells me that our little Ben is in for a rude awakening with this little girl! We can't wait to meet this little firecracker - love you baby girl!

Arizona Vacation!

This was the 3rd year that we've followed the Dodger's on the 4th of July. They played Phoenix at Chase Field and we stayed at a wonderful resort - The Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale. We were able to spend some time with our good friends, the Colby's. The first night we celebrated Ryan's 3rd birthday at a jumpy house!The Dodger's won!One of the best parts of this stadium was an upstairs kid's play area called The Sandlot.Ben and Ryan on their way to play.Ben really liked the kid's beach pool area at the hotel.

We took a long day trip to visit Sedona and the Grand Canyon! Ben was an amazing little traveler.The Grand Canyon was majestic. It exceeded my expectations.More than the pool, the baseball field play area or the Grand Canyon, Ben LOVED this jeep parked in the hotel lobby. We spent the majority of our time playing on this jeep.

Ben's Baby Sister!

We found out during our ultrasound appointment last Monday that we are expecting a baby girl around October 25th! John and I were in shock for a few hours after the news - but we are so psyched. Ben really wanted a "baby grill". Here are a few ultrasound pics from my appointment today. She is MUCH more active in the womb than Ben. She boxes and kicks - it kinda scares us a little. :) What are we in for? What ever it is - we absolutely cannot wait to hold our precious little girl.

Here are her cute little feet together:
Here she is looking at us. No that's not a big ear on the top of the picture - it's the umbilical cord...don't think I didn't clarify that one:
Baby has mommy's chin!

I just found her first ultrasound picture when we found out we were having a girl on May 24th. I can't believe I had misplaced it...sorry honey...mommy's a little forgetful these days.

Dodger Game for Daddy's Birthday!

For daddy's birthday we got front row seats to see the Dodgers play Detroit. They were celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back - so it was fun to see Chewbacca. It's definitely different having a son who's potty trained - 4 trips to the restroom but no accidents!!!