Ben's Weekly Mugs

18 weeks - Pirate Ben

19 weeks - Funny Man

20 weeks - Bring on the Food Man

Easter Weekend - Ben meets Mommy's family

Easter weekend held many firsts for Ben - his first overnight trip, first trip to Missouri, & first time meeting much of Jo's family.

I love the picture of him & his great grandpa Alfred. It's priceless. Gpa has been going blind since before the twins were born & he wants nothing more than to be able to see the kids, especially his little namesake. It was amazing to watch the two of them when I put Ben on his lap - it was as if Ben totally understood that Gpa's blind & that his hands are his eyes. Gpa wasn't shy at all about putting his hands on Ben & giving him a good feel around his head & face, but he was so gentle...it was awesome to watch & listen to Gpa talk to Ben the whole time.

Also had to laugh when Rob gave Gpa a hug. Gpa felt his head & face as usual & just laughed a good ol' belly laugh saying, "Boooooooooooooy, you sure did get a hair cut!" To which Rob responded, "Yep, I surrrrrrrrrrrrrrre did!" Too funny!

The first family picture includes our nephew Bailey on the floor by Robert, Jo's Grandma on the left (who also saw Ben for the first time), & Jo's dad. The last one has Jo's cousin Jacki, holding our Jac, the obvious Gpa & in back is Jo's mom.

We also had a fun time visiting Jo's Uncle Roger & Aunt Judy & their 4 kids & families on Easter Sunday....no pictures from that, shucks! It was another fun time of watching the kids just be kids with cousins they see way too seldom.

Meet Me in St. Louis!

We took advantage of the long weekend around Easter & indulged in a family vacation day! The kids enjoyed the scenery & Jo even managed to get a shot of the arch through the van window...the kids still aren't sure whether or not to believe our stories about the little egg trams that take you to the top. Perhaps on our next visit we'll have to let them experience the ride.

After much discussion, we decided on meeting Papa & Linda (Jo's dad) & Bailey (Jo's nephew) at Turtle Park in St. Louis for a picnic & some run the stink off time. From there, we headed to the St. Louis Science Center. What a great time we had! The picture is from the math center in which the kids were to move the pyramid from one peg to the other one disk at a time w/o putting any disk on one smaller. After much deliberation, they figured it out. Jac was actually the first to catch on, but once she got them rolling, they made short order of it!

Supper at McDonald's & then we were on our way to Mama & Gary's (Jo's mom) house to camp there for the weekend. Bailey came with us & oh what a fun time was had by all! It was so great to see & hear the kids laugh & have so much fun together! Being so far away is sometimes hard, but it does make us treasure these times we can be together.

Haircut Time!

We had a "Head Shaving Party" down at church tonight....just our way of showing some love to Pastor Al. His hair has been going rather quickly with this round of chemo, so I coordinated a gathering at church tonight. Would you believe almost 2 dozen men & boys are sporting new do's tonight? All on about 6 hours notice....I was thrilled with the turnout & Pastor Al seemed to enjoy it, too & of course, appreciate it. I've never cut so much hair in one night & my calves are telling me about standing so long -- don't know how the professionals do it all day long!!

Chris is running sound for the musical at school this weekend, so he didn't make it down to church, but we'll get him clean-shaven in the morning. All our boys got clipped though - yes, even Ben & he looks sooooooooooooooooo much better! Al couldn't believe I was shaving him - he bellowed across the Fellowship Hall, "How can you do that to him? It's taken him his ENTIRE life to grow that!?!" True, but he really does look better. His long locks were falling out so fast...a lot like Al's.

Ben didn't seem to enjoy it much, but I think most of that was the fact he was so hot & there was a lot of noise at the time. Oh yea, he was hungry, too. Once we were done & home, he was set & happy as a lark!

Check out the before & after shots of each.... Rob definately wins the prize for longest hair cut: 5 inches - no kidding! Tom for sweetest smile & Ben for loudest scream - clearly no contest there!

Catching Up...

15 weeks
16 weeks
16 weeks with his favorite sister
17 weeks



Well, for whatever reason, our blog system has been on the fritz lately, so it's been a while since I've posted anything, hence the multiple posts tonight -- I'm trying to get caught up, just in case whatever happened last time happens again.

As you can imagine, Ben is growing so fast! He's 17 weeks already!! He'll be 4 months on Sunday...just really doesn't hardly seem possible. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

He's been kind of out of sorts the last week or so, battling congestion, cough, cold, runny nose & a fever, but seems to deal with it all fairly well -- sleeps & cuddles Mommy. Changes the routine, but I'll take those cuddles any time I can get them. Won't be long & he'll be as big as Rob....seems he was this small just yesteryear.

They're Really 6!

Jaclyn leads calendar time.

Hurry, Mom, the bus is coming!!

Flowers and Racing Flags on cupcakes leave no room for mistakes as to which ones are going where!
I know it's been six years & all, but I still marvel at the fact that there are two of them and how wonderful it truly is to be "doubley" blessed. I still remember the shock & surprise that came with learning of our pregnancy & then the udder amazement that came with learning there were twins on their way. They have brought laughter and joy to our lives every day since.

We celebrated with cupcakes for snack time at school & then one of their favorite dinners: SPAGHETTI!!! After opening presents, Daddy had to head back to school to help with play practice, so the kids & I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather & play outside for a while. Everyone slept so very good - mommy included!!

Jac & Tom's family party

Hard to believe they're almost 6 already, but they are. Family gathered Saturday, March 1 to celebrate & enjoy the day together. It was a fun day for all, especially since we weren't sure we'd get to have the party at all.

Thomas held true to his "sick for my birthday" routine & came down with the flu Thursday night. Not a big surprise since 4 of his classmates & 1 of Jaclyn's were sent home from school that day. He woke us Saturday morning saying, "Daddy, Daddy, I have wonderful news! I did not puke-ed at all!" Yes, that was WONDERFUL news!

We made it through the day without any sickies, but Jaclyn fell ill about 9 that night & Robert at about 11:30. I seriously don't know how the families with a dozen kids did it. Chris & I were struggling to keep up with two sick at once! Thankfully, both were better Sunday & knock on wood, Ben, Chris & I have managed to miss this round...having said that, we'll probably all get it tomorrow!