School Bus

Hannah used to always ask us to draw her a school bus on her "colors." She would make us draw wheels, a door, windows, kids and a bus driver. Sometimes we would even add the stop sign, lights and bumpers.

Apparently she was paying attention because she draws them herself now. It's a little out of proportion, but for a two and a half year old, that's a pretty good school bus. I guess the art classes paid off.

Smiley Kid

Well, he finally got the muscles in his face coordinated - and what a big smile they make. It's a lot of work getting those big cheeks out of the way; but what a cute result. He apparently has plenty to smile about because he does it all the time.

He is growing up much faster than his sister did. Time flies when you're having fun!

Train Ride

There is a single car train that runs from the Carousel Mall to the Carrier Dome and back. For only $6, all four of us got to go for a ride on a rainy Saturday afternoon.


I was under the impression that trains were always exactly on time. This one didn't seem to care about being 2 minutes late.


Hannah had a grand old time watching the mall get farther and farther away as the tall buildings of downtown approached.


"Choo choo," she said as the train blew its whistle at an intersection.


Oh yeah, I did say all four of us went. Mr. Excitement slept through the whole thing as usual.

Do I Look Like Groompa?

The first grandkid gets to name the grandparents. In order to distinguish the Grampas, my Dad is "Pap" and Stacey's dad is "Groompa." He used to be "Grampa Oompa," named after the game he invented where you bounce on his belly and he says "Oompa oompa." Eventually, the two words ran together and he became Groompa.

Anyway, Ben seems to have gotten at least one prominent feature from Groompa - that chin. We'll see as his face matures where he gets the rest.

Take Me Out to the Baseball Man

Hannah and Ben went to their baseball game - or at least 4/9 of a baseball game. I got free tickets through work, so we figured we couldn't lose. All day Hannah was excited about going to see the "Baseball Man."

As you know, the game itself is only part of the experience. We got a hot dog, fries, nachos and ice cream. We debated cotton candy, but decided it was kind of late for that much sugar.

Ben slept the whole time, but Hannah wouldn't stop wiggling. At one point she actually started saying "wiggle wiggle wiggle" as she did it. We tried to tell her watch the guy try to hit the ball and run run run to first base. She wasn't interested.

All in all, the "free" game cost us about $22.50.

Pre-Photo Shoot

In preparation for getting their portraits taken, Stacey decided to have a practice session with them. As you can see, it went rather well.

Ben tried to smile.


The kids sat nicely together.


Hannah showed her mature, serious side.


She even added props, too.

Of course, the ones we paid for didn't go quite as well. The ones of Hannah got messed up and they didn't print them. Ben didn't even smirk, let alone smile. They sat nicely together, but Ben's face was all scrunched up.

I guess practice doesn't make perfect after all. At least we have the pictures from this practice session.

Lying Around

Considering all the horror stories we heard about how older siblings behave toward their baby brothers and sisters, Hannah is doing very well with Ben. Believe it or not, she actually likes him.

She has her moments, of course, when she wants someone else to hold Ben so she can get thier attention; but if you think about it, even that is better than wanting them to put him down or just get rid of him. She sincerely cares about her brother. She doesn't like when he gets upset, she tries to entertain him when he is bored and she shows him how to use all of his toys.

I think he's already starting to learn from her, too. How did we get so lucky?!