Snow Days

I've been pondering why so many of our blog posts are of pictures of our kids outside. Are kids just cuter when they're out playing? Yeah, maybe. The natural sunlight and beauty of nature might help too. Whatever the reason, here's the latest on our little snow bunnies enjoying the newest foot of fresh snow.

We had to shovel in front of the play house door just to get it open. Ben couldn't quite walk through the two feet of snow, so he watched Hannah and I trudge through it.


Look how beautiful, for all the people who think we're a little crazy for living here.


What a good big sister, she knows Santa is watching.


Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Christmas #1

Well, it may seem a little late to be posting pictures from the week of Thanksgiving; but it is still too early to be posting Christmas pictures. We celebrated Thanksgiving down south with Grandma H, Groompah, and Aunt Julie. Since we won't see them again at Christmas time, we had our Christmas the very next day!

Yes, those are all her presents


Ben got a lot of presents, too, including this cool truck from Groompah


We also visited Hollywild Animal Park and the kids got to see some farm animals up close.


Ben learned how to pet the baby goats "nice nice," and feed them a bottle.


The long drive home was made even longer by holiday traffic, accidents and rubber-neckers. To top it all off, Thad had to relinquish his #1 Steelers Fan status to some guy from South Carolina who wallpapered his car with Steelers bumper stickers.


"#2 Fan" just doesn't look as cool on a sign...

Trick or Treat!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! We got to practice dressing up on Saturday for the Halloween party at the YMCA. We took the chance to get some pictures taken.

Hannah was super excited to wear the Minnie Mouse costume that has been hanging in her closet for awhile.


Ben loves pretending to be a tiger, he wears his costume around the house,and loves to snuggle with it!


Look at the adorable tail!


She was having so much fun. There was a bouncy castle and slide, games, prizes, and of course: CANDY.


That morning, Hannah went to a princess birthday party for her friend. Here she is with Snow White who made a special guest appearance.


Have a safe, happy, and fun Halloween!

Haircut

In case anyone didn't notice, the picture of Ben in the previous post shows off his beautiful long blond hair. It's all gone. Well, not all of it of course. As sad as I am to see it go, he looks awfully stinkin' cute now.

A view from behind.


The front view. He seems pretty happy about it.

Weekend at Grams

The 2nd weekend in Ocotober the kids took a roadtrip to Gram's house in Pittsburgh. She took them for the weekend, while Pap was away. They spent the weekend playing and doing all the local stuff.

Ben explored the tunnels at the playground.


Hannah spent some time with Uncle Brian.


Aunt Julie showed Ben around.


I also believe the kids visited Trax Farms and climbed the big pumpkin tower. Maybe Gram can comment on what else went on that weekend. All I know is that they had fun, and Ben is much more chunky!

The Pumpkin Patch

This past Saturday we got up early, put on some warm play clothes, piled into the truck and headed out to the country for some fall fun. After a hearty Denny's breakfast, and a 45 minute ride up and down the mountains of Central New York, we arrived at Tim's Pumpkin Patch.

Ben loved all the rows of pumpkins. He thought they were for climbing on.


Hannah was also excited about doing something new. She and Daddy hiked all the way to the farthest patch where no one else was to get the best pumpkins. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of this as I was afraid of the camera being dropped in something unpleasant.


After our little photo shoot with the pumpkins we saw all the animals they keep at the farm. The highlight was definitely the 944 lb. pig; though Ben preferred neighing at the baby horse.


After playing in the grain bin for awhile and going for a horse-drawn wagon ride we had popcorn, hot dogs, fresh apple cider and a pumpkin funnel cake in the back of the truck. I think this is going to be a new family tradition; although from now on we'll take the minivan instead of torturing the truck's transmission over those mountains.

Week of Firsts

It was a great, long week of firsts for us. There were lots of new things going on this week, and I think we handled it pretty well.

Hannah now sleeps in a big girl twin bed and loves it. We went shopping for new sheets and a comforter, and she's very happy.


First day of pre-school. I wasn't too sentimental, maybe because I was so nervous about getting her there on time, so I would be on time to my first day of teaching Parent Child Gym classes at the YMCA. Hannah walked right in, put her bag on the right hook(without being told which one it was) and sat down to play. Daddy suprised her by showing up with flowers. Then she said goodbye and that was it.


Ben has been a little cranky this week, with another tooth coming in. But, he still wants to play. He's really expanding his animal noise vocabulary and believes we have elephants and cows in our back yard.


Friday morning. Hanging out in our pj's before the day begins. If only we could stay in pajama's all day. Maybe tomorrow...

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY

It's that time of year again. It's starting to get cooler, kids are going back to school, and most importantly: GRANDPARENTS DAY. For some grandparents, this is everyday, but not for Hannah's and Ben's. Unfortunately, all of their grandparents live far away, and we miss them all the time. So this post is a tribute to the four fantastic people who love their grandchildren so much, we hope you enjoy a look back at some special moments.

The day after Christmas 2006. We're all getting ready to leave. Except Ben and Groompa have other plans. My heart melted when I walked in the living and saw them taking a little nap together, special moment number one.



Is there anything sweeter than seeing your first grandchild for the very first time? Grandma H. came to the hospital as soon as she heard the news. She stayed with Hannah when I couldn't and was a huge help over the next few weeks (Grandma E. was too). Love at first sight, special moment number two.



We once got a Todd Parr book from the library called "The Grandpa Book". One of the pages stated "some grandpa's let you wear his glasses". I couldn't help think of Pap and Hannah every time I read that line. She loves her Pap very much and is always interested in what he's doing (being on the computer, riding in the truck, or wearing his glasses), special moment number three.



I love this picture of Ben and Grandma E. It's great how she always has time to play with the kids, give them a bath, read a book, and just have fun. I know the kids love her very much too, special moment number four.

Toys From Gram & Pap

The first fun thing the kids got from Grandma was a Slip 'N Slide Wave Rider. Ben wasn't interested in sliding, but did like playing in the "wave."



With a little help from Dad, Hannah slid down with enough speed to make it to the bottom.



And the best part, of course, was the big splash at the bottom.



The other toy came all the way from China... and not because they bought it at Wal*Mart. They actually went to Silk Street in Beijing. Shipping was a bit expensive, though.



Each kite is only about a foot tall with an 18 inch tail. There are ten of them strung together about 2 1/2 feet apart. They are so thin and light that you think they'll break at the slightest gust of wind, but because they're so small, they don't collect that much wind.



Ben had fun watching the kites, too, but looking up so high made him lose his balance. Dad actualy put them away without tangling them up, so we'll get to play with them at least once more.

100 Posts

This is the 101st post on Growing Pains and it seems like a good time to recap the two and a half years of blogs that got us here. The first post was in January of 2005 as a substitute for the Picture of the Week. There were many advantages to switching to a blog, the most compelling of which was reducing the picture frequency from weekly to no less than monthly.

This lasted a year and a half until I could hardly keep up with a monthly post; so I added Stacey as an author. She composed her first post almost a year ago.

In any case, the important thing is that everyone far away has been able to watch our kids grow. I know it's no substitute for seeing them in person, but I hope clicks make up for the miles.

Here are some highlights:
Hannah's 1st birthday, 2nd birthday and 3rd birthday
Ben's birth, Dedication and 1st birthday
A new cousin, Evy
Two Santa visits (2005, 2006)
Two Kennywood trips (2006, 2007)
And Steelers downs, ups, and loyal support

The Several Faces of Ben

This is the "grumpy face". In this instance, Ben is hungry. Never mind the fact that he's not done with the bite in his mouth; he's not happy unless he also has a handful on deck and another in the hole.


Here we see a slight transition as Ben just stuffed about five animal crackers in his mouth. He learned this from his big sister - if you can close your mouth, you've got room for more.


See, I'm much better now mom! Keep 'em comin'.

Kennywood 2007

It was a very rainy day in West Mifflin; but to the people like us who don't cancel our Kennywood visit, that just means shorter lines. The tickets were free, dinner was free and it turned out that preferred parking was free. We knew we wouldn't be back in town before the end of the season, so if there was even a chance that the weather might break. After watching the giant green blob on the radar all day, I predicted that the rain would quit around dinner time - and I was right.

Hannah picked the first ride, "I want to go on the roller coaster." The only one she's tall enough to ride is the Jack Rabbit, which she rode last year. The experience was pretty much the same as last year except she sat with Pap this time.

She also got to accompany Ben on his first Kennywood ride - the "Space Ship," not to be confused with the "Helicopter" ride (alternating cars). We showed Ben the steering wheel, but he thought it was pretty silly to hold on to something that moved. For the first 3/4 of the ride, he preferred the stationary bar that ran around the outside.



We played one game before we left. We each threw a whiffle ball onto a table with a grid of holes. If the ball lands in a colored hole, you get a prize. The only winner was Ben, who got a small tiger to add to their zoo stuffed animal collection.



It turned out to be a great Kennywood trip; as if there is any other kind.

Eventful Wedding

Congratulations to Ben's Godparents, Aunt Julie and Uncle Tim, who got married this weekend down in Pittsburgh. The ceremony was beautiful... or so I heard.



Aunt Julie told Hannah she was the "best flower girl ever." After all the coaching to not walk down the aisle too fast, she ended up getting passed by the Matron of Honor and Best Man. I think she was savoring the moment.



Stacey also fulfilled her duties as one of the TEN bridesmaids. She was escorted by my cousin Nick, as Ben and I were not present for the ceremony.



Instead, we took a trip to the ER to stitch up Ben's lip that he split at about T minus 10 minutes. With communications and logistical support from Aunt Steph's Dad, Rob, we made it back in time for pictures. We also got to enjoy the Molly's Trolleys ride - they don't make a limo for a bridal party that big.



Ben had four stitches put in at the hospital. He pulled out the middle two before we got back to the church and the other two at the reception. Fortunately they didn't pull out completely and held the deeper layers together until they started to heal.

We did our best not to steal the spotlight from the bride and groom and I watched the important parts of the ceremony the next day on my parent's digital camera. Now this occasion will be even more memorable.

20 Minutes From the Beach

With two of Hannah and Ben's grandparents living down south where it's warm, there's a lot of bragging going on by them. Now it's Hannah and Ben's turn. On Monday the 15th we went to the beach with some friends. It's only 20 minutes away! I don't think you can say that Grandma H and Groompa! Personally, I also think it's much better than the ocean. No big waves, no salt water, and no walking half a mile through sand to find a good spot near the water.

After getting all lotioned up (except for mommy-my back looks like a fried tomato) and eating lunch we went for a swim. Like everything, Ben was alittle nervous at first, but then loved it.



The entire swimming area has an average depth of maybe a foot and half, with two and half feet being the deepest. This is perfect for a three year old. The water was nice and clear, with soft sand on the bottom.


When not in the water Hannah and Ben played with other kids in the sand. There was a lot of going back and forth to the water. Ben entertained the whole crowd by doing his baby yoga in the sand. My camera phone battery died before I could get a picture of it. He sticks his arms on the ground in front of him, his feet in back, and pushes his butt up in the air, and buried his head in the sand. He held the position for about three minutes.

Trail'in

The summer is great for outdoor fun, and this summer, we're all about riding bikes. After Ben's birthday we can all go together. The kids squish together in the trailor and are usually pretty nice together. We sometimes ride to a playground in the area, or if it's been a long ride we'll get ice cream cones!



This was Ben's first time riding. He looks alittle apprehensive, but once daddy started swerving all over Ben loved it(he doesn't love the helmet so much though!) Hannah really likes having someone to keep her company in the back, she fills in Ben on what's going on and let's us know how he's doing.

Ben's First Birthday!

My babies are growing up so fast, a year already! Ben had a good birthday, despite the bad cold (which we found out today is bronchitis) and a little crankiness. Aunt Juls was here to celebrate with us, and we all had fun.



This was Ben's big gift, and Hannah's favorite too!


He really liked the little cars from Aunt Steph, Uncle Brian, and Evy.



Seeing the cake.



Touching the cake.



Finally eating the cake! It was a glorious moment for him.




The end of the day and the birthday boy is all partied out.

Thanks to all the family and friends for the cards and gifts, we appreciate them all.