Growing Up

I guess it is extremely appropriate that our blog is named Growing Pains. My husband must of had some profound insight when he created this blog a little over two years ago. All of us have been experiencing some growing up lately. Yesterday was my 25th birthday, and it just sort of slipped away, while Hannah is still getting over the thrill of her third birthday.



Ben has definitely been doing the most growing up. In the last three weeks he has learned to: stuff fruit puffs and cheerios into his little mouth (with a 25% success rate), hold his own bottle, drink from a sippy cup, walk forward and backwards in his "car", crawl on all fours all over the house, and most recently-pull himself up onto anything.



Hannah does enjoy helping with Ben, but she's been needing a lot of extra attention too. We're hoping her irrational three year old behavior is only a phase, and at the end she'll still be our precious angel. She's been doing some BIG GIRL ONLY things like: going to swim class and jumping in, riding her tricycle in the basement, getting her nails painted, and staying up after Ben goes to bed for some mommy and daddy time. We hope all of this helps her transition out of toddlerhood.



There is still a lot more growing and a lot more pain ahead.

God Bless Benjamin

Not only was this an exciting weekend for Hannah, Ben got some special attention too. Since all the family was in town, we had Ben dedicated at church. Similar to a Catholic Baptism ceremony, a dedication signifies that the parents (Stacey) promise to do their part to raise their child to be a Christian and the pastor says a prayer for him and anoints him with oil. In this church, the full Baptism comes later when the child reaches the age that he can decide for himself (more like a Catholic Confirmation).

Aunt Julie and Uncle Tim are Ben's godparents – equally responsible for Ben’s spiritual and religious upbringing. Aunt Julie made a cookie cake for all of us to celebrate. It was a little crispy, but still tasty, thanks Juls!

Hannah's Three!

Can you all believe it's been three years since this little angel came into our lives. People say time flies, but you never really know until you're a parent.

Hannah had a fantastic birthday weekend. Let's sum it up: two grandma's, two grandpa's, two Aunt Julie's, an Uncle Tim, a swimming pool, Dora The Explorer birthday party and cake, and to top it all off, a humongous bowl of spaghetti. There was plenty extra in between too.


Hannah received lots of great presents, and thanks to all of you. Her major favorite though is the SUV (which she calls a minivan) that comes complete with carseats and groceries and a jogging stroller, for her Fisher-Price Twin Time Dollhouse.


She also really likes the watch she got. If you ask her for the time, it always seems to be "two times twenty." We have no idea where she picked that up.


Ben had a great time at the party too. His twin girlfriends from across the street came. He and Natalie seemed to get along well, meaning Ben wanted to eat Natalie's face. He spent a lot of time with the grandmas and got very spoiled. One grandma even snuck him some vanilla ice cream.


For a three year old the birthday cake is very important, and that is why I went to the expert-Grandma. And look at what a fantastic cake it was. With a significant amount of help from the gallery, Hannah blew out all her candles and then ate Dora's eyes and nose.


After Ben's Dedication on Sunday we all headed to the Olive Garden for some lunch. Despite the lack of Chocolate Lasagna and Veal Parmesan, we had a good time.


We suprised Hannah at the end with an OG Birthday song from the waitresses and a dish of ice cream with a candle in it. Before she blew out the candle she said, "wait, I need to make a wish;" and she did.

Be My Valentine

After opening our Valentine presents this morning, Hannah immediately wanted a lollipop. I gave it to her. I know what some of you are thinking, a sugar filled sucker at 8:30 in the morning for an almost three year old? Well, I just couldn't say no to her little face, and considering that her other present was princess flip-flops, and she couldn't wear those out today...we've gotten about a foot and half of snow in the last 24 hours.


Later in the day Hannah moves on to the chocolate. She can't seem to grasp the concept of taking small bites and shoves the whole thing in her mouth. It then oozes out the corners of her mouth, and then moves to her sleeve that she just wiped her face with. Oh well, she thinks Valentine's Day is pretty great.


Ben had a good day too. His one present is this cute little onesie that says "I'm with the band". I thought it was the cutest thing ever. He's happy because mommy's been giving him extra cuddle time (we just found out on Monday he has a double ear infection).


I guess making siblings to sit together on Valentine's Day is a little too much to ask. We tried though, and overall we've had a lovely love day. Hope you did too!