Our Little Fish

Yesterday we went and hung out with some friends at a club. We found out quickly that Ben is a little fish! He loved the water and did not want to get out. This little kids pool was just his height. We could just touch the bottom to walk around and he DID NOT want mommy and daddy helping him! He went under several times and at first I thought he was going to loose it but he LOVED it! We had a great time with our friends and enjoyed the change of pace.

His face must hurt today because he smiled this big ALL day long!

Love it!

I wondered what it would be like having two children and how having Nate would change life. When we were pregnant with Ben it was all about the excitement of being parents and having a child. And with Nate it has been so fun and special to think about Ben and Nate being brothers and being a family of four. This morning Nate was on the floor and Ben tried to pick him up to hold him. Allen quickly called me and Allen helped Ben hold Nate in his lap. Super sweet and special moments that I love! So thankful that the Father has given us two little boys to see grow and share life together.

Weekend Fun

This past Thursday night (which is the beginning of our weekend) we went and hung out with some friends. The kids played in the pool and had a blast until Ben got stung by a bee in the cheek. Poor guy took it like a champ but had a swollen cheek and eye the next day.

He loves playing with S.M.

Nate being the high maintanence baby that he is...

Relaxing and catching up with our dear friends!

And the cheek. This is 24 hours later. Too busy to take a picture before then.

2 Months Already?

Where does the time go? My little guy is already two months old and not such a little guy anymore.
At his two month appointment he weighed 13.4 lbs and is 23 inches long.
This week he has started grinning a little bit. Which makes me so excited to be going to the states soon so our family and friends can see his new found smile for themselves!. He also has slept through the night for over a week!!

Signing

It is amazing to me how much Ben is learning! He loves a DVD friends gave us called Signing Time. In fact, I want to get more while we are in the states because he has picked up words without me teaching them to him. Here are a few of the words he signs. I didn't get please but he learned that one very quickly when he realized it would get him what he wanted 95% of the time.

"More"

"Milk" it is a very active milk

"Baby" Allen put Ben in Nates crib one night while he was cleaning up the room. Allen looked over and saw him swinging his arms back and forth like a cradle. We quickly realized he was signing baby because he was in Nates crib!!

"Food or Eat"

And "Thankyou"

Bananas and Brothers

Ben eats a banana pretty much every morning. It didn't dawn on me until this week that he could probably bite the banana off instead of cutting it up for him. Well, it was definitely a hit and he is loving his banana in the morning. Of course, he hasn't quite figured out how much is too much...

Ben is really enjoying his DVD, Signing Time, and Nate is making it through belly time with the support of his brother!

What's for dinner?

It's never to early to get him cooking dinner. Right?

Who knew that stirring pasta around in a bowl could be SO exciting and entertaining.

Helping clean up the mess.

Summer Favorites

I don't know about you all but we tend to have our seasonal favorite foods. For instance this past winter it was broccoli soup and potato soup. This summer it has been fresh limeade, fish tacos, and fudgesicles. What about you? Do you have favorites from the summer? I would love to know what they are.

Fresh Limeade is supper easy.
Quarter 3-4 limes. Put a handful at a time in the blender with water just to cover them. Blend for 5 seconds. Then strain. Do this with all the limes. Then add 3/4 to 1 C of sugar and water to taste, there you have it. (Depending on your blender you may need to adjust the time. You don't want the limes to totally fall apart because then your limeade will taste like lime rind instead of just limes. )

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

Crema:
1/4 C. thinly sliced green onions
1/4 C. chopped cilantro
3 TBS mayo
3 TBS sour cream
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1 garlic clove minced
-Mix all together

Tacos:
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 lbs. tilapia fillets
Heat skillet with a little olive oil. Rinse and dry tilapia. Mix all spices together and pat on both sides of the tilapia. Place in skillet and cook till done and flaky. Shred fish

You will also need tortillas (we use pita) and shredded cabbage. Compile your fish tacos with the creme, fish, and cabbage.

We are really enjoying this one and Ben is loving it too!

Fudgesicles
1/2 C sugar
2 TBS starch
3 TBS cocoa
2 1/2 C. milk
Cook all till thickened remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 TBS butter. Place in popsicle molds and freeze.

Just cause...

Surprise!

I went in to get Ben out of his crib this morning and he was sitting down smiling at me! Then I looked down and saw this...

Which means that there was NOTHING on him!! He had the biggest grin on his face! Fortunately, we did not have a mess and I guess sleeping in just his shorts and diaper is going to have to stop.

Love this guy!

2 Years Ago

2 years ago this month we found out we were having our first child. If you had told me then that in 2 years, I would have a 16 month old and a 6 week old, I would have told you you were CRAZY! But here we are 2 years later and I am the luckiest mom in the world to have these 2 little boys in my life. We have been on our own for over a week now (that means without my mom's help!) and we are surviving. I would even dare say we are doing better than surviving. I am loving being a mommy to two little boys. They are super sweet and super laid back. I though Ben was an easy baby but Nate is super easy. He cries when he is hungry and really just hangs out and sleeps otherwise. Ben and Nate have been sharing a room for almost a week now. We weren't sure how that would work but thought we would give it a try. Nate isn't waking Ben up and Ben isn't waking Nate up so that is great. Ben has two molers coming in right now so he has had a few nights where he woke up crying. Nate has slept for 6 hours straight for the last couple of nights, so I am feeling like a new woman! I know there are some people that think having your children this close is CRAZY and to be honest, I was one of those until we were pregnant and I realized I had to get over it. I honestly think this is much easier in some ways, Ben still takes two naps a day and has not been too phased by the addition of Nate to the family. Just some of my random thoughts about being a mommy of two little boys. I am so thankful that the Father has entrusted these two little guys to us.