"These are nice"

So...I have an adorable Luke story that makes me so proud! This little guy is growing like a weed, so it was time for some new jammies! I bought him a few pairs of short sleeve pajamas for the summertime and after Luke's bath the other night I pulled out a pair from his dresser and he goes, "ooooh, new jammies!" I said, "Yes, I bought you three new pairs because you are getting too big for your other ones." He insisted on picking out which ones to wear, and I was dressing him he goes to me "these are nice!" I told him I thought they were pretty nice too. He went on to tell me "Mommy these are nice jammies, Luke like them. Thank you very much mommy!" Such a little sweetie! When I dress him in the morning he has a few pairs of pants he will say "these are nice" and a few pairs he will say "no nice pants mommy, too tight!"

Brotherly Love

These two little boys warm our hearts more than we could have ever imagined. As Ben has become more mobile, he is always after Luke, and Luke is tickled that Ben wants to be by him. We are in love with watching these two boys bond together.

Luke reading Ben some stories before nap time
When Ben was waking up from his nap Luke wanted to crawl in with him and snuggle...priceless

Happy Birthday Sean!!!

We celebrated Sean's birthday on Sunday, March 18th, quite frankly the whole weekend! It was a beautiful weekend and Sean thoroughly enjoyed his "birthday weekend"! Friday he spent it in Dubuque with all of his college buddies playing cards and watching NCAA college basketball. Saturday he drove up to my parents farm to join us for the rest of the weekend. He & Luke played around on the four wheeler most of the afternoon getting his blinds ready for turkey season. Saturday night he went to a Pheasants Forever banquet, then we met out for some drinks. Sunday, his actual birthday, he got to sleep in, which is a present in itself! My mom, of course, made a feast of a breakfast for the birthday boy! Waukon is known for their big St. Patricks' day festivities so we planned to take the boys to the parade before heading back home. We sang "happy birthday" and enjoyed some homemade (from scratch) cupcakes, ice cream, and Sean opened his gifts from my parents! We headed out for the parade and could not have asked for better weather, it was truly amazing! Both boys enjoyed the parade, Ben got excited with the loud trucks and motorcycles, and Luke loved all the horses and tractors. Both boys were wiped, they slept the entire way home! When we got home we had a birthday party for one of our friends little boys, then enjoyed more birthday cake at our house and Sean opened more presents before the boys went to bed! I hope that Sean enjoyed his special day as our family of four, surrounded by great friends and family is truly the best gift you can ask for! We love you and wish you a year full of great joy and happiness!

Opening one of his many birthday gifts! Never too old for birthday presents!
#1 dad for sure!

Awww....my sweet boys! Sean enjoying his birthday with his two little guys

Birthday cake for the birthday boy! Luke was so anxious for "cupcake"

Happy Birthday to you!

Enjoying the beautiful weather and the St. Patrick's Day parade

Sean, my dad, and Ben

Luke & Nannie awaiting the start of the parade!

Who needs candy when you can chew on beads?!

ice skating pictures

A couple of weekends ago we met our friends the Collins Family at the mall to take the boys ice skating...here are the pictures below of Luke's first time ice skating!

Luke & Ben getting ready to go ice skating
Sean & Luke on the ice

getting skates on

Our two little sweeties

Happy little Ben enjoyed watching all the people

Crawling

Another milestone met by little Ben this weekend! Last week he started getting up on all fours, rocking back and forth. The whole while I was in North Dakota I prayed that he would stay put so mama could see him crawl for the first time. Sure enough...Ben waited for me! This past weekend we were visiting my parents and Ben showed off his mad army crawling skills all for my bottle of water. On Saturday, March 17th Ben started army crawling. He is scooting more and more and getting to places much quicker...time for the gates to come out of storage!

Up on all fours
going after my water bottle

almost there...

...got it!

such a big boy!

Our week

I was traveling this week to North Dakota for work and I missed my boys so much. I saw so many families in the airport together heading on trips for Spring Break and reminded me even more how much I wanted to be with them enjoying the beautiful Spring weather! The weather has been nothing but AMAZING this week and we are all loving it! The boys just can't get enough of being outside. Just being gone from the boys a few days, I realized today just how much they can change in a mere 3 days. I went to get Luke this morning and he said "Mommy, you take daddy's truck to airport. Daddy drive your car." When did he start creating sentences??? Helloooo my child, please stay this age!
Ben now has two teeth and is just the happiest little guy around. He and Luke love to roll around on the floor and make each other laugh. Tonight after dinner, we were doing just that and they had each other giggling I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, awe...it just makes my heart so happy!
I do have to hand it to Sean for holding down the fort and doing such a great job while I was gone. I know it is not easy working all day and coming home to care for the boys 100% , alone. They had a great few days and they were all happy:) We have a funny story, I can't resist sharing it. So I got home last night around midnight, I checked on my sleeping babies and crawled into bed myself. A tour across North Dakota will wipe a girl out! This morning Ben woke at 7 am...12 hours consecutive hours of sleep! (He must have known his mama was tired) When I went to go get him I noticed his sleeves were wet, I thought to myself, 'my, he must have been sucking on his sleeves'. Then I quickely noticed his entire pajamas and sleep sack were wet. I figured Sean must not have gotten his diaper on right or Ben just really had a full bladder! When I undressed him...he was 'diaper less'!!!!! I laughed so hard, I cried. When I told Sean, he laughed a little, then said "Here, I thought I was Father of the Year, our night could have been any more perfect, dinner, baths, bedtime, no crying, and Ben sleeps 12 hours!" We laughed about it and it still makes me laugh out loud. I said, I will taking a soaking wet baby for 12 hours of sleep anytime! Although, we were both shocked that Ben slept through it, because when I say soaking wet, I mean "100% soaked"!
I am taking a few days off of work to spend with the boys and celebrate Sean's birthday, which happens to be on Sunday. I am loving that the weather is so nice and really looking forward to some time outside with the boys. Sean is off to Dubuque tomorrow for an annual NCAA get together with his college buddies and I am heading to my parents with the boys this weekend. Sean is meeting us up their on Saturday. Luke has been talking about Nannie and Bops all week and driving his gator! We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Luke enjoyed spending time out on the screened in porch while Ben took a little nap, shorts in March...not all that bad!
This is a picture of little Ben last Friday after his shots...smiling from ear to ear!

Weekend recap

We have been enjoying some great weekend fun at home, enjoying the nice weather, getting out and about with both boys, and getting some good workouts in. Sean and I were both out of town this week, so we were anxious to spend a nice, quiet weekend at home. Friday night we hosted our groups "Friday night get together" for drinks, pizza, good conversation, lots of laughs, and the kids had so much fun playing together. The kids play so well together it makes our evenings together so enjoyable. Luke loves having his friends over and is so proud to show off all of his toys.
Saturday morning, I got a good run in outside. It felt great to get some fresh air and some much needed exercise! Sean took off for the gym, while the boys and I made some monster bars. After lunch and naps, we headed out to the mall with the Collins family to enjoy some ice skating fun! This was Luke's first time skating and he did so well. I have pictures that I need to upload, but he had so much fun ice skating with the Collins kids. After a little ice skating, the kids enjoyed some Whitey's ice cream before we headed home. The weather was so nice, we grilled out and enjoyed the "spring like" weather.
Today we played outside some more, got some things done around the house, and I had my brother Mitch and Kolbi over for dinner.
It was a wonderful weekend at home. We are really enjoying this time with the boys, Luke keeps us on our toes and Ben is becoming quite the little mover. He is getting up on all fours and lunging himself forward and backwards. I am not ready for him to be mobile!

The boys having a little fun together after naps

Stats are in...

We had Ben's 6 month check and shots this past Friday

Height: 26 3/4 inches (65th percentile)

Weight: 17 lbs 5 oz (50th percentile)

***also note, that Ben's 1st tooth popped through today!!!! YAY, that little bugger was giving him a hard time for a few weeks now. It is his bottom front right tooth, with the left one piercing through anyday, I imagine

Ben is 6 months old

I am amazed at how fast the past six months have gone. Six months ago today we met our sweet little Ben for the first time and he has forever changed our lives. He brings so much joy to our lives and fills our hearts with so much love. I never could have imagined having so much love in my heart for all my sweet boys! Everyday I love them more and more. I just can't get enough of Ben's sweet chubby cheeks, his contagious smile, and his sloppy kisses. We are really enjoying watching Ben's personality come through, and it is one of pure joy and happiness. I have said it before, but I can't say it enough, Ben loves his big brother so much and stays busy watching him as much as he can. When I first had Ben I was concerned, "how could I give him as much attention as I gave Luke when we just had one?" What I soon realized was Ben is in constant awe and completely entertained by everything his brother does and I know as he gets older he will wear himself out trying to keep up with his big brother. I absolutely love watching Luke make Ben smile and laugh, it is absolutely priceless. As a mom, all I want is for my two boys to love each other endlessly and care for each other as much as we do.
So, Mr. B what are you up to at 6 months old????
-the biggest milestone this month, you underwent surgery this month to place tubes in your little ears to help clear up your chronic ear infection. We had a lot of anxiety about letting you go through this, but we are so happy we did this for you. I didn't know it was possible for you to be any happier. You are so content now that your ears aren't bugging you 24-7.
-You have the biggest, cheesiest smile, and you are so easy to get a big smile
-You always wake happy from your sleep, if you don't, you will go back to sleep and wake up talking
-we are not swaddling you any longer and you are a mover in your sleep. I think you change positions over a dozen times
-you don't really care for your pacifier, you are taking it less and less
-you have started sucking on your fingers more and more
-you have started rubbing/pulling at your own hair
-you love to pull mommy's hair and you can pull hard!
-you like to give big sloppy wet kisses
-I think you are trying to cut your first tooth, but I could be wrong
-you are wearing size 2 diapers
-you are still nursing, but not for much longer. Mommy is going to start weaning you from nursing. We have a supply in the freezer, you have taken some formula and seem to handle it well.
-you are eating 5-6 times a day/night and when you do get a bottle you are drinking 6 oz
-you are waking once a night, usually around 3:30 or 4 a.m. You have given us several full nights of sleep but not consistent enough to say you are sleeping through the night. You are definitely sleeping better since your surgery
-you are taking 3 naps a day, some days 2 depending on the length.
-you love taking baths with Luke
-your bedtime is usually 6:45p.m
-you have been eating solids for a few weeks, three times a day. You get rice cereal three times a day, fruit in the a.m (so far you have tried peaches, mango's, and bananas), you have veggies at lunch and dinner. You definitely prefer veggies over sweet fruits. So far you have had sweet potatoes, peas, and carrots. You love them all!!!!
-We just changed out your carrier car seat, hoping that you will like the car a bit better in your big conversion car seat. We took one trip to the museum and back without tears...which is a step. Normally you get about 5 minutes into the trip and the tears start flowing. I am holding my breath and crossing my fingers that you will be happier in the car.
-you have started saying dadadadada and you jabber all the time
-you love your jumparoo and you roll all over, wherever you can
-you are sitting up for short periods by yourself
Ben, we love you more than you know, and with each day we fall in love with you all over again. You are such a happy, sweet little boy. Your smile is beautiful and your giggles are precious. You give the best hugs and sloppy kisses, we can't believe six months ago today we met you for the first time, it feels like it was just yesterday and yet, it feels like we have known you so much longer. I will never forget holding you for the first time and gazing into your most beautiful blue eyes. You are one special little boy Ben, we love you so much Benny Boy! All our love precious boy-Mommy, daddy, and Big Brother Luke!

March 3, 2012

Benjamin David Merrick

6 months old

We see this sweet smile all day long!

Beautiful boy

Just can't get enough of Ben's smiles

Celebrating Ben's half birthday

My sweet, handsome boys...I am so blessed:)

Ben's 1/2 birthday cake! We shared it with our friends at our Friday night get together. Chocolate cake with raspberry & cream cheese filling!

such a big boy

Luke at 2 1/2 years old

It's been awhile since I have just updated on "what is going on in the world of Luke!" Can I just start by saying, "please, please stop growing up so fast!!!!" If you didn't notice my wordless Wednesday post, please take a look and you will realize just how true it is when I say, our house is always full of laughter! The things Luke does and the words he speaks, makes us laugh endlessly and that is what we love so much about our growing boy Luke. Everyday he grasps something new, he speaks more sentences, and has started asking "why cause" a lot lately, which makes for some very interesting conversations. Some days it is the simple responses I get from him that make me laugh all day long. For instance, I picked him up from school yesterday and I asked him what did he learn at Ms. A's today, his response "nothing". I love how much Luke loves his little brother, although some days you would think Luke forgot about his existence, but most days he is always inquiring about "Ben wake, Ben nap". Ben loves his brother just as much, always watching his every move, and just laughs and laughs when Luke talks to him. Luke loves his furry brother Gunner more than you can even imagine. There are many days he heads to the basement and would play for hours with Gunner. He gets a little upset when Gunner doesn't follow as he says, but oh, do those two boys play so well together. Although we are biased, I have to say Luke is one heck of a baseball player, he refuses to hit off a tee and only wants to be pitched to. He loves to hit baseballs and has one heck of a line drive, that is for sure. Luke is getting so much better at playing toys in the toy room by himself, and he has quite the imagination. We have a lot of black bears roaming our house and you can be safe from them if you get on the boat! Luke loves loves loves his Bop & Nannie, he just can't get enough. Every day he will at some point cry out for them or demand we get in the big rig (Sean's truck) and go to the farm. We are heading up there for a much needed trip in a couple of weeks and everyday Luke says "two weeks mom, bop nannie farm?" You are a very persistent boy, some days more persistent than we would like. For example, "mommy, chocolate milk. Mommy, chocolate milk please. Mommy chocolate milk. Please, please, please, please. Mommy chocolate milk. chocolate milk please mommy...." You get where I am going, all without me getting a word in. Potty training has been a success! Luke is staying dry all day, every day, we are just working on going poopy on the big boy potty. He tells us when he has to go but wants a diaper on, then will say "change now"! I have to say, it was a lot less stressful than I imagined it to be. A couple of weeks ago we signed Luke up to start preschool next Fall, two days a week at Parkview Christian. We are excited about the opportunity for Luke to attend such a wonderful preschool program. We haven't decided yet, but we may keep him going to Ms. A's one day a week because he loves it so much and she is wonderful!

Luke, you have an amazingly outgoing personality, you are a very independent boy, you love your friends dearly, and you like to be busy. You have wanted to watch more TV lately, which we don't care for, but I know once it warms up and you can go outside, we won't be able to keep you indoors. Our house is full of excitement, laughter, and many days chaos...but we love it more than you can imagine and are so thankful for the smile you bring to our faces every waking minute of the day.