Chair or Ladder?

My friend brought this child chair home from her last trip to IKEA. She has used them in her family for years and loved them. We initially thought that Ben would use it to sit in at the table but he thinks it is a ladder. He pushes it all over the kitchen and gets up on the counters etc. One day I expect it to take it's place at the dinner table. For now it's a handy stool. Ben was still in his church cloths and hoping to get his hands on some of the chocolate peanut brittle I made today.

Random Thoughts

I have been thinking about the little things that I love about Ben and realizing that I need to write some down because he won't do them forever. He is so cute when he blows on his bathwater because it is to hot, or when he kisses his own owies. When we lift him from the bath water we say go and he runs in the air. (It is a crack up.) He has a new favorite ~ he loves Buzz-lightyear and the movies ToyStory 1 & 2 and LOVES our neighbor John. He enjoys playing the piano, and if he thinks that no one is listening he will sing.
We love this little boy!!! It is amazing how much he completes us.

Last week we completed our home study as we have applied to adopt again. We had such a great experience with Ben. We love his birth-family and just feel so grateful. Our social worker just needs to right up the home-study paperwork and we become official adoption candidates again. Our social worker also suggested that we make our blog public and mention it in our it's about love profile. So..... we are going public. We did restrict the comments that could be posted on purpose and knew everyone would understand. Happy reading.

Stuffed Tiger

This is a better picture of the Zoo shirt. We got it free as Ben is a charmer. The stuffed Tiger was the same thing. We picked that up at a thrift store where the elderly cashier thought that Ben was so cute that she gave him the tiger which he now loves.

Favorite Past-time

Benjamin loves my new counter-top too. It is now his favorite place to sit. This picture was too cute. I pulled on his toes and he laughed. I'm glad I caught it on film. I love it when he laughs. He was wearing his Zoo shirt with the monkey that we will have a hard time getting off him.

Quilt

I spent the last week making a quilt for Benjamin's new big boy bed. I still have to quilt it but I am pleased with the way it came together. I think it looks nice and will really match Ben's room well.
My plan is to paint Ben's bed and dresser white to match some of the other furnishings and also make some accent pillows. His nursery was cute, but his big boy room will be even cuter. I'll post pictures when it's all put together.

New CounterTop

Last weekend Joseph finished the island counter top. I am very pleased with the whole thing. We have a sliding garbage can on the far left. I love the extra room and the way it looks and feels in the kitchen. We have to finish the island and frame the drawer, luckily we can stain it the same as the existing cabinetry.
The next project is the pantry, moving the closet, and then the floor. We already have the floor tile. It is fun redoing so much of the house. In Nampa we had a brand new house. I prefer the character and charm of an older home.

Zoo

Today we went to the Syracuse Zoo with my Sister-in-Law Jenni and her children Caleb, Joshua, and Lydia. Benjamin loves his cousins. He talks about Josh lots. Ben was really good and enjoyed looking at the animals. We saw tigers, and bears, elephants, lynx, monkeys, all kinds of birds etc. Ben's favorite were the penguins. They would swim right up to us. Lately Ben has been walking like a penguin. We had a really good time. Winter is a good time to go as there were hardly any people and most of the animals were out. We have a zoo membership hopefully with the reciprocal admission we can see lots of Zoos or aquariums in the area. We had a great time. Thanks Jenni ~ it was a great idea!