Toy Story 3

We went to see Toy Story 3 today. It was Ben's first time in a movie theater. He did really well, he even made it through the myriad of previews. It helps that Toy Story is his favorite. Lately he loves Rex the dinosaur. He can name all the characters. It was great! We enjoyed the movie. Deagan his buddy went with his family too. The picture is of them earlier in the day on enjoying Popsicle on the front porch.

The picture has nothing to do with these misc. musings. Yesterday at dinner Ben and Daddy were talking. Joseph said to Benjamin. "You're lucky you get corn on the cob for your vegetable and if given beans you can spit them out. I have to down a medley of corn, carrots, peas, and beans. Mommy won't let me spit them out."
I told Joseph that it was blog material. He said that he might start a blog called the truth about wardwhereabouts. If you come across it let me know.

This picture was taken at the farm last weekend. That is Grandpa's haying hat. Ben loves it.

I really do put pants on the child. Lately we have alternated from his riding his tractor to the swimming pool and I've forgone shorts in favor of just the diaper. Check out the shirt. It's a favorite....especially with Daddy.

Chainsaw?

The town is resurfacing our road and redoing the shoulder. They came by and trimmed some of the trees in the front back two days ago. We had two trees out front that were dying and when they were here they took them down. We had a lovely large tree that they trimmed and in the trimming process the foreman told me that the tree was also diseased and that it should also come down. Needless to say the front yard looks bare! They left the wood for us to use. Here Joseph is using the big chain-saw to cut the wood up.


As you can imagine Ben wanted in the works too. He grabbed his chainsaw. Daddy told him that he needed gloves, googles, boots and a hat. This is what he gathered and how he looked to help with the tree process. What a crack up!!!

Apparently here he was feeling rather GQ ish. Check out the hands on the hips.

Tractor

Our generous neighbor brought this tractor over yesterday and said that they were getting rid of it and wanted to know if we wanted it before they donated it. Did we ever. Their boys are too big for it. Benjamin took one look at it and we can't get him to focus on anything else. Just when I think he has forgotten about it he says "Ride tractor Mommy?" It came with two batteries that we are having a hard time keeping charged. He is so adorable. It is fun to see him have something that he loves.

We have been busy making preparations to go to Maine. We are super excited. We finally have all the baby cloths washed and boxed. I have a boy box and girl box and a box of misc. like receiving blankets and diapers and of course the baby Bjorn that I love so much. I think that we are going to borrow my parents van for our next trip as we seem to just have a lot of stuff to take. We are planning on being there 2 weeks so we want to take some toys for Ben and a stroller etc. All requiring more room than we have in the Saturn or Truck. We are actually looking at purchasing a bigger vehicle. I (being cheap) hate the process of car shopping. We saw a Santa Fe listed on craigslist that the owner is wanting to trade for a truck. We responded....we'll see what happens. I feel so adult when I drive a van or SUV.

Early last week we thought that we might be headed to Maine the end of this week. Our attorney got right on things when he heard that the baby could be born early. As of Friday we got the Judge to sign a conditional certification. The condition is upon satisfactory return of our digital fingerprints. So long story short we are all set and settling down to wait for the baby to finish growing.

It is such an exciting time for us. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and well wishes. We'll keep you all posted.

Our Dinosaur and his lion cousin

I mentioned in an earlier post that Kenneth and Heidi were in town this weekend. Benjamin loves their kids. He and Emma dressed up in costumes when they were at our house yesterday. I was able to take this cute picture. Arianna was a knight and baby Grant was just afraid. No surprise - Benjamin kept roaring at him.





Here are the three musketeers. They sure have grown!

Farming it

We went to the farm this weekend. My brother Kenneth and Sister-in-law Heidi and their 3 children are in town and we love to be together, so everyone gathered at the farm. The boys did the haying and mowed a ton of hay and baled close to 300 of those big round bails. Most nights they weren't home before 11pm.
For the children the activity of choice is tractor riding. If a tractor isn't available they will settle for a 4 wheeler. If that's not available then kabota ride will due. The picture is of Grandpa getting the littlest ones settled in the back of the kabota.
Spring is my favorite time on the farm. It's absolutely beautiful. The picture of the peonies and pond was taken from my parents' front driveway.

Maine

We had a lovely time this weekend on our trip to Maine. Maine is beautiful, and the birth mother that we meet with is amazing. We liked her immediately. She was warm and inviting and so generous to us. We got to meet several of her extended family and loved them. Families are so fun. The ones that I enjoy the most are crazy, and silly, and loud, and laugh at nothing in particular, but everything collectively. This family is like that. We felt so comfortable there. I appreciate their familial closeness and the support they give one another. Benjamin was a trooper on the trip. He did really well. He was his typical self and all over the house and yard, and not wanting to share. His favorite spot was the dirt pile until an 18 year old nephew showed up, at which point Ben became his shadow. This nephew also entertained Ben at church and Ben ate it up.
One of our favorite parts of the trip were our walks on the beach. The coast was so pretty. It was fun to learn about the different lifeforms and hunt for crabs, shells etc.




We stopped in Boston on the way home and went to the New England Zoo. We thought that Ben would love it and with our reciprocal membership got in for 1/2 price. Benjamin was crabby and only wanted to climb on things or ride the train. He did like the silo slide and the carousel that he and Daddy rode. We tried to see several animals but he wouldn't have it. The fire engine he got to ride he quickly commandeered (see picture.) The Zoo did tire him out, he slept for several hours afterward. We ended up getting home around 8:30 last night tired, but happy.

More info to come...