cuddles, milk, and cartoons

Benson's not a morning person (just like his mother), check out the hair-do for evidence.

Every morning, Benson snuggles with me (and his monkey lovey) in the recliner for about an hour while he drinks his bottle (chocolate milk, he decided after tasting Bailey's milk that he doesn't like plain milk anymore) and we watch "Little Einsteins" and "Handy Manny," until he's ready to run free and wild. Bailey usually wakes up a little later, gets her strawberry milk and climbs up on my lap too. This is getting to be very uncomfortable for me, as I am having less of a lap every day. Yesterday I couldn't take it anymore, and let them cuddle each other, which they were perfectly content with. They were actually quite happy with it for awhile, and it was cuteness beyond words.

crooked cuteness

It is really hard to capture with a picture, just how funny Benson's new smile is. His teeth have come in on one side, but not the other. It is so cute and funny. It really fits his personality. Every day, the teeth come down more, and makes me smile even more.

allergic?

I think she's allergic to cats.

We went over to our neighbors, and they have a new kitten. The kitten is very cuddly and Bailey loved it. A little too much. She always gets sneezy/itchy/runny after playing with cats. And she has played with cats since she was a baby with no serious after effects. Apparently, though she has developed her Dad's severe allergic reaction to them now. After about 20 minutes at our neighbors, her eye was huge and swollen, and she was covered in hives, head to toe. Her eye had these weird white bumps all over too, like cellulite. The picture doesn't do justice. She got repeated doses of Benadryl and that helped clear it up. She is really sad that she can't play with cats any more.

I like....

....ELTON JOHN...

Remember in the 70's when Elton John wore the oversized purple sparkly glasses? Benson loves to wear Bailey's sunglasses, and all he can find lately are the "Elton John" style ones.

Look closely and you can see how his teeth are coming in all out of order. (crooked smile). This picture is about a week old, and his teeth are even further down now, and it's hilarious. Also hilarious, Benson likes...

....LEMONS....

He kept begging for the lemon wedges at dinner (we had Rhom?Schnitzel, and you squirt the lemons over the top). I finally gave him one, thinking it would be funny to watch the reaction. Joke's on us...he LOVED them. He sucked on/gummed thru the wedges of 1/2 of a large lemon. He couldn't get enough of it. (The video is really long to prove my point that it wasn't just a one time thing.) I guess I should have known. In Utah, he ate dill pickles dipped in HOT BBQ sauce at the Sowards (Brandon's family) reunion dinner. Also goes to show, that there aren't many foods that Benson won't eat.

Puppy Party

Bailey had her much anticipated "Puppy Party" on Saturday. It was her first 'real' (non-family) birthday party ever. Her friends, Emery, Ethan, Mallory, KyLei, Kolten, Ty, and Ellie all came. We made puppy ears, played 'pin the tail on the dog,' and all sorts of fun dog things like...

...hot dogs and Doritos for lunch, and Ice Cream and Bones (cookies and rice krispy treats in the shape of dog bones) for dessert...

..."Obedience School" (Simon Says, and they had to do dog tricks)

..."FETCH" with tennis balls...

..."Dog, Dog, Cat" (duck/duck-goose) and "Hot Dog" (hot potato)...

...and a "dog" pinata (actually it was a 'burro' but it was the closest thing to a dog we could find).

The Pinata was the thing Bailey was most excited for. We filled it with her favorites...Skittles and Starbursts!

...FOUR new Littlest Pet shops (all dog themed!), and Puppy in my Pocket- Puppy Palace (it's like Polly Pocket, but dogs). As you can see from her face, Bailey was thrilled about her presents! She also said her party was "the best day ever," which made it all worth it for me in the end. By the way, notice...no Benson in the pictures...BLESS GUH W.'S HEART! Benson had a hot date with Guh. She came and picked him up and babysat him (ON HER B-DAY!) during the party! It was a HUGE help! Thanks, Guh!

*Also- here's thanks to our mother's who threw us birthday parties! It is truly a labor of love, and a serious test of nerves!*

My Beautiful Baby Girl

August 4, 2003

Orem, Utah

August 4, 2008

Cypress, Texas

FACTS ABOUT FIVE:

Size: 44.5 inches, 43 lbs

Hair: Blonde, shoulder length

Eyes: Bright blue, with cute "sprinkles" (freckles) around them, and across her nose

Favorite Color: 1st- Red, 2nd Blue. Prefers NO PINK!

Favorite things: Dogs! Playing with friends and cousins, babies (real ones, not dolls), coloring, playing outside, swimming, computer games.

New Favorites: Webkinz and Littlest Pet Shop (both b-day presents)

Things She can do: Snap, Read simple books, sound out new words, spell everyone in the family's names, count to 100 by 1's and 10's, help her brother and younger cousins (whether they want it or not!).

Favorite Foods: "Chicken SaFan" (chicken divan), Chicken Florentine, "Sabetti" (spaghetti), chicken nuggets, strawberries and cream oatmeal, doughnuts, Nacho Cheese Doritos, rootbeer, Sprite, "reindeer poops" (skittles...long story).

I just can't believe how big my baby girl is getting. The time has gone so fast, but in someways, it seem like forever ago that she was born. I can't imagine life without her, and it's hard to remember life before her. I'm amazed at what a sweet, talented, and smart little girl she's growing up to be. We're so lucky to have her. Happy 5th Birthday, Bailey. We love you more than you'll ever know!

Breakfast with Guh W. at IHOP, followed by shopping for school (preschool) clothes.

A new Scooter

A new CD player

Benson LOVES corn on the cob! We had a gourmet dinner of Bailey's choosing...hot dogs, corn on the cob, Doritos, and root beer. I made a layered salad for the adults, too. Guh and Papa Wallace, and Uncle Jamie came over to dinner.

Bailey chose to have Rice Krispy Treats and Ice Cream for dessert (she doesn't like cake). Benson tried all day to reach the Krispy Cake off the table.

"I went to Utah and all I got was..." (Bailey version)

ANYTHING/EVERYTHING I WANTED!
Bailey got completely spoiled while in Utah.

GIANT DOUGHNUTS

Again, I can't even remember how many times she got to go get doughnuts while we were there!

QUALITY COUSIN TIME

Bailey had so much fun playing with Brody and Laura. Brody and Bailey were instant buddies, always playing in the sandbox, swing, pool, throwing rocks in the Provo River, and watching "Caillou." Bailey was also quite smitten with Laura and always wanted to hold her.


BOWLIN'
Bailey's most favorite thing about Utah is "bowlin'" at BYU. This time she got to go twice. Lucky Girl!

BIRTHDAY PARTY (EARLY)

Bailey got an early birthday party while we were in Utah. She was so excited and got the thing that she's wanted most for her birthday...a DOG WEBKINZ. She was so excited that Guh and Papa gave it to her. She has wanted one for a long time.

"I went to Utah and all I got was..."

A FAT FACE

Benson fell, face first on to the wood floor from the booster seat less than 24 hours after arriving in Utah...NOTE: Always make sure the booster is STRAPPED to the CHAIR before strapping the child to the booster! A quick trip to the ER showed everything was fine, and soft little baby faces don't brake, just bruise horribly (can't really tell from this picture).

PUSHED AROUND

Benson was fairly good about being dragged around to all the wedding festivities. As good as a rascally 17 month old can be.

"QUALITY" TIME WITH DAD

It may not have been 'quality' for dad, as Benson was pretty rascally the whole time. But Brandon and Benson got to spend a lot of time together!

A "NEW" COUSIN and A "NEW" TOY

Okay, so it's vintage Fisher-Price, but the cash register was 'new' to him, and he LOVED it! Don't be fooled by size, Benson's actually 8 months older than his 'new' cousin Laura (aka:LaLa).

LOTS OF DRINKS

Giving Benson sips of ice water was about the only time that Benson would let my mom snuggle him.

FOUR NEW TEETH!

Which came in handy for eating doughnut balls (but also made for some miserable nights). "Doughnut Balls" are what Bailey calls doughnut holes, and since Bailey talked Papa into getting doughnuts about 5 times, Benson learned quickly that the goods were in the white paper bag. He'd scream "DoughBALL!," and then quickly eat 3-5 (after already eating a 'real' breakfast). Now has 6 teeth total! (his new ones are two molars, and a front middle, and front side.)

A STRIKE!

The little ramp and bumpers helped a lot, but hey, you get the same amount of points! He loved bowling and would scream "A BALL" when he wanted to have a turn. When he knocked the pins down he shouted "I GOT BALL!!"