Happy 3rd birthday, Ben

I remember the day clearly. May 20th, 2006. Actually it was the evening of the 19th when I was feeling very ready for this little boy to enter the world. We went out for mexican food with hopes of speeding things up. At about midnight, right as I was getting into bed, my water broke and after doing a few things around the house, we headed to the hospital. Soon after, I received an epidural and took a short nap before pushing just 3 or 4 times to bring sweet Benjamin into the world. It was perfect and - dare I say it - easy.

As a baby, Ben was content, easily consolable and laid-back. He went to sleep when he was tired and ate when he was hungry. He was a delight. It's hard to believe that was 3 years ago! So much has happened since then, and our life has been more than hectic, but Ben has continued to be a true delight. He handled becoming a big brother at only 16 months with complete ease. And while I have worried in the past about him becoming that typical "middle child", I now know that his personality will never allow him to be overlooked.
There is so much that I love about this kid that it's hard to even put it into words. I do know that I love being with him, and I love who he is!
I love how he sincerely loves people - there's nothing complicated about it.
He is a great big brother, as he loves to take care of Graham and always makes sure he has what he needs.
I love his sense of humor. Even at his young age, he cracks us up! He has this dry sense of humor and a way of acting like he's not joking when he really is. One of his new favorite phrases is, "I'm just kidding!"
He is the sweetest and most generous little guy I know. He gave his first piece of cake tonight to his big brother. Seriously, who does that?!
While he is sweet, he is also aggressive. But he isn't aggressive in a mean way. He just isn't afraid to use his body to get what he wants.
He lives in his own little world much of the time. He can play by himself for hours and usually doesn't hear me until I repeat myself about 10 times.
His giggle is one of the sweetest sounds I know. I will do just about anything to hear it.
He is clumsy. So clumsy. The poor guy gets hurt about every hour but never makes a big fuss about it.
His clumsiness reminds me that he is so much like his dad. Ben is becoming more like his dad everyday. Maybe that's why I just love being around him!
His birthday was a special one. We spent the morning at Deanna Rose Farmstead with some good friends. We then picked up the beloved Chick-fil-a and headed home with our friends for lunch in the backyard. The kids played and had a great time. Levi and I made a birthday cake while Ben was taking his afternoon nap. He then played with some neighbors outside before Daddy arrived home and Grandma came over to celebrate.
Ben opened his presents and while he was a bit distracted by his first gift of some new cars, he loved all of the gifts. And trust me, he had lots of help opening them.
We ordered a pizza (Ben's favorite) and played outside before Ben blew out the candles on his cake. He keeps saying that he is 6 years old now. I think he's just joking, but he says it with such sincerity. The candles were blown out halfway through the song, and he was quite excited when that task was completed.
Graham definitely enjoyed the cake.
And then we had tons of fun playing "soccer" in the backyard. I use quotation marks because soccer was played with a beach bal and hands were often usedl. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening and with all the laughter and smiles, I couldn't get enough of it. Actually, I couldn't get enough of Ben!
Happy birthday, sweet Ben. You are an absolute joy - I love you so much and am blessed to be your mommy!

To Infinity and Beyond

I'm not quite sure what all has happened this past week, but I'm sure I haven't had even a minute to recap the boys' birthday party. Or maybe I haven't wanted to remember the chaos of last weekend. Whatever the reason, here is a brief (or maybe not-so-brief) summary of the "To Infinity and Beyond" party...

Levi decided he wanted a Toy Story party for his 5th birthday, which meant that Ben decided he too wanted a Toy Story party. After trying to convince Ben of another theme, Levi had the great idea to have their parties together. With birthdays only 3 weeks apart and many of the same friends, it was a great plan. So we invited all their friends and planned for the big day. The weather was supposed to be perfect (which is important when you have 20-something kids at your house) and we were more than ready with games including space ranger training (otherwise known as an obstacle course), a hunt for hundreds of little green army men all over the backyard and pin the body parts on Mr. Potato Head.

The first glitch in the plan occurred when Levi woke up with a sore throat on Saturday morning, the day of the party. After a visit to the doctor, strep throat was confirmed, and the party was postponed until Sunday afternoon. Levi was so sad, and it was absolutely painful to see his disappointment. With all the party stuff out and ready, it was a bit of a bummer.

Sunday came and so did the clouds. While Saturday was sunny and warm, Sunday was dreary and cool. We prayed for no rain and set up as planned. The backyard was ready...
And the cake was ready to be devoured...
The kids started to arrive, but unfortunately, so did the rain. At first it was just some sprinkles and the kids didn't seem to mind. They hunted for the green army men and were having a blast, but when the rain grew stronger we had to move the tables and the action inside. We thought maybe the rain would let up so Levi and Ben opened presents to buy some time. Wow, that was crazy!
We were able to head outdoors during some light sprinkles for Space Ranger training.
But we had to move the Mr. Potato Head game inside. The kids were each blindfolded and given a body party to put on Mr. Potato Head. It's funny how much the kids enjoyed this. They really are easy to please at this age.
Here's the finished product. Good try, kids, but I think you might need some practice.
It was still raining so we went ahead and blew out the candles inside.
Despite strep throat and the rain, the boys had a great time. Here they are with cousin Emme after the party was over. Their smiles tell it all.