Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Bubbles and Batman Birthday BONAZA!

Well, someone in our house is finally officially 3 years old!  After what feels like weeks of celebrating, this last week was the actual party and birthDAY.  Mike and I kicked around several gift ideas, but in the end went with a Pinterest idea for a Cozy Coupe update.

Pretty sweet ride, I'd say!
We went to a local pizza place that we frequently order from and actually dined in.  They gave the boys dough to play with while waiting.  It was a big hit!

On Friday we had another "Pinterest Playdate."  This one was at Michelle's house and we did all things bubble.  The hot morning started in the house with opening a gift from the Worsts.
Evie got right into the pool with homemade bubble solution (corn syrup/water/dish soap).
We had a big pool with just water for cooling off in, which was good since it was 90 degrees before 10am!
We had another pool with water and dish soap: bubble muscles!
There were several bubble machines, bubble guns, and bubbles wands.  Ari and Fred got right to work landscaping the yard with the bubble mowers.
Hugo was a fan of the roller coaster.  I love the look he's giving me, "um, you are going to push me, right lady?"
We had a little celebration for Sam with cookie cake, it was a great day!
After our bubble fun, we ran home, repacked the car, got Daddy and headed to the lake.  On Friday night, Mike toiled away to get the big cake done.  This is Sam's first cake by Daddy (he waits until they  turn 3 so they can choose the theme).  Sam chose Batman!
On Saturday morning, Sam woke up to see the fruits of Mike's labors.  He was impressed!
We had some fun swimming, then got all ready for the party.  This kid and his facial expressions just crack me up!
Family time is the best time!
Grandma, professional baby holder!
We had the Mioni cousins as well as the Benhart cousins there to celebrate as Sam blew out his 3 candles!

 Sam was very lucky to receive some AWESOME gifts, people seem to know what he really likes!
 Captain America light up shoes? SCORE!
 He is always so appreciative and often announced, "Oh, a box?!  Thank you so much!" before even getting to the actual gift.  Adorable.
 Later in the evening there was this...
 Let's just say that these smiling faces were not as smiley the next day.  But fun was had by all involved.
 Nick was a great source of entertainment for Sam with his funny faces.
 Our little Daredevil, Noah, took his first tubing ride!
 And we got to see some swans up close, like REALLY close.  They are big birds!
 After the weekends' craziness, Monday came and Sam's actual birthday was a pretty calm event.  We decorated the house with some Justice League wall stickers and presented him with the Batmobile.  
 Pretty sure it was a win...
 He drove it around the house most of the morning yesterday, and played with his walkie talkie phones (a gift from Uncle Dave and Aunt Deb)
 Our local pool starts independent swim lessons (meaning, mom doesn't have to get wet) at 3 years of age.  So, guess when we started?  Yep, on Sam's birthday.  Noah has his own class, no one else signed up for his group time slot.  So he was practicing all kinds of things with his teacher Miss LeAnn.
 Sam is, of course, the tiniest guy in a class of 5 kids.  But he did really well following directions and having a fun time trying out some new skills.  It was nice to sit on the side with Isaac and just watch them.  They are both turning into quite the swimmers!
 Yesterday afternoon we took the batmobile for a spin outside.  Noah even played the part of Robin just to make his little brother happy!
 We capped off the day with a trip to Oberweis and some special bday ice cream!
 I cannot believe our middle man is officially 3 years old!  I'm so proud of him and can't wait to see what he does in the next year!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Too. Much. Fun.

This summer has proven itself to be PACKED full of fun.  For the boys, and for us!  Lucky Noah got to go to the Dells last week.  Pops and JoJo (my uncle and aunt) decided to take their grandson, CJ on a special trip.  CJ needed a buddy, since he doesn't have any male first cousins on the Benhart side, he opted for a 2nd cousin, NOAH!  The left on Tuesday and returned on Thursday.

The lucky boys even had their own Wolf Den with bunk beds and their own TV, how COOL?!
They did lots of fun things including going to the water park, taking a duck ride, hitting the arcade, and going to Paul Bunyan's for breakfast.
Ice cream, toys, balloon animals, face paint? Yes, please!  They came back tired but happy!
Don't worry about the middle man, he had his share of special fun too!  He celebrated his "birthday buddy" status with Nina, our fav server at Palmer Place.  And he had a special day and night with Bamma and Bampa!
 This dude just hung out at home with Mommy!  He's figured out more and more how those hands work, putting them to good use grabbing his pacifier.
 Sam's birthday extravaganza (that will last a good 2 weeks) continued as Uncle Josh gave him his own Angry Birds suitcase.  Noah has one, so now they match and can both pack for weekend trips.  Excitement!
 Noah has been earning his allowance by diligently feeding the dog.  He finally chose to spend some cash on a new superhero playdough set.  Good choice, considering he strongly thought about some "seen on TV" items such as Oxy Clean.
 We took a Saturday family trip to our local pool.  It was so fun to take turns swimming with our little fish/boys.  
 This guy did amazingly well just sitting with his feet in the water.  His hair gets so curly when wet!
 And... He turned 4 months old!  He wants desperately to crawl these days, swimming those legs while on his tummy is hilarious to watch!
 He loves being outside and watching his brothers play.  We think those eyes are looking hazel right now, but we'll see.  He's sleeping through the night no problem, and gives us lots of smiles and the occasional grunty chuckle.  
 We've also spent lots of time outside lately.  Trying to wear out the big guys in the early part of the day to prevent fighting or boredom has been the mantra.  Sammy strikes a "Spiderman" pose during a break from our little pool.
 We did some mentos in Coke experimentation...
 as expected, Diet always works best!
 And the bottles got reused for jet packs!



 There was a bike/car wash in the driveway this week.
 And a vet trip for Ellie who licked an elbow sore open (gross!).  Always something around here, never a dull moment.  
 Slip n Slide at the end of the slide?  Sure, why not?!
 Popsicles at 10am, sure, why not?!  Summer is flying by, but we're living it up here!