Edging on TWO YEARS OLD!!!

Since my last post, the weather has turned a little chillier and school is in session... It's officially Fall in my book, and I'm really excited about it! This is my favorite time of the year! It also means that Benjamin boy will soon celebrate his 2nd birthday! WOW!!! Where did the time go? He's been the most fun little man in our house, and he's really acting like such a big boy. I suppose it's time for the birthday to come so we can officially call him a 2-year old. We've had a great month around here. August ended pretty uneventfully, but we enjoyed the last of the warm weather outside at the playgrounds in our apartment complex. We've gotten to be friends with some neighbors and their kids, so that's been nice!

September brought some exciting news: Benjamin was accepted to attend Early Head Start school, a classroom-based pre-preschool for ages 18 months - 3 years. He goes every Wednesday and Thursday from 8 - 11:30 AM. He's one of three kids (Cohen and Jazlyn are his classmates), and his teachers are Miss Katie and Miss Darlene. So far, he LOVES it! I've had to stay with him the whole time every day, but he's getting more and more comfortable with the classroom, the schedule, and his teachers and friends. I'm hoping that soon enough I can drop him off for that period of time and have 3.5 hours ALL TO MYSELF!!! I could get seriously caught up on some chores with that kind of free time! :) Anyway, they really are great with the kids. Here's the daily schedule:

 8 AM - Welcome to school! Free play with the many, many toys and games in the classroom. Benjamin especially loves the slide, building blocks, and toy cars.

 8:15 AM - Time for breakfast! The kids line up to wash their own hands (with assistance), dry them, and sit down at a little table that's been set with real plates, cups, napkins, and silverware. Miss Darlene brings in a cart of breakfast food, with everything on its own serving plate. The kids practice serving themselves and passing the dishes, using tongs to pick up foods like English muffins or waffles and miniature serving spoons to scoop fruit and vegetables. Each child also has his own tiny pitcher filled with milk. They pour their own milk into little cups to drink from. (That's Benjamin's favorite part - he loves using a big boy cup!) They are taught to eat nicely and quietly while staying in their chair until everyone is done. :) We're still working on that!!! After breakfast, the kids take their plates and cups to a clean-up station where they scrape their own plates clean, throw away garbage, dump any extra milk, and put their dishes away in the correct bins. Then they wipe their own table clean and get ready to brush their teeth! Tiny cups of water and pea-sized squirts of toothpaste are ready to go while the kids grab their own toothbrush. Then they practice brushing their teeth and tongue, sip, spit, and wipe their mouths clean. Then... it's time to play!

 8:45 - 11:00 AM - After a scheduled diaper check/change, the rest of their morning is full of activities, games, and toys. They spend time outside (weather permitting), and play soccer, hula hoop, and use the the playground equipment. Inside, there's always a fun art project, lots of books, and organized play. The teachers do a great job with the kids; the small class size is really ideal for this age! Benjamin is fitting right in! They really work hard to make assessments of each individual and cater a program specifically for that child. They focus on skills like social-emotional, fine motor, sensory, etc... Benjamin's still really new so they're still learning about him, but I'm quite sure they're realizing what a little smarty pants he is! :)

 11:00 AM - The kids wash hands again and sit down for lunch! The routine is the same, and when they're done dumping plates they have free play for the remaining time until the parents come to pick the kids up! What a day! So far, school has been a hit. It's a year-round program, and once he turns 3 he'll be eligible to graduate right on up to the regular Head Start program. Since he's never been to daycare, I feel like this type of program is a great way for him to catch up on his social skills and get comfortable with the idea of being around other kids and adults for short periods of time. We feel very lucky to have this in our community!

 Besides school, Benjamin is flourishing at home. He's super active and incredible talkative! He sings all the time now, and knows tons of songs! He loves nursery rhymes the best, including Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, Pussy Cat, Baa Baa Black Sheep, 3 Blind Mice, and Ring Around the Rosie. I've also realized he knows almost every word to all the lullabies I sing to him nightly... he's started singing along, and I CAN'T STAND IT, it's SO CUTE!!! It takes everything out of me not to bust up giggling with delight at how cute, sweet, and sort of scraggly his little voice sounds. Benjamin can count to 20 and he also knows all the letters of the alphabet. He loves to draw, sing, dance, play with trucks and cars, watch Mickey Mouse, and visit the playground. He's just beginning to communicate with me about his bowels... he's even gone poopy in the potty a few times!

We had our first experience with surgery yesterday, when Benjamin had a plugged tear duct opened. It was a very simple procedure, but they had to put him under anesthesia, which made me a nervous wreck! Everything went very smoothly and quickly, and soon enough we made it home and he was back to his normal self after a long nap. We're very grateful for everyone who kept Benjamin in their prayers!

 Well, Joel has moved on from his Peds rotation to OB. He's enjoying that so far, and he starts Labor and Delivery tomorrow for the next 2 weeks. It boggles my mind that he's over there delivering babies every day! Can he really do that?!?!? :) I've been enjoying my time decorating for Halloween, playing with Benjamin, spending time with friends and family, and driving my new VAN! YAY! After a huge ordeal with Joel's car accident, we ended up getting to keep the insurance check and handing it right over to my parents, who sold us their van for a great price. It's SO nice to have something roomier! Benjamin loves being able to look out the window, too! We're the whole package now, with the mom van. Now all we need is another kid!!! Hah. Well, until next month... (Which should be exciting! BENJAMIN'S BIRTHDAY!!!!) Bye!

Twenty-Two Months!

Hello! Oh man, this month flew by and I'm WAY late on my monthly post! So, what's been going on the past month? A whole lot of fun, that's what! :)

Benjamin turned 22 months old. Seriously, the kid just needs to turn 2 already. I've been thinking he's two years old forever now, but we've still got a couple months to go. He just acts like such a big boy! He walks around the place, jumping up and down, leaping off of heights, talking my ear off, recognizing all his letters, numbers and shapes (did I mention we can add diamond, rectangle, oval, pentagon, and octagon to the list? He's amazing.) He's been doing some silly things this month. He knows that my name is Lindsay and daddy's name is Joel. And he LOVES to call us by our names. Throughout the day, I will routinely hear "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!........ Lindsay! Lindsay!" And then I have to remind him that he is supposed to call me Mommy, thank you very much. He's also started singing a lot more this month! He loves to put his open mouth to my open mouth and sing a pitch, which I will match. He thinks that's hilarious. Then he changes the pitch and I change with him. There's also some sliding that happens, too. So cute. I've also realized that Benjamin knows every last word to one of the lullabies I sing to him every night, Golden Slumbers. So he sings along in his funny little voice and I try hard not to giggle with delight as we make our way through the song. He also loves and sings all of Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and The Wise Man and the Foolish Man.

Benjamin's really been perfecting his jumping this past month. He's gotten pretty good and can land on his feet pretty well most of the time. He especially loves to get up on something high and leap off into my arms (scary!!!) Sometimes he doesn't wait until I'm ready........ He's also gotten really good at saying his prayers. I usually always let him pray at meal times. He's got most of it down, and it's not unusual for him to walk around the house anytime of the day saying, "name of Jesus Christ, Amen." He still has a love for anything trucks, cars, trains, and planes. The boy is a boy. Our apartment complex also just opened one of two playgrounds, so we walk over there everyday with trucks in hand to dig in the sand and climb on the equipment. Benjamin also enjoys watching a little tv every morning with a big cup of chocolate milk. Mickey Mouse is still the option of choice, but he also loves Word World, Super Why, and Sid the Science Kid on PBS. I took him to the doctor this month to check on a plugged tear duct (which is getting opened at the end of this month), and we found out he weighs a whopping 21 pounds! Woot! He's just barely on the scale with that number, so we're pretty proud now! :) Ha.

We had a really fun month! Some special visitors came to spend some good quality South Dakota time! Joel's Aunt Bev brought her daughter-in-law Amy and granddaughter Daphne for their first trip to the midwest! We stayed in Mitchell for a week with them and had the most South Dakota-ey time of our lives! We spent Joel's birthday (he turned 27 on the 6th!) in Sioux Falls having fun at the Pavilion and eating a delish dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. (Joel also learned he's getting a new iPhone 5 from his parents for his bday!!! He's so pumped, to say the least!) We introduced Amy to Culver's frozen custard, which I hope was as life changing for her as she made it out to be. The next day we hung around Mitchell and let the kids play at the amusement park in the Tjarks' basement. They could've jumped in the bounce house all day! We also took everyone to see the World's Only Corn Palace!!! I have exactly one lousy picture from that entire week, and it's the one you see below: both kids enjoying corn suckers. Let it be known that after they finished eating these suckers, Daphne was still nice and clean and Benjamin....he was a sticky, yellow, dirty mess from head to toe. WHY!?

The third day we spent the morning at the farm in Ethan, where Brian had all these great stations set up for Amy and me. We strapped on our gear and shot semi-automatic rifles, shot clay pigeons with shot guns, and very expertly nailed the targets with our bow and arrows, Katniss-style. Amy really excelled with the semi-automatic. Basically she should look into a career as a sniper. I, however, rocked the shot gun. I didn't miss a single clay pigeon, with the exception of the very first one. (Doesn't count.) Basically you'll be seeing me in Rio during the 2016 Olympics. :) We had a BLAST. The kids sat on the tractor, ran through the garden, and drove the 4-wheeler. But best of all... Bev wore crisp white pants (to the farm) and didn't get a single speck of dirt on them. How?????????? That afternoon we drove to Huron to go shopping. Needless to say, that was not the highlight of my day.

The next day was FARM DAY! After little Daphne woke up in the night screaming bloody murder, (she had a nightmare about a fly), we packed up the kids and drove to a family farm where there are lots and lots of flies!!! While our little city girl experienced her worst nightmare come true, our Benjamin boy had the time of his life! He loved the goats, ducks, pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs, kittens, and most importantly, driving the BIG tractor! He is such a farmer at heart. Later on that day we also went to a family friend's farm to help feed the baby cows. Benjamin loved it so much he stuck his whole hand in one baby's mouth to feel it suck. Daphne turned her nose and gagged. :) And the last moments of the day were spent on Glen's Tractor, which is still a topic of conversation at our house.

The last day we drove our city slickers to the airport and watched them fly home, hoping their South Dakota expectations were met. I know mine were! I've never felt like such a South Dakota country girl in my life! Benjamin LOVED Daphne so much. He pretty much made out with her as we said our goodbyes in the airport. (Speaking of kissing, Benjamin gives the most amazing, sweet kisses in the world these days. No more open-mouth kisses, (sadly!) He gives us these great MUAH kisses all over our faces. They melt my heart and soul.

Anyway, the rest of the month as been pretty low key. Some traveling to and from Mitchell... meeting some new friends... churching it up... running errands. Also, Joel got into a car accident, but that just recently happened so technically that's something I'll have to write about NEXT month after the situation is resolved. AND... we may or may not have news about Benjamin starting school next month! They have a great Early Head Start program here. We just applied today and our chances of getting in sounded promising... I'll write about it next month. Don't judge me for considering sending my 1-year old to school. :)

Until next month... Sayonara, friends.
P.S. Sorry I don't have any great photos of this awesome month. I'll try to round them up from other people and update at a later time.

love this one.... twinners.

Twenty-One Months - and Welcome To Our New Home!!!

Well, we've made the move and are now finally settled in our own home again at 818 E. Brian Street! It's safe to say that everyone in our family is thrilled to be here! It's been a pretty jam-packed month, with the packing, moving, and lots of visitors!!! Before we left Mitchell, Kate and the kids flew in and spent three weeks in town. We had a total blast with them, and it was wonderful for the cousins to get to know each other a little better and play together! I loved watching those little people! I'm racking my brain trying to decide what eventful things happened during that time, but I think we honestly just spent our days chasing those kids around and trying to keep the house in some sense of order. We did celebrate little Zach's 2nd birthday at the pool, dressed in our pirate gear and all! I also celebrated my 26th birthday at the end of June. Joel took me out to dinner and then we went to see the movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. We're so fancy. We also threw a party for Joel's Grandma Tjarks' 80th birthday! The whole Tjarks clan was in town for the annual fly-in, so it was extra special! The 4th of July was spent in Mitchell at the Aslesen's, where we had great food and shot off fireworks. I was shocked that Benjamin enjoyed them! He was completely mesmerized by the lights and sounds. Last week, Kate's husband Brian came to Mitchell as well as my sister Amy, so we had all sorts of family around. We tried our best to document our adventures with plenty of pictures, so I'm happy to finally have some to share on the blog.

We moved into our new place on June 30th, and have been unpacking and settling ever since! We've been doing a lot of traveling to and from Mitchell since then, so we've been joking that we've been there about the same amount of time as we've been in Tea! Life has settled now for awhile though, so I can do a little more exploring around town and get to know some people! I'm so happy we decided to move here instead of Sioux Falls. Tea truly has a small-town atmosphere, and I'm especially grateful for that sense of security. We live right off the interstate, so it takes just a couple minutes to get into the "city", which is very handy. Even Joel can get to the hospital in no more than 15 minutes. The real kicker, though, was the other night when we were watching the local news. They were showing a story about a casino robbery in Sioux Falls. As we watched, that casino started to look more and more familiar... We saw the financial advisor and Mexican grocery store next door and finally realized that we looked at an apartment above that very casino when we were hunting for a place to live!!! Ahhh!!! We probably would've been witnesses. Or murdered. Oh geez! Anyway, we had a good laugh about that and were never so glad to live in sleepy Tea, SD.

Well, Joel took about a five second break and then jumped right into his rotations at the beginning of this month. He's starting off in pediatrics, and so far totally loves it. It keeps him very busy, though, and he's unable to come home for lunch, so we sure miss him during the day! It sounds like he sees a ton of kids coming in for well-child checkups, so nothing too interesting quite yet. I don't know if many of you remember the story I wrote about his first clinical experience during his first year, when he went to "shadow" a doctor and got thrown in the lion's den? Well, he's baaaack! Joel was randomly assigned to this same physician once a week for something they call PCAP.  We had to chuckle about that. At least this time around Joel know how to use an otoscope. :)

Our little Benjamin boy sure is having the time of his life these days. He had SO MUCH FUN this summer with his Grandma, Grandpa, Amy, Becky, Brandon, Nana, Papa, Katie, Brian, Maddie and Zach! In fact, since we've made the move all he's done is talk about those people that he loves and misses. He's also found time to play with his trucks and cars, color in his coloring book, sleep in his BIG BOY BED!!!, draw on the driveway with chalk, jump, dance, and sing songs! He's such a little man. I think spending all that time with his cousins really encouraged his vocabulary, because he's been talking and singing up a storm. He loves to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wiseman and the Foolish Man, Twinkle Twinkle, and the ABCs. It's so cute! He knows everything - all his colors, numbers, shapes, and knows how to say practically every word imaginable. I don't even know how he knows some of the words he says. Recently he's also been speaking in 2-word sentences. One of my favorite things he does when he wants something is say "Ben....something." He calls himself Ben. It's so cute. He's still a skinny little squirt. But he's got tons of personality and a great smile that makes you melt! Well, hopefully by next month we'll be all settled in our place and living the life! Here are some pictures that I've been meaning to post!!!

Our new home! 

 Enjoying a summer popsicle

 Cousins!

 The boys out at the farm!

 Riding in the 4-wheeler

 Serious conversations

 Happy 80th birthday, Grandma Tjarks!

Feeding the goats at the zoo 

 With Mom at the zoo

 With Dad at the zoo

With Zachy!

 With Maddie!

Just a man driving his Dora-mobile 

 With Grandpa!

 Playing a game with Amy and Grandpa!

Vampire Benjamin? Nope. Just popsicle juice!

Benjamin showing off his big-boy bed that Daddy built just for him!!! Oh, and Mommy painted it red to match is trucks and trains blanket!

Twenty Months Old

Since yesterday was my birthday, and since Benjamin has been twenty months old for ten days now, Joel told me that he would go ahead and write this month's blog post as a little gift to me! (This blogging stuff is SUCH hard work, you know!!!) :) Anyway... Take it away, Joel! And don't leave anything out!!! :)

Well..... This month has been exhausting! Here is an outline of how I spent the last month: Wake up at 7, start studying around 7:45 or 8. and then finish around 10 o'clock at night and go to bed. I rarely saw Lindsay or Benjamin, but hopefully the amount of time that I dedicated to studying paid off. Lindsay and I went up to Sioux Falls the night before the test and went out to dinner and celebrated our fifth(!) anniversary. It was nice to be able to relax the night before the biggest test of my life. The test was.... long. I feel like the time just flew by and dragged on all at the same time, but now it is over and I have to wait 4-6 weeks before I get my scores back. I am so lucky and blessed to have the most amazing and understanding wife in the world who was willing to support me and listen to me whine about having to study for 14 hours a day.

So enough about my boring old life, let's get to the fun part of the family! Benjamin and Lindsay are doing really well. Benjamin is growing up so fast! He is so smart! He knows all of his colors and shapes and he is such a good little talker! He has started to say, "YAY!!!" when he agrees with something. So if we say, "Benjamin, do you want to go see Grandpa and Rara (That's what he calls Lindsay's mom... so cute)?" He says, "YAY!!!!" and throws his arms in the air. It is so sweet. Linds has taken him to the pool and he loves doing that. He is just a little fish and he loves to swim and dip his face in the water.  He also LOVES to go out to the farm with his Papa. He likes to go out on the four wheeler and "drive." He helped my dad install the sprinkler system on his flying field and came inside completely soaked... he absolutely loved it! Lindsay has been keeping busy as well. She has given a few voice lessons while we have been here and has been wrangling Benjamin and keeping him happy. Last week I built Benjamin a new toddler bed. We are excited to move in to our new apartment on the first of the month and hopefully we won't have to get out the crib at all and he can just move right into his new bed.


The Tjarks family is doing well. I start school on the 2nd of July and I'm really excited to start this next chapter in our lives.


I also have to give Lindsay credit for being so diligent in keeping our blog updated. It's hard work to try and remember everything that has happened in a month! I'll leave it up to her to keep things updated from now on :).

19 Months

Before it gets any later, I've got to try and write down all of our adventures from the past month! We've been so busy with everything from traveling to Joel's preceptorship to packing and moving and living out of suitcases for the next month! Eeeek! I knew my first problem with writing this post is that I have no pictures!!! The camera died, of course, and the battery and any other cords I would need are packed away in who knows which box, in the middle of a giant trailer out in the middle of nowhere. That pretty much sums up our life right now. :)

Well, it's been a fun month! Joel has finished his preceptorship in Parkston and has come away thinking rural medicine is just perfect. He had a fantastic experience, but I have to say I'm awfully glad he's living in the same zip code as Benjamin and me again! There's no rest for the weary, though. The minute he came back, he threw himself into studying for his first set of boards coming up in June. These are a pretty big deal, so his life is consumed with his incredibly extensive study schedule! I'm happy to say the stress level in the house will be a whole lot better come June 17th. :) Please wish him the best of luck!!!

I did a pretty good job keeping myself busy the last month, with all the packing that had to be done. After a long and very discouraging search for an apartment in Sioux Falls for this summer, we had a total miracle happen and found the most perfect place for our family in Tea. It's being built right now, so our move-in date is July 1st. We're so excited, we'll probably be there at the crack of dawn! My feelings on this whole moving business have been pretty conflicted. On one hand, it's so exciting and a huge relief to check off two years of this medical school journey. It's such a long haul that it feels really nice to finally progress on to the next part. However, we absolutely LOVED living in Vermillion. I miss it so much - our home, our friends, our life there... My heart is still a little sore from leaving it behind. I don't think I've ever felt that way about leaving anywhere. Certainly not our last move from Provo, UT!!! :) But I'm excited to see what Sioux Falls has in store for us! In the meantime, we're waiting very patiently in Mitchell. It is nice to have family around to hang out with... Benjamin especially enjoys it! He's getting a love overload here! I think we'll find lots of fun things to do around here for the next month! The downside to living in transition is that nothing is where we need it. I can't count how many times I've wanted something and thought, oh man....... RRGG it's packed in the trailer. How annoying. :)

Anyway, besides moving day, Benjamin has been having a good old time. He's so nice and sweet, and it's fun to see him build relationships with his grandparents while we're here. He's talking like crazy now, which is so fun. He has such a bright and fun personality! He does this silly little scowl face to most all strangers he sees, but he warms up after a little while! He is totally a Mama's boy, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll keep him as long as I possibly can. He still loves anything to do with trucks, cars, or trains. That pretty much consumes his day. :) He has found some new friends in Ruby and Bailey, the dogs. It's taken a couple weeks for him to get brave around them, but now all I hear is "Mama! Dog!" and he's yanking my arm toward the garage to catch a glimpse of those two. Within the last couple days he doesn't waste any time climbing down the stairs to go pet their ears, give them kisses, and snuggle into their bellies. He loves to feed them their food, throwing it into their dishes one pellet at a time. :) The only downside to this sweet new friendship is all the dog hair that comes with it!!!

Benjamin has been doing a really great job learning all sorts of things this month. I think he's known a lot of these for a little while now, but we can officially say he knows and can recognize all the colors (blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and purple), some simple shapes (triangle, square, circle, heart, and star), and he can count from 1 - 10 completely on his own. Well, he often skips 8, but we're not too hard on him!!! He also can recognize the numbers 1, 2 and 3 when written down. He's doing so great and growing up so quickly. I can't believe it.

He does so many things that make me laugh. The other day he sat on the floor in front of Susan and I with his head looking down. Then slowly, he would bring it up with this big scowl on his face. By the time he lifted his head all the way up, he would crack and break into a grin and a big jolly chuckle! Then he'd promptly snap his head back down and repeat the process! What a little actor. He gets a kick out of himself. Since it's gardening season, he's been having a great time helping Grandpa water the plants. He even gets to hold the hose and splash a little water! He also goes out to the farm with Papa and LOVES to sit on the tractor. While it might seem kind of demanding, I sort of love this new sense of urgency he's developed. If there's something really important to see or do, he makes it known with seven or eight very urgent "Mama! Mama! Mamas!!!" His eyes get so big and wide, and he's so excited about life. I love that he's quick to smile and laugh. His face showcases every emotion he feels. Benjamin is a complete joy to be around. I hope I'm not the only one that thinks it! :)

Well, a month from now we'll still be in the same living situation but Joel's big test will be over with, so I can't wait to share that good news! :) Until next time...

18 Month Stats

I took Benjamin to the doctor for his 18 month well-child, and just wanted to document his stats before I forget! Here we go:

Height: 32 inches (37.86%)
Weight: 19 lbs 6 oz (0.28%)
Head Circ: 18.5 inches (26.44%)

He's pretty little! We love him, anyway!!!

Two parents and a 1-1/2 year old!

Well, we've had quite the month around this joint! Between finals, travels, and Easter, the past four weeks have flown by! We ended March on a good note - Joel finished up his classes in Vermillion. He worked so hard and so long, but now he's officially done with the "coursework" aspect of his education! After 18 years, he deserves it!!! He had a couple days off to rest and relax with Benjamin and me at home, then he packed up and moved off to Parkston, SD. He's spending six weeks there for a rural preceptorship. We miss him, but he's having the time of his life! Joel has had some incredible experiences so far. It's been a very hands-on learning experience. He's had patient exposure, scrubbed in to surgeries, and assisted with tons of procedures. He loves the small-town feel and friendliness of everyone who works at the hospital. I am amazed at the variety of things they see on a daily basis, and what Joel's capable of doing. I've only seen him with his head stuck in a book for the past two years... how does he know how to perform surgeries already?!? We're so proud of him.

Anyway, Benjamin and I have been doing our best to keep busy while Joel is off. We spent the first week here in Vermillion doing our normal things. The second week we left town for Mitchell and spent some time going back and forth between the grandparents' houses. We stayed for Easter, which was so fun! Benjamin had a great time. He opened up a few Easter baskets filled with toys and goodies, colored Easter eggs, and went on egg hunts! I was so delighted that he knew how to hunt for and collect those eggs! Each one found was as exciting as the last! He's such a little joy. We also ate tons of delicious food and saw friends and family we rarely get to visit! We love our family, extended and adopted (party group!!!) On Easter Monday Joel's mom and I took Benjamin and flew to Irvine, CA to visit her sister, Beverly. We spent the week and had an amazing time visiting her! We worked hard helping her organize her closets but also had lots of fun. My favorite part of the trip was going to see the Pacific Symphony where we listened to the amazing Chris Botti, a contemporary Jazz trumpeter, violinist Caroline Campbell, and vocalist Lisa Fischer. It's hard to describe the amazing performances, but I laughed, cried, and my sister-in-law and I had the best seats in the house. It was a fantastic night. Anyway, now Benjamin and I are back home and glad to be here for a little while. I'm really excited to sleep in my own bed tonight! :)

On to Benjamin... He's had quite the month! He's officially 18 months old! He's such a big boy, and acting/talking like it! He's communicating better and better, adding more words and short phrases like "down", "go outside", "no-no", "stuck", "slide", "weeeee!", "bubble", counting 1 through 4, and asking for things when he wants them. He still babbles a ton - they sound like these long, involved sentences of bla bla bla but he always ends them with at least one real word, like "dog." It's hilarious to watch him communicate. I also love when he comes up to me, takes my hand, and leads me to places or to look at things. He knows everybody's name - including Maddie and Zach, his cousins. (He got some practice last week.) He folds his arms for prayer - it's so sweet! He's so fun to watch! He loves life and is so amazed by the simplest things. His little face is so full of expression! A family friend describes him as having a rubber face, which I think is perfect. It's been interesting to watch how he's been these past couple weeks away from home, where he pretty much gets whatever he wants from the grandparents! :) There were moments when I saw a little glimpse of playful defiance and rowdy behavior! Granted, he spent a lot of time being sleep deprived, so it's hard to blame the poor boy! Overall, he's so sweet and I'm very proud of what a nice little boy he is.

Well, I feel like I'm pretty caught up! I hope this next month is as fun as the last!