Baby Jesus Birthday Party, Our little angel, and a visit with Santa

We have had a very busy week here at the Cook house hold. We have had four parties (all potlucks), a small Christmas pageant, gift exchanges, and a trip to the mall to visit Santa. We are relieved that all of our running around is finished, and that we can finally stay at home and prepare for Christmas.

Ben attended two Baby Jesus Birthday parties at preschool. The students all bring in presents for Baby Jesus which are then donated to Birth Line, a local shelter for moms in need. They even have a cake and sing to Baby Jesus. I only attended one party, because it is a lot of work to take Sophie into the preschool classroom. Nick and I always sing "Markers, and Scissors and Glue, Oh my!" when we take her into Ben's class. She is like a kid in a candy store, and I can barely keep up with her. Anyway, the kids had a great party, and Sophie and I had fun too!

On Wednesday evening, Benny's CCD class was part of the CCD Christmas pageant. Some kids from the fourth grade class read from the gospel of Luke, and the preschool class arrived as angels. They were the cutest little angels you ever did see. Benny was so excited for "his play". He was worried that we wouldn't be able to remember his lines (he didn't have any....).

Finally, yesterday we braved the crowds at the mall and went to visit Santa. We were pretty sure that Sophie wouldn't sit on Santa's lap (she wouldn't), but Benny really wanted to go. Benny was 3 before he would sit on Santa's lap. We waited in line, and when it was our turn Benny marched right up to Santa and sat next to him. He told Santa that he had been a good boy and that he would like some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (this was news to Santa....), and that his sister would like some things to go with her baby doll. And then it was done. Luckily they let us take our own photos. I can't believe a picture with Santa cost anywhere from $13 - $24!!! Seems like highway robbery in these times, and where is the Christmas spirit? We had a nice lunch at the mall, and then left the crowds in favor for a cozy afternoon at home. Can't wait for Christmas!

Grinch Dust and Reindeer Food

Earlier in the week and for the second year in a row, Benny and I made a batch each of Magic Grinch Dust and Reindeer Food. We packaged up our creations for all the students in his preschool class. The recipes are simple to make, and Benny has so much fun helping. It is even more fun to scatter the Dust and Reindeer Food in our yard on Christmas Eve.

Reindeer Food is simply oatmeal and red sugar. Grinch Dust is crumbled graham crackers and green sugar. It takes a lot of sugar for it really to show amongst all of the crumbs. Sophie helped too, but she was more interested in eating the graham crackers.....



Our finished products:

Each recipe has a little poem that goes along with it, so we attached them to the bag. They go as follows:

Magic Grinch Dust

Don't let the Grinch steal your Christmas, you must be on your guard. Before retiring on Christmas Eve, sprinkle this dust out on your yard. The Grinch will see your magic dust, and know you've taken great care, to protect you home and family, and keep Christmas in the air.

Reindeer Food

'Tis the night before Christmas, And since every year, You feed Santa Claus, Now feed his Reindeer.

1. Wait until Christmas Eve.

2. Open bag and sprinkle on the lawn.

3. Hop into bed.

4. Shhh! Listen for Santa.

5. Close your eyes and watch the sugar plums dance.

Contents: Enough reindeer food for eight reindeer and Rudolf.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Earlier in the week we had a few very cold and stormy days. We did get a little dusting of snow, but not much that actually held on for too long. Wednesday night, Benny was at 'Church School' as he calls it (really CCD), and I decided that it would be the perfect night for a bath. Sophie loves to take baths too, so I decided that we could bathe together. In our master bath we have a large tub that hardly gets used, so we opted for a big bubble bath. This was a first for Sophie. I filled up the tub, and we hopped in. Now, I seriously underestimated the amount of water I would displace at 6 months pregnant. When I sat Sophie down, the water came up to her chin! Fear not, our little water bug had a great time. She loved the bubbles, and kept trying to float on her back in the deep water. I think we may have a new Wednesday night tradition-at least in this cold, cold weather.

How to Cook a Turkey

Every year at preschool, the teacher sits down with each student individually and asks them how to prepare the Thanksgiving turkey. This years version is just as funny as the years past. Maybe Benny needs some cooking lessons........

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

How to Cook a Turkey
by Benjamin Cook

You get a gun and go outside and shoot them, then eat them. You cook it in the oven. It's served in a bowl with tomatoes, salad, lemons, and that's all. Cook it for 6 hours at 42 degrees. It's done when the microwave beeps. Then you take off the feathers, then you eat it. Then when you are done eating you take out the bones and throw them away!

It's Another.......

Today, we finally had the ultrasound! It seems like we have been waiting forever!

The baby looks great and we are going to have another......

Clue #1: Benny will not have to share his bedroom!

Clue #2: One gender will outnumber the other!

Clue #3: Benny wants to move to California, or maybe Michigan with Daddy and Smokey!

That's right, it's another girl!

We couldn't be happier! We would have been happy with either a boy or a girl, but at this stage in the game, a girl will be easier for bedroom sharing. Plus, all of our baby girl gear is much newer than the baby boy stuff! Benny had been hoping for a little brother, instead of another troublesome little sister, but already he is happy about sweet baby #3. I'd have to say that Nick and I are happy too!

Halloween Fun

Our Halloween Festivities began on Thursday with Benny's first of two school Halloween parties. Since he goes all 5 days to school, he is technically in two different classes, so they have parties for both groups. Thursday's group was boy dominated, as they only have one girl in their class. Sophie and I stayed to help with the party and we brought cupcakes and sugar cookies. It was fun to watch Benny play with his school friends. He is a natural leader and seems to direct a lot of their free play. We were able to help out with a Halloween craft and Sophie tried to color one too. She really was more interested in taking her crayons out her cup and then putting them back in again. Eventually, we had to head for home to take a nap. When Sophie gets tired, she becomes destructive, and I was having a hard time keeping up with her dumping things out in the classroom. We came back for the last few minutes of the fun, and joined in a little on Friday's party too!

Benny really, really wanted to be a Clone Trooper from Star Wars for Halloween. I was hoping he would change his mind to a costume that was a little more original, or for one that we could make at home, but he wouldn't give up on the idea. After weeks of discussion, I finally caved and bought the costume. He was thrilled, and couldn't wait to put in on for school. Originally, I wanted to dress the kids as some sort of theme. I wanted Sophie to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (we do live in Kansas you know), and Benny to be either the Tin Man, Scarecrow or Cowardly Lion. He didn't agree, and wondered why Sophie couldn't order the baby Yoda costume he had seen in a catalogue. I didn't want my sweet baby dressed as Yoda (although it could have been cute), so we decided that our theme idea wouldn't work.

So, I set out to make Sophie a Dorothy costume. Yes, I said make! I have only sewed burp cloths and goody bags for the single soldiers, so my experience is very limited. I have never attempted clothing of any sort. I went and picked out the fabric, and the most simple pattern I could find. I procrastinated for weeks, talked it over lots with my mom, and eventually bit the bullet and put it together. I had a few slip ups, but it really did turn out cute. I have plans to make her a polka dot dress out of the same pattern soon. It was really hard to get her to sit still for a picture, and as usual, the overpowering sun washed out most of the pictures. She would only leave the bow in just long enough for us to take a photo. She has a cute little dog that went as Toto, and she carried one of those famous Poland baskets! Oh, and of course she had ruby red slippers (which she loved!)!

Thursday evening we headed to downtown, where the kids could participate in a Halloween Parade and then Trick or Treat at the local businesses. It was so much fun to see everyone dressed up. There were hundreds of children and parents, and even dogs in costume. Sophie loved to see the dogs and would wave frantically from her stroller at them.

Nick was able to meet us there on his way home from work. I was grateful to have the extra set of hands to help. Eventually, the crowds were just too much for us, and we headed home to carve pumpkins.

On Friday night we were eager for the Trick or Treating to begin. Ben's friend Taylor and her mom, Jennifer, joined us. We all went Trick or Treating to a few houses on our street, and then Nick headed back with Sophie to hand out candy at our house.

He's all ready to go!

We tried and tried to get a picture of all three kids, but we couldn't get the older two to calm down and Sophie just didn't want to cooperate. She wanted to put all of our candy into her basket. She had recently discovered the stash by the front door and was very intrigued by it. After some tears by Sophie, we were able to get away from the basket and make our way down the street.

She's off to see the Wizard!

This Halloween was really fun, because Benny finally fully understood the process. He said Trick or Treat and thank you at every house, and didn't fuss when people put candy he didn't want into his basket. Sophie mostly observed, but did walk up to a few neighbors houses. Her fun came later when she handed out candy with Daddy at home. She delighted in all the kids in their costumes and loved putting candy into their baskets. She threw another fit when Nick tried to take them inside. She wanted to sit on the porch and watch and wait for the trick or treaters. She was also very intrigued with the jack-o-lanterns we had carved the night before. She even learned a new word-hot!

Sophie was thrilled to see us when we came home and was ready to dig through Ben's candy. She even helped herself to a sucker!

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

Thursday night was pumpkin carving night at our house! We got a later start than expected because we had been downtown for some Halloween activities. By the time we had dinner and a bath for Sophie it was pretty late. Sophie turns into a pumpkin every night around 7:30, so we decided that it would be best for everyone if she just went to bed. Benny was super excited to carve all of the pumpkins he had picked out at the bison farm. We even had a few little ones that he brought home from school. We have two Mr. Potato Head sets that were perfect for the little pumpkins. Benny has a vampire and Sophie has a witch. Benny happily did both his and his sister's pumpkins.

Benny is generally a clean kid and doesn't enjoy getting very dirty. He was intrigued by the pumpkin 'guts' as he called them, but didn't want to touch them. He did help us scrape out the insides as long he didn't get dirty.

Here he is busy working on cleaning out the largest, or 'daddy' pumpkin. When he was picking out the pumpkins at the farm, Ben assigned one to each family member.

I couldn't resist scaring Benny with the pumpkin goo!

We had so much fun on pumpkin carving night. We listened to Halloween music and danced. I think our finished products turned out pretty great!

Field Trip to the Nature Center

Last Wednesday, Benny's preschool took a field trip to Milford Nature Center. This is the third year we have taken the trip, but there is always something new and exciting to discover at the nature center. New this year was a giant eagle's nest that the kids could play in. The boys hopped right in while we were waiting for our guide to arrive.

Although our weather has been quite pleasant lately with the afternoon temps reaching near 70, our mornings have been frigid. Our trip started at 9am, and on the ride up to Milford my car warned me that the temperature was right for ice. It was 32 degrees! I had the kids all bundled up in their winter gear and lots of layers. I had planned to put Sophie in the stroller inside her nice German sleeping bag, but she had other plans. She wanted to play on the playground with the kids!

Later in the morning after our nature hike was complete, the weather had warmed some and Sophie and I went to visit the exhibit of rescue birds. She loved looking at the Golden Eagles and didn't want to return to the playground with the other kids. She practiced making bird noises and was so excited to see the birds she tried to climb the fence to get closer.

Her favorite Golden Eagle was eager to let her look and point. It even put on a little show for us stretching it's wings and strutting around. The eagle looked to be as big as Sophie!

During our nature hike the guides handed out binoculars to the kids. They loved looking into the trees and over the lake for wildlife. Ben kept announcing that he had seen an Eagle, but I don't think he really did.

Since Sophie wouldn't ride in her stroller I had to carry her. It made me incredibly nervous to take the trail by the lake. She kept pointing at the water and desperately wanted to get down. I think she may have wanted to go for a swim!

After the nature hike we went indoors and had a scavenger hunt. I don't have any pictures because I was busy chasing Sophie around and helping Benny look for the animals on his list. Sophie was trilled to see all of the native Kansas creatures-snakes, lizards, spiders, birds and prairie dogs to name a few. I wasn't thrilled to see many of them.....

Later we enjoyed a picnic lunch and the kids played and played on the playground. Eventually it warmed up enough to take off our jackets. Benny was pretending to be Indiana Jones in this photo!

I hadn't realized how much Sophie would enjoy the trip. She is an outdoors girl. We plan to visit again when the weather is right!

It's official-Sophie is part monkey!

Yesterday after a busy morning of a preschool field trip to the nature center (post to follow), we came home to rest and have naps. Sophie had been in her room for more than an hour. I assumed she was sleeping, because usually if she is not sleeping, she is talking or banging on the wall. Benny and I were having some quite time when we heard a loud crash followed by crying. Sophie had fallen out of her crib! I am not sure how she managed it yet. The gate came up to her chin and she didn't have anything to stand on to help her out. She was quite shaken up, but seems no worse for the wear. Has anyone else had a child do this???? Needless to say, Daddy lowered the mattress last night. It seems we have survived yet another dare devil stunt by Sophie!

Our Trip to the Bison Farm

Being from Michigan, it is tradition that in the fall you visit the orchard. You pick apples, have freshly made cider, donuts and goodies, take a hayride, pick pumpkins and have fun! Here in Kansas, we do not have orchards-but we do have bison farms! It seemed like a reasonable alternative to a trip to the orchard and a good way to spend a beautiful fall day. So, Sunday after church, our family headed an hour west to Smoky Hill Bison Farm. The farm boasted a corn maze, corn cannon, gourd slingshot, giant slide, tour of the bison farm, and lots of fall fun. As I mentioned, it was a beautiful day-70 and sunny and very, very windy. But here in Kansas, I find the sun too much sometimes. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we have very little shade. The wind comes out of the plains at a rapid rate. I have heard that the average day in Kansas is windier than a windy day in Chicago. I don't know if its true, but I believe it! Once we reached the farm we have to put on sweatshirts and sunglasses to protect ourselves from the elements. Once the kids were busy with all the fun things to do, we seemed to forget all about the sun and the wind, and had to race to keep up with them.

First we visited the toddler area where the kids played in a huge box of corn kernels. This was endless fun for both of them. Sophie wasn't sure about it at first, but in no time she was burying her feet and digging, digging, digging. Eventually, Ben spotted the 'big kid' activities and wanted to move on.

After playing briefly in a toddle maze, we moved on to the big corn maze. There are clues throughout to help you get through. We picked up the American History clue sheet. You have to get the answer right to receive the right directions. To be safe, we also picked up the toddler version. Oddly enough, we did have a few discrepancies. Once Nick was insistent on his answer and I have to refer him to the toddler question. The directions weren't really much help because you had to make countless turns in between clues, but at least we felt we had some guidance.

Nick and Ben lead the way with Sophie and I bringing up the rear. Here is one cute shot of our little explorer.

Sophie was growing restless, so we had to put her down after awhile. She was so interested in everything around us, it took forever to move down the rows. She had to examine anything that looked different or seemed out of place. Eventually she resumed her position on Daddy's shoulders.

All in all, it took us over a half hour to work our way through the maze. We were very relieved to find the end. After a drink and a snack (thank goodness I packed Goldfish, because all the food was bison meat) we headed off for more fun. Next the boys took their try at the corn cannon, and the gourd slingshot. Nick was able to get his to fly about 250 yards.

After the slingshot we headed over to the play area where there was a giant slide down the side of a big hill. They had layed plastic down and you had to sit on a burlap bag. Hands down, this was Ben's favorite part of the day. He must have slid for a half hour. I stayed at the top with him and helped him onto his sack.

He flew down the hill so fast it was scary. The first time I thought 'There goes my baby!' He wanted to do it over and over and over and kept right up with all the big kids. Sophie enjoyed watching Ben from the comfort of the toddler area. Finally, we had to stop the sliding and pick some pumpkins. We weren't able to snag a wagon until we were in line to pay so I don't have any pictures of pumpkin picking. By this point Sophie was exhausted, and Nick's arms were full of pumpkins. Benny picked out all of the pumpkins and assigned one to each of us. He can't wait to carve them next week.

While we were in line to pay we were surprised to meet up with our friends the Hogans. They had been there most of the day too, but our paths had not yet crossed. I took a quick photo of the kids-Emma, Anja, Ben, Nicky and Sophie. Ben and Nicky see each other everyday at school, at CCD on Wednesday night and play together twice a week after school. They just can't get enough of each other. Nicky's little sister, Anja, has developed a crush on Ben and talks about him constantly. The kiddos played together a few minutes and then we went our separate ways.

Our trip to the Bison Farm was fun! It certainly can't compete with a trip to the orchard, but it was a great way to spend a fall day!

Mommy-Daughter Day

Please excuse our absence from the blogging world. We haven't had very much going on lately. We had some plans for both the previous weekends, but Benny who never gets sick had flu like symptoms both weekends. So, we missed out on the fall festival at Fort Riley called Apple Days. We have been the past two years, so at least we know what we missed out on, but Benny always enjoys it. We had been looking forward to Sophie having some fun this year. Last Sunday, we missed out on the St. Xavier school carnival. I had signed up to work a shift at the preschool booth, so I still went and watched all the kiddos having fun. It broke my heart to think Ben was home with a fever. Maybe we will have better luck this weekend!

On Thursday, Sophie and I had our first Mommy-Daughter day. Even though Benny is at preschool for three hours everyday, I find that we either run errands, or come home and take naps. We never take the time to do something fun! Plus, three hours isn't really enough time to venture too far from home. Lately, we have had an arrangement with my friend Dot. On Tuesdays I pick up her son, Nicky from preschool and bring him home to play with Benny. She returns the favor on Thursdays. The boys both enjoy their extra time together, and it gives Dot and I one day a week where we don't have to be back in three hours for pick-up. So, this Thursday we took advantage of the extra time and took a trip to the zoo!

Sophie has been to the zoo more times than I can count, but this was really the first time she noticed the animals. Plus, since it was Thursday no one was there and she was able to get out of the stroller and walk and explore. But, we did not take this adventure alone! Our friends Piper and Jackson were back in town, and they joined us for our fun day. Jackson is Sophie's friend who is just 17 days older. You may recall that his Daddy, JJ, worked with Nick for the past few years. Now JJ has left the Army and is working in Arkansas. They still haven't sold their house yet in Kansas, so Piper and Jackson come back from time to time to stay.

First we met for lunch at Panera Bread. I am thrilled that I can take Sophie to eat there, because picky Ben doesn't like anything there but the chocolate chip cookies. Sophie ate most of her grilled cheese, some of Jackson's turkey sandwich, and was thrilled by her yogurt in a tube (I found it messy, but she really did like it). We joke that Sophie is our human garbage disposal because she will eat most anything. Jackson wasn't so thrilled with his lunch, so he was sneaking bits to Sophie, and she was gladly accepting them. After our lunch, we headed to Sunset Zoo in Manhattan. It was the most beautiful fall day.

I missed a cute moment in the above photo. The kids had been trying to hold hands as we were walking. Of course I couldn't get them to do it again for a picture. Notice that Jackson is in a much more comfy stroller. By the end, we had traded because Sophie kept climbing back into his when they got out. Plus our stroller was easier for Jackson to push around, and he was very entertained doing so.

The kids stayed in their strollers for the first half of the trip. Most of the animals were sleeping, and there wasn't much they could see. Once we got to a spot in the zoo where there were a lot of exhibits right in a row, we let them get out and walk. They did stop though for a few breaks.

Jackson is much more affectionate than Sophie is. He is always trying to give her hugs, and she is always trying to avoid them. I was trying to sit her on this little ledge to get a cute picture. Jackson came out of nowhere to give her a hug. It didn't end pretty folks. In the picture it looks like they are going to tip backwards into the sunken flower bed. However, they both fell forward instead and crashed onto the sidewalk. Luckily there weren't any injuries.

I tried again for a picture of Sophie, but I couldn't get her to pay attention. She is wearing her favorite new shoes from Target that we picked up earlier in the week. She loves them and wants to wear them everyday. We are running out of things to match the raspberry color! Sometimes she wears shoes with her pajamas because she loves to have them on so much (which is different from last fall when I couldn't keep them on).

After viewing most of the animals, we hit the playground. It was so nice because for awhile we were the only ones there and the kids had the run of it. The double slide was a big hit as was the bridge. I didn't get many photos because our daredevil kids were scaring us, and we didn't feel that our four arms were enough to control them. Piper is helping them down the slide to prevent them from venturing too far onto the playground. After a few minutes, they both had so much courage that they were running too fast and trying to do things that 18 month olds just shouldn't do. Soon, Piper and I were too stressed out to let them play any longer and we moved them on to the petting zoo.

I thought that Sophie would enjoy the petting zoo more than she did. She fed one piece of food to a goat, and that was enough. She didn't want to touch them and after a few minutes just wanted to get back into Jackson's stroller. Benny has always loved the goats, so I assumed Sophie would too. She has no fear around our dog, Smokey, and the goats were much smaller. Jackson loved the goats and even brushed them. Poor little guy tripped though trying to get to one and took quite the nasty fall. Word has it that he has his first shinner.

We had a wonderful time at the zoo, with our wonderful friends. We will miss them so much when they leave Kansas for good! After a few hours our kids were officially tuckered out, and it was time to head home. Thanks for the fun day Jackson and Piper!

I promise more posts soon!

Our little helper and BIG news!

Lately, Sophie has become quite the little helper. She has become quite bossy too! She is always babbling at us, in her own Sophie language, directing us about the house. She loves to help with the laundry. It doesn't matter if it is wet or dry, clean or dirty, she likes to pull things out and sometimes put non-clothing items into the dryer. In the background of this video you can hear Benny having a world class meltdown because he wanted to help with the laundry too and was jealous that we wanted a video of just Sophie. As you can imagine, Benny is actually a good laundry helper, and I like him to help out. Sophie causes more trouble than anything, but it is sure cute.

Sophie also likes to help me feed Smokey and throw away her dirty diapers into the garage. When we put her to bed at night, she directs us the entire time about where she wants her two blankets. She then points to the side of the crib to make sure we put it up. Finally she points over to her music box so we don't forget to play it for her. It is so fun to watch her personality develop!

Once Benny was finished with his jealous episode, we let him come help with the laundry too. Some day I will be begging these kids to help me with the chores!

Now for the BIG news! We are expecting baby number 3!!!! My blogging absence in August was primarily due to awful 'all day' sickness. I have no idea why they call it morning sickness, because mine only heightened during the day. Poor Nick has put up with me after several weeks of not wanting to cook or even smell dinner. This pregnancy has been by far the worst of all of mine, maybe even all the others combined. But at 12+ weeks now, I am starting to feel much better and have more energy. Besides feeling sick all of the time, everything is going well. I have even had an ultrasound and the baby looks great. I am due in late March just before Sophie's 2nd Birthday! Of course we won't be able to resist finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. We don't really have a preference, but long term were thinking a girl would be easier so she and Sophie could share a bedroom. Only time will tell!

Benny is super excited about becoming a big brother again. He actually wants another brother and another sister. He wants the brother to be his twin. Poor kid, he still can't grasp exactly what a twin is. He says either way he will be happy, but a brother would be better than a sister. He was the first to know a few weeks ago. I showed him my ultrasound pictures and he guessed right away what the pictures were of. Soon he was telling everyone, so we decided to finally share the news.

For now I am getting an idea what is like to take of three. Nick had hip surgery last week, and I swear it is like having another child at home. He had been a great patient, and is moving around quite well now. It still causes extra work around the house but it won't be for much longer. Unfortunately it looks like he is going to have to have another surgery in the future. He has a very uncommon hip problem and very few surgeons can preform the surgery to correct it. Sometime he will probably has to have an 'open-hip' operation that should correct the problem. Even having the scope here last week was a big deal for the hospital. His surgeon does 4 knees a week, but only 2 hips a year. Physical therapy sent him home last Friday without any treatment because they had never had anyone before with Nick's condition and didn't know how to handle him yet. He seems to be making a speedy recovery and really, it has been nice having him home so much!

The First 5 Years......

Happy 5th!

I wanted to do a bigger post for Benny's birthday, but it was crazy here last night when I was trying to blog. It's quite for now, so here's a quick trip through the first 5 years. We love you Benny!

Asleep just hours after he was born...

1 year old.....

2 years...

Blowing out the candles on his 3rd Birthday...

Apples Days at Fort Riley near his 4th....

Many more memories to come!

Benny's Birthday Weekend

Last Thursday was Benny's 5th Birthday! I can hardly believe it, the time just seems to be flying by. We had a bit of a bumpy start on his birthday, but the end of the day, Benny stated that it was his 'best day ever'! Late Wednesday, he complained that his eye was bothering him. On his birthday, he awoke with it almost completely swollen closed. I was pretty sure it wasn't pink eye but I still kept a close eye on it. By mid-morning, I had to make the call that he couldn't go to school and have his birthday celebration as planned. Instead, we headed to the doctor. Poor kid, he took it like a trooper. Nick met us at the hospital, and it was a good thing, because we were there nearly four hours. The family doc decided that it looked like a scratch and not an infection. So, they irrigated his eye, and then put in glow in the dark drops to look for damage to the cornea. In case you were wondering, this did not go well! Eventually, we ended up with an eye patch and instructions to go see the eye doctor upstairs right away. The process was pretty much repeated upstairs with much better success this time. The eye doc decided that he really only had a small scratch, but was having some type of allergic reaction to something. We still don't know what caused it, but his eye is pretty much back to normal now. After an afternoon at the hospital, we headed home, ordered pizza (Ben's favorite!) and opened presents.

Here is Ben holding up both hands, showing he is the big 5! This year he is really into 'boy' things. He loves action figures, Star Wars, super heroes, and is still really into Playmobiles and Legos.


The next day we were able to celebrate his birthday with him at preschool. He had a Spiderman cupcake cake that the bakery graciously held for us an extra day. The cake was a hit, as the kids loved the black frosting (I swear it was red in the picture). Sophie had a great time at preschool too!

This year instead of having a big birthday party we decided to take a family trip. We tossed around a few options and ended up heading to Kansas City for a Renaissance Festival that we read about on the internet. It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend-80 and sunny. It turned out to be about 65 and slightly rainy instead. We had a good time though. It was a huge festival, and seemed to go on forever. There were so many cool costumes (and weird ones too), and much to see and do. We actually ran into some neighbors from Germany in the parking lot-the Army is so small!

Here is Ben posing as St. George, one of his favorite knights!

Nick and Ben decided to try out a little archery. Benny had so much fun shooting the arrows. I think he could have done that all day. First he needed a little instruction from Daddy.

Now, he was ready to try it out himself!

After we had enough of the dreary weather at the Festival we headed to our hotel for the night. We stopped and had dinner at the outdoor mall first. We ate at the Saddle Ranch Chop House, which is a Hollywood take on an old western restaurant. The portions were huge. I think we probably could have shared two dinners instead of the four we ordered. In the middle of the restaurant there is a huge bull ring with a mechanical bull. Benny got a huge kick out of watching a group of middle aged men (and one woman) try to ride the bull. All but the woman were thrown off eventually. It was great entertainment! After dinner, we headed to the hotel and finished the night off swimming in the pool. The next day we did some much needed shopping for fall clothes for the kids and then headed home.

Benny had a great birthday weekend. It's just so hard to believe that 5 years have gone by since he came into the world! I think tomorrow I will do another post recapping his first 5 years! I have to get caught up, because Nick is having hip surgery on Wednesday and I know I will be busy taking care of him!