Labor Day Weekend

This is the Labor Day weekend, so we are enjoying a long weekend. We didn't have anything planned, since there are so many people out and about. Instead, we've been taking it easy. On Saturday, we did have a family get together over at aunt Tara's. I had brought my swim gear, but didn't really care to go into the water. Usually I love the pool and don't want to get out, but not this time. I preferred to stay inside and play with the trains and barbie car.
Mitchell came inside to play too. He played a little on his guitar and keyboard. Then he also put on this wig, talk about having a bad hair day.
We didn't bar-b-cue, but had KFC, fruit and cup cakes instead...yummi yummi in my tummy!!Towards the end of the day, I still refused to get into the pool and just stayed inside and played with all the trains. All the others had a great time in the pool and enjoyed the good weather.
Today (Sunday) was another day with good weather; weather was almost too good (too hot outside). Still, we were brave and went out for a long walk. I guess there is only so much to do inside on a good day. We walked over to the big bridge and down to the water. We wanted to see all the boats. There weren't as many as I had hoped, but there were a few, large, small, fast and slow. Every time they sailed by us, I waved to them!!

Fortunately, we found a Blue Bell Ice shop (or something like that)... what ever it is called, they have all kinds of ice cream. I picked the green kind and watched in the mirror as I ate and mmmmmm mmmmmmm mmmmmmmm'd between every bite.
Before heading home, I played in the water fountain again, had lunch and then announced that I was done and wanted to go home. I was out in minutes and slept all the way home... By then, the heat and all the playing and eating got to me. As a reward for our long outing, we have spent the rest of the day inside in the a/c, playing computer, trains, cars, playdough, washed the dishes, sink and everything with in 10 feet of the sink too :)

I am not sure what we are going to do tomorrow. I guess it depends a little on the weather. The big hurricane is not supposed to hit us, but I think we are going to get some rain and wind from it. Maybe on Tuesday and not tomorrow though. (Let us just hope the hurricane does not get as big and intense as they forecast and all the people in its way stay safe and unharmed)

Benjamin

The usual week

There is not that much to tell from this week. Just the daily activities and routines: Daycare, play and so on. We have been lazy about food lately and have preferred to pick up dinner on our way home. Today, we stopped for Pasta at the new restaurant by the lake. The food was good, but I was too busy trying to spot boats and really didn't eat a whole lot. After a few fries and some chicken, we decided to bring the left overs home for a later snack. We walked down to the water and watched the boats, birds and fish and then played in the water play area for a little while.
By then, I decided that I was hungry after all and ate most of my 10 minutes old left overs.
Other than that... well, just all the usual... I hang out with my friends at daycare, play at the local parks, climb, jump, run...have a lot of energy to burn off!!! I am very good at climbing and prefer to climb up very high... but sometimes, I get stuck and have to call for help to get back down!Cameron and I are very good friends and visit each other often at each other's house. Cameron has a lot of toys, especially Thomas the train toys and I love to play with them. In return, when we are at our house, we build rail way tracks, play on my computer and jump in the trampoline....oh.. we also both love to play baseball and golf.

Sand Castles

Curious George and I are building sand castles on the beach.

Kemah

As always, the weather forecasters were off by a mile! They promised a little rain, so we packed our bags and rain gear and headed to Kemah. We hoped to get a sunny day with some raindrops to cool things down. But unfortunately, we didn't see a single rain drop.

Oh well! We arrived around noon and made our way over to the rides. Mamma and I flew airplanes, sailed sub marines and rode the Ferris wheel. I really wanted to ride the bigger rides, but I am still too short. Mamma tried to get me to ride the train around Kemah, but I kept refusing. Finally, I explained: I wanted to wait for babba to come home, so that he and I could ride the train.We sailed boats and managed to sail through the tunnels and make the lights light up and bells ring.The men and big boys tried and failed to hit hard enough to make the bell ring, but that did not stop me. I walked right over to the big hammer, dragged it and was barely able to lift it off the ground. I finally got some help, but we weren't able to hit hard enough to make the bell ring either.
My favorite game was the crab race. We threw/rolled the ball into the numbered holes. Every time I hit, the crab moved. I won a couple of times, but most of the time, someone else won...however, whether I won or someone else won, I always ended up with the prize. Needless to say, we headed home with a car full of Sponge Bob Square Pants prizes.
I almost won a Scooby Doo, but we came in at a very close second.
Again, we never saw a single rain drop in Kemah and the weather ended up being a little too hot. We took frequent breaks in every shade, we could find.
After two and a half hour, we gave in and left. We stopped to visit omma and abbi. I pulled out some of my favorite toys and got carried away playing with the cars and trains. Unfortunately, I forgot that I wasn't wearing a diaper and had to change clothes a couple if times. Not good, but I am working on it!

Uh ow... weekend is over and time for another work week, starting tomorrow.

Back into our routine

We have neglected our blog these past few months, but we are about to get back into the rhythm.

Yesterday, as the work week came to an end, we didn't head home as usual... In stead, we headed over to the mall to watch Wall-E at the movies. We sat down and watched the first 45 minutes of the movie. I did good and really tried to sit still and watch the movie, but in the end, got up and walked up and down our row and straightened out all the seats. (We were the only ones sitting in our row). I wasn't in the mood to head home after the movie, Friday night and so many people out and about. So, we had something to eat and headed down to the play area for a little bit, before finally heading home.
We took it easy this morning, played and did some chores around the house. After lunch, we headed over to Kids in Action for Ben's birthday. No, not mine, the other Ben at PreK. I was confused for a little while too. He just turned 4 and so, he just moved up to a bigger class. John came to the birthday party as well and we hung out for the most part.
Miss V organized the games and provided Pirate songs, -planks, cannon balls and set up a treasure hunt. Slides, trampolines, bars, soap bubbles...amongst all the fun stuff we did.
Aarrrgggg!! Ahoy there me hearties!!! ... Cool, eh???
Back at home, we took it easy. I napped for only 5 minutes today, so while I was in a good mood, it didn't take too much to get frustrated. Well, what better than getting familiar with our new Cheese (camera). I got to try it and used it to take pictures of shoes, shampoos, Marathon on TV and so on. Eventually, I wanted to get in on the photos along with my various objects: Nail File...
.. and shampoo.Baby received a big hug and kiss!!
The timer on the camera works too.
Well... I guess I just got into the zone. Usually, I prefer some privacy in the bathroom, but this evening, I called from the top of my lungs: Mamma, I pee Potty. Hurry Cheese!! Hurry Mamma!!!...So, Cheese...

Photos from the Shetlands

OL Diving

We have watched the Olympics and today, we watched the synchronized diving competition. Benjamin stopped dead in his tracks, watched for a little bit and then decided that the teams needed a third team member. He climbed up on the sofa and joined in as they dove in the water, announcing: I splash in the big pool. After each dive, he would also rinse off under the showers, before joining the next team.

Busy little man

We were planning on a day trip on Saturday, but it was too hot outside. I am usually such an outdoor person, but I took frequent breaks inside in the AC. So, instead we met up with Cameron, Ansley and their parents and headed over to the Mudpie Company. We did really good and sat still for a long time and painted. Well, I got a kick out of painting, cleaning off the paint, painting, cleaning off the paint. Cameron worked on a train, Ansley on a duck and I was painting my airplane. Even someone like me with the great attention span of around 3-6 minutes can get tired of painting and washing airplanes. So, we borrowed some blue and yellow paint. This evening, we painted the airplane for the last time.
Tadaaa!!! this airplane is actually an airplane bank. As soon as the nice ladies at the Mudpie Company have had a chance to glaze and fire my airplane, I can start putting money in it and plan on having it filled up in no time.
Baking Bread: First add some yeast to warm water and stir in the flour. I was in charge of the hand mixer and loved it. It made my whole arm shake. After waiting for the bread to double in size, we spread a lot of flour out on the table and a few hand fulls on myself and kneaded the dough..... beating it, was more like it... was much more fun. I cannot wait for it to come out of the oven!!We also washed our rides over the weekend. I pulled out my ATV and made sure to give it a good wash. I was so proud of how clean and shiny it was, when I was done and kept saying: Wouw, see, Waouwww!!
Benjamin

Benjamin and mamma

Tropical summer weather

We have searched high and low for our camera for three weeks, but have not found it. So, unfortunately, it is probably gone for good. Maybe it was time to go to camera heaven after tens of thousands of photos and scratches. Good bye old faithful!

While searching, we have used the camera phone. Not quite the same quality, but good enough. Last week was kind of quiet. Sunday, we headed over to visit omma, abba and aunt Tara's pool. I was so excited and kept asking for abba and the pool. But, when we pulled up and I saw everyone, I hid behind mom and refused to let go. I had a great time - but only as long as I played with mamma only and everyone else kept their distance. Not my usual behavior, but we all have our days, I guess... that day was glued-to-mamma-day.
In the afternoon, we headed back home and then on to Cameron's birthday. We all had a great time, there were so many kids and toys to play with. We each got a goody bag, full of candy, toys and fortune cookies. When the time came for the pinata, I wasn't interested in all the candy. I just pointed towards my goody bag and stated, I had enough candy. Unfortunately, the party ended way too soon.
Monday evening was CiCi's pizza time. We sat down to eat, but after a couple of bites, I was ready to hit the play room. We spent a few dollars trying to grab a teddy bear, but were unsuccessful. What really saved the evening was the car race. Mamma stepped on the gas pedal and I steered. We drove around Las Vegas, Seaworld, Jurassic Park, the Jungle and so on.
We have a new baby on our street: A little Maltese called Quincy. We have a ball playing together. I brought over a chewy toy for Quincy the other night and we ran around and played with it. When it was time to leave, I didn't want to part with the little, green porcupine toy and somehow managed to get it back to our house - unnoticed. When asked to return it to Quincy, I replied: No, I wanna play dog in morning.
Well, I never returned it, since weather interrupted my plans. We spent the day at home, due to a tropical storm moving through Houston. We were prepared for the worst, but it ended up being windy in the morning and raining on and off through out the day. After half a day playing inside, I was about to crazy. I started misbehaving and did everything, that is usually a Big No No. So, we pulled out our rain gear and headed outside. Needless to say, we were the only ones out playing, we were soaked, but we loved it! Nice and cool compared to the blistering August heat.Introducing our new camera.... well, this photo is taken with it! Getting ready for bed and doing: This little piggy went to the market....
Benjamin

Happy to you, Babba

Baby is growing

Hi!!!

I just wanted to show you how fast our little baby girl is growing. She is now 21 weeks in the making!!
Everything is fine here at home and at daycare. The teacher says, I am doing great and have adjusted really well to the new classroom. I love to learn all the new things there, one of my new goals is to learn how to spell and write my name: B....E.....Nnnnine... is now far I have gotten. In addition, I have also figured out, that I have a last name too!! I will repeat it to myself: Ben... Davis, Ben...Davis, Benmin Davis. I am doing so much better with my potty training. I pee in the potty most of the time at home. Last Sunday it dawned on me that I wanted to pee in the potty and from then on, I went and still go to the potty on my own.... Well, I don't wear a diaper at home during the day time, so I prefer to go to the potty. I have only had one accident in a whole week. Today, I even told the teacher that I wanted to go to the potty. Now I am really on the fast track to being a real big boy!!! And, my potty is covered in stickers!!!

We weren't in the mood to cook dinner tonight, so we met up with Cameron and his mom and headed over to McDonald's for chicken nuggets and fries. We had a great time hanging out at the indoor playing area.It is late and time for bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. First we have to get up bright and early and get ready for the dump truck. Every Saturday morning, we wave at the dump truck. After that, play time at full speed all day long!!! Sunday, we are going to Cameron's birthday, looks like it'll be a good weekend!!