Cars 2

We went to Cars 2 on opening weekend with our dear friends, Mollie and Aubrey.  M & A are 24 and 22, but they love our kids, so they wanted to experience our first movie outing!  It was all hyped up - we even got special kids' popcorn and cool cups of water...what a treat!

Logan all set for the show!  Unfortunately, this was as excited as he got.  He was not really a fan of Cars 2.  I knew right away when the movie opened on a dark and stormy sea that it would not be a good one for us.  Only about 2 minutes in, Logan said, "I don't know, Mom...."  Then, after reassuring him through the whole show, at the end he said, "Is it over? Can we go now?" with relief in his voice.  I guess it wasn't the best idea for our little ones.

We cheered up right away after the show, enjoying the displays in the lobby.  We could have just visited the theatres for the displays, I think.

Cool Man Logan!

Their favorite was the big paintings on the outside of the theater: McQueen and Mater!

After the show we enjoyed our favorite summer treat: Summer Snow!  The best shaved iced ever (also owned by our friends Mollie and Aubrey!).

Mmmmm good!

Enjoying Summer...when its here

June has been a little disappointing so far.  We haven't had a lot of summery weather, so we've been taking advantage of the days when we feel the heat!  The boys love to be home and play in the yard.  This is one of the first summers we spend most of our time at home, without traveling.  I'm enjoying time with the neighbors and just quiet time with the kids.

The boys take turns driving the big truck around...

Well, really, Logan pushed Bennett around.  And then they fight about taking turns.  How fun.

We were painting rocks with water color paints and then Bennett decided to paint himself.

Logan always loves to put on a show!

so excited to be 4!

Big Trucks

Last week we got to visit all the "big trucks" while they were out for kids to see!  The Family Resource Center held an event and while we missed it last year, our neighbor was kind enough to remind us this year!  The boys sure loved it!

I think the garbage truck was the biggest attraction for us.  The kids watch it every week and always get excited so to be able to climb inside was super cool.

The Eiselt Fire Crew

Logan loves the city bus ever since his field trip on the last day of school!  He was sure to remind me that this was not the exact bus they were on with his school friends, but it was close.

We liked measuring how big the wheels are compared to the boys.

Logan's dream job: Driving a backhoe.

Bennett's turn!

John took his "Junior Officer" status quite seriously!

The boys got in the back of the police car and I said, "Ok, been-there-done-that, never have to be in the back of a police car again!"  Then John said, "Let's be honest - that may be Logan's only time in the cop car, but probably not Bennett's".  Haha!

Junior Officer Logan.

Bali Boy

My parents were in Bali and Singapore and brought these pajamas back for the boys!  Logan really loved his - its so funny!  Thanks for the festive jammies!

Me + B

While Logan scooted around tonight, Bennett wanted to snuggle.  Lucky me!

Regression

Logan's new bike went back to the store about 10 days after we brought it home.  The excitement of the bike only lasted about ten feet down the sidewalk and back.  Logan didn't want to pedal, he didn't want to even sit on the bike.  After a couple days of John and I feeling disappointed with the lack of effort on Logan's part, we realized he is too young.  Duh.  Major bad-parenting-moment.  He is only three and though he is really tall and big and smart for his age, it doesn't mean he is ready to conquer something like a big boy bike with training wheels.  In fact, Logan has never been crazy about a trike or anything yet.  So, why we thought he would be into riding a wobbly bike that is hard to push - we don't know!  Luckily, the bike shop returned the purchase for us.  For now, Logan mostly loves to use his scooter from Nana and Papa!

Its perfect for him developmentally and he really enjoys it, which is the biggest reason why we will scoot around all summer long!  Yay for Logan!

Bennett's Two Year Stats

Bennett's two year appointment was pretty uneventful - thankfully!  He passed all his screening and seems to be right on track with development.  Bennett often seems behind when we think of his speech, but Dr. Gilmartin reminded us that we compare him to Logan who was super quick at speech development.  We were happy to see Bennett is right on par!


Bennett weighs 27 lbs 5 oz (40th percentile) and is 34 3/4 inches tall (57th percentile).  He's a pretty skinny, lanky kid so far!  His head, of course, is in the 98th percentile!

Leading up to Bennett's appointment, he developed a rash (the day of his birthday party) - possibly a reaction to his first doses of antibiotics.  We were happy to see that rash quickly disappear and not return.  However, just a couple days after his 2 year check, he developed a new rash.

So, I called in to the pediatrician and we figured this was another antibiotic reaction.  We discontinued his antibiotic then, since his ear got a clean bill of health at his two year check.  We had a lot of doctor visits for Bennett...we started his second year with a bang - hope we're all done for this year!

Being Brothers

The boys looked good for church today...except for Bennett's rash (more on that later).  They were being such good brothers this morning: playing well together, sharing, making each other laugh.  As the finished up a show on PBS before church, I snapped this quick photo because they were standing together so nicely.  What cuties we have!

Friday Fajitas

Our dear friends Dave and Shelly had two families over for yummy fajitas yesterday!  We've been spending time with these two families this year - enjoying their company and the kids enjoying each other too!  There are now seven kids in this group, so its a busy bunch!

The kids all cozied in around the little table for fajitas and quesadillas...yum!

Somehow little baby Henry slept through it all.

At the end of the night, when it got a little too wild, we turned on a Thomas video.  In less than a minute all of the kids were sitting in rows to watch...so cute!

Thanks for the fun, friends!  Love doing life with you!

New Family Members

We acquired two new family members last week.  These little fish were party favors for the children at a graduation party we were at.  Of course, the boys just had to have them!  So...for now they are living in the kids' rooms...

and sometimes eating meals with us.  :)

Logan named them himself: "Picturepaint" and "Tiddeler".  Priceless - I have no idea why those are the names!

The Real Birthday

Bennett has had a quite a birthday week.  We started off the week with a cold, which always gives Bennett a small fever.  He runs a low-grade temp when he fights anything off and just gets cranky (yes, even more cranky than usual), tired, and blah.  Can't blame him.  By Thurs, he was still running a fever and then Thursday night he was up all night, uncomfortable.  We knew something wasn't right.  When I took his temp Friday, he was at nearly 102 which was higher than the rest of the week.  I also noticed he favored his left side...making me suspicious of an ear infection.  

We got an appointment on Friday and found out Bennett's ear drum had burst and he had a bad infection.  Poor guy.  That nasty cold led to an infection and the ear drum must have burst Thursday night when he was in the most pain.  I felt so sad for not taking him to the doctor sooner, but Dr. Myhre assured me its not something we could have prevented with the amount of blockage in Bennett's sinuses.  So, after the mom-guilt subsided, I took the boys to get a treat, a prescription for Bennett, and then home for some quiet time before bed.  John was at the Annual Meeting at church that evening and the boys were so good at the doctor and at home - despite Bennett not feeling well.

By Saturday, Bennett was on his second dose of antibiotic and feeling much better.  When he woke up, we could tell he was already 100% better than the day before!  Yay!  We were anxious to get on with the day and celebrate with family last night.  Then, after we gave Bennett his third dose (second of the day) of antibiotic last night during the party, we noticed a rash on his face and neck.  Sure that is was a reaction from his first-ever antibiotic in his system, we called in and they recommended seeing a pediatrician at the Weekend Clinic in the morning.

So, today, we got up and I got Bennett an appointment at 9:30.  I got the boys ready and dressed and we were off to our second doctor's appointment in three days.  Poor Benny - his first order of duty on his birthday was another doctor's visit!  The boys were champs for me, wooing the nurses and Dr. Vanderloo with their sweetness.  After an exam, there was no concern for Bennett's reaction and we attribute it to some kind of a viral-drug cross reaction or something he came in contact with yesterday.  I gave Bennett his normal doses of antibiotic today and he was fine!  Woohoo!  We then headed to church for some fun at Waterworks (the children's program)!

After church today, we had special visitors: Brie, Bryan, and Stellan were driving through on their way home to the Milwaukee area and stopped for lunch.  We were so happy to meet Stellan - such a sweetheart!

Of course we had more cake...I don't think Bennett minded at all.  :)

Wow...Stellan is such a cutie!  He was so fun to have around!  Thanks for stopping and for the special gift for Bennett - it was a hit all day long!  Please come again, Stellan (and Brie and Bryan, too!).

Though Bennett was tired after our visitors left, he didn't want to lay down for a nap.  So, we tried to have some quiet playtime, but this is what happened!  Its tough work being the birthday boy.

After a short nap amongst his toys, we were off again!  This time, we went back to church to join in on the end-of-yer party at youth group.  It was super fun to see all the kids and hang out...the boys loved it!  Mollie is a leader, so naturally the boys hung around her most of the night.

As you can see...even with John's job-change...not much has changed.  :)  Still crazy.

The kids got to write on the studs of the new addition going up at church.  The addition will be "their" space - a new youth wing for middle school, high school, and college ages.

Our boys got in on the fun with Sharpies, too!  We measured Logan and traced his hand.  He wanted to write "I love Jesus" inside it!  So cute!

Here we traced Bennett's hand, too!

What a fun filled day...again!  Hopefully Bennett is on the mend and will be healthy soon!  This is our first experience with an ear infection and antibiotic, so I'm hoping we don't have to do it again any time soon.

Happy Birthday, dear sweet Bennett!  You are amazing and special!  We love you!!

TWO is cool!

Yesterday we celebrated a little for Bennett's birthday since John was off all day.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather, playing outside, breaking out the kiddie pool, and taking care of a few projects.  Then my family came over (minus my dad who is in Bali on business) for a casual dinner to celebrate with us!

We made cupcakes in ice cream cones!

We made a few regular cupcakes, too...and a giant one for the birthday boy!

Bennett was anxious to read a story with to Uncle Andrew.

Bennett sure loves to hang out with Andrew...

He snuggled right in and gave Amy some competition!

Uncle Kyle and Auntie Ali gave some hockey tips to Logan who was practicing in the garage.

After John mastered the grill for dinner, Bennett decided he wanted to read a book.  So, while the rest of us started our dinner, John read a story of choice to the birthday boy.

I'm not sure if it was all the commotion, company, and celebrating, but Bennett was not interested in most of his dinner.  Thankfully, we had grilled some ears of corn and it was a hit with Bennett.  He was pretty busy with this piece of corn for quite a while. "Nummmm, nummm!"

The guys got most of the snuggles...probably Nana, too, but I snuck one while he was busy with his corn!

Clearly Logan was even more excited than Bennett!  In fact, at this point, Logan looked at me and said, "Mom, this is the best birthday ever!"  We are pretty sure Logan thought it was HIS birthday, too!

There were lots of candles to blow out and Benny gave his best try, but needed a little help from Daddy.

This was really Bennett's first birthday cake since last year we were headed to camp and he enjoyed a breakfast birthday treat.

Kisses for Mommy!

The cake was a hit and everytime  he dove in face first we all clapped and cheered...

it was pretty fun!

Then they played some crazy games with Uncle Kyle (yes: he and John called each other earlier to make sure they could wear matching outfits...just kidding!).

Bennett first opened his special present from Logan...something he chose to buy for Bennett in the $1 section.  Logan was so excited to give it - very cute.

Bennett loved all his gifts from family...

and then would walk around showing everyone saying, "Look!  See this?"

He got some new play food, a baseball glove, and some awesome new Cars!

We got Bennett this little kitchen, which will be a popular thing for both boys!

What a fun day!  I think Bennett loved his birthday, especially with all the special guests!  We get to celebrate in a couple weeks with John's family when Jenny is home for the weekend!  Yay!  Thanks to the Uncles and Aunts and Nana for making the trip over to our house to make Bennett's day so special!