Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas


Christmas was good at our house. We had too many presents (as always) and the kids had a great time. Within an hour of waking up everyone was glued to some computer gadget of some sort. Benny finally got his DS he's been wanting, Nate got a Vsmile handheld game, Alexander got every Little Einsteins toy I could find. Zach and Jake got Rock band 2, Aerosmith and IPods. I think they think they really are rock stars.


Rob received some great Cowboys stuff to put up in his office from some really cool chick who had been obsessed with ebay for a month or so. He has always wanted signed memorabilia for his walls. I scored on a great a Tony Romo jersey and a Troy Aikman one, along with some pictures. Rob and the boys gave me a Cricut which is going to come in handy with school projects and the stupid Science Fair.

We had a nice morning at home with my parents and aunt and uncle over for breakfast. Then we took at nap and headed over to my parents for an awesome prime rib and leg of lamb dinner. What a nice day!

Monday, December 22, 2008

More Birthday for Ben


Ben had a couple of his buddies over to spent the night and celebrate with. I think he had a great birthday this year!




Sunday, December 21, 2008

Christmas Break

We were all ready for Christmas break this year after all the activities leading up to it.


Before it began we had to attend the annual events. Alexander was a little drummer boy in St. Phillip's Christmas pageant. He was so cute and we loved watching him perform. When he was walking down the aisle, he started smiling and waving as soon as he saw me and stopped to plant a giant, slobbery kiss on me. I have never been loved so much.
We also enjoyed attending the Christmas party at Church with just the 3 little boys. Zach and Jake couldn't pass up an opportunity to go ice skating with their buddy Zach Williams. Ben and Nate sang and I had fun watching them take turns sitting on Santa's lap. I listened very closely, just in case I needed to back the old man up!



My parents came over one night to bring Benny another birthday cake my dad made. Popa makes the best stuff!


I conned my mom into making the Gingerbread kit (from last Christmas-yuck!) with the boys.

We knew we lost all creative parental control on the project when we saw them making a trail of reindeer poop. They are kind of sick. Dirty boys. Is that normal?

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Are we really driving 8 hours to go to Disneyland again???




As you can clearly see from this picture, all Ben wanted for his birthday was to ride the Monorail. So we made reservations at the Disney Hotel the night before his big day to ride the Monorail over and get in early. The park opened at 7. I think it was early enough. As you can see it was pretty empty that early. We enjoyed all our favorite rides within 2 hours or so.


We took the boys out of school early on Wednesday and headed down around noon. As soon as we got the Grapevine they closed it due to snow. So we turned around and thought we'd just add an extra hour or so and go up through Tehachapi. Then, before the turn off the alert boards say that road is now closed. The last option was through Maricopa to Santa Maria and along the coast. I have never driven through such a crazy snow storm! It turns out that road was closed a few minutes after we started on it. I got my wish of seeing the ocean I'd been missing, but we didn't arrive at the hotel until 8:30. We thought we be there by 3 to check in, have a fun Goofy's Kitchen Character Dinner, swim in the heated pool. Oh well, anything for Benny!

Don't they all looked thrilled to meet Tinkerbell?

We ended up having a great time and the roads were still closed the next day, so we stayed an extra night and got the kids back to school around 10 on Friday for their Christmas parties. Ben was happy he rode the monorail, and I was happy I had a hotel to take a nap in halfway through the day with the 2 little ones and my round self!
We really enjoyed Fantasmic that night and the fireworks. Nate had a little photo shoot with Al and I while Ben slept through both shows. While he was sleeping I went and bought him some Mickey gloves. It was very cold, and he never asked for a single thing all day! Great birthday boy!



Thursday, December 18, 2008

Benny Boy is 7!


I can't believe Benjamin is 7 already. Time goes so fast! Ben is the middle boy and lucky because everybody loves him. The big boys like having him around and the little boys love having him around. He is loving 1st grade and we're finding out he is just as competitive as the big brothers. I used to be concerned that Ben was very shy, but I have decided he is just extremely stubborn and very selective about who he will pay any attention to and spend his time on. He knows exactly what he likes and what he wants. He loves spending time with his best buddy Andrew and has made some really great friends at school Conner and Colton, who he has enjoying starting to have sleepovers with.

Benny had a rough start in life, or should I say he made it rough for me at the start of his life. He had turned and was breech, so I went in to have him turned and be induced. Even after Big Jake they thought he would be too big to attempt to deliver breech. They estimated through ultrasounds he was 7.5 to 8 pounds. So they attempted to do a version and turn him but his heart stopped beating, and they guessed he was pinching his cord. They couldn't move him back, so they next thing I knew they were rushing me into the OR. All I remember screaming was "please knock me out!" I was scared of something happening to him, because I had lost two babies before him.

While I was pregnant with him, I had the worst heartburn of my life. When I woke from the C-Section I believed all the wives tales about heartburn, all Rob could say was "Sara he has so much hair!" That was my wish when i found out he was a boy. The other thing he told me was he is so tiny. Benny ended up being 5 pounds! He looked like a little doll. Even though he completely ruined my abs, I loved him instantly! On his first day of life, I also discovered he had a very pronounced dimple on his cheek. During our 3+ days in the hospital, I washed his hair several times and agonized over his name. I was going back and forth between Benjamin and Alexander. They didn't want me to leave without filling out the paperwork, so after staying an extra day to decide, I ended up with Benjamin Randall (after my dad).

I love you Ben and you are a joy to have around (almost all the time!). Ben loves me and is very protective of me. If he knows I'm having a bad day or I'm upset about something, he'll walk around patting my back. He is a pretty cool kid and he loves playing baseball, soccer and swimming. He loves math and is enjoying being the Mickey Math Champion in his class. He can read like nothing else and he LOVES to play video games. Happy Birthday Benny!!!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

It's Christmas time!

I am excited to be in the Christmas season. The tree is up, most of the shopping is done, the good treats are all around me, and I keep thinking I have an excuse to eat all I want.

A baby update for the family so far away. She is doing good, growing fine. I have even started picking up a few things pink, purple and red. I am ready to make blankets and hairbows. It is going to be fun. Hopefully only 12-13 more weeks to go!

I have had some crazy comments made to me after people find out it is a girl. Often I hear, "Oh that poor baby, she will be so tortured. I feel sorry for her" or "How sad for her to have all those brothers!". I think quite the opposite. I think she is very lucky. The boys are so excited, and I know they are going to be great with her. Do people really think they are that mean? That naughty? I need to think up better comebacks for these comments. Quick, good comebacks. Any ideas???