All the funny incidents seem to happen before 9:00. Jules is in bed resting and I'm trying to make banana muffins. Ben wants to play outside, so I say that he can play with his sidewalk chalk on the back porch. He's had a tendency to write all over the new screen, so I told him to write only on the concrete. After about 5 minutes, he came in the kitchen and said, "Dad, I'm staying on the concrete, but I did something wrong."
"What did you do, Ben?"
"I just have to write on everything."
I look out and notice huge pink "A's" on the screen. How can you be mad at a kid so truthful.

Dallas

So Julia and I both forgot to take pictures of our trip to Dallas last week. The Gable clan gathered for cousin Evan's wedding. Only one cousin couldn't make it (Timm was eating BBQ in Memphis), but we had a great time catching up with everyone. Here's a representative picture (thanks to aunt Kim) of our weekend. It was good for Ben to go on "ventures" with Granpa Gary every morning, and we all enjoyed how well Ben and Ruthie played together. Ben kept introducing her as, "this is my friend, Ruthie." I'm sure Kim will have more pics on her blog soon.

play date at the horse farm

Our Mothering Matters small group gathered for a play date that involved a picnic lunch and horse rides. Ben was not at all interested in getting anywhere close to April. He didn't want to get close, or pet her, or brush her. He watched all the kids and adults take turns but did not want to go on a ride. For a while, he clung to my leg until he found the small ravine that was flowing because of all the rain. He had fun throwing rocks and sticks into the water. Towards the end of the morning, when we were about to go home, my friend Emily took a turn with each of her girls. He watched as Barb (right next to April in the pic; this is her farm) walked them around and decided he would go for a ride if I went too. So, we were officially the last turn of the day and Ben enjoyed our walk in the woods atop April. It looks like we have a processer on our hands!

Expanding

This morning over oatmeal:

Ben: What are those black and white pictures? (looking at the sonogram on the fridge)

Jake: That’s a baby.

Ben: Is it a gorilla?.

Jake: No. It’s a baby boy or girl in mama’s belly.

Ben: Not a baby boy. I want a gorilla.

This will be fun.

School's out for summer!

This is Ben on his first day of preschool in September 2008. His crocs are too small now. He went from a size 7 shoe to a size 9 1/2! He has grown about 3-4 inches---he's over 3 ft tall now. These clothes are too small. He's definitely a 3T kiddo these days. His hair is darker and he just looks so much older.
These are pictures of Ben on his last day of preschool in April 2009. Ben found a pair of black dress socks in his drawer and claimed them as soccer socks. So, he wore them to preschool on his last day.
You can call me good lookin'.