gelato at the farmer's market

We had fun shopping at the Farmer's Market and then taking a rest and having some mint chocolate gelato.
It was hot today! Ben took off his hat to have his treat and his hair was crazy.

We had gelato everywhere!

Time to go home and figure out what to do with beets, zucchini, onions, green onions, and cherry tomatoes! We're going to have an interesting dinner tonight!

bedtime woes

Ben is back to the crib for a bit...Jake and I need some sanity, Ben needs to sleep, and we all just need to get along!
The big bed is out and the bookshelf is in along with a chair to make things cozy and comfy.

Jake and Ben reading some stories before bed.

Ben's second photo shoot gallery

ben's shoes
ummm....a headless dad

almost have dad's head....

there we go!

now for a smile from dad

strange sleep habits...again

This was yesterday's sleeping arrangement for Ben. He didn't sleep very long....wonder why?

strange sleeping habits

Yes, Ben still naps in his crib otherwise his parents would go crazy. Sometimes he sleeps and sometimes he doesn't....our nap days with Ben are being phased out as he tends to jump around and tell stories instead of falling alseep. Today he apparently wore himself out playing in bed.

From Ben's Perspective

Ben had the camera and "needed" to take some pictures. So, I gave him a quick tutorial and below is his first gallery of pictures.
His bear chair...on the go

the computer chair...close up

some of his fire engine

his dump truck and baseball helmet

his very favorite toy...

Summer Reading

Dinosaur Roar is one of Ben's favorite books. He pretty much has it memorized.

Summer Reading

Taking it easy from the summer heat.

Ben has a summer cold so he's reading inbetween sniffles. He's reading the last part of 10 Little Monkeys and then The Big Red Barn.

baseball

my baseball boys

ben is a heck of a pitcher

getting the ball from the roof take 1

getting the ball from the roof take 2 ben's baseball "grrrr!"

he's showing off his swing

ben loves to pitch to jake because jake hits it over the roof :-)

watching the boys play ball

Yard updates

our willy nilly weeping willow is looking good these days
my mom gave me a start from this...i call it sweet william...but it came from 327 cannonbury :-)

my mom also gave me a start from this cora bell...i gave it to her when we moved to milwaukee...nice to have it again.

some cool purple plant mom gave us from her garden

it's looking good! next year our perennials will be even prettier.

zinnias that are growing from seed... it worked!

a hisbiscus passed down from mema to mom to me. it's going to bloom giant deep red/purplish flowers later on this summer.

jake's herb garden: thyme and mint; the rosemary, lavendar, and orange mint came from the Blasor wedding, and a few other ground covers.

you're buggin' me

Ben wanted to play baseball and go to the pool but first he had to finish his yogurt snack that he was so adamant about getting. I was telling him to eat, Jake was telling him to eat....he turned to us and said, "Mom, you're buggin' me. Dad, you're buggin' me too!" We busted out laughing and that was the end of the "buggin'." He did finish his snack and got both of his play time wishes.

It takes a village to fall asleep.

Ben had every single stuffed animal that he owns keeping him company last night.
Before we went to bed we moved most of the animals to find that Ben was sweating like crazy. His hair was sticking straight up and even his pillow was wet. We uncovered him a bit and put the fan on him so he would cool off.

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'.