Spring in Connecticut

It turns out that spring weather in New England is almost as unpredictable as spring in Montana. We had a lot of rain, some snow, and now it's 75 degrees. With all of the rain we were getting a little bit of cabin fever so we got some bouncy horses to hop on. Brigham named his Red-ie and Benson's is Freddie. They have provided hours of entertainment.

Brig participated in a six week gymnastics class. He is a natural gymnast, but oh, it was hard for him to stand still in line and wait his turn. We survived though.

The boys were super excited to watch General Conference at home. I had to take a picture of them while they sat in their chairs for a few minutes. 

Brig is my handsome cowboy and wears his boots everywhere he goes.

Easter was fun this year with an egg hunt with our play group and dinner at our house with friends. The boys practiced hunting eggs at home weeks beforehand and were surprised to find actual candy in the eggs during the real hunt.

Benson still loves playing with his toy animals. He likes to line them up and count them multiple times a day. 

I got to be a "mystery reader" at Brig's preschool. He was so excited to show me off to everyone.

The boys and I took turns getting ear infections. Benson twice in the same month. Here he is enjoying playing at the park after a round of antibiotics.

Benson has decided he wants to be a BIG boy and is using the potty chair. It was his idea and he has been doing great!

Have I said how much I love our local YMCA? We all tried rock climbing and Brig made it 2/3 of the way up the wall. I was surprised because he is a little afraid of heights.

I received lots of valentines in February. My favorite one says, "Mom, you are so big and strong and I like you. -Brig."

The boys were playing with stamps one day and got into a fight over the letter "e". Guess who won?

Brig often fills up my phone with silly pictures like these.

Moo Moo Benson is 2!

Oh, Benson is a fun boy at age two! Some things about our sweet and happy boy: I will often see him singing and dancing by himself. He thinks it's so funny to combine songs- his favorite right now is the ABC/ Twinkle Twinkle Little Star mashup. He idolizes his big brother and wants to do everything he does-even wear the same clothes and sit on the potty. I'm not sure that I am ready for that adventure yet, but he thinks he is. He still likes to suck on his silk lovies to fall asleep. Some of his favorite activities right now are reading books, playing with play-dough, coloring, puzzles, emptying the bench that holds our shoes and hats and gloves, and playing with his farm animals. He talks all the time and I think he may have a photographic memory.
On his big day the boys woke up to a balloon drop that Dad made the night before. We then made farm animal cupcakes and ate them with cherry ice cream and opened presents. We also went to the Kidcity museum in Middletown. The boys had a great time exploring all of the hands on exhibits. They liked shooting the cross bows the best in the dark ages castle. Happy birthday Benson, we sure love you!

balloon drop

our budding artist

"I'm an astornaut!"

Benson is a little afraid of fire and did NOT like the candles.

Teeter totter at Kid City

We've had two big snow storms lately. This is after the first storm when the snow wasn't very good for snowman making.

We all went and watched a ball game at CCSU. They have the worst team in the conference so the boys took some selfies to stay entertained.

The second snow storm took everyone by surprise with 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. Lots of tree branches broke and I was worried about the power lines but they held. However, the snow storm ruined our travel plans while Papa choo choo and grandma were visiting. We were planning on going to Boston and Rhode Island but we got snowed in.

I didn't manage to take pictures of Papa and grandma while they were with us. I did snap this one of Brig falling asleep while we were waiting for our dinner at the Cheesecake factory. He was coming down with a cold and was asleep by 630 two nights in a row.

Benson putting on socks all by himself. He loves changing clothes.

We had a fun night at an indoor trampoline place. The boys liked shooting hoops and jumping in the foam pit the best.

Fall in New England

The trick or treating mob

Happy Halloween! I've decided that everyone goes all out for Halloween here in New England. We went to two parties, two trunk or treats, and two pumpkin patches. The boys had a great time dressing up as batman and a train conductor. Brigham's friend, Caleb, had a birthday party and then we trick or treated with them around their neighborhood. 

The boys painting their pumpkins. Benson is an artist. He loves anything crafty and gets upset if you "help" him with his art.

The amount of leaves here is unbelievable. There was a large pile in our neighborhood that the boys enjoyed playing in.

Watch out boys! The monster wants some of your candy! We decorated the car for our ward's trunk or treat and I also helped out at Brigham's school trunk or treat.

Has anyone seen Benson?

Fall is really is beautiful here. This is Brig showing off his big muscles as we hiked around Crescent Lake.

The boys playing with their neighbor friends in the leaves.

Benson likes to drink water our of the camelbaks. 

We picked apples with our friend Dexter.

The boys on the hay ride up to the orchard.

The pumpkin patch. It was a warm day.

They especially liked the corn maze. Good thing it was small because we went around it several times.

Enjoying an apple fritter. Num num!

Benson loves underdogs from big brother.

A couple of silly monkeys in the baby swings.

Brig's school picture. The photographer captured a rare moment of shyness.

New haircut for this stud!

Brig enjoyed doing " pin poke" worksheets during General Conference. And I enjoyed snuggling with my two burritos!

The boys at crescent lake. We come here a lot.