February Fun

Here's our February in a nutshell. Benson is 13 months old now. He is picking up sign language quickly. He signs for all done, more, drink, and please. He is still tentative about walking, but will walk while holding just one of my hands. Tonight at dinner he folded his arms for prayer. He jabbers away in his little voice and often sounds like the sloth off of "The Croods," Da da daaaa! He loves to play peekaboo by putting his hands over his eyes or his blankie over his head. His favorite song is slippery fish and its so cute to watch him put his hands on his cheeks when we say "oh my!"

Jared and I went to Vegas for a few days for a getaway before school starts. We enjoyed the buffets, sunshine, the temple and some shows. The boys had a great time at Grandma and Papa Choo choo's.

We had a fun weekend with Jake, Rachel and crew, and Papa and Nana too! We checked out the Montana history museum. The kids liked the wolf den, the teepee, the old school kitchen and of course the white buffalo.

Our house is under contract. Woot woot! We close the end of April and then we will be on our way to the East Coast. Jared starts classes May 11th. He is ready to get started.

Playing peekaboo on the slide

Brig showing off his Ninja dance moves

We were making funny faces while waiting for Dad to get home.

Painting with QTips for the leter Q.

Brig with his preschool "queens"

The boys playing cars together. It's been watching them play more together now that Benson is older.

Brig completed his first 24 piece puzzle all by himself. He loves puzzles.

He can also do his alphabet train puzzle

Two squeaky clean boys sharing snacks in their matching monster pjs

Bens walking on his knees

Brig concentrating hard on his preschool workbook

Bens got to try out the foam pit during gymnastics. Notice his toothbrush in his hand. He is always carrying around toothbrushes. He calls them "tee"

Five little indians in the teepee!

 The rest are a few pix from Las Vegas. Prepare for lots of selfies. I had a hard time convincing Jared to go to any of the shows but he finally decided Tournament of the Kings would be fun because you get to eat the food with your hands. Ha! Everyone was assigned a country and you were supposed to cheer for the knight from your country during the tournament. The winner was determined by who cheered the loudest. We were seated in the Dragon section (the evil knight).

Waiting for the show to start. Apparently that is Jared's funny face.

These were our faces after realizing how unlucky we were in Vegas. Traffic violation. Ugh. 

Waiting for the water fountain show

Jared enjoying his king crab legs at the Belagio buffet

Funny and Sweet Quotes from Our 3 Year Old

Every day Brigham makes us laugh with the things he says and his silly antics. Here are some that I remembered to write down from the past few months.

We asked Brigham what he learned about in nursery and he said exasperated, "Jesus. AGAIN."

Jared got a text message and his phone vibrated. Brig started laughing and exclaimed "Dad, your phone tooted!"

I put new cleaner in the toilet and Brig didn't notice it until after he had gone potty. "Mom, my pee is BLUE!"

Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he said, "I don't need anything."

Someone asked Brig if Santa found him. He said, "No, I found him and ate his cookies!"

At Christmas time we were talking about gifts and how Jesus is a gift to us. We asked Brigham what he could give to Jesus. He said "Cookies because they are my favorite!" We made cookies for dessert that night.

Brig got to along with Dad when somebody in our ward was moving. They rode in our Bishop's really nice, Diesel Cummings truck on the way. Jared asked Brig what he thought of the truck. "Skullrider is a LOT better and faster."

During a primary sharing time he got into an argument his friend Ramsey. The lesson was about how God is our Heavenly Dad. Ramsey said, "But my Dad's name is Jared!" And of course Brig responded with, "No, Jared is MY dad!"

His third week in primary he had to be separated from his friend Anna because they were kissing on the lips during sharing time.

While driving in our new vehicle I asked Brig what we should name it. He came up with "good guy."

I showed him the picture of Jorden and Ariel's new baby and told him he had a new cousin and he needed a name. Brig thought they should call him "Zuku?" I can't imagine why they went with Eli over Zuku.

While playing at the park with Aunt Heather he started picking his nose. Heather asked him to stop and he replied with, "Most people don't pick their nose. But I do!" And then he ate his booger.

Brig said to me, "Mom, Dad's not the boss. You are."

Brig said the family prayer the other night and he asked Heavenly Father to help him make good choices so he wouldn't get washed away in the flood. We had the Noah's ark lesson months ago. I guess it made a lasting impression.

Showing the house to potential buyers can be challenging with a little chatterbox. The first thing he said to a couple that was looking was, "there was a BIG puddle in the basement!"

Benson Turns ONE!

It's hard to believe that Benson is ONE! It's amazing how quickly this year has gone by and how much he has grown! We enjoyed reflecting on how our special boy came to us. We were so anxious to meet him! The day he was born we drove to Utah and parked outside of the Layton hospital a little after noon. We drove around the parking lot trying to kill time while saying, "Benson we are here!" He was born at 12:35 pm :-). Later in the day we got a phone call telling us that the delivery went well and that Benson was a healthy, beautiful baby and that we could meet him the next day. We didn't sleep well that night, we were so excited and nervous. We arrived at the hospital and Benson's birthmom, H, wheeled Benson out of the nursery in his bassinet. I couldn't breath and my heart leaped as I peered into the bassinet and saw Benson for the first time, quietly dozing. H said she had a surprise for us and she pulled off his cap. Red hair!! Oh, so cute! We were in love. 

At one year Benson weighs 22 pounds (34th percentile) and is 31 inches tall (80th percentile). He has ten teeth and sleeps through the night. He is learning to walk and can take about two steps on his own. He much prefers to crawl because it is faster. Lately, he has been "walking" on his knees so I think he'll get the hang of it soon. His favorite book is "Peekaboo Farm" and loves looking at any books with animals. He still loves balls and balloons. In fact the balloons were his favorite thing from his birthday. He is a pretty good eater and switched easily to cow's milk. He can say a few words like ball, all done, and drink. He loves wrestling with Brig and being chased and tickled. 

For his birthday we let him eat a LOT of cake. He grabbed the cake in both hands and shoved it in his mouth. After every bite he would say, mmmm! He like the wrapping and tissue paper better than his presents but Brig enjoyed helping him open the presents. 

 The following weekend we made a trip to Missoula while Jared went to Pocatello to help Ryan and Melissa move. Papa Moo Moo and Nana stayed in the hotel with the waterslides so we spent an afternoon playing in the water. Brig and Benson loved the kiddie area. Benson kept trying to crawl around in the water but it was a little too deep. Brig and I went down the big slide a few times and Brig kept saying he wanted to go all by himself. We then had a pizza party and went sledding the next day. Its always fun getting together with cousins!

 Brig started a gymnastics class last month. There are five kids in his class, ages 3 and 4. He is a natural gymnast. He is super coordinated, has great balance, and zero fear to try new things. His coach is Miss Krista and his best friend Anna is in his class. It's been fun watching him try new things and learn some new skills.