Benson is 15 Months

Our sweet little boy is growing up! Benson at 15 months weighs about 22 pounds and is 32 inches tall. He is a good talker and says quite a few words including ball, all done, drink, toothbrush (tee), let's go, thank you (day doo), cheese (for pictures), "bow" for his security blankie, kitty, dog, night night, and shoe. He also loves making animal noises. He likes to read books, especially ones with kitties. He thinks he is a big boy now that he gets to share a room with brother. We put Brig to bed first and then when Bens is ready for bed he climbs up the stairs and lays down next to Brig in his bed (it's a good thing Brig is a deep sleeper.) I let him cuddle with Brig for a little bit then I lay him down in his crib. He also likes to go for walks and play at the park. He is a daredevil on the slides and always goes down head first. We think maybe he will be a dentist someday because he is completely obsessed with toothbrushes. He is always carrying one around and often climbs up on top of the toilet to reach the counter where everyone else's toothbrushes are and swipes our toothbrushes. Silly boy. He is really getting the hang of walking now and is doing more and more. I think maybe since our new house has all hardwood floors it has motivated him to get up off of his knees. Here are some pictures we had taken in Shelby by our friend Lisa before we moved. I will post more family pictures and more about our move soon. Happy Mother's day y"all! My little boys are everything to me and there isn't a better word to hear them say than "Mama."

March and Easter!

Time to play catch-up. We've been super busy getting ready for our big move next week. The last six weeks have flown by with a mountain bike trip to Moab for Jared and his brothers, a couple of ear infections for Benson (I'm blaming it on his 4 giant molars that came in), packing or selling our belongings, Easter egg hunts, and a couple of fun trips to Fairfield and Shelby. Sorry, the pictures are all out of order.

Playing around downtown Helena. I think Benson's saying here: Look, brother! We are sitting with a grizzly bear!

Wiped out after a long day!

It's too bad this picture turned out blurry. Brig's best friend Anna (she is on the dinosaur behind Brig) had her 4th birthday party at the carousel. Brig is riding on the buffalo.

Brig named his horse black night.

Both boys were actually happiest sitting on the couch instead of the horses.

The boys play hard when at the Grandparents' houses. I took this picture because they fell asleep after only 3 minutes of driving.

Benson enjoyed Uncle Jorden's chicken lollies. Great Grandma Collins always says that little kids need a chicken bone to chew on. We enjoyed being there for cousin Eli's baby blessing the Sunday after Easter. 

Here's Brig on top of the haystack after helping Papa feed the cows. He got a little too much hay in his eyes and had quite the allergic reaction with swollen eyes and welts on his face. He gets to stay inside the feed truck now and drive instead of helping push the hay bales off of the truck.

Addy on top of the haystack.

Benson sitting on the back of Blue Thunder. Benson loves the cows. Whenever he sees one he tries to moo with "oooo!"

Brig helping Papa drive Blue Thunder.

Brig in his gymnastics class. He is the youngest and smallest in his class but definitely one of the most coordinated.

Benson likes to mimic everything Brig says or does.

Benson is our little climber. He thinks he's big stuff when he can get up on the chairs.

My little train engineers. We take train track building seriously around here.

With the weather being so nice lately we've made it out to canyon Ferry lake a couple of times. can you spot the deer behind the silly face?

We love going to Loralei beach area to play- lots of sand and rock formations to climb and we usually have the place to ourselves. Benson loved playing in the sand and testing out the water a little.

We tried taking a few family snap shots while we were there. I set the camera on the self timer and then had to leap over the water to get seated on the rocks in time. It kind of worked.

I like this last one the best.

Selfie

 Jared had to work Easter eve so Saturday morning we watched some of Conference and did an Easter egg hunt in Helena. Brig was so excited to listen to President Monson. He also enjoyed sustaining the church leaders. He would raise his right hand every time and when it was done he said, "I sustain the prophets!" After that I headed to Fairfield with the boys for more Easter fun with the Haynes crew. Jared joined us after  his last night shift and getting some rest at a quiet house. Papa fired the pistol to signal the start of the Easter egg hunt. It was a chilly day but the kids made out like bandits with buckets of eggs.

Benson got lots of snuggle time with Grandma.

Benson was asleep during the hunt but he enjoyed "swimming" in the piles of eggs and eating some chocolate.

We had many egg hunts at home practicing up for the real hunts.

I just love the view when I drive back and forth between Helena and Augusta.

My blueberry boy!

The boys helping me make caramel popcorn after family home evening one night.

We had some family pictures taken last time we were in Shelby. Benson was kind of sad during most of the shoot. I will post pix soon!

Benson at the Easter egg hunt at the retirement community.

Brig thought everyone was there to watch him collect eggs. He would pick up an egg and turn around and wave at all of the parents and run to the next one without looking forward. Funny kid. 

Brigham and all of his girlfriends. His friend Emily (far left) also turned 4 this month.

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