Benjamin had picked out blue frosting with fish sprinkles for his 2nd birthday. We ended up having a different cake, though. He asked for this frosting regularly since then. I finally made a cake one day and put his frosting on it. I didn't want to pretend it was for his birthday because he knows he's turning 3 next birthday, and I wanted it to have an occasion so he wouldn't think it was normal just to have a cake with junky frosting...so we decided that it was Tigger's birthday. Benjamin said he was turning 4. I will post a video of us singing to him later.
I helped a man read some labels at the grocery store one day. As we were leaving the store we ran into him again and he handed Benjamin a dollar as a thank you. It's in his piggy bank now (along with any other pennies he finds). So cute!
We had our friend, Bella, stay with us a few days. She and Benjamin had SO much fun playing. I think he will love to have a sibling. We got to babysit Katheryn one afternoon too (while I was teaching!!) and they were so good to her. I think it was easier to teach with the 3 of them than it is just with Benjamin.
After she went home, we picked her up that same afternoon because Benjamin missed her! (And I hadn't been able to bring them to the park and she really really wanted to.)
She is going to New York to live with her dad. We will sure miss her! Benjamin heard someone say "New York" the other day and Benjamin yelled, "That's where Bella lives!"
Benjamin experimented with coloring on our grout with crayons. He had a little too much fun cleaning it up so I was worried he would do it again. He hasn't, though!
Costco shopping with Grandma Kara while I was teaching.
Lamoni is a monkey. He was standing on top of that thing but I didn't get my phone out fast enough to take a picture.
We do our produce shopping at Sprouts. Last summer I decided to start going weekly instead of bi-weekly since we would run out of produce the 2nd week. When we have it, we eat it. We now spend half of our grocery budget on produce! The other half goes towards dairy, meat, pasta, rice etc. and food storage. I think we are eating a lot healthier, but it seems like there are still temptations around too often - like Girl Scout cookies! By the way, do you know that the Samoan cookie serving size is TWO cookies? My serving size is more like...half a box maybe. :-)
At a Valentine's party. Benjamin saw a baby on the floor and I watched him go up and start talking to him. He is very excited for baby Peter.
Lamoni had some meetings in Santa Fe one Saturday so when I was done teaching Benjamin and I took the train up there. We had been wanting to do that for awhile, but the train times are so awkward it hadn't worked out. It was perfect since Lamoni had the car we could head back to Albuquerque as soon as we were ready. Benjamin has been quite train-obsessed so he was fascinated by all of it. This is how he sat the entire 1.5 hour train ride. He barely moved a muscle. Everything enthralled him - the cows he saw out the window, the man over the speaker, the train horn... Note the toy train he kept clutched in his hand the whole time.
I had the worst allergy attack I have ever had in my life while we were there. It made it really hard to walk around. Once we went inside for dinner it finally calmed down, but boy was it bad! I was desperate enough to take something for it, but I didn't know what was safe to take with the pregnancy so I just endured.
Throwing sticks in the stream below us.
Looking at the lobsters at Red Lobster, where we had dinner in Santa Fe. Not the best place for a vegetarian...but their alfredo pasta was good.
These mustaches are a favorite.
Valentine's Day
Ice skating finally for Valentine's Day. We originally tried to go a couple years ago and it just now happened. We got to see a hockey game too while we were there - a first for both of us. It has been awhile since we skated and with the imbalance of pregnancy it made it interesting, but neither of us fell so I consider it a success.
Eating breakfast before church.
