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hi. it's me, ben. wondering about this post's title? that would be the international distress symbol, SOS. more on that later, but first, a picture of the boys (me, daddy, and luke)...



and a picture of my brother with a look that describes how our days have been going sometimes!!



actually, that was how our days were going before Beamee arrived!! and that brings us back to SOS. life is fun and exciting with a little brother around, but he tends to be a little high maintenance, particularly in the nighttime hours, and momma was suffering from sleep deprivation and needed some reinforcements!! Beamee to the rescue!! she does have a way with the little ones (and with me too!)...

she was here for one week and really helped out by playing with me and holding luke and just being a warm, smiling face around the house. we miss her already and are so glad she came! we did some shopping together, celebrated cousin Jessica's high school graduation, and just played a lot. we were totally bummed to see her go - see!

but we did also have a surprise visit in there from Grampee too! and that sure was awesome! we weren't expecting him to come this trip because he was busy with work stuff, but he surprised us by showing up on our doorstep for a long weekend visit!! thank you, Grampee!! Luke doesn't look thrilled here, but he was, i promise!

now that our visitors are gone, we're back to usual. i've been spending so much time with daddy since Luke was born, and that is really neat for both of us. we've bonded a lot and just have lots of fun with each other...

oh, please excuse me just a moment, i have to take a call...

yes, okay... yes, very good... sounds great, okay, bye!

okay, sorry, i'm back! i've also been busy playing with trains...

and a few days ago i rearranged my magnet letters to spell my own name! i've been able to spell B-E-N out loud for a while now, but momma helped me spell it in letters by just coaching me a little bit on how to arrange them next to each other like this, but mostly i did it on my own because she was actually at the kitchen sink washing dishes at the time! she was very, very proud of me. since this happened, she's actually been pressuring me to get a job if i think i'm so smart... i'm not so sure about that...

i think i'll just stick to having fun and being a kid...

forgot to mention that when Grampee came, he brought a cool new outfit for me! if you know Grampee, you know that he likes authentic, german adidas soccer clothes. no one is exactly sure why this is or how this came about, but Grampee is cool, the adidas clothes are cool, and so there you go. and now i have some gear too, so i feel cool! check it out!!

i suppose they are a little big, but that's good news for me because then i'll be able to wear them for a long time! do these shorts make me look fat?

we also had fun playing with blocks and just hanging out together...

but ever since Beamee and Grampee have been gone, i've been a little "crooked" (inside joke, if you know me, you know about my "crooked" but if you don't really know me that well, you'll just have to believe me)...

i also forgot to share two last cute pictures of me with Beamee, swinging at Aunt Debbie's house...

and one last picture of Luke, hanging out with friends...

okay, that's all for now. Mimsie and Grandpa are headed over the ocean to Scotland - have a good trip and hopefully we'll see you soon when you get back! otherwise, Aunt Elaina and Aunt Aimee - you're up next! please come visit ASAP. :)

one month old!

hi (it's me, ben). luke is already one month old (plus three days)! we love having him around (although he does cry a bit too much, if you ask me) and love watching him grow and discover the world with each new day. here we are hanging out this morning...

and here i am wearing daddy's slippers around a bit...

and luke is napping right now - this is what he looks like! sorry kid, momma has to take the naps however she can get them at this point... he used to be really good about napping in his bed, or really anywhere for that matter, but lately he's been a little high maintenance (not at all unlike how i was at that age, sorry mom!) and has to be "worn" to sleep and then gently placed in the swing.

mom and i can usually get a little quality one-on-one play time in throughout the day, but usually not for very long. i'm trying to be an understanding sport about it though, and can occupy myself by coloring (which i love to do lately) or reading books to myself. and i still love to play with anything on wheels and am actually doing really well at keeping myself entertained. but of course i still manage to fit in several tantrums a day and love looking forward to the next snack time, so i'm managing pretty well. okay, i guess that's all for now. since things are kind of crazy around here, we'll try to post again soon, but it may not be for another couple years or so, once things settle down a bit. :) bye!!

my little bro...

hello! well, it's been 4 weeks since luke was born and i've decided he's pretty cool and i think we'll keep him. he does cry a little bit but otherwise is pretty low maintenance and an overall good little brother. and i've been working on sharing things (like momma's attention) and have decided i would share my blog with him. so now it's the "ben and luke" blog, although i will likely be doing most of the posting still, since luke doesn't appear to have been born with the talents that i was (poor kid). so far, things are going great with him around and i wanted to show you some more pictures of him recently (he changes fast!). but first there are just a couple of me too... the one above pretty much describes how things are around here now - fun but crazy. :) and the two below are of me trying on the sling that momma usually carries luke around in...

and here's what luke looks like lately... isn't he so sweet? (i think so! i like to give him little kisses and pats on the head, even if he's upset and crying)...

here are some funny faces he makes when he's stretching...

and sometimes he makes really goofy faces like this one!

one time he had a question, so he politely waited to be called on... (he was probably thinking, "um, excuse me miss, but could i trouble you for some milk, please?)...

at this point, he's still not completely sure how he feels about being on the outside with all of us, and he just stares in amazement (or confusion)...

and sometimes he even throws a few gang signs while trying to look cool...

and this is him thinking, "whatever" (aunt elaina style)...

and finally, this is him realizing that momma likes to give waaaaay too many kisses, but being the good boys that we are, you just have to give in and let her...

well, that's us for now. thanks for checking in and we'll try to post more again soon. bye! :)