Christmas is here again

We went to the famous house tonight, the one in Arcadia that has more lights and as Ben pointed out "Cawosells" and lit up everything, bubbles, hot cocoa and so many fun Christmas-y decorations. The "real" Santa wasn't there yet so we'll probably go again next week. Then I felt like dressing our lovely Lucy up in her special Reindeer antlers, she's a hoot! What a sweet dog we have, what a blessing she is to our family.

A continuation of Benjamin's 3rd birthday

We found out about a month ago that "Yo Gabba Gabba" were coming to Phoenix this weekend and my first thought was that since Benjamin has LOVED that show for some time now and insisted on being D.J. Lance Rock for Halloween that we would take him. I talked to Lindsey and she agreed it would be a huge treat for the kids, Aaron also loved the show, so we booked out tickets and looked SO forward to tonight! It was Benjamin's birthday present, it was phenomenal, all of the characters, familiar songs, balloons falling from the sky, dancing, singing and Aaron even got to go up on Biz Markie's lap and do a little beatboxing! Phenomenal time. Of course Ben did have a little meltdown, maybe too much excitement? Daddy took him up the stairs so he could still see the show and things mellowed out. Afterward we went to this really fun place the Postal's call "Cool kid place" and I now know why, there was an area for kids to play with toys, the Wii and lots of things to occupy toddlers while Mommy's and Daddy's can relax, why aren't there more places like that? We had a great dinner and a lot of fun, Benjamin constantly talks about how cute "Jackson's" is (and he is!) and it was so fun to be with Lindsey, Dan and James. What a great 2nd part of Mr. B turning 3, great friends to celebrate with!

Benjamin's 3rd Birthday!

We had such a great, spread out birthday week for our sweet boy! On his actual birthday I took him to the McDonald's by the mall that has Dinosaurs that are as big as the real ones were and speakers that have loud Dinosaur noises, it scared him to death, the tight grip around my neck and the fact that he wouldn't get down were just some indications of that so to make things a little more relaxed we went to the Carousel. That, he still won't ride on a real animal but loves and talks about all the time, he always wants to go, but only to sit on a bench. Shortly after our nap out friends Salomon and Roxanna came over to play with the new train set from Grandpa which he loves but doesn't quite understand how to use yet, in time. We made Pizza and had cake and then went to "Chuck O Cheese" and his favorite part was Daddy playing the games as he pulled the tickets out of each machine. He LOVED being there. We had a blast. It was an extraordinary day for our little man and so hard for me to believe he is actually 3 years old. Where did the time go? He has added so much joy and love to our lives and we have experienced more amounts of fun than we ever knew possible. They say you'll never know true love until you become a parent and I did know what it was when I met James but now there is one person I think about their well being, safety and happiness more than anyone in the world. I love my boy so much and treasure each moment with him.

Thanksgiving

We had the most wonderful Thanksgiving with our family at Auntie and Uncle's house, Ben loved playing constantly with his Cousin "Leees" and we enjoyed having time to have fun (James watched football and I got to chat away with my Mom and Aunties). What a perfectly lovely evening!

Zoo day with our sweet friends

Sedona

Ben loves baby Jackson, his best friend Aaron and Storytime!

A day at the Park

James was home for a few days after we found out the news about my Mom so we got out of the house and had a fun time at the park, this is my favorite time of the year here in Phoenix.

Mother and Daughter

I wasn't sure if I would post this on my blog but since this blog is particularly for me and my family I thought I would go ahead and say that my Mom has been diagnosed with Colon/Rectal Cancer, she starts Chemo and radiation this week and will be having surgery to remove it once it has shrunk. This has obviously been the most earth shattering news for me and my family but my beautiful Mother never ceases to amaze me with her positive thinking, determination, unwavering faith and wisdom. I am praying 100% of the time, seeing her in Sedona once a week and will not stop until this is behind us, if ever. I am thankful for medical advancements and for the wonderful Doctors that will cure her, I am even more grateful for my relationship with her. Friends have been so supportive, helping with Benjamin so that I can be with her and James, my rock, my soul mate, my tell-it-like-it-is with more love than anyone (besides my Mom) could ever give me has been amazing. I, as my Mom would say, RISE in love with him more and more with each passing day. Benjamin is a dancing, singing tiny entertainer these days with an ever growing vocabulary and he doesn't let me get in to sulky ruts because he says things that just crack me up, he is the light of my life and the apple of my eye. I am envisioning this nasty Cancer to shrink, shrink, shrink down and for Dr. Wesche to remove it all and have this be behind us. Until then, I will be breathing deeply, trying to be the best daughter, mother, wife, friend, sister and every other role I am. Much love, most especially to my Mom and my best friend.

DJ Lance Rock, Spidey and Monkey baby

We had a nice, low-key Halloween this year with the Postal family. Aaron, Jackson and Benjamin were absolutely adorable, loved going up to the doors and getting candy and had practiced their "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" over and over but Ben still wanted his Daddy to hold him most of the time. Next year we may expand and do more houses but this year was just right for all of us.

He loves his sister

James took these pics when I was at work on a Saturday of both of our kiddos getting some Sun.

Not quite

Obviously Ben copies a lot of the things that we say but today he wanted to try some gingerale because I was having some and when I asked him if he's rather have orange juice he said "Not quite". Now to me that was absolutely hysterical, my little tiny fella is such a piece of work!

The cutest little sayings

It's been really fun hearing Ben talk about Halloween, he's very excited seeing the decorations in stores and knows that he's going to be dressing up. After hearing him just say "Halloween" over and over I asked him if he liked Halloween and he said "Yes!", I told him to say something about Halloween, if he looked forward to it, liked it or enjoyed things about it and later on I heard him talking to his Daddy and he said "I yike Halloween skuff (stuff)!" Cracked us up! He's really starting to form sentences. I heard him just a couple of minutes ago playing with his Elmo balloon and he said "Beeyoon make me happy". Ahhh, the sweet sound of his little voice, I love it when things make him happy! Especially because he has also asked us if we were mad and told us he was angry recently, new feelings and emotions from our sweet two year old that I am glad he is exploring and learning but really hope he has more good emotions than bad.

Schnepf Farms

Ryan and Elyse were on one of their school breaks and I wanted to do something fun with them, I had heard about Schnepf farms pumpkin and chili festival and knew that there would be some fun things for all of us. It was a lot of fun, our unseasonably warm weather was the only hindrance. We went on a Hay ride around the farm and stopped at some miniature deer to feed them, the driver told us some facts about the fully operational 300 acre farm, that was interesting. We got to ride the Carousel which was of course a treat for Ben since he thinks they are so cool right now. There were goats and other animals you could pet in the petting zoo but it freaked Ben out and he wanted nothing to do with touching the animals. Then the kids wanted to go on a train ride around it, that was nice, a little breezy too which helped. Then we stopped off at a little store and go sodas before riding a Bee ride, roller-coaster, swinging ride and going through the corn maze. We walked one last time through the pumpkin patch before ending by getting the best Lemonades Elyse and I had ever had. All in all, a fun fall activity that I would do again, as long as the temps are way below 95.