Tricks

Ethan has been building his confidence back up one step at a time, and today he finally swam the length of the pool again!  Swim lessons start Monday, so I hope we don't deal with anxiety this year.

I've been teaching Benton some new tricks.

Here's a blooper.

Second Chance

It has been almost 3 years since trains became a HUGE part of my life. As Ethan's obsession has faded slightly and Benton has started falling in love with all of Ethan's tracks, I have started liking trains a little better than I have in a long time (years without a break wore me out). A basement + trains and tracks they both love = long periods of happy playing!

Benton also really likes cars and race tracks and Ethan has gotten into super heroes lately.. Add in a pool and reading (which they both really like), and I'm rested from trains enough to give them a second chance!
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Chocolate Touch

Ethan and I finished reading our second chapter book together: The Chocolate Touch. In this book the main character has a magic "spell" that makes everything that touches his mouth turn to chocolate. For our after reading activity we had chocolate fondue with strawberries, pretzels, coconut marshmallows, rice krispie treats, and bananas. Terrible picture, but you get the idea.
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Reading

Benton has gotten very into books lately, and always wants to sit on us. If our lap is available great, but he's happy to sit on a head/shoulder/stomach is we're laying down and that is what is available.
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Teachable Moment

We had our first incident of childhood theft today.  We got home from Pump It Up, an inflatable play place, and Ethan showed me an air hockey puck he had stowed in his pocket.  He admitted that he knew he had it when we left.  So, we talked about how that was stealing.  After his nap he wrote a letter of apology (I didn't take a picture, but it said "Dear Pump It Up, Sorry for taking your puck.  Sincerely, Ethan") and then we drove the half an hour back and he went in to return it.  The employees thought it was very cute that he was saying sorry and brought a note, and after a few seconds caught on to what we were doing and thanked him for being honest and returning it and gave him a stamp on his hand.  I also taught Ethan about repentance and how he needed to feel sorry, make it right as much as he could, and then pray for forgiveness.  He's tells about the experience saying that he stole and he had to pray about it.

I'm glad the experience seems to have been serious, but positive too.  I'm also glad that Costco is right next to Pump It Up so we could make the trip productive and not an hour worth of driving just for a hockey puck (although hopefully the lesson on honesty will stick with him enough to make the trip worth it too).

Decorating

We still haven't gotten all of our old decorations hung, but here you can see the cool new mirrors Mike found online for above our cabinets and the 9 opening picture frame that goes well with them (a freebie from a friend). The frame has pictures of each of our siblings' families.
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Thirsty

Benton is as thirsty as he is hungry, and from about his first birthday, he wants water more than milk.

A little peek into his personality: the only thing he requires in bed now is his water. If his cup is empty, he will lay in the crib and wait patiently while I take it and fill it. Tonight, after about 3 hours of sleep, he was fussing for a few minutes (very uncommon). I went in and he was standing up signing milk and saying "wawa". I asked if he needed more water and he laughed and flopped to his bed. He laid on his tummy until I came back with his water, which he promptly hugged. I started to stroke his face and say good night and he waved and said, "buh bye!".

He is cracking me up lately with the way he says "buh bye" when he is done with us, how he says "ouch" anytime he bumps or hurts himself, and how he is starting to say "poop" when he has a dirty diaper.
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Words to Live By

We decided this quote by President Thomas S. Monson would be a good "motto" for our family, so we ventured into the world of vinyl. I'm happy with how it turned out, but my goodness, was it a pain to put up!
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Yum!

Benton still eats a lot! When we have pizza, he'll eat 2-3 pieces. This morning he had a bowl of steel cut oats and a bowl of wheat chex. 3 hours later he asked for food and ate 9 chicken nuggets, 1.5 mandarin oranges, and a bowl of corn.

He INSISTS on feeding himself. Sometimes if I do something funny like sing the Jaws theme, he'll let me feed him. Lately he has been doing the Jaws theme on his own as he feeds himself.

As you can see in this picture, today he learned to eat out of his bowl without hands.
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Trains!

Benton is less then a month younger than Ethan was when he became obsessed with trains-hard to believe! The boys' babysitter built them a cool track on Saturday and Benton is really enjoying it.

In other news, when Ethan's gymnastics class ended up with two Ethan's, his teacher asked if he wanted to go by another name. Can you guess what Ethan chose? "My name is Thomas and in a few days it will be James.". He always says that, but never changes to James. He is serious enough that when we are at a park or store and someone asks his name, he says, "Thomas Michael Abegg.". We were on our way home from his best buddy's house last week and he said, "I wish I could stay with Sarah forever because then I could always be with Trent. Then my name would be Thomas Sandhaus.". Apparently, he is moving on with life. Silly boy!
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Staying Cool

We have entered the "staying cool" part of the year, with triple digit temps. Benton is enjoying his water table on the shaded porch. We are swimming regularly, even if it is just a quick dip to cool off before bed or before braving the extra heat associated with cooking dinner. ;)
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Anniversaries

Mike and I both had annual reviews today. This was his first with the city, which means he passed the probationary period. Yay!

I just reached my fifth anniversary with Comtrans. We are very fortunate to both have secure jobs that we like and that fit our (young) family centered life style. Lots to be grateful for!
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New Hobby

A few weeks ago I was released from serving as the Primary President after over 3 years in that position.  I was ready to move on, especially after a few weeks of being very "understaffed" with teachers not showing or positions left vacant (which was a common theme over the three years, but I guess I was more burned out at this point).  My main hesitation in being released was where I would be called next.  Fortunately, I got the calling I was hoping for: Primary Chorister!

I now get the funnest part of Primary (singing and playing games with the kids) and none of the stress of leading the organization.  Chorister is becoming a hobby on my list, one of those black holes where all of the sudden I've spent entirely too much time researching, brainstorming, preparing because I'm enjoying it.  I will still be in Prescott on Sunday (race on Saturday) and am really sad to be missing church and the fun of singing time.  Hopefully they don't pull me out of this calling anytime soon!