8 months

Saturday was Benson's 8th month birthday. He is getting so big! I put him on the scale and he sat pretty still - it told me he was 19 pounds which sounds about right. He has gotten his two bottom teeth in and has started to crawl, roll, and scoot to just about anywhere. Last week was his first time pooping in the tub (It was so gross!) and he also got his first diaper rash (sad!)

He loves to watch people and try to make eye contact - hoping they will give him a smile so he can smile back. He loves yams, cheese and crackers. He does not like mashed chicken. He loves baths and his toy trucks. He is very ticklish and is a very good sleeper.

The other week we had put oral gel on his gums to help with teething...it was my first time putting it on and so i was pretty liberal...so much that he couldn't keep his pacifier in his mouth....every time I'd put it in, he'd start to suck but couldnt feel it really and it would fall out. we tried several times but then had to give up till the it wore off. it was pretty funny.

He is still teething...do they get fevers and fussiness with EVERY tooth or just the first couple? if its for each one this is going to be a long couple of months!

we are excited for his 9 month check up and can't believe how old he is getting!

Hogle Zoo

Since we are moving soon, Scott and I have made up a long list of things to do here before we leave. Hogle Zoo was definitely on there. It was a little cold but worth the trip. We got to see a lot of animals and half way through Ethan and Alison joined us with their little man. (Warning: there is a lot of pictures!)
Benson was more interested in his snacks and watching kids
around him but he did like the meerkats a lot.
(i think that's what they are)


Scott's favorite part was the tigers and cougars

I liked seeing the giraffe's
Benson also noticed the parrot that was eating his food.



This is Benson's concerned look - Where's my snack?
The elephant got hers!

The baby elephant was my favorite.
she was having so much fun playing with her toys.

Trenches of Motherhood

When I was in high school, I was a trouble maker and by the time I was a senior had started to hang out with the wrong crowd. Luckly the fates of destiny intervened during my 7th period Government class with Mr.Patterson out in the trailers.

Mr. Patterson didn't like me. I talked to much and couldn't understand the basic's of the way our government is built (What comes around goes around, how ironic that i'm teaching government now?) He had one of those signs that said "Welcome" on one side and "We're closed" on the other. One day i stole it from him. I told you, i was a trouble maker. To this day I regret taking that sign.

point being- he had plenty of reasons not to like me. One day a girl who was sitting in front of me turned around and commented on how she liked my shoes. She had dark long curly hair and the most gorgeous lashes that came with big brown eyes. I had never seen her at school before but I told her thanks and explained how I worked at nine west and....before i could finish, Mr. Patterson interupts and asks me if i want to share with the rest of the class what I'm talking about. Being the disrespectful-senior-who-thought-she-owned-the-school I said I would Love to share with the class the story of how I got the shoes I was wearing.

Poor Mr.Patterson didn't know how much I loved to talk...10 mintues later i finish my story and he just stared at me and then went on with his lecture. The brown haired girl in front of me couldn't stop giggling. She thought I was funny and it turned out she was hilarious.

Alison was her name, and over the next few weeks we realized that we not only had the same birthday but the same car (just different color), same shoes, pants, shirt, and bag. this list could go on and on and on.

In the end this brown eyed girl became my best friend and greatest example. She was the answer to my mother pleading prayers - someone to pull me out of hanging out with the wrong crowd. We still got into mischief but it was more of an adventure than anything. Like the time we went to the mall and a huge thunderstorm came and cut off all the electricity. By the time that we had left the mall and gotten into the car we were drenching. For some reason or another we had the great idea that if we took off our shirts and pants, the seats wouldnt get as wet. That didn't go so well when we realized that we couldn't even drive on the road because the water was too high. we had to pull over to the side of the road and some innocent man who thought he was being helpful stopped to see if we were okay.

Took that man by surprise.

I've learned a lot from her over the years and to this day I still firmly believe that she helped me become who I am today.

Alison started a blog, Trenches of Motherhood, and after rolling around on the floor with tears streaming down my face while I read it because how funny it was, I HAD to share it with you...it is hilarious.

http://alisonwelti.blogspot.com/ for some reason i can't get it to link directly..weird.

Sick Day

Yesterday was a sick day for Benson. We stayed home from church and did this all day.

Benson

Sneak Peek

We took a stroll through Temple Square the other day since the weather was beautiful and caught a sneak peek at Spring. It made me so excited for warmer weather and spring time!


My two favorite boys!
We also saw this dude...what a bike!

3D Please!

This last weekend ( i know, its been almost a week! its been insanely busy!) Me and my cousin's wife, Alison went out for a girls night out. we left our baby boys at home with the men and ventured to see Avatar in 3D. I've been wanting to see it for some time and it was a good excuse to go.

I think my new favorite thing is 3D movies... I don't know what makes it so fun but I LOVE it! The movie was entertaining, very liberal but i enjoyed it. The special effects were amazing. Needless to say I keep having weird dreams about the movie.

(Do you like our friend in the background?)