Daddy's helper

Audrey was very excited about Father's day! She woke Daddy up with a smile and a special gift she made, and lots of hugs and kisses. She helped Daddy in the office this morning and this is what I found on the camera.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Jeff, Pop, Papa, Eric and all you other father's out there!!! It's been a fun Father's Day weekend here, except for the fact that Jeff is on call and is getting worked...regardless we had a good time! We managed to hit the pool with some friends Saturday and Ben made his first trip into the pool. He's gone to the pool with us before but always ended up sleeping through it all. Here are a few pics from the pool.

All dressed and ready to swim!
R.I.P. beach ball- it was stolen at the pool :(
Ben was not a fan of the water. I think the sun was his biggest enemy: need to get out the mini sunglasses.
Ben still not enjoying it. He decided to bail on the pool and nap.

Quote of the century

Audrey: "Dear Jesus, please bring us a girl baby because I really want a girl baby too. I love my boy baby, but I really, really want a girl baby too.
Mommy's thought bubble: "The only way we're getting a girl baby is if Jesus himself brings it to the front door."

Pudge-a-rific

Mr. Benjamin is 12 weeks old today!!! I swear he has gotten even pudgier in the past 2 or 3 days! He's deliciously fat and I love every roll! Wish I could say the same about myself, but you know how it goes....

All cracked up.

This is the second time in 10 days that Audrey has decided she wants eggs. The first time I was nursing Ben and she told me she wanted eggs and proceeded to get them out of the fridge and didn't listen to my cues to wait and before I knew it there were 12 egg s cracked in a bowl....we had eggs for lunch. Today I was upstairs folding laundry and knew that the "quiet' was just too nice. Low and behold, I come downstairs to find a bowl of 12 eggs ready to go. Anyone want an omelet or 5????

OctoMom

It's babies everywhere I look in this house! I thought I only had one! Audrey has recruited every baby doll in her house to be her "kids". They eat breakfast with her, play with her, watch tv with her, take a bath with her (as best the cloth ones can) and go to bed with her. Audrey even asked me to nurse a few of them, of course she said "pretend nurse them, Mommy, not for real." Thank goodness. Every time I turn around there is a baby doll in one of Ben's apparatuses. That girl is one busy Mommy!!!

Quote of the day...

Audrey: "Tell Daddy that Ben did it."
I won't say what she did, but I did ask her if she thought that Daddy would believe that Ben, who can't walk or talk, or even sit up actually did it. She said "yes." Audrey is very much of the belief right now that if you didn't see me do it, then I did NOT do it. Sigh....

The Little Monstah!

If you are not a Red Sox fan, then boo to you! Pictured here is the cutest Little Monstah you've ever seen. Kudos to Buddy and Mary Ellen for sending the adorable gear, made even more adorable by my handsome son, Ben! Here he is relaxing on the new screened porch. Audrey and I put him out there in his bouncy seat while I put the new furniture together and it was so comfortable he decided to take a snooze. Be sure to visit soon to enjoy the new porch with us!

Whew.

Did you miss me? Or maybe you just missed pictures of the kids. I think I've spoiled my readers with so many frequent posts, it seems like it's been a long time, but I guess it's less than a week. Let's see, it's hot, it's summer, and we've been busy. Ben is getting bigger by the second and Audrey continues to be an excellent big sister. My parents were here for a visit this past weekend, and spent lots of quality time with Ben and Audrey, and Jeff and I actually got to go out on a date with no children whatsoever! Here is a variety of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

A smiling Big Ben

So cute!

Enjoying Grandma time

Papa!

Date night.
Helping with baby brother.
What can I say...this is cute!Reaching out for Papa.

Surfin' on his tummy time mat.
Laughing with Daddy.Chillin in the bean bag in Audrey's play room.

Learning how to shuck corn.
Such a handsome little man.
Enjoying the 24/7 attention.Two tired kids after a long day of playing with Grandma and Papa.

Busy Day

We had quite a busy day today and enjoyed every bit of it...

Audrey and Ben cuddling on the couch. He was such a happy and smiley boy today. We had a great time making faces and sounds and watching him respond.
(I think they look so alike in this picture)

We went to the fountain today and had a blast. Here are Audrey and friends drawing with chalk in the water.

Doing the limbo under one of the fountains.

Gorgeous boy in green.

My hand tastes so good.

Top Chefs

I had a few helpers in the kitchen tonight. Hold your horses, that's right, I managed to cook a meal tonight! Of course, i use the term "cook" loosely, as I used pre-made crust and jarred sauces, but hey- it went in my own oven! Audrey and Ben were excellent helpers and here are a few pictures to prove it.

Yaya and Pop

Yaya and pop came to visit this weekend and had a lot of fun with Audrey and Ben. Audrey had been very eager to plant flowers with Yaya this weekend that she had picked out a few days ago. They did a great job and Audrey has quite a green thumb! Pop and Yaya enjoyed seeing how much Ben has grown and got some good awake time with him too.

Adurey and Pop watering the freshly planted flowers.
If you zoom in on this picture you will see Pop got a little dirt in the face as a result of Audrey's zealous watering technique.
The Princess Gardener hard at work.

A typical day....

Snapshot of a typical day at our house. Riding the dog...tummy time, big sis looking after Ben. not featured here: time out, which happens anywhere from 0 to 10 times a day depending on the day.

Giddyup Murphy

And they swam and swam back over the dam, that shark almost ate us for seafood mamaaaaa.
(Only my brother will get this comment)

Why do you keep making me do this?

Whoa, look at these floaty things.
Audrey posing with Ben who is clearly "over" it.
Don't worry Ben, I used to hate tummy time too.

Chubby cheeks

Here are a few pictures from this week. It's been really busy with no pre-school and Audrey and I have been driving each other a little crazy. It's been super hot too and our neighborhood pool isn't completed yet, so that isn't helping. Anyway, here they are.