Ben's 10 Commandments

In preschool this week Ben wrote his own 10 Commandments. I am not sure how he come up with these!

Happy Birthday Ben!!!

Four years ago today I was in labor with Benjamin Russell. With everyone at the hospital waiting and waiting... He finally made his arrival at 11:49pm on September 15th! He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!!!

Oh my! Oh look at this one!

(That sweet little knit hat was made by one of the ladies at the hospital. She makes them for all the babies.)

Oh and this one!

I started looking through all the pictures we have of Ben. I can't believe how fast he has grown. I remember bringing him home then BAM! he started eating solid foods, crawling, walking, and talking.

He had his 1st Birthday.

Then his 2nd Birthday.

Then his 3rd Birthday.

We had his 4th Birthday party on Sunday. All of the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins came. Plus this year Ben invited 3 friends. It was supposed to be outside but apparently Mother Nature wasn't informed of my plan. So EVERYONE was inside! It was of course a Monster Truck Party!

The week leading up to the party I sat in my bedroom at night and made him this:

OH man and we had a Monster Truck Pinata!

I think it was a success!

This morning when Ben got up I said "Happy Birthday Rubbie!" He asked "Am I four yet?"

I let him know that he was officially four. Then he said "Are you positive?" I let him know that yes I was positive. Hello I was there for the whole thing!!! It's been the most exciting and hilarious four years of my life!

He's A Rock Star!

Ben loves music! He even has his own playlist on my Ipod. Well tonight he decide to set up his own drum set. I secretly recorded him on my phone...

When I put him to bed he told me "Get some good sleep! Because tomorrow is going to be the BIG show."

Man I love that boy!

I don't make him do these things!

Today I cleaned the master bathroom. I loathe cleaning this bathroom. Ben on the other hand likes to clean it. So who am I to deny him the things he likes to do.

Sorry viewers but I seriously can not keep this boy in pants!

Smile For The Camera!

Today I took Ben to get his 4 year pictures done. We drove to Bixby's Washington Irving Park to meet the photographer. We were early so I walked Ben over to see the World Trade Center Memorial they have in the park. I tried to explain what the steel beam was and why it was in the park. He asked a lot of questions and I tried to answer them in a way that a 4 year old would understand. Here is a picture of the memorial:

We all know how Ben doesn't like to wear pants. So when I put him in his new cool duds for his pictures he had a lot to say about it. He complained that the pants were too tight (which they weren't), and he said the shoes fit funny (which they didn't). He looked so handsome. I told him he looked like a rock-star. He said he didn't. So I told him "You know that some kids don't even have shoes or pants. You should be grateful for what you have and stop complaining". Man I sounded like a mom. Heehee!

You tell me is this cute or what?!?!?

He's rockin' the black Converse High-tops, distressed jeans, and black graphic shirt! He got over the clothing issue and took some awesome pictures. I can't wait to see them next week. The photographer was so patient with Ben and basically just played with him the whole shoot. We used Macs Photography in Bixby. I highly recommend them!

This Mommy Is 31 Years Old!

I love my Birthday! To be totally honest I like to be fussed over (heeehee)!

Ben woke me up at 7am this morning. Standing in his white t-shirt and Hulk undies he said very sweetly "Happy Birthday Mommy". Then he ran off as fast as he could to get my "suprise".

Here it is:

A homemade card!!! My little man hand wrote "Mom" on the front... aaawww!

Then when you open it up you get this:

It includes the following: Monster Trucks, "H B"(Happy Birthday), smiley face balloon, and he also signed his name. It is the most magnificent card I have ever seen! Apparently Matt thought so to... He signed his name to it.

P.S. There was a little surprise inside the card.

It was a wonderful day. My Sis-In-Law took me to lunch and we did a little shopping. Then my parents took us to dinner at Los Cabos. YUMMY!

All kidding aside as much as I love my Birthday. I don't care about getting anything! All I really want is time with my boys! (And just in case you are wondering why Matt's eyes are like that. This was our 5th take and the man can not keep his eyes open when taking a picture.)

Back To School

Today was Ben's first day back to preschool. He had his new Spider Man lunch-pail and Transformers backpack. He went in to his class with no problem. (no crying) I hope that he does this good all year!

I went and ran my errands but I missed having my little guy with me. I kept looking at the clock waiting to go get him. I couldn't wait to see how his day went. He was all smiles when I picked him up and Ms. Kristen said he did great. He did let me know that his buddy Jack was not there today. Eventually I am going to have to break the news to him. His little buddy Jack is at a different school this year.

Maybe I'll just wait a little longer to tell him...