My Chunky Monkey

Laughter is the best medicine!
I must be really funny!

At it again!

Abbie is at it again. Here are some pics of Ben and his purple "bracelet." Maybe he isn't always such a good sport!
I'd cry too!

Ben "the doll"

Abbie loves to use Ben as her human doll. This time he got to enjoy "Chuggle Bug." Later she brought out a sleep mask. Good thing he is a good sport!

The things they say...

Today, as I tried to wrangle Will in for a diaper change, he fought me and fought me. When he finally came barreling at me for the change, here was our conversation:
Will: Mommy I was horsin' around.
Me: Uh-huh
Will: I horsin' round last night and daddy 'panked me.
Me: Uh-huh
Will: I not horse round 'gain.

He is just too cute!
And just for the record. When Andy spanked him and told him to stop horsing around, Will sweetly said, "Okay, daddy. I sorry."
I could just eat him up!

Sibling Love

Melt my heart! May they always love each other this much!

Baptism yummies

Aunt Michele made Ben's Baptism cake. We love her cute (and yummy) cakes. Aunt Faith made brownie cupcakes complete with adorable powder sugared hearts. I made iced sugar cookies cut out as crosses.

Of course the lunch was good too, but who doesn't love dessert?

A few more

I'm so bummed about the picture of Ben. I have no good pics of him in his handsome baptism outfit. The last picture is of Ben's friend Alex. This is how he was sleeping with his hand covering his eye. I thought it was too cute. In just a few weeks I will have the honor of being this little guy's godmother!

Family Baptism Pictures

Thanks to Michelle (Trevor's wife) for playing photographer during the baptism and afterward for family pics. Unfortunately, there were so many cameras flashing it was hard to find photos with everyone smiling and looking the right way. Hey, at least we are all in them!

Baptism

On July 19th we celebrated Ben's Baptism. We had a nice service and luncheon. Pastor included Abbie & Will in Ben's baptism which made it extra special. Andy held Will, and later Pastor invited Abbie up to hold the candle.
Ben's godparents are Lacey Wieseman and Trevor Clatfelter. We are so honored to have them as godparents to our little man. They are truly special people, and we know they will serve as strong, positive influences in Ben's life. God Bless them!

Ben went too!

Ben was very curious about Teddy.
Although I didn't capture it on film, Teddy got smiles from Ben! Aunt Katy joined us on this lesson. She had her wisdom teeth removed the day before, and though in pain, she needed to get out of the house. Ben had a great time hanging out with her!

Carrot time!

After class Abbie got to feed Teddy. She made each and every carrot last. She would not let it go, forcing Teddy to take bites rather than inhale it whole.
I think Teddy got our whole bag of carrots!
She took mercy on another horse and shared one carrot with him.

Techniques

Jockey stance

Toe touch

In photo order: Whoaa...Making Teddy stop. The jockey stance. The toe touch. And finally the mane touch. A few of the things they worked on aside from the obstacle course.

Obstacle Course

Week 2 they got to try out the obstacle course. She went over a hill, across a bridge (and by herself, if I might add) and through a maze. She really loves this! Thankfully Nona came along to lead the horse this time. Andy had a meeting, and I'm just not into horses. Paula was entirely more comfortable than I ever would be. During the last half hour or so of the class, the instructor said that if the student felt comfortable, the leader could let go of the rope so the students could try it "themselves." Abbie asked Nona right away to let go. The instructor said the 4 year olds probably wouldn't be ready for this....well this 4 year old was! After class the instructor told us she couldn't believe Abbie was so comfortable on the horse. And apparently we have a good horse. I overheard the instructor tell Paula that Teddy is a prize winning horse...I forgot to ask what he had won.

Patty Cake & Teddy

And so began week 2 of classes. Rusty's owners decided they no longer wanted Rusty to participate in the class. She had Patty Cake for a few minutes as in the first picture. Then we got Teddy. There was another girl in the class who was a bit afraid of the bigger horses. Patty Cake was a much better fit for her. Abbie is quite confident with the horses so she got Teddy, and should have Teddy for the remainder of the lessons. The girl is just so comfortable among the horses. She loves to ride!

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Nono and Nona have roosters on their farm. Will likes to touch them, with Nono's help of course. He was really loving 'em the other day. I personally think they are mean!