Ben is trying hard to "talk". . .

. . . but Jack keeps reminding me that "babies can't talk!".

11-week-old comparison

Here are some comparison pictures of Jack at 11-weeks and Ben. I think in the second set, they look alike, but not so much in this first one. Jack's eyes and lips are definitely bigger. Ben has more hair.

Jack


















Ben


















Jack


















Ben

Say CHEEKS!

I found this picture last week and it just cracked me up. This is Jack at about 7 months old. Get a load of the cheeks. Wow.

Shesha meets Ben

Aunt Shesha came to visit and meet Ben for the first time. Everyone that knows Alisha knows she doesn't like her picture taken. Here are the two pictures I took of her (and Ben). We had a relaxed, laid-back weekend.

Hat Day at school

Jack had hat day at school last Friday. He couldn't decide between a cowboy hat that he wore for Halloween two years ago, or a Kentucky baseball cap. He sure was attached to the cowboy hat. He called himself "Cowboy Jack". The morning of hat day, he put the cowboy hat on in the buff. I had to get pictures but made him put his underwear on first.

I'm glad that he went with the baseball hat. He then called himself "Mr. Kentucky".

Here is a video of Jack and Ben spending time together.

Nicholas and Nathaniel visit

Aunt Neen, uncle Casey, Nicholas and Nathaniel came for a visit last weekend. The boys had a blast! (so did the adults). Nicholas' birthday is coming up so we gave him a water gun and Batman stuff. He and Jack took turns being Batman. Thank goodness everyone was healthy and the weather was good (for the most part). The pictures below chronicle the weekend.

Nicholas as Batman


















Jack as Batman. Batman is getting shot


















Batman creeping around.


















Batman looking down the barrel of the watergun. Let's not underestimate the seriousness of the role-playing. Jack and Nicholas were very adamant that whichever one was in the Batman gear, they were really Batman. Jack would say, "Jack is upstairs taking a nap".


















Clubhouse fun


















Bathtime together. They all won't fit in the tub together much longer.

Wind-down video before bed.

Group hug good-bye. Jack told Nathaniel twice, "I'm sorry you have to go home."

Jack and Nicholas dancing.

Ben, Ben and more Ben

I promised to post recent pictures of Ben and here they are: Again, he's 8-weeks-old, two months on Sunday. I hate to write this down because I'm afraid I'll jinx it, but he slept from 10pm last night until 6:15am this morning - yeh!

Here he's all dressed up for his first Sunday at church. It was baby dedication Sunday and he is so excited!
























These next three pictures make me laugh because when I look at them, I picture Ben pumping his arms - like he's dancing. I guess if you're not picturing the same arm-pumping dance that I am, it's not as funny:)

Can't you just hear him going, "uh, uh, uh" while he's pumping his arms?

I had to add this one in here because he doesn't cry often - and it was funny how he went from happy man to this. . .

He really is smiling all the time. Just talk to him a little bit and he's cheesin'.

I had to add this picture in because Jack was just so sprawled out on the couch. He was tired.

What Ben does all day

This video will be so boring for most people. This sums up what an eight-week-old does; eat, grunt and poop and sit in a bouncy seat. Other than sleeping, this is what Ben has been up to. He is 8-weeks today and smiling regularly. He sleeps about 19-20 hours a day. I have some more photos that I will add later.

Field trip to the Zoo

Last week while Sam was on vacation, we kept Jack out of school and went to the zoo. You can do and see alot in 2.5 hours. Ben slept the entire time. In lieu of the Hungry Hippo story below in a previous posting, it was fitting that the hippos were so actively swimming (which we were told is rare to see).
























Hyena


















Little green snakes hatching out of eggs - Gross!


















I'm just fascinated by these hippos and how active they were. The fish were nibbling at their skin, which I saw on the discovery channel (or animal planet) that they are exfoliating their skin.

This hippo is getting fresh

Stinky penguins

Fun-fun at the zoo.

Mowing with Daddy

Jack was so excited to mow for the first time of the season with Sam. He followed right along and even mimicked Sam's moves. He was so enthralled and entertained for the entire time. It was so cute to watch.

When they finished, Jack very seriously parked his lawn mower right behind Sam's. So precious!