This was Ben helping me cook dinner tonight. He chose fish and fries and while they were cooking he asked if we could listen to "Nights gonna be a good night" (I Got a Feelin' by the Black Eyed Peas). I put on my iPod and away he went, dancing and singing! This is the only "pop" song he knows. All he listens to is the Wiggles or another "kid" band, so I think its funny that he picked up on these lyrics so fast!



This starts off a little slow, but wait until the 1:40 mark where he breaks into some sweet karate moves! ;)

Remember the books Where's Waldo? That is how I felt today stepping out of the shower and looking at my bed for Ben.... In the mornings, when I have my shower, Ben gets into our bed and will watch the Treehouse channel. He loves it because it is his "TV" time and I love it because for my whole shower I know exactally where he is and I do not get interupted! Today when I got out, all he had poking out of the covers was his head from his nose up - it was adorable!!

Look at what I found on the internet tonight!!! I was working and my eyes were so tired of work, so I took a little "break". Its funny how a photo can make you so excited!!! Just seeing this one gave me energy to finish up what I was working on!!! These are made with crepe paper....I want to make some for Valentines Day! They take a while to make, but I think they are great! This would be fun to make with some girfriends, some drinks and some candy! They would be so cute for a shower, or girlie party, wedding or anything like that too.....LOVE IT!

These photos today are kinda funny. I took them by request. Mr. B had woken up from his nap and was sitting on the toilet when he decided he wanted his photo taken. I told him that when he was done we could take his picture. He insisted that I get my camera and do it that second..... These are the photos (and poses) that he came up with. Excuse his dirty face and messy hair - he had a snack before naptime that I guess didn't get washed off his face....oops!

First off, he wanted me to take a picture of Hudson....


Happy....


Surprised....


Mad....


He called this last pose "closed mouth"....???

He cracks me up!

I had a Norwex party tonight. What would a party be without.....CUPCAKES!

Can't wait to get all of my cleaning products!! I have been using Norwex now for 3 months and I love it. I no longer have ANY chemicals/cleaning products in my home and it feels so good knowing that! Its so funny how life changes... I would have never thought that I would ever get excited about cleaning!!


The yummy cupcakes from this place. I love her cupcakes and always try and find a reason to go and get some... tonight was the perfect excuse!

I had ordered Ben some "workbooks" a few weeks back and they came in the mail today. They are Sesame Street Learn to Print Numbers. I thought I would save them for his birthday when he was 3, but then I decided to see how he did with them.....ladies and gentleman, I have a genius! (kidding)
He would not let me show him how to do it at all, so I had to trace them with my finger and then he would copy me....he caught on so quick I had to take a video!


So proud of himself...every time he would do a number, we would have to high five and he would make me say "good job bud".



This was his first try at the numbers 1-5! He is definatley a rightey like his dad!


Here are the videos.....

Today went by in a flash! We went to gymnastics (I forgot my camera at home), went for lunch with my girlfriend and Ben's 2 BFF's and then raced home and met with our insurance/contractor to have the water damage that was done to our bedroom/ensuite assessed. We had major ice damming on our roof from all of the snow (or so the contractor said)... it caused a leak and now we have to get our ceiling totally redone in our bedroom and the doorway to the ensuite replaced. In any case, thankfully insurance should cover it.
Ben then went to Granny's for a sleep over and before I knew it, the day was done and I had no photos!! So this is what you get for today....



A stack of the millions of letters that I have to type tonight and get printed off for the morning mail..... fun times on a Tuesday night without kids I tell ya!

I was having a "clean house day" and Ben was helping me with his vaccum. We keep his (and my) vaccum in the front closet and when we went to put them both away, he spotted his "motorcycle". We bought it for him last year but he was too small to ride it, so it has just stayed in the closet. He wanted to try it, so we took it out and it fit perfectly! It took him a little while to catch on, but soon he was zooming around the main floor. Its a balance bike. The idea behind them is that kids will learn how to balance on them, eliminating training wheels....fingers crossed!

When he put the bike back, he noticed his Flash costue hanging up in the closet.... you can guess what came next....
For the next hour, my Mr. B was The Flash! He ran into the laundry room to "grab his super powers" once he was dresssed he spent the hour "saving Taylor and Emmerson" (his 2 girlfriends)... it was so cute! I asked him if he was saving the world and he said "no, just Taylor and Emmerson"!



Mr. B and his balance bike....these are the kind of smiles I get these days... I remember my 2 year old photos and I did the exact same thing... I hope it doesn't last long. When I ask him to "smile nice", it just gets worse!



The Flash and his trusty sidekick Batman... poor Hudson! Secretly, I think he loved the fact that Ben dragged him around the main floor and played with him for an hour!



The Flash refueling after a long day of fighting crime.... I had to lift the eye holes out of the way because he was starting to go crossed eyed from looking out the small holes!

I don't know what I was thinking, but before we left for Hawaii, I got tickets for Ben to go and see Toopy and Binoo Live at the Jubilee. The problem was, that it is the day after we had been travelling for 12 hours....

We went grocery shopping in morning and I completely lost track of time! The show started at 1pm, and we were still at the grocery store at 12:20am. We raced home, threw what needed to be in the fridge and freezer in, I grabbed some lunch meat, a mini Bebel cheese and a juice box as well as a banana and raced back into the car. Poor Ben ate his "lunch" as we drove to the show. He kept saying "daddy no speeding"....

We got to the show with 2 minutes to spare, Dave dropped us off at the front door and went to go park the truck. Ben and I raced in, got in our seats and 20 seconds later the show started!!! It was fun all in all - Ben had a blast and in the end I was happy that we took him.



The lighting was horrible for photos, so this was the best one of the stage. I tried taking photos once they came out, but it was too dark...



Us during the 15 minute intermission



Mr. B posing with his Toopy and Binoo stuffed animals. He had parents and kids coming up to him asking where he got them at the show....he actually brought them from home. The poor kids were so sad, but honestly I think the parents were the most disappointed that they could not buy them there....

This is the result of being gone for 1 week.....good thing my awesome hubby does the laundry - love ya babe! xoxo

Our last day... it was so hard to get out of bed knowing that in 12 hours we would be in the air, back to reality....



Ben at the kiddie pool rinsing his feet... he had so much this vacation.


Sittin' in the sand, playing in the waves.


Granny and Dave Boogie Boarding - good times! ;)


Boompa and Dave discussing the waves - not really sure what they were taking about...

Off to dinner and then the airport....

This was our last night in Hawaii. Dave and I got tickets for all of us to go to the Cirque show at the hotel. It was very similar to Cirque du Soleil. It was amazing!! We all had a great time tonight... so sad to be leaving tomorrow night. We will be spending one more day soaking up all the sun and then off to the airport....ugh!



We had our photo taken at the show - who knew Michael Jackson faked his death and moved to Maui!?


The cast of the show. Ben liked the big Hawaiian warrior in the back row the best.

Today was another relaxing day at the beach....and spa!! My mom booked her and I a massage right on the beachfront! It was amazing!! There were little cabanas that were open to the beach and you could hear the waves crashing...sooo relaxing!



The kiddie pool area at the hotel - we spent the whole time here and Ben couldn't have been happier! The bridge in the background was a suspension type bridge, so it would bounce and sway when you walked across it - lots of fun too!



My spa cabana - the best place in Hawaii! ;)



This was the view from the cabana....breathtaking!

Another day at the beach...


I asked Ben to let me take a photo before we headed into the pool... this was his "hurry up mom...cheese, there is that good?" face...



Coming down the waterslide. It is cute, because up at the top, there is a lifeguard that sits and tells kids when it is their turn to go. Most of the older kids don't even pay attention, or will bud in front of Ben to get up to the top faster. When Ben finally gets up to the top, he will look up at the lifeguard and wait for them to look at him and say "ok, go". Even if there is noone else at the bottom, he will make sure he gets the "ok". One of the lifeguards would laugh each time, because he followed the rules even when he didn't have to.

Tonight was Luau night. It was so much fun. The dancers were great and the food was just as good! Ben had a great time - he didn't take his eyes off the stage for the entire show! (My eyes were glued when the male dancers were on as well!) ;)



Daddy and Ben before the dinner.



Taking the pig out of the Imu, where it is cooked underground. The second they unburied and brought it above ground, it smelled so good!



One of the male dancers...just look at that face ladies!!!



Mr. B and mama during the show.



Ben and one of the dancers (and half of Boompa). I had to take a quick photo because there was a line up of people waiting, so this was the best I could get.

Another lazy day....


The hotel has penguins- they are African Black Footed Penguins, warm climate penguins. They get breakfast at 9:30am every day and you can go and watch them eat. Dave and granny took Ben this morning and got a nice photo of all of them.



Mr. B and I on a hammock - Ben was not sure about it a first, but then laid back and enjoyed the view!

Today was our first day at the pool! We took a walk after breakfast and then headed for our spot at the kiddie pool. It is great! I will get a photo up of the kiddie area - it is a man made beach area that leads into the pool, and the pool itself only goes up to Ben's tummy. You can sweim under a waterfall and then end up in the deeper pool - soooo nice. Its also great because it keeps the older kids away from the little ones.



Ben on "Alice" after breakfast. He says hello to her everytime we pass by.



Mommy and Ben waiting for lunch to arrive. He would be at the pool all day long if it was up to him - me too!



Mr. B lounging. He thought he was such a bog boy to get his very own drink! It looked just like mine and he was so proud to have it all to himself!

We left today for hot, sunny Hawaii! Ben could not wait to get on the airplane! It was a nice, smooth flight and he was such a good little traveller! We got on the plane in freezing weather and stepped off the plane, 7 hours later into warmth! ahhhh!


Mr. B eating his cookie and watching Treehouse. It was great that the back of each seat had a TV screen and that they had the Treehouse channel - kept him occupied the whole time!



This is what was waiting for me when I got into our room tonight....eeeeek! I am not a reptlie lover at all. This little guy was hiding by the sink - he was so tiny, just a little bit bigger than the size of a Toonie, but still made me scream!

This is what was waiting for me in the mail today!! I had seen this watch online and in the Michael Kors store and loved it!! Dave ordered it for me and it came the day before our trip - so lucky! I hopefully cam get some links taken out before we leave... we'll see! Now, to figure out how it works!

I was at work today, so I'm glad my mom got a few photos of Mr. B in action. I had to help my brother tonight with his blueprints at the builders, so by the time I got home, my little man was in bed. He was waiting up for me though and this was our conversation:

Me - "hey sweetie, I missed you!"
Ben - "I missed you too, sweetie"
Me - "Awww, thanks bud, you are so cute, I love you lots and I'm glad you waited up for a kiss"
Ben - long pause...."no problem mama, I love you too. You're pretty and beautiful and cute and handsome, we're both handsome!"
Me - "thanks bud"

I just love him!



Ben working hard at his new kitchen making lunch for Granny!

Today we took Ben, my mom, my Grandma and Olga to the mall for lunch. My Grandma and Olga love Ben so much and it was nice to take them out for a bit and visit.

Olga is a lady that lives in the same complex as my Grandma. She has no family at all and does not get a lot of company. She loves children and was never able to have any, so whenever Ben comes over, she attatches herself like glue! We had her over on Christmas Day for dinner to my parent's house because she was just going to be in the complex alone, and she loved being with "family". She was so happy to come to lunch as well - she is the sweetest woman!



Here is my grandma and Olga watching Ben on a ride. They kept giving him loonie after loonie for his rides - lucky boy.. I remember when it was a quarter to ride rides!



Zoom! Watching this one made ME car sick!


Last one, then home time!

Today was a first for me! Ben and I were heading into the city to West Edmonton Mall and we got almost to 170st on the Yellowhead and poor Mr. B threw up all over hinself, the carseat and my SUV.... I am not a big fan of vomit (I'm really not sure who is)....poor little guy, he has not thrown up since he was 6 months old! He had no idea what was going on! We pulled over and I started cleaning him and my vehicle up and to break the chaos, he laughs and says "mama, I spit our my orange juice everywhere! ha ha ha".... it made me laugh so hard, because of how much my life has changed....for the good!



Here is Mr. B once we got home, cleaning up. Attempt #2 at the mall will be tomorrow night.

Ahhhh, Sundays! Gotta love them! A nice big sleep in and then off to my parent's house for brunch. I love brunch!! After we got home, Ben and I had a nap while Dave watched his Eagles (lose).... all in all, it was a nice, relaxing day!!



Ben and Daddy building skyscrapers.



This is what we had for dinner tonight! My mom and dad got me some tiny Le Creuset Cocottes for Christmas along with a recipe book. I made these yummy Chicken Pot pies - they were soooo cute!