These are the Best Days of My Life

Oops, fell off the blogging bandwagon.....

2010-03-10T18:52:00.000-08:00

With 2 kids, tax season, out-of-town visitors, and life in general, blogging seems to me a lot like exercise (unfortunately). It is fun and exhilerating when you are in a routine, but as soon as you miss a session, all bets are off in the consistency department and it gets easier to put it off than to just do it and get back in the routine!! Oh well......
As I mentioned, we have been pretty busy around here, as usual. Our flip-house is still for sale, which has been frustrating and emotionally draining, but hopefully we'll find the perfect buyer soon! I did our 2009 taxes in record time this year and we are getting a nice chunk back, which helps the cause a little bit.
The Harvey grandparents came out a couple weekends ago and we had a wonderful visit. Went to the Train Museum in Golden, CO which was pretty cool and Ben LOVED. Both boys (and us!!) really enjoyed spending time with the g'rents.
I am still studying for my Personal Trainer certification exam which I will take next month. My StrollerFit business has been doing pretty well, I am happy to say, and I am in the decision-making process of possibly picking up a second territory. We'll see....
The weather has been chilly lately, but finally sunny, so we have been able to take our daily short hikes that we love. As usual, we pick the cloudiest, windiest, and most precipitous time of the day, but at least we are getting back outdoors!
Alright, now on to the boys.....
It has come to my attention that my oldest son has quite the imagination. In fact, it's a bit of a challenge just to keep up with him. One day he's Percy (from Thomas and Friends), the next day he's Lightning (from Cars), the next day he is still Lightning but "pretending" to be a train (how funny is that!), and most recently he is Bolt. "Bolt the doggy boy" to be exact. Some might think based on all these characters that he watches too much TV. While he does watch his fair share (he gets his undivided tv attention span from me--he comes by it honestly), he sure seems to learn a lot and is truly a sponge to all of it.
Evan is still not walking, but has genuinely started to rapidly cruise around, so it's a matter of days until he's toddling around. He has 4 teeth now, but only 3 are present to the naked eye. Well, you can see the 4th pretty easy if you have him tipped upside down and are tickling him mercilessly. :)
I just started weaning him this week. It's been going pretty well. Mostly I am doing it because recently has become quite painful for me to nurse him....not sure why. Additionally, I'm not convinced I'm producing enough for him. In the end, hopefully he'll be getting a fuller belly and maybe start sleeping through the night!! Cow's milk in less than two months!
I can't believe he turns 1 soon. But, as I've always said, I can't believe he's not way older than that. It just feels like he's always been here.
The boys are the best of buds. Ben is still a little on the rough side, but seeing that Evan usually laughs, it's hard to regulate. Pretty soon Evan will be able to hold his own and Ben is going to need to watch out! They do get along so well and truly love each other. I'm so excited to see how their relationship blossoms over the years. We're so blessed with healthy, happy, adorable little boys.
Can't think of any more updates right now....my brain is fried! Hope you enjoy the pics :)

Ahh, Valentine's Day celebrated at school....

2010-02-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a challenge to get pictures of the boys together that are any good. I posted a sample of this below. I actually had them both looking and smiling at me. Thanks Stella!

Do you remember what a fun holiday Valentine's Day was made at school when you were young? Well, in my ever-inevitable aging (yes, I am 28 today), I had forgotten. This week I was reminded when my preschooler had a full blown Valentine delivering and receiving event. It was even mentioned in the take-home paperwork from his teacher earlier this month that Valentine's Day would be second only to Christmas as the most celebrated holiday for the children. Isn't that funny? :)
Benjamin-- excuse me, Lighting-- delivered Toy Story Valentines to each of the children's cute bags that they made. They also all served as "snack helper," by making "Bubble Bread" as a class. I think it's cut up Pillsbury biscuits rolled in sugar or something. I am convinced that being snack-helper, or the person who brings snack for the day, is by far his favorite aspect of preschool. So cute!
I received a new stroller this week through StrollerFit's new partnership with Baby Jogger. While I don't love having the width of a side-by-side stroller, it is a pretty cool stroller and it's fun to see how much Evan is enjoying being at StrollerFit now that he can always see me (before he was in the back). He is just eating up all the counting and tickling we do.
I thought for sure Evan would be walking by my birthday, but alas, I was wrong. He is definitely cruising and doing a great job getting down from a standing position, but no walking yet. He seems pretty content with the ultra-fast army crawl he has developed over the past few months.
We have been working on his waving. He can do it, but he much more prefers to the do what I have named "the wave." He usually follows it up with a head drop to the left and a big laugh. That's his newest game. It is adorable.

No news on the house yet. We've only had a few showings, but learned this week that there is a limiting factor in the way we can promote it until the 90-day mark of us owning the property, so we are hopeful that in the coming weeks the activity will pick up and we will get some bites.
We have also come up with a great way for us to grow our business, so if you're interested in making more interest on your money than just letting it grow in a savings account, let me know!!

Andrew is still working to put together the new engine for his Jeep Wagoneer. He has almost all of the components he needs, so hopefully it will start coming together soon.

I am busy at work studying for my Personal Trainer certification. This started as an additional certification for me to be a more accredited StrollerFit business owner and instructor, but as I do the studying I realize this might be a perfect job for me to start growing a client base now part-time and then when the boys go to school in a few years I will be in the industry and I can work more full-time. We'll see.

Andrew and I were kid-free last night to celebrate Valentine's Day and we had a great time just relaxing. We went to see Sherlock Holmes (yes, after 2 months it is still in the theater), engorged ourselves at Ted's Montana Grill, and went to watch the Olympics at a new bar in our town while we listened to some good live music. We woke up this morning and had a great breakfast, got some much-needed chores done, and continued to relax. All in all it was a great Valentine's Day/birthday celebration. Thanks Grandma & Papa for babysitting!

And one last note in regards to my bday, thanks to my mom for getting me a beautiful necklace and an AWESOME winter jacket to replace my oompa-loompa ski jacket that I've had since high school. I will officially be cute on the slopes, if we ever get there!!

This week it's Lighting BeQueen

2010-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

I guess that's childhood for you. One week he only responds to "Percy" and the next he's 110% into Cars.....Lighting "Be"Queen, more specifically. Actually, it's really interesting to see how Ben has changed over the past year (or year and a half), using the movie Cars as our baseline. When he first was obsessed with Cars, he could talk, but I'm not sure he understood any concepts of the movie. He also called him "Ningning" which was so endearing. Nowadays, Ben speaks clear as day and as far as I can tell he gets a lot of what's going in the movie. It is fun to hear him watching---"go me, go me!" and "why did my tire blow?" Too cute.

Ben is, and always has been, really into snacks. At one point, not too long ago, we had to call lunch and dinner "snacks" so that he would eat. Glad those days are over. Every time he falls or hurts himself it seems that "snaaaacckkkk" is the first thing out of his mouth.
His teacher said this week that they were working on sounds and she held up a picture of a pig and another of a piece of pizza. When asked what sound each of the words started with, Ben's answer was "Mmm, pizza is an excellent snack." I can't believe he's a beanpole with how much he eats and thinks about eating!

Evan had his 9-month checkup today. The doctor was surprised that he is crawling at all, much less that he is crawling nonstop! She thought he seemed very ahead of the curve physically. He has been crawling for at least 2 months.
He weighed in at only 15 lbs. He doesn't seem so small, but he is still sitting at the bottom 3% of the spectrum....exactly how his brother was. How is it that my boys are such little squirts? (Thank goodness for that in the delivery room!)
Evan's got two bottom teeth that he has really started showing off. His gums up top are starting to get pretty puffy and the doc said his top right tooth will pop through any day.
He has started to talk a little bit, but it's mostly in the morning. He does a deep, devilish, manly grunt that Andrew insists is a "da da". Regardless of what he's saying, it's funny to hear!

I can't believe how quickly they grow up and I am so grateful to have 2 healthy, beautiful, active, talkative, smart little boys. These truly are the best days of my life!

Percy

2010-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

It seems like Benjamin has really grown up this week. I've noticed that he has really started using the phrase "I can do it myself." He's doing a great job being so independent. The picture above, with the backwards underpants, is just one example of the independence. At least he has underpants on, I guess. He also is saying really complex, lengthy sentences that are grammatically correct and make complete sense....although I guess he's been doing that for a long time. Of course I can't think of any examples at the moment, but it's like talking to an adult. Seriously.
Wait a second. Did I say Benjamin? I meant Percy. He insists on being called Percy (from Thomas the Tank Engine). Percy is #6, so he is also six now, not 3 1/2. Too funny.
Evan has had a pretty rough week. He's had some sort of cold-thing for about 3-4 weeks. Finally this week the cough got wetter and the drainage got dramatically worse. He has had trouble sleeping, had low energy, trouble eating, and a general discomfort just being alive. We finally took him to the dr. today, and wouldn't you know he's been the best he's felt all week. The doctor didn't see anything wrong and in fact said his ears looked "beautiful" and his lungs were perfectly clear. I'm so happy that he doesn't have an ear infection or anything, and even more happy that he's feeling better, I just don't understand why kids always start feeling better the second you park your butt in the waiting room. It's the darndest thing.

I found the USB cable yesterday, so I'm back to posting pictures. Now I have to start taking them every week!

House for Sale

2010-01-22T20:14:00.000-08:00

I just realized I've lost the connector from my camera to my laptop and don't have the energy to look for it right now, so this week's post will have to be picture free. Sorry.

Andrew wrapped up the house this week and it is on the market. Anyone looking for a cute 2-bedroom home in Denver? If so, send them our way! Seriously, the house looks amazing. I'm so impressed by his work. I hope it shows well and sells quickly!

The boys have both been sick all week. Evan with a nagging cold that he's had for a while and won't go away, and Ben with the same thing that eventually turned into a fever. We took him to the doctor yesterday and he is now on antibiotics for early pneumonia. He's back to his old self, which is good, but exhausting. :) I have to be honest: I hate it when he's sick because he's not feeling well, but I love it because it's the only time he's ever calm and cuddly.
Andrew and I have so far been able to fend off all the yucky germs floating around our household.

Evan is on the verge of cruising, but hasn't quite taken to it yet. He got a pretty good taste of what cruising even is this week, so it's just a matter of days before he will be walking all around. He is such a cutie. He loves to eat and play and be tickled. He hates laying on his back.

We weighed the boys at the doctor's office. Ben is 32 lbs. and Evan is almost 17. My little turkeys.

I hope to have pictures up next week!

Week 2....I'm on a roll!

2010-01-14T07:06:00.000-08:00

What's new with the Harveys this week......
It seems we are almost done with our second fix&flip property. Andrew has done a phenominal job, as always, and the house looks wonderful. I'm so lucky to have such a handy guy around! He says once this house is done we will start to work on getting our own house in better shape....we'll see, fingers crossed!

Benjamin is back in preschool and having a great time. Apparently everyone at the school just loves him and wishes he came 4 days a week instead of 2, but it just isn't logistically feasible, so he's going to stick with 2 days for now. He brings home crafts every once in a while, but I think during open time he chooses to play rather than craft. He LOVES storytime and, as I hear it, talks constantly through the stories. He just loves to point out everything on the pages and adds tidbits he thinks should have been included in the book. He's a cutie.

One cute story about Ben. He loves to grocery shop with me, as I do with him, and this past trip was a long one, so I promised him a treat at the end (a ride on the $.01 horse at the exit). Low and behold, the horse was gone!!! I was devastated, as I had brought along 3 pennies and was excited to reward him for being so good. In the place of the horse were those lousy $.25/$.50/$1.00 machines filled with candy and other useless junk. I forked out the quarter and he chose to get the little fish and bones---like Sprees. He got about 12 pieces and played with them all day. As soon as we got home we put them on a Spiderman plate and he carried them around with him wherever he was playing. About 6 hours later, close to bedtime, I said "aren't you going to eat them" and he looked at me in disbelief. "They are candy????" he asked, and when I said yes, he gobbled them down in about 30 seconds. I had no idea he didn't know they were edible! Too funny.

Evan is standing all the time. He's either crawling or standing. He doesn't sit, really, although he physically can, and he can't cruise yet. He just stands and hangs on to whatever he's got and plays. I can't believe I am going to say this, but I think he is actually more active than Ben ever was. AAHHHHH!!!! He seems to have great control, though, and I can't wait to see how his skills blossom. I will be excited if & when this dreadful diaper changing roll-over passes...he can't stand to be on his back for more than 1 second!

I am fully back in the swing of things working bunches at Starbucks and teaching classes. I have my next race this weekend. It is a 5-mile and should be pretty fun. Hopefully the weather will hold out. Andrew got me a GPS watch for Christmas which is AWESOME, so I can't wait to use it in the race. Wish me luck! Next month I have a 10-mile run, no races set in stone yet for Feb/Mar/Apr, and then I am doing my first half marathon on Mothers Day. Should be a good time :)

All in all, we're doing well and hope you are too. Don't forget to visit my savings blog HERE.

New Year, New Resolutions

2010-01-08T18:52:00.001-08:00

I'm never a good one at keeping my resolutions, and therefore don't really ever come up with many. I feel, however, optimistic this year that my resolutions are worthy of a earnest attempt......and here is but one of them. To blog more about my sons. :)

I was surprised to see that the last post I did was Oct. 1. You may not believe me, but I do THINK about blogging here a lot...I just don't DO it apparently. I thought I had posted at least 3 times since Ben started preschool! Oh well.......

As I am a very busy woman, I have given myself a time limit for my posting. Maybe that will give me the extra push I need to be sure it gets done on a more regular basis.

First we had Halloween. Benjamin outgrew the dralligator (a green dragon/alligator thing)costume my mom got him, but no one realized until the week of Halloween when went to a party and it looked like Benjamin was waiting for a major flood to sweep our generally drought-stricken State of Colorado. Good news was he fit into last year's costume, pretty much. He was again a monkey. This picture is of them in their matching jammies. Aren't they the cutest things you have ever seen???

Next was Thanksgiving. I ran a 5K in a Turkey Trot in the morning and we followed up the day with a lovely meal at my in-laws. It was beautiful weather and wonderful food and company.
Next came Christmas. I will have to post pictures of Christmas at a later time as I did not have my camera--so I will need pics from Gramma & Papa's camera and Mimi's. (hint, hint :) Boy, did Benjamin get into Christmas this year. He has really grasped the idea of Santa Claus and was so excited when he got to meet him this year. He and I made cookies for Santa, which we left out with a cup of milk before we watched The Polar Express on Christmas eve. It is so fun to see how wonderful Christmas is for children. I still love it too. Hands down, my favorite holiday.
Surprisingly, Evan was really into Christmas too. I was going to just wrap a box up for him so he would have a ball with the paper and box. Good thing I didn't----he loved all the toys INSIDE the wrapping. I've never seen anything like it.
Speaking of Evan, he is now 8 months old, has 2 teeth, and LOVES to move. He is incredibly mobile and will probably be walking in the next month or two. It's ridiculous how strong he is. He adores Ben and Ben adores him. Soon they will be plotting and planning and driving me crazy...on purpose. I love them. They are the sweetest boys.
We had some visitors at Christmas. First were Emmy and Uncle Tom, who came out for a few days right after Christmas. We went skiing, gambling, ice skating. It was a great time. Ben just loves his Uncle Tom and Emmy, and Evan did too!
Next came Uncle Nard, Gina, Morgan, and Lily. It was great to meet Lily (born 3 days after Evan) and Ben and Morgan had a blast. On the last night of their visit we went to a Brazilian steakhouse.....WITHOUT CHILDREN. I highly recommend on both accounts.

As for me and Andrew: we are both busy working our tails off. I work at Starbucks 3 days a week, teach on average 5-6 classes per week (strollerfit, restore the core, sculpt), and play mommy to two precious boys. I am also hard at work to post daily on my Saving for the Boys "deals" website, which I hope you have all visited. When I'm not working, Andrew is up working on our current flip project in Denver. It is going well and we hope to have the house on the market in a couple weeks. In his spare time he works on the newest member of our family..."the Wag"oneer. (see below)

I guess that is it. Running out of time--better go!

Preschool!

2009-10-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Well, our big boy has started school.....preschool, that is. He was SOOOOOO excited on his first day. Didn't even notice when Andrew and I left. He's so independent! :) When we picked him up he was still so excited from the time at school, and cried/whined when we put him in the car to go home.

He went for his second day this morning.....loved it. His teacher says he is doing great. We're so happy for him that he loves it so much and that he is getting this opportunity. He doesn't share much about what he did in class (typical kid, right?), but today when I asked him what he did in school, he said "I learned." That about covers it, I guess.

On a separate note, here's a little video of our guys. They are so cute...we just love them!

My little boys are growing up.......

2009-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's only the beginning, isn't it? First off, I can't believe Evan is almost 5 months old! Time truly has flown. To a large extent I feel like he has always been a part of our family, and yet I can't believe how quickly time has passed since he was born.

Second, Benjamin is starting preschool next week!!! My goodness, preschool. He is so excited, and we are so excited for him! We went to meet the teacher and check out the school last week and he was invited to join in with the class. Although he is sometimes shy in situations like this, he jumped right in there and had a great time. It's going to be great for him.He has got such an extensive vocabulary it is amazing. He loves to sing & read, "fix" things with all his tools, and on many occasions, drive his parents crazy. He is such a good boy--we really lucked out! I will be happy, though, when we can put him in a sport that provides a healthy avenue for his endless energy!

Hmmm, what else is new? Andrew's 29th birthday is this week, so we are hoping the cold weather will hold off just long enough for us to take our first (and Evan's FIRST ever) and last camping trip of the season. Can't wait for next year when Evan will be older and we can go more.

Things are looking promising with the house-flipping venture. I'll post more about that another time...don't want to jinx anything :)

I guess that's it from Colorado. I hope to write more soon.....but don't hold your breath! :)

Don't forget to check out my new blog, if you haven't already--- SavingForTheBoys

Best Buds

2009-08-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posting....I started back at Starbucks this week and have been pretty sick. What can I say.....my boys are great. They are so cute together--I know as soon as Evan can play they are going to be best of friends. Evan watches EVERYTHING that Ben does and you can just tell by his face how much he loves Ben.

Ben, on the other hand, has finally gotten to the point where he wants to be involved with Evan. He never didn't like him, but for the first two months he was pretty indifferent to his presence. Now he loves to hold him, hold his hand, feed him a bottle, etc. It is precious.

It's been just the boys and me for the better part of 4 weeks now. We bought a house to fix-n-flip in Pueblo (2 hours south of our house) in July and Andrew's been going down for 3-4 nights in a row to work on it. Now that I'm back to work, we're trading off days....it's hectic.

We are looking in to preschools for Ben. It's about that time..... I'll keep you updated. While most days it can be a handful to watch my ultra-energetic 3-year old, I know I will miss having him in the house once he's in school. Summer is wrapping up quickly, but he's had a good time staying with his grandparents a lot this summer....he just loves those sleepovers!!

Evan is currently a bit of a mama's boy, but he is such a sweet angel. He is so content and loves to smile and laugh. He has also rolled from back to front a few times. He's trying to sit up.....I'm not ready for that!!!

He eats and sleeps well and only poops every 9 days or so. Yes, you read that right. It's awesome. And well-deserved since Ben pooped with every diaper until he was over 2 years old!!

Speaking of Ben and pooping, he is doing an EXCELLENT job potty training. Thank goodness boys can pee anywhere (i.e. pulled over on the side of any road), but I tell ya, it's hard potty training boys. I will be happy when this milestone is behind us.

Well, it's late. We did get back from a vacation in the mom-mobile (my Pilot). Mimi (my mom), Uncle Tom, Daddy, Ben, Evan, and me all packed up in the car and drove for about a week. I'll post about it with pics in a few days (I hope!)

Hope you enjoyed the update....sorry it's been so long!

Shameless Plug

2009-08-13T10:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to direct you all to my new blogging venture, Saving For the Boys. It is a blog I've been wanting to start for a while and finally did yesterday--so go check it out--it's lonely without any visitors!!
It is, of course, a work in progress, but hopefully everyone will benefit from my daily posts! It's about the things that I do to save money...it's pretty cool stuff, if I do say so myself! :)

Yes, I have slacked incredibly on my personal blog about the boys. I will try to update it tonight--but only if you visit my new blog! :)

Thug baby

2009-06-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

These pictures cracked me up when I saw them...I had to post pics of my little gangster.

Are the gestures below some sort of gang sign or is he just getting ready to bust a rhyme?

Seriously, though, with the exception of his colicky moments, he's an absolute angel. Can you see the halo?

Displaying his male-pattern baldness hairline (thanks to all branches of family), he's getting so big. I hope he'll fit into all the hand-me-downs!!

Chillin' with Daddy. Mommy's bed is becoming Evan's favorite place to sleep...uh-oh. :)

Living in a house full of boys is crazy. Especially with a nutso almost-3-year-old! Benjamin is just as busy as ever and I am happy summer is here so we can take daily walks in the woods. He LOVES "hiking," although we made the mistake of letting him play in a puddle about a week ago and now he goes SWIMMING in nearly waist-deep muck every time we go out. N

eedless to say, he either rides in his empty wagon home or gets stripped down for the carseat and gets an immediate shower. It is certainly a lengthy process, I just keep reminding myself how much fun he has--although, I sure wish it would result in a nap or something.

My little train builder. He independently builds some really intricate train tracks (not pictured here)....I wonder what he'll be when he grows up. He's got some wonderful talents, skills, and interests. He's gonna make it big someday, I just know it.

Just living the dream here in Colorado. Trying to remember that these are the best days of my life!! (do I sound a little sleep deprived?)

Evan Thomas Harvey is here!!

2009-05-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the incredibly long time it has taken me to post about our new little angel. Evan Thomas was born Monday, May 4th, at 2:34 AM. He was 6 lbs, 6 oz, and a wee 18 3/4 inches long. As I had him au natural, I'm grateful that I cook small babies!

The natural birth was an awesome experience and I am so grateful we were able to go to a birth center this time around. Evan was born in the water, and the midwife said he swam right out. Do I have another swimmer on my hands? Uncle Tom is probably hoping so!

The picture above is about 10 hours postpartum. We were discharged from the birth center after 4 hours (we were only there a total of 6.5 hours) and got to come home and rest and recover in our familiar environment. Definitely awesome--I would recommend it to everyone!

Benjamin is loving his new baby brother, Evie. He loves to hold and kiss him, although now that we are going on 3 weeks, I think he is starting to realize that Evan is not leaving. It is crazy how many people (mostly grandparents) are making sure that Benjamin still feels extra loved....I think "prize" and "present" are his favorite words now and he is starting to expect a present with each visit from "his friends," as he calls everyone who comes over to the house. It is so important for him to know that he is special, and we appreciate everyone who has made sure that he knows how much he is loved!

Playtime!

Naptime!

Mommy and her boys. What a wonderful time in life. Of course, after a only a few hours each day with these two I go insane, but that's part of life having little ones, right?

A rare picture. On his first day of life, our little guy is so alert already! I fear that Evan will be an early bloomer---he already lifts his head as often as possible. The first time he did it, I think on day 1, I thought it was a fluke. Now, 17 days later, he is still lifting his head and has every day. I am pretty sure at this rate he will be crawling at 5 months---yikes!!

About a week old. What a cutie.

About 2 1/2 weeks old. He was 7 lbs, 3 oz at his 2 week visit. Gaining pretty good weight. I sure hope so--I feel like he eats all day long! It's ok, I like feeling needed! :)

You may be wondering where Andrew is during all these pictures. He is either behind the camera or I have stolen some precious moments with my boys while he was doing something else.

He was actually laid off when Evan was 1 week old, so he has been home with us the whole time. I can't imagine these past few weeks without him and I've been so grateful to have him home to spend time with us. You might remember that he lost his job when I was six months pregnant with Benjamin. I recall that being the worst and hardest month of our entire relationship (because of that and other difficult things---death in the family, taxes due, computer crashed, etc.). It is strange, but this time around, I have to be honest and say that these past few weeks have been the best of my life. I am so happy that we are getting to spend quality time as a family and he is getting to spend quality time with his sons. Of course, I hope to have some income sometime soon, but for now, we are just trying to take advantage of this special time.

I will try and post again soon....thanks for your interest in our family!

The end is near.....

2009-04-15T14:51:00.001-07:00

35 weeks down (almost 36), how many to go? Sorry there haven't been more pictures along the way. If you may recall from my pregnancy with Benjamin, I'm not too pregnant-looking until the end--yeah--but it makes for uneventful pictures. That, and until the end, I just feel ugly and don't want my picture taken :)

It was a cold and snowy day here in Colorado on Easter. We made a nice fire, had some hot cocoa, and had the fam over for breakfast and an indoor, Benjamin-only Easter egg hunt. He had tons of fun, but wasn't too interested in finding the eggs once he learned that there were treats inside the eggs. It slowed the process down quite a bit. Kids....they are crazy!

Having fun with Daddy. I am looking at these pictures laughing because since Easter, which was only a short 3 days ago, Ben has gotten another haircut....this one resulting in much more of a buzz cut. As his mother, I don't like it. Hair grows back, right? :) Once the baby comes I will appreciate the lack of hairbrushing that needs to take place post-shower and the insane bed head in the morning. But for now, I just don't like it.

2009-03-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no time to write, but I know picture are what's important anyways. Ben had a great time with his first round of swim lessons with Daddy. I guess we're ready for summer!

I am almost 32 weeks pregnant now (pictures are not toooo recent), but I am still quite small. Baby will be here in 8 weeks or less---yikes!! It's time to start pretending like he's coming and get out the clothes, car seats, crib, etc! :) Can't wait to meet him!

2009-02-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Above is my first pregnancy photo to post....I'm 25 weeks along. That means that next week I will start my 3rd trimester!! I can't believe it---it is going by so quickly! It's crazy how time flies when you have a toddler, 2 jobs, a husband, a dog, and you're pregnant. Thank god I'm not having octuplets :) The baby is doing great and is VERY active...I'm afraid he might be more active than Benjamin---yikes!! I think we've decided on a name for him, but we're going to keep it to ourselves for now because we haven't 100% agreed.

By the way, aside from the fact that I look terrible in this picture (thank you Great Clips for this wonderful haircut), I think in person my belly looks much rounder than this pictures leads on. It sure feels rounder :) I also thought I'd share that while I'm writing this I am learning that Orville Redenbacher's Natural "Tender White" popcorn is very tasty.
Thanks to all of his grandparents, Benjamin got a swingset "playground" for Christmas. This gift was my idea after I found my 26 month old son in our neighbor's yard (over the 4.5' fence) playing on their "playground." He could've broken his neck climbing that fence, and to this day I have no idea how he got over unscathed. Needless to say, I am ecstatic to have a playground on our side of the fence now.

The swingset went up a couple weeks ago because we've been having pretty nice weather lately. Benjamin loves playing on it and going down the slide, and Andrew and I love how it wears him out :)

My baby boy has gotten his curly locks cut off...by Daddy. It was a little traumatic for me (yes me, not Ben) at first, and the next day, but now I think it's growing on me. He now looks like the little boy that he is. He did a great job and sat still the whole time. He is too precious. He is actually a slight-bit unrecognizable when you first see him with his short do'.

We finally sold my old car, which is a great weight off my shoulders. We've both been working a lot trying to get ready for jr's arrival. I also just signed another 2-year contract for StrollerFit. It is now officially the longest job I've ever had...and it's my own business. Go figure. Hopefully things will settle down a bit after this month and then we can take a little breather before all chaos takes over in May!

Here is what I have learned about blogging...posting pictures is a major pain in the butt. Those of you who post regularly to your blogs...you must know something I don't.

I just reread this blog and it's quite scatter-brained. Now you know what it's like for my husband to have a conversation with me--except I at least finished my thoughts on here before starting a new one. Hope everyone is well, has power, and is staying warm!

Christmas, New Years, and It's a Boy!!

2009-01-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

There must be something in the water at the IU swimming pool.....all of my swimming friends, myself included, who have had children have boys. Since I am the first to have a second child, I thought maybe I would be the first to have a girl. I was wrong. Another boy is being added to the mix.....too bad we all live in different states or I'm sure we could have fun playdates and eventually contribute to an awesome men's swim team. :)We found out January 2nd that it's a boy. The first picture up on the screen--my second son baring all his goods. These Harvey boys are so proud of themselves! I'm glad I kept everything of Benjamin's....little "Wally GiggleMonster", as Ben has named him, will have plenty of clothes and toys!

We are working on potty training Ben right now. He's doing a great job, but I'm not convinced it's the right time yet...he might still be a little too young. We'll see! He's getting pretty excited about the baby and told a friend of mine today: "my baby's name is Wally GiggleMonster". What a funny guy. I hope he won't be hurt when we give the baby an actual name. Which, by the way, we probably won't do. Unlike the name Benjamin, which we came up with and decided on as soon as we knew he was a boy, this time around has been much more difficult. We have agreed on a middle name, so I guess at this point we might just come up with a few first names and decide once he comes.

We had a great Christmas here at the Harvey house. The grandparents came over to spend the night and Benjamin was excited to see that Santa had visited while he was sleeping. He got TONS of fantastic gifts, all of which he meticulously unwrapped and played with. It is worth mentioning, though, that at his young age of 2 1/2, he realized the boringness associated with clothing gifts. The fun with those ended the second the paper was completely removed from the boxes. For the record, he got some great and much-needed clothes!

Uncle Tom and Aunt Emmy arrived early New Years morning and we all headed up to Winter Park to go snowshoeing. Ben also did some sledding while his favorite uncle was here. We had a great visit and it was so nice to see family during the holidays.

I almost forgot to mention---I got a new car!!! Well, new to me. After 5 1/2 years of driving my little Saturn that I've never really loved, it was decided that I needed something bigger to handle 2 kids, groceries, strollers, family, etc. Also, I was in desperate need of 4WD/AWD. I got a great deal on a 2004 Honda Pilot and LOVE IT!! Can't believe I didn't do it earlier. Some key points of the car: automatic, power windows/doors, heated leather seats, 8 passenger seating (comfortable), cruise control. All things new to me as a car owner. Yeah!!!!!

What else can I say about Ben? He's basically not napping anymore, MUCH to my dismay. He absolutely loves life and can't seem to get enough of jumping on the bed, couch, floor...anything. Even when he falls, I know he thinks it's worth it because he just says "Ben bump-a head." He sure does like the monkey jumping on the bed book.

Here's another pic of Ben the day we made cookies. It was an all day event, and by the end of it, he just couldn't resist the urge to sneak some green food coloring. Ahh, to be 2 again :)

I hope to post some pics of my growing belly next time. I don't have any pictures right now and don't have the energy to take any for this post. I'm working too much!! I'm not huge, but definitely showing. I feel a lot bigger than I look, that's for sure!

As for me and Andrew, we are just working and trying to prepare for our impending arrival. We are in the process of looking for our next house-flipp

ing project, but just started, so not much news there. We have a lot of projects to finish up on our own house before the baby comes, so wish us (Andrew) luck!

Hope everyone survived the holidays and has so far enjoyed 2009. 8 more days 'til Bush is out of office, yeah!

What? No posts in 3 Stinking months??? :)

2008-12-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

Alright, alright, I know it's been a while. A very long while. The truth of it is, aside from my general and overall laziness, I have had the DARNDEST time getting pictures/videos to load to the blog using a PC. Seriously. The great news is that my wonderful husband just found the cable for me to connect my camera to my laptop, so now we are in business! Thanks hubby!

Happy Halloween 2008

"Trick-N-Treat"

Ben did a GREAT job "trick n treat"ing as he called it. Our little monkey was timid for about one house...until he learned what happens when you say trickntreat and thank you! :) He had such fun and got to ride around in his wagon to lots of houses! There were actually 2 houses on our street that give full size candy bars..can you believe it? A child's dream! My child, of course, chose to get a red tootsie roll pop instead. What a cutie. Mommy and Daddy will have to give him some lessons in picking out the Twix and Snickers instead next year :)

Digging for our Christmas tree

For the first time, we have decided to buy a live tree this year and plant it in our yard after Christmas. The boys prepared during the nice weather by digging a hole for the tree, which we plan to plant New Years Day. Benjamin is the best big boy helper.

Shoveling the Driveway with Daddy & Stella

We've had a few snows already this winter, so Ben has gotten some practice being the little man of the house.....helping carry in firewood and helping shovel the driveway. Daddy is lucky to have such a helpful helper around. What better way to reward hard work than with a fun FIRST time sledding?

First Haircut

Yes, believe it or not, we have waited 2 1/2 years to give him his first haircut.....and after all that waiting and anticipation, we did it ourselves willy-nilly after a shower one evening in our bathroom. I realize his hair is still long, but we did cut about 3-4 inches off the back and an inch or so off his bangs. I just can't part any more with the curls. :) He was a cooperative boy, in general, and ran around naked like a crazy person when we were done. It must be a rejuvinating experience getting your hair cut the first time.

No pregnancy pictures yet. I'm not really showing...with a specific bump at least. I moreso just look very thick. I'll post pictures when I think it's cute and not just gross & fat. I am 18 weeks along, feeling great, and finally feeling the baby kick. We go on January 2nd for our 20 week ultrasound, so hopefully all will go well and maybe we'll be able to find out if we're having a baby "brodder" or "sisser". Ben just calls it a "baby brodder/sisser" to be safe. He says hello to the baby everyday and usually gives my belly a kiss. He's gonna be a great big brother.

Happy holidays to everyone! We'll be thinking of you this wonderfully festive holiday season!

What a travel-filled summer!

2008-09-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Alas, we are home for good for the rest of the year (or as far as we know!!). It has been such a jam-packed summer and it's nice to be home and get officially back into the groove of being home! We've spent all weekend working on our house--hanging curtains, a little painting, finishing the fireplace, etc. It's a lot of tedious work that we have let go by the wayside since our busy summer started 4 months ago!! Enjoy some pictures from our final trip which was to Massachusetts (Boston/Cape Cod). We had a great time and hope to go back someday! Above is a pic of Andrew and Ben on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. We had BEAUTIFUL weather on our trip---yeah!

Here we are on the USS Constitution. It was full of interesting history, but not necessarily a great place for a 2-year old. We walked a good portion of the Freedom Trail in our short 1/2 day in Boston, and spent a lot of time near Faneuil Hall.
Benjamin Harvey, meet Benjamin Franklin. (Ben had this intense underbite thing going on during our trip. Not sure why, but I'm glad the phase is already over!)
We got to spend the night in Boston with our good friends Cassie & Brian and Megan & Pat. Tina was also able to spend a good portion of the day with us. Benjamin had fun with all the attention he got from everyone, and his good behavior all day earned him a toy for dinner time (aptly named "Lobbie"). We enjoyed a great lobster & oyster & mussel dinner and went to Mike's Pastries for dessert. We couldn't believe it, but at 10:30 PM on a Sunday night this place was PACKED--wall to wall. Obviously it was a hit and I highly recommend going there if you're ever in Boston.
Ben sleeping with mom and dad in the tent at our first Cape Cod campsite in Nickerson State Park in Brewster. It was the only time during our entire visit that it rained, which was lucky for us!
Ahhh, he's crazy!!
Mommy loves lighthouses! Surprisingly, this was the only working light house we saw the entire trip. :(

Ben's first time to the ocean!! Too bad it was windy and cold, but he sure enjoyed the water rushing up to his knees. We're at the southern most tip of the Cape Cod National SeaShore in Eastham. Our second night (of 3--no pictures from our last night, which we stayed in our tent in Shawmee-Crowell State Park in Sandwich). We stayed at Sippiwissett campgrounds in a tipi. Glad we did it, but won't due it again. :)Bike riding on Martha's Vineyard. We had gorgeous weathe and biked the whole time we were there....at least 15 miles. What a beautiful place.

The coolest kid in the world. He was so great on our trip, and did a great job in his car seat on the plane.....thank goodness for child restraints!!! :) For those of you with lap children, let me just say, the extra seat you pay for for the child to have their own seat and carseat---PRICELESS!!!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. More to follow soon :)

Home from Yellowstone, Off to Massachusetts

2008-08-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

What a busy summer we've had---so much traveling and so many visitors coming to see us! It has been a great summer, but certainly too short...

Uncle Tom (or "Mom" or "T-Mom"-for little boys who can't quite begin a word with the "tuh" sound just yet) came out earlier this month for a 2-week visit. We had a great trip up to Cody, Wyoming, where we went to a rodeo and stayed at Buffalo Bill's Hotel. Buffalo Bill was quite fond of Benjamin and took his picture with him. Next we went up to Red Lodge, Montana, a first for Benjamin and me. We headed south to Yellowstone National Park where we saw lots of buffalo, as well as a momma & cub black bear and a grizzly bear. Ben really loved all the wildlife.

On our way home we went swimming in the Grand Teton National Park and stopped by Dinosaur National Monument---which, by the way, is not currently accessible, so we had to settle for the dinosaur gift shop one mile outside of the park.

We had a great time on our trip. Benjamin was such a good boy considering he was strapped in his car seat for a 6-day, 1700 mile road trip.

Now we're all (AJ, Ben, and me) off to Massachusetts for Kristy's wedding. We are so excited for a week's vacation and it's AJ and Ben's first time to the east coast---and it'll be Benjamin's first time to the ocean! I can't wait to see him playing in the sand. He's going to have so much fun! We are going to explore some of Boston and then head for 3 nights of camping throughout Cape Cod. Can't wait!!

I'll post more when we get back!

I'm 2 !!!!!!

2008-07-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe 2 years ago I was in the hospital giving birth to this amazing little bundle of energy (who's been a chatty cathy all day). We've had a great day---swimming, eating banana pudding out of ice cream cones, all the fun things we like to do :) This summer has been really enjoyable and Ben has had a ton of fun.

Did I mention he is exhibiting signs of being 2? It's been just pleasant so far---NOT! Fortunately for him he is so cute we love him anyways! :) Here is a pic of Ben standing in the corner for being naughty--UNfortunately for us he doesn't quite mind the punishment.

Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes.

We are planning on getting the "flip" house on the market in a couple weeks, and then Uncle Tom is coming out for a visit and we're heading to Yellowstone.....so don't expect any new posts before then (although, I know you all don't hold your breath too long anymore!) I promise I'll post with pics from our trip when we get back.

Woa, it's been a while!

2008-06-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

At the zoo with Daddy....

Blogging is really easy, and I don't know why I can't find the time to do it, but it just doesn't get done enough---I know!!!!

Life has been wild around the Harvey house. We have nearly completed the renovation on the upstairs (main) living area of our home, which has been very time-consuming, expensive, and exhausting. But so worth it. Here's a pic of our big helper--

We love the house so much we've decided to stay indefinitely, and as we've learned about the neighborhood we've discovered some fun 4-wheeling/hiking trails and a lake! Ok, more like a really big pond, but you can fish on it so last week we purchased a canoe!! We've had a lot of fun, Ben and Stella included, and feel so cool driving around with a big red canoe strapped to the top of our Jeep :)

Some pics of our summer recreation so far: (canoeing pictures are from a camping trip last weekend...this is NOT the "pond" near our house!)

Some more big news....we've decided to purchase a second home that will serve as our first, true fix-n-flip investment. We've hit some glitches so far with the whole purchasing aspect, but hope to close on the property any day now. Keep your fingers crossed! It is a big and scary undertaking, but we are SOOOO excited to take on the challenge....and who knows, maybe become professional house-flippers! :)

Alright, alright, I know you just want to hear about Benjamin. He is so awesome, amazing, fun, smart, funny, cute, talkative (wonder where he gets that from?), handsome, flirty, energetic, loving, giggly, kissable.....put simply, we just love him and can't get enough of him! He talks all the time and has quite an extensive vocabulary. By far, however, his favorite word (and thing) is "car". He points out cars all the time when we are driving, he stands at the window at the front of the house pointing out mommy and daddy's cars-as well as the cars passing by. Recently, we have introduced him to the movie Cars, which we now watch no less than 3 times per day. He most enjoys wearing his Car jammies to bed and brushing his teeth using his Cars toothpaste while standing on his Lighting McQueen step stool. Could be worse, he could like Thomas the Train. :)

Its really fun watching him grow and learn. He says or repeats new words everyday and has really starting counting a lot. His favorite number to say is nine, but he also likes to pick things up (one in each hand) and say "two (blank)".....such as "two cars," two boots (books)," "two doddy (monkey)". He used to say donkey for monkey, but now he's reverted more to "doddy"....which is closer to doggie, so maybe he's just confused about what monkeys are.

Some pics of Ben walking the dog and being silly!

Ben loves to kiss and has really learned that kissing makes boo-boos feel better. He says "hurt," gets a kiss, and say "bayer" (better). Of course recently he's been hurting mommy so that he can kiss it and make it feel "bayer." Hopefully that phase ends soon!

He's very polite and says "pease" (please) and "ankoo" (thank you) with a big grateful smile on his face.

Well, I hope I updated you all well enough for now. To be honest, it's been a connectivity issue between my camera and computer that has kept me from posting, but now I have that figured out so hopefully I'll be better in the future. Thank you all for your love for and interest in our little angel.

Easter and Chuck E Cheese

2008-04-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody--hope things are going well in your neck of the woods! C'mon Spring weather!!!

Here are some random pics of Ben...some from Easter, where he went on a very extended and exhausting Easter egg hunt through Grandma Tricia's house. I've also put a video of him playing basketball with the new hoop he got from the Easter bunny. Please excuse our disgusting house in the video---remodeling is not a pleasant thing. :)

Ben's also been to visit Chuck E Cheese a couple times over the past month. He really enjoys riding the rides, both for small kids and big! I think his favorite, though, is the pizza. Boy, he can sure wolf that stuff down!

It has been SOOO much fun watching him grow lately. His is such a joy and keeps us laughing all day long. He loves to point to your (and his) nose, followed by a cute "no". He just can't seem to get the "se" at the end. He also likes to point to your (and his) "beep-beep," code for bellybutton. Today he burbled me on the belly too, and thought it was hilarious. He is saying lots of words now---water, bubble, more, please, bye-bye pee pee, car. More, I'm sure, but I can't think of them right now. He's still going potty in the potty....every now and then. Maybe once a day at most, but he's still so young we're just excited that he's going at all!

Things are going well around here. We are hoping to have a livable upper floor of our house in a couple weeks. It's funny that I say it will be livable in a couple weeks but we've been living in it for 2 months. Haha, NOT! Ben has been a pretty good helper. He LOVES to use tools and help Daddy. He's a Harvey, that's for sure. I've posted a video of him helping in the garage with a wheel barrow. He was pushing all by himself--we weren't helping at all!! What a big kid :)

Enjoy the pictures and videos, and please post comments if you'd like. :)

Very proud boy...and parents too!!

2008-03-19T15:21:00.001-07:00

Our first day with a big boy potty, and we are 2 for 2. Ben is LOVING his new potty and keeps going to sit on it and wave "bye-bye" when he shuts the lid. It is the cutest thing, and of course we are SOOO proud of him!

Ben has really become such a fun little bundle of joy. I've probably said this at every stage, but I definitely love the 18-ish month age. He is so fun and understands so much and tries to help with everything we do. He is great at laundry, less helpful at dishes, and loves to put away his toys. We've been having a great time raising our little munchkin.

He loves the new house. We see deer everyday in our yard, and he loves to run hot laps throughout the house! :) He also recently went to Chuck E Cheese and has discovered a new found love for slides. His favorite is to go down a side-by-side slide with Mommy.

He has quite the vocabulary nowadays....although we only sometimes understand any actual words! He definitely LOVES the word "ball" and says it every time he sees one, even in books. He also says "Ella" (Stella) all the time, doggy, kitty, mommy (a), daddy, night-night, and many others that I can't think of right now.

Sorry it's been so long since an update. I know the "we're busy" excuse is getting a little overused, but unfortunately it's true. Every spare moment we have as a family is spent spending time together, so blogging usually doesn't get its face time.

I hope everyone is well and thanks for checking our blog about our beautiful, smart, funny little boy :)

Quick update from the woman short on time

2008-01-23T18:49:00.000-08:00

No pictures this go round, as the camera is somewhere packed away and I can't begin to wonder where it is!! We are in the midst of a 2-week move into our new house, which currently looks like a pigeon farm since we've successfully scraped the ceilings of their horrendous popcorn (or cottage cheese) ceilings. What a messy, messy job.

Ben has been great so far and is trying to help Daddy every chance with whatever he can help fix. He's such a cutie! He's been going on a lot of shopping trips to the hardware store, hardwood store, cabinet store, etc. For the most part he's a dream, especially if the store has those carts that double as little race cars for the kids. He just LOVES steering the wheel.

He has changed an incredible amount over just the past 10 days or so. Not physically, necessarily, since we just went to his 18-month appointment and he still only weighs 19 lb. 5 oz. He is such a squirt!!! Anyways, lately he has really started to learn and copy what mommy says and does. He high-fives (sometimes), plays messenger of objects between mommy and daddy, marches, roars, and has even started to sing a little. Every once in a while I'll get a kiss too, but he's certainly learning what a shaking head is--he shakes no to me quite a bit. :) Ah, the dreaded "no" phase is no doubt upon us soon. Also, whenever he sees a picture of himself now he says "baby." It's adorable, as you can imagine.

Boy, do I sound like proud mama or what? I truly am proud of how smart and well-tempered he is. He's such a joy in AJ's and my life.

Wish us luck with our impending move to the pigeon camp. I'll post pictures as soon as we're a little settled and I can take a breath! Hope everyone is well!

Hopeful for a fantastic 2008!!

2008-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! The posts have been few and far between, I know, but I hope all of you enjoy the excitement of seeing a new one!

It has been VERY busy around here for us lately. Andrew and I decided we wanted to move and found a place over Thanksgiving that we wanted to buy and build a house. So, we put our house on the market the first week of December and sold it after 8 days!!! Obviously, we were in shock. The craziness of it lies in the fact that the place we originally wanted (and the reason we put our house on the market) fell through, as did a couple other places we had in mind---all the while our house was set to close at the end of December!

So here is how things stand right now: we have sold our house --yeah, congrats to us!--and are renting it back from the new owners (who plan to rent it out) and we have decided to try our hand in the real estate business. We put an offer on a house in a very nice neighborhood that was a steal and needs a little TLC, so we hope to be the owners of that house next week. We'll use the time we have two homes to get some icky work done at the new house and then move in sometime at the end of the month. The goal is to finish the house in 3-4 months and sell it. Our plan at this point in time is to fix-n-flip a few houses that we live in in the next couple years, then if we enjoy it and it makes us pretty good money, we'll buy a real house and do f&fs on the side. We'll see---but we're really excited about our new adventure!!!!

Christmas was great. Santa came to visit Benjamin and he had a lot of fun opening presents and playing with all his new stuff. He was just so fun to watch---he's learned so much over the past couple months and is really starting to become a real person---gone are the baby days!! :( and :)

Here are a few pictures and a video or two from the past few weeks. I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday season. I know we did!

Christmas is Coming!

2007-12-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

Yummy Turkey dinner! Uncle Tom after sledding a massive scary "off the beaten path" sledding hill

Hello! I have got to tell you, even though posting only takes a couple minutes and I know all of you are chomping at the bit for more pictures of our sweet, precious boy, it is so hard to actually take those couple minutes to post----and for that I am so sorry!

Kinda big plans around here....we are putting our house on the market to sell on Monday. We found a beautiful piece of land (5 acres) about 20 minutes away from our current house that we have fallen in love with. So, we are putting our house on the market and putting an offer on the land so we can build our own "dream" house....wish us luck!! While winter isn't the ideal time to be selling your house, I do think that our house looks so beautiful with our 15 foot christmas tree, so hopefully some other family will feel the same!

Benjamin is doing really well. His Uncle Tom came out to visit last weekend for Thanksgiving and he is just in love with him. Of course the "he" in that sentence refers to both of them...Tom absolutely adores Benjamin and, well, let's just say that Benjamin would only let Tom hold him when we went shopping. It's wonderful to see how much people care for your child.

I could go on, but I assume that you all just look at the blog for the pictures :) so let me spend my time posting those. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holiday season! Colorado is beautiful this time of year (and the rest of the year!), so feel free to come visit anytime!

Benjamin is a big cousin

2007-11-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Hello all-

Yes, our household has fallen off the planet! I'm so sorry that there haven't been any posts lately.

Guess what? Benjamin became a big cousin yesterday to the newest member of our family, Tanner Thompson Smith (Matt & Amy's baby). He was born at 7:02PM on Nov. 5 and weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz. Both mom and baby are healthy!

Benjamin is walking like crazy now--too quick for Andrew and I! He spends all day climbing and descending the stairs and chasing Stella. Needless to say he's still a little squirt--he burns about a zillion calories a day!

Our Halloween last week was quite uneventful. Benjamin had a fever most of the week and then bumps showed up on Friday-turns out he had roseola, which is kind of like chickenpox. So we didn't do any trick or treating...it was his second Halloween and he has been sick for both of them..hopefully next year he'll be up for a fun time!

Andrew and I are doing well. We are both keeping busy with work, as always, and enjoying the fall weather. We have a vacation in Breckenridge for 2 nights planned in February and are very excited to enjoy some time alone without work!

Sorry there are no pictures of Benjamin...our new camera's battery is dead and I just noticed, so I can't even turn it on. I'll get a new battery this week and post some pictures...I hope! :)

Updates

2007-09-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yikes, it has been a busy month!! Sorry for the lack of posting!
We have been busy with visitors this month, and with teaching Benjamin how to walk and dealing with him getting two molars...ouch. He hasn't even gotten all the little front teeth yet and those big guys are coming in 2 at a time in the back...poor guy. He is learning to walk, but still won't really do it. Last week for about 2 days he would get going if he had his boots on. Now, he is perfectly ready and capable, he just won't do it! Little booger :) Nah, it's ok...in his own time. He's going to visit his 2-and-1/2-year old cousin Morgan in a couple weeks, so he better figure it out soon if he wants to keep up with her!!

Alright, on to the pictures. We went to this fun place last Sunday called Miller Farm. There are lots of activities to do at the main area (petting zoo, helium balloon jumping castle thing, train rides, corn maze, etc), but the really fun part is going in a hayride around this humungous farm and collecting your own vegetables. We picked potatoes and carrots out of the ground and gathered tomatoes (yum, yum), gourds, peppers, beets, corn, cabbage, and okra. Also, I picked gladiolis (sp?), so I have fresh flowers and I cut off the bulbs so I can plant them next year. It was a fantastic time and we came home with so much food we could have single handedly fed Somalia. :) All for $7. Pretty ridiculous.

AJ's 27th birthday is this Sunday. We are going to head up to the mountains with our friends Jamie and Doug for a parents day out...scoping out the changing aspen leaves and closing up their cabin for the winter. It oughta be a nice day to recharge our batteries.

I have just started my new part time job. I know, you are wondering, when does that crazy woman have time to have a job? I wonder the same thing! Seriously, though, it'll help bring in a little extra dough and it gets me a few hours out of this house. I started Monday and will be working either 5-10pm or 4:30-8:30am 4-5 days a week. Oh, by the way, it's a Starbucks, so the free caffienated drinks I get help me get through those hours. :) It's actually a great schedule because between AJ's schedule and mine we never have to get a sitter or daycare and I can still do StrollerFit during the day. And it's only about 2 miles from my house. Can't beat that!

I hope you are all well. For those of you that we'll be seeing soon, can't wait!!

Go Broncos

2007-08-31T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, enough about that child of mine---does anyone care what's new with his parents? I'm sure you're all thinking "yes, of course" but what you really mean is "no, not so much"..... :) It's ok. We're boring.

Seriously, though, life has been pretty good around here. We've been taking nice evening walks, we both love our work, and we've been sleeping through the night consistently for about 1-2 months now. We actually even went on a double date last night with our newest and bestest friends Jamie and Doug. They have two young kids--Jamie is now an associate StrollerFit instructor and Doug and Andrew have a lot in common as well. We had a nice night out on the town without the kids. Grammy D watched Benjamin and she said that after not eating his dinner, he wolfed down the ice cream cone she bought him. Grandparents. They are all crazy and follow their own rules for your children. (Of course we love you all--especially the free babysitting ;)

Alright, I guess I can't say nothing about Benjamin. He learned to go the stairs today. He's been going up them for a couple months now, has fallen down a few stairs several times by accident, and finally today practiced a great deal and became a professional-come-down-the-stairs-er. We're so proud. Still no walking though. He's doing just what he did with the crawling....taking his time till he can figure out how to do it like a pro from the get-go.

I hope everyone's well. I'd love to hear from you all and hear how you're doing. :)

It's Zoo time

2007-08-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

Benjamin has been to several petting zoos and regular zoos this month. Here are some pics from our visit to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs last weekend. This is the coolest zoo. It's got great exhibits and it has the largest giraffe population in the country....and you get to feed them. Doesn't it look like fun? :) Also, Benjamin and Andrew had a close encounter with a

vulture (fake, of course--yikes!)

The other pics are just some randoms that I haven't posted before. There's also a short video of our little one...a new feature on blogger.

For those of you that read this that I don't speak with often, Benjamin is quite the busy-body and keeps me VERY busy. He is not walking yet at his ripe age of 13 months...but I have to be honest--I'm almost dreading those crazy-boy-chasing days. He will really wear me out when he's on two feet. I think it will be any day now, though, because he's definitely been thinking about it for several weeks now...I think he'll build up the courage soon!

Enjoy the pics and happy end-of-summer!

Traveling man

2007-08-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, we've been busy the past couple weeks. First Grandma Tricia and Grandpa Earl came out to visit for a week. Uncle Tom also came out to visit. It was very busy around the Harvey house. At the end of the visit, we (Grammy, Uncle tom, and me) took Benjamin to South Dakota to explore. He got to visit Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood, Custer State Park (absolutely beautiful), Old McDonald's Farm Petting Zoo, Devils Tower, and eventually--and unplanned- Sturgis. Yes, Ben's mother was the first to introduce him to a motorcycle rally. Go figure. Actually, we were only there for about an hour, but in that time we saw many life-changing things--such as topless women with nothing on but chaps...and only chaps. We also saw Billy Lane of Choppers Inc and got a picture with him. As you can see, Benjamin was quite interested in his tattooes and rings.

After 2 nights of camping and 3 days of driving, we decided to get a hotel room and let Benjamin run wild--and that is exactly what he did. He was a crazy man crawling around the room and went swimming with uncle tom. It was a much needed break from his car seat.

Now we are all back home, back to work, and enjoying the idea of life settling back down for a while. I am looking forward to the fall and look forward to seeing some of you in a couple months when we venture out to WV, IN, and OH!!

Hope everyone is well. :)

Our little camping man

2007-08-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Benjamin loves camping. He has gone camping 5 times so far this summer, and we are taking a nice 4 day trip (Grammy, Uncle Tom, me and Ben) with the tent somewhere next week. He loves the tent and the outdoors...just like his daddy, I guess! :)

Ben has started thinking about walking. He definitely wants to, but is being a scaredy-cat. He intentionally falls anytime he's even close to braving it alone on his own two legs. Soon enough he'll be going, though...and we're in no rush--because walking only means that soon he'll be running!! We can hardly keep up with him now because he crawls so fast!

We went to Kiddie Kandids last weekend for his one year portraits. If you'd like to view or order them, here is the info:

http://www.mykkstudio.com/

sitting#: 510037786

code#: B88W2

Enjoy!

I hope everyone is enjoying the slow winding down of the summer. We've got lots of visitors this week, so we'll be busy. Hope everyone is well. :)

Goodbye to a dear friend

2007-07-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the delays in posts....we've been really busy around here camping and stuff--living the hectic summer life. Benjamin is doing great. He now says Daddy, Stella (or at least a VERY clear version of it) and just yesterday he said "titty" about my mom's cats. We'll need to work on that one...but at least he's not calling everything with four legs Stella anymore :)

Thanks to everyone who sent presents or money for his 1st birthday. It is very much appreciated...he's been playing with everything he got and I'll be using the money to get his one-year portraits done and get prints printed from the past 12 months for his scrapbook. So thanks everyone very much!!! :)

Now on to the bad news. Andrew and I had to make the very tough decision to find Dex, our 5 year old puppy, a new home. Yesterday we brought him to the Dumb Friends League, a local animal shelter. It was really sad and we missed him before he was even gone. He had started to growl sometimes at Benjamin and usually nervously paced around him in circles, so we were attempting to prevent a possibly harmful situation for our little boy. Unfortunately, all yesterday and while we were at the shelter he was his usual angel self, wagging his tail and offering us much love....that only made it harder. We miss him very much and it will be a very sad couple of days for us. The shelter felt confident that they would be able to find him a good home without any children. I hope so. He'll be a wonderful dog for the right owner.

Thank you all for your support during this time. I appreciate anyone who emailed and tried to find him a good home. Thank you very much for that. You are good friends.

I hope everyone is doing well. I'll try and write again soon, but we have overlapping family visits next week that will keep us busy for sure. We are taking Ben and Grammy camping over the weekend, so I hope we'll have some good pics from that to post.

My First Birthday party!!

2007-07-15T08:41:00.001-07:00

Well, Benjamin doesn't officially turn 1 until 1:19pm on Tuesday July 17, but we celebrated with friends and family on Saturday July 14. We had 9 little kids and 12 adults come over and we had a baby pool, cake, and lots of fun! Benjamin loved having all of his friends over, although he didn't take a nap all day, so he left the party after his cake.....went for a bath to get cleaned up, and never came back to the party! :) He went to bed at 6:30pm and slept until 6:30 this morning....boy, he was tired out from being the man of the party!

Enjoy the pictures from the party!

1 week to go!

2007-07-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little boy will be celebrating his 1 year birthday in a week!! It is crazy! Not much is new around here....Ben's 2nd tooth has come in and he ate his first hot dog on July 4th. He doesn't look big, but he is definitely growing....and eating like a college football player! Of course, with the amount of calories he expends in a day, which is more than I can bear to count, he burns that food up right away! I'm glad he's so healthy, although his energy levels can be a bit exhausting! :)

We are celebrating his birthday with a small get-together next Sunday, July 15. I got an idea from a friend to put together a time capsule that represents this time in his life and the year in which he was born. The time capsule will be given to him on his 18th birthday. What a fun idea, huh? If you have anything you'd like to contribute to the time capsule, please feel free to send it to us! 3372 Prairie Vista Drive, Castle Rock, CO 80109

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer. I know we are!!

Jillian

HALLELUJAH!!!

2007-07-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

The baby gate that this baby has climbed up (and almost over) since day one of learning how to pull to standing!

Who's my cutey?
Bedtime story with Daddy. Benjamin is finally starting to really like books. Our favorite is "The Flea's Sneeze"
Napping....rump up!

Little bruiser. The mark above the right eye of this pitiful face is the cut Benjamin got while pulling up on the dinner table chair. He fell backward, and the chair fell right with him...well, on top of him. I wish I could say he hasn't tried it again. Silly boy....

Playing in my changing table...what fun!
Mommy, look at the beautiful leaves!
Sleeping in the tent..in my favorite spot...cuddled between mom and dad (who didn't sleep a wink the entire night for fear of rolling on him) :) What an angel!
Mom, I can reach it, I can reach it!
My favorite new toy....yellow flashlight. Daddy hangs it from the middle of the tent ceiling and I just gaze at it...or try and get it!

Thank goodness, my pictures are working again!!!! YEAH!! I know you all are as excited as I am!

So, here are some pictures to recap the past few weeks. I can't believe this little boy turns 1 in 2 weeks!!! How crazy! The time truly flies!

We went camping this weekend near Vail, Colorado. It was such a great trip. The weather was beautiful and we went to an awesome trail and camped along the river. Benjamin had a great time in the tent, and slept really well. A short recap of the trip: well, we brought the camera AND the battery charger this time, however we left the memory card in the computer at home....so no pictures. Also, we (I) packed the bag with Ben's clothes, my clothes, toiletries, and Ben's diapers.....we (I) also left this bag at home by accident. Soooo, we stuck him in his Bear snow suit that was packed separately for sleeping and we had 2 diapers that I had stuck in another bag for "just in case." Boy, I didn't know "just in case" would really happen. :) We all made it just fine...had plenty of food, warmth, and love to get us through the night! I so wish we had the camera because our little bear was absolutely ADORABLE...which I'm sure you can imagine :)

Enjoy the pictures! Sorry it's taken so long....

Sorry for the delay!

2007-06-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry to all those of you who check the blog regularly. I have not been able to access my memory card drive in the computer, and therefore can't access pictures on my card. I'm not sure how to fix it...so for now I will just post a little bit about what's been going on.
Well, Benjamin is officially a mover and a shaker. He is crawling on all 4's, standing and climbing EVERYTHING--including the stairs, and enjoying every minute of it! He went camping for the first time a few weeks ago--yes, I have pictures that I'll post sometime in the future--and has just generally been enjoying every second of his life. He's such a cutey pie...we just love him. His tooth is getting much bigger, and I hope there is another one coming to explain these midnight wakings we've been experiencing! :)
I hope everyone is well...I'll write more when I can get the pictures up. I'm sorry that it's been so long since I last posted. Take care!
Jillian

My First Tooth!

2007-06-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

At long last, my son has gotten his first tooth! Unlike every time I thought he was cutting his first tooth (since he was 3 months old!) he has actually been very happy---sleeping and eating fine...no fussiness. I just can't believe. I can't get a picture of it either...this was my best attempt. :)

He's also pulling up on EVERYTHING. We also learned that he can indeed crawl on all fours...apparently he chooses not too, because he still does the army crawl. We let him crawl around naked the other morning and the second he hit that cold tile, he was up on all fours. We couldn't believe our eyes...that little buggar.

I'm so proud of him. He is so adorable and smart and funny...and did I say adorable? :) I love him so much and am having so much fun watching him grow and learn.

By the way, (new topic) I have become an independent sales consultant for Discovery Toys, so if you ever need any of these AWESOME toys (birthdays, Christmas, etc) you know who to call!!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying early summer! :)

Benjamin can Swim!

2007-05-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Benjamin took his first dip in the pool yesterday. The water was freezing, but to our surprise he didn't cry at all. I'm not sure I would say that he enjoyed it, but he definitely didn't hate it. Next time the water will be warmer and I'm sure he will really enjoy splashing around. I got some smiles when we would bounce. Daddy held his front and I kicked his legs....he's learning young. I think eventually we might have a little flipper on our hands.

He's also pulling up and SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. He's really trying to stand too. It's possible he may skip the crawling and just start walking. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Still no teeth, though...I can't believe it! Soon enough....and he'll probably get a few all at once! :)

He's a little cutey pie and we love him :)

Benjamin's First Picnic

2007-05-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went out for a nice bike ride--with the bike trailer, of course--and had a lovely picnic. Benjamin enjoyed watching the leaves in the tree above us and played with his book. It plays the tune of Here Comes Peter Cottontail whenever it opens. He has learned this...and opens and shuts the books several times per minute. :)

We snacked on homemade fried chicken and pears...Ben had pears too. He actually would bite off little pieces and chew them up. What a smart little boy.

He is also pulling up now. Each day he does it a little more. He doesn't quite get the idea to use his legs still....he pulls up with all the might he has in his lats...and sometimes gets his mouth on what he is pulling for assistance. Silly guy. He'll figure it out soon enough. I'm in no rush...my life will change completely when this little fellow figures out all that he is capable of!!

Naptime torture

2007-05-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

My son hates to nap. However, he took a nap the other day and was in such a DEEP sleep, he woke up with finger marks on his face (where he'd been laying). It was so funny and pathetic all at the same time. Poor baby!

He also has figured out that he can see beyond those pesky bumper pads. Now Andrew and I have to move like Ninjas through the room without him spotting our presence. That funny little boy. What a tough life--being stuck behind bars!

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there! I hope you had as good of a day as we've had! We took Benjamin up to Waterton Canyon, a really nice place close to our house that is just for walking/biking...no doggies allowed. There is usually wildlife that wanders around the road, but today we only saw ducks....which approached us while we were snacking on our picnic lunch.

Benjamin got a bike trailer last weekend...we've used it 3 times already this week--it's so fun. Here are the pics I promised...we took them today. What a cutey! :)

Not much else is new, really. He's still my personal swiffer, not crawling on all fours but rather scooting on all belly. He's thisclose to pulling up to standing, but still having a hard time actually doing it as a regular activity. We are really excited for summer to be here. Ben is going to love swimming (but it's in his blood, don't you think?) and we are excited to introduce him to the pool. He sure loves splashing at bathtime.

I guess that is it for now. I hope all you moms have taken this day for yourself---we only get one a year!

What a cutey!

2007-05-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, but life is so busy! Grandma Tricia was here visiting us this week and Benjamin had a really good time getting grandma love. He sure loves when she rocks him in our old rocking chair. :)

He's been busy zooming around the house, acting as our little swiffer--picking up all the dust and dog fur on the floor--even if we've just mopped and swept. Swiffer doesn't have anything on my little Benjamin! :) Still not on all fours, but getting around just as fast.

I had an article come out in the paper this week highlighting my StrollerFit business. Click here if you'd like to read it.

We got a bike trailer yesterday and took Benjamin out this morning. He liked it pretty well....no crying, at least. He did fall asleep, so that's a good sign! Pictures to follow--next time we use it!

Not much else is going on here. Hope everyone is well.

Jillian

Vroom, Vroom

2007-04-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Life is C-R-A-Z-Y around here...so I am finally getting to the updates today. Well, our little fella is crawling. Not in the on-all-fours sense of the word, but man is he getting around! He's got a really quick army crawl down. Boy, does he like to chase after the dogs. :) It's really cute and we are enjoying watching him grow...but it is already exhausting keeping him out of things....like the dog food/water bowls. We are too slowly learning to remember to put them up during "Benjamin Hours."

StrollerFit is going really great. I've got several moms signed up and I think everyone is really enjoying the class. I know Benjamin is enjoying it...and making lots of new friends too.

Great news----my brother Matt and his wife Amy are expecting a little one!!!! How exciting! They are 11 weeks along..due Nov. 15. I'm so happy for them....congrats you two!

Life has been so busy and hectic I can't even think of anything else to write about. Benjamin is really starting to like tickle time and is starting to laugh and scream outloud. It's totally cute :)

Here he is on daddy's new homemade motorcycle seat...nice, isn't it? Looks like he's ready to go...but I'm definitely not---not for a long time! :) Hope everyone is well. I'd love to get some email updates about you all!

Love you much-

Jillian

9 Months old!!

2007-04-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it...my little boy turned 9 months old today. The time has flown soooooooo fast! It has been great and over the past 9 months he has grown so much and learned so much! His hair is also starting to come in (as evidenced in the picture)...slowly but surely. Thank you all for keeping up with this blog..it's been fun to write. I'll try and write soon, but I'm pretty crazy busy until Saturday afternoon.

Crawling?

2007-04-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. No, Benjamin is not crawling yet...but he is on the cusp of moving and shaking. He's getting pretty good at pulling with his arms and hands and is starting to push one leg (knee) up....he'll get it soon enough. He is so cute. We really enjoy bringing him into bed with us on weekend mornings. He just plays around and is so much fun to watch. It is crazy how much you can be entertained my someone who can't talk!

Speaking of talking, Benjamin and I started sign language classes this week. We go every wednesday for the next 9 weeks for a "play session" with other babies his age. We learn 10 signs per week with the hope that 12 or so will stick with him by the end of the session. It's pretty cool...I will be excited when he can communicate with me a little better--without having to fuss! He hasn't caught on to anything yet, but we are working hard and hoping it won't be too long until he can at least let me know he is hungry. (Not that I have a hard time figuring that out already :)

I guess that is it for now. Pretty low key week for us here in Colorado. Actually, we were supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow on Friday. They forecasted it all week....on Thursday the government shut down for Friday, people were staying in hotels so they could get to work on Friday, and United and Frontier canceled 90 flights......I felt like I was back in Tennessee where everyone makes plans based on forecasts. Needless to say, we didn't get ANYTHING...I mean, not even a light dusting. I wish I could make the salary the weatherman does and be that wrong!! Oh well, I'm really glad it didn't snow...I'm so sick of the cold this winter.

Congrats to my brother on being offered a new job/promotion. Way to go!

Also, we have taken our house off the market. We'll probably do it FSBO in the fall or something..so if you know anyone who is moving to Colorado, let us know!!

Ok, that really is it for now. Hope everyone had a nice and healthy week. I'll try and write more soon :)

Happy Easter

2007-04-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

Even though we've had about 5 inches of snow fall all day, I'm happy to say the Easter bunny was still able to visit us!

Benjamin has been sick all week with a really congested nose and cough. We've been to the doctor and there is nothing they can do...so we're just waiting it out until he feels better, which I hope is soon :)

He's been sitting really well lately and has started to do this all-arms-combat-crawl thing. His arms and hands pull pretty well, but his legs just flail behind him. It's pretty funny, but works well on the hardwood floor. The carpet still proves to be problematic, as it takes him quite a bit of effort and time to get about one foot. He's so cute! I'm in no rush though. It will probably be only a few more days til he is mobile and my life officially changes forever. :)

One surprising thing that has happened around here lately is that AJ and I went on a date! It ended at the emergency room, but should I be so picky? Please allow me to explain. We went out to dinner on Friday night before going to the Nuggets game. About 15 minutes before we were ready to go, I suddenly didn't feel well. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground with two strange men holding my hands. One of them was a cardiologist who said he saw the whole thing happen and that I had had a seizure. The ambulance arrived shortly after and the EMTs walked me outside. How embarrassing it is to wake up on the floor of a crowded restaurant full of basketball fans on a Friday night to be escorted out to an ambulance! After some time at the emergency room the doctor said he did not think I had a seizure but just fainted. No one had any idea why it happened. Pretty scary and weird...I just hope it doesn't happen again. I'm so glad my wonderful husband was holding my hand when I went down or I might have hit the ground much harder! I love him so much. :)

I guess that's it from us for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures and had a great Easter!

Long time, no write

2007-04-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry for the delay in blogging. Our computer has been a little messed up and I couldn't get the camera memory card to read so I couldn't post any pictures. Anyways, I finally got it figured out and I'm so glad because I've been anxious to update the site! :)

Benjamin has had a pretty good week. He has started sitting A LOT...for about 45 minutes stints at a time. He has also started trying to stand holding on to something and he started eating meat....although it's hard to imagine that meat can get pureed to that consistency. He is such a happy baby...we wish everyone could get to see him and play with him as much as we get to!

I start my StrollerFit classes on Tuesday (wish me luck!) and I know Benjamin has enjoyed all the practicing we've been doing. He loves the music and smiles and babbles all the way through class. I'm sure he'll be excited to have class with some other babies so they can all stare at each other and do whatever it is that babies do.

Andrew and I enjoy the weekends very much because we like to put Ben in the bed with us in the morning to play for an hour or so. He tries to climb all over us like we are human jungle gyms. He really enjoys it and we enjoy the time together admiring our little angel creation.

Benjamin has been in a big boy bath for quite some time now, however just this week he has started sitting up for bathtime. He likes to sit and play with his toys and spin on his belly and play with the drain plug. He likes shiny things just like his daddy.

He also has started to really be ticklish and giggles when he gets tickles or kisses all over. It is so fun. He brings so much joy to my life. I love him so much! Parenthood is awesome. Hard work, but more than worth it. :)

Mmmm, I love to eat my greens!

2007-03-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

My little boy LOVES to eat. Here is a pic of him with free reign of his avocado dinner...apparently, the tray tastes just as good! :)

We have been practicing for our upcoming debut of StrollerFit here in Castle Rock...I'm pretty nervous to start teaching a group exercise class, but I know once I get the hang of it I will be a-ok. Benjamin just loves the classes...he is always smiling. I think it's all the singing and tickling :)

Bathtime is also the newest fun time around the Harvey household. Ben loves to kick his legs and splash the water. And, like his father, he is mesmorized by the shiny metal (plug). He turns in circles to get at it!

Not crawling just yet, but he is a mile-a-minute...only he's stationary. Once he gets the lunge figured out, which should be any day, he's gonna be hell on wheels. What a cutie :)

Cross Country Traveler

2007-03-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Benjamin and I flew to Cincinnati last week so I could receive training for my new business, StrollerFit. I was really nervous to fly with him, alone, for 3 hours each direction. I am happy to say that he was a perfect angel on the airplanes...actually, he did cry (or scream, I should say) for about 1-2 minutes on each trip, but in the big scheme of things, he was great. As for my trip, I met 6 other franchisees and all the women at corporate. It was pretty clear that everyone loved him because I had soooo much help with him, and was told too many times to count that he is an "angel." I'm so glad...he's such an awesome baby.

AJ and I were able to go skiing, at long last, on Saturday. It was my first time to ski since before I was pregnant, and I am happy to report that I had a fun time and actually did quite well. Benjamin was miserable without us for the day, as you can see in the picture. :)

He turned 8 months old yesterday....I can't believe it---the time truly FLIES! Pretty soon I'll have to start planning a 1 year birthday party....aaaaagghhh!! It's incredible how quickly he is growing up....but it is fun because somehow I love him more everyday! :)

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the warmer spring weather.

EEeww, Spinach!

2007-03-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my son is the best eater in the world. He's almost 8 months, and as I believe I mentioned before, he eats like a college football player. Or female college swimmer...whatever you prefer. Anyways, we have started solids, of course, and have gently eased him into different foods. He just had peas last week, his first green vegetable, and I have to say that he took it really well. A little face at the first taste, but after that he was fine. So this week I decided to have a little fun with it and I made him spinach. Ok, nasty. I like raw spinach, but this canned stuff...disgusting. I can't even stand the smell of it. It is not aesthetically pleasing either--it is definitely gross looking and smelling. Well, Benjamin loves it. Maybe LOVES is a little strong, but the child gobbles it down like it's sweet and delicious. He's crazy.

So here is what he is eating so far in his life: carrots, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, rice cereal, oatmeal, apples, bananas, pears, spinach, peas, yogurt, and sometimes little cereal puffs. This week we will be adding new potatoes and green beans to the lineup.

A funny story involving the picture for this entry....for Christmas AJ's uncle Jim got Benjamin a set of spoon-things that help babies learn to feed themselves. Well, we decided to let Ben get a little dirty one day and try it out. He didn't quite get it, as he is still too young, but he did like to suck on the spoon. We would take it from him to refill it, and he had a screaming FIT...every time! It was the funniest thing. As soon as we gave it back, he was quiet and sucked on the spoon. We did it several times, since it was humorous for us, and we were able to snap this picture. I like to think that Benjamin is not spoiled and will not be one of those kids who throws a major tantrum in the checkout line at the store. It is unfortunate events like this that make me wonder. What a crazy little fellow. Spoiled or not, I love this little tyke...he is so awesome!

Harvey Family News

2007-03-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

So, it just dawned on me that maybe, just MAYBE, those of you reading this would be interested in what's new with AJ and me. Is that crazy of me? :)

Well, we are really enjoying life in Colorado (finally). This winter has been kinda rough because we've had unusually bad weather, which I can see is hitting the whole country, but other than that, we are really happy here. We are, however, in the process of selling our house. (So if anyone knows of someone looking to move to Colorado, we have a great starter home for sale! :) The picture above is from our back deck at sunrise.

We are just feeling a little claustrophobic in the 'burbs and are looking for something with a little more space. Hope we can find what we are looking for, and not too far away!

AJ really enjoys his new job at Acme Brick Company, where he is a brick sales rep. He likes what he does, gets along great with his boss, and the office is only a couple miles from our house. Sounds pretty good to me.

I have just started my own business (a franchise) called StrollerFit. It's an "exercise with your baby" program for moms. Basically it is a group exercise circuit (I am the instructor) that utilizes strollers as "portable fitness machines." It offers moms a great chance to exercise, socialize, and not put their babies in day care! And for me, it lets me work and bring Benjamin with me. Check it out on StrollerFit.com.

I guess that is it about us for now. We hope to go skiing next weekend, and then I very much look forward to spring.
Miss you all....I hope you mark this page in your "favorites." I plan to write 1-2 times per week.

Welcome to my new blog!!

2007-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone!
I figured this would be the easiest way to keep everyone up to date with "everything Benjamin"....thank you to my friend Maggie for giving me this great idea!

So, Benjamin is now 7 1/2 months old. He is a very happy, smiley, loud baby. Loud with babbling and fun squeeling noises, of course. He is really becoming active (who am I kidding, this kid has ALWAYS been active) and starting to roll around and spin on his belly on our hardwood floor. He likes to sit, eat the remote, and definitely JUMP. He has the appetite of a football player, but he's still a relatively little guy.

I would like to say also that last night he slept through the night. I realize I said this a couple months ago, but that was a fluke and I didn't want to admit it. But last night, he slept 13 hours! He went down and 6:15pm and didn't get up until 7:15 this morning. Unfortunately for me, my body is so used to getting up that I was still up all night, just being alert and not sleeping. Oh well...hopefully this time he will stick with it and my body will readjust.

I guess that is it for now. I will try to post often and put pictures up. Here is a picture of Benjamin this past weekend at a petting zoo. He got to pet a donkey, bunnies, goats, and he even grabbed some chicken's feathers. I'm sure the chicken loved it. :)
Hope everyone is well and enjoys the blog!