Lauren's First Dental Visit

My big girl is almost 4, so I thought it was about time she go to the dentist.  I talked to her about it a year ago and she was completely terrified, but all of a sudden, she told me one day, "I'm not afraid to go to the dentist anymore."  See?  This is what lazy parenting gets you, people!  If you wait to do things long enough,  they will come around!

She got to experience all of the usual dental visit routines, including catching up on Will and Kate's US tour...

After watching her brush her teeth, they sat her in the chair and put sunglasses on her (to keep her comfortable with the bright light shining in her eyes).  She had everyone in the palm of her hand in minutes!

The hygienist went to work and Lauren did great!  There was a little boy losing his mind 2 chairs over from her and she asked me, "What is wrong with him?"  Then she said (with a somewhat smug look on her face), "He must be scared."  


The hygienist and the dentist talked to Lauren about getting rid of her pacifier-yes, she STILL uses a paci at night (and in the car, and when she gets home from the babysitter's).  I know, we are the worst parents ever, call 241-KIDS now!  The dentist said to Lauren, "Lauren, we need to talk about something that you like to put in your mouth, what is that?"  She smiled at him and replied, "A TOOTHBRUSH!"  Everyone started laughing, he looked at Mark and I and said, "She's going to be a politician!"  


The truth is, Ben was very easy to break from the paci; he just gave it to the Easter Bunny, asked for it once, done.  Remember that lazy parenting thing?  That has always worked with Ben; if we didn't push, he would eventually do it on his own.  He was off the paci around 2, potty trained around 3-pretty typical but a little slower than others.  Lauren is very different than him.  She has tried to give it to the Easter Bunny, then to Santa Claus, but she falls apart the next night.  I know we should be more stern with her about it, but when I talk to her, she makes me feel horrible!   After telling her she needed to get rid of it one day she said, "Why?  It's my friend."  Today we talked about giving it to the "Paci Fairy" so another baby could have it.  She said, "I like babies, but I like my paci better."  At least she's honest!


So the task is in front of us: to gradually wean her from her paci.  The dentist recommended we start shaving off a sliver of it every night so that she feels that is doesn't work anymore, making it easier for her to give up.  If any of you moms out there have good advice for paci removal, let me know!

End of Summer

Well, Summer 2011 is officially ending, and I couldn't be happier!  I like Summer, but I really love the fall!  I look so forward to the hayrides, pumpkin patches, and all of the family activities that fall brings.  Here's what we've been up to lately:

We spent a lot of time at Kings Island's water park .  Ben was so excited for Aidan to go with us, so we took him the last time we went.  

 My friend Casey went to Mexico with her family, so I was hired to pet-sit for them while they were gone.  All of the animals (5 dogs and 3 cats) are very sweet and I did have fun-besides being woken up at 3:30am to feed them!  Casey warned me of that before she left; I told her it was like having a newborn baby again!

Aiden (with his typical expression of disapproval)

Chester, Nubbs, and Louie (so sweet!)

It was nice to have some time to myself at night.  I would put the kids to bed and drive over in my PJ's to spend the night.  Here's what bedtime looked like:

Yes, there are FOUR dogs in the bed!

When Casey got back, she announced that her and Jimmy were engaged!  I am so excited for them!  I am honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and am enjoying hearing all of the wedding plans!  The wedding will be on February 4th, 2012.  Here's a look at what my dress will look like (it will be Navy blue)!

Yeah, I'll look like this in it!!

Ben has started 4th grade and is doing well so far.  He likes his teacher(s) and was thrilled that his friend, Will, is in his class.  That is good and bad; that probably means he will get in trouble for talking too much.

First day of school-no cute bus pictures this year (thanks to the school levy failing)

Lauren has become quite the fashionista in the White house.  All of a sudden, she has begun changing into absurd outfits right before we leave to go somewhere.  Here are some of her best:

Chad Johnson jersey, pink tights with hearts, and white dress shoes

Purple shirt w/butterfly, yellow skirt with Hawaiian dancers, my belt (wrapped around twice), and soccer cleats 

This week, she wore snow boots to the babysitter's house every day.  She is so darn proud of herself that I don't have the heart to tell her to go change.  I'm sure I'll have many more opportunities for that when she's a teenager!  So, if you see us out, and Lauren is wearing a bathing suit, socks pulled up to her knees, and a feather boa around her neck, just humor us.

The Ides of March is set to debut on October 7th.  Everyone keeps asking us if Mark knows for sure if he's in it; we won't know until we see it with everyone else!  

Not Much to Blog About...

I have been a boring blogger, so I thought I should check in.  Unfortunately, there's not much to talk about lately!  Here's an update of the fam:

Ben
I can't believe that it's August and I have to get ready for back-to-school supplies!  Ben is going to be in 4th grade this year; it's crazy how fast time is flying by!  His favorite thing to do right now is to go to Kings Island-he asks us to go EVERY day.  He rode the newest ride, Windseeker, the first day it opened and loved it!  Seriously, I have no idea where this kid gets his guts from!

He went to the pediatrician last week for his check up and everything is looking good.  He is 52.5" tall (up 2 1/2" this year) and 70lbs (up 14lbs in 6 months!).  Ben has always been in the 50th percentile for height and weight, but has all of a sudden jumped up to the 68th percentile!  The doctor said his weight is OK, but he doesn't want to see him gain another 14lbs in 6 months.  I was thinking about what has changed in the past 6 months, and I got my answer: the Wii!!!  He spends most of his time indoors playing now.  It isn't helping that it's been an incredibly hot Summer in Ohio, and the last thing anybody wants to do is run around outside when it's still 86 degrees at 9:00pm!

The other issue is that last Summer, he was always going places with my Dad, or going fishing with Mark's Dad.  This Summer, my Dad is back to work and no one else is able to watch him, so he is being shuffled from place to place every day.  It's been hard on him to have no consistency or routine.  Luckily, we only have a few more weeks 'til he's back at school!  Until then, Mark and I are going to make sure he does something active every night!

Lauren

LJ has been a lot of fun lately.  She has a bunch of bathing suits from her cousin, Olivia, and runs around in them constantly.  She is a total water-lover; wants to play on the slip-n-slide (aka "slipping slide"), go to a pool, or go to Kings Island's water park EVERY day (noticing a trend here?).  Last weekend we spent Sunday afternoon and evening at Kings Island, and for the first time, she measured tall enough to ride her first roller coaster, Woodstock Express (The Beastie for all you old-schoolers).  We sat in the front car and she LOVED it!  She doesn't seem as daring as Ben yet, but who knows?


Mark
Mark has been spending most of the summer in the garage.  He bought a 1990 Nissan 300ZX earlier this year, and has been doing everything from putting on new brakes to body work.  Every night, I venture out into the garage around midnight to find him looking like "Cooter" from The Dukes of Hazzard, dodging junebugs and moths.  He is loving every minute of it, I don't get it...

Besides his car, he is getting very excited for his Hollywood Debut in Ides of March, coming out October 7, 2011.  Last week, the trailer and poster were released which got us all buzzing again!  Here's the link:   http://www.slashfilm.com/the-ides-march-trailer-poster  Mark's hand is at the end, putting an ear piece in Ryan Gossling's ear!  This is so cool!  There are a ton of Cincinnati shots in the film-I noticed a big Bengals banner in the background of one of the shots and got all excited!  I am so proud of Mark and so excited for October!

And then there's Maude...
(Sorry, I have NO recent pictures of me to post!)  I'm still working on the weight loss.  This has been a very frustrating year for me, though.  To date, I am 4lbs heaver than I was at the end of the weight loss challenge in November.  I have continued working out and watching my food intake (though I haven't been an angel), but I have just gotten stuck!  I recently started doing a "boot camp" workout routine with my friend/co-worker/workout partner, Casey.  I was once again encouraged by my cousin-in-law, Trish to try something different.  We also joined Weight Watchers and have begun counting points to ensure that we stay on the right track.  Things seem to be looking up; I lost 5lbs this past week, so hopefully that trend will continue!

Well, I'll talk to ya' soon!

Mt. Vernon Trip

This weekend, my parents, my sister, Lauren, and myself drove up to Mt. Vernon, OH to attend a baby shower for my cousin-in-law, Vanessa.  Vanessa and Isaac (my cousin) are expecting their first child, a baby girl to be named Abigail, in August.  I am so excited for them!  I think they will make excellent parents.

The happy parents-to-be!

The ladies

We stayed at my Aunt Karen's beautifully remodeled house during our visit.  The highlight for Lauren was getting to feed the free-range chickens, rooster, and turkey that Karen's neighbor owns.  

I couldn't help but think that my grandpa would be so proud right now...

Lauren was also very excited to get to spend some time with her second cousin, Lily.  I like to watch them interact and listen to the things they say to each other.  It's definitely different from Ben and Aidan, that's for sure!

My cousin, Jacob, and his wife, Rachael, announced that they were expecting, also!  The Bush family continues to grow...who's next??

I had great bonding time with my family.  Sometimes I wonder if we are the only family who can talk the entire 2-hour car ride, and never re-visit a subject!

After the baby shower, we ate dinner and took Lauren to a park to expend some energy; I could tell she was about to blow after the car ride and sitting through dinner.

"concentrate...concentrate..."

She had that car rockin'!

As I watched her play, I thought about how different Isaac and Vanessa's life is about to be.  Right now, their time is their own.  They can come and go without having to consider feedings, sleep time, etc.  They can go to dinner without being embarrassed by a screaming kid, they can hold entire conversations without interruption.  I look at them and say, "They have it soooo easy!"  The crazy thing is, they have no idea how easy they have it.  Five years from now, they will barely remember what their lives were like before Abigail came along.  More amazing than that, they won't want to.  She will become their everything.   

I think I know how that feels.

Ben Turns 9!

So...I'm a little over 2 weeks late due to issues with my scanner, but...

Happy Birthday, Ben!

On May 30th, my little boy turned 9!  I can't believe it's been 9 years since I saw his sweet face for the first time.  

Me & Ben (both red-faced!!)

Ben was always a very happy baby; he loved to smile and belly-laugh.  He was very curious, though.  I had to keep a close eye on him-I paid the price when I didn't!

discovering plumbing

discovering Q-tips

discovering cabinetry

discovering music

Other discoveries not pictured: discovering cell phones in toilets, discovering the taste of Science Diet dog food, discovering baby powder, and many, many more!


Ben was our second attempt at parenting; our dog Mooky was the only practice we had!  Mooky was 4 1/2 years old when Ben came along, and we tried to make him feel like he was still part of the family...

I so enjoyed Ben's love of Thomas the Tank Engine at 3 years old.  It was so fun watching him play with the train sets and make-believe he was Sir Topham Hat!

Our Day Out With Thomas

Before we knew it, it was time for Ben to start kindergarten!  He was so excited to get on the school bus!  I remember asking the teacher how they planned on keeping him inside of the school-we were convinced he would just take off running out of the doors the first chance he got!

Ben's first day of kindergarten

Two months after Ben started kindergarten, he became a big brother!  He was AWESOME from the very beginning!  He was very sweet with Lauren and always wanted to help.

Ben-keeping Lauren entertained


Ben has two best buddies: his cousin, Aidan, and his friend, Davis.  Aidan and Ben always have fun playing Wii, wrestling, or chasing each other.  Davis doesn't live in Cincinnati, but when he visits, Ben can't wait to see him!

The Best Buddies in Florida

Ben has changed my life in so many ways.  He taught me what true, unconditional love is.  He taught me how to be selfless, after so many years of being selfish.  He taught me humility-often.  He has attempted to teach me patience, although most days I feel I feel like I need to re-read the lesson!  He taught me how to be silly, how to look at the bright side of life, and how I should enjoy the simple things in life, like:

dancing

playing 

relaxing

enjoying nature

being thrilled

being part of a team

having time to yourself

faith

Ben has given me nine years of laughter, worry, sleep deprivation, humility, and most of all, love.  I am so proud of him and can't imagine my life without him.  He continues to teach me way more than I am teaching him, and I am so thankful for that.


Happy Birthday, Benny Tay!  Thanks for being...you.