Rocking in the Free World

When we were cleaning out the utility closet, Bradley spotted the keyboard that we never use. I hooked it up and it still works. Bradley enjoyed playing music. He even let Ben play too. As you may guess, it was music only a parent could love.

1, 2, 3, 4

The size of the family has doubled since the last census. That means more roads for me all my fellow Illinoisians! Bradley helped me fill out the census. First, he counted the number of people in the house. Then he spelled our last name. When I started to write my first name, Bradley said "Daddy, you forgot the D".

Up in the Sky and Away We Ago

Our first big family vacation was pretty successful. Here are some firsts for the boys

Ben
1st taxi ride
1st airplane trip
1st visit to Florida
1st time peeing standing up
1st trip to Disney World
1st Monorail ride
1st breakfast buffet
1st manatee sighting
1st Greek restaurant

Bradley
1st taxi ride
1st visit to Florida
1st boat ride
1st trip to Disney World
1st Monorail ride
1st breakfast buffet
1st manatee sighting
1st Greek restaurant

Bags Fly Free on Southwest

The boys had a great time playing with the suitcases during the later half of the trip. Ben even discovered a way for us to save $250 on our next trip.

Oh Mickey Your So Fine...

The day after our visit to the Magic Kingdom, we headed to the Contemporary Resort for breakfast with Mickey. It was great fun. We saw Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Goofy.

The Need for Speed

There is not much to do in Homosassa. Fortunately, poppa took the kids' bikes down to Florida. Bradley had lots of fun racing daddy around the circle and Ben liked going up and down a nearby driveway.

Mmmm...Doughnuts

The doughnut is, by far, Ben's favorite part of gymnastics class. He crawls into it dozens of times each week, but he need a little help getting out. Ben also likes to hang from the rings and high bar. We did the high balance beam last week (assisted). On the low beam, I got him to take a couple steps by himself.

The Treasure Box

Bradley's bowels are miraculously back under control, so he has earned a trip to the treasure box. The reward is a pair of binoculars. As far as we know, Bradley has never pooped at school. Therefore, we have started a contest between the two boys. Whoever poops at school first gets a special prize.

Look Out Below

Tonight was a very big evening in our house. Benjamin made an expression of great pain so we asked him what is wrong and he said he had a poop coming. So after a little convincing, Ben and mommy headed to the bathroom. After a minute of playing with a truck, Ben got to work and made his first poop on the potty. To celebrate his big accomplishment, phone calls were made to all grandparents plus we Skyped for the first time with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chris. After Ben went to bed, Bradley realized that Ben did not get to pick out of the treasure box. Bradley said that he will remind everyone tomorrow that Ben gets to make his first selection.

20 Fingers

There is a section of the DuPage Children's Museum that I refer to as the Tim Taylor exhibit. It gives kids a chance to use saws, hand drills, hammers, and real nails. It gives adults a chance to hone their reflexes, i.e. quickly moving fingers out of the way of an erratic hammer. Bradley knows we can only visit this workshop when the parent to child ratio meets or exceeds 1 to 1. That was the situation on Sunday when mommy, daddy, Bradley, and Ben went to the museum for a birthday party. This creation is a Star Wars spaceship, which was inspired by our recent project building a Star Wars Lego spaceship.