What a Trade!!!

Oh boy do I have the happiest boy on the planet tonight!!!

The last couple weeks we have borrowed our Aunt Chris and Uncle Larry's tractor (Actually Chris is my Dad's mom's cousin's daughter... I think... ) to do some work around our property and our son has lived and breathed that thing... He would actually climb in bed with me every morning, scramble up onto our headboard and peak out the window above our bed just to double check the tractor was still there every morning. I was joking with Chris on how dissappointed he was going to be when he got up there in the morning and it wasnt there anymore.

So in anticipation of him loosing this tractor I went and bought him a small tractor toy at Target and had it ready and if he was a good sport I would give it to him as a trade for saying good bye to the big tractor. Boy was I upstaged :)

When Chris and Larry pulled in tonight to pick up the tractor I knew they were up to something. Bennett came out and they had this awesome john deere tractor toy for him all ready in the back of their truck. He was sooo excited. All he kept on saying was "WOW!" and "thank you chris!" and "this tractors stays with me!" I just wish I had taken a video of his excitement upon seeing it for the first time... hilarious! I think it is safe to say this kid has found his passion... and if he is driving a tractor around his farm 20 years from now we will all know he is doing what he loves to do and is truly happy. It honestly warms my heart to see him so excited about something and I know it is going to be attached to him all summer!

Thank you Chris and Larry... he LOVES it... and it is pushing 9pm and he is still in the driveway playing on that tractor.

First Week of Summer with our Girl

So we have had a fairly uneventful couple weeks just enjoying a little summer and although it has been rainy and our kids dont go to school yet so essentially summer isnt really that different for us yet, but it does just feel good to finally call it summer... The nights run late (as I write this our girl is playing in her bouncer and our kid is still outside playing and it is pushing 9pm) and our mornings thankfully run a bit late too. We are anticiapating many trips coming up and we are all just all around having a good time.

So some fun events of the weekend... Joel married someone... For some reason my husband has a knack for getting up infront of a congregation and speaking of love and wedding vows (shocking I know right) but he is great at it. Sadly I was dealing with a crying babe and missed the ceremony this time but I got a cute picture of the three of us... Bennett was sadly off running amuck with his cousins and missed the picture.

We have also started some rice cereal for the girl... I will just admit now... She hates it. She wanted nothing to do with it and pretty much looking at me like I had lost my mind for even putting it near her. I am sure some day she will learn to like some other foods and until then I will try to be a bit more patient.

So I guess that is a little fun glimpse into our lives this week... lots more to come this summer!!!

I kinda just want to eat this face sometimes...

 Helping me make some cookies for the family reunion next weekend

 This morning Bennett told me... "I'll watch Annie.. you go cook breakfast!"

Celebrating Dad's Day

This year has been so busy that when I asked Joel how he wanted to spend Fathers Day and he said "lets just stay home and play outside" I thought that was a great idea... and so did our son. Bennett has been very excited about this weekend because this weekend our Aunt Chris brought her tractor for us to borrow to clean out some of the cleared area on our property. I don't think I have ever seen this kid so excited. On Friday night I asked Bennett "Do you want to eat candy and cupcakes all day tomorrow or drive the tractor?" and without hesitation he yelled "drive the tractor!" Thank you Chris... you will forever be a super hero to him for dropping this off.

They started in Saturday morning and Bennett was hilarious, actually he was pretty awesome. I am fairly certain I failed a three point turn on my driving test at 16 years old, but not this kid, he was sitting on dads lap, fulling handling the scoop lifting and all steering... Of course he couldn't reach the pedals yet but other than that he was operating it on his own. I was shocked! I think it is safe to say Bennett has found his passion and it is adorable to watch how much he truly loves this tractor stuff!

Today was a great repeat of yesterday, Our little family just hanging out around the house. It definitely wasn't the most glamorous fathers day and I don't think we got the guy anything other than a card but we all loved it.

Happy Fathers Day Joel... You are an amazing Dad, we love you sooo much!

 The boys, getting work done

Lifting the scoop thing...

 Seriously, this kid could steer and he put his whole little body into it... amazing.

Annie June 4 Months Old Already!

Annie has spent yet another month lighting up our lives :) I can not believe she is already 4 months old, that is already 1/3 of a year! I feel like I have known her forever and just met her all at the same time.

So time for another Everything Annie "baby book style" update... First of all, she has suddenly without us really trying either way has taken on the name Annie. I love the name Anna but every time I look at her and go to say it out loud "Annie" just comes out. It is funny because we always thought Bennett would go by "Benn" but he is sooo not a Benn and then Anna is here and she is so an "Annie" Oh well she will just have two names we love that she can choose from when she is old enough... till then she is our little Annie girl.

Speaking of "little" she is tiny. I constantly hear "oh my gosh she is cute, how old is she?? she is tiny!!" I guess when she is bouncing around in the sling at the grocery store looking a bit like a newborn size holding her head up and looking around cooing it is kinda funny :) She definitely is hard to get around with because I have every woman in the grocery store stopping to get a quick smile from my girl... (and she nearly always gives them what they want :) Last time we checked at the Doctor 3 weeks ago she was in the 35% for weight and 4% for height, yep folks that is the single digits for height... looks like she might take after her Grandma Sandy in this category and we love it :)

So new things Annie for this month... I must say the biggest change is her talking, or what she seems to think is full on communicating... She yammers all day long... open mouth vocal sounds mostly but I love hearing whatever it is she is saying. She talks up a storm mostly when she is hungry, bored, happy or chewing on her hands, and you can usually tell which depending on her tone. I just love all of it and when it is thrown in with little giggles and it is just pure magic. She loves just looking around and telling the world all about it, something that I will learn to be less enchanted with as she becomes a teenager I am sure.

Another new thing... Rolling. I admit I am celebrating this milestone a little prematurely but we are half rolling over here and we are pretty excited about it. She rolls over both shoulders from front to back after I prop her shoulder. She is such a content baby I am pretty sure she will just sit on that cute bottom until she is well past walking age so I was super surprised to see her interest in rolling.

She has been taking more bottles lately, giving mom a bit more freedom with the pumping schedule but still prefers to breastfeed and I am totally ok with that.

Her most favorite things are sitting on our laps and talking to us, her gym, bath time in the kitchen sink tub, looking at herself in the mirror while we get ready in the bathroom and walking with mama in the sling. Some of her current dislikes... getting in her car seat, me putting her in something like the highchair or swing and walking away (this usually always initiates crying) and she still hates sleeping in anything other than her portable bassinet or our bed... both she is growing out of quickly.

So that seems to be about everything "new" in Annie's world. Everyday I feel so lucky for our little family and the special place Annie has filled in it. She is my special little peanut girl and I love her more each day.

A High School Grad and a Fun night for Bennett!

These last few weeks have been soo busy and I am pretty sure it isn't going to settle down for the whole summer... actually, probably for the next decade with these two cute kiddos. There has been a lot to blog about with all that is going on with the Olsen family.

Friday night our niece Kelsey graduated from high school! Kelsey is such a sweet girl. She is always fun, energetic, a hard worker and loves her family. We drove up on Friday night with the littlest Olsen in tow and watched her get her diploma. We are so proud of you Kels and love you to pieces. Our little Annie has a lot to learn from her big cousin!

We hardly ever leave Bennett with anyone other than Grandparents, Katie or Jania and when Jania's girlies got sick this week we had to change our plans up for who we would leave B with for the big Graduation night... I called Bennett's Aunt T and Denny and they were so excited. Hearing how exstatic they were definitely made me happy to get out of the house knowing he would have a blast. They came to our house and I had  a huge list of activities to hear about from Bennett the following morning. They rode bikes, watched the airshow that was practicing over our house, road the tractor, played with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, ate pizza and watched movies... He actually slept until 9:30 the next day after being so pooped out. I love that we have family so close that Bennett loves and that will jump at an opportunity to just hang with out kid for the night... we are so lucky!

Thank you Teri and Denny... He loves you guys!!! Next time we are leaving ya both kids and going out on the town! :)

Check out Teri's blog for a bunch more pictures and some adorable videos!!!

Teri and Denny's night with Mr B

Another goodbye for Summer

Bennett has been doing to well lately we are taking the summer off from our weekly speech appointments and reassessing in the fall... It is so fun to be at this point and I am shocked at how well he has done over the years with his speech ... another great celebration for our little guy!

So every Thursday morning at 9 we have met with Nancy since he was about 13 months old. She originally worked on eating and has worked on speech mostly over the last couple years. I can not tell you how many people have told me he is a great talker that didn't even know what he has been through... and after I tell them that he had 2/3 of his tongue removed they are usually shocked. He has done so well and I know that it is due to the hard work we have done with Nancy every week.

Not only is she an amazing speech therapist but she has fielded 99% of my crazy parenting questions. I have vented to her about tantrums, diet, sleeping questions, school issues and breastfeeding disasters. Not only has she helped me through most of my mommy meltdowns over the years but she has also celebrated some great moments. She was as excited as we were when Bennett said his first words, called me mama for the first time, started using full sentences, was potty trained, she supported us when we were trying to adopt and was so excited when I found out I was pregnant with Annie.

We feel sooo lucky to have such an amazing speech therapist for Bennett but also I feel lucky to have her as a great friend. Thank you Nancy for everything you do.

 Annie sat and chatted up a storm during our last session... Nancy and I actually had to speak up over her... so cute!

Good bye Birth to Three Program!!!

It is with a great deal of pride that today, even without the silly cap and gown, my son had a huge graduation...

3 years ago I remember this specific moment... I was in a room full of surgeons, geneticists and doctors having a "care conference" at Seattle Children's when Bennett was at one of his sickest moments. We were talking about what goals we had for Bennett's health and how to get us there. I tried to keep up on all the health information and I just looked at all of them and said "5 years from now I want to send an average little boy to kindergarten with all the same opportunities that all the other kids have" and today I am celebrating this victory 2 years earlier than I thought...

He has been part of the Birth to Three program that makes sure kids with a rough start can catch up as much as possible in the first couple years. Through this program he received gross motor therapy, speech therapy and a social and cognitive education through a toddler group for over two years. He qualified at 3 months old because he was deemed to be delayed in many areas due to his prematurity and his rough medical start. After his evaluation at 3 years old it is safe to say Bennett is a huge success story of this program. He is developmentally on track in every area and we couldn't be more proud and thankful for this program. He will be heading off to an main stream preschool program at the Hands on Children's Museum in the fall and I must say I am so excited for him to be independent on his own for a couple hours a week. I know he will thrive there and I am happy for him to be making that great step!

So this week was his very last toddler group and after 26 months there it was kinda bitter sweet to celebrate such a huge success with Bennett and also say goodbye to the school, families and teachers that I have spent a couple hours every week with for over two years. To mark this great milestone Daddy and Grandma Ruth both surprised him separately the last two toddler groups. When each of them walked in to the class room he lit up and said "That's my Daddy!" and "Hi Grandma! Lets go play at my School!!!"

And tonight was the end of the year BBQ... I cant not believe we are moving on... This is the first of many "last days of school" and I will make a prediction that I will be the mom sobbing at preschool graduation two years from now. It is happening so fast.. He is becoming a little man and at every milestone I think "I have never been so proud" and then he surprises us again and again. We love you buddy!!!

Making some lunch for Daddy

 Reading Daddy any book that talks about tractors...

 Ring around the rosie...

 Making a train picture for Grandma Ruth...

 Enjoying circle time... so proud that his Grandma was there

 Daddy was asked to man the BBQ for the night... he loved it and Bennett was proud

 One of our favorites... Laurel was Bennetts Physical Therapist since he was about 3 months old... she is going to be a Grandma soon and she is already an amazing one :)

 The team! Teacher Helen, Teacher Laurel, Teacher Terry and Teacher Karen... Thank you ALL!

Another birthday for Daddy

Daddy got to celebrate his birthday again with the Olsen clan... We got out and about for the afternoon for a little car show and it was a blast... Bennett loved stopping to check out everything and Annie loved just being outside snuggled up in the ergo with mama. Other fun day with the family! Happy birthday again babe, we love you!

Of Course Joel had to get a posed picture infront of every Ford Mustang :)

Grandma Olsen made Bennett put his hands in his pockets because he kept touching the old cars...

Birthday Girl Princess Charli

It was one of our favorite gal's Birthday and what a beautiful birthday princess she was. It was a busy fun party where all the kids got to take in a bit of outside air and everyone just enjoyed good company and a cute birthday girlie. Happy Birthday Charli... we love ya!

 Auntie Julie even got to bring her favorite chocolate pink princess cupcakes!

 These little ladies are going to be best friends... whether they like it or not!

 In the afternoon the Olsen family slept off the birthday festivities and then headed out to Kennydale park for some evening sunshine and park time! I love these nights, just enjoying our fun family of four... it is days like this that I just feel like the luckiest person on the planet!

Big Boy Cut

So another thing that I missed out on growing up with all girls is hair cuts with buzzers... So I am learning... I picked up some clippers so that I can embark on learning to cut my guys' hair!... both of them!

Joel has cut his hair before so I know he will be able to teach me and tonight I got my first lesson while watching him cut B's hair... I definitely felt the tears welling up as he transformed into this little man with a buzz cut... so here is how my lesson went...

Step one.. get the kid down to his cute Cars underwear and place old lawn chair in jacuzzi tub.

Step two... explain that the buzzers are kinda like a lawn mower for your hair...

Then there were lots of steps with guards and angles and I decided this is definitely a dads job and I will stick to bathing the babies and cutting the girls hair.

He looked so handsome when we were done and Annie loved watching all the craziness in the bathroom tonight.

Wish me luck when I try to cut Joel's :)

Before...

Joel was a pro... I have a lot to learn!

What a handsome kid!!!

Annie J. feeling a little yucky today but giggling at all the fun!

A birthday for the Daddy...

So birthdays are not exactly as they used to be around here... I remember a short 7 years ago we had 50 of our closest friends over to roast a pig all day which involved a few more than a couple cocktails... Now the birthday celebrations include hiding cupcakes from our three year old, presents that we already know what they are because Bennett spills the beans as we are unwrapping them and even a little newborn cutie with a fever... I am not sure if he is the biggest party animal anymore but I am positive he makes one pretty awesome 37 year old daddy.

Happy Birthday Babe... I wouldnt be happier celebrating all these not to crazy birthdays with anyone else!

Blowing out 36 candles short...

 His best present... a snuggle from his girl that wasnt feeling so great