Trying to get up to Date!!

Okay, I was having lots of trouble with the other blog, so I decided to start fresh and just make this a blog about our entire family instead of one about only Brandon. I doubt that I will update this one any more often than the previous one, but fresh starts are always a good thing, right? Well that's the way I'm looking at it! The 'original' blog still exists; it's just not as fancy as it used to be and I got sick of trying to fix it so here we are.
So where are we in this craziness called life? Well, Ben loves his new job! He's been there almost 3 months now and I think he's pretty much hooked. I doubt he'll ever go back to retail, and if he does I know he'll be absolutely miserable! He loves being home with the boys (and hopefully me!) and since he's home, he and Russell are always either on the 4-wheelers or on the wave runner. They have the best time together and I'm so glad that the two of them are enjoying all of these experiences.
I am still working with the payroll/benefits company and some days I love it, but others I hate it...That's life though isn't it? I love having Ben at home, even though he probably either thinks I hate him or wishes he was still at Publix! I'm almost fully adjusted to him being at home now, but there have been a couple times where I've told him that I just need an afternoon away. :) I don't mean it as a bad thing, but after 5 years of pretty much doing my own thing, 3 months of almost constant togetherness can grate on a person's nerves!
Russell just finished up T-Ball and I think he had a great time playing. He has learned to hit the ball really well and will even sometimes make an attempt to stop the ball if it's hit right at him. And I say it that way because most of the time it literally has to come right to him or he won't move to get it...We have to work on that! He's also still doing karate and is getting pretty good. Right now he is a Tiger Cub Green Belt and he's super proud of that. Karate (TaeKwanDo to be specific) has really helped him to be able to focus or at least try to focus on what we are telling him. Some days are better than others, but he's 5 so I don't expect perfection (most of the time). Oh and yes, I said he's 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you believe that???? I got his Pre-K "graduation" picture this morning and thought I was going to cry! I can't believe he'll be going to kindergarten next year! He's so excited, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle it!
Also since he just turned 5, we celebrated his 5th birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese...It was exhausting!! Russell had a great time playing with his friend Price, playing all the games, and eating his pizza and birthday cake, but Mommy and Daddy were exhausted. Russell really enjoyed the Chuck-E-Cheese birthday experience so I'm glad we waited for a 'significant' age to have his party there.

Now on to the monster in our house-Brandon. He will be 9 months on May 21st, and he is changing and growing so much every day! Back in April he got to celebrate his very first Easter and the one thing the kid cared about was eating the eggs. He found the first egg and sat in the same spot almost the whole time and chewed on that egg. It reminded me of Russell's first "real" Easter because he actually found a sucker and that was the end of it for him. He didn't care anything about hunting for more eggs or suckers. And he did that at every egg hunt he attended!! But back to Brandon, he had a great time chewing on the Easter eggs and still likes to play with them. I can put them in a little pile and he'll just crawl right through them, scattering them everywhere. He thinks it's great! Brandon looked so handsome on Easter Sunday in his little suit; he and Russell were the two best looking guys around! I had hoped to have a family picture taken, but the two oldest boys (Ben and Russell) couldn't wait to get out of their church clothes...Maybe next year.

Brandon is just getting over yet another cold, and I think I've finally figured out that each time he gets the hacking cough and stuffy/runny nose he is cutting teeth. He has 4 chompers now, with a 5th on the way. And when I say chompers, I mean it! I've not seen him try to bite out of anger or frustration yet, but he definitely does bite out of boredom. The teeth he has are the 2 middle teeth on the bottom, the tooth just to the right of those two, and he's got one side tooth on the top left. The other one that he's cutting is the other side tooth on the top right...We don't know what happened to or where the two middle front teeth are! He'll definitely be rocking the snaggle tooth look soon, and we may even be singing "All I Want for Christmas is my 2 Front Teeth" this year! Poor thing!
Brandon constantly has bumps and bruises on his head because he's figured out how to pull up on everything! And it doesn't matter if it's a stable fixture or not, he's pulling up on it. He just hasn't learned that he can't let go! But there's not been any blood so I figure that he's fine and he'll learn soon enough. He also likes to pull up on the couch and then walk the length of the couch and he's actually pretty good at it, and quite fast! I'm just waiting for the day that he, like Russell, takes those first steps after the dogs. I think it will be here before we all know it!
The boys recently had their pictures made with Katelyn for Nana, and I couldn't be more proud of how they turned out!!!! They all did so well with their big smiles and funny expressions. It was so hard to not go in there and spend hundreds of dollars. I could've but Ben warned me about doing that before he left the picture place....Dang him! :) We got individuals of each of the three of them, as well as some of my two boys, and some of all three of them together. It was such a fun experience and I hope we get to do it again soon.
The weather is finally getting warmer, so we've made a few trips to the lake. Russell and Brandon both love being outdoors, and I think they are going to love being on the water just as much. The water has been too cold to get in yet, but both boys are trying their hardest to get out of the boat. I'll be glad when the water is finally warm enough to throw them in because they sure are wearing me out!!!