Oh the Bliss!

Yes, this is my hot, hot husband. Keep in mind - it's against the 10 commandments to covet. All smiles from this little one. When she fusses a bit to get my attention I'll look over at her and she just smiles the most heart melting smile and sort of laughs/coos. Unbelievably cute! Bring on the dimples!! I love that she has dimples, it makes her look like my mom, and my mom is sooooooooooooooooo pretty. I think they even have the same hair doo. LOVE it! 8 weeks? That's nearly two months, can this be true? Could my baby girl already have lost her infant-y look? Not only was today a big one because Addie turned 8 weeks, but today Mark went back to work, sniff, sniff. Ben was bummed when he woke up from his nap and daddy wasn't there to greet him, but we called him later and that made him feel better. I am so thankful, so so so thankful, that we were even in a position to have Mark take that time off. He worked hard last year and saved his hours and we really reaped the b

Nonny and Howie looking fabulous with Ben and Addison. Since Mark goes back to work this week (sniff, sniff) we decided to spend his last weekend off in Simi Valley with his parents. Our good friends were in town from Oklahoma (wishing it was Keri and her family though) so we were able to spend Saturday with them and a bunch of the guys that Mark grew up with. It is always a good time when those guys get together. Gma is hiding behind Addison for some silly reason. Papa Paul let Ben take the wheel of his Mustang. Got to start 'em young. He really did have this hat on as he slept in the car on the way home from our fun filled weekend. (Tell Gavin not to worry though, Carrie, the football helmet was put on as soon as we got home.)

We had some very special guests visit us all the way from beautiful Nashville Tennessee - my cousin Tyson and his bride of one year Jonie. She is such a sweetie and is so good with babies. My parents, along with Jason and the fam all came over for dessert (and a few drinks, hee hee), so she and Tyson got their fill -and then some- of the kids. But Jonie, man, she charmed each of them on their own level, she even had Ez cozied up to her at one point! I like her, Tyson did a good job finding this gal. My only complaint is they live too far away. Even Tyson is baby friendly, who knew? Carrie and Addison looking oh so cute! They had some quality cozy time as well. I am so thankful for... ~ MOPS today. We got all dressed up and had a tea party at each of our tables, it was lovely. ~ seeing my family last night. Why can't we all just live within minutes of each other and be able to see each other whenever we want? Oh, because that would be creepy and a little on the compound-esque side

This is Ben's newest head cover of choice. Feeding his hunger for hats, Gavin gave this helmet to Ben and saying he loves it would be putting it lightly. He has worn it pretty much for the duration of two days. It's funny to watch him ride his scooter (which has Disney princess's on it because it was a hand-me-down from the neighbor girl) with this big old helmet on. He sort of fell without it on yesterday and promptly said "uh oh, helmet on" and ran to go put it on. Mark and I spend a great deal of our days just laughing at Ben. The other day he showed me a picture and said "mommy, Dinosaur!" and I said "yes Ben! That's a triceratops." And he looked at me so seriously and said "no mom, dinosaur." Couldn't argue with him on that. Although we do frequently spat over colors. He likes to tell me things are green when he knows they are yellow. From the stories I hear about what Mark was like when he was a kid I think Ben might be

The water in our shower takes a long time to heat up and by "long time" I mean we'd turn the water on in the shower then go have a bowl of cereal or make some eggs for breakfast, by then the water might, MIGHT be warm. Other than it being very annoying, we were wasting what seemed like tons of water. So Mark talked to our awesome plumber and found this cool little devise that he had installed right under our sink in that bathroom which circulates the water faster, without having to run it, and the water is hot when you turn it on in the shower. All this at the touch of a button. Now I have this little button on the side of my bed, this is no joke, it looks like a doorbell, and all I do is push it (while still snug in my bed, mind you) and in less than a minute piping hot water is at my beck and call. I justify this novelty by reminding myself of how much water we're saving by not having to turn the water on so far in advance of actually using it. Happy, happy, spoiled

I know you're here for the pictures... so here you go. :)

Addison is already one month old, and Mark turned 29 on the second! We had a very fun weekend celebrating with friends and family. Is it summer time?? We are loving the weather, playing outside for hours and enjoying our backyard and the park. Addie is one good joke away from starting to smile it seems. My mom swears, and I believe her, that she has smiled for her. I think I've seen the beginnings of some smiles myself. I love those little peeks into what cuteness is to come. She's sleeping like a champ still and nursing perfectly too. Ben has taken an active role in helping burp her, he's very good at it. :) Last Friday Mark and I got all dolled up and went to a fancy-shmancy banquet thrown by First Team Real Estate for those who've sold over a certain dollar amount in 2006. I am so proud of Mark for "making the cut" so to speak. He was the youngest guy there by at least 10 years. We left the kids with my mom and were able to really enjoy our evening together

That isn't eye shadow, Ben got his first black eye this weekend. He sort of fell off a chair in a funny way that actually gave him a small cut on his eye lid. He was quite shaken up about it - for about 30 seconds. Each day it's a different color, so it's been a nice little game for us to play together ... what color is Ben's eye lid today?? He loves it. In related news... Ben's right knee has also been added to "wounded" status. He walks around with it, rubbing it every now and then saying "ow, boo boo knee." Coincidentally, this new "wound" surfaced just hours after Mark had surgery on his right knee. Hmmmm, interesting.