CAN YOU BELIEVE HE IS 2!!!!

It seems like just yesterday that they put this little thing on my belly and told me it was what had been growing inside of me for the past nine months. I still remember that day very vividly!! I remember being exhausted and then seeing this "thing" on me. I remember not really knowing how to feel. I went through a ton of emotions in a matter of minutes. My first thought was.. what is this thing... he was not the cutest thing I had ever seen, and he really looked like he had a head on top of his head. I know people talk about cone heads but this wasn't even close to that! So I was feeling like he was an ugly baby, and then I was feeling horrible and guilty about feeling like he was an ugly baby! I felt relief that he was finally here, and after they checked him I was grateful that they said he was perfect ( they had told me he had a high chance of Down Syndrome) so was thankful for that. Then after a few moments... I felt nothing but love for this little guy. That love has just continued to grow and grow and I can't believe that he turned 2 on Friday!

I have never really shown these pictures of Ben at first because of my feelings about his head but here it is for your enjoyment :)

Ha ha ha... I look at this picture now, and although I still think it is creepy and scary looking, I can't imagine it any other way! We love him and are really glad his head went back to normal and that he is slowly growing into it :)

He is the best little guy ever, and he keeps us laughing all the time. I can't imagine life without him. He has his own little (or big) personality and everyday is a new adventure with him.

We had a few people over for his birthday and he had alot of fun! We made homemade pizza and then had cake and ice cream! He is in love with Mickey Mouse and so I tried to make a cake all about Mickey and his clubhouse. It turned out all right, it was a bit messy as I don't really know how to ice a cake smooth, and then I tried to work with fondant a bit (not my strong point). As I was making it I was getting frustrated and said to Jeff, "this is another reason why I wished we lived closer to your brothers and their wives, then I could just pay Sue Ann (who is AMAZING at cake decorating) make my kids cakes for them!!

Opening one of the favorites ( from Cathy of course) BUBBLES!!!

Loves his train set from Auntie Jo and Uncle Kyle

Here is the cake!!

Just wanting to eat it, not take pictures with mom!!

Blowing out the candles.... can you believe two candles make that much smoke?? Probably because we had to light them about five times :)

We had a great day and just love this guy  so much and can't wait to see him grow up more!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!

Hidden Treasures from my Phone

I noticed the other day that I have slowly amassed a huge collection of photos on my phone.  I thought I should back them up as I am both clumsy and forgetful so it was likely that my phone would get lost or wrecked.

After backing them up on to our computer I thought I would take the time to share a few of them with you.  Some are quite dated.  But still enjoyable.

Such as this one when Ben was still sleeping in a crib.  Yes he is sleeping.  And quite comfortably I am sure.

Here I am flexing my creative muscle.  That small blip is Benjamin approaching the light.  You can make up your own meaning (there are several that come to my mind) as it is art.

It always seems that the funnest toys are not toys at all. 

Most of the pictures from my phone are of the boys but not all.  As you can see here I am at WWE Smackdown.  It was a riot, in more then one sense.  I attended with some buddies for a bachelor party.  Pictured below are two "Divas" fighting in the ring.  I think that this is the closest thing to a worldly Bachelor Party I could come up with.

It really was a blast.  The ambiance and the crowd made it all the better including this guy.  He is the old Asian man in the flat cap right in the middle of the picture.  I found out it was his 92nd birthday.  His granddaughter, on his left, took him as a present.  I guess he has been a fan for decades.

I have been a huge fan of these two for their whole lives, and then some.

Ben is a fan of ice cream.

J.R. is a fan of drooling.

This I think is the most humorous photo from my phone.  You may have to click it to read.  But these guidelines I found in an office building bathroom.  I am particularly fond of rule number 3.

 That does make me smile but these little rascals always make me smile.

Blessing of JR

Two weeks ago we had a huge group of family come and help us bless this adorable little boy. It is crazy for me to think he is going to be 4 months next week. Where does the time go? We sure love JR alot and are so blessed to have him in our family!! He is such a great baby (last night he slept for 10.5 hours) and he is just always smiling and giggling!! He loves his big brother Ben and can't wait to get a little older so he can actually play with him.

It was hard not having my parents here for the day, but they were where they needed to be! We missed them and are counting down the days till we can see them! I know that JR is VERY excited to meet his grandparents and be spoiled by them :) It was wonderful that alot of Jeff's family could be there, and most of my siblings and their families were there!!

Jeff gave a beautiful blessing (thanks Laurel for writing it all down for me) Everyone went up to Jeff's parents house after and we ate some great food, and we had birthday cake for my brothers son Ethan. It was a great day, I was exhausted by the end but it was all worth it!

Thanks so much to everyone who came, it is nice to know we are loved :)

Before Church... I tried hard to get these two to take a nap... finally they fell asleep for about 10 minutes!! At least they are super cute for those 10 minutes :)



We just love this little man, he loves having his fingers in his mouth!!

 BROTHERS!!! I just love them more then I can say! How did we get so lucky with these two.

 Four generations! Great Grandpa Salmon, Grandpa Salmon, Jeff and JR.

The cake I made for Ethan, he loves Mickey (as does Ben) so I decided to try this out!

 Ethan getting ready to blow out his cake. He blew them out about ten times, as all the kids wanted a turn too!!

 It was really a great day, and this little man just had fun being held by all his many admirers :) We LOVE you JR!!!

Fun with two!!!

I have to say I love having two boys... I am sure having a girl is different and fun in its own way, but I think I will be happy if I only have boys!! I do sometimes feel outnumbered in my house though and sometime think I need a little more "girl" stuff in my life but I am content with my life as the odd one out :)

I cannot believe that JR is already 3 months and it is killing me that Ben will be two next month. Where does the time go??  They are so fun to watch and I'm glad I get to be home with these two every day!!

This little one just smiles and laughs all the time, he is such a great baby. I remember thinking Ben was a easy baby but JR had even him beat!!

I LOVE HIS CHEEKS!!!

Ben is always wanting to do the same thing that JR is which makes it nice, I cant wait until JR is a little older and will actually play with Ben.

Ben taking his little bro for a car ride!!!

How can you not love this face... I LOVE HIM!!

Daddy teaching the boys new tricks ( not sure if I should be worried for the couches)

Ben giving it a try... this is his new favorite thing, it is great until he lands on his brother!!

 How can you not love your life as a little boy when you have this crazy man for a father!

All three of my boys trying a dog pile without anyone getting hurt!

Who knew that a glass could be so much fun!!

We sure love this little guy!!

Ben thinking he was pretty cool, drinking from his cup with no hands... he is a crazy kid!!

Loving this guys cheeks!!

Ben and I made cupcakes, and I went to get something from upstairs, when I came down I realized I had not moved the stool and this is what I found!!

Which turned into this as he realized I was taking pictures and not cleaning him up!

Ended like this... he is cute even when he is upset!! I finally cleaned him up and he was much happier!

These two love playing together, well I should say Ben loves it for about the first 2 minutes then he wants to do something else, so usually tosses JR aside!

Ben was smiling and laughing so hard in this picture because JR had just let a huge old man fart go, and boys being boys Ben thought it was SO FUNNY!

The two cutest boys in matching PJ's.

I really don't know how I could love this little one any more... he just keeps me laughing all the time!

Ben getting read to jump over his brother :)

I am just so grateful for these two little guys in my life and sometimes think how boring my life would be without them!!