Projects

At a church women's retreat last fall, one of the women brought a whole car load of hula hoops for us to play with.  So we let go of our inhibitions and learned to hula hoop together. Don't ask how long it took me to be able to keep the hoop up.  It probably helped that we were all inspired by the woman who brought them--she did all sorts of cool tricks with a hula hoop and made it look downright elegant.  Apparently hula hoops are the hot thing in Nashville right now. (hello, Waco!)

So she promised to host a hula hoop making party, and last weekend we cut plastic tubing, fused it together, and used colorful tape to wrap it all up.  Someone asked me if JB would want to try out the hula hoop, and I said that he would scoff when he saw it.  But I brought it home, and he said, "Alright! A hula hoop!"

Benjamin does not so much like the hula hoop. He thought it was funny for the first 30 seconds of watching me do it, but then he got bored and decided the hula hoop was getting more attention than he was.  I'll just have to put it away and take it out when he goes down for his nap.

Benjamin likes daddy's projects a lot better.  He's been helping daddy with the patio for months now, moving rocks, lightening the soil with a little added sand, and showing us (over and over) that there is no possible way to make a patio baby proof.

Just in the nick of time, JB installed this baby swing on the porch to keep B out of trouble.  You can't keep this boy away from a swing.  I don't think I've seen him happier than when he is swinging high at the play ground, laughing out loud.   

There is also this one other project of mine that Benjamin has enjoyed recently--chocolate cake for JB's birthday.  I think the picture below is B eating black beans, not chocolate cake.  

Benjamin also helps with an almost daily project:  he gets pretty giddy when I tell him its time to do the laundry.  This week he climbed all the way into the dryer with the whites.  

So many of the good pictures are already on facebook that this post seems sort of an afterthought, but I think I have some from our camera that you haven't yet seen.  The outdoors pictures really come out the best, don't they?  It almost seemed like we wouldn't get a hike in the mountains this year with the weather and sickness working against us, but we made it up on maybe the coldest day of our time in NY.  We even saw a few snowflakes. Of all of the beauty around us, Benjamin was, not unexpectedly, most interested in the pinecones and leaves and bottle caps closest to his eyes.  The mountains are beautiful, but this time around I have to say I was most interested in watching my little penguin march around in his snowsuit.  

Our trip included a last minute trip to Beacon, NY where we met Benjamin's Aunt Amy and explored the Island of Misfit Toys.  Seriously, it was a strange playground where it appears people had donated/abandoned all sorts of toys.  Benjamin could have played there for hours.  

The highlight of our time in NY was being in the ultrasound room with Sara and Sean when they found out they are having a boy.  I cannot WAIT to meet young Jack when he arrives in May.  I kind of wish we could skip to the stage where he and Benjamin can play together.  Benjamin has so much fun with them; I know they are going to be great parents!  

Drums were the theme this year for Benjamin's Christmas in NY.  He can't get enough of Sean's bongos, and he plays with the two percussion sets he got from his aunties and uncles all the time back here in NY.  We have so many great percussion instruments for kids now that I'm thinking about having some of the other toddlers we know over for a music party.  We'll see if that materializes now that classes are starting again on Monday.  

When we got back from NY we had a week before we went up to SS for the New Year and second Christmas.  I don't have my own pictures of that, but we couldn't have asked for a better weekend.  With escargot, roast duck, and champagne to ring in the New Year, how could you ask for more?  

We are not looking forward to taking down our tree this year--it's been a great Christmas.