All the things we love to eat...

As always, life has been eventful in the past few weeks and often, has revolved around some sort of wanting, not wanting, can't have, or want-to-suck-on with some sort of food (or object, in Abby's case). Ben had his tonsils out a March 9th. Overall, despite a few ups and downs in the days afterward, things went smoothly. He went through Jello Pudding Pops like I would have never imagined and thoroughly enjoyed all the ice cream, but even that got old after awhile. He is back to his old self and seems to be eating a little more that he would before surgery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will continue! The first things he wanted to eat when we got home from surgery were popcorn and granola bars, probably two of the biggest "no-nos" of tonsillectomies. After lots of yogurt and applesauce, he (and all of us!) are happy to have all regular snacking and mealtime foods back!

Abby tried her first taste of rice cereal at dinner tonight. She appears to be thrilled to sit in her chair at the table with us and was surprisingly good at eating off the spoon for a first timer. It is probably from her constantly being enthralled by Ben when he eats. As you can see in the picture below, though, she was just as happy to suck her thumb. Her laugh lately has been more like a chuckle, and Ben is best at making her do it, as she loves the sounds of slurping yogurt and soup. Abby also has a new favorite toy - her feet! I can barely get her diaper changed because she just loves to play with her feet and suck on her toes!

And while we are on the subject of food, I have been in the mood to try new recipes lately. I've been tired of the same old hum-drum things I always make. In the last two weeks, thanks to recipes of friends and the good old HyVee cookbook, I've tried chicken enchiladas, a new kind of meatloaf and baked sweet potatoes (thank you Merry - it was delicious), rolled oats chocolate chip cookies, and cranberry spinach salad. On the menu this week is taco casserole and chicken fajitas. I've also found a cinnamon roll recipe that I'm hoping to make next weekend - I've always wanted to try homemade cinnamon rolls. Hopefully my efforts to mix it up a little in the kitchen will continue to have good results!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

A new racecar! Watch out!

The masterpiece... still in one piece!

Make a wish...

... to dig around in yummy frosting...

...and feed yourself with a backhoe!

Motorcycles!

And what do you know? More diggers!

We celebrated Ben's 3rd birthday yesterday! He had been looking forward to his birthday for a very long time. It was a great one! He started his day with double decker birthday toast, complete with candles and the Happy Birthday song, to get warmed up for his party. He was thrilled to see his bedroom door decorated and streamers in the kitchen. We had family over for lunch, cake, ice cream, and opening presents. In the evening, just the four of us went out for dinner, where Ben enjoyed ice cream for the second time in one day.

For months (literally), Ben had said he wanted a digger cake. Well, he could hardly keep his hands off his cake! It was super fun to make, knowing how thrilled he would be with it. After blowing out the candles, we couldn't help but let him plow the diggers through the cake just a bit. He then proceeded to use the diggers to help him eat his slice of cake and ice cream. At bedtime, I asked him what his favorite thing was about his birthday. He reported it was the diggers. Success!

The softy side of me felt a bit emotional that Ben has turned three. We all say it, but I can't believe how fast time flies. There were moments from Ben's birthday, just like there are everyday, that I wish I could bottle up and hold on to forever. Part of me wishes he'd stop growing and changing so fast, yet the other part beams with pride and loves how each and every moment leads to something new and different. We are so proud of our little, now big, boy!