Our First Visit From the Toothfairy!

Ben has had two loose teeth for quite some time. We attempted to convince Ben to let us pull them out but he was determined to let them fall out at school. If they fall out at school they get to go to the nurse's office and get a special box for their tooth. Ben got sick of waiting and asked David to pull the first tooth out. He was so excited when it came out and even more excited when the tooth fairy came. He even wrote her a thank you note and drew her a picture the next day at school. He had to figure out how to give it to her so he asked David to pull out the second tooth the very next night. What a true Behrmann.....you get a taste of money and you'll do anything to get more.....even if it's only a dollar! Ben informed me that the tooth fairy would be leaving him two things on the second night. One for the tooth....the other because he worked so hard to make his handwriting look extra nice on his card. He's a smart boy. How can you disappoint that?


If you look closely you can make out the bunk beds (Ben is on the top bunk, Kate the bottom). The tooth fairy has a dollar in her very large bag, the tooth is on top of the ladder, and the light fixture is on the ceiling!


We have two little boys in our house.....one losing his teeth....the other working so hard to get them. Together they now complete the full set!

Kate's Surgery

Little Miss Kate held onto her original ear tubes for 3 years. And they only came out because they were surgically removed a couple of weeks ago. She was a perfect angel the entire day. She didn't even complain that she couldn't eat and was so excited to go to Daddy's work. She loved every minute of the attention. My favorite part was when she woke up from her anesthesia. One second she was fast asleep and the very next she shot straight up in bed. You can't keep her down for long! In addition to removing the tubes, the ENT took a small deposit of fat from behind her ear to create fat grafts inside her ears to close the holes. Hopefully they will take. On the way out, I asked her if she had fun. She said, "YES!" Then I asked her if she wanted to do it again tomorrow. "Um........well....no that's okay." She thought about it though!

Green Machines!

Ben has really enjoyed t-ball this season. He is proud to be a member of the Green Machines. He has definitely improved from the beginning of the season. When we first started he use to run to every ball, regardless if he was playing 3rd base and it went to 1st. He has mastered his ready position and now stays put in his "area." The team has graduated from the tee to coaches pitch. Ben gets a piece of it every now and then.....definitely something we need to work on. Maybe it would help if we bought him a bat?! Sometimes I wonder if he can see when he wears the helmet or if one of these times he just might bite that tongue off. I was grateful at the beginning of the season when he seemed to be the only one who would keep his white pants clean.....didn't last long. His favorite part.....running the bases and sliding whenever he gets the chance. Kate LOVES going to the games. She remains the social butterfly of every game and of course can't wait for snack time! And Jacob...happy to be a spectator...as usual.

We Celebrated!

Ben has a fascination with calendars. He loves crossing off the dates, seeing who has a birthday coming up, and looking forward to planned events. A few weeks ago, he asked me when Easter was. I told him in a few weeks. He wanted to know the exact date so I told him to go look at his calendar and it would say "Easter." He ran to his room and I heard a big disappointed, "OH MAN!" I asked him what was wrong and he said, "It's on a Sunday! Are we going to be able to celebrate it?"

(Rewind to Halloween....it was on a Sunday and Ben chose not to go trick or treating. Instead he told his entire class and their parents that he would not be going trick or treating, but would be going to "church instead." Then there is the "Westy Walk," the school's huge fundraiser/festival next month.....again on a Sunday. The school does something nearly everyday just to prepare for it. Pep Rallies, t-shirt design contests, etc. Ben decided he wanted to "obey all of the commandments" and has chosen not to go. But now Easter? Would this be his breaking point?)

I smiled and informed Ben that Easter is always on a Sunday. I asked him why we had Easter and suddenly he had clarity. He was so relieved that "we would be able to celebrate." Just in case things were still a little fuzzy we took some time Monday night to review the Easter story. The kids loved learning about it.

We started off the festivities with an egg hunt at the Ebert home on Thursday! The neighbors invited the kids to a second egg hunt Friday night. They had so much candy already, the Easter bunny didn't even need to come, but of course he did!


Ben decided everyone needed to get ready for church before they started looking for their baskets. Sometimes I'm not sure where this kid comes from, but I won't complain!






We had a yummy Easter dinner with our friends, the Nelsons. Ham, cheesy potatoes, salad, cranberry mousse, rolls & chocolate pie! When you don't have family around you make your own family!

NYC in a DAY!

David and I took advantage of a great groupon and booked a round trip 3 hour bus ride to NYC for only $25! This was David and I's first trip to NYC! We tried to take advantage of every minute of our 8 hours! We had a great time exploring and just taking it all in.

Our first stop was Times Square. From there we wandered around 5th Avenue and quickly learned we wouldn't be shopping at SAKS.


Next, we discovered the Rockefeller Center. Unfortunately, we didn't go to the top of the Rock because there was zero visibility that day. It was much chillier than we expected. We carried our umbrella around all day, but were happy not to have to use it!


Somewhere along the way we ran into the Magnolia Bakery. It was meant to be! I enjoyed a red velvet cupcake and David loved his brownie.


We are proud to report that we successfully navigated the Subway. Well actually, David did. I just followed. I'm not to proud to admit he has a much better sense of direction than I do.


We walked past the Manhattan Temple near Columbus Circle. A refuge from the world has a whole new meaning!


From there we walked to and across Central Park. This was one of my personal favorites. I was surprised by how big it was and by how few homeless people we saw roaming around. I don't think I saw a single one. Next time I want to rent a tandem bike!


From there we walked to the MET. We didn't have time to go inside...next time for sure. We took the subway down to Wall St. Once upon a time, David did get a business management degree in finance after all....before all this medicine madness began! We also got some great pizza at Steve's Pizza.


Our next stop was to see the Statue of Liberty. Of course the view was obstructed by the thick fog, but we did our best. How could we not at least try?


From there we walked through Chinatown. David got a pair of sunglasses for $5. We had offers to see some "Prada, Coach & Tiffany's," but we just didn't have time. I really enjoyed Chinatown and wish we would have had more time there. We attempted to make it back to the top of the Rock hoping the sky had cleared enough, but by the time we reached it at 4 PM, tickets were selling for the 5:55 ride. Unfortunately, our bus departed at 6. So instead, we wandered around a few more stores like the M&M store and the American Doll store. We grabbed some dinner at a sandwich place before we headed back to the bus. A huge thank you to my friend Krista for watching all 3 of our kids for 16+ hours! I can't tell you how many times I was so grateful we didn't have them with us. It would have been disastrous! We had tons of fun and didn't even scratch the surface! I already have my wish list for our next trip!

Jacob's New Do!

Jacob got his first haircut on tax day! For some reason, David really didn't want me to cut Jacob's hair. But, he was past due! My great and talented friend Krista did a great job! Somehow the cut instantly made Jacob look older, chubbier and his eyes more blue!

BEFORE

AFTER

Playing Catch Up!

David got some free passes to the National Aquarium! We were planning on going for Jacob's birthday, but had to postpone our trip a couple of weeks thanks to the stomach bug! The kids had a great time. Their favorite part is always the dolphin show.

Kate was terrified of the sharks. She really thought they could "get her!"




Bath time is always fun! I have decided 3 is a little too much at once though. I have successfully convinced Ben showers are better and I LOVE that he can do it all by himself now! Jacob LOVES the bath!