Easter 2013

What a great weekend. Easter is the one holiday I have claimed as mine. We don't travel. We enjoy time at our house and anyone who wants to make a road trip here is always welcomed.

Grandma and Grandpa B made the trip up Saturday morning. We loved seeing them and planned lots of fun while they were here. After visiting at the house and eating some lunch, we divided in two groups. Josie, Ben, Grandma and I went to the Snow White Ballet. Will, Billy, and Grandpa went to the golf bubble to hit some balls. Originally we had home they'd get to venture outside but it was wet and a bit chilly.

The ballet was amazing. I wasn't sure if the kids would grasp everything, but they sure did. Ben just got off the phone with Grandshe and told her, "The characters didn't say anything, the music said it for them." Bingo! Pretty impressive for a three year old. (We'll work on explaining they are dancers not characters later). Ben sat perfectly still on Grandma's lap the entire show. He was in awe.

Will loved having time with just Grandpa and Dad. Will is Grandpa's #1 fan. He prefers his waffles burnt because that's how Grandpa likes them. Will declared that Grandpa is his golf coach. He listened to his coach and had a fun afternoon with the guys.

Today we woke up and found the Easter Bunny tracks to baskets, ate oatmeal squares for breakfast, started prepping our Easter meal, went to church, dyed eggs, made sock puppets, did an egg hunt then ate at 12:30pm. It was a packed morning, but we didn't rush. We went at a pace to enjoy it all but keep things moving so the kids didn't get restless. We all (yes mom and dad too) took a big nap this afternoon. It was the perfect Easter.

Two funny stories from the weekend:
Will started pointing with his middle finger. He has no idea what it means, but it makes me giggle. Billy was just trying to explain to him to point with his pointer finger. In doing so, Will completely gave his dad "The finger". I am dying from laughter.

Ben was listening as I told him what might be in the eggs for the egg hunt. I mentioned that maybe there will be coupons for things like date night with mom. His response, in a very serious voice, was "coupons are NOT candy mom."

Happy Easter!

Ben having scooter fun (earlier this week)

Ben and Grandma at Snow White Ballet

Park time fun on Friday (Will on Left)

Ben finding his bunny tracks to his basket

Will showing off his new soccer/tennis shoes from Grandpa & Grandma

Let's dye some eggs!

Church time fun. Will in Blue, Ben in pink.

Will on the hunt. 

William James

Last night Will told us he likes when we call him Will or William. He doesn't like when we call him William James because that means he is in trouble. This is true....and funny he figured out the pattern.

We love a good dance party. Lately Will puts a flower hair pin on his shirt (like a boutonniere) and will ask me to dance with him. Last night he walked up to me with his chest all buffed up, pointed a finger in my face and said, "Mom... I'm gonna marry you." We acted out our wedding and then danced it out. It was somewhat demanding. I hope when he asks someone for real he does it a little more sweetly, but hey he has time.

Will has gotten really into sports. He digs basketball and tennis the most right now. He is anxious to try football this fall. Will recited to us out of no where that Dark Blue and Orange is Chicago Bears. Light Blue is Lions. And Notre Dame only wears their green jerseys when it's a special occasion. I looked at Billy for confirmation. Apparently the kid was right. He even knows the whole Bear's fight song. (See below).

Will is also the #1 dinosaur fan in the house. He likes the Brontosaurus even though he acknowledges the T-Rex is the king. It's the long neck that he thinks is the coolest. We were lucky enough to be invited to an awesome friend's dino party before getting to see Sue at the Science Museum.

My Dance partner Will

Dino Party, note Will can't keep his eyes off the dinos

Sue at the Science Center, Will, Ben, and Josie

Tennis love. It's in Bemis kid's blood

Sweet Basketball Dreams

Bear Down!

God made me that way...

People tell me all the time they can't tell the boys a part at first glance. Once you get them talking about their likes and dislikes it's pretty easy to identify who is who. Actually, once you get them speaking at all you can tell. Will has this husky deeper voice and Ben tends to shriek when he gets excited.

This morning as we walked into Josie's school Ben said in almost a whisper, "I like princesses because God made me that way." It was like he was processing it. It made me happy to know that he knows liking princesses is just fine and who he is. It also made me ache as I know that he has been asked why he likes pink and princesses. A little girl in his dance class told him he couldn't like Aurora because it was a "girl" toy. It was during class so I wasn't in the room. He told me about it afterwards. I asked him how he responded and he said, "Boys can like things that girls do." Pretty smart for three....

Ben in our Princess Tiana hotel room. He was in heaven. 

A Staple?! Ouch!

The boys received racer scooters for Christmas from Santa. Ben got pink and Will got green per their wish lists. Because it was 20 degrees and snowing outside, we let the boys ride inside. At first they were slow and barely moving so it seemed like a good idea. Plus how unfair is it to get a gift and ask them not to use it?! On Thursday, December 27th, (after only having the scooters a couple days) Will was really getting good! Maybe too good... he started going faster. He started turning corners. Unfortunately, he started to turn the corner a little too sharp in the kitchen and his head hit the corner of the wall perfectly on the right side of his head. His head started to bleed horribly.... There was no doubt that we would be going to the ER. Lucky for me, Billy had just gotten home from work. By the time we got Will's shoes on he wasn't crying. In fact he was just excited to get to ride in dad's car. There is only one car seat in dad's car, so it's a big deal.

An hour later, they came home. Will was completely fine the whole time. They ended up putting a staple in his head since it was in the middle of his hair. He never cried or winced. This might be a good time to mention Will has already had his head put back together once before. Yes, he is 3... we are averaging every other year at this point!

Staple!

Two seconds after he got home, Will gave me this confident thumbs up!

Christmas 2012

What a fantastic Christmas.... Here are a few pictures that capture some of our favorite moments.

Ben, Will, and Josie the night before Santa came! 

Merry Christmas!

Playing with our scooters and skateboard

Ben Darth Vader against Will Hulk

Ben and Will getting Grandshe to read 3D books

Will, Josie, Jules, and Ben at Bemis Christmas

Christmas Eve at Aunt Patty and Uncle Mark's house

Jules and Ben at church

Will and Jules

Magic Show with Maeve

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Will, Dad, Glinda the good witch, Mom, Ben, and Josie after the show. 

In December we had a wonderful family experience. We went to the Wizard of Oz! The kids loved the show. It was the boys very first play (besides Friday Fundays that are shortened plays). They sat so good through the whole play completely mesmerized. It was a great production!

Afterwards we got to go on stage to meet Glinda the good witch and check out all the props and stage. Josie and Will were being shy. But Ben... Ben went right up to Glinda. He told her she did a great job. He told her he loved her dress. He told her all of these things with a huge smile on his face. Even the picture above, Ben couldn't stop starring at Glinda. He was awestruck.

Ben at intermission

Josie and Will at intermission 

My Boys

I'm behind on writing blogs.... I need to post about Christmas! But before I go to bed tonight, I wanted to record a few of the funny things the boys said today.

Will & Washington - We were backing out of the garage this morning and Will said to me, "Mom you remember Washington is #1?" We have Presidential flashcards and he loves to find Washington. When I said yes, he then said, "Yes, Washington is first and he looks like a vampire." It was very matter-of-factly.

I love you's -  Will told Ben (in a very sweet sing-song voice), "I love you Benny." To which Ben replied (while acting embarrassed), "Ah shucks!"

#1Fan -  We are getting ready to start basketball. Will keeps telling us after basketball he is playing football. He says it very enthusiastically and often. Today, Ben said, "Yes, and I will be your cheerleader!"

Sunshine - As I tucked Will into bed, I said "Will you are my life. I love you baby boy." Then he said, "Mama, you are my sunshine. I love you more." This is actually the second time Will has said this to me.... It melted me equally both times.

November 16th through 22nd of giving thanks

Well our project came to an end a week early. We were on a roll too! Once we went to Omaha for Thanksgiving our giving thanks project went on vacation as well. Here's the second part of our adventure:

Day 16: What a treat! Today I was greeted by 3 cuties who decorated cards for me with their daddy. Billy got me a Starbucks gift card too (he knows the way to my heart). It was great to be on the receiving end of project give thanks.

17: Billy gave blood at our church blood drive. He took all three kids with him. I thought this was really brave of him, but the kids did great. We had a good conversation about how his blood will be used.

18: We made a huge tray of goodies and breads for our local firefighters. The kids told them, "We are thankful for you. Thanks for keeping our neighborhood safe!" 8 firefighters were beaming from ear to ear. Afterwards Billy told me "it sure is fun to see how people respond to our thankful acts." I completely agree.

19: The kids and I put together a care package for our buddies Zach Longo and his mama. Zach is only 4 years old and had to have back surgery. We filled a box full of fun things for both of them to do in the hospital, books, gift cards, slippers, etc.

20: We made cards for our soldiers. A week ago we went to the Hy-Vee by the airport over the lunch hour. The kids were in awe when they saw all the soldiers there. They each saluted these men and women in uniform and said "We are thankful for you!" We decided to re-enact this act, with cards in hand. This time around we only found 2 soldiers. You should have seen us on the hunt! Each soldier received 3 cards from 3 excited kids.

21: We thanked a cute family of bell ringers for taking time out of their day to help others. My friend Jen was ringing bells with her kids on their day off from school. We decided to bring them cards and tell them thanks.

22: Thanksgiving. Every year Grammy B puts together our whole yummy feast pretty much by herself. This year, we decided to help her out! The kids made decorations and helped me put together the green bean casserole. We had fun and the kids made sure to let their Grammy and Grandpa know we are thankful for them.

Mr. Funny Pants

Will is on a roll lately... the kid keeps cracking us up. Here are a few Will stories...

We were at the grocery store this weekend while Grandshe was in town. Will was pushing a little cart and told my mom he needed to grab a big green pepper. She told him it wasn't on the list, he then informed Grandshe he needed it for his pepper collection. Who knew?!

While we were heading home from the grocery store Will asked if I could turn on the Monkees because Grandshe doesn't know that song.... Never mind The Monkees were a band before Will (or I) were born.

Over Thanksgiving break Josie asked Grandshe to teach her how to knit. Grandshe got out the crochet hooks and some yarn. Will grabbed it all and started to "knit". He let us all know he was working on a blanket. He insisted on finishing his blanket before he got in the tub.  He was "knitting" for almost an hour.  Then once we got him in the tub, he kept making us check on his knitting needles because he could "hear" someone playing with his needles.

Will wasn't listening to us the other day. We reminded him mom and dad are the boss. Will let us know that Josie is actually the boss. The next day he insisted on wearing a red shirt handed down to him from his sister that says, "I may be little, but I'm the boss."

While I was cooking with the kids, Will asked when he can cook with the big black knives. I told him when he's 16. Then he said, "Why can't I cook with the knives before I can drive?!" After that convo he asked me, "Where is my head?!" when he couldn't find a toy.

Will has really gotten into football lately... Billy couldn't be happier. We were watching a game and he asked when he can go to a real live Irish football game. He was asking for the 100th time when we were at Grandpa's house. I told him to ask Grandpa because that's his best bet of getting to go. He climbed into Grandpa's lap. Gave a hug and kiss, really working his magic. Then in his deep scratchy voice he made his request... how could Grandpa say no?!

Matching Beards!

Half way through Project: Give Thanks

This Thanksgiving we are doing a family project. We are doing acts of kindness each day of the month to show people we are thankful for them. Project: Give Thanks 2012 is half way done and so I thought I'd list what we've done so far.

1: We made cards for Children's Cancer Connection. Hopefully the kid's hospital stay was brighten by our cards, pictures, and stickers. We received a very nice card back from CCC thanking us. 

2: The crossing guard up the street was our target. This is where the idea for the project was created. Each day we pass the crossing guard at the neighborhood school on our way to Josie's school. We always talk about how she protects the kids and keeps them safe. So we decorated a bag and filled it with cookies, kleenex, and hot cocoa. She was so surprised by our gift. She thanked us over and over. When she said, "but you don't even know me." Josie said, "Yes we do, we see you everyday taking care of the kids." Melted me. 

3: Ring Bells for RKR. This was awesome. I've been working on the Red Kettle Run for The Salvation Army since April. It was a fun run to kick off the kettle season and bring awareness to what all The Salvation Army does in our community. The kids rang bells and cheered on the runners. Will was so adorable. Every runner he yelled, "Good Job, keep going, all the way to the clock." He really was getting into it!

4: Sunday School Teachers. We did bags with tiny flower pots in them with decorated cards. Josie walked into her class and said loud and clear, "I'm thankful for you!" to both teachers. One started to cry. This thankful stuff is easy, fun, and rewarding!

5: Doctor Beebe got a bag of fun from the Bemis kids. Homemade yummies, tissues, hand sanitizer, etc... With 3 kids we know the doctor office well... too well. We needed to tell them we appreciate all they do for us. She was thrilled. 

6: All of our teachers. I say ALL because Josie has 4 teachers in her class, the boys have two, plus an awesome preschool director to boot. We gave our last bag of treats for the week but in this one we also put Junior League Gift Mart tickets in there too! I am required to buy so many tickets as a member. Last year I brought a bunch of friends with me to the event, but this year my schedule wasn't looking good. So we decided to give them all away. The boys' teachers all were excited to go!

7: Clive Librarians. We go to the library almost every week. Even when we don't have story time we find ourselves there to check out books and play with the toys. The librarians are always so sweet and the free programs they offer are awesome. The boys brought them a big vase of flowers to say thank you. I get such a kick out of them saying, "We're thankful for you!" It NEVER gets old. 

8: Over 30 cards in the mail... this took some time. The kids wrote on most cards and the ones they didn't they helped stamp. It felt good to send some love to our friends and family.

9: Food Pantry donation. Will & Ben's gymnastics were doing a can good drive for the food pantry. By participating we got a free open gym pass... Winner winner chicken dinner! I read an article about the need for protein and kid friendly foods. So I let them each pick something out they like at the store then added some tuna for good measure. 10 can goods later we were set!

10: Postal Carrier. This was a shout out to our Grandshe. We gave a small box of chocolates with a card to the carrier. The boys sat by the mailbox for a good 15minutes just to make sure she got it. 

11: Hospital visit. We created a very large basket of yummies for the NICU nurses at Blank Hospital. Those nurses will always have a special place in our hearts thanks for the wonderful care they gave the first 12 days of the boys lives. When each kid said why they were thankful I felt tears in my eyes. 

12: Make Dad lunch. We've been working so hard to show others we are thankful for them, we didn't recognize what's right in front of us! Our number one supporter in all that each of us does! It was a simple gesture that went a long way... he used that paper bag to carry his lunch in ALL week. Proud daddy. 

13: Good Friends! We made brownies for our besties. The kids all had teacher conferences within a week. The conferences never last long and seem silly to have a sitter drive all the way over here (none of our sitters live near us!) for 45minutes of watching the kids. What do you do when you need help?! Ask good friends to come to the rescue :)

14: Baby shower. A neighbor decided to have a baby shower for a girl who is young and pregnant. She doesn't have a support system and needed help with the bare necessities. We purchased an outfit, diapers, and wipes to contribute to the gifts they were putting together for this soon-to-be mom. 

15: Kindness goes a long way. The boys brought flowers to the receptionist at the Chiropractor office. This mom of 3 tends to need adjustments and never gives a lot of warning on when I can come in. Amanda always gets me in right away, which is awesome. But her attitude to everyone who comes through the door is kind. It's the little things in life that are easy to take for granted. So today we thanked someone for being kind hearted. 

 Picture we used for our cards. 

 Crossing Guard package

Dr. Beebe's care package 

Ben and Will getting ready to deliver a flower and card to Amanda 

Waiting for the Postal Carrier 

Will was determined to carry this basket all the way to the NICU 

Getting ready to deliver diapers, wipes, and outfit

Wonderful Will

Will loves to get a laugh out of his audience. Once he does, he'll repeat the comedy act over and over. The other day we were playing outside. Josie created a game where her and Ben were good guy pirates. She offered up the role of 3rd good guy pirate to which Will informed her "I'm with Mom. I'm her sidekick, Mr. Funnypants." It was very matter-of-factly. I couldn't help but crack up. So then Will kept saying "Call me Mr. Funnypants!" in his deeper baritone voice. The kid can pretty much make anything sound hilarious when he uses that determined deep voice.

Tonight Will was asking Billy and I the name of each president from their president flash cards. We enjoyed this game too because we would try to tell him by just looking at the picture not the name on the opposite side. Then he decided to pull a fast one and opened up his bug flash cards. Will ran them over to us (we were cleaning up dinner) and asked what president is this?! That Will is President Caterpillar. Oh the laughs he got on that one. We then had President Black Widow Spider followed by my personal favorite President Moth. Oh Mr. Funnypants.

Lastly, When Ben got his pink tutu to be Gloria the hippo for Halloween, Will requested a green tutu. He told me he would be Incredible Hulk with it.

This morning Will told me he was on Team Purple. It was two seconds before he ran down the hall to wrestle his brother. 

Pink is Perfect!

Over the past six months Ben has started to really enjoy the color pink and all things that go with it. He likes dresses. He likes princesses. To be honest he can rock a hair bow better than most girls his age. I know there are some that wouldn't approve of a little boy being into girly things, but we decided long ago that if our kids are happy we are doing the right thing. We pride ourselves on allowing our kids to be different. Different is good, right? If we were all the same what would the world be like? - These are questions we reiterate a lot in our house.

Note: we aren't new to this whole concept of wearing clothes generally made for the opposite gender. Josie at about the same age decided she preferred to wear boy clothes. But society seems a little more relaxed when it's a girl wearing a jersey and ball cap (Tomboy) versus a little guy rocking a hot pink dress.

For Halloween Ben wanted to be Gloria the Hippo from Madagascar. We never tried to talk him into being something else. Ben loved being Gloria (which by the way, wasn't much of a costume because the hat I ordered two weeks ago never showed up, but that's another story). Gray sweats, a tutu, and ballerina slippers was all there was to his costume and he was happy.

Maybe Ben's pink phase is just that... a phase. Or maybe in 30 years he'll still be rocking the color pink. Either way, Ben (just like Will and Josie) will always have his mom and dad's support. Pink is Perfect!

 Marty the Zebra and Gloria the Hippo

Play time! 

Big weeks for Bemis Boys

A few weeks ago (I'm a little behind on posts!) the boys went to the Dentist for the first time. It was the usual apprehensiveness from Will. The jump right in with both feet for Ben. I love that they are their own persons. The boys did a great job and got a good check up. High Fives all around.

That same week we went to the Circus! Billy and I can't remember if we went to the circus when we were younger... so this may have been a first for all five of us. Either way, it was fun. The kids sat in awe through the whole show. The cotton candy and popcorn helped. They loved the horses, camels, clowns, and dogs. Yes, there was a dog show.

Last week we had another week of firsts. I'm not sure if this first is something I should brag about. I will admit it's my fault that it happened too. We were at gymnastics getting ready to leave. I knew it'd be a bit before we'd get to have a potty break. I asked them who wants to go potty. Ben replied, "ummmm probably no." I smirked so then Will repeated the statement in a goofy voice to get the same response from me. (Always good for a laugh these two) So then I switched my tactic to one I knew would work and said, "Who wants to be first?!" It worked like a charm, they both ran to the potty. As they ran they stared to yell who was first and it was getting ugly as their voices rose higher with determination. I knew I needed a solution. I didn't want a scene. So... I taught them how to sword fight. They each stood at one side of the potty and took aim. It was working, both were happy they were first.  I apologize in advance to anyone who takes them to the potty in the near future.

Speaking of Gymnastics... they are having a blast! The same day as the sword story, they got to do the big trampoline with the support rope. I am sure there is a proper term for it, but I don't know it. See pictures below!

Another first from last week, the boys joined Josie and I for their first Friday Funday at the Playhouse. It was Chicken Little. They did such a good job. I'm so excited they can start joining Josie and me on these fun outings!

Ben, Josie, and Will at the circus!

Ben the brave... first boy in the chair.

Will was ready after he knew what to do.

The videos are of Ben at Gymnastics. Will was the very first to go, so I wasn't ready to record yet!

Ben 3 year old facts

Here are a few of Ben's favorite things:

Favorite cuddly thing: Minnie Mouse pillow
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite song: I am the walrus by The Beatles
Favorite toy: Cell phones
Favorite place: Apple orchard
Favorite movie: Toy Story 3
Favorite book: Look and Find books

 Handsome boy with his favorite color 

Monkeying around Ben

Will 3 year old facts

Here are a few of Will's favorite things....

Favorite cuddly thing: green blanket
Favorite ice cream: green ice cream (usually mint)
Favorite song: What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
Favorite toy: Incredible Hulk
Favorite place: Orange Leaf (new yogurt spot)
Favorite movie: Madagascar 3
Favorite book: Race Cars ready set go! or How do dinosaurs say I love you

Will my serious boy with mischievous eyes 

Goofy Will on the left, Jos, and Ben 

Two by Two

That's how they marched into Preschool....two by two. Our first week was awesome! While we still have some bouts of separation anxiety, the boys walked into Seeds of Faith like they owned the place. They were excited to go. They were devastated today when they didn't have school. We are off to a great start, much better than last year!

Last year's kick off to preschool was long and difficult. The boys had to learn that mama always comes back. And that's just what we've said for a year. It's our mantra. I think it gives me as much comfort as it does them. They no longer fear I won't return. It's sweet to feel so loved, especially since one day Will and Ben (and Josie too) will want not as much to do with me!

This week I was reminded to savor these moments. The boys are now in the yellow duck class. It's weird for me to think that Josie was a yellow duck when she started preschool, stopped going to daycare, and I officially started staying home full time. How did I blink and now it is Will and Ben's turn to be in the same class?! I had the same feeling come over me today when we started our third session of music class. I remembered how we had to bring the double stroller in every week, rain or snow, or sun that's how we had to roll at the time. When the boys raced to the door of music this morning I thought, "We've come a long way boys!"

High Five Brothers.

Will and Ben heading into Preschool to meet their teachers.  

 Example of how they ran into Music class today... (Ben top pic)

Official First Day of 3year old Preschool... Go Yellow Ducks (Will on Left, Ben on right)