Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!

What a fun day it has been! As I'm typing this, I realize I didn't get a single picture of all the snow! We had 8 inches at least at our house, just today!
Because of my spin out, we don't usually go places when it snows, so we had some fun times inside. We made rockets, colored, read books, watched a movie, played and played some more. Grammy & Oompa brought Solomon & Luke over for some pizza, cake and ice cream.
Out of all we did today and all the gifts he was given, I think his three favorite things were playing with balloons, the shirt Solomon gave him and his new bike...really I'm not sure which one wins. Funny, the simple pleasures!
It is crazy to think back on the last four years! Time sure does fly! I am 37 weeks today and can't believe 4 years ago I was in the hospital holding my first! What a sweet boy Ben is! He has been a blessing in my life in so many ways! I blame it on the fact I'm pregnant, but I sure get teary when I think of him!
Some things about Ben:

He loves to play...anything-imaginative play or basketball.
He wants to be just like his dad, he would do anything with him (b-ball, fix the car, work, paint, lift weights, hunt, read, watch TV, wrestle..etc)
He loves to read, no matter what he is doing, if I sit, open up a book and start reading, he'll come sit next to me and read with me.
He loves primary.
He loves to talk about Jesus and Heavenly Father
He never wants to stop reading the scriptures (it probably helps that we have the picture set)
He loves being a helper, to me, Zach or Sarah.
He is such a good big brother
He is so cute playing with or helping Sarah (when he wants to) :)
He is so excited for this baby and talks about all the time
He is also excited for the 4 other babies that will follow...or is it five? If anyone asks him about the baby in my tummy he says yeah and I have five babies. There is Lily, Joshua, Maya, Becca Rabe, Ben and Bennie. (Becca Rabe is a girl in our ward, so obviously, I disregard her, Ben and Bennie.) He pretty much says this to everyone....with the addition of "isn't Bennie a funny name?!)
He is so ticklish! I can barely poke him and he almost can't stand it! I love it!
He has such a contagious laugh!
He is honest
He always wants to ride bikes or play outside.
He is very inquisitive and often has a comment about everything.
He is just so sweet!
I guess I could go on forever. I love you Ben! Happy Birthday! I LOVE being your mom! How did I get so lucky?

Great NEWS!

This is old news for some but great news nonetheless!
Zach passed his series 66 test!!! He has taken some tough tests lately but that was the last one for a while and I am SO HAPPY!...and so PROUD of him!
Passing this test means a lot of things but mostly it means that he can be a financial advisor! He is so pumped and has been ready to go for a while! Now that this test and the series 7 are out of his way...look out!
Way to go Zach! I am so proud of you!

Highlights.....

Cheesy grins... Christmas pajamas....

excited expressions...

Wonderful neighbors.... Fun in the snow with dad....

Random seats..... Riding bikes in December....

Visits from Oompa.... Time with family.......

December was so packed with fun, I might just have to leave you with the highlights.

Who's hungry?

Oh gee, it's me, Zach, Ben and Sarah! Ben and Sarah eat the food off their plates, our plates and practically the food out of our mouths! Well, they are both feeling better!
We are constantly amazed at how much they are eating! Ben mostly but Sarah too. He ate as much spaghetti as Zach did tonight, plus his beans! He wanted some spaghetti off my plate and ate all of it! Today for lunch he ate spaghettios, an egg sandwich (that Zach made for himself) and peaches and wanted more. Two hours before dinner he had two bowls of cereal and then gobbled his dinner! I find my mouth open more often than not these days! I am AMAZED at how much they are eating!
We'll see how much they grow in a month, we marked it on the wall today, shoulda done it last week when all this fun started, but today will do. (too bad that by marking their height on the wall Sarah thought it was our way of giving permission for wall art)
A few days after my last post they started feeling better and it has been SO NICE! I can't believe the difference! I really was beginning to question if anyone was going to survive! It seemed because they weren't feeling well and they were tired there were always tears and they just couldn't get along and play. Now, they play and tease and wrestle some and are having good times again! I am just relieved and enjoying myself watching them. They are too cute!