Chef Ben

I think we're pretty blessed with Ben when it comes to asking and begging for things and toys.  Requests are rare and fleeting and when they stick around I usually remind him that he can save his allowance or request said item for his birthday or Christmas.  When his requests for a "cooking chef coat and hat," were strong and lasting, I took to the internets to see what I could find.  He was so excited and insistent, I even paid an extra $5 for quicker shipping.  We got home from errands to find the box on our porch and Ben's reaction was worth every penny.  I helped him put it on and he ran to the office door where he can see his reflection in the glass.  He touched his hat and patted his belly and softly repeated, "perfect. perfect."  You can't put a price on a moment like that and the chef coat and hat became a fast fixture in our lives.  

Ben insisted over and over that he was a pizza chef, so a couple days later when we were hanging with Grace and Sara, I got pizza dough from the local pizzeria and let the kids run wild.

We all had SO much fun making our own pizzas and a Spring day warm enough for lunch al fresco was the cheese on the pie.  Each creation was absolutely delicious and we'll be putting chef Ben back to work very soon!!

heimer haus house updates

Some decor (and more) updates from the last few months.............

Magnolia wreaths for the front doors.  Don't tell Joanna Gaines I made them 

myself for less than $30 (for 2)

I've ben dreaming of this new garage door since we moved in.  

Just the beginning of the front yard face-lift.

a new gray rug to pull together the living room

I finally framed some pics from our last family photos.  I want to keep the decor pretty neutral in the family room so I can add pops of color seasonally. 

The progression of the new sectional.........

To say we LOVE our new sofa would be an understatement.  We can't believe we waited so long.  We can all sprawl and not even touch and we absolutely maximized the seating (to any designers despair, I'm sure) for football watching.  We could hardly believe West Elm made the perfect wall lamp as a floor lamp there would have really been in the way.  Now I'm pleading my case for a bigger TV ;)

 

I bought this print before we moved in and we finally got it framed.  I just loved the navy door and windows and have loved even more following the photographers recent journey to adopt a son from South Africa.  It brings me added joy every time I pass this picture.

I commissioned Leslie, who made the sign friend Tisha gifted me for my birthday, to make this for the kitchen nook.  I've long loved this quote but Ben's jubilation anytime I mention a party that, "there will be cake!!," made it a must-have.

Now that the ground is thawing, we are ready to take on the front yard disaster with full force.  Reports from the trenches coming soon.........

all the rest of april

From the looks of it, April was a quiet month...........either that or all the fun deserved posts of it's own.  The weather was unseasonably beautiful and the month was rather relaxing as we rolled into Spring and began to daydream about the end of school and the lazy days of Summer.

Dad was finally along at REI so I let Ben climb to the top of this rock.

April showers (sometimes come without lightning so we can play in them.)

sun-bathing while the snow melts

he still LOVES this book

Mod Pizza is our new fave.  Nice thin crust and one price for any and all toppings.

Grace pretending Hayes is still a lap pup.

Some days were nice enough for water play.  I've trained him well.

The sushi place across the street from our hood does not disappoint.

naked painting on a day off school

Ryan's honey seared cod with brown rice and bok choy.  

Blue Apron meal delivery service made a short stay at our house this month.

working hard to transfer sight words recognition to hand written words

Sunrise or sunset, I'm still in awe of our views many times most days.

rockstar

Poor Ben has been fighting a mystery illness that we are thinking must be related to his humidifier.  He got sick (only once) one night last week and was fine all weekend in Breck.  He got sick again Sunday night but was quickly fine in the morning and spent Monday night with Nana and Papa so Ryan and I could attend a meeting at his school Monday.  

We thought we had the problem identified and solved but he was clearly not feeling well again Wednesday afternoon and fell asleep on the couch right after school.  He had no fever and no other symptoms so I chalked it up to a less than stellar night's sleep.  Wednesday night also happened to be his Spring music performance at school.  Not only had he practiced hard at school, but we had prepped him lots at home for how the evening would look and what the expectations were.  He had been singing snippets of songs for weeks and music with Ms. East was BY FAR his favorite part of school.  

When Ryan rolled in, I was still struggling to get Ben off the couch and dressed.  I was already ready to throw in the towel.  We got him mostly happy to head out the door, but any confidence ended when we entered his classroom and large families of both his session and the morning session filled his already small classroom.  We finally left him in tears and let the para know we'd be standing by if the tears didn't end. We took our seats and waited anxiously and I tried many times to pry off Ryan's death grip on my arm and run to save my baby.  Boy, oh boy, did Ryan hear "thank-you," and "you were right," non-stop for the next several days.  Ben ROCKED it!! He sang his 3 songs and sat patiently while the other classes sang theirs.  In these videos he is just to the right of the big red circle on the top row.  I sat watching with tears of joy as this performance with so many distractions for Ben would have been a miracle in it's own right, but adding the sickness made it all the more amazing.

The promise of post-performance cupcakes had been motivating Ben for weeks so when I saw the promised "treat" was instead cookies, I knew we'd have to take matters into our own hands.  
 We took him to Whole Foods and let him choose any dessert he wanted.  The choice was easy as there in the case was a star for our star.

So, so proud of you Buddy!! You are a rockstar in our hearts everyday, but we're so excited for how you showed your star to the world tonight!