Just Cute Pictures

As the title says, here are a bunch of just cute pictures from the weekend.  Enjoy!

Little help?  I appear to be in a box.

What did you do to my feet?

Oh, hello!

I'm a little bored...

Nothing like sitting in a laundry basket.

Family!

Hanging with Daddy

My sweetie!

-Kim

Standing Ben

Ben is able to stand up holding onto things like the couch or a person.  However, he is not usually a fan of it.  He fusses and makes his displeasure clear.  I can't say I really blame him.  I mean, sitting is awesome, and he can do that with no problem.  He has people to carry him from place to place.  Why does he need to stand up on his own like that?  But lately he has been fussing less when we set him up to stand.  He does still get concerned about getting down from that position, so we are working on it with him.

He is so cute when he stands!  It sounds funny, but it is easy to forget how little he still is.  Most of the time I am holding him, so he is at eye level with me.  When I see him standing on his own I remember my boy is still little, and that makes me happy.  He seems to be growing way too fast!  Seeing him standing also gives me a glimpse of what is to come when he starts walking.  While I am still very much enjoying the peace of having a non-walker in my house, I can't wait til Ben is running all about.  And I do think he will be running as soon as he can.  He loves to move!

Here is the video of Ben standing, with Dagger and Daddy cameos.  

My standing guy. :)

-Kim

Thankful Thursday: USA Advancing

Okay, maybe I should use this time to be thankful for something, I don't know, more meaningful.  Like having enough food to eat, or having great family and friends.  But not today.  Today I am thankful that Team USA is advancing out of group play in the World Cup!!  I admit, I was hesitant to hope.  I don't want to be a downer or unpatriotic, but Team USA hasn't always done that well in the World Cup.  We were in a really hard group.  It isn't called the Group of Death (please read that in a scary tone) for nothing.  But the guys pulled it together and made it to the next round.  True, they didn't win against Germany.  But that's okay.  They moved on and I am excited to keep Team Cartwright's world cup fever going.

Oh, and I am also thankful that Omi has a sense of humor and granted Ben the time off to catch the game.  Too bad I still had to work. ;)

-Kim

10 Months Old!

Ben is 10 months old!  Wow, he is rapidly closing in on that first birthday.  I am not ready for that!  I am going to have to ask Ben to slow down and just stay this age for a time.  He is growing up way too fast!

It is funny to think back to when I took his monthly pictures at about 1, 2, and 3 months.  I had to work a bit to get a smile, but really he sat propped on the couch so nicely and ignored the sign.  Now- no way.  He is going to grab that sign and nothing will stop him!  It makes for some cute pictures though.  I love you so much, Ben.  It is a joy to be a part of your life!

My happy guy

It doesn't matter if we move it away from him, he wants that piece of paper.

Such a sweetie!

Trying to hold it in front of him...

I had to get Daddy to step in and help.

We finally just let him have it.

Ben won!

Whew, being a model is exhausting!

-Kim

World Cup

Go Team USA!!

Pat and I both love the World Cup.  We each played soccer growing up, and are fans of the game.  We both fully admit to not being super hardcore all the time.  While we enjoy watching any game, we don't actively seek it out on a regular basis.  Except for every 4 years, when it comes time to show our true American pride and cheer for Team USA.  

I fully admit to being a wee bit hesitant to get too excited about our chances this year.  I don't want to seem unpatriotic, just realistic.  But so far I am thrilled that USA has proven me wrong a bit!  Go Team!  We were super happy that they won their first game, and were really looking forward to the second game.  Ben was too.  Although he might have just been happy we skipped bath night and let him stay up a few minutes later.  But I'm choosing to believe it is because he is such a fan.

Sadly, Portugal got in that last second goal on USA, but we think the team still did pretty well.  And we will be keeping tabs of the next game while at work.  We don't mess around with team pride on Team Cartwright, we wear it for all to see.  Here we are, rocking our national pride.

Oh yes, I looked super cool.

'Murica!

Cutest fan ever!

Getting pumped for the game

The boys

Ready to cheer!!

Dagger's team spirit is a little quieter. ;)

We'll be watching the games the whole World Cup, and hopefully cheering on Team USA for many more games!
-Kim

Friend's Day

Every year Meo's golf league has a Friend's Day where non-league members can come play.  I participated two years ago and had a ton of fun.  Last year I was super pregnant, not great for golfing in the heat.  But this year I got to go again!  It was a blast.  We had so much fun!  It is a best ball scramble, which is good because I hadn't played in almost two years.  We did pretty well though!  There were trivia questions at each hole, and additional challenges on some of the holes.  We didn't win any, but Meo came pretty close to the closest to the line challenge!

After we all play 9 they have a luncheon for all of us.  The food was tasty, and the company was great.  All the ladies are so nice.  We got to sit with some girls who are planning a wedding, which always equals fun discussion.  There were a bunch of raffles and Meo and I won two gift baskets!  One had a ton of yummy smoothie and cookie mixes, and the other had great fitness stuff.  Plus a gift certificate for a month of free classes for two at a local fitness place.  Meo and I are just going to extend the fun.  Overall, it was a great day and a great chance to spend some quality time with my mom!

And where was Ben?  Ben got to spend the day with Omi at the office!  It was Omi's first time being fully responsible for Ben, and he did a great job.  He stuck to the schedule and I was able to come back to a happy boy at the end of my golf outing.  I am so lucky that Omi was able to take care of Ben and the Meo wanted to me to play with her.  It was a great day, and I am already looking forward to next year.

Me and Meo ready to golf!

Our foursome: Meo, Martha, Jane, Kim

Meo on the links!

Action shot!

Wow!  Look how far she hit it!

Meo drives the cart. 

Hmmm... which club should I use...

One handed driving!

My response to some of Meo's cart maneuvers. ;)

Ben and Omi, hard at work while we played

-Kim

Thankful Thursday: Oatmeal

This Thursday I am thankful for oatmeal.  It is cheap and super healthy.  I have learned to use it in so many different recipes.  Plus Ben loves the overnight oats I make for us with Greek yogurt, chia, flax, peanut butter, and banana.  Granted I think he would eat anything with banana in it.  He loves this breakfast, and it is super messy.  However it makes him so happy to eat it, I don't mind cleaning up the mess.  I love that I get to see him enjoy his food with total disregard to mess or social constraints.  He is just so happy to be eating. He doesn't care that it covers his hand or face.  He is happy to be with his mommy and daddy and sharing a meal.  He giggles as I wash him down in the sink every morning.  He takes joy in a healthy food and the simple act of sharing a meal, and reminds me that I can do the same.

I am also thankful for oatmeal because I get to see this wonderful face on a daily basis.

My precious Oatmeal Monster. :)

-Kim

Pat's Birthday and Father's Day Wrap-up

The beginning of June was a very busy time for celebrating Pat, as will be the case for some time now.  His birthday is June 10th, and Father's Day is right around then as well.  This year we also went to Arkansas, so while we didn't have a big celebration for Pat, we had a lot of little ones.

In Arkansas we did a cake, singing, and Pat got his cards from his parents.  Nothing major, but just getting to be with his family was a good present.  Back home his birthday was on a Tuesday.  Sadly since we are adults and had just gotten back from vacation, that meant Ben and I still had to go to work.  That night we got Chipotle, as per Pat's request.  We also sang again, and this time Pat chose to have cheesecake!  Yum!  We also did birthday presents.  Ben and Dagger pooled their limited resources and got some yummy candy for their Daddy.  All things he really enjoys.  I gave him my present and he got to open cards.  It was a quiet time with family, but an enjoyable one.

Father's Day was at a good time this year, World Cup time!  The plan was for me to get up with Ben, and go get McDonald's breakfast for Pat.  This is a real treat, especially since I have been cracking down hard on our fast food consumption.  Well, I didn't set my alarm because Ben always starts making at least some noise by about 6:30am.  Well, not this time!  He slept in until almost 7:30!  That was a treat for me!  But it meant a later start than planned, so Pat ended up coming with us to get his breakfast.  He still enjoyed it though.

We met up with Meo and Omi for lunch after Ben's nap.  Ben loves eating out.  He got to eat some of my spinach crepes, some peaches, and I think a little hash brown.  It was a quiet Father's Day, Ben and Pat hung out and watched soccer.  It was great for Pat to just get to relax and play with Ben.  And Pat loves to watch sports, especially when I encourage him to watch as much as he likes.  That was also a treat for him.  Pat then grilled us up some steaks for dinner, and we finished the night me getting us some ice cream.  Quiet, but very nice.

Oh, and Pat and Ben got to wear Pat's Father's Day present all afternoon.  Ben, like all babies, is a fan of not wearing pants.  Pat tells me this isn't just a baby thing; it is a guy thing to enjoy no pants time.  I found a t-shirt online that says "Home is Where the Pants Aren't."  Well, I had to order that for Pat.  I was able to get a onesie made with the same Thing for Ben.  Here are my silly boys rocking their shirts.

My boys!

Hey, you're wearing my shirt!

This is what Dagger thinks of their shenanigans.

Watching some soccer

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

-Kim

Diaper Derby!!

This past weekend was the much anticipated Diaper Derby!!  The Diaper Derby is a baby crawling race held at Prairiefest.  We were super excited to enter Ben into it.  We had it on our calendar for almost 2 months.  Meo and Omi marked it down.  Omi planned to shut down Omi & Associates early so everyone at the office could come cheer Ben on.  I made little signs of encouragement.  We told the family all about the race.  There was just one small issue.  Ben wasn't crawling yet.  Now I did everything I could to encourage him to crawl.  I used toys to try to lure him.  He had plenty of tummy time.  And he can move around a bit.  He can move in circles and go backwards.  He just can't seem to move in a forward, linear direction.

This minor detail didn't stop us though.  I thought maybe Ben was just waiting for a big moment to show what he could do.  Yeah, that wasn't the case.  

The event was very cute.  There were several heats leading up to the finals.  One person had the baby at the starting point, while another person was at the other end to encourage the baby to crawl.  You could use any sort of lure you wanted, treats, toys, forbiden objects.  The only rule was that babies couldn't walk, and that you couldn't reach over the finish line and pull them in.  

Ben was in the second heat.  The first went well, the babies crawled at a decent pace, but there was a clear winner.  Then came Ben's heat.  I lined him up at the starting line.  Meo was at the other end to call him to her.  Pat was on video duty.  Omi was cheering from the sidelines.  And... nothing.  Ben stayed at the starting line.  We honestly expected this, but thought he would have fun just being there.  He seemed to enjoy looking around, although he was slightly confused as to what all the fuss was about.  The funny part was that he was not the only baby to not crawl.  In fact in his heat, only one baby actually made it to the finish line.  The others just stayed at the starting line like Ben.  It is good to know we aren't the only parents to enter an unreliable crawler into a baby race.  :)

It was so fun to watch though.  The babies were all adorable.  There were many who just sat at the start.  There were a few who made it almost all the way to the finish, just to veer to the side or stop.  And there were a few who were on a mission to get whatever treat was at the end of that race.  While Ben didn't win his heat, he did tie for second, as no other baby finished.  He had fun, and we all had a good time cheering him on.  You can see his pre-race here, and his actual race here.  He had the same shirt on as the baby that won.  You can tell who is who because Ben is the one who didn't crawl.

I am so appreciative of Meo and Omi for coming and cheering Ben on.  We had a lot of fun with them and with all the other babies.  It was a great event.

Rolling into the competition

Ben and Meo with an Omi photobomb

Pre-race pep talk

Support Sign!

Resting before race time

Getting pumped!

Starting line! (And whole race)

I'm proud of my little competitor!

-Kim