Quiet Fireworks

We have vowed only to practice quiet fireworks at the Ford household in an effort to preserve any sane nerves left in our dog's body. Fireworks, like thunderstorms, make her so nervous...digging, climbing, barking and inevitably spending long periods of time in her blanket-covered crate.

So, sparklers it is. We thought Bennett would enjoy trying these out this year. To add a little distance between him and the sparkler flame, we taped it to a stick.

As is usual with this little man, he liked the tool just as much as the sparkler. He kept the lighter "in my belly, mommy." (tucked in the side of his shorts). And my favorite phrase he is saying these days - "...it'dle be coo-ool."

Carefully checking out the flame. I have to say, it was a little stressful...he would fling that stick all over. I had visions of his hair catching on fire.

Elly Rose chewed on the roll of electrical tape during the sparkler show.

Bennett shared his sparkler with me when he decided to help daddy push Elly Rose in the swing. They were both belly laughing as he would always stand too close and she would nearly knock him over as she came swinging toward him.

And one last pic of the little lady laughing while sitting on papaw's lap last weekend.

Independence Day

Our firecrackers from a packed weekend of activity...more to come, but I had a few minutes to say happy Independence Day. Thankful for freedom and those who have sacrifced much.

Sitting pretty. One talent she is doing less of these days. The second I set her down it is off to explore.

One of the many times down a bounce house slide.

Only needing to hold the sadle with one hand these days...big boy that he is.

Sweet Summer

Happy Birthday, Papaw! We celebrated Friday night at the Indians game. The Pawtucket Red Sox played the Indianapolis Indians (red sox won!). Playing on the lawn and watching the game is a great way to spend a summer evening. We are working our way toward making it through an entire game to see the fireworks at the end...maybe next summer.

Generally speaking, where you find Carson...you find Bennett. He loves his cousins, but has a particular fondness for Carson. Sometimes Bennett will say, "...mommy, I Carson." Zach jokes that Bennett has 2 idols in his life - Carson and our neighbor across the street, Riley. We use code word "idol" when Riley is outside playing.

The weather Saturday afternoon could not have cooperated any more than it did for an afternoon cook-out and "camp" experience with Zach's colleagues and their families. The host family offered horseback riding, fishing, bounce house jumping, swimming, basketball AND great food.

Snickers, the horse, checking out Elly Rose. It was a little too close for her comfort. Following Zach snapping this photo, she let out a panicked scream of "get away!"

Bennett fed Snickers lots of grass. And later in the evening did a little bareback riding on Snickers. He was fearless!

I love Bennett's imaginitve play. I talk about it often, but it is often what we do. On this morning it was ladders, firemen and bulldozers in the sandbox.

He likes to role play...pretending to be a doctor, a construction-man or daddy. He assigns roles to Zach and I, as well. He will switch us...daddy is mommy and mommy is daddy. Or daddy is Lofty, I am Bob the Builder and Bennett is Wendy.

She claps!

We are quite close to a first tooth popping through on bottom. She chews relentlessly for relief.

Our weekend was made complete last night when we joined Zach's family for dinner and first meeting of Charley for Bennett and Elly Rose (I cheated and went Saturday night after our babies went to sleep). She is precious...filled with so much sweetness. She has our hearts.

Construction Site

We have long known that when Bennett discovers an activity (or equipment, as the case may be)that fascinates him, he finds a way to incorporate it into all that he does. His imagination makes us laugh. It is not unusual for his tennis racquet to be used for, well...tennis, a guitar, a leaf blower and a weed-eater...all in one 20-minute span.

Lately, we have been on quite the bulldozer, excavator, crane truck, dump truck, mixer truck, ladder mission. We go out of our way to pass them and it never disappoints. So you can imagine Bennett's excitement with a recent trip to a real construction site. Thanks to daddy, he was able to talk with the "work-men" and spend a morning watching as all this heavy equipment went to work.

He wears this hat for a better part of his day, almost everyday. He wears it backwards. His hammer "...in my belly." and his measuring tape in his pocket.

We read "Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site." before every nap and bed-time. He has recently expanded his gear to include a tool belt...daddy's actual belt.

Inspecting the rebar for papaw...

...and back home playing with his bulldozer and mixer truck. Bennett is always the bulldozer and Zach or I is always the mixer truck.

I discovered this little lady sitting up in her crib yesterday afternoon. Good thing we lowered the bed on Sunday. She is such a joy and we adore watching her discover her little world a little more each day. She will shimmy across the pavement from her towel to play in the water at the pool, she sheds giant tears each morning as I leave for work (would have had my money on B doing this, but not her), her hands are faster than I think...grabbing for food off our plates and phones sitting nearby. Her new favorite sound is a happy repeat of "da, da, da, da, da" which arrived just in time for Father's Day.

This is Bennett's first real lesson in patience. He loves all fruit in the "berry" family. We inherited black raspberry bushes with our house and they are a hit with this little guy.

It is a struggle to teach him that black means ripe and ready for picking, red means wait one more day. Mid-last week, only 6-8 ripe berries a day, but now we have more berries than I have time to pick.

I love Oscar the Grouch peaking out between Bennett's hands. There is something so rewarding (maybe even addicting if I had the time) about walking out to your backyard and "picking" nutrient-rich foods to feed your family.

Great Visit

It is difficult to describe how amazing it is for my children to know my grandfather. We cherish each and every visit we have together...realizing the unique history and experiences four generations of family bring together. My grandpa keeps up quite well and Bennett was no doubt putting him to the test. We started out calling him Great Papaw, but Bennett quickly shortened it to Great-Pa.

Bennett had Great-Pa playing basketball with him, eating dinner next to him and watching his favorite television program. He never let Great-Pa get too far away before requesting him to "do this..." or "help with that..."

Our oldest and our youngest. And this was after an hour plus of playing in the 94 degree heat. Huddles frozen yogurt was promised in exchange for cooperation in a few group photos.

He met her just minutes after she entered this world, but they didn't have much of a chance to get to know one another then. This meeting was just as special...

We love our Great-Pa and Tootie. Thank you for a wonderful visit! XOXO