Darrel and I saw Avatar last night in 3D (it's awesome), and afterwards we decided to keep our special 3D glasses because we knew that Ben would enjoy playing with them. We were right-  but I think Darrel and I are enjoying them more than Ben because he looks so hilarious (I mean adorable) when he wears them. I promise you he looks just like Michael "Squints" Paladouras from the movie "The Sandlot". Let me know if you agree! Check him out:

A couple weeks ago Darrel mentioned in his sermon that Ben was frightened of tigers coming into his room at night and biting him. I can attest to this because almost every other night Ben comes flying into our room around 2 a.m. crying and sobbing about tigers, in which we only have two options to remedy the situation, which are 1. succombing to his tearful demands to sleep with us (which does not work for many uncomfortable reasons) or, 2. getting in his bed with him until he falls asleep (which also does not work, twin beds are kind of crampy nowadays). Well, today Darrel brought home a gift from one of our ingenious church friends that could potentially end our little tiger problem. See for yourself what we got:

We used it tonight when we put Ben to bed, explaining to him that this spray is tried and true in keeping tigers out of his room. He had us spray every where, and seemed pretty satisfied that he would not have to ward off any pesky tigers tonight. I must add too that now my house smells like a spring meadow (or a 6th grade girls' locker room), and Ben is sleeping soundly. We'll just have to wait and see if "Tiger-No-More" keeps it's promise through the night.

We are sick, and very, very bored. So, today I decided to reach beyond my list of mundane activities and do something different and fun with Ben while Harrison napped. Everyday Ben has been asking to go to his favorite place on earth, the zoo. I have tried to tell him that it is too cold, that the zoo is closed (parental lie) and that we are too sick, but he wasn't having those excuses anymore. So given that we have a bazillion animals toys in this house we made our own zoo- The Sears' Zoo!  First, Ben and I went through each toy box to find animals that we would see in a zoo. Ben was very particular about which animals made the cut. I wanted to throw in Mickey Mouse, but Ben put the kabosh on that saying he has never seen a mouse at the zoo. I was tempted to tell him about them being snake food, but decided to leave it be. So after we rounded up all of our animals, which Ben called scavengering, we then divided them up into the appropriate exhibit catergories, i.e. petting zoo animals, water animals, primates, and so forth. After the setup the zoo was ready for visitors, Ben got his zookeeper uniform on and I made sure I had my zoo pass and camera ready. This is what I saw....

I was welcomed by this very hi-tech and artsy zoo sign.

Now I know I told you that Ben was pretty discriminatory when it came to what kind of animals were allowed in our zoo, but we decided "collectively" that it would be pretty darn cool to be the only zoo in the world to have a "live" pre-historic exhibit. Plus, we were desperate for some reptiles. When I inquired what they ate, ZK Ben informed me that they enjoyed strawberries.

The water animals. Check it out our zoo has the sassy hippo Gloria from the movie Madagascar.

The ferocious lion...

The purple elephant exhibit. At this point I believe that ZK Ben was checking out of our pretend zoo time, as he informed me that the animals were getting tired so I must leave soon.

I think ZK Ben just wanted to take his fifteen minute snack break. :)

Until next time!

He's light as a feather. Weighing in at 22 lbs, and 29 inches tall, he is very totable.

He is a mama's boy. I always wanted one.

He has very pretty hair. It's true.

When he eats a lot of vegetables or fruits, he gets tan. Lucky.

He is a great alarm clock. If you want to get up at three and six. :)

He's likes to be rocked at night, not to sleep, just enough to say goodnight.

He decided to get his first eight teeth all at once. Isn't that ambitious?

He is one stealth crawler, and one adorable little walker. He has his daddy's walk.

He is a soul man. He's got a bluesy little voice and likes to rock back and forth to any kind of music.

He's scrappy. He can hold his own, no doubt.

He's sensitive. One firm word and he is repentive.

He's quiet. But don't think he doesn't understand, he does.

He likes to scrunch up his nose when he doesn't like something.

He does sign language when he thinks I am not looking. Once I do it back, he smiles and stops.

He's a cuddler. Not as first, but more day by day.

Books offend him. He doesn't have time to read, he must keep moving.

Peek-a-boo is his favorite passtime.

He lets Ben "gently" wrestle with him.

He helps us meet our deductible. :)

He's a looker. I guess I am a little bias.

He's sweet and kind and lovely and fun and so much more....

He's Harrison Gray,

and he's one.