Lazy Summer Afternoon

I just love watching Benjamin in this position. He's there often...crouched down close to the ground examing some bit of nature. Usually it is a leaf or a stick but often it is some kind of bug. I love how he has to get so close to look at the thing. I usually don't have a camera around when he is in this position but I got lucky this particular afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were just hanging out in the backyard together....a lazy Summer afternoon!

Earth to Benjamin....

After his nap today Benjamin was talking about being an astronaut (one of his many favorite things to play at being.) Nate jumped up and said "We've got to get your space suit on!" and took him to his room. A few minutes later this is what emerged....

He looks like a pretty serious astronaut doesn't he? He's got on his "space suit", his "jet pack" on his back (otherwise known as his Thomas the Train backpack) and his "space helmet" (which I think makes him look a little more like a coal miner!) I guess the horse flashlight comes in handy in space....it's dark out there! I tried to get him to smile for the photos but Benjamin doesn't seem to think astronauts smile!

Guess What.......Chicken Butt!

I totally forgot to post about this earlier. Benjamin has become quite the jokster lately and somehow learned this new joke (okay...it's was me that taught it to him!)

Benjamin: "Guess What!"
You: "What?"
Benjamin: "Chicken Butt!"

Then Benjamin proceeds to roll around on the floor laughing his behind off! It was funny for the first...50 times! Now it has gotten a little old....it's difficult to summon up the same level of amusement that he has! After we taught him the joke Benjamin really wanted Nate to tell HIM the joke so he said "Daddy....speak to me about the chicken butt!" Now THAT was funny!

Happy 4th of July!

Okay...I know...it's been a month since I posted. Life has been sort of busy in the Huff household. Here are a few updates....

• Benjamin finished soccer on June 21st and was awarded a medal (probably for best grass picking!)


• I believe we have just about finished potty training...I'm keeping my fingers crossed! He has had only a couple of accidents in about 4 weeks. He still wears a pull up when he is sleeping though.


• Nate and I FINALLY found the PERFECT Preschool for Benjamin..yea! We looked high and low and so many schools and just weren't feeling comfortable with any of them. We had one last school to look at last week and it is the one!! He will start going 8:30-3:30 on Tues. and Thurs. beginning Sept. 2. I bought him a new backpack from Pottery Barn with his name on it...so cute!


• Nate survived his 21 hour plane trip to Malaysia!! I can't believe he was SO far away from us for 6 days (I think it was like 17,000 miles!) Malaysia is 15 hours ahead so Nate experienced some serious jet lag when he returned.


• I organized a MAJOR event at our church (a Summer BBQ) the weekend after Nate returned from Malaysia. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun! It was the first event I have organized at church so now I really feel like I know how to do things.

I hope you all had a fabulous, fun and safe 4th of July holiday! We decided to stick close to home and just hung out in our backyard. We put the tent up so Benjamin could "camp" (although we opted to sleep in our comfy beds!) We had some friends over and listened to music, made s'mores and enjoyed the warm evening. It was a fun holiday! Here's a photo of Nate reading Benjamin one of his favorite books in the tent. It's called "P.J. Funny Bunny Camps Out!"

Happy Memorial Day!

This year for Memorial Day we were invited to a BBQ at our friends' The Foley's house. We have all been so busy lately that it's been awhile since Benjamin has been able to play with his friend Gracie...so he was really excited! Gracie's cousins Tristan and Hayley were all in attendance and the kids has SO much fun playing together. Since the kids are all 2 or 3 years old there were a few hairy moments when someone (Benjamin) was stealing someone else's toys, or when everyone wanted to jump on the trampoline at the same time. The kids were amazing though and were able to work things out with just a tiny bit of prompting from the moms. It's always fun for Benjamin to play with other children his age, but this was especially poignant since all of the children had been adopted. It's so nice to be able to talk with Benjamin about other children that were adopted like he was! Benjamin really got a kick out of this apron and chef's hat. He was "cooking" up dinners left and right for everyone! He loved it so much that I had to get him his own...now he can dress up and cook whenever he wants at home!

Not A Post About Benjamin!

I know....my blog enteries are all about Benjamin...but I just had to share one tidbit about Nate and I! On May 25th we celebrated our anniversary. Nate planned a really SUPER romantic evening that involved a babysitter!! Cousin Brita was nice enough to entertain Benjamin while we went to a real grown up dinner.

Nate chose a restaurant in Hillcrest (Downtown San Diego) called "California Cuisine." It's a restaurant he remembers his parent frequenting when he was a kid. It's still around and it's still getting great reviews so we made the journey downtown. The restaurant is really cute with a seating area up front in front of picture windows that contains an art gallery. Then they have the sweetest little patio seating out back that reminded me of the restaurants we ate at while visiting Manhatten. Since the weather had just been rainy and was still fairly chilly (by San Diego standards!) and very windy we opted to sit at a little area in between the main dining room and the patio. We definitely had the best of both worlds.

The restaurant is known for a changing menu that offers only the freshest foods. The food was just fabulous...one of the best meals we've had in San Diego! They also make their desserts on the premises and we opted for a chocolate....yummy melty cake thingy (I've forgotten the name!) with a side of homemade rocky road ice cream....YUM!!! I also had the pleasure of drinking a couple of VERY good Lemon Drop Martinis and a glass of fantastic Tawny Port with my dessert. The meal was simply wonderful!

Since we are both pretty practical Nate and I opted to not buy gifts for each other but we did have a card for one another. Turns out...we bought each other the same card!! I could NOT believe it...of all the cards in the whole Hallmark store we bought the same one. I guess that's what happens when you've been married for 11 years! Anyhow, a couple of days later Nate and I were browsing at a mattress store (we've been talking about getting a new bed forever!) We found a mattress that was so heavenly we didn't want to leave. Nate decided to buy the mattress and the bed frame for me...a sort of anniversary gift. Now I wake up EVERY morning feeling divine and well rested...thanks to my wonderful husband!

Let The Games Begin!

This is the first day of soccer for Benjamin. He is playing on a team through the YMCA with other 3 and 4 year old kids. The experience was...hilarious! I heard someone compare soccer with 3 and 4 year olds to herding cats....sounds about right!! Benjamin's team is called the "Blue Dolphins" which seemed the best choice out of the "Blue Giraffes" and the "Blue Glasses." The kids got to pick their name!

Benjamin had been pretty excited to be playing soccer on a team. He loves to play "soccer ball" in the backyard with the net he got for Christmas. I was excited to buy him shin guards and dress him in a soccer outfit (compliments of Aunt Vicki and Uncle Gene...thanks!) You might notice that, rookie that I am, I didn't realize he would need long socks to COVER the shin guards...oh well!

Benjamin pooped out of his first game pretty quickly once he realized that all the other kids were "playing with that ball" and that he couldn't just add his own ball to the game. As I write this Benjamin has his third game this past Saturday and he did really well. He stayed on the field almost the whole time, although he spent a lot of time kicking over the cones and picking grass to put in his pockets!