Much Needed Niece & Nephew Time

Last weekend I got to catch up on some much needed niece and nephew time. As I was loading these pictures I realized that the blog has also been devoid of pictures and updates about "i-wish-they-were-my" sweet children. So how about we catch up!?

Last Friday I had the privilege of going with Madelyne on her 4K class Fire Station field trip! Kelley had a doctor's appointment and asked if I could keep Bennett. Usually I am working during this time, but decided that I could take just a couple of hours to spend with sweet Bennett. Well it turns out that Madelyne's field trip was at the same time and they were needing some parents/helpers to go. So Kelley dropped Bennett off at our house that morning and we headed out to meet Madelyne at school.

Bennett (who I have obviously not updated on in a while) is talking up a storm and loves to point things out and ask what everything is these days. We heard a lot of "whas dat?" [what's that?] last weekend. Things are no longer just labeled by their name, but it's accompanied by the word "a." Example, upon entering our kitchen, Bennett pointed under our baker's rack and announced "a Roomba!" then turned around, saw Whitaker and announced "a key cat!" [kitty cat]

He is cracking me up with all he is saying these days. On the way to Madelyne's school, from the backseat a little voice says...."Hey Aun' Dadie?"
I said, "Hey Bennett?"
He says, "Know what?"
Ummm, seriously? Did my 21-month-old nephew just ask me if I knew what?? "What Bennett??"
"Where Gaigey?" (Gainer)
"Gainer's at home, buddy. We'll see her later."
Silence. That was all, he was just wondering. He and Gainer are tight like that. [If you remember, when he was a baby, Gainer practically thought she was his mom whenever he was around. It was crazy. I guess they bonded.]

Bennett was SO good at the fire station! He sat in his stroller and just listened to every word that the firemen were saying! He listened very carefully...

Whose reflection is in the fire truck!? Check out how he's just chilling with his feet crossed. So cute!

All the kids got to walk through the fire truck and "jump" out the other side. Madelyne thought it was pretty cool!

Sweet siblings

They turned on the fire truck sirens!

After walking back to the school all of the kids got their own special fire hats. As you can see, Maddie Moo thought it was pretty cool!

After the fire trip, we went to meet Uncle Cullen for lunch! He got off work at 12:00 that day because we had a doctor's appointment to go to later in the afternoon. Pretty girl!

Beautiful, beautiful boy!

Next, we HAD to take the kids to Yogurt Mountain (which I mentioned in this post)

At Yogurt Mountain, we met Kelley so she could take the kids while we went to the dermatologist. [For those of you who know Cullen & his head... he had to get his "horns" checked out. No worries, after waiting for about an hour to be seen, we were told they are just pilar cysts (only click the link if you really want to know...) and can be removed if he wants to do it, but he doesn't have to. Yeah, yeah... we knew they weren't horns. ;-) But that sounds more interesting than "bumps" right?? ]

Anyway, while we were at the doctor, Kelley & the kids ran some errands... clearly they were worn slap out!

Don't worry, kids bounce back pretty quick! When we got back from the doctor, Kelley and Jay headed out to dinner and the kids stayed with us. It had been SO beautiful outside and I had been dying to take some kids to the park. So while Cullen did his P90x at home, me, Maddie Moo & Benny Boo went to the park down the street. They were not lacking energy anymore! Man, I wish I had that much energy all the time!

When we got home, Cullen was still doing P90x. Well, Madelyne informed us that she does this with Daddy "all the time" and knows "almost all the moves." haha! So the next thing I know, I come in and both of them are doing P90x with Cullen! It was too cute! (Notice Mama Gainer, always watching out for her babies.)

She really did know some moves!

After we did all that and Cullen got a shower, he and Madelyne headed to the store while I gave Bennett a bath. There is not a WHOLE lot of interesting-to-a-21-month-old things to do at our house, but regardless, a bathtub is always entertaining. So Bennett spent about 30 minutes in the bath! ha!

Cullen grilled us all some amazing chicken that night. I was about to bite into mine and said "Wow, this looks really good!" and Madelyne replied "Well...just wait until you taste it!!"

So it had been a busy day and everyone was pretty tired. There were no problems getting anyone to sleep...including myself!

When the kids stay, Cullen and I sleep on the sofa bed so Madelyne can sleep in our room. It's funny because we actually kind of enjoy it. Our bed is a full size and the sofa is a queen. So it's nice having the extra room...considering at least 1 cat and 1 dog sleep with us every night!

Saturday morning, Cullen had to coach and everyone thankfully slept until 7:30! After he left, as I was putting up the sofa bed, I realized it would probably be a good idea to vacuum while the coffee table was moved. Bennett has a thing for vacuums for some reason, so I asked them if they wanted to help me vacuum - and they both were VERY excited. (LOVE this age when getting to help is fun!) So they helped me vacuum (Mama Gainer supervising again)...and then were thrilled to get to help Windex the glass door while I finished up!

While we were waiting on Cullen to get back from coaching and Kelley to come pick them up, we took a little walk followed by some sidewalk chalk art. It was a beautiful day!
When they got back, Cullen decided that Bennett would enjoy a ride in the cooler that he'd been pushing around. Haha. He loved it & didn't move as soon as Cullen put him in!

The cats have learned that if they don't stay at a distance, they will be poked, picked up, pulled on, etc. So when the kids left all the animals were glad to be able to stretch out and enjoy some peace and quiet! I personally enjoy the sound of little voices and little giggles. Allie thinks otherwise. :-)