Style Spotter

 Pat and Bennett were at Kohls last night and were walking through the store when all of a sudden, Ben yelled, “STOP, Dad.  Stop.  Now back up.  Keep backing up. With a big smile on his face.”  

He backed Pat all the way back to this mannequin and said: 

“That looks JUST like GG without a head.”

OMG I died laughing when Pat showed me the picture.  

GG approved...she loves the dress and wants that bag.

Pedalin

After working at it all summer, Tatum finally got the hang of pedaling her trike so now she is ready to go...helmet and all.

Rub a dub dub

Rub a dub dub
Taking a bath in the......

 

Sink

Bennett Turns 4

Our 1st Born turned 4.

It's hard to believe he will start pre-school this year and has become a kid instead of a toddler.

He loves to ride his bike and run everywhere and he would live outside if we would let him.

He adores his baby brother and is best buds with his little sister.

He loves the movie Planes and the movie Turbo and the TV show Handy Manny.

He can write the letter T, started with the end of his name rather than the beginning:)

He is so active and so that means he also needs his sleep.  He still takes an afternoon nap everyday and he goes to bed around 8 each night.

His favorite snack is an apple.  His favorite foods are pancakes, pizza and tacos.

He loves to pack his toys into laundry baskets and then take them to another room and unpack and repack them.  His other favorite thing to do is play catch with a football or baseball.

He got lots of fun stuff for his birthday this year, but his new scooter was by far the biggest hit.  He cannot walk through the garage without taking a spin on his scooter.

After a delicious birthday breakfast, we took a family trip to the Children's Museum for his birthday on the 12th.  And then on Sunday the 13th, he had some of his friends over for a pool party.

Chips, Watermelon, Hot Dogs, Brats and Pasta Salad were on the menu.

The pools were  freezing cold refreshing. 



All it took was for Benny's cousin Adam to get everyone excited to take the first plunge.

 The weather was perfect, low to mid 70s so it wasn't too hot for the babies.

Emily with Stella and Angel with the youngest party-goer, Rocky

Jolene and Angel with baby Luke and Baby Rocky 

Benny wanted Dusty Crophopper on his cake. 
And just as I had planned a plane flew over the party right on cue:)

Adam got an exciting game of beanbags going.  I told Amy, that I am going to hire Adam for every party going forward because he was like the best little party planner there.  He got all the kids rallied and excited no matter what the activity.

By the end of the party the pools and the kids looked a little like this.

Happy Birthday Benny! 

You waited so patiently for your birthday to come this year and it finally arrived.  I secretly hope the next one does not come quite so fast.  Mama is not quite ready to see her baby boy turn 5.  We love you!

RookieYear

Tatum and Bennett have completed their rookie year of T-Ball. 

 

 

At the beginning of the season, I posted about how Tatum cried when she realized she was not on the team.

 

 

Well it was her lucky year because the Loggers did not have a full roster so she was able to join the team too. 

 

 

Tatum preferred to play in the dirt and was known to take the field without her glove in hopes that she would not have to make any effort to participate in the game.  She lived for water breaks.

 

Bennett on the other hand raced to the ball, along with every boy on the team, every time it was hit and there were even a couple team brawls over the ball from time to time.  They still have not figured out t-ball is a team sport:)

 

Benny got better and better at hitting every week and can throw the ball very well.

 

By the end of the season Tatum was swinging on her own and here is a good visual of the distance she usually got when hitting.  Best bunter on the team:)

 

 

Like any good 1st year t-ball team, the runners ran the bases, but not necessarily in the right order and from time to time the hitter would run to the pitchers mound.

 

So here we are.....The Loggers and Coach Gabby

 

But here is a more realistic portrayal of what 1st year t-ball is actually like.

 What a blast. 



It's Official

This Handsome Fella is officially, forever a Jordan and he even has a birth certificate to prove it!

 

Today on the 31st of July, in the State of Utah, Ellis' adoption was finalized.

 

 

Making the Jordan behind his name official and legal!

 

Adoption finalization can be a bit confusing because it makes it sound as if there was risk of us losing Ellis during the 6 months up until finalization.  Really that is not the case at all.  Back in January when Ellis was placed in our custody, his birthmother signed termination paperwork, legally terminating her legal rights.  At that point almost all risk was gone.  That is why "signing day" was so incredibly emotional for us and for her because that was when we watched her make her final, irrevocable, loving and self sacrificial decision to legally place Ellis in our family.  The adoption agency then became Ellis' legal guardian with us as his legal custodian.  While we had legal custody of Ellis is was our responsibility to make sure our post adoption placement visits with our social worker were completed and that was what the court needed to see in order for us to take over full legal guardianship as Ellis' official legal parents.  So finalization really is not related to the birthparents' rights but has to do with our rights becoming permanent and legal.  Just thought I would explain that as I know sometimes it can worry people to hear that it took this long for his adoption to be finalized.  He has been ours since that Placement Day but it really is exciting when every i is dotted and every t is crossed. 

We could not have any more important job than the one as your parents, Ellis and nothing brings us more joy than to know that God has blessed us with yet another incredible little baby to love. 

We love you so much. 

Three Amigos

 Some cute photos of the three kids during Benny's Birthday Festivities.

Tatum could not have been happier for Benny.  She was thrilled that it was her big brother's special day. And as he fell asleep on his pillow on July 12th, he asked me "Mom is it still my birthday?"  He soaked up every final minute of the excitement of it all.