Livin the dream

Dad couldn't be more proud!

Getting ready for Halloween

Finished product first. (Can you believe all of that drool? Three molars almost in, one to go!)

Paul loved getting messy!

Benjamin didn't want to touch it. Here he is drawing on the pumpkin with marker.

"ROAR!" In dinosaur, that means, "Thanks so much for making my costume, Grandma! I love it!"

Drinking buddies

Preschool Theology

Last night, the family was on the way to the store, when the conversation turned to the topic of Jesus.

Benjamin: "In a few weeks, we'll get to see Jesus."

Jonathan: "Oh, really. Do you think Jesus is coming back then?"

Benjamin: "Coming back from where?"

Jonathan: "Well, Jesus lives in heaven."

Benjamin: "No, actually Jesus lives in two towns."

Becky: "Do you mean He's with us, and in heaven?"

Benjamin: "Yes. You're exactly right."

Leaf raking

Benjamin wants to rake whenever we go outside now. He is such a slave driver! Jonathan's hoping he won't have to rake at all this fall.

Maybe this is why he likes the raking.

But, he does actually help, too.

It must be fall...

Raking...

And football!

Note the kitchen towel hanging out of his pants. "To dry off my sweat!" He was the quarterback, of course!

Updates

Benjamin loves...

• Asking "Why?" 50 times a day! Really, I don't think this is an exaggeration! He is curious about everything. And he talks almost non-stop. Paul and I went for a walk this morning while Benjamin was at school, and it was so strange to just walk along without talking.
• Trucks and cars. He still spends hours playing with them. He recently said he'd like to be a garbage truck driver when he grows up. (Or maybe a pastor, he said). Sounds like my brother--he wanted to be a garbage truck driver when he was little, and now he's at the sem.
• Baseball--and any other sport that involves a ball.
• Playing outside (see above)
• Books and being read to, although it's a bit harder to read with Paul trying to steal the books.
• Fruit snacks, and fruit. He frequently goes to the fridge and gets out an apple for himself.
• Chocolate and dessert in general
• Doing it by himself!
• Wearing shorts--He was very distraught about packing away the shorts. Yesterday he was crying, because he said he wanted to live in Florida where you can wear shorts all the time.
• TV--he watches PBS, or as he called it the other day--Phoebe S.
• Pretending he is someone else.
• Routines
• Daddy's day off
• Blankie
• Visitors
• The color blue
• Johnny Appleseed prayer

Paul loves...

• Climbing--I've found him on top of his little table and the top of a flight of stairs. He's got some angels working overtime!
• Being outside. He brings me his shoes and my shoes when he wants to go out, which is pretty much any time of day.
• Playing with balls, the sandbox, and his push mower.
• Cottage cheese, grapes, watermelon, cookies, and ice cream. In general, he's a good eater, and probably eats more than Benjamin on most days.
• Sleeping next to Mom and Dad.
• His brother--no one can make him smile and laugh like Benjamin!
• To say "meow" for any animal he sees. Very adorable! He's adding words to his vocabulary daily.
• Defying Mom and Dad. If told, "no," he giggles and does it.
• Throwing, doesn't matter if it's a ball or not!
• Being rocked when he's tired.
• Taking a bath.
• Moving and exploring! This makes church a work out, and going anywhere a bit scary.
• Anything Benjamin has or is doing.
• Being held, except when he doesn't want to be held. =)

Just playing

Here's a little video of Paul in the sandbox. He loves to play in it! He can get the top off by himself, and get in and out all by himself.

St. Louis trip

We recently flew to St. Louis so that Jonathan could do a wedding for an old grade school friend. The boys and I went along so we could visit people. We saw several friends, our brothers, sister-in-law, and nephew James. We also made it to see my Aunt Marilyn, Uncle David, and Jacob in Illinois. All in all, it was exhausting, but great to see everyone!

We took in several St. Louis sites--Grant's Farm, the zoo, and Ted Drewes! Here are some shots from Grant's Farm:

Checking out some parrots.

The infamous goats!

Pretty sure Dad was more afraid of them than Benjamin!

Some people say Paul and Uncle David look a lot alike.

My parents also drove down from Iowa for the weekend. I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked, since the camera ran out of batteries. Feel free to check out more shots of our visit at Jonathan and Sarah's blog: thebueschers.blogspot.com

Grandpa and James

Grandma always has new books to read whenever we see her!