San Antonio Zoo

Over the Christmas break Jon had a little over a week off from work. We tried to do little day trips everyday. We went to Sea World twice, Six Flags twice and also to the zoo. And what is a zoo trip without going on the train. Andrew was interested in the animals. He would look at and watch them for quiet a long time. Much longer then Ben ever would at that age. Also, near the end he was getting tired, and anytime he would start fussing I would point to an animal and he would calm down and look at it until we got to the next animal. Ben enjoyed running around the zoo, pushing the stroller, and being bossy to Andrew. He has that older child syndrome where he thinks he's that Dad and has to tell Andrew what he can't do. And then when he wants to show that he loves him, by hugging him, he put him in a death grip. I am hoping that one day he will reach a happy medium of showing his affection towards Andrew. And of course with the new camera I was camera happy. I took pictures of all these animals, normally I'm not that kind of a person, but the animals were great subjects. I tried different setting on the camera, flash, no flash, focusing on something other then the main idea. It was a fun day and the boys had a great time. They really enjoy the time Jon has off. I think they really love their dad because every time he goes back to work Benjamin is always asking where he is and when he comes home Andrew gets all excited and just wants to be around him.

Trying Out The New Camera

I got a new Digital SLR camera for Christmas. I am loving it. My poor family has to be the subject of my new found affection. Poor Ben runs away anytime he sees me pull the camera out. Andrew is a good sport and just goes on with life, sometimes trying to reach out for the camera. And Jon just sits there or pulls out a goofy pose. I think I took almost 400 pictures in one day. What I love is that I can keep the great pictures and delete the rest. I have been able to get some great shots that I could never get with our slow point and shoot camera...thinking in between each shot.

Benjamin with Santa at Sea World

December 18, 2010

Christmas

Christmas was...interesting. We spent Christmas Eve hanging out and then went to a friends house, the Hansens, for dinner. We later did the nativity story and dessert with the Hansens, Coombs, Bradys, and the Fullers. Benjamin got to be a wisemen. I don't think he really knew what was going on except that he got to wear a crown. We came home, put the boys in their Christmas pajamas and put them to bed. Ben had such a hard time going to bed. I think he was so excited that he didn't want to go to sleep, but Jon and I weren't feeling well and wanted to go to bed, so we put Ben to bed crying. Jon, Andrew, and I all ended up with the stomach flu. Christmas morning Ben was so excited because Santa had come. Andrew was still sleeping so we ended up starting without him. I wanted to enjoy Ben's excitement so much, but it was hard being sick. Ben basically got to do whatever he wanted. I think he only ate candy that day, he was naked most of the day, and he played with his new toys while watching tv. The funny thing about Ben and his presents is he would open one and then play for awhile(usually 30 minutes or more) before opening something else. It took him well over 6 hours to open most of the stuff under the tree and even then we were still opening presents a few days later. It makes me happy that he can be happy with one thing for so long and not feel like he needs to open all his stuff. We wanted to put him in soccer this year, so he mostly got his soccer stuff, and then a few toys and money from grandparents. It was funny with his soccer stuff. He was with us when we bought his shoes, shorts and socks, when he opened them he said, "Look what Santa got me." We told him that it was from mom and dad, but he was insistent that Santa had gone to the store to get them. How naive. Poor Andrew was sick with Jon and I, that he slept most of the day, didn't eat anything, and layed on Jon and I most of the day. What a sad pathetic little group we were. After we were feeling much better later the day after, we were able to start enjoying each other and play with our new toys together. WARNING: PHOTO OVERLOAD!