Hot Chocolate Taste Test, Halloween and Some Random

A recent obsession with finding the best hot chocolate lead to some googling, some facebooking, and finally some shopping.  We went to World Market and found some single serving samples.  Then found some more at Target and before we knew it, we had seven!  We are on a hunt for the best because hot chocolate is a key component of some family themed gifts this year.  So, it has better be a good brand!  Most surprising to me, was how different every brand was.  I seriously never would have guessed that a cup of hot chocolate could be so varied.  I also found that I liked the first one I tried the best, but then when I went back and tried it again, I didn't like it that much after all.  Another surprise was the comfort of what we are used to.  I have never tried a fancy hot chocolate.  I think have had a Starbucks hot chocolate once.  A few here and there at restaurants, but they probably get something random too.  I thought for sure the expensive brands would taste better.  And honestly, some of them did taste more rich and flavorful, but it's hard to resist that good ole comfort of what you grew up on.  Anyway, here is the order of my favorites. Ghirardeli, Perugina, Swiss Miss, Cadbury, World Market, and Land O Lakes.  I actually didn't rank the Land O Lakes mint because I felt the mint threw it off.  It was really good, similar to a liquid Andes mint, but just wasn't straight chocolate.

 And here is the order of Jon's favorites.  Swiss Miss, Land O Lakes, Perugina, Land O Lakes mint, Cadbury, Ghirardeli, and World Market

 We thought it was funny how different we both were.  I HATED the Land o Lakes.  I thought it was way too sweet and just weird.  The most different of them all by far.  But Jon liked it second best.  We both had Perugina and Swiss Miss in our top three and we both disliked World Market.  It was pretty bad.  Cadbury actually had really good flavor but the texture kind of threw me off.

 Vanessa got in on the tasting too.  We tried to get her to try them all and find one she didn't like.  But she kept drinking the same one and telling us that she liked that one.  Typical, stick with what is good.  She doesn't branch out in her food much.

 Playing in the dirt outside our house.  It was all Vanessa wanted to do.  So I let them.  What does a little dirt hurt?

 I loaded these backwards and I am too lazy to fix them.  In the beginning everyone was fully clothed.  But, the clothes were shed (just off the kids) since skin is easier to wash.  I had to crop Vanessa to keep it web appropriate.  I love Benson's face on this.  And we actually did three, but the third is on the other side of Vanessa

 Benson amidst his glorious mess.  He started throwing the pumpkin guts, like he throws everything.  Good way to make me mop the floor I guess.

 And the beginning.  They thought it was so interesting looking inside.  Both of them were a little leery to touch it at first and then, obviously, that wasn't a problem for long.

 This was taken at the pumpkin patch picking out our pumpkins and playing.  This was a really cute old truck they had out for kids to play on.  They had a bunch of other things to do as well.  Little swing sets, and a mini haunted house, and Vanessa rode a pony!

 Ward Trunk or Treat.  This was the only picture we got of them in their Halloween get-up.  I just bought them something this year.  Vanessa, I am sure, will be more excited to pick her costume next year.  I think she'll remember.  She didn't remember Halloween from last year but she definitely picked up on the whole idea pretty quick.

 A few shots at a local park.  Apparently it is the hot spot for family portraits because EVERYONE was out doing family portraits.  There were seriously probably ten or more families.

Life is good.  We are stoked for Thanksgiving.  We are driving down to Oklahoma to spend some time with my sister.  My parents are also flying in.  It's going to be a party!  And then just a short month later, we'll make the LONG trek back west.  I can't believe we are already half way done with St Louis!  Oh, and Vanessa is now officially fully potty trained.  Easy Peasy.  I hope they are all as easy as her.  But, more on that later.

It's Autumn Time, The Leaves Are Falling Down

Life at our house is pretty much the same as always.  Jon is super busy, definitely busier than he was with school.  I didn't believe the stuudents a year ahead of Jon that this was possible.  But turns out it's true.  At least we get him on the weekends.  That's where the real party happens :)  We have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather, visiting new parks, and of course taking advantage of the FREE zoo.  Yes, it's free.  Pure awesomeness.

Vanessa playing in the leaves.  Yep, she is wearing her nightgown and yes, we are at the park.  Clothes doesn't make it on the list of "biggies" for me.  If it's that important to her to wear her "horsey nightgown," I could really care less.  You will see it is a frequent favorite. 

 Both kids love when Jon throws them in the air.  Vanessa will ask over and over and over for Jon to throw her in the air.  She loves to go really high.  Benson on the other hand, doesn't seem to like the height quite as much.  He is getting to more and more, but he holds his breath while in the air.  Ha ha.

 So this house we are currently renting was NOT baby proofed before we arrived.  I have removed most everything out of the main floor living room and put it all in storage.  This one is a little trickier to do something with though.  The crazy thing about this incident was I was in the kitchen cooking.  I could see them and hear them, but I couldn't see the dirt.  There are tons of leaves in there so I figured they were playing with those.  I'm sure it started that way, but the dirt is way to enticing I suppose.  I was so worried the carpet would never come clean.  That dirt is black.  But, three cleaners later, I don't think you can tell it was there.

Getting ready to head out somewhere.  I put Vanessa's shoes on her and she was pretty sure Benson needed shoes today too.  He thought they were kind of interesting, and heavy.  Poor kid could hardly move.

Vanessa will get down and crawl with Benson probably a couple times a day.  It's the cutest thing.  I love watching them become friends.  Vanessa definitely takes care of him.

Vanessa's newest obsession.  There are two actually.  One is watching Wonder Pets on Netflix, either on the computer or on the iPod.  The other is playing games on the iPod.  I try to limit Wonder Pets.  But I'm still feeling conflicted on the games.  All the games are educational, counting, puzzles, etc.  But it's still so much like a video game to me.  What do you do?

This little man now has 8 teeth.  Glad they are all in and we are done with endless crying nights!

Another nightgown day at the park.  I bet she wears this at least once a week for a full day and three times a week 1/2 day.  She literally loves this thing.  I think it's the silk.

She loves to jump.  We also tried the tape train/car track.  It didn't interest them yet.  Except Benson just wanted to rip it all up.

Benson loves to read books and hands or throws them at me all the time.  Animal books are his favorite and he is already learning his animal sounds.  He stares at me in pure delight (or is it mocking?) while I make all the sounds.  It's really cute.

He also randomly loves these sunglasses.

Vanessa and Benson really are becoming good friends and I love it.  The other day at the park Benson needed to hold a rock.  I gave him and Vanessa a rock and then Benson tried to take Vanessa's.  So I gave them both two.  Benson kept trying to eat his and grind them on his teeth.  Makes me shudder.  I took his away about three times before I took them away for good and he burst into turns.  Vanessa, who was sitting behind him in the stroller, wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big kiss.  Said "it's okay Benson.  You have one of mine."  And she really did give him one of her rocks.  It was so cute.
Vanessa always makes sure Benson is coming places with us.  Whether we are going to the store or going downstairs, she will always tell me we should bring him too.
I mentioned that Vanessa love playing games on the iPod.  Well she can fully operate it as well.  She turns it on, slides the lock off, scrolls through the pages to find her games, picks her game, plays her game, etc.  The only way to keep her off would be to use a lock key.  But, I'm still undecided.
Vanessa says the cutest things all the time and I wish I were better about writing them down.  The other day she was trying to convince Jon to do something for her.  She always does this.  So Jon suggested they do it together.  Vanessa started singing the song from Wonder Pets, "what's gonna work?  Team work.  What's gonna work, team work."  Jon and I both busted up laughing.
Her imagination has taken off so much lately.  I think we played mama horsey and baby horsey for a full two hour nap of Benson's the other day.  I love imaginery play and hearing all the random, wild, crazy things they come up with.
Benson is an absolute charmer.  This boy has that little sparkle that melts my heart over and over again.  He loves books, balls, and cars.  He also loves anything Vanessa has and loves to do whatever she is doing.  He loves to make all kinds of funny noises, his favorites are growling and snorting.  He likes to throw his food, whether he is done or not, he just likes to throw it.  Then he stares at it on the ground, almost like he's contemplating gravity or something.  As I mentioned before, he loves animal books and animal sounds.  He can do a gorilla, elephant, tiger, and dog.  Though he will never do them on command.  I feel he is very smart and learns very quickly as well as being a good observer.  He's very tender and if he knows we are teasing him, he puts his head down and pouts!  He is still having trouble with his poor little legs, but I won't really post on that for a few more months.  It'll be a long one, hopefully filled with happy news!

Family Pic

Here is our family pic that I mentioned.  It was kind of spur of the moment, hey that would be a good picture spot, so our clothes aren't exactly coordinated.  And let's just not really talk about my hair.  Or the fact that Benson had this exact expression in every single picture (remember how we took fifteen!)  We might be able to sneak another in before Christmas since we just might do Christmas cards.  So, if you would like one, please send me your address.  And yes, I would definitely like one from you.  I am totally planning on making a Christmas card book, like the one I am sure everyone has seen on pinterest.  And I can send you our permanent address since no one really knows where we will be at that time.  Ha ha. 

The Chaos Of Life

It has been a crazy sort of calm the last few weeks.  We decided, on a whim sort of, to join Jon in KC two weeks earlier than planned.  Lesson learned.  We don't like being apart so it probably won't work out in future rotations.  We found an apartment just outside Kansas City on Craigslist and went with it.  Partly because it was the only furnished, short term rental we could find and partly because it was cheaper than a hotel with more than one room. 

Here is a random picture before we left Utah.  Vanessa actually wore this for a few hours.  I had to take a picture.

 While in Kansas City (we were on the Missouri side) we went to the Arts Festival, which was pretty cool.  We also went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman and Liberty Jail.  We even took a family pic, which will be posted once I figure out my favorite.  We took fifteen, of the same pose.  Five in a row on a timer.  Ha ha.

I decided to heat up some chili one non-cooking night.  Benson LOVED it.  His stomach however, did not.  He was up for at least an hour, wailing, until I finally realized the poor kid had a tummy ache and pulled out the blessed gas drops.

This was hilarious.  Vanessa wanted a pony tail in her hair.  I pulled it up and then told her I wanted to take a picture.  I wanted to take a profile shot so I told her to look at the sink.  She walked over and put her nose right on the cupboard.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but I had to take the shot anyway.

I walked into the room to find Vanessa dressed like this one morning.  I laugh, "ha, did Vanessa pick her clothes today?"  Jon looks at her sheepishly and then back at me.  "What's wrong with it?"  HAHAHAHA!

Love this face.  "Don't mess!"

 Trying to find something new to do, we went to a lake one Saturday.  It was closed, bummer.  But it still had pretty walking trails and Vanessa loved the flowers.

I had to include this one because of how blue his eyes are.  And yes, he does look miserable.  Probably because he was.  He had a cold and cute four teeth in two weeks.  Who wouldn't be?!

 I heard the Independence Visitors Center was actually really fun for kids so I decided to take the kids one day.  It was not as exciting to Vanessa as I had hoped.  But I cried like a baby in the family movie and Vanessa was BFF almost instantly with the sister missionary that gave us the tour.  And yes, this is the best picture I got.  I could have walked back up to the front to get a picture by the sign, but I was WAY too lazy for that.  Memory noted, as good as it gets.

 And here is my shot of the Community of Christ temple across the street.  Kind of an interesting structure.  I've seen it before, but I think it would be neat to go inside.  I heard that you can, but I didn't try with the kids.

Vanessa just being her cute self.  Notice our awesome furnishings.  It was kind of like renting your Grandma's apartment with a bad smoky/cat smell.

 Jon finished up St Lukes on a Friday and had to be at his new rotation in St Louis on Monday.  So, Saturday morning we loaded up the kids and headed out.  The drive was not as bad as I thought it would be.  I fed Benson lots of Goldfish and Vanessa watched movies.  It went pretty quick actually.  When we got to St Louis, we had a serious headache getting our hotel situation sorted out.  A long story I don't even want to type up.  But, we ended up choosing a Days Inn because it had a continental breakfast (with waffles) and a heated pool and the heater did work.  So we got there and the heater was going but the pool was still freezing.  Vanessa only lasted about fifteen minutes before she was literally purple.  And the waffles were a step down from Eggos.  Bummer.  But, it did have an indoor play are that Vanessa loved and we spent lots of time there.  We had to stay at a hotel for three nights because our apartment wasn't ready yet.  I am so glad we decided not to try the hotel route.  Shoot me if we had.  I was sick most of those days from just general crappy eating.  But there aren't many options with just a microwave and a mini fridge that doesn't work.  So glad to have a kitchen.  I even made rolls today.  They're delish.  We got into our new place on Tuesday.  It is fabulous.  I really like this place.  It is a three story townhome, with lots of space.  My only complaint is that it is nicely furnished and I'm kind of afraid the kids are going to damage things.  I don't want to have to pay for damages!  The bed is awesome.  So far, I haven't woken up with anything aching.  I love that.  The bed has a memory foam pad, which I have always wanted to try, and now I know that they are pretty much wonderful.
So on Wednesday, the kids and I met up with some friends that I haven't seen in YEARS.  Kim and Travis Seyboldt were in town on business.  Coincidence?!  We went to the zoo and then up to "The Hill" for some fab Italian sandwiches.  The kids fell asleep in the car so Kim got her laptop and we talked photoshop and photography and general mommy chat in the car.  Because that is what you do when your kids are actually asleep!

This orangutan was HUGE and just stared at everyone. 

Benson loved seeing everything, though he was defintely happy to keep his distance and just point at them.

Today, Jon and I hauled the kids out to the Science Museum and drove by the arch.  We wanted to get out and walk around but parking was $5 and the kids just weren't having it.  So went home and we'll have to save the arch for another day.  Just add it to the list I suppose.  There are a lot of things I want to see here.

The Past Week Or So...

I don't have any pictures to add because our desktop is in storage and we only have our laptop.  Which means to photoshop.  Boohoo.  I realize I could still load the pictures onto my computer, but then what would I edit them with?!  I have to at least fix skin tones.  They're always off with digital.  Anyway, when I get that figured out, I'll possibly post some pictures.  In the meantime, I brief update.
On September 15, Benson turned one!  Holy cow.  Where did that year go?  He is amazing in so many ways and has the cutest personality.  I have absolutely loved watching him grow into a little man.  He loves to play ball, and with cars.  He shakes his bum when he gets excited and has the cutest grin in the whole world.  He gets a twinkle in his eye before he makes mischief and he loves to tease his sister. 
On September 16, Vanessa, Benson, and I flew out to Kansas City, MO to join Jon.  So happy we did.  I seriously couldn't believe how much the kids missed their daddy.  Vanessa still tells me almost daily that "daddy is better Mommy."  She wouldn't let him go the night we got in and gives him all kinds of hugs and kisses every night when he gets home.
On September 20, Vanessa turned 28 months.  That's right 2 years and 4 months.  She is getting so big too.  Her vocabulary has nearly doubled in the last month or so.  She was a good talker before, but now she can express herself even better and has even more to say!  She counts 1-2-3-7-8-9-10-11.  And she can say her ABCs to p and sometimes s. 
Today I am fifteen weeks (but who is counting right?).  I am still waiting to get the 2nd trimester energy. It may have something to do with the fact that Benson has been up every night this week for at least an hour.  He has a cold and is getting teeth.  An evil combination. 
Jon is rocking his clinical.  It's in a cardiac unit so he is seeing a lot of procedures he hasn't seen before.  It's also pretty intense anesthesia since most of the patients are pretty sick and having major surgery.  He is enjoying it though and he likes most of the doctors he works with.  He had a couple crazy days and/or nights right before we got out here.  Since we have been here though, he has been home at a pretty reasonable time everyday.  Even though getting home at 5 is still almost a ten hour day, he still pretends to have energy for the kids!

Playing with Water

I have wanted to try mixing water with food coloring for a while.  I thought maybe I could teach Vanessa how to make different colors.  She did really like it when I made purple.  But when I asked her later how to make purple, she didn't have a clue.  Oh well.  It was still a fun experiment.

 Benson was happy to play with Vanessa shoes for a good ten minutes.  He even offered them to me every time I tried to get him to look at the camera.

 I had to take his shirt off to keep it from getting stained since he was crawling right through all the dye.  He is showing off his huge muscles here.

And this is Vanessa showing off her skills on the tramp.  This picture just makes me laugh.  Eyes closed, tongue out and all.  She loves loves loves to jump on the tramp and I am fairly sure she would do it all day if someone would jump with her that long.

Faster Is A Girl, Right?!

We all know old wives' tales have a 50/50 of being right.  So I guess we'll see how it turns out for this little one, but we are all waiting until March!  Heartbeat was 174 and going strong (phew!). 

On a random note, do the 3D ultrasounds look a little weird to anyone else?  Maybe when the baby is a little older and more developed it won't look quite so weird.  But how cool is it to see their little "womb home"?  That part is pretty sweet.  Can you tell I have never had a 3D ultrasound before?  Lol

Halloween Costumes

Benson and Vanessa are going to be matching skeletons for Halloween.  I realize I am planning this a bit early but I saw them at Marshalls for $8.  They are pjs, so they will get more wear out of them and we'll just layer them down with thermals and other pjs for the big night of trick or treating.  Hopefully St Louis ward does a trunk or treat.  Here's to hopin right?  Cause we've got the outfits!
When I told Vanessa she was a skeleton and they were bones, she told me that she was scary!  I told her she wasn't scary, she's cute.  So then she told grandma "I'm a mountain, I'm no scary.  I'm cute!"  I guess mountain and skeleton sound kind of similar and could be confused.  They are both new things to her.

Things We've Been Up To

 Vanessa discovered this hammock and she loves it.  She wants to get in and spin all the time.  This morning we had this conversation as she was spinning.

Vanessa:  "I miss my daddy."

Me:  "I miss daddy too."

Vanessa:  "I no want go to church."

Me:  "You don't?"

Vanessa:  "No.  I want to go to the store."

Me: "The store?"

Vanessa: "No.  I want to go to Target."

Me:  "Target? What's at Target?"

Vanessa: "Grass."

Me: "oh."

 They both love their otter pops.  They melt slower here, which actually works in our favor.

 Benson makes a ginormous mess and I had to dump water all over the deck.  You can see his legs are all red from crawling through the red sugar water.

 I was totally excited to make goo.  I saw the idea on pinterest (my new love) and couldn't wait to try it.  The picture above is right after I poured the borax/water into the glue/water.  It immediately starts forming into a giant glob.  You pull it out and this is what you get.

 I think it's pretty sweet.

 We also helped grandma pick tomatoes out of the garden.  Vanessa helped pick a few and then decided she just wanted to have us hand them to her and she put them in the bucket.  Probably better, she grabbed a couple orange ones.  Benson sampled the tomatoes as well as the dirt.

 He only thought they were cool until his teeth popped them open and he got a taste.  He would spit it out pretty quick at that point.  But they must have looked really enticing because he tried like three or four.

Vanessa cracks me up all day long.  She is at the age where she just has funny, random things to say.  Lately, the monsters and the dinosaurs have been after her.  She also likes to growl at us and then tell us we are scared.  She LOVES all the attention she is getting from grandma and grandpa and cousins.  My mom has to put her to bed every night now, which isn't the worst thing in the world, until grandma isn't around..... But I guess we'll just deal with that later. 

Vanessa has started to look after her brother.  She still does get a little jealous occasionally but she definitely loves and cares about him.  Whenever we go anywhere, she always says "Benson come too."  There are certain toys that are Benson's and no one but her is allowed to take that toy from him.  And when he cries, if I don't get to him right away, she will walk over and rub his fuzzy little head and say "it's okay buddy."  If that doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what would.

Today she would run up to us, yelling "I'm gonna get you."  Then do a little tickle thing and we would scream "aaaahhh."  After doing this a dozen times, Benson started screaming with us and rubbing his hands down his temples.  Kind of like an oh-no motion.  Funny boy.

Vanessa went to a new nursery today with no problems, though she was definitely ready to go when I picked her up.  And Benson slept through 1 1/2 hours of church.  Needless to say, it was the most church I have listened to in a LONG time.

Benson still refuses to stand.  Not really sure what to do about that one.  He just doesn't use his legs in general but his arms are like freakin macho man.  Or michelin man, one of the two.  He has the funnest personality.  He loves to dance, clap, entertain, flirt, and just generally be happy.  Though he will always let us know when he is ticked.  I have also noticed lately that he prefers men (except I am still the favorite, ha ha).  He warms up to the guys way before he warms up to the ladies.  Benson loves to play in the sink and usually cries when I pull him away after being washed.  He is also starting to learn his animal sounds.  I don't think he knows any except dog, thanks to the neighbor's dog, but he will repeat them after us.  He is also saying "do" (as in dog, without the g) followed by "ru" (as in ruff without the ff).

I feel pretty lucky to have these kiddos.  Someone asked me their ages the other day and when I replied 2 and 1, they said I was brave.  I think what they really meant was crazy, but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I think they will totally love and look after each other as they grow up together.