Couple of Pictures

In recent weeks I have posted many pictures on Instagram and Facebook that I would love to share here as well! 

 

Bennett taking his dog through Home Depot. 

Nathan at the bus stop on one of our warmer days! I often forget how skinny his little legs are until shorts weather comes around!  I'm not sure what Libby is doing in the background.

Nathan and Bennett received six tickets to a Phillies game (another blog post I have not finished yet).  We told Nathan he could invite a friend and he decided on his friend-who is a girl, Reese.  The tickets are in the frame and Nathan decided to type and print all the information out for his friend, the date, time, section and even the exact seat numbers in which they will be sitting!  How adorable is that? 

 Bennett has always taken an interest in golfing.  My mom once bought him plastic clubs in the thrift store for which he begged.  Despite costing $5 at the thrift store for what were probably $1 clubs, we got our moneys worth out of them!  While yard saling a couple weeks ago I could not resist this little golf bag with three small golf clubs! He was and is so excited that it is a "real golf bag, just like Daddy's"  We just could not stop watching him pick up the bag and put it down, pulling the clubs in and out and hitting the ping pong balls.  It was so cute!!  I hope to get a couple more clubs and I hope that he and Nathan can both golf with Mark at some point! 

One of my favorites ever of the two of them!! 

 

Nathan's new sunglasses.  He was feeling too old for his Mickey sunglasses and was ready to move on to more mature shades!  CVS $4.99 sunglasses and he is stylin!  He is such a cutie! 

Nathan and Bennett at my niece, Margaret's softball game! 

A birthday gift we made for Miss Julia!  We did bubble paint artwork, then made butterflies from the artwork and made a little collage.  (I've begun combining Pinterest projects-I may need an intervention lol).  Below is the messy process! 

And finally, a friend gave me a bag of hand-me-down clothes for the boys.  In the bag was the warm up suit (it also has matching shorts).  My friend told me that this was her son's favorite outfit and he would be devastated if he knew she was passing it on to someone else.  Without being told this, it is the one thing that Nathan pulled out of the bag and is OBSESSED with wearing.  Honestly, he is obsessed with the jacket, questions if they are clean, should he wear the pants or shorts?  Is the collar laying right? When he got on the bus the bus driver said, "Nathan, love your outfit!" It is so funny.  It cracks me up that a child who already stands out, is drawn to wear and do things that make him stand out more!!   





Bennett in his rocket ship which Aunt Kate and Uncle Jon gave him for his birthday!
 
And the pictures below need no explanation!

 

Getting Married!

My handsome nephew got married on Friday!  Aside from making me feel old (He was born when I was in college!), being weepy at this big step in his life and feeling nostalgic about Mark and I’s wedding, I couldn’t help but think about our boys.  I guess I am selfish for thinking of our family during Luke and Izzy’s moment and much to Mark’s dismay, I often let my mind wonder.   As I saw Luke and his best man, his younger brother, Jacob standing up in front of the church, I couldn’t help but think of Nathan and Bennett.   I am happy for my sister, her family and Luke and Izzy.  I was not sad or jealous but I can just picture Nathan and Bennett in front of the church.  As Bennett gets a little older the three years between them seems to shrink and they have so much fun together.  I am so happy that they have each other although Libby gets a little jealous that they have each other, a same gender sibling with similar interests.  Anyway, I digress, my point is that they deserve to grow up, fall in love and get married!  Mark and I deserve to share this rite of passage with our boys…..and I think we will!  I think we will find a cure for our boys.

Its happening!

Nathan has never said too much about being different or looking different.  At Easter when we played a game everyone had to share an embarrassing moment.  As the extended family, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins sat around, Nathan said his most embarrassing moment was when someone in a store was staring at him because he looks different.  He wasn't necessarily upset about it but it was an awkward moment.  Recently he started asking when he will start losing teeth.  He is finishing first grade so most of his peers have lost several teeth by now.  He expressed sadness and this is one of the first times he seemed to compare himself to his peers.  Then today it was caused by something completely unexpected.  He was looking at a kids cookbook and there is a clipart image of a little boy, cartoon style, with hair of course.  Nathan started getting teary and said that he misses having bangs.  He tried so hard not to cry, tried so hard to stuff it back in and would not sit and snuggle with me so that we could talk.  all he would say is that he remembers having hair on his forehead and he is sad that he no longer has bangs.  ugghh, it broke my heart.  He is such a sweetie!  I love him so much, even more reason to fight for a cure so that I do not have to tell him that he will never have bangs. 

 

I knew this day would come for Nathan where it would start to bother him that he is different.  Even though we expect things, it doesn't make them any easier.  So then I bought a .99 app on my phone that he has been wanting.  Fabulous parenting right?  Oh well.  The difficult part with kids is encouraging them to talk about things without putting ideas, thoughts or feelings in their head that are not there yet.  It's always a fine line. 

Happy Birthday Miss Julia!

Today is Miss Julia's 17th Birthday!  Seventeen years old and she has already made such a difference in the world!  Julia learned about Progeria about a year and a half ago and decided to complete a school paper on the topic.  Realizing we were close she tried to reach us to come for an interview/visit.  Despite my avoidance (bc lets face it, its not fun to talk about Progeria) she would not give up and eventually tracked us down.  She came for a visit and we thought that would be the end of it but but Julila is much different than other kids her age and many adults.  She immediately took action, raising funds with bake sales, several parties (including her own sixteenth birthday), selling hair ties and more.  In addition she has become a part of our family. 

The kids adore her and she is an awesome role model for Libby!  Although she came on board for the boys she has been awesome with Libby, often giving her the extra attention she needs because the boys get so much attention.  So for Miss Julia's birthday.......her family and our family would be thrilled if you would consider walking with us for a cure for Progeria at the school fundraiser she organized completely on her own! 

When:  May 11, 2013 from 9am to 12:30pm

Where: William Penn Charter School

Click here to Register

Adults 17 and up: $15,

Age 13-17: $10

Ages 2-12: $8

 

We hope to see you there!  And Happy Birthday Miss Julia!