Tu-Tu Cute at age Two!

As I've said before...

She can be TOO much,

and quite often a TOOT,

but our little ballerina

is TU-TU cute!

Being August in South Texas, our ballerina party was Hot, Hot, Hot! So our birthday girl sported a tutu swimsuit for the festivities.

She had lots of fun and we were so happy to share her big day with our friends and family!

Kids, both big and small had a blast on the inflatable water slide we were lucky to borrow from our friends.

There was lots of splishing and splashing,

There was lots of getting Daddy!

Our birthday girl would strike a pose,

And give Daddy kisses on the nose.

The pinata took longer to make, than to break

And what is a party without some CUPCAKES?

Aubree's cupcake wore a tutu

And the rice krispie wands were fun to chew.

Lots of presents and lots of pink,

Made this very special birthday complete!

Brock goes to Kindergarten!

Well, I didn't intend on taking a summer vacation, but apparently I did...from blogging! I'm trying to get back. I love the blogs and the memories I can read later. We have lots to catch you up on, but the BIG NEWS for the day is Brock completed his first day of KINDERGARTEN!!






Brock doesn't necessarily handle change well, so I worried a little how he would transition from daycare to Kindergarten. I think the one who doesn't handle the change is actually ME. He did great. Last Thursday we went to meet his teacher. She's a quite adorable thing. Definitely fits my sterotype of a Kindergarten teacher. (All in a good way!) I was also quite pleased to know she won the ExCEL award last year. (Video) (Article) That's VERY COOL!

I began fighting the tears Thursday. Meet the teacher night was not so bad, but when we had to write Love Notes to our kids from Mommy & Daddy, the tears started welping up in my eyes! I made it through and then had to face today. The first day I send my first born off to Kindergarten! I don't quite understand why it was so hard. I've been taking Brock to "school" since he was 8-weeks old. It's not like we've been together day in and day out. However, since he will be going to school in Tom's district, it's actually quite a ways away from my office. I think that is part of the anxiety. I feel like I'm lightyears away! Today was probably the exception, but we left the house at 6:35. Got to Arlon Seay Elementary around 7. Left Brock at 7:20. I then headed towards work with Aubree. (Daycare is right across the street from my office.) I arrived at daycare at 9:05!!!! The first day of school traffic, plus I finding out there was a pretty bad accident I never saw, ended up in quite a long trip! I left work at 2 in order to pick up Aubree, then head back out to get Brock. Without traffic (and the quick stop at daycare), it's about an hour from my office.

Brock was all smiles when I picked him up. He had a great day! I had to pry a lot of information out of him; he wasn't that concerned over the milestone he had accomplished. I, on the other hand, am SO PROUD of my big kindergartener, but SO SAD that the time flies so fast. I truly can't believe it.

Tales of a (nearly) Two-Year Old Princess?

Well, if I didn't have a husband and son, this blog would probably be filled with amazing stories about a little princess named Aubree and her day-to-day dramatic moments! However, we'll keep the Benich Family as the blog title and just thrill you with these little antics from time to time.

I'm always talking about how high maintenance Aubree is. I also tell people all the time you have to experience Aubree. I can't explain her. They generally want to know what I mean by that. It's very hard to articulate, so how about a couple stories?

Wednesday:
I'm on the search for a dress she can wear in her pictures this weekend. I went to two places before picking her up from school so I wouldn't put myself through the torture of shopping with a nearly 2-year old. I found a dress but they didn't have her size...but another store did. The other store was closer to the house so I went to go pick her up and then go shopping, mentally preparing myself for a challenge.
I was SHOCKED!! With her baby in one arm, and thumb in mouth, she trotted behind me all through the store, staying close, not getting into anything, and periodically saying "Aubee's dress?" It can quite possibly be described as a fun and very cute experience!! Since she was so good, I decided to roll the dice and go to another store in the same shopping mall. Another success! I picked her up at that point so we could go back to the car faster than her two little legs would get us there. As soon as we were in sight of the parking log, she started SCREAMING and KICKING her legs! She threw a holy fit. The princess LIKES TO SHOP!! Oh Daddy! You're going to be in trouble! :-)

Thursday:
I'm still in meetings at work when I get a phone call from the daycare around 5:30. When it starts with "don't panic", you know it's going to be good! She had fallen and hit her head. They said I might want to take a look, she could possible need a stitch as the wound appeared to be split and unsure how deep it was. After I thought about her well being, the next thought was: PICTURES!! I was imagining a huge bruise smack dab on her forehead for her 2-year, and family pictures. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was on the back of her head, and upon inspecting the area with a flash light (it was hard to tell in the midst of her dark hair), did not appear to need any care other than some TLC from mommy and daddy. She did have a very large goose egg though! Well, you might be thinking "poor baby!". I was too. Until I read the incident report. It stated that Aubree was throwing a fit because she didn't get something she wanted, so she threw herself at the floor, hitting the cubby on the way down. Oh yes, now we're talking about our little Aubree!

Little Fishy

When Brock first began swim lessons, he refused to put his head in the water, some days refused to get IN the water, and definitely would not jump in without being held under the arms and with strict instructions that he wouldn't go under.

I'm ridiculously excited to say this summer it all sank in...no pun intended! ;-)

He swam the length of the pool (at school...not a full size), TWICE!




Then, he jumped in and swam to the side!



I'm SO PROUD of my little Fish!!

Pre-K Graduation

A couple weeks ago (yes, I'm a little behind), Brock officially summed up his 5 years at Bright Ideas with the Kindergarten and Pre-K Graduation ceremony! Since Brock will be attending Kindergarten in the public schools, this was his last program at Bright Ideas. I remember vividly the day he started. He was the youngest, and smallest kid in the whole school! It was April 18, 2005. He was 8 weeks old. Now he is nearly the tallest child in school and only has a few short weeks left in a school which will be in my heart forever.

First In, First Out!

Nearly a full five years ago, this little tooth came in! (August, 2005) Look closely! It's the bottom right...you can barely see the white popping through the gums.

Then, on June 13, 2010, that same little tooth was the first one to fall out!

After over a week with a "wiggly" tooth, Brock lost his first tooth this weekend!! He was eating his sandwich when all of a sudden, he told Dad that his tooth fell out! No pulling, no tears, just an excited boy who then got to look forward to the arrival of the tooth fairy!

(His little tooth is sitting on the "T" in this picture.

All tucked in and ready for the tooth fairy!

And waiting.

Trying "hard" to fall asleep.

I had spent the afternoon trying to prepare myself for the questions he might ask. How does the tooth fairy get in the house? What does she do with the teeth? But instead, he asked: "Mom, is the tooth fairy quiet?" I just giggled quietly and told him that yes, the tooth fairy is quiet. He'll never know she was there! And sure enough...he never knew.

Lost and Found

This weekend was quite exciting and emotional! Tom and I tease our poor puppy dog relentlessly about "getting rid of him". Of course we'd NEVER do it, but some days it seems our constant on-the-go family could "go" easier without always making dog arrangements. Well, this weekend we were reminded just how much he means to us...and mostly, me!

On Saturday, Sarge got out of the dog run. You see, our yard is not fenced in, but there is a decent size dog run fenced in on the side of the house. Deer were in the back of the property, eating their nightly dinner. As Sarge emerged from the dog run, he BOLTED into the woods after the deer. I didn't expect him to return immediately, but I did expect him to come trotting up again that night after he had exhausted from deer chasing.
Brock was pretty upset Saturday and I kept telling him Sarge was off meeting new friends and would return soon. We went to bed...without a sign of Sarge. I woke up around 2:30 that morning and went to the back porch...TOTALLY expecting to see him. No Sarge. At that point, my stomach sunk for the fist time and I really started to imagine the worst. I went to bed, cried myself to sleep, and woke up again around 6. I went to the back door again. No Sarge. By this point, I was so sad I would tear up instantly if I thought about him.
I was stunned with how much it affected me. However, when I started thinking about it, Sarge is 10 years old. I'm 31. I've had him nearly a THIRD of my life! I had him before I was married. I've had him twice as long as Brock. He is definitely a big part of my life.

On Sunday, Tom and his brother went into the greenbelt for nearly an hour searching for him. No Sarge. While at the park with the kids, I left my sister-in-law & mother-in-law with the kids and walked a good while into the greenbelt on a trail. Unfortunately, after 15-20 minutes, a rattle snake crossed my path and I immediately turned around!!!

Sunday night rolls around. No Sarge.
Monday morning we go put up posters...knowing, if he's alive, our best chances are that someone kind took him in. Monday afternoon we receive THE CALL!! Someone claimed to have him!
I went to pick him up and was so happy and relieved to see it was him, indeed! The family had found him Saturday. That warmed my heart, knowing he didn't spend a night out alone in the woods. They had 5 dogs, so I know he was in good hands. The crazy thing is...they are not even a quarter mile from our house. He was one street across from us on the cul-de-sac. Thank goodness for great neighbors!

Thank you Lord! And Thank You everyone who prayed for him and thought of us!

Our family is once again, complete!

But Sarge...please watch the deer from the INSIDE from now on...not up close and personal!!