Feeding the Geese

The weather here has been gorgeous lately. Ben has started getting very excited in his car seat when we drive by any pond or small body of water (usually at shopping centers or apartment complexes). So, on Monday we enjoyed an afternoon outside and went to feed some ducks. I think they were actually geese, but whatever. Ben loved it!

There were lots!

Throwing the bread.

Feeding the Geese

He Runs!

RMO Retreat

This past weekend all the missionaries on the Wichita staff were able to get away to Morning Star Ranch for 24 hours. We actually brought in a speaker and had childcare for the 4 kids. I actually held a Bible in my lap and listened to a speaker. It was very odd at first to not have a squirmy toddler to keep quiet :) There were definitely times I was completely distracted and looking out the window to see if my child was ok, but overall, I did hear what the speaker said and enjoyed it greatly. It was also great fun to just hang out with the other missionaries and enjoy each other. We are actually all pretty good friends, but we are usually working so just playing games and enjoying each other away from the city was fantastic. Ben had a great time too!

Hamming it up with his PBJ!

Playing games after the kids were in bed. There was lots of loud laughter!

Just hanging out before the session began.

"No, what are you doing to me?"
The water was freezing and I didn't bother bringing his swimsuit bc I wasn't planning to swim.

"Over there - I want to be out of the water over there!"

"Fine, I'll wave, but I'm not happy about it."

Saying hi to Jackson who was also not a fan of the cold water.

"Yeah! I got out! Now, go far far away Uncle Matt."

Denae was one of the babysitters. She loved Ben and he loved her. She was technically off duty during swim time, but he wanted to sit with her and she loved to hold him.

Ben asked Aunt Tina to read his books to him.

Getting strapped in to the fun line with Daddy.

Wishing he was big enough to play Human Foosball with all the grown-ups. Too bad he had to sit out with his preggo mommy.

My favorite part of the Fun Line video is all the cheering for Ben. We may not be related, but Ben's Aunts and Uncles here love him to pieces! We could not be more blessed.

Grandpa & Nana Visit

Grandpa and Nana are the first guests that Ben has actually remembered! They stayed in their 5th wheel, but met up with us each day. Ben quickly learned to say "Nana" and is still saying it! Grandpa was a little harder, but he says something vaguely resembling Grandpa. Ben was thrilled to see them each and every time and was sad to see them go.

Video Overview.



Warning - Picture Overload

We went to Exploration Place, a hands-on children's museum of sorts. Ben loved it!

Veterinarian Ben

Mini-Kansas. The train was Ben's favorite part.

Daddy and Grandpa had fun too!

Making a tornado.

Driving a combine.

Riding a cow.

Flying a plane.

Flying a helicopter.

Looking out from the castle.

Cooking.

Water table. He might could have spent the entire time there.

Puzzles.

Not a fan of riding this horse.

Singing with Grandpa and Nana.

Reading with Grandpa and Nana.

Building with Grandpa.

Talking with Nana.

Throwing to Grandpa and Nana.

18 Month Stats

Ben went to the pediatrician today for his 18 month check-up.
Weight: 24 lb - 25%
Height: 33 in - 60%
Head: 18.25 - 50%

This doctor appointment was sad and comical at the same time! The nurse called his name to go to the back and he spun around like he was in the biggest trouble. We walked into the room, the only room we have ever been into at the office and he freaked out. We took his clothes off and he was ok, but not too happy. The door opened and he squirmed in Ryan's arms desperately trying to get away. He didn't like the measurements at all - full body squirm and terror in his eyes. The doctor was no better even though he is a super nice man. Then came the shots nurse. She is the nicest lady in the world and Ben was so mad at her! Ben only wanted his Daddy to comfort him :( The nurse reached for the door to leave and Ben promptly waved and said "bye bye." He was thrilled to see her go. Poor traumatized kid!

Good News! He is no longer having reactions to cows milk. He is officially drinking whole milk, gobbling down yogurt and cheese. Woohoo! We are so excited that he has outgrown this and sooner than later.

Two other things he is doing these days:

• He waves and says "bye" to everything: the toilet flush, the bath water draining, each toy as he puts it away, the checker at the store, etc.
  
• He signs thank you without being prompted. It is cute every single time.
  
  
  Just for fun!
  
  

Wrong end, but good try.

Muscle Man

Ben loves riding on Ryan's back. They make lots of noise and share lots of laughs.

Changes At Our Church

My son loves music! During worship this morning, the worship leader stopped playing the keyboard for 10 seconds to go to the next song and Ben loudly broke the silence with "MO" (more). We also pass around a box of music/noise makers to allow all people to participate in worship. Ben began playing his maraca at least 30 seconds before the worship leader began playing. He was ready to get the party started!

Ryan and I have been a part of Christ the Victor Church, the most recent English-speaking
church plant, since we first moved to Wichita. The church had been meeting about two weeks before we came so we have been here since the beginning.

Recently, it has become very clear that we needed to revisit our vision and the mission of our church and shake things up a little. Our church has so many people coming that we never anticipated or really looked for. We have also gotten quite large and are full to capacity in the home in which we meet (35-40 people each Sunday).

As part of the changes, the leadership team changed. Ryan has been on the leadership team since it began. Another missionary Daren was also on the team from the beginning. I always gave Ryan my two cents about everything (I don't know that it always got back to the team though...ha) and I am sure Tina, Daren's wife, did the same. Tina and I are now officially on the team and two other members have resigned their positions. As two couples with some children have the privilege of having our team meetings over dinner in our homes while our two boys (Daren and Tina's son just turned 1) are strapped in their high chairs! It is definitely a different dynamic and one that I am excited about!

Our first big change under the new leadership team is to find a way to multiply our church. Unlike the status quo of churches today, our vision is to multiply. When we get too big, we multiply and have two churches. When those two churches get too big, they multiply and we have four churches. It is time for our church to multiply.

Tonight we had a church-wide meeting and it was fairly well attended! We talked to the church about our plan to multiply. I think some people were completely caught off guard (even though this has always been our plan) and some people were excited about a change. Now we just have to figure out how exactly to do all this! That is why I am telling you all this - to ask you to pray along with us and with our church that God speak clearly to us about where our church will meet (we have to be out of our current location on November 3 to allow a new missionary couple to join our staff) and how exactly we go about it all. We also are praying for more people from the community! We ultimately want to train indigenous leaders to take over the church and we will move on and start another church!

Ryan has also designed a fabulous new logo for all of the churches that we will plant from here on. All church planted (even some in other World Impact cities like LA) that commit to the vision of Christ the Victor will operate under this logo! He has also compiled what he is calling the Book of Shared Spirituality that is almost a handbook for starting a Christ the Victor Church. Ryan will be published! I think I am way more excited about this than he is. Once it is on Amazon, I will give you the link :) My husband is so incredibly talented!

Just some fun

We still have family play time every evening after dinner. Last night Ryan decided we needed another homemade gymboree. Ben thought it was the best! I just flinched and cringed the whole time.


Tonight, Ryan had to go back to work for a little while so Ben and I had family play time without daddy. Ben noticed something was missing! I haven't taken random pictures with Ben in a long time, so here is our mini-photo session for fun!

We have definitely entered a season of goofy looking pictures because this is what I get when I ask for a smile.

Smile for Mommy!

A bit more normal looking. Such a big boy!

Kissing Nate.
Sometimes he still points to himself when we ask him where his brother is.

Posing with Mommy!

Happy 18 Months

(More pictures at the bottom.)

I can't believe it. My baby is 1 1/2. I guess it is time to stop giving his age by months. I think I say this at ever milestone, but he is just growing up so fast. He has a huge personality (at home or familiar places, he is shy in public) and is loads of fun to be around. Now that we have naps back under control and he is back in the crib, we have been having a barrel of laughs every day. He finds himself highly entertaining which I find highly entertaining as well. As soon as we got the sleeping under control again his behavior has been fantastic. Here is a list of some things I have jotted down recently about him.

• If he spills his drink he gets the kitchen towel himself to clean it up.
• He will intentionally spill his drink just to get the towel.
  
• He loves tissues. He steals them when I'm not looking and blows his nose.
  
• He carries all things with a handle in the bend of his elbow (he spends too much time with mommy who likes to carry cute bags!).
  
• He doesn't like to stay dirty. He will try to flick or wipe things off his hands and feet if it gets there. At the same time he loves playing in the dirt and the water.
  
• He loves to wear socks and shoes. He will bring us a pair of socks and shoes (usually a matching pair) and ask to have them put on. He tried to do it himself, but doesn't get close yet.
• He is beginning to try to take off his clothes on his own. Thankfully, he waits until prompted.
• He likes to help with EVERYTHING! He helps unload the dishwasher, (un)fold the laundry, unload the groceries from the bags, bring ingredients from the frig or pantry to the counter, etc. He gets one at a time and says "more" until we are done.
• If he doesn't want to try to say a word he gives us the same sound every time. It is not a real word so I wont attempt to spell it, but it always sounds the same.
• He has started to makes sounds for things, his cars go vroom, etc.
• He likes us to come with him sometimes. He grabs a fist full of our clothes mostly but sometimes he will settle for our finger.
  
• He can hear anything! He comes running when he hears me pull back the shower curtain even though the door is closed. He looks for Ryan when he hears the key in the lock. He definitely didn't get that from his father - ha!
• As you saw in the video, he is learning to kick.
  
• He is not shy if someone offers him food. Our ladies Bible Study has 6 women and 4 little ones and he goes from mom to mom to get the snack that they have brought for their child, always signing please or saying "more." Drives me crazy :)
• He is very good at following directions. I can point to something across the room and he will follow my finger and go get it. He most always does as he has been asked.
  
• He is about 50/50 at holding my hand in public. If he doesn't want to hold my hand he lays himself out flat in the middle of the aisle. Not cool! At least he generally doesn't scream, so we don't draw attention to ourselves. He will get up when I use my mommy voice and tell him to do so and then he resigns to losing the freedom to walk and is carried or put in the cart.
  

Words - He has really added a lot of words.

• uh oh - He says this for every single little thing. The doorbell rings and he says uh oh. He throws sometime and says uh oh. We hear it all day long.
  
• up - When he wants to be held he is persistent.
• dat (that) - Another one we hear all day long. He wants a name for everything.
  
• more - He wants more of anything and everything. He uses "more" instead of "again" if he wants to repeat something fun. He also says it is he actually wants more of something.
  
• oh - "Ben, we need to put that away now." "OH!" "Ben, did you see that school bus drive by?" "OH!" Everything is "oh!" and he says it like he is hearing something new and gets it for the first time.
  
• ah nun (all done) - I haven't heard this one recently, but he has said it a few times. He has only said it when he wasn't supposed to be doing something and I called his name and he responded with "ah nun." Yes son, you are all done misbehaving!
  
• no - He tells on himself! He doesn't tell me no, but I know when he is doing something wrong because he starts saying "no no no" and then continues on with the unacceptable behavior. It is helpful when I am not looking - I know to come find out what mischief he has gotten himself into.
• bye bye - Very cute and sweet. He will wave first and then wait until the person isn't looking and then say "bye bye."
• nite nite - He changes his tone when he says this into such a little baby voice. Melts our hearts.
• good - Sometimes if you ask him how he is doing he will respond with "good" and nod his head.
• out - he loves going outside, especially to play in the backyard. He will say "out" about 2.7 millions times and bring our shoes to us insisting we go. If we say "out" he goes to his room to get his shoes.
  
• dog - He finds dogs everywhere. He saw a dog on a lady's shirt in a store and loudly repeated the word and pointed. He also sees dogs that I don't see. I think he just likes saying the word sometimes.
  
• hi - He reserves this one for when he is really feeling generous about giving a greeting.
• hot - This is his most recent addition. He will say "hot" about his morning oatmeal and then blow on it through his nose. Rarely he will blow through his mouth, but he has definitely mastered blowing with his nose - gross.

Lots of little kids to play with.

We went to a 1 year old bday party. He had Cheetos and watermellon for dinner and loved it. It was his first time to have a Cheeto and he was addicted at first bite. I tried to get an orange finger picture, but didn't have any luck.

He sits in a booster seat at the table now!
I asked him to smile for me.

A recent family trip to the park.

The park was surprisingly empty, so he had to make friends with the statue kids.