I Love New York! - Day 1

Preface: Around the beginning of April, Casey surprised me with a trip to New York City. When I say surprise, I mean a complete surprise. I found out a few days before we left and he only told me because he didn't think he could pack for Benson, Weston, and me without me knowing. Good idea on his part. Unfortunately, Weston had just turned 2, so we left him with Jason and Ashley, but as always, I don't think he even missed us. Casey was worried twice that he would have to cancel our trip though because Benson got a stuffy nose, so Casey was worried he had gotten RSV from Spencer (his cousin). Then, the night before we left, Benson had a REALLY bad gas bubble (which we didn't know at the time, but that was our conclusion) and was crying almost non-stop from 8pm-3am. It all worked out though and we were off. Our friends, the Kings, were in New Jersey for Richard's work, and they were nice enough to let us stay with them and show us around. We had a blast! I think the only bad decisions we made pertained to some of our dining choices. I'm warning you now that I'm splitting this up into 3 days and there are a lot of pictures, but what is the point in taking pictures if you can't share them, right? :)

Day 1: We spent a lot of time walking around. We walked all along 5th Avenue and Broadway, saw a lot of central park, went into the huge Toys 'R Us store (they have a ferris wheel inside it), saw where they tape the Letterman Show, and made our first bad food decision by eating at Applebee's out of desperation. Lame, I know. Here are my favorite pics.

Benson's first plane ride. He was awesome and slept almost the whole time.

Our first subway ride
First stop: The Empire State Building. This is the view from the top.

You can't go to NYC and not get a hotdog from one of the street vendors. These nice men hooked us up.

I'm so glad we went in the spring. There were flowers everywhere.

I saw my first mime

Central Park. It is absolutely gorgeous in the spring.

Chillin' out in Central Park

Richard playing with his kids, Kaley and Tyler.

This was "Sexy" according to his belt buckle. We both took pictures with him, but he insisted Casey take one with him :) Sidenote, this guy was one of about 20-30 rollerskaters skating to music and a lot of them were really good.

The temple

Times Square

Casey with New York's finest

More Time Square

Macy's was having their annual flower show while we were there and their window displays were amazingly beautiful.

Me with the flowers in Macy's

Benson hanging out with Casey after our long day.

Easter

Easter for us was a little different this year. Mainly because we didn't celebrate with any family all day long. Charity was out of town and Spencer had RSV, so we didn't get to hang out with J and Ashley either. It started out great watching conference though. I really enjoy conference and I felt like so many of the talks applied to me since there was a recurring theme of family and raising children. Afterwards we had a little egg hunt with Weston, but it was a chilly, blustery day, so we quickly headed inside. We had a traditional Easter dinner that night and then enjoyed time as a family. I love special occasions and I'm especially grateful for this one that focuses on the love of our Savior and the sacrifice that he made for us.

Weston hunting for eggs with a little help from Casey

1 Month

Benson turned 1 month on April 5. We just love him to death and it is a lot of fun having two kids. These are a few of the things he was doing:

*Really likes his hands
*Started smiling
*Eats about every 3 hours
*Loves getting his diaper changed
*He's a really good baby. He hardly every cries and just sits there quietly in his rocker.
*Got his first injury from Weston. Weston wanted to play and "tackled" him when I was out of the room. Unfortunately, Benson was face down, so his nose got a little bruised :(
*We call him Benson Bear sometimes.

Our little Benson Burrito. He liked to be all wrapped up for a little while, but not so much anymore (there is about a 3 in space between his face and the blanket).

Benson's first bath. He even got splashed by Weston and didn't mind. First ride in a swing

Chugga, Chugga, Two, Two

Weston turned 2 in March and it seems like he went from a baby to a little boy over night. He has so much personality and it continues to grow day by day. We just love watching him grow and he makes us feel so lucky to be his parents. These are some of the things he is doing and that we love about him:

*LOVES monster trucks, cars, bikes, sports, trains, and getting really dirty. He is all boy!
*Is talking a lot more and we love to hear him say nanna (banana), sinosaur (dinosaur), ereal (cereal), etc. (he doesn't say them like that anymore, but lets just pretend that I wrote this on time ;) )
*Runs REALLY fast. If he gets a head start, it is hard to catch up to him sometimes.
*Loves his Daddy more than anyone. He gets so excited when Casey gets home from work, so they can play.
*He imitates whatever sport we are watching on TV.
*Knows all his colors, most of his numbers in order to "10", and is learning a lot of his alphabet. "4" is his favorite number and "Y" is his favorite letter (I wonder why that is :) ).
*Still takes 1 nap a day.
*We got rid of his pacifier the day he turned two. We just went cold turkey and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
*Loves to pray and says "A-men" really loud at the end.
*His favorite songs are "Popcorn Popping" (he can do all the hand motions), "I Am a Child of God," and "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam". (Instead of "Beam" he says, "Beep" though :) )
*His favorite books are "Curious George," "If You Give a Moose a Muffin," and "Go! Dog, Go!"
*Really likes to sing the BYU fight song and goes around saying, "B-Y-U! Gooooooo Cougars!"

Weston loves to watch Monster Trucks on Youtube and play with his Monster Truck at the same time.

Weston copying one of my looks that I give him, except his is cuter :)

He is always doing silly stuff to make us smile.

Mr. Cool

Reading the ESPN magazine with Daddy. He thinks it is his whenever it comes in the mail :)

He is our big helper and especially loves to do whatever Casey or the boys are doing.

Helping Morris with Jason and Ashley's playset.

Clean Up

We have two bins in our home for holding all of Weston's toys. Every other day or so Weston decides to dump all of his toys out of the bin, at which point we have him "clean up" the toys, and thank him when he's finished.

This past week we were in Southern California visiting family. I was trying to get Weston occupied, so I took him to the toys. There were 4 bins with toys, and one of the bins held 15 or so cars. Weston loves cars. I dumped out the cars from the bin to facilitate Weston playing, but he was quick to correct me. "HEY!!!, clean up daddy, clean up!" I was shocked and amused, but I thought he would just start playing with the cars, however, he just stared at me for a few seconds before deciding to remind me, "clean up".

I picked up the cars and put them back in the bin, while he supervised. Then he thanked me and turned around and started playing with other toys.

This is an unrelated picture of Weston. Jenna cut a hole in the diaper package for the reward points thing, and Weston decided to wear it like a helmet. He did a few laps before we could figure out how exactly he was seeing.

Benson's Blessing

Benson Jay Tanner was blessed on March 28. Casey did a wonderful job and we still feel extremely blessed that he is a member of our family. Just as a side note, Benson was named after two great men: Ezra Taft Benson (he was a prophet of our church) and Casey's Uncle Morris (Jay is his middle name). We picked out his middle name first because Uncle Morris has been such a great example to us of generosity and kindness (Elder Holland is in their ward in Midway, UT and he left a message on their machine that said that Morris was the "greatest guy since time began.") Plus, he is partly responsible for Casey and I getting together so that has to count for something as well :) Anyways, Benson is such a good baby and we just love him tons! Thanks to everyone that came or participated. We appreciate all the love and support!

Everyone that cameBenson with his namesake, Uncle Morris.Our happy family Benson in his blessing outfit. He was a little worn out after his big day :)

Having a Ball

Weston had his second birthday party a few weeks after Benson was born. I can't beleive my little man is 2! He is getting so big and I don't know where the time went. For his birthday we had a ball themed party at the park. It was pretty much all things Weston! Food, family, friends, the park, and balls! He could not have been happier. We planned to have Benson's blessing the same weekend, so my parents and Casey's mom were there to make it even better. Thanks to everyone that came and for all Weston's new stuff! He now has the best ball collection :)

The sweet stuff. I made a football cake and basketball, soccer, and baseball cupcakes.

The very happy Birthday Boy "Papa" making sure the kiddos didn't wander into the street

It was a nice relaxing time just hanging out with friends and family

Weston blowing out his candles. We practiced for his big day and he did great!

Enjoying his cupcake
We even had a party crasher. This kid was one of the guests at the party next to us, but the more the merrier, right? :) We let him have some cake.

Opening presents. More Monster Trucks from Mom and Dad.

Everyone playing with the toys afterwards

Grandma's Visit

At the end of March, Casey's mom came to visit and help me out. Weston again enjoyed being read to and going on a lot of walks. He definately loved all the attention and I appreciated having her here and all the help she provided. I was feeling more up to it, so we got to go out a little more which was nice too.

At the playground. Weston really likes to swing.

While Weston was swinging, a little girl asked me to babysit her two stuffed animals. It was kind of funny, but I was glad to help :)
After a great lunch at the Boudin Bakery with Casey (one of my favorites), Casey's mom took Weston on a train ride. He absolutely loved it! They are offering free train rides one day a month for the summer, so we'll be taking advantage of that.

Brotherly Love

Weston loves his brother and is always smothering him with hugs and kisses (literally) :) He has adjusted to having a baby brother pretty well, but he can be a bit rough sometimes. We figure it will just make Benson tougher. Anyways, we didn't want Weston to feel left out with all the attention Benson was getting being the new baby, so we got Weston a special present for when we came home from the hospital. He liked his new Monster Truck better than his book, but that was to be expected :) Weston and Benson got Big Brother/Little Brother shirts too, so of course we had to take pictures. Weston got his shirt from Casey's mom and Benson got one from both my Mom and Charity. I just love them!

Weston and his presents

Unfortunately, Weston does not like to smile for pictures, so this is the best I could get :)
Our little Benson. We took these pictures around his 2 week mark and he weighed in at 9lbs 2oz. His doctor was very happy and we're just so happy to have him in our family!

Mama's Visit

A few days after I had Benson, my mom came to visit. She read Weston books, took him on walks, and I got to take a few naps. It was nice to have her here and we even got to celebrate her Birthday with her, which was fun. Towards the end of her visit, my Dad ended up needing to come near here for work, so we got to see him too and they drove home together. We also went with the Squeeze Inn with them, which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. I have now been to three. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit. We love you!

"Mama" reading books to Weston Our visit to the Squeeze Inn

They are known for the crispy cheese around their burgers. It was pretty good, but I didn't think it was worth the $7 for the burger.

Vote for Casey

Before I start updating about all the fun we've been having lately, I want to announce that Casey is running for the Placer County Auditor-Controller position.

The election is June 8, so we are counting down the days and hoping and praying for a win.

If you want to know more about the position and why he is running, see the articles about Casey that have been in the local media, or if you would like to make a donation, you can visit his campaign website. You can also show your support by becoming a fan on his campaign facebook page.

If you live in the county or have family or friends here, please have them vote for Casey.

Every vote counts :)

My 3 Boys

Just a few pictures of my 3 handsome boys the day after Benson came home.

The morning after. Weston found some graham crackers we had brought home from the hospital and decided to have a morning snack.

Relaxing and watching some TV. Aren't they cute? They both just love their Daddy :)

Here's the story...of a baby named Benson

Everything started the night of my birthday, March 4th. I thought my water was leaking, but I knew it hadn't broke since I already experienced that with Weston. I wasn't having any contractions so we decided to hold off on going to the hospital because I did not want to be sent home. Around 5:30am on March 5th I was having contractions every 30 minutes and was spotting, but by the time I woke up, they were gone :(

Around 10:30 they started up again, but were really irregular, but I thought we should go to the hospital, so Casey came home from work, Jason came and picked up Weston and we were off. I got checked in and was dilated to a 4/5, but they said my water hadn't leaked or broke, so they sent me home to walk for 2 hours. I couldn't believe it. I thought being dilated to a 4 was shoe-in for admission, and I was almost a 5, but no go. Casey and I went to In-N-Out for lunch, then home, and I walked around our living room and kitchen (it forms a circle) for 2 hours. I also ate some pineapple because I've read before that it might help :)

Around 2:30pm we left for the hospital again. I had been having contractions every 5-6 minutes while I was walking, but on the drive back, they had stopped. I was sure they were going to send me home. We checked in again, I was put in a room to be checked, and right after they had hooked up the equipment to monitor the baby I had a huge contraction and my water broke, which means automatic admission. Thank goodness! My labor and delivery nurse (Liberty) came and took me to my room around 4pm and asked if I wanted to have a doctor or midwife to deliver Benson, and I opted for a midwife because I had heard such good things. My midwife's name was Morning Waters. Doesn't that just seem to fit her profession? I thought so. Then it was time to talk epidural. The nurse and midwife were both saying I could get it whenever I wanted (and thought I should get it soon), but I said that I wanted to wait as long as possible. They said that they would see how much I was dilated and then I could decide after that. By this time (4:30ish), I was dilated to a 7 and I thought that was good enough, so the anesthesiologist came and gave me my epidural (5ish) and I was in heaven. My nurse told me to take a nap for an hour and then they would come back and I would start pushing because she was pretty sure I would be ready by then.

At 6pm the nurse came to check me and said I was dilated to a 10, so she went to get the midwife. The midwife checked me again and said it was time, so they got everything all set up. Around 6:25pm I started pushing. I pushed 3 times and he was born at 6:31pm. This whole experience was night and day compared to Weston. Quick, easy, and drama-free. I loved my labor and delivery nurse, Liberty, and my midwife was great too! I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I felt great and we felt so blessed to have a healthy little boy with us in the room until we left the next day.

Afterwards, we got set up in my new room, Charity brought us dinner, and Jason brought Weston to meet his new brother. Weston was more interested in the room than his brother and was more than happy to leave with Jason afterwards. He just waved goodbye to us and left. He loves staying with Jason and Ashley and being able to play with Paisley all day long and we love that he loves it there :) I felt like I could have left that night, but I was definately ready by the next morning. Unfortunately, they didn't want us leaving until Benson had been there a full 24 hours. Casey was a little antsy and bored out of his mind all day, but it helped that our friends, the Nartkers, came to bring us lunch, that we had ESPN, and that we had wireless. We just watched basketball all day long, watched the baby episode of The Office, and checked our email. Our nurse was very prompt about getting us out at 6:31, which was nice. From the hospital we went to go pick up Weston, had dinner at Jason and Ashley's, then it was home to enjoy being a family of four and we couldn't be happier :)

Introducing...

Benson Jay Tanner

March 5, 2010

6:31pm

7lbs 14oz*

21in*

We're all doing great and enjoying the new addition to our family!

*Both his weight and height were exactly the same as Weston.