Too Cool for School!!!

A lot of "school" updates have happened at the Peelle household in the last couple months. First and foremost Bennett has recently started daycare. He is doing so well and thriving. He comes home with "art work" and "homework" on a daily basis. Although I do miss him, I think he was ready to play, learn and be with other kids. His vocabulary has nearly tripled in the short time he was there. Graham and I have decided that by the time he starts first grade he will likely be smarter than us.


Secondly, I will be starting a full time Masters program here in a couple weeks. The coursework has already begun but classes begin June 2nd. I know this next year will be extremely busy between Graham's crazy schedule and my school work. I am in the initial steps of beginning my thesis. I meet with my advisor next week to discuss some options. I am very anxious as well as excited.

Bennett "acting" cool.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Graham and Bennett sure made the entire weekend extra special. I woke up with flowers and cards before we headed to brunch. After brunch we did some much needed shopping and ran a couple errands. I also received a very special Mother's day gift from my two favorite boys. The evening ended with an impromptu dinner with Audrey and her sister.

Mother's Day is always a bittersweet day for me. I have such wonderful memories of my mom and I am reminded of those even more on Mother's day. I am so grateful and thankful for all the times we shared together and I take pleasure in knowing we have an angel watching over us. I am sure would have been a wonderful grandmother and loved to see her daughters as mothers. I try to keep the memories as fresh as possible and as we grow as a family to pass down the traditions and passions that my mom gave us.

I am also so thankful for Marilyn, my mother-in-law. She is a wonderful women who loves our family. Her support and excitement are absolutely wonderful. It is a great reminder to me that even though my mom isn't with us, I have a wonderful mother-in-law and that is a lot to be grateful for. I am also thankful for Audrey. She is a great friend and a wonderful person. It is so great knowing that your father has someone to look out for him.

I love being a mother to Bennett. Each day is something new and often times challenging, but I get so much pleasure out of watching this little boy. I know that without the memories that I have from my mom and without the guidance and support from Marilyn and Audrey I wouldn't be the mom that I am. So just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day!

Here are a few pictures from this past week. I also thought I would throw in a couple pictures of Bailey and Bauer. We haven't forgotten about the dogs. The get a lot less attention these days but Bennett is making up for it in dog biscuits.

Oh Boy!!!

I am guessing Bennett doesn't like how I have the house organized. We have been home for about two hours. In the meantime I have found my shoes (flip flops) in the dishwasher, spices in the laundry basket, Tupperware under the kitchen table, colander in the dogs' crate and my coat in the pantry.

I am guessing he thinks his organization makes more sense...

So cute I just had to share....

I haven't been able to figure out why sometimes Bennett insists on crawling head first out the door instead of stepping down. After watching him do it I realized he is mimicing the dogs.

Bauer is finally coming around...

Most of you know our dogs mean the world to us. When I was pregnant, my biggest fear was the dogs not getting along with Bennett. I even joked that if they didn't get along Graham and Bennett would have to move out.

We actually thought Bailey would have the hardest time adjusting to Bennett but over the last year Bailey and Bennett are buddies. Bauer on the other hand is intimidated by him.

However, Bennett has found away to win over Bauer's heart...through his belly.

Bennett took advantage of the pantry door being left opened. The first thing he goes for is the dog bones.

The dogs here the dog bone box and come running.

Bauer was so quick I didn't get a chance to take a picture but he is off enjoying his dog bone. Bailey is sitting pretty eagerly awaiting her dog bone.

Let the tantrum begin... After I told Bennett that was enough and the dogs had had enough dog bones he went into meltdown mode. I try not to laugh but that face is just too cute.

We take the dogs to the vet here in a couple weeks for their annual check-up. I am eager to see how much weight they have gained. Between Bennett sneaking into the pantry and feeding them dog bones and Bennett sneaking them little bites of his dinner I am sure they have put on a few pounds this year.

Stay tuned for some videos and pictures of Bennett and the dogs playing tug-of-war.

What a ham...

I have recently started going through the several hundreds of pictures I have taken since I got my new camera. It's an awesome camera but a little out of my league. I am still figuring out how to take pictures as well as work all the settings. As I was downloading and sorting through the pictures, I noticed we had several (50 or more) of Bennett eating.

Over the last few weeks Bennett has started mastering the skill of eating with utensils. He has been working on this for quite some time but I finally gave in and started letting him eat the really messy foods by himself.

My floors and walls have never been this dirty and the dogs have never been this fat. But Bennett enjoys it and dinnertime sure makes a great photo op.

Enjoy the pictures of our little ham making a mess.

That is a face of a STINKER!!!

Our Little Slugger

Some pictures from our most recent photo session with Serena!