Sharin' the Love

Seth is becoming more and more affectionate with Benjamin and less likely to poke his eyes out whenever we're not looking. He wants to hold him constantly and coos over him for minutes on end, saying "Ohhhh, brudder" and "Benji-yen, Benji-yen!"

"For I am not ashamed..."

I was so excited to receive my birthday present in the mail yesterday. Not my iPod touch - we picked that up last weekend. No, my custom library stamp! Yes, I am a literary nerd and, no, I am not ashamed. Did I need a custom library stamp? (That was a rhetorical question, by the way - everyone should have the need for a custom library stamp.) In case you aren't convinced, here is documentation of the children's section of the LeBret Library. It's not hard to see the progression from buying stacks of books to wanting a customized stamp, is it?

I also gathered up most of the boys' board books from the far reaches of the Earth and took a picture. Some of them look like they're not long for this world so at least now we'll have the picture to remember them by. Any guesses as to which are Seth's and which are Benjamin's?

Since I didn't want to see all the picture books end up looking like Seth's board books, I set up shop with some library supplies. I needed to cover a couple new books anyway, so I took the opportunity to take a picture. Any of you fine folks who haven't had the privelege and pleasure to work in a library and touch books all day long will now know what I'm talking about. Doesn't that look like fun? Joel thought it looked like money frantically escaping the pocketbook, but at least now we won't have to rebuy picture books with each child like we do board books.

And now you know how much we like books in the LeBret household. And you also know that if you send any at Christmas, they'll be well looked after. (Notice how subtle I can be.) Seriously though, Seth loves his books. We've had to rotate them like toys - after about the 20th time in one week Joel and I begin to look for good hiding spots for his new favorite. But there have been a few titles that stood up to months of continuous reading without getting old. So, if you're looking for recommendations my expertise is at your disposal. Or if you want to know where I find the good ones for 50% off or more, just send me an email and your personal literary advisor will pass on all her tips for building a home children's library, in quality and quantity. Happy reading!

Tulip Temptation

While Benjamin was happy this afternoon I sat him on the couch for a quick photo shoot. The tulips I picked from the back yard happened to be in the background, which was nice. I had moved them from the kitchen table because the stupid kitty kept eating them. While I was taking pictures she found the tulips again so I caught a few pictures of ChickenMouse (aka Amelia) monkey-jankin' my birthday flowers.

PlayDoh Party

This is about as exciting as it got for my 30th birthday bash. Seth was moping around being bored so I got out some playdoh. He likes it when I smash it for him because he's not really strong enough to squish it the way he likes it. Mostly he tears it up into little pieces and then is done. He doesn't really try to eat it but thinks it's pretty hilarious to tease me about it. The sense of humor of a two and a half year old is not very subtle and rather repetitive. After this we cracked a few cans of ravioli for lunch and snuck some early birthday cake. I only get one 30th birthday so we really partied hard....


Benjamin is growing up fast. He really likes the jumper we borrowed from a friend (thanks Carolyn) and entertains himself for quite a while before getting tired out. He still looks remarkably like Seth at that age. We'll see how things change as he gets older.

Out of Touch

I've been a delinquent blogger lately as I've had other things going. Unfortunately for you, nothing blog-worthy. Mostly sitting at the laptop working on Children's Church curriculum whenever the boys happen to be sleeping at the same time. Precious are the moments during that wonderful invention called "the nap." Anyway, I've had some requests from the two people who read this blog (and several others) for recent pictures of the fam. So I took the dusty camera off the shelf and tried to get some smiles from Benjamin. Thank goodness for digital cameras, because most of the pictures turned out like this (Seth doesn't like to be left out):

I did finally get some smiles from the boys (as well as some fine headless shots of Joel in Pink Floyd pajamas). Enjoy!