This is Ashland's weekend in pictures. He spent the weekend with his Papaw and Nini, where he had a blast. He passed out less than 10 minutes after we left there house. He sure loves his Tubby (that's the bear he's sleeping with)

We carved pumpkins when we got home on Sunday evening. I talked Ashland into sticking his hand into the pumpkin, as you can see. But, as you can also see, he wasn't a big fan of that idea.

Enjoy the pictures and look back in a week for another update. We've been pretty good at doing it weekly, again. Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of months!

It's snowing!

That's not cottonwood on those two SUVs...that's SNOW! It was snowing this morning when we woke up. If you look closesly, you can see that it's only really on the truck that obviously hasn't been driven anywhere yet this morning. We only got a very little bit, and it's definitely not warm enough to stick to the ground yet. It was a nice surprise, however, to wake up this morning and see it on the cars :-)

We got our pumpkins this weekend :-) Just in time, because we didn't know there was SNOW in the forecast. We will be carving them this coming weekend. Ashland had to pick up every small pumpkin he saw to see if it was the right one. Unfortunately, this one was still pretty green, so we left him at the orchard. We picked out three perfect pumpkins :-)



Finally, Ashland has accomplished his ABC's and counting to 15. He is absolutly amazing. I realized the other day that I have no had to buy diapers in over a month...and I've still got a month supply at home! Horray no diaper buying! He still sleeps in them at night, but he's always dry in the morning. He hasn't had a wet diaper in the morning in over two weeks! I just have a feeling that when I let him sleep in big boy undies we're gong to all be woken up in the middle of the night because of a wet bed. Our baby boy is growing up, so fast!

Worn out...

We went to Trine's homecoming football game on Saturday and Ashland was SO well behaved. He sat on my lap or in his stroller the whole game. He got enough courage to give the Thunder mascot, STORM, a high five, and then a hug, and he ate popcorn and cake at a party after the game. He also won the game ball which was really neat. We'll have to put pictures of that up sometime.

After the Trine game we came home and played and watched the N.D game. Ashland loves watching football, and if he would rather sit with Mom and Dad and watch football, than play with his toys, that's fine, because he plays all day everyday.

AT gave us a pretty good scare this weekend. After not having a nap on Saturday, he was quite emotional when I asked him to not jump on the couch. When he was crying, he held his breath like all little kids do before they let out a giant wail...except, he didn't stop holding his breath. His lips turned blue and he fell over on top of the dog. Yes, he held his breath so long that he passed out. It was a scary moment...As soon as he fell he was okay...If it wasn't for Tyler I would have been freaking out more than I was. Seeing your child fall because they can't breath is scary....and nobody ever warned me that it would happen.

We hope that everyone is enjoying this beautful weekend. Next weekend we will be going to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins for halloween. We will post pictures of that trip :-) Keep warm, everyone :-)

Fall is here and that means it' s football season. Racheal and Ashland went to their first Trine Football game while Tyler was in the broadcast booth. The Thunder won 40-9! Ashland had such a fun time watching football with Aunt Megan and Ren. He showed them his ABC skills at the game and had a great time, overall.

We will be visiting another football game tomorrow. Trine travels to Franklin to play the Grizzley's. We will be stopping in Indy on the way home for some OSF and we will be sure to take pictures of this game.

We also hope to make it to the zoo this weekend. Ashland has been asking about the animals a lot, and we promised that we would take him before they close for the summer. Here is one last summer time picture. From here on out, they will all be fall pictures.

Back in Business

Ashland loves to sit with his Daddy on weekend mornings and watch Playhouse Disney

Sorry we have neglected to update this for so long, by the time we get home from work in the evenings, I do not want to look at a computer until the next morning. I've got a few minutes to update now. Since our last update, Ashland has come a very long way. He loves daycare so much and is learning so much there. He can count to 10, and he knows most of his ABCs.

We took Ashland to his first Cubs game in August, but it got rained out. He fell asleep while we were waiting during the rain delay. He got to see bating practice, and he doesn't know any better to know that the game was rained out.

The weather here has been very cool in the mornings and it has been pretty foggy every morning. The leaves are already starting to change here. Football season starts at home for the Trine Thunder tomorrow. Ashlad is VERY excited to go. We will have to post pictures of the game. Sorry we have not had pictures in a while...we have been having computer issues at home.

In other news, we put an offer in on another house, and we are waiting to hear something back from the bank on their approval. It is a short sale. Once they approve it though, and we get an inspection and everything comes back okay, then we can finally have a home. We are all very excited in the Benner family.

We hope everyone is doing well, and we will make sure that we start updating more. Again, we apologize for neglecting the blog, lately.

Turn off the Humidity!

Woah! It has been humid like a sauna here the last couple of days! It's too hot to play outside at daycare, and still too hot to play outside after dinner. Just thought we would stop in and say hello. We haven't been around much lately. Everyone has been busy working, cleaning, and playing. We thought we would give you your bi-weekly Ashland update.

Mommy started her new job and she loves it! She seems so much happier. It is taking some adjusting to get used to getting home later in the evening, but everyone is adjusting well. It's so much fun being home with both Mommy and Daddy in the evening time--and it's even better knowing that Mommy doesn't have to go back to second shift next week when she would at her old job.

Next in the line of business: Ashland is doing GREAT with potty training. He's still not a big fan of actually telling us when he has to go potty. But, when we put him on the potty he does his business. It's so nice to not have to change poopy diapers all of the time, but it's very sad that our baby is growing up.

Daddy is getting ready for football season to start. He will be, again this year, the color voice of the Trine Thunder football team on the Trine University radio station. Football players moved onto campus today and that made a lot of people happy. It means that school is almost ready to start. But...it also means...FOOTBALL SEASON IS ALMOST HERE! That means getting to see Brooklyn a lot on Saturdays. We are looking forward to football season.

We hope everyone is doing well. We love comments so keep them coming. We hope to make our rounds and see everyone sometime soon. Please bear with us we go into football season though because every Saturday from Sept. 12-Nov 14 will be busy.

Keep cool everyone!

Mommy's new Job!

Hi Everyone! First, an update on our house search. It's come to a halt right now. The house that we really liked and wanted to make our home just didn't work out for us right now. We've really slowed down on looking for the time being though. We know that something will come along, and we're just going to sit back and wait a while for it to come. 

In other news: MOMMY GOT A NEW JOB! She will still be working at the university, but she won't be cleaning any more. She will be the Administrative Assistant for the Communication Department.  Everyone in our family is really excited. For those of you who are familiar with our family know that during the school year Mommy has to work in the evenings leaving Me and Daddy at home by ourselves. Now we get to be a real family!!! It's so exciting! She starts her new job on Monday!

Everything else is good here. Ashland is doing GREAT with potty training, and the weather here has been wonderful :-) The weather people say that it has been the coldest July on record here in NE Indiana. We hope the weather in your area has been nice, too. We love everyone! Let us know how you're doing in a comment! 

In search of a house...

As some of you may know, we have been on the lookout for the perfect house for our family. Mommy and Daddy has looked far and near for the right one and we have finally stumbled across it. Today I got to stay at daycare for a while longer while they went to meet with Miss Kelly (our realtor) to put in an offer on the house. Please, please, please say a prayer that the house that our family likes so much is really "the one" for us.

We'll keep you posted!

Online!

Our pictures are online! Take a look! 

If these don't work, Please let me know! 

Home from Vacation

Hi Everyone! 

We made it home from vacation yesterday. We went on a cruise with all of Tyler's Mom's family. There were 15 of us and we went to Alaska and Canada. It was absolutely beautiful there! We all had a lot of fun. Some of the highlights were--seeing a lumberjack show, seeing bald eagles, seeing a bear in downtown Jeauneu, seeing a glacier, finding real gold, and seeing some seals in the wild.

It was an amazing experience. Ashland loved the entertainment on the ship, and he has never eaten so much in his life. He was so well behaved the whole week...and best of all...HE ONLY ONLY HAD 2 ACCIDENTS THE WHOLE TIME WE WERE GONE! He only wet the bed one night and had one accident during the day while we were on land and weren't able to find a restroom as easily as we needed to find one.  We have decided that it's time to start drinking from a "big boy" cup at home, and not have a sippy cup all of the time. 

Our final big news for Ashland while on the trip is that he got to sleep in a big boy bed while on the cruise. He did so well that we have decided to put him in a big boy bed at home. He slept through the night in his big boy bed last night. Our baby is growing up...

We will post lots of pictures on flicker this week and we will post the link on here. 300 pictures is a lot to load, so give us a few days. We'll make sure it's done soon :-)

We hope you all had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Ashland didn't have the energy to stay awake for fireworks this year, so we missed them, but they happen every year, so we didn't miss much. Back to work and daycare for all of us this week :-)

Lots of love from the Benners <3

P.S. Brooklyn, Ashland says Hi  :-D

On Our Way!

Good morning everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it in last night. We got here at midnight, local time, which if my math is correct, was 3 AM or 4 AM your time! It was a long trip, but I had so much fun! The plane ride was really fun. I was extremely tired, but Mommy and Daddy said I did a really good job. I had milk, and juice, and animal crackers, and cheese crackers and even a piece of candy! It was a lot of fun. By the time we were ready to land, I was awake and ready to go.

Getting our luggage was a breeze, and then as soon as the nice guy came and picked us up in the hotel van, we were on our way. We stayed at Days Inn last night, which was actually pretty nice. I had a waffle for breakfast and got to sleep in a BIG bed! None of this crib business... a real bed! Now, we are getting ready to leave for the port, where we'll check in again, and then get on the big boat! We have to wait for my Aunt Jane and Uncle Jeff and their kids Amy and Marty to get here before we get on the boat. Weather was bad where they were last night, so they had to take a plane this morning. Luckily, Grandma had a backup plan and it all worked out well.

Well, looks like it's time for me to start packing again and get all of the luggage out to the lobby so we can blow this popstand! It's been a lot of fun so far, so I'm hoping it will be even more fun! I'm out of here!

Kick off to summer!

On Saturday, I got to hang out with my grandpa! Both Grandma and Grandpa Benner came up on Saturday. We went and looked at some houses; we already had seen two of them, but Mommy and Daddy are really excited about the new one we looked at. They have some more talking to do, but it looks like we might have found a winner!

After we went to go see the houses, Mommy and Grandma went shopping down in Fort Wayne. Mommy got a lot of pretty clothes. She showed them to us when they got home... she even wore her new capris and polo yesterday! While Mommy and Grandma were shopping, Grandpa, Daddy, and I went to lunch and had... you guessed it... ICE CREAM! None of this SuperMan business... we're talking Triple Chocolate Overload! It was super tasty. Afterwards, I came home, took a nap, and got recharged for the rest of the day. I love taking naps... I mean, I don't, but I feel better after I get some shuteye! Daddy and Grandpa cleaned out the cars and even vaccumed. It's nice to have a clean car.

Grandma and Grandpa had a long drive home, so they left before dinner, but I had a lot of fun spending time with my Grandpa and Grandma. I hope that once we get a house, you can stay longer.After Grandma and Grandpa went home, we got all packed up for our big trip to Papaw and Nini's house.

Today was our "official kick of to summer" day! We definitely did things a little differently this year, but I think everyone enjoyed it a little more. Last night we went to Papaw and Nini's house and stayed the night. Mommy and Daddy camped out in the tent, while I slept in the house because my allergies are WAY too bad at the lake to sleep outside. This morning Nini made breakfast--It was delicious Nini, THANK YOU!-- and then the we all headed out to go fishing! Everyone caught at least one fish, too! Daddy caught the biggest one and Mommy caught the most pregnant one. I caught my first fish ever today!

Last week Mommy and Daddy bought me a "Cars" fishing pole. Today I got to put it to full use and it came in handy for catching my first fish ever! I caught a bluegill that was keeper size! Mommy hooked it, and I reeled it in and held it up for a picture. It sure was a beautiful fish, and I'm sure it will make some delicious dinner. Daddy cleaned all of the fish while I watched. What a messy job! But, somebody has to do it if we want to eat them for dinner :-)

Also while we were at the lake, we saw some snakes. TWO OF THEM! Last week Papaw saved the day by getting rid of one. This week we saw two. A baby and a big one. They are so yucky and they swim really fast in the water. As long as they stay away from me it will be okay!

Cora got to swim today too! She sure loves the water. She did better this week than last, and we are pretty confident that she will be a professional swimmer by the end of the summer. I watched her swim, and retrieve big sticks from the water when Daddy threw them out. She did such a good job and a few times, while Mommy was inside helping with lunch she could hear me say "Good Job, Cora". It was very fun watching her learn to swim.

After coming home from the lake we went to my favorite place in town. SCOOPS ICECREAM! Mommy and I shared a new icecream called "SuperMan" I chowed it down, but Mommy said not to get my heart set on it because she didn't care for it. They were out of her regular Orange Sherbert. I love Scoops Icecream!

Our family hopes that you all had a great and safe Memorial Day weekend. We hope you were able to kick off your summer the right way; with lake fun, fun in the sun, and lots of grilling. But, more importantly we hope you take the time to pray for the soliders who are fighting for our freedom to have fun in the sun, and freedom to cook out on our grills. We hope you remember those who have made and are making our "Summer Kick-off weekend" possible.

Daddy's fish was so big! It almost looks like I'm feeding it Cheerios, but really I'm just looking into his big mouth!

This is my big fish! My first fish ever was a keeper! Real Fisher Men wear Little Mermaid life jackets...And Mommy and Daddy forgot my little boy life jacket at home, but a Little Mermaid one is better than nothing. I'm not allowed on the boat without wearing a life jacket :-) Safety first!

Go Cubs Go!

The Cubs are playing the Cards tonight, but Ashland is in bed right now, so Tyler and I are cheering extra hard for them tonight. The picture is him in his new Soriano Jersey. He would wear it everyday if we would let him. His ears are doing pretty good. Right now we are fighting yucky allergies--we think. He is coughing and fighting a runny nose. Unfortunately, these allergies are more than his allergy meds can handle. We just have to keep fighting.

All is well in the Benner household. We are three days away from a three day weekend. Racheal is on first shift so life is extra good now. We get to eat dinner as a family, take family walks, and spend more time outside than when she worked second shift. We occasionally go and get ice cream and take fishing trips as a family too!



We spent last weekend at the lake. Ashland learned how to fish. His papaw taught him the basic technique of fishing and that's all he wants to do now. He loves it! He hasn't caught any fish yet, but we're going to give it another whirl this coming weekend. This weekend is the kick off for summer :-) We are going to have a mini cookout at the lake and do some fishing out on the boat!



While at the lake this weekend, our crazy silly black lab, Cora, decided it was time for her to learn to swim. As you can see in the picture, she isn't the best swimmer, but she did well enough to keep herself alive. She also made Ashland laugh histerically. At one time she jumped into the water and swam to the dock to hold herself up for a while because she was so tired. She is so silly. Because she was jumping in the water, our baby puppy thought she could jump in too. We made sure to keep a close eye on her and the closest she got to getting in was getting a drink of lake water. The dogs love going to Grandma and Grandpa's and getting to run in the yard. They run like maniacs and Ashland runs with them. It's is a very good time had by everyone :-)

Grandpa and Grandma Benner are coming to visit on Saturday. They are going to look at some houses with us and then the girls are having a shopping day while the boys are going to stay home and probably catch some rays and play outside. We're pretty excited to have them in town. We can't wait to get a house so we have some space for them to stay when they come to town.


Oh yeah, Ashland is now able to count to four, unassisted. It's pretty neat. Every day he gets better and better. And a funny story to leave you all with. I had a pork roast in the crock pot today. It had smelled up the house, and Ashland is not used to the house smelling like food. When Ashaland got home from daycare he said "Ew. Mommy, somebody pooped!" After he looked around for a few minutes trying to find the "dog poop" I told him that it was dinner that he was smelling and he said "No Mom...I no wanna eat dog poop for dinner!"

He's so funny sometimes.

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that Ashland got his tubes put in this morning and everything went very well. We had to be in Fort Wayne at 6:15 and we were home by 8:30 :-) For now we are off to bed. We will give you a full length update this weekend after visiting with Papa and Nini on Saturday--I LOVE going to the lake!

Grandma Benner--Thank you so much for coming today. I think you are just what the doctor ordered for recovery :-)

May 6th

Two updates in one week! We told you we'd let you know about getting tubes put in :-) Ashland is getting his tubes put in Wednesday of next week and an unknown time. We won't know until the 5th what time they're doing it. We are so thankful they are able to do it next week before Racheal goes on First shift. It helps in that she doesn't have to take time off. Yippee!

Anyway, next Wednesday say a prayer that there are no problems with the anesthesia and that our trip to Ft. Wayne is a safe one :-)

Lots of hugs from the Benners :-)

Health update

Just a short update to fill you all in on our doctor's appointment yesterday. We had to visit the ENT to see what is going on with Ashland's ears. The doctor, who took time to explain everything to us pretty well, said that Ashland needs to get tubes to get the fluid out of his ear. Apparently this is common nowadays so it's nothing to worry about. We just hope it helps with him getting sick and being sick for so long.

He is also currently on allergy medicine. Our family doctor doesn't know if he actually has allergies, but it sure does help stop the runny nose that he was having all of the time. It's so nice to have a healthy kid again. He was so miserable for the two months his nose was running and he was coughing.

We hope you are all doing well. We had gorgeous weather this weekend, but now it's Spring again and it's chilly and rainy-ish. We are ready for nice weather and family walks. Racheal only has to work on 2nd shift for a week and a half more and then she's on first shift for the summer. Tyler only has two more late night Thursday's and then he's back on a regular schedule.

It's been TOOOO long!

Sorry it has been so long. We have been busy here in the Benner household. We have been gone the last few weekends, and during the week we are very busy bodies. Now it's time for a good update :-)


We hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We has a very busy day and traveled a lot of the day. We spent the weekend in W. Lafayette with Grandpa and Grandpa Benner and had Easter Lunch, then we came back to this side of the state and had dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Fouts. It was a very good day.

I have been sick for a very long time--they do not have any idea what is wrong with me, so they have been trying all kinds of allergy medicine. I think they finally found something that works for me. I had my third ear infection in two months a couple of weeks ago. I'm all better now, but in a couple of weeks I have to go to a special doctor and see if there is something wrong with my ears and if there is anything they can do to fix it.



In other news, WE GOT A NEW PUPPY! Here name is Bailey and she is a minature dachshund. She is very cute and very playful. She likes to play with Cora a lot. I only get to hold her sometimes because she is just so little. She is 11 weeks old, and weighs 4 lbs. We all love her a lot!



We have been having some CRAZY weather here the last couple of weeks. It was perfect weather to play with bubbles, and then we got 4 inches of snow two days later. I have been to a couple of baseball games this spring--It was very nice weather for both of them. I have been outside to blow bubbles and color on the sidewalk quite a bit, too. Yesterday Mommy and Daddy took Grandpa and Grandma Fouts to a Chicago Cubs baseball game. They all had lots of fun and they even got to sing "Go Cubs Go" At the end of the game because the Cubs won! I hope you are all enjoying this nice weather, even though it is raining where we are today. April Showers Bring May Flowers, remember. Our grass is greener today than it was yesterday and there are many more flowers opening and buds on the trees. If you haven't already this spring, take a minute to spot and notice the flowers and trees. It will make you smile, we promise.

We hope you all have a great week and promise that we will update sooner than three weeks next time.

Aunt Meggie, Thank you for watching me on Saturday. I had a lot of fun with you!

April Showers Bring May flowers. Oh, Spring has sprung--Flowers are blooming and trees are budding. Fish are biting and birds are singing. AND IT'S SNOWING?!? What in the world! As Ashland would say right now "What the heck you doing, [Mother Nature]?" That's his new favorite saying and we have no idea where he picked it up. Not at home, we know that for sure! Must be a daycare thing. Today we got a lot of snow, but nothing that stuck thank goodness. But, the last two weeks we've enjoyed going around town in our light spring jackets and now "BAM" we had to put the liner back inside AT's coat this morning to go bye bye!

Other than the snow, there is not much new here. Ashland LOVES daycare! He asks every day if we are going to go. He just loves all of the kids and interaction there. He must really love Nancy's cooking too, because every day he goes he wants to eat! This last week he was there full time and he loved it. He was definitely ready to come home at the end of the day, but definitely ready to go in the morning when he woke up. He just really loves it there.

He is working really hard on potty training right now. He went the whoooole weekend with no accidents. He has started going potty by himself and when we try to help he says "No, I do it!" He is so independent. We are not sure if we are happy or sad if he's able to do it himself yet. It's sweet and sour.

That's all we have for now. Stay tuned for an update soon. We are travelling this weekend to see family in the west part of the state so we'll have new pictures, and we have some pretty exciting news to share with everyone, soon! You'll just have to keep watching!

Lots of love to everyone,
The Benners

Quick Trip and Lots of Fishies!

Hey guys! We took a quick trip to the Bass Pro Shop over in Portage. Daddy is getting cabin fever really bad and got to go fishing last week, so we had to make a trek over there to see if he could get some new lures. I like going there because I get to see lots of fish. If you've never been to one, you should go! They have a huge fish tank that has lots of bluegill, bass, pike, walleye, catfish, and even some goofy looking fish that looks like an alligator with no feet!

Anyways, Bass Pro Shop was hosting their Spring clearance thing and they had a really cool place where you could get your picture taken! So, Daddy and I got our picture taken. What do you think?

I thought it was pretty cool! Doesn't it make it look like Daddy and I caught a huge fish? We didn't but it sure was a lot of fun. Well, that's it for now. I hope the weather is as nice for you as it is for me! We took a family walk last night and one more this afternoon before taking a nap. Have a good day! Love you all!

My Friend Brooklyn

Remember me making a post about my friend Brooklyn? Brooklyn is a very special girl to me. She has something called Rett Syndrome. She can't talk, walk, or even use her hands, but she is the SMARTEST girl I know. She can melt even the coldest of hearts. She is amazing. Here is some more info from her family...



Hi! My name is Brooklyn.
I have Rett Syndrome - an awful neurological disorder that
messes up most everything I try to do -- and it only affects GIRLS!
I cannot talk, use my hands or move around very well, but I can
hear you. I understand you. I am smart. There are hundreds of
thousands of other girls like me. Visit my web page to learn more.
We need your help.
www.girlpower2cure.org/brooklyn

Rett Syndrome facts:
* A debilitating neurological disorder that only affects girls.
* The most severe form of AUTISM.
* Leading cause of severe impairment in girls - most cannot speak,
walk or use their hands.
* As prevalent as ALS, Cystic Fibrosis and Huntington's Disease.
* Another baby girl born afflicted every two hours.
* Caused by a random gene mutation every baby girl
has equal chance of acquiring.

www. g i r l p owe r 2 c u r e . o r g

Brooklyn's Page

Source: www.girlpower2cure.com...

I just think it's important that you all know who some of my friends are. Brooklyn is who I watched EVERY home Trine U. football game with this fall. She will be 4 years old in May :-) Even though we have very tastes in music (She LOVES the Wiggles :-P ) She is the GREATEST girl in the world, and we ask that you say a prayer for this little girl and her family--and that the people who are working around the clock to find a cure for Rett Syndrome are able to do so quickly. And remember, if you want to help in finding this cure, you can visit-- www.girlpower2cure.com

Love,
The Benners

Turn off the Rain!

Wowzers! We got 5 inches of rain between Saturday and Tuesday here in Angola! There is standing water everywhere. Ponds have tripled in size and roads are flooded out. It sure is crazy here. Even though it's supposed to warm back up this weekend I don't think we'll make it outside because of the ground being so supersaturated. I have some flood pictures of PawPaw and Nini Fouts' house that I'll post in a little bit.

We went to the doctor yesterday and all ear infections are GONE! Now AT just has a sinus infection now. 10 Days of medicine and the dr. thinks we'll be good to go. Ashland was scared of the doctor today. He has not seen the real doctor since he was 3 months old and in the hospital with pneumonia. When a very tall (6'6) man walked in the door and it wasn't our shiney Shelby, he was petrified. Not a good visit at all. I will be sure that we seen our NP from here on out.

It was nice weather last week so we took great advantage of it :-)




Here are the pictures of Grandpa and Grandma's House....

This is their front yard. The lake is clear up to the tree. Somewhere in the water there is a fire pit. The water is usually very low under the pier. This is crazy!



This is the main road that goes to their house. My Aunt Meggie said that there is about a foot of water on the road :-S


P.S Mommy did this post without any help. She needs to take a blogging for dummies class. She got frustraited and gave up, so we apologize for the pictures being everywhere. She was just experimenting.

We're back!

Sorry it's been a while since we have updated anything. There sure isn't much going on around here. Ashland has been sick for three (going on 4) weeks and just can't shake it. Early in his sickness he had bronchitis. Along with the bronchitis he had a double ear infection. Even with medicine it hasn't got away. We go back to the doctor on March 11th for a check up. If he still has an ear infection (which he does now, after a week on a different medicine) we will have to visit an ENT. Let's all pray that it goes away.

Tyler has been busy with work. He had to work 4 Saturday's in a row because of open houses and having lots of visits. His weekends are starting to slow down and now we can all relax. This weekend was the last weekend either of us had to work for a while :-)

Racheal has an interview on Tuesday for a first shift job. It is a job at the school working in the mail room. It would be a great opportunity because she would be able to work 1st shift and have more interaction with people on campus. Pray that it goes well :-)

Sports season at the university is idle right now. Basketball season came to an end, and there is nothing going on right now. Maybe when it gets warm we will go to some baseball and Lacrosse games, but that won't be for a while. We are looking forward to the days when it gets warm and we can play outside.

Here are a few picutres for your viewing pleasure. We will make sure our next post comes sooner than this one.

Lots of love from the Benners


We went on a trip to Indy and stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Ashland LOVES spaghetti!


Ashland and Tyler love swimming. We are looking forward to going to the county beach this summer for some swimming and play time.


This ball pit was at the hotel we stayed at in Indy. Unfortunately, Ashland was sick the day after we came home from Indy and I think this ball pit may be the reason why. Oh well, he had a blast playing in all the balls.

Wow! What a whirlwind the last week--almost two, sorry!-- has been. I've been potty training like crazy and I'm doing so good! I went one whole week with only two accidents. Mommy said that when I go a whole week we will get to celebrate by going somewhere fun! I'm hoping Chuckie Cheese because I always see commercials on Disney Channel and it looks like so much fun! Last weekend we went on a small family get away to Indianapolis. We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch, grabbed some chicken wings for dinner, and then hung out at a hotel for the rest of the evening on Saturday. Daddy reserved a hotel with a swimming pool for us to enjoy and the hotel even had a play area for kids like me. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed swimming, eating popcorn in bed, and jumping on a super huge bed.

We have gotten a new tv since the last time I updated too. It's a beauty. I love it and Veggie Tales looks really good on it. Since I've been sick this week, Veggie Tales has been my favorite all week long. I started getting a little cough on Monday and by Wednesday Mommy had to take me to the doctor. I have bronchitis, an ear infection, a rosey red throat, and a sinus infection. I think I'm getting better though. After a couple of breathing treatments--which I absolutly HATE--Mom and Dad think I sound much better than I did a couple of days ago.

This weekend I'm going to W. Lafayette to see my Grandma and Grandpa Benner. I won't really see them for long, but it will be nice to see them for a little bit. A little bit is better than nothing. We'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon and coming home Sunday night.

I will post pictures from Indianapolis and W. Lafayette when I get home on Sunday. Mommy still has to learn how to upload them and Daddy is playing his game right now. I hope you all have a good weekend. Look for some pictures on Sunday :-)

Lots of love to everyone!!

I just thought I would post some pictures for things that have been going on around here. I'm still working on potty training and I have been doing such a good job with that. Yesterday I went all day with big boy undies on and only had one accident. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of me.


Here I am going potty. I like to ready ESPN The Magazine while I'm doing my business :-)

Today we had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. I don't really eat a lot when we go out to dinner. Today I had some fries and a half of a chicken wing. I discovered that french fries and onion ring dipping sauce are really good together.


all of Daddy's dinner was all gone, so I thought I would share a fry with him.

Finally, today we went sledding for the very first time ever. I had a blast. It's the first time it's been above freezing here in Angola since I got my sled for Christmas. After lunch we bundled up (which was a job in itself) and went out on the sled. Daddy pulled me though the yard and then over to a hill. I started out on the baby hill and was at a bigger one in no time. I sure loved going down the hills a lot. We made our own path on the big hill so the first couple of times were no fun, but after I packed down the snow it was so much fun! We played outside for about 20 minutes before I got too cold. Now I'm taking a nap and getting ready for the big game. We're not doing anything for it, just hanging out at home and watching commercials.

I hope you all had a good weekend. And, just an update about that job that Mommy wanted--The school is not filling the open position until school starts in August.

Also, I start at my new babysitter tomorrow. Look for a post next week to see how it's going. I think everyone here, especially Mommy, is nervous about the change, but I'm sure it will be a good one for all of us.


Ready for take off! Mommy is getting ready to push me down the big hill!


I had to get all bundled up before I could go outside. I look like I could hardly move, right!?!?


He's my best friend in the whole wide world. Don't you love our shirts. One Manchester shirt, and one Trine shirt. We're silly like that I suppose.

Until next time every one. Lots of love!!

Wish us luck!

Mommy is applying for a new job and needs your prayers and well wishes. It's a first shift Monday-Friday position at the university. Mommy getting a first shift job would mean that we're all home together in the evenings and that I can go to a first shift daycare at an actual center and not somebody's house. I love that idea. I would be in a classroom with kids my age and learn all kinds of things.

Please, please, please say a prayer that mommy gets this job. It would mean the world to all of us here at the Benner Household.

Love you all!!

Ashland

P.S. Sorry no new pictures today. I'll post some this weekend :-)

Potty Training and Me

Helllllloooooooo! That's what an elephant that I got for Christmas says. If you've seen or read "Horton Hears a Who" You know what I'm talking about. I got the movie for Christmas and watched it for the first time this week. My favorite part is when Horton the elephant is shaking his hind end to the music. It made me laugh a lot and it makes me dance too.

Right now we're watching football at our house. The Indianapolis Colts are done playing so Mommy has so interest and the Bears are done playing for the season too, so Daddy doesn't really care either. We just like football so much that we'll watch any teams. So that's what we're spending our Sunday doing. I think Daddy has to go to work in a little bit to make some phone calls. I know for a fact that we're going to give our dog a bath. If you look back a couple of posts you can see that she is HUGE so it's a task to give her a bath. But, Mommy went to Wal Mart (and I went with her, of course) and bought a hose to put in the shower that should make it easier for us to give her a bath. I hope it works well. I'm really looking forward to seeing her get a bath.

Enough about all of that boring stuff. Here is whats up with me. You all probably saw the title that says "Potty Training and Me" when you came to visit. That's what we've been doing this weekend. Every hour mommy and daddy have been sitting me on the big boy potty to do my business. I have gone in the big boy potty about 7 times since yesterday morning. How exciting is that?!? I love going in the potty because it makes me feel like a big boy...and I get candy when I go! Mommy says that she is going to have to figure out a different reward because at the rate I'm going my teeth are going to fall out soon. I don't see what the big deal is; she only gives me two M&M's when I tinkle and 4 when I poo. I guess a sticker chart would be alright with the occassional M&M thrown in :-) Anyway, that is what I have been up to this weekend.

No church today because there was a water break at the church. We found that out after we got all ready and drove to church and there was nobody there--just a sign saying no church until next week. That's okay, it got me out of the house for a bit, and I love going bye bye. Tomorrow we are going to meet with a new babysitter. Mommy says she seems really nice. She's a little farther out of town than we want, but she seems nice and will work with Mommy's work schedule. Mom and Dad both have the day off tomorrow. Going to the new babysitter is all we have planned. Mommy keeps talking about painting and cleaning. I love cleaning but I've never painted so it could be interesting. I'll let you all know in my next post.

It's time I head out. I hope you all survived the frigid cold. It got down to -26 here the other day but we survived. We still have at least 15 inches of snow on the ground. So, if any of you in other parts of the state that are lacking snow are having snow withdrawls feels free to come visit us. We have plenty to share with you!

Thunder Basketball!

Hey guys! Even though we've gotten just about a foot of snow since last week, I've been having a pretty good week. On Saturday, Daddy took Mommy and I to the basketball game. It was a lot of fun! They didn't win, but I got to see them "shoot hoops." Kind of a bummer though... the boom boom (drum) wasn't there. Daddy told me that the next game I go to, the boom boom will be back. I think it's on vacation or something. Anyways, we had lots of fun. Can't you see from this picture?

As you can see, I'm wearing my "football" shirt. Daddy said that I can wear it to football games and to basketball games. I have one and my friend Brooklyn has another one. I gave it to her at the start of the football season because neither the bookstore or the athletic office sells toddler clothes, so I had to make our own! Here's a picture with me and my best buddy! Aren't they super cool? There's a place here in town that does screen printing and they made them for us. Mommy wanted to make a navy blue one, but Wal-Mart doesn't sell them. Oh well.

Well, Mommy went back to 2nd shift this week. I'm sure they don't like it, but I get to spend lots of time with Mommy during the day, and lots of time with Daddy during the evening. I like spending so much time with them... I just wish we could spend it all together as a family. I guess I was a little bit spoiled over Christmas break. Daddy did tell me today that both Mommy and Daddy get Martin Luther King Day off on Monday, so we'll have a 3-day weekend. I'm looking forward to it. Daddy has to work on Saturday, but I'm sure we'll be able to have some fun together. Any ideas?

Well, we're supposed to get even more snow in the next couple of days, but hopefully we'll stay nice and warm. I hope everyone is having a great week and I'm sure I'll have some more exciting stuff to share next time. Don't forget to leave me some love! Mommy and Daddy love reading all of your comments to me, so keep them coming! Love you all!

Pizza!

Just a quick note: If any of my readers would ever like to visit and go to pizza I know where every pizza place in this town is. Today mommy was driving me home from daycare and I was sitting in the back seat like always. Well, today while Mommy was driving I was sitting in the back seat yelling "PIZZA" every time we drove by a pizza place. We drive by :Little Ceasars, Tony's Pizza ( a local pizza place with amazing bread sticks that I can eat 2 full ones of), Pizza King, Hungry Howies, and Pizza Hut. I yelled "PIZZA!" as we passed by every one of them. Hungry Howies and Pizza Hut are right across the street one another so it was a little tricky yelling two times right in a row, but I did it! I love pizza. Besides spaghetti it's my favorite food. I hope mommy got the hint that I want pizza soon. We have not eaten out in 7 days! I really like Mommy's food and all, but she can never match the pizza at Hungry Howie's or Pizza King--my two favorites.

Aside from pizza all I've been doing is hanging out with Mommy and Daddy in the evenings which is amazing, shooting hoops, and eating. I have snack after daycare (because I'm a bear if I don't get to eat anything) and then I eat a lot at dinner. Last night for dinner I ate a FULL grilled cheese sandwhich (in like 4 minutes), a full banana, and a Hershey Kiss for desert.

Lastly, I want to let you all know that my comments are finally enabled. If you want to leave me a comment you can do it as a guest, or you can create an account and leave them. Thank you to those of you who have sent Mommy and Daddy emails saying that you love the blog!

It's time to go. Mommy's getting ready to get the laundry out of the dryer and that's one of my favorite jobs. Then it's time to make dinner and I'll probably call it a night shortly thereafter. Mmmm...I hope pizza is for dinner!

Until Next time--Lots of Love for Everyone from Ashland!

Back to work tomorrow, but fun this weekend!

Mommy and Daddy have to go back to work tomorrow... boooooo!!! We've had lots of fun together these past weeks. I'm full of energy, and I think I'm in a growth spurt right now. Mommy and Daddy are giving me lots of good food to eat, and I eat it all! I'm a member of the clean plate club, 3 nights in a row! Last night was spaghetti (which is my favorite) with garlic bread and a cereal bar. I ate all of it!

Yesterday, Grandma and Grandpa Fouts came over for a little bit. Grandpa got a brand new hat from Bass Pro Shop (I've been there before! Lots of times!). He let me wear it for a little bit. What do you think?



We had lots of fun. After they left, Daddy and I played fetch with Cora. She has this Kong thing that is basically her favorite toy. I love my dog... even though she bugs me sometimes, deep down, we're best friends. Here she is playing with Daddy.



She's crazy! I love her lots. As you know, I spent some time last week down at Grandma and Grandpa Benner's house in West Lafayette. I missed Mommy and Daddy lots, but my grandparents are so much fun! We played lots, and I'm sure Grandma could use a nap after my visit. On our way back, I was having fun in the back seat with Daddy's hat. It's one of his favorite hats, and he let me try it on. What is it with me and hats?



Lots of fun, I know. Well, I know the weekend is about to end because Daddy has already gone into work today once. After I go to bed, he'll go in again to make phone calls. He got some good news before the break; he is now responsible for all of the states west of the Mississippi. That means he has more responsibilities! I am sure proud of my Daddy. But, of course, the downside is that he has to spend more time in the office. I don't mind because I know that I get to see him lots during the week.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the nice (no snow!) weather. I can't wait for it to warm up so we can open up the windows and I can go outside and play! Have a great week and we'll talk soon! Love you all!