the adventure continues...day 3

a very uneventful day today. the highlight was ben & i went to starbucks and hung out together for a bit. we enjoyed a mid-morning snack.

our california adventure continued...day 2

well it was another busy day out west. we ran and chased and played hard. we visited a local drive-in and had some milkshakes and burgers. ben is quite the milkshake monster. then we headed to a local park. it was gorgeous. today was a perfect 77 degrees with a light breeze. it was 3:30 in the afternoon and yet felt like it was 10 in the morning. the trees were blowing gently in the wind and the river that runs through the park quietly whispered its way over the rocks. *sigh* it was heaven...then i realized that ben was on his way up the playground and i snapped back to reality. lol don't worry we all took a walk after dinner with ben contained in the stroller so we could all enjoy the evening. :) here are some pieces of our day...

on our way to the playground...the excitement was almost too much to handle!


the bridge was a little tricky. so he decided to test it out by crawling across. he didn't know to walk across it until later after he watched his play buddy.


ben & his grandaddy. this is what ben will look like when he is a grandpa...down to the matching shoes & hair!


ben & his play buddy logan-aka ben followed this little guy around

adventures with the california cooks

we got into cali last night at about 9pm (pdt) that's midnight our time! but we made it...only one little incident on the plane. we thankfully had an open seat on our row and some room for ben to move. thanks to those of you who said a little prayer for us! we've already adjusted to cali time and doing good. ben has been on full blast since he woke up this morning, but the grandparents are enjoying him in all his busy glory. here are some pics from today.

here we are picking apricots of the tree in the backyard *sigh* only in california




this is ben after he discovered how to climb onto the bed by himself. pure joy!


ben doing it how it was meant to be done...naked as a jay-bird!


an evening swim with grammie.
well, more like a skinny dip-we hadn't gotten swim diapers yet


me & ben doing what we do...he runs & i chase


my life is full!

adventures at the salon

we took ben in july-before the trip to cali-for his 1st official haircut!

the scissors were tickling his face...no he wasn't screaming for dear life.

ben decided he was gonna help and spray his hair with the water bottle.


daddy got his haircut too! those are 2 sharp looking ruckel men!

family picture adventures

aunt kristin & uncle oakley came up for the weekend. we were suppose to go to the beach...and that didn't happen. we were suppose to go to fireworks...and that didn't happen. so we didn't do much on the 4th this year, but we did get some family pictures taken! that was an adventure for sure...with 4 kids 6 & under plus a newborn, the sun, the grass, a scratch on the pinky finger, papa steve & the neck brace, a box of sweetarts, mosquitoes...etc, etc, etc! here are just a few of the pictures...

photos: charity mack

classic...after the pinky injury


this is double trouble...make that DOUBLE TROUBLE!


all the Ruckel grandkids


my sweet little boy


the whole Ruckel crew


our little Ruckel family


check out all of the pictures

adventures as a 'tiny turtle'

we got ben signed up for swim lessons at the ymca. it's a parent/child class so i go and swim with him. they Y calls it their 'tiny turtles' class. indeed they are tiny turtles! so desperately wanting the freedom to swim and yet barely poking their heads our at times. priceless!

the point is mainly to get them used to the water and what to do in the water. we've learned lots of new versions of nursery rhymes to sing while we play in the pool. it's been great so far. he loves floating on the giant duck kickboard and watching all the other goings-on of the pool. he's starting to stick his face in the water when i ask him to blow bubbles. most times his mouth is open and he just sucks in a ton of water, but it's still funny. i love it because the class is small (only 5 kids total) and the pool is a warm salt water pool. so i don't leave feeling like i need to cleanse my lungs of chlorine or like we didn't get any individual time. plus, i'll know what and how to work with ben the rest of the summer in our own pool.

we got a pool safety fence last week (thank you dear nanny). and i must say my anxiety has gone way down. ben loves to run around the deck and now i can let him do that without my heart being in my throat. it brings so much peace that i didn't even realize i need. we'll be putting up our big shade sail this week so the deck won't be too hot on little baby toes. soon the backyard will be baby friendly :)

adventures are full of laughter

ben is "talking" so much more now. mainly it's still his gibberish, but he is starting to recognize and say the same noise for certain things. he says "pa(t) pa(t) pa(t)" and will pat his belly or the table or your face if it's close. he is full of love pats!

he also says "woof" for dog or really any animal i'm sure, but around here it's mainly just the dog. if i point to a dog in a book and ask what a dog says he'll go "woof".

he most definitely knows what "ball" is like every good boy does.

he doesn't really call matt or i "dada" or "mama" yet. but i think he's just being stubborn because he smirks when we try to get him to do it.

ben is getting more rough and tumble every day. he pushes the limits to see just how far he can go. and for now he thinks it's a game, and giggles and laughs once he gets caught doing whatever daredevilish thing he was doing. he loves climbing-the stairs, the footrest on the recliner, into his little rocking chair or onto his rocking horse. he just started this run full speed ahead into the couch and then flops over and starts giggling. it scares me and then at the same time melts my heart to pieces. oh the joys of being a mom to a toddler!

no new pics yet. our cameras are still missing pieces. so here is a cute pic of my little sis and ben from her wedding day.

aunt kaitlyn & ben laughing for pictures

adventures in the wading pool

we spent last wednesday afternoon helping ben's friend Livy (Olivia) celebrate her 1st birthday. it was tons of fun. there were 2 wading pools and plenty of water toys to chew on and throw for all! ben loves the water and getting in the pool at home. so he was quite excited to be able to be in the water without mommy or daddy having to hold him. there is nothing more precious than chubby babies in roll exposing swim suits!

all of our 1 year olds...
hannah in the front getting out of the pool the same way she got in...belly flop!
olivia, ben on the attack, wes
and taylor in the back.


and the birthday girl with the bruiser in the background flexing his muscles

dog riding adventures

well this weekend ben got to be up close and personal with a few "big dogs". my parents have a black lab that is now living with my sister and we visited a friend who also has a lab, except she's brown. ben met both of them with an open mouth for kisses and his excitement came out as though he was panting. it was quite the experience. he loved both dogs even though they weren't sure what to do with him. but we did manage to capture it in a photo.

abbie & matt helping ben ride hallie the dog

adventures as a ring bearer

kaitlyn and josiah got hitched this past weekend in liberty. so we've been busy all month helping with that and getting ready for it, or at least that's the excuse i'm using for why i haven't updated! :) ben has had a HUGE growth spurt this past month. i know he's gained 2 1/2 lbs. (that puts him at 25!)and an inch or more. he's been cutting molars like a champ! the week before we went to KC he already had one and then we found out he was cutting 3 more...at the same time. but he does it gracefully. he cut one right before we left and another on the trip and the 3rd is cutting now. and now i've lost count of teeth...12 maybe! his new favorite game is chase. he looks over his shoulder at you, grins and laughs and then runs as fast as his little legs go-which by the way is pretty fast. it's been lots of fun watching him really start to play with us and follow the other kids on the playground. he has mastered the preschool slide at church and does it continuously on wednesday nights.

a recap of the weekend in short...
the wedding was great!
ben traveled like a champ! he's done this a time or 2 before.
i'm glad to be backin my own bed once again (not that i didn't love the bunkbeds b!)

here's a few pics that my aunt took at the wedding. hopefully more to come soon...

my dad and lil sis


grammie & grandad add another boy to the family


the cook family...a little disorganized, but what's new?!


kaiti & josiah trotter!