Christmas Morning

Mom looking for her present from Dad - hanging by something that "rings"...

Dad sure surprised Mom beyond her wildest dreams with this present!

Chris's present from my Aunt Harriet - lookin' good!

Santa came!

and brought a drum set for Ben - thanks a lot Santa!

Ben went to bed before he could open his presents from Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa so he did it Christmas morning. Santa also paid us a visit...someone must have been good!

Fun in a Box (literally)

What could be more fun than playing in an empty box? We got Ben a new humidifier for his room (one of the great things about Minnesota winter - love that dry air) and he thought the box was so much cooler than some humidifier. We spent about 1/2 hour "passing" Ben around in the box!

Ben's favorite toy of all

Mom, let me help you clean - this mud room is so dirty!

Bella leaves more hair in here than she has on her body!

Sometimes I like to sit down and Swiffer


This thing is amazing!

I wonder if I can take this in my crib for my nap?

Of all the great toys that Ben got for his birthday and Christmas, the thing he loves most to play with is the broom and Swiffer. I have to sweep when he is down for a nap of else he goes nuts until he gets his hands on the broom. I shortened the Swiffer to give him his own "broom" and he carries that around all the time!

Christmas Eve

A Little People Airport!

Helping Grandpa make gravy

Playing with Megan and Matthew

Wade and Beth

Love this cake!! I think we should have cake every night!!!

We celebrated Christmas Eve at home with my cousin Wade and his family. It was a nice, relaxing evening and we had a fabulous turkey dinner. My mom also made a chocolate snowman cake that Ben enjoyed almost as much as his birthday cake!

Looking good after a bath!

Ben in his robe and slippers

Lookin' good!

Heading down the hallway

and into the bath - Dad, can I take another bath?

Time to go downstairs!

Dad let Ben cruise around his in robe after a bath one morning...he thought he was the coolest kid in the neighborhood!

Ben's First Birthday - Part II

Opening the first present

Love the Little People!

New pajamas from Great Auntie Joan!

More interested in the paper Mom!

Ben and his "girlfriend" Ashlyn sitting on his new basketball hoop.

Here are some more pictures of the party!

Ben's First Birthday - Part I

I made one of Ben's cakes - we got another small one from Byerlys for him to eat and destroy!

Singing to the birthday boy!

He went for the frosting first

and seemed to enjoy it...

a lot!

We celebrated Ben's first birthday on December 15th (actual b-day December 18th) with some friends and family and Ben's first taste of cake! He had a pretty good time, he really enjoyed playing with the little kids and is starting to get the hang of opening presents - just in time for Christmas!

Ben's 1st Haircut

At Snip-its with Mom

Big boy in the haircut chair ready to go!

Not too sure about this anymore....

Here, let me help you!

Almost done - this puzzle sure is tasty!

It was time for our little baby to take a big step into toddlerhood as his hair was getting a little too long for Mom and Dad. Ben had his first official hiarcut on Saturday and literally grew up a little right before our eyes. The stylist warned us that he would look older and less baby-ish whe she was done and she was completely right. Ben looks like a little boy now instaed of Mom's little baby and it did make me cry a bit. He did very well and sat as still as a almost-1 year old can. He even "helped" comb his hair for her!

Friday Night Gopher Volleyball game

Hi Ella - what are you doing?

Sophie and Ella - look over there!!

Ella still doesn't seem to want to look at the camera!

Ben went to the NCAA 1st Round Volleyball game with Dad, Mom's cousin Becky and her husband Derek, and their two kids Sophie and Ella. The Gophers won to advance to the 2nd Round and Ben had a great time playing with his cousins. Unfortunately, the Gopher Volleyball Team's season ended Saturday night at they lost to Iowa State in 4 games. The only positive to come from that lose is that Mom is now done traveling for a while and will get to spend a lot more time with Dad and Ben!!

The Amazing Cat Wrestler AKA Benjamin!

I spy a kitty...

Kitty still seems unaware of my plan...

Oops, kitty trys to get away....unsuccessfully.

I want to cuddle you kitty!

Whether you like it or not!

Cat wrestling is a little-known but emerging sport in which you attempt to overpower an unsuspecting feline and cuddle it against its will. It helps immensely if the above-mentioned feline has no claws and there is a parent and/or grandparent nearby to intervene with one or both parties takes the game a little too far.

Kindermusik

Hi Ryan - what do you have?

I'm so excited to see you!

Storytime with Dad


I love the egg shakers - I have some of these at home too!

Playtime with Dad

Ben has been going to Kindermusik classes once a week since he was about 6 weeks old. He has really grown to like it quite a bit and has been with the same group of kids. He gets very excited at time and wants to "tackle" some of his friends but he is learning to reign that somewhat. Dad plays his Kindermusik CD at home a lot and I think he is actually develpoing some rythm which is good considering he inherited non of that from his parents.