Saturday, January 24, 2009

An Uneventful Update

Things have been pretty quiet around here since New Year's... I haven't been taking as many photos as usual, and I've let my video camera go dead. I have to get back into the swing of things! The best I can do, as far as new photos goes, is this collection of recent pictures of Ben playing in the house on a rainy day. You can see how much he loves to read. He's pretty hilarious when he leans into a book and looks *really closely* at the pictures! He also loves the broom Grammy and Grandpa bought while visiting over the holidays. Enjoy!





Finally, here are two photos that didn't come out very well... I used my timer to try to get a shot of Ben dancing while I "played" the recorder. He will periodically bring the recorder to me and *insist* on me playing for him. Of course, he doesn't seem to care that I can't really play at all! He dances and dances, laughing the whole time. It's really cute!


Monday, January 12, 2009

Trucks, Turkeys, and a Tricycle...

It's been a long time since I've posted. I will write a longer post about the Feagle's visit--a great week after Christmas!--once I get my photos organized. In the meantime, here are some photos from recent (and random) events from the Land of Ben! Speaking of which, we've added a new play mat to Ben's toy area in the family room. It's pretty cute (thanks, Ikea!)...


Now for the news. First off, trucks. Ben's love of trucks (still called "gucks") is as strong as ever. I love this hat that we received as a hand-me-down from Scott, Paige, and Miles, but I'm sad to report that it's already too small. But I managed to snap a photo with it perched on his head... which frankly seems to make him look like an authentic trucker!


There is a band of wild turkeys that roams our neighborhood (hey, it's Davis!) which always seems to draw a crowd when it arrives. A few days ago, the turkeys hung out in our backyard for about 30 minutes. It really is pretty cool to get to see them just walking and flying around. Here's a sense of what it's like.


Finally, we've had some FANTASTIC weather here... today was 76, sunny and breezy. Atypical January weather even for northern California. While he napped this afternoon, I got Ben's tricycle (a gift from Grammy and Grandpa) out of the garage and ready for some action. When we first built it, the trike was a bit too big, but as you can see it's now perfect! Daddy arrived home just as we were walking down the block, so we all went to the park (about 1/4 mile away) together. Ben LOVED the tricycle and rode it the whole way to and from the park.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas, Blocks, and Gucks!

Christmas was fantastic! We have a tree that Ben has enjoyed (especially the ornaments he's pulled off and tried to eat) and it's been nice to have a quiet time at home. Gifts for Ben have been trickling in from family and friends, and we've been giving them to him slowly, so that he wasn't overwhelmed on Christmas morning.

Here Ben is helping me open the package Coco and Papi sent about a week before Christmas... you can see the stocking Coco needlepointed for Ben!


After admiring Coco's work (for about one second), Ben tosses the stocking aside for what's underneath... presents! (We didn't open them until Christmas, though.)



Here's our Christmas tree on Christmas morning!



And here comes Ben! He loves the cardboard brick blocks that were a gift from Mom Mom!






Finally... Ben is working on his first word! It's "truck" which he currently pronounces as "guck." So we made sure that he had plenty of gucks on Christmas! I don't have any photos of them yet, but will post them as soon as I can.

Happy Holidays!

Catching Up

I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, so here are some cute photos Ben *discovering* the toilet paper roll in the bathroom!





Saturday, December 13, 2008

Ben's First Birthday Party!!

Today we celebrated Ben's first birthday (which isn't until the 24th) with many of our friends! It was a great day and a fun party. Here are the highlights...

Ben REALLY liked the balloons! He had some fun with them before guests arrived...
Getting tangled up...
Checking to make sure the backyard is in top shape for playing!
Yup! Ready to party!!
But first some Daddy kisses...
Ben's new friend Aimee!
Hanging out with Aimee, Aaron, and Tyler...
Sandbox fun...

Ben did NOT take his morning nap. At 2:30 or so he had a small "meltdown" and we decided it was a great time to introduce him to his first cupcake (hey--why not, right?). At that time there were about 15 adults standing around singing to him while he just stared blankly at us and at the cupcake. It was pretty hilarious!
He definitely perked up with the SUGAR:
Our little family...

I just love his expression in this one.
Mommy and Ben...

Jonathan set up this mural for people to paint and write birthday wishes for Ben. It was a huge hit and a fantastic keepsake for Ben's first birthday party!!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

It wasn't so long ago...

Here I was just a year ago (actually it was just less than a year ago). This is the last picture of me taken before Ben was born! We've come a long way, baby!!



And here we are now (or at least here HE is)...


Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It's Official...

Need I say more?