Catching up!

I'm sorry it's been so long! We've been quite busy. We went to have Christmas in Alabama with Grandma/Oma Donna, Grandpa/Opa Al, Aunt Tessa, Uncle Gary, Aunt Inge, and Cousin Julia (both from Holland). And then we went to have another Christmas in Kansas City with Grammy Pat, Grandpa Darrell, Aunt Wende, Uncle Michael, Grand Aunt Marilyn, Aunt Karen, Uncle Ron, and Uncle Jerry. Both trips were wonderful and we're thankful to be able to spend time with family. Ben doesn't really "get" Christmas yet, so we have more to look forward to next year.

What Ben's been up to otherwise:
- He continued to adore the stairs at Aunt Wende's house, and constantly wanted to go up and down. He loves to walk while holding someone's hands and smiles like he's so proud of himself. He sits down if you let go of one of his hands.
- Each morning while he keeps me company in the bathroom, he stands up at the side of the tub and does his daily duty: throwing everything that is on the side of the tub into the tub. See the attached photo - when he takes a bath everything on the side of the tub must be in the tub with him, so it gets crowded! He also likes to throw things OUT of the tub, and out of shopping carts too!
- His favorite toy continues to be balls, and he talks about them all the time: "ba ba ba ba ba!" His second favorite toys are pillows. He loved two little sofa pillows in Alabama and still thinks pillows are quite fun. He likes to hit them, throw them, and put his head down on them.
- Aunt Karen discovered he is ticklish under his chin and the laughter it causes is delightful!
- He has four teeth on top and two on bottom.
- He likes to yell into cardboard tubes and into cups and bowls.
- He pushes a toy truck all across the condo, and makes a truck sound while he does it!
- He claps on demand and looks for Pippi when you tell him to look for Pippi, but seems to have forgotten how to wave bye bye.
- He loves nursing more than ever - weaning is going to be hard!
- He's very cuddly and very sweet and I love him so much!