Snowsuit and sled

We've been looking for a snowsuit for Ben and finally found a really cheap one and were disappointed when the torso was too short. If Ben's torso is already too long for an 18-month-sized garment, then he takes after me! I took out the crotch and before I sewed it back up, I tried it on him. He lay immobilized on the floor (a la Christmas Story Randy, "I can't put my arms down!" and just laughed at me while I laughed at him and scampered around trying to find the camera (didn't find it). Then we went out to try the sled that Grammy found for him. We didn't go down any hills, really, we just took a walk in the snow with the sled. After a while he looked sleepy, as he usually does in moving vehicles. I tried to lay him down in the sled, but it was a little too short, so he was all crumpled up. He didn't complain and soon fell asleep in a very awkward position, with his legs (or at least the snow suit legs) poking straight up into the air. If anyone had seen us, they would think I was carrying a rag doll along in the sled. We usually leave him asleep no matter where he is, since sleep is such a precious commodity with him. So he slept outside in the sled for a good 20 minutes after we got home. Tim found the camera and took photos of him. I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty humorous.

Birthday Boy!

Believe it or not, Ben is a year old! How did the year go so fast? He got lots of nice presents in the mail and at Mommy's work, and best of all, Grammy Pat came to celebrate with him! Grammy Pat made tons of darling cupcakes to take to Mommy's work and to Ben's daycare (see photo), and Mommy tried to make a birthday cake in the shape of a ball, since that's Benny's favorite thing. He didn't seem to recognize it, unfortunately.
Sweet, sweet one-year-old!!

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!

The anti-librarian....

Ben and daddy.

Ben and I play non-stop pretty much all day. He's the most fun I've ever had! His personality is starting to come out.. I think he's going to be a good kid.

Lunch time..

Ben climbs up and will "hint" ever so subtly that he wants a bite of my lunch.. you can here his chuckles in the video. Cute!

Ben & Jerry

Sorry this took so long.. I "lost" it for a while, but now it's found. Ben has grown SO MUCH since this video! So has Uncle Jerry :)