"Let's Open it!"

Christmas Eve at Bubba and Grampy's

(with both sets of grandparents - so lucky!)

Getting tired waiting for Santa...

These pics don't even come close to capturing the fun and chaos of new gifts everywhere! Ben loved opening all of his Christmas presents and after each one he would say "LET'S OPEN IT!" He was so, so, so excited! This year Ben got lots of games (Memory, Chutes & Ladders and Hi-Ho Cherry-0), a digital camera, sled, sleeping bag, Little Einstein's Rocket, tools and workbench, new Thomas trains (fire station and railroad crossing), Batman bat cave - and of course Spiderman - just like he asked from Santa! It was a great year and fun Christmas!

School Photo Day-

Here is Ben's first school picture with his Mommy's Day Out Class. The first time he saw the photo he said "my family!" I have no idea how those teachers got all those kids to sit still long enough to click the pic! Aren't they cute?!

Here comes Santa!

I've been waiting all year to post these photos (pardon the bad scanning)! They were taken 30 years apart - Joe and Ben sitting on Santa's lap! Since their birthdays are so close they are about the same age in these pics. 

Ben asked Santa for Spiderman when he sat on his lap - who knows what Joe wanted - maybe the same thing...

I wasn't sure if Ben was going to sit with Santa or not, but he went right up and sat down brave as could be. Santa was very nice to Ben and even sang the Spiderman theme song for him.

Pre-Thanksgiving Celebration

We had a great time with our favorite Illinois/Kentucky/West Virginia cousins. We got to see Aleena's new house (hopefully Ben didn't destroy it too much...) and had a delicious homemade meal. We love you guys!

Air Hockey

We met up with Ben's buddy Connor on Friday night at a place with games, bounce houses and a jungle gym. Ben had his first experience playing pool and air hockey - fun stuff!

I like to do drawerings!

Today Ben was coloring on his dry-erase board and we asked him if he could draw a face. This is what he came up with. It's his first drawing of something you can truly identify - we were so proud! He went on to draw Mommy, Daddy and Ben, it was so cool! 

Aunt Holly's Birthday!

We had a great time in Columbia for Aunt Holly's birthday. Ben loved seeing his cousins and was totally engrossed in all of their toys. He tried so hard to keep up with the big boys he wouldn't settle down for a nap... that night at dinner he was so EXHAUSTED all he wanted to do was sleep on the floor of the restaurant (yuk!). Ben fell asleep the moment we put him in the car to head back to their house.

AJ was so cute and fun - he liked picking out lots of stories to read together. He was great sharing his toys with Ben and always wanted to know where Ben was. Charlie is such a nice big kid so sweet and caring towards the little guys! Uncle Joe loved playing Wii with Charlie and looks forward to the day Ben can play video games!

Good Morning!

Just a cute pic worth posting!

Bummer Halloween

Joe got the dreaded stomach bug last night, so Ben and I were on our own for Halloween tonight. At first he wouldn't wear his costume, but the more kids who came to the door, the more interested he was in dressing up (he wouldn't wear the pants, though).Ben loved handing candy out and was happy visiting the two neighbors we went to see. 

I was hoping he would tell his joke "KnockKnockWho'sThereBooBooWhoPleaseDon'tCry." But Ben wasn't in the mood. He does the entire knock-knock and says it so fast you can barely follow along - it's really funny. We're not even sure where he learned it, no one seems to know.

We both missed daddy this year... and hope he feels better soon! He asked me "Where's daddy, mommy?" about 500 times.

Jack-O-Lantern

We carved our first  pumpkin with Ben the other night. Ben and I took care of the guts and Joe carved the pumpkin. He really wanted his own knife to carve his own pumpkin - but we're thinking 2-1/2 is just too young for knives... call us crazy. He was very excited to see it glow when we were all done.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

We had a great, fall day at Pumpkinland last weekend. Ben had his first hay ride and we had a picnic by Creve Coeur Lake - a fun time was had by all!

Candy Land

Ben's old enough to play a few games and it's so much fun. We bought Candy Land and he seems to love it. He totally "gets it" and likes moving his guy (always the yellow one) around the board. Just wait until he can play Sorry, Yahtzee and Sequence - he's going DOWN...

Ring Around the Rosy & Dress Up

Ben loves to sing Ring Around the Rosy and when he saw this statue of kids in a circle he instantly began singing and wanted to play. They must sing a lot at his new school because he's got a bunch of new songs he likes to sing. Including my favorite, "One, two, Cha, Cha, Cha!" complete with arm moves.

He's also really into dressing up at the moment. We bought him this helmet he loves wearing around the house (and at Grandad's birthday celebration). He's going to be a fire fighter for Halloween and we can barely keep the costume off of him...

New Train Table!!

We tested out Ben's new custom-made train table at our playgroup today. It was a HUGE hit with the kids and moms. Grandad made this awesome table for Ben that fits on the top of our coffee table. Everyone approved - tossing around words like "genius," and "better than Pottery Barn," and "wish my dad could do that." I think you'll have about five orders coming in, dad.

What can we say?! We're lucky!

Not to mention, Joe made the PERFECT track. But, I'm afraid you'll have to tidy it up tonight - the track didn't really weather the storm...

Ben LOVES to sing!!

Move over David Beckham...

Ben's taking soccer lessons and loving it! It's a class geared for kids ages 2 to 3 and you play with your parents on the field. Today was his first class and he had a total blast (and he actually paid attention, so that was fun to see). It was hysterical to see all these little kids on the field with these tiny toddler-sized soccer balls flying everywhere. He would play for a while, then knock on the glass to wave to me, Bebe and Grandad and yell "I'm playing soccer." He seemed very proud when class was over and totally exhausted.

This is a horrible pic, next time I'll go on the field, but I'm sure it's so blurry due to his sheer speed - OR the reflection on the glass - you decide.

It was a big week for Ben (and his parents) with soccer and school starting. He started a new school on Mondays with his buddies Connor and Dillon. I was a nervous wreck - more nervous than any of my first days of school. He seemed to love it and wasn't shy at all. When I dropped him off he was shoving another kid - so I was so glad to see he was making new friends - - - UGH. Hopefully this "MINE" phase will end soon, but I know we're not alone.

Family Fun Fair and Magic House

Last weekend Ben had a great time at the Family Fun Fair - he was really into it this year. He especially loved the slide and went down about 500 times!

Later in the week we went to the Magic House. He had a blast playing "Bob the Builder" with the truck, hard hats and blocks. He also played with the doll house for a long time - he loves this kind of imaginative play these days! Last winter he could've cared less about the doll house, so it was fun to see the difference between last winter and this summer.

ME WANT COOKIE!

Actually, it was an ice cream sandwich, but to say he enjoyed it would be an understatement.

New Toy

Ben made himself at home in the box for our new microwave - he takes his blanket, buddies and flashlight in there. Why DO we buy these expensive toys for him when he's perfectly content with a box?!

Grandad's hat-

We survived pink eye and the fever for five days! Nothing really new - Ben has been talking up a storm and puts together as many as 8-10 words at a time. He wants to do everything by himself ("Ben do, Ben dooooo!").

We were at Bebe and Grandad's house last night when he spotted all of Grandad's hats hanging up - "I can't reach them" - (also one of our favorite lines, it sounds like he's from Ireland or something).

Lake of the Ozarks

We took a Willis/Maddi family vacation last week and despite the pink eye (Ben) had a great time!

Outdoor playgroup-

Today we went to Ben's friend, Connor's house for playgroup. We had a great time playing outside with bubbles, t-ball and the water table. Ben had the MOST fun on the toy 4-wheeler that was battery powered - he was a terrible driver, crashing to everything in his way. It was a riot. He also loved popsicles for snack! What a fun morning!

Goats and Train

I took Ben to the Zoo on Sunday so Joe could have the morning off (he's doing the same for me this weekend!). We went to the Children's Zoo for the first time and had a blast. He loved petting the goats and kept rubbing them with is face (yuk!) as seen in the above pic. He does that if he sees a photo or picture of an animal in a book - he also does it to Uncle Tim - one of his #1 guys! I guess it's like a hug or kiss. 

We tried to ride the train at the Zoo, but they don't allow strollers on the train and I couldn't leave it since I was by myself. SO, later in the day we took Ben on the MetroLink to get coffee near the university. Ben was completely silent the entire ride - loving every moment in absolute awe. We'll definitely do that again!

Here it comes…

I know, I know - nothing's sacred - poor kid!

We've been talking with Ben about using the "big boy potty" for a long time but he never was interested, in fact he always said "no, no, no potty." UNTIL last night - he tried the potty with Daddy's help (there is a kid seat on top of the toilet). He even said "here it comes" before he went - so now we know he knows what's going on. 

Ben and I have spent a large chunk of the day in the bathroom - what fun! But I'm happy to report since last night he's gone pee in the potty three times. 

No "number two" so far - the kid is like clockwork so I knew when he would have to go - I placed him on the seat and we read books. I could tell he had to go (and badly) but he just wouldn't do it. Two seconds later we put a diaper on for nap, he ran to his room, shut the door and took care of business in private. Oh well, baby steps!

Happy Day!

Ben thought the 4th of July was just one big birthday party - and I suppose it is - but he kept saying "Happy Day!" (which is how he says happy birthday). We went to the WG parade in the morning and he had a lollipop and popsicle before noon - so he knew he was in for some fun! He desperately wanted a flag at the parade and luckily someone was passing them out so he waved it like crazy all morning. 

We also walked up to the carnival by our house after nap and rode the toy train three times ($4 for a 2-1/2-minute ride - gulp!) - but he loved it and waved to Daddy every time we came around the bend.

Thankfully he slept well through three nights of fireworks - since we live so close to where they let them off the entire house shakes! We were considering letting him watch the fireworks if he was awake, but he doesn't even like the noise of a blender or vacuum cleaner, so we're pretty sure the fireworks wouldn't be a big hit.

Grant's Farm

On Friday Ben and I went on a field trip with Auntie to Grant's Farm. Ben loved the train, it takes you from the parking lot all around the farm. We saw a lot of animals and he told Daddy each one we saw that night - turtles, camels, elephants, horses, goats ("Ben feed a bottle") and he was very serious about listing them all. 

Also, you can see he wore his watch while we were there - this was a first and very funny to see! I guess it's more of an accessory until he can tell time!