Christmas 2010

Last night, we had Christmas with Grandpa’s side of the family.  Everyone was so generous to us and especially Ben.  He really loved his Thomas train and Batmobile.

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We got home so late that Ben couldn’t help us put out milk and cookies for Santa.  Santa appreciated the ones that mommy and daddy put out though.

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Ben had quite a sight to see when he woke up this morning.

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He went straight for the cozy coupe that mommy and daddy gave him...

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…until he found the basketball hoop that Grandpa Dean gave him the night before

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Santa gave him this nice bowling set that wasn’t the hit that he thought it would be.

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The Legos from Paige, Breckin, and Kate were a hit.

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Towel == Socks

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He loved this steering wheel mommy and daddy got him.  It makes crazy sounds, as advertised.  Some of the sounds might be old Three Stooges tracks.  It will keep him occupied on the way to Mississippi until daddy needs to have it turned off.

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Ben got a lot of “Little People” today.  He has basically the whole town: a farm, a fire house, this zoo train, an airport, a car wash, and a school bus.

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Santa got him this awesome wagon that he enjoyed riding.

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Ben got daddy this nice picture frame for his office.

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Ben got mommy a nice jewelry travel case, this bracelet, and a new keychain.

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Here’s the aftermath.

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Oh, but that’s not all.  After a nap and church, we went to grandma’s house.

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She got him this sled that they’ll enjoy this winter, though it was nap time again and didn’t go over very well today.  He did really like the Little People bus she got him though.

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Uncle Dave got him a monkey ball.

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And this cool frog that was handled mainly by the eyes because they looked like balls.

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We took a break for a nap and some turkey fun.  Apparently turkeys cook better right side up.  That was discovered after we were all called to the kitchen to see the turkey without any breast meat.

 

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We opened presents again after dinner.  The Johanns got him the airport mentioned above.  Nana got him this fun wagon full of legos.

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Ben was really grateful for all of his gifts.  He went to bed while everyone finished their desserts and presents.  Mommy and daddy woke him up from a peaceful sleep to drive home.  Daddy was soaked after scraping 8 inches of snow off the car.  Ben was none the wiser, and is undoubtedly dreaming of the fun he’ll have with all of his toys tomorrow.

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Merry Christmas everyone!

Wink

Kicking it

As you know, Ben loves anything he can roll, throw, and now kick. He's graduated from "just walking" into kicking.


He can even do it with a real ball. Note the solid 3-point stance.


Speaking of kicking it, Ben has been working on an elaborate set of dance moves. It involves spinning. Notice how he only stops to hug daddy and check out a Michigan football.


And more spinning with a subtle head twist that looks like he's saying "no you didn't".


Here's the finished product with his head twist, a spin, and tons of twerking.

More Walking Practice

Here are two more videos of Ben walking

Bouncy Ball fun and Walking!

Ben loves this giant bouncy ball his uncle PT and aunt Sue Sue got him.


He's also getting pretty good at walking.

Ben Dancing

Here's Ben dancing:


Look familiar?

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Ben videos

Ben had a poop the other day that was so foul that I needed something to remind me how adorable he is. So, here are a few videos that help do that.

This one is a bit old. It's from Christmas time, and he was just falling asleep after a long day of opening presents...


This one is recent and shows his clapping and waving skills...


This one shows how he scoots around and plays with his big red ball...


Oh, and that reminds me. At bath time, Ben has discovered (as all men do at some point), that he has a toy to play with no matter where he goes. He'll thank me someday that I don't have a video of that.

Ben's first trip to the track

We took Ben to Arlington Park on May 1 for opening day weekend and so daddy could watch the Kentucky Derby. They had a petting farm and ponies to ride, but we just stuck with the petting farm and watching the big horses.

Unfortunately, Ben got sick and we ended up watching the derby at home. But, he picked daddy and uncle Skindzier a winner before we left.

New things for Ben

Ben is really good at sitting up now, and his favorite toys are his musical farm (not pictured), his blocks (pic taken 2/9)...

... and anything that will roll. Generally, that's a ball of some sort, but he'll roll his blocks as well. It's pretty funny to watch.

He's started eating "big boy food", and can feed himself. Here he is eating mashed potatoes, but that's a mess. We usually give him bananas, bread, blueberries, and cut up carrots or beans. Bananas are his favorite though.

When he's sitting up and needs to get something, he's able to scoot over to it. He can crawl, but hasn't yet figured out a way to go from sitting to prone, or back. So, he basically crawls if he's on his stomach and scoots if he's on his butt. Here he is right before he figured out how to crawl forward. He crawled backward for a while and it always seemed to confuse him.

Here he is a month ago at Easter time, coloring eggs with Mommy.

He has 2 teeth now, and is waving a lot. He also likes to pull himself up to stand by the couch, but he needs something to grip, like my hands, while doing so. Once he's up there, we're able to get him to stumble from side to side to chase after a ball.

He's yelling at me now because naptime is over.

I'll post more frequently, I promise.