Sunday, February 28, 2010

Nick Birthday Celebration #1

We had a small birthday celebration for Nick today since his parents were here and had gifts for him. 3 days until the big day!

We let Ben try again with a cup cake since he totally failed at his 1st birthday party. He succeeded this time! Is that a good thing?

My boys...


He really tore it apart before he ate too much.


After I stole a lot of his mess from the tray, Ben finished his cup cake and was a happy boy!



Saturday, February 27, 2010

Day 2 of Mimi and Papi's visit

Bundled up for his first trip downtown DC.


Walking to the National Museum of American History.


Checking stuff out with Papi.


Playing with Mimi in the "under 5 zone."




Daddy's masterpiece...


Which Ben couldn't let stand.



Ben made a friend at lunch and wouldn't let go...


Home for some tickles from Daddy and playtime!




Friday, February 26, 2010

Mimi and Papi come to Bethesda!

On the first day of their visit, we took Ben to an indoor play place this morning to have some fun!












We were successful in having some fun....Ben loved having playmates for the whole day!


Back with Jack!

Ben and Jack.....together again!


Hugs from Jack.



Giggles at the "aahhh chhhewww!" game :)


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Back home

Home and excited about toys that seem "new" after 10 days away!


Sometimes, Ben will pose for a picture now. Maybe Ben's habit of crawling towards me when I'm taking his picture will start to go away.


Ben missed his Auntie Lauren...she got a back massage last night when she came to visit.


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Visiting the Shields family

We got back to DC this afternoon after a very fun few days in Orlando visiting Brian, Aimee & Dylan. Nick flew down and met us as he was totally jealous of our time away from the snow! There are way too many pictures to post here, so I've uploaded them to a Picasa album. Please click below to see pictures from our visit!

Brian and Aimee - Thank you soooo much for having us! We had a great time!

Friday, February 19, 2010

14 months old!

Today, Ben was lucky enough to spend his 14 month "birthday" in Florida! As always, I'm going to write his update. Please disregard if this is boring as this is the best way for me to document what's going on with him. :)

- As announced in previous posts, we are officially counting Ben's first word as "HI." Although it doesn't sound exactly like hi, we are positive this is what he is saying as he is consistent and it is usually accompanied by a wave. People were answering him when we were in a store the other day. He gets excited and just repeats it over and over again. The other thing he says - ALL THE TIME - is "Ah DA!" It seems to mean a lot and is sometimes accompanied by a finger pointing at something. Someday soon we'll find out what he means.

- Ben has learned a good amount of his body parts. He can point to his ear, nose, mouth, tummy, feet, head and an occasional eye. He can do some hand motions on demand, including the newest: itsy bitsy spider (in his own way, of course).

- He continues to be absolutely obsessed with remotes, phones, computers, or anything with buttons that makes noised or lights up. Just try to take one away from him without hearing an obvious protest!

- Ben has started eating a lot of "real" food. He's had things like chicken parm, lasagna, hot dogs, pb&j, grilled cheese and pizza. It's so fun giving him real food! He still loves cheese, lots of fruit, peas, carrots, yogurt and his favorite snack: wheat thins.

Not too much else....Ben's personality just seems to be developing more and more each day. He is definitely communicating with us even if he doesn't have words yet. His little babbling voice is so cute so I can't wait until he actually has conversations with us. Every day, it's fun to see what he learns! Happy 14 months, Benny!

Off to Orlando tomorrow to see DADDY!!!!!! Also, we will be visiting the Shields family where Ben will get to play with his bud Dylan, hug his Godfather and give soon-to-be-a-mommy-of-two, Aimee, a kiss!

Trip to Manatee Park

We took a trip to Manatee Park where, especially because it was a cold day, the manatees had come into the park to get warm. Ben was very excited, as obvious below.


Ben waves and says "HHHAAA" ("hi") to everyone!


Can you see them? There are probably about 8-10 pictured here.


One flipped a tail up.


A better picture of one.


Three coming up for air. See the little snout? So funny...such a unique animal.


We aren't sure if Ben ever saw any of them. He was very into the trees around the edges of the water.



THIS was Ben's favorite part.




With a shell in each hand...Ben was having a blast.


Posing with Grandma and Grandpa.


My Mom's high school friend, Diane, came to town today. I was the flower girl in her wedding when I was about 4!



Ben was ready to go kayaking.



We found a play ground on the way out. Again, Ben was HAPPY!