His First Steps

CVS

CVS had some great deals today, so I hit the store twice. I went in with $8 in extra bucks, made 4 transactions, paid less than .50 out of pocket, left with $9 in extra bucks and all this stuff:

I love a great deal!

Thanksgiving, 2008

Mommy's Little Taste Tester

Ewww YUCK

Guess what Benjamin discovered today? He was happy- he thought he found another place to take a bath and was quite upset when I removed him!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Mmm...Chex mix- one of our favorites

A variation of Chex mix...muddy buddies....another favorite

The pre-Thanksgiving Day mess

My little helper!

The Day Before Thanksgiving

Growing up, it seems one of the most exciting days in the year was the day before Thanksgiving. My Dad took my younger brother on a trip to upstate New York with him, and they were gone from Monday morning to late Wednesday night. That left just my mom, my sister and I.

Mom always made it fun when dad went away, and preparing for Thanksgiving made it just that more fun. When I was in school, we only got Thanksgiving and the Friday after off. But mom let us take the Wednesday before off to help her prepare for the big day. (Although, looking back, I really wonder if we "helped" her!) We cooked and cleaned and just had a great time together. I really don't remember anything we cooked (we did cook didn't we mom??), and of course I don't remember cleaning (I'm sure I wasn't a great help there!), but I do remember the fun we had just spending the day together.

One of the greatest memories from my childhood. Thanks mom.

Originally posted Nov. 21st, 2007.

Monday

Today we had an unusual treat. My brother and his family stopped by for dinner. It's unusual because they live 7 hours away and the last time they dropped by was a year ago. We had a nice visit and dinner and enjoyed spending time with them. Sam really enjoyed himself as their son is 4 and he and Sam played and ran the whole time they were here. Ellie snapped some cute pictures as they were playing outside.

A large family funny

I don't really think of us as having a large family. To me, it's just normal. I was at the doctor today with Benjamin for his 9 month check up. As we were leaving, I stopped at the receptionist to make his appointment for his 12 month visit. The nurse asked me to spell his name (not unusual at all!). I spelled it, and she looked at the computer.

"Wow." she said. "We have alot of children with that name." (we have an unusually odd last name.)

"Yes" I said. "6. And they're all mine!"

"Oh my!" she replied!

I laughed all the way home!

Benjamin at 9 Months

I missed Benjamin's 9 month birthday on Saturday, but, better late than never, right?? I can't believe he's 9 months old. He's been out as long as he was in! He's such a sweet baby. He had his 9 month check up today at the doctor's-he weighs 19.9 lbs and is 29. 5 inches long. He's in the 90th percentile for height and 40th for weight- long and lean!He says dada all the time, and just yesterday, he started saying mama. He was being a stinker in Sunday School and as I carried him out, he yelled mama the whole way!

As you can see, he still loves his bath, still loves to be outdoors and still enjoys his bottle.He got his very first Christmas present when Grandma and Grandpa were here. It was a light up, musical drum. He was fascinated by it, but then again, he was fascinated by the box also.He has decided that he really doesn't like baby food anymore, so he's starting to eat table food with the rest of us.

Benjamin is a wonderful addition to our family- I can't imagine life without him!

Christmas in November

We had Christmas last night with Grandma and Grandpa. While it would be nice to be with them on December 25th, it is not possible this year, so we were very thankful to have Christmas with them in person this year. It is much better than mailing gifts! One of my gifts- a cute little candle. I love it!
My china hutch deorated for Fall.

Another gift- a beautiful tablecloth that belonged to my Grandmother. I needed a nice tablecloth and I love this one!

I made her a photobook of our reunion this summer.

Grandpa loved his gloves from Ellie.

So did Grandma.

More gifts.

A horse- Ellie's favorite!

Dad got an expresso maker.

Sam was rather excited.

Anna loved this little dog.

Sam got a book with flaps.

Lots of presents and laughter.

It was a fun night.

A spiderman lunchbox with cars inside. It doesn't get much better than that when you're 3!

He was the most excited of all!

They left this morning. It is always sad when they leave, but we have learned to make the most of our time together, even when it is short. We had a great visit and can't wait to see them again. Thanks mom and dad for taking the time and effort to come see us so often.