Catch all…

This blog is going to be a hodgepodge of events, because I haven’t even gotten our Christmas photos up here, and it is almost time for Benjamin’s 13-month blog!

We have been up to quite a bit since I last posted. We took a trip to Michigan and had a wonderful two days with Jeremy’s sister and her family. We saw where Aaron works at the Coast Guard and were absolutely amazed by the beautiful view from their house. The area is filled with vineyards and cherry orchards. I am sure it is so beautiful in the Spring!

As soon as we returned, I had two days to catch up and then I repacked my suitcase for Washington, D.C. It was an amazing opportunity to get a taste of what the national media experiences daily. I sat in the front row of the press gallery in the Capitol, and if you look closely on some of the photos of John Boehner getting the gavel passed to him by Nancy Pelosi, you can see me leaning over the railing! I will have to find the one online where I spotted myself and zoom it in sometime.

This is on top of the Capitol.

 

This is outside the Speaker’s office. It has the best view in Washington!

 

And, inside the Capitol. He spent three days in D.C. and I practically lived in this building or in the tunnels underneath!

While I was working far too much to play tourist, I did get some exclusive tours via my press badge. Boehner’s press secretary took me on a tour of the new office Tuesday evening after most people were gone for the night and the building was closed to tourists. There is something about walking through those old hallways and hearing the echo of your footsteps that gives you chills. Our country’s forefathers walked those hallways and deliberated in those offices.

 

My other awesome tour was of the Capitol dome. Only a handful of people in Washington ever will get that tour, and John’s press secretary got me a spot along with our photographer. Only Boehner’s closest supporters got to go. I must admit I was a little nervous as I got near the top, and I had to hold onto railings with both my hands. I could barely look over the edge.

I was up really high!

When I got home, I felt like my baby boy had grown so much in three days! He is toddling so much more, and it is so cute to see him grin in satisfaction when he makes it across a room. I swear this morning he said “OK” twice. He hasn’t done it since, so I have no proof, but it was precious. His new favorite game is to empty something completely and fill it back up. So, his basket of diapers gets dumped out many times, and he enthusiastically flings them over his shoulder. He also likes to throw his blocks out of the basket one by on and then drop them back inside. We caught him doing this with his wipes and had to put a stop to it, since those aren’t cheap!

Tonight, Benjamin played catch with us. He kept throwing his ball to us every time we bounced or rolled it back. He was so pleased. He also has been Mr. Monkey. He LOVES his chair, and he especially loves that he can climb on it. After several dives over the edge, he hasn’t yet learned that it hurts to fall. We are working on that.

Benjamin always is teething, so I am sure it comes to no surprise that he again has been rather miserable with those darn teeth. He now has all his 15-month molars and the canines are popping through. His poor gums are bright red, and he is constantly trying to find relief, even if it is gnawing on his own fist.

Benjamin still loves to dance, and music of any kind makes him smile. He sings…or at least sounds like he is singing to me… and he babbles non-stop at times. I love to hear the inflection in his voice as he tells us all about his day. Tonight, he read some books to me. It was precious.

We have always found this funny, but Benjamin has been making us laugh so much this weekend with his insistence that mommy and daddy  refrain from PDA. Jeremy and I were cuddling on the floor of Benjamin’s room while he played. He looked up, crawled purposely at us, and tried to separate us with his hands. Later, I was holding Benjamin, and Jeremy came over to hug us both. Benjamin kept pushing him away. I handed him to Jeremy and tried the same thing. He pushed me away! Someone doesn’t like to share! Benjamin will always know how much his mommy and daddy love each other, and I am sure he will be that kid going “aww Mom!” or “Aww Dad!” as we totally embarrass him in front of his friends!

OK. Here is my photo dump of all things Benjamin!

Our crazy warm day at the end of December when it hit 65 degrees!

Look at me walk!

My television junkies…Benjamin gets more excited over Praise Baby and Baby Einstein videos than anything else. He jumps up and down screeching and pointing at the screen. He laughs out loud whenever something strikes him as funny, and that just melts our hearts…so we let him be a TV junkie at times just to hear that.

 

Here he is when we first gave him his chair.

 

Here he is watching story time with Nana. We also have these on our ipods so he can watch when we need to distract him.

 

Still don’t have all the b-day and Christmas photos, but here Benjamin is with his Grandpa Bob Hilty.

 

Until next time…I need to get my camera out tomorrow for a few updated shots with all his teeth. We also have some funny videos of him walking and also of him laughing hysterically. We will get those up soon. I am hoping things will be calmer for the next few weeks. My boss said to take Monday off, so I plan to get a massage and relax!

PS If you notice typos in this blog, I apologize. I am writing it in a hurry and I can’t see the screen well enough from my couch to tell exactly what it says.