Tis the season to be jolly!

We are having so much fun with Benjamin this Christmas season. He is such a character. He loves to sing, and so when we discovered a song with lots of “la,la, las,” he took right to it!

Speaking of jolly, Benjamin is having a grand old time opening presents. He gets so excited, and tears right in. Last night, I was trying to wrap gifts, and he would NOT part with a gift for my grandparents. It was in a cardboard box, so he didn’t even know what it was. But, he dragged that thing all over the room, yelling “No, no no!” any time I got close to taking it from him. Did I mention, “No,” is Benjamin’s favorite word right now? Anyway, here he is after opening a birthday gift from Aunt Christy and Uncle Mike.

 

 

He is in silly mode much of the time. And, monkey see, monkey do seems to be the theme. My nephew, Eden, had plenty to teach Benjamin.

More gifts…Benjamin got to open a present from my friend Katie, who came to spend the evening with us while we were in Findlay and my parents were out of town. She played Mr. Potato Head with Benjamin, who was thrilled with the toy.

And, we baked cookies!

The next day, we went back to Bluffton, where Benjamin got a few lessons in Wi sports. OF all the cousins, he says very few names, but he says “Asher” quite clearly.

He met a lot of first and second cousins this weekend! I think this family is overrun with boys!

 

Opening presents was chaos, but Benjamin loved it. (except when he learned he couldn’t keep everyone else’s presents.)

His favorite gift was…you guessed it…a train. Here he is with his grandpa “Bob Bob.”

The next few photos are here, because Benjamin is obsessed with the camera. He likes to get his photo taken and then immediately see it displayed on the camera. He comes running whenever I pull out the camera, and he likes nothing more than to see himself on it! So, we played this game while cuddling on the couch for quite a long time yesterday!

I just love this little guy! I forgot to mention, we had his 2-year well visit last week. He is still close to the 75th percentile in height and he grew and inch and a half since his last visit six months ago. He is in the 20th for weight, but the doctor wasn’t worried about it. She said he is always going to be on the skinny side. Not much of a surprise there. He was such a ham…he even did a summersault on the floor of the exam room while I was talking to the doctor. Show off!

That’s all for now!

More Benjamin from this week

I have a bunch of photos to share, so here we go!

After Benjamin fell out of his Little Tykes car window, where he was exiting rather than using the door, he had a large lump on his forehead. We decided to get milkshakes, because who doesn’t feel better after a milkshake?

Another night, we decided at the last minute to go to the zoo to see the lights. It was a great family outing, even if it was a little cold!

We loved the Christmas train, especially when it went around Swan Lake, and we got to say hi to the ducks and swans.

Jeremy took very few photos, and didn’t want to ask someone to take a family photo…so it looks like he wasn’t here. In fact, he was merely sipping his hot chocolate from afar.

When Jeremy packed up to leave, Benjamin got a little concerned.

It is difficult to explain to a toddler that Dada was going on a trip for a week. He kept looking for him everywhere, and cried quite a bit when Dada didn’t make an appearance.

But, on Tuesday, we headed to FIndlay, and things got better. He is used to going there without Jeremy, so it didn’t seem as strange to him and he stopped looking everywhere for Dada.

We went to see Benjamin’s cousins Tody, Aubrey and Emma. Toby shared his train so nicely with Benjamin, and they both were fairly quiet except for occassional, “choo choo” noises.

 

When Jeremy arrived, he brought snow with him! So, he took Benjamin outside to play while I went shopping with my Dad. It was a big success. Both Jeremy and Benjamin were super excited to play.

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

It isn’t his birthday technically for two more days, but we had a party and told him it was his birthday so as not to confuse him. How fun it was to see his excitement over presents, balloons, cake and people. Here are some highlights.

Nana and Papa gave Benjamin a basketball hoop a few days before the party to entertain him at their house while Jeremy was in New Orleans. He was so exited! He kept saying “Basketball!” and pointing at the box. He helped Papa put it together piece by piece.

 

Forgive the pun, but it was a slam dunk gift! I am sure I will be sitting on the sidelines of many games in Benjamin’s future. He is quite taken with this sport and others.

I worked on his cake over two days, and it was quite a project! But, it was all worth it when Benjamin saw it and yelled, “Choo Choo!”

Nana and Papa gave him his second gift early too. It was a rhythm set, which was a super fun experience for Benjamin… our little music lover. He started dancing right away, grabbed the drum sticks to drum and was especially excited about blowing on the recorder.

Dada arrived, and so we both got to surprise Benjamin the morning of his party.

An “UP oon!” Benjamin was thrilled with his Thomas balloon, and he didn’t want to get dressed, since his Thomas pajamas matched.

He took it with him to watch cartoons while Dada showered.

But, he wasn’t about to let Dada out of his sight for long.

Grandpa Hilty (Bob Bob) came early to hang out, and Benjamin was excited about new books…and counting them. That his newest skill that he loves to practice. Often, though, we hear 1,2,3,4,5,6,9,6,9,6,9. and when we remind him about seven, he starts back, 7,8,9. It is too cute!

Aunt Keri and Grandma Jan helped Benjamin unwrap a few gifts.

Benjamin thought it was very cool when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.

After everyone left, he saw the cake all cut up and said, “OHHH NOOOO! Choo Choo! Oh Noo!” It was so funny!

We were so happy out=of-town family made it!

What a fun day!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful four days in Findlay/Bluffton, and it was such a treat to have Jeremy there too! I feel like all I did was eat, but I suppose I have a built in excuse that I am eating for two. Benjamin, on the other hand, refused to eat most anything placed in front of him unless it was pumpkin pie or sticky buns. Sigh.

I didn’t take many photos…I know…shame on me! We had a wonderful meal with GG Sue and Bob Bob at my parents’ house on Thursday. Then, on Friday, we went to visit Jeremy’s dad. Benjamin enjoyed discovering “toys” around the house, including a quill feather and a measuring tape, that provided lots of entertainment.

As you can see, I lounged on the couch and let Jeremy and Bob chase our little ball of energy everywhere. That is the nice thing about being home around family. I can sit!

That night, we took Benjamin to see the trains at my parents’ exit. We rode the train for a few minutes, and then looked at the exhibit.

Benjamin wants a train table so badly…good thing that is at the top of his Christmas list…

Saturday, we ate with Grandma Jan, and then Sunday, we spent the morning/early afternoon with the Hilty extended family. Benjamin got to swim at the retirement village, so he was super excited.

Again…no photos. Sigh.