Crazy Fun!!

We got together for dinner with a few of our neighbors and their kids over the weekend. Four kids, 3 within a year of each other. They had fun playing with each other...or should I say playing around each other. We tried unsuccessfully to get a nice picture of all 4 together. Of course they didn't want to sit still for us :)

Best picture of the 4 of them and one of them is already on the move!

Brother tackeling his little sister.... Ben not sure what's going on!

Just Ben left...my good little boy!!

See Ben in the midst of the chaos?! He didn't seem to mind!

Sunday afternoon bike ride

We went for a bike ride Sunday afternoon then stopped for dinner on the patio at the Victoria House on the way home. How cute is this first picture....I think the little man was having fun!!!

Victoria Volksfest

This October we will have been in Victoria for 5 years and this was our first time at Volksfest. It was in downtown Victoria... there was food, an art fair, antique cars, petting zoo, and other fun for kids. For adults there was a wine tasting for a new vineyard that is opening next weekend in our neck of the woods, Parley Lake. The white was really good, I would definitely recommend it. One of their whites won second place at the fair this year. We didn't get to try that one so I guess we better go check it out!

Here are a few pictures from lunch at School of the Wise....

Carrots for Ben, Sangria for mom!

Ben, you are getting carrots all over your shoes!

Ben eating cereal...we could only give him a few at a time, they kept blowing away!

Ready to roll!!

Fun with Uncle Nic & Amy

Uncle Nic and Amy came to hang out with Ben Friday night so mom and dad could go out with the neighbors to Canterbury. (Didn't win any money again). Looks like he had fun.... and based on how long of a morning nap he took today, they wore him out!! Thanks again guys!!

Counting my blessings

Yesterday I received e-mails from friends letting me know of the passing of 3 of their friends. This summer more than any other has brought more of this kind of news....sick babies, babies and children losing their mothers, losing grandparents, friends and loved ones. One thing I can say for sure is too much of it is cancer and we really need to find a cure!

Why I mention such depressing news is, it has been a constant reminder to me of how blessed I am. I have a WONDERFUL husband who makes the best partner and an awesome dad...and we are SOOOOOO blessed to have Benjamin. He is the most amazing gift.... I give him lots of hugs and kisses everyday so he knows how loved he is!

Here is a picture of my two favorite blessings :)

9 months old today!

Weight: 19lbs 14oz 45th percentile
Height: 28 inches 50th percentile
Head: 18 1/4 inches 80th percentile (where did he get the big head?)

The doctor said there is still no sign of teeth and asked us if either one of us had gotten teeth late but we didn't know....mom?

Moving!!!

Over the weekend Ben figured out how to sit up from the belly position. Then while trying on some new fall clothes (lots of back to school sales, even for babies!) he took his first few crawls.... putting his hands out in front of himself and then dragging his legs behind together at the same time. He only did it a few times, then back down on his belly for the "commando crawl" which he does so well :) So fun!

Getting into everything...

We were putting away dishes and the little man made a bee-line to the tupperware cupboard and he had a blast throwing them all over the floor :)

New toys

Little man is finding all sorts of fun new toys. He is opening drawers and pulling out anything he can find to stick in his mouth. Good thing we got the off limits cabinets locked last week!

Does this look like napping??

So I mentioned the little man finally decided to rollover (back to tummy)...well now he can't stop, especially when it's time for a nap. I thought it was fun the first time. See how cute and happy he was when I came to get him? But now he needs to figure out how to roll from tummy to back or to sleep on his stomach. How do I teach him to do that...funny little man?!

Already trying to be independent...

Our little man has decided that he likes to hold his own bottle. In fact he eats better when he does it himself lately. He hasn't figured out how to tip the bottle back so he lays on the floor and it's gone in no time!

I bought him a new toy the other day and he was having fun with that (pictures at the bottom). I would pop up the little characters and Ben would close them all as fast as he could :)

Ben and grandpa

A cute picture from our last visit to Mankato....Ben has grandpa's hat on and is practicing his baseball swing!

Some cute pics...