Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Before going to church Ben helped Momma Kay make her famous cornbread stuffing for dinner the next day.



On our way to Christmas Eve mass we saw a reindeer.

At church we got a nice family picture in front of the tree.

Ben was extra good so he got to help bring up some hay for Baby Jesus' manager.


Before going to bed we put out some cookies and treats for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.

The next morning Ben was amazed that Santa and the reindeer enjoyed his snack he left for them.



Santa and family brought loooots of trains for Ben to play with. He played with them allllll day. Notice the different outfits.

Christmas Eve

Last night we went to this great little park that had Santa, Marshmallow roasting and horsedrawn buggy rides. Santa freaked Ben out a little this year.

During the day Ben got to help Mama Kay with some Christmas baking.

You can tell he is pleased.

That last picture is a good one to zoom in and show his chipped tooth.

Christmas in Tennesse.

We loaded up and headed out to Tennesse to spend Christmas with my parents.

When we got there Ben got reaquainted with an old friend.

From our blog to yours...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Fun in the snow...

The sun finally came out so we got to outside and have a little fun in the snow.

Ben was so sick of being cooped up inside that he tried to make a break for it.

Later we came in and warmed up in a Campbel's soup moment. (Except it was Progressive)....

Later in the day Ben and dad sat down together to do some work on their laptops.

Ben's 1st Trip to the Dentist

Well, Ben visited the dentist for the first time today. He chipped his tooth on Friday, so we went in today to see if there was any damage. The dentist took an x ray and determined that there was no damage to the root or the underlying adult tooth (which already shows up in the x ray).


He said that Ben probably fell and his top and bottom teeth came together so that his bottom teeth actually caused the chip in his top teeth. He said if he had fallen on the pavement in a way that the pavement caused the chip, it would have most likely caused more damage and pushed the tooth up into his gums. There is nothing to be done at this point. He did make several comments that Ben was an excellent patient because he was pretty calm and let the Dr. open and look in his mouth. He said that since he was such a good patient, we may be able to cap his tooth in a few years because he thinks based upon his nature that he will be able to handle the procedure in a year or two. So I was very proud of him, but I knew he would do well as he is generally pretty laid back and not afraid of new people. He got a little nervous during the x ray because I could not be in the room with him, but he did really well and seemed fine once I got back and sat next to him. He also got to play with the model teeth and was given a new toothbrush too! Overall, not a bad first trip to the dentist (except for the whole reason we were there of course!).

You'll put your eye out kid!

I know that there is nothing in common except for the slide, but this picture

made me think of A Christmas Story. Apparently a slide plus snow and ice is a fun combination. At least if you are wearing waterproof pants.

For those of you who don't know, Ben chipped a tooth on Friday coming in from the snow. He is going to the Dentist this afternoon to see what, if anything, should be done. For everyone who says that he is clumsy like his dad, I have to tell you that his teacher told me this morning that he falls much less often than the other kids, but whenever he falls it is spectactular.

Winter Wonderland!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I had a fun night last night slipping and sliding to get to the Walmart to get him some snow boots. That would have been really sad if he had to stay inside while everyone else went out to play.

Christmas Tree and Train

It was time to decorate for Christmas. We got Papa to help out.



Ben got to put the star on the tree.

Ben got a really nice train from Patch last Christmas that we got to set up this year. It is a really neat Lionel train from the 1950's. Every day when we come home he asks to drive the drain.

As you can see he really likes it.

Lazy

Sorry I am lazy and cannot get any Thanksgiving pictures up. You can see a great slideshow from AGTrex here.

Note I skipped ahead in the slideshow to get right to the Ben pictures.....feel free to backtrack though!

Stop Looking!

Everybody who is looking for and asking me what I might like for Christmas, you can just hold it right there....I have found it!

Picture from the ugc/ag wedding

Just got this in the mail today from last spring. This is KatrinaRun's family.

cold day on the playground

Many thanks to MomiDomi for loaning us HP's puffy jacket.

The hat/mouth warmer is a PablitoRun exclusive.

Big shoes

Happy Diwali!

Happy Diwali!

My friend at work made me some Gulab Jamun. They were incredibly delicious. But Ben prounced them yucky. (He wouldn't even try them)

Thank you Geeta!

Some pictures from school.

WHAT DID I DO TO MY TURKEY?

Hanging out with the twins and Aiden in the fort.

Other fun things...

When we weren't at the zoo, we filled our time by reading books with Madgie,

Playing with our alphabet puzzle with Patch,

And just plain having fun with all our toys (by spreading them all out in the room at the same time!).

It was a fun weekend - thanks for coming Madgie and Patch!!

Zoo, cont'd

Look at these crazy kids!

Ben got to pet a baby chick, and a rooster. Ben loves all animals.

Ben walked all over the zoo...

And then he was very tired!

Zoo, cont'd

Then we saw a real elephant.

Then we saw how Ben measured up against a baby rhino.

Then Ben saw a real rhino with Patch. Interesting fact: Rhinos are territorial and will make their territory by peeing and they can pee in any direction. There were actually signs up that told people to stand back because they could get peed on by the rhinos! So needless to say, Patch and Ben moved pretty quickly once the rhino came close!

We learned lots of interesting facts at the zoo, as evidenced below by Ben, Madgie, and Patch all reading the informative sign about hippos!

Brookfield Zoo

Madgie and Patch came up to visit us this weekend, so Ben decided to take them to the zoo. First we had to get ready at home with warm clothes because it was cold out.

Once we got to the zoo, we saw giraffes with Madgie.

Then we climbed on an elephant with Patch.

Then we got to feel a real elephant's tooth and skin.