Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Our first gift-opening

Aunt Mary, Uncle Ken, and Great-Grandma braved the snow on Sunday, and came to our house for a little Christmas celebration. Here are some shots of us opening presents.



The cars and trucks were definitely the biggest hit with Benjamin. He didn't really care too much about any other presents after they were opened! Uncle Ken came up with the great idea to use the sled as a ramp. Benjamin thought we should bring the sled in the house again!



Benjamin thought the sports equipment should come off the chair. I guess he thought they were stickers that would peel off.

Doesn't he look so sweet, sitting on the chair? This was before Aunt Mary showed him how to jump off the chair, and he had to do it all by himself ("Do it self.") over and over! That's okay--it's not very far down!


Opening presents sure is hard work!
Thanks for the visit and all the great presents!

First snow this winter

We had our first snowfall of the season on Friday, and then had some more on Sunday. Benjamin was okay with the snow, as long as he wasn't walking in it. It was practically up to his waist! He loved the snowblower (from a safe distance--it's loud!) and the sledding!



Uh...a little help here, please!


On Sunday, Benjamin sat and watched Daddy snow-blow almost the entire driveway!


Whee! Do it again, Daddy!


Almost like the beach!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Reading Christmas cards



The other day, Benjamin and I were sitting on the couch looking at our Christmas cards, when I caught him "reading." He was saying, "Dear Benjamin" and "That say?" (meaning, What does that say?). Don't you love that look he gives when he's caught?

Don't worry--it's not lipstick!


Benjamin helped me make peanut butter blossoms the other day. It took forever (in his mind) for them to bake and cool off enough to try one. He thought you were just supposed to eat the Hershey's kiss. When he realized he could eat the cookie, too, it was just an added bonus!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Baking Christmas cut-out cookies








"Dee-licous!" as Benjamin would say!

Thank you, Aunt Mary and Uncle Ken!




Benjamin is enjoying the little singing Hallmark snowmen that Aunt Mary and Uncle Ken have given us over the past years for Christmas. He likes to get them all going at once!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Playing baseball

Now that we finally have high-speed internet, I'm attempting a video. This was taken a month or two ago.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The hunt for the Christmas tree

We cut our tree down on Saturday. Our usual Christmas tree farm is closed for the season, so we went to another nearby place. We probably have at least 10 tree farms within a 10-mile radius of our house. Jonathan had his heart set on a concolor (sp?) fir, so we had to go to a place that sold those trees.

Hmmm...they all seem a little big to me.



This is actually one tree, although it's hard to see in the picture. They say people cut down trees that look like them...





Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving in New Jersey

We traveled to New Jersey on Thanksgiving to celebrate with Aunt Mary, Uncle Ken, Aunt Joan, and Grandma. We didn't hit much traffic, despite what everyone was saying at church the night before. "You're traveling by New York City on Thanksgiving! Good luck!" We had the traditional meal when we got there, and then did some relaxing and game-playing. On Friday we braved the stores, but waited until the afternoon, when the crowds had thinned out. We came back on Saturday morning, to get ready for Sunday, of course.


Okay, Great-Grandma, catch! (Still working on ROLLING the ball in the house--not throwing!)


So many new toys to play with! So many people to entertain!


The school bus looked like so much fun, that Benjamin tried to climb in! (Not sure what the face is about; he's been doing that lately when we tell him to smile!)


Won't anyone join me?


Now for dessert...


...a gingerbread house!