Ben's 1st Birthday

Well we made it threw the first year and everyone tells me its just going to get better. I can't believe Ben is one! We had such a wonderful party for him. So many people came out to celebrate his big birthday. He got a ton of toys. My friend Melissa said " It looks like toys r us threw up in your house" witch is so true. These toys are going to last him for the next couple of years and save Luke and I a ton of money ; )

I think Ben had a good time at his party. He was getting over being sick : ( and as I thought it would happen, he didn't want anything to do with his cake. It was a birthday to remember, at least for Luke and I. Hopefully Ben will look back at his pictures and see that we threw him a great party. Luke and I want to thank everyone again for coming and being apart of a big milestone for Ben and for all the wonderful gifts you all gave him. Thank you Judy and Ron (Maga and Papa) again for letting us have his big day at your house. Everything came out great. It was a good day : )

OL' MAN RIVER

Where did the year go? Seems like yesterday Nici was sending me out to Taco Bell and McDonalds to get her the usual, 3 Burritos, 2 Tacos and a chocolate milkshake to halt the cravings in that last month we had of freedom! For those of you who remember and saw my lovely wife you will know that those numbers on the food are not that exaggerated (HA).

Seeing that this might be my last post on the blog after my last comments I just want to express our thanks to everyone for this past year. The visits, gifts, baby-sitting, hand me downs and just your friendship to the three of us has made it a wonderful start to this next chapter in our life.

For those of you that have children we now understand what it is that makes these little guys or girls so special.

11 days and counting..................hopefully I'm still alive to see it.

Maga's New Puppy

Maga got a new puppy. Her name is Milly, I really like her. She loves to give me kisses and play with me. I hope that I can get a puppy one day : )

Easter

I had my first Easter and boy was it exciting. I woke up and the Easter bunny left me a basket with a toy and some sports easter eggs, then we headed over to Uncle Don and Aunt Shirley's house. I got to hunt for easter eggs, which had dollar bills in them (thanks uncle don) and hung out with my cousins. It was a fun easter.

Park, Zoo and U of I

We went to University of Illinois, my Dad's alma mater. What a cool campus, very big. I got to see the field my dad played football on and maybe one day I'll play on too ; ) We meet up with the Rouse's and had dinner, then headed to an Illini baseball game. It was a great day!

We headed to the zoo. I got to see so many different animals, it was awesome. I'm not sure what animal I liked the best, but I hope to go back soon so I can figure it out.

My Mom and Dad finally took me to the park for the first time. It was quite fun. There was a lot to do there. I went down the slide with my dad. Got to swing on the swings, but it was really cold so we didn't last too long, well I should say my mom didn't last long ; ) 

9 Month Check Up

Hello everyone, I had my 9 month check up today. It went really well. I am now 20 pounds 14 1/2 oz and 29 1/2 inches long. I'm as healthy as can be. Though I did get 2 shots, which really hurt and made me cry, but I got over it fast. I'm starting to become a big boy.
This last weekend I went to my Maga and Papa's house and got my first hair cut. My Uncle Zak cut it for me while my dad held me. I think I did pretty good. My mom was really nervous about my Uncle Zak cutting it, but she ended up happy with the outcome. My Auntie Beth also gave me a wonderful gift that I love so much, it's a blow up ducky bath tub. I love taking baths in it.
I am now holding my own bottle like a big boy. I know its a big relief for my mom cause now she can just put me on the floor and I go to town while she gets some things done around the house. I am trying to figure out finger foods right now. Not sure if I like them so much. I do though, always want to eat whatever my parents are eating. Sometimes I am lucky and get a couple of scraps from them, yumm. I like to drink out of my parents cups too. My mom tries to give me a sippy cup, but I just rather drink out of theirs. Well, I have to say good bye for now. I will write soon.

SATURDAY

Like Frank "The Tank" and his famous quote from Old School, Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

For those of you who saw the movie our Saturday was fun, but note quite as fun as Franks. (No streaking or late night KFC, but we did have fun.)

We started off visiting Maga and her last day in the hospital. It's so good to see Mom smile so we knew this was a good start to the day. I don't know what it says about our family knowing that you're mother is the toughest one of the bunch, but it was still pretty fun pushing her buttons and having her chase us around the house with the wooden spoon all those years. Good thing for us her footwork wasn't always the best!

I think Benny is getting to that stage where if he doesn't see you everyday he is a little hesitant in hanging out with you (except his Aunt BethAnne) but he quickly became acclimated with his surroundings and had a great time hanging out with his Maga and flirting with the nurse.....that's my boy!

After a few hours at Northwestern we met Uncle Butko and Renata at the 11th Street Diner for lunch. Benjamin's first trip to a Jewish delicatessen, but certainly not his last. Even though he couldn't enjoy the Woody Allen special like his pops, he certainly took a liking to the crackers and french fries. And thanks for the hockey puck Uncle Butko!

To finish up our Saturday we headed over to Glen Ellyn for our second annual OL/QB/WR/DL reunion at Danny Cutter's house. I'll save the details for the next post, but I just wanted to thank the Cutters again for hosting.