Ben is One!

Oh my sweet little boy… congratulations on turning 1! You are so precious to us and we cannot imagine our lives without you.





  Let's take a minute and remember some of the fun things you've been doing:

In your 10th month, you got your 5th & 6th teeth. You were learning to wave and hand us things we asked for.

You also started "cruising" all along the furniture.

By the time you turned 11 months, you were weaned (mommy was a little sad) and you had taken your first steps! You also had your 7th tooth come in.

Now you have 12 months under your belt and you are ready to take on the world! You are sweet and snuggly and funny and adorable as can be. You don’t have very many words yet, but you sure know how to make some noise and get our attention. You are also up to 8 teeth, and we are sad to report that you are not the most pleasant teether. I'm dreading those molars coming in one day! You love to eat and you love to be outside. By the time your birthday party came around you were a pro at walking. I'm sure we'll be running after you soon! You started Mother’s Day Out just before your birthday and you are already a star pupil. The teachers rave about what a good baby you are! We can’t wait to see how you grow and who you become in the coming year.

Happy Birthday to you!



Happy Birthday, Little Bug!



I can not believe it, but my little bug is turning ONE! Two years ago Brian and I were enjoying our first year of marriage and planning to move into this house. Now we have a one year old – a toddler! Impossible! We had a wonderful day celebrating with 30 of our closest friends and family (seriously – the house was packed)! I really wanted to make Ben’s cakes myself, and I’m happy with how they turned out. The decorating went pretty well and the cakes themselves were DELICIOUS. (Oh, how I love homemade buttercream icing). We played, had lunch, opened presents and laughed a lot. Happy Birthday, Benji! I know you won’t remember your day, but I wanted you to know that you had a grand ole time! You make us so proud. We love you big as the sky!

We were blessed to have tons of family and friends (from in
town and far away) to celebrate with us).



Ben & friends played and watched "A Bug's Life"

Then we enjoyed a nice lunch

Getting ready to sing

Love his expression... this was right after we foiled his plan
to take a swipe at the cake

Ok, then, let's get this show on the road!

Ben's smash cake

I got this!

Consider it smashed

Just need to wash it down with a little milk

Cue sugar coma

Present time

A fun new ball, among other things

An extremely blessed little boy!

Ready to take flight

Birthday hugs from Uncle Brad & Aunt Jess

Swimming Lessons

Some friends of mine from church mentioned that they had found someone to do swim lessons at one of their neighborhood pools, so I signed Ben and I up for a “Mommy and Me” Class. It was fun to get in the water with him and splash around (especially because we don’t have access to a pool in our neighborhood), but I will say that the “lessons” part was money wasted. The teacher didn’t do much besides have us sing songs and bounce around in the water with them. It was all stuff that I do on my own with him anyway. Oh, well, I’ll know better for next time. I did get some cute pictures of him in his swim suit out of it! :)

Holding our breath... getting ready for a little dunk

Practicing floating

Such a big boy - he loved being in the water

Mid-tour Leave

My baby brother is home from Afghanistan on his mid-tour leave, so Ben and I headed over to Louisiana to visit with him and the rest of the family. We went to Blue Bayou Water Park and ate lots of yummy Cajun food. It was great to see him (and my sweet nephew Gabriel). It is definitely a blessing to have him home safe and sound. I wish he didn’t have to go back so soon! :(

This is Cajun Ben

I love my Uncle Gav

He gives me nachos...

and lemonade...

Yeah, he fills my belly up!
Nom nom nom!

Now it's time to walk it off!

Cheesy smilin' with Mom

Giving a snuggle to Parin Gary

Crazy Boys!

Some love from my sweet Gabe

These two... cutting up as usual

Cousin time!

Practicing his mad walking skills
in the Houston airport

I, Brad, take you Jessica…

This weekend Brian’s brother married Miss Jessica Buschman from Lubbock, Texas. We crammed packed ourselves and Ben’s gear into the Corolla and headed out west to help them celebrate. Diane and Wayne hosted a really nice rehearsal dinner. There were a ton of friends and family members there and the toasts went on forever. It was clear that Brad and Jessica are two very special people that are treasured and cherished by many!

It was a western theme...
I loved the bandana place mats!

Pictures of the bride and groom

Jessica looked beautiful and I heard that the ceremony was awesome. Unfortunately I missed most of it because I was walking the halls with Mr. Cranky Von No-nap. Oh, well! There was a videographer so I won’t have to miss it entirely. I’m just glad that Brian was able to stand up with Brad as his best man. Brad & Jess really are a precious couple and I know we have many years of fun family times ahead of us!

Cutting up before the ceremony - this is when he SHOULD
have been napping!

All dressed up and ready for
the ceremony

Kiss the bride!!!!

Brian, Brad, Jess and her sister/Maid of Honor Jennifer

Cheesing for Grammy

Explaining to Uncle Brad and Aunt Jess
that he hated to miss the ceremony, but he will
DEFINITELY be watching the video later.