It was a very festive weekend. We went to see Santa on Saturday evening. There was a tree lighting at a shopping plaza with a 42 foot tree. Ronald McDonald was there too for a bit of fundraising. Ben was slightly freaked out when Ronald picked him up for a photo op. When he sat on Santa's lap, he did pretty good at first. However just after I snapped this shot, he started crying. I have that one on our fridge! It was not quite as bad as I expected, and poor Karra was a bit more terrified. We also did some shopping for our Thanksgiving feast. Do you think a 20lb turkey is too big for four people :0)? We like leftovers! Hopefully that puppy thaws in time. It is nice to have a three day work week ahead, and I look forward to food, family and football! Ben also practiced walking and going down the stairs backwards. He used to nose dive off our front step without even thinking about it. Now that he knows there is another way down, he acts nervous about it. He will inch up to the edge and fuss at us until we help him down. He also had a fun time on the rocking horse from grandma and grandpa. We've had it for a while, but this was the first time we put him on it. Honestly I didn't think he was big enough to understand it. Boy was I wrong! He loves it!

11 Months!

Ben turned 11 months this weekend! The weather turned on us, so we didn't do much outside. He was content paying with the diaper box while we made chicken & dumpling and cookies. It is amazing how much toys cost, and the little ones tend to like the boxes the best. I guess they are kind of like cats in that way!
Well his first week at the new daycare went splendid. He already seems very fond of Jackie. Plus, he is the only boy there! I asked one of the little girls on Ben's first day how it went, and she told me they practiced brushing his hair. I love it! He has set nap times and they seem to be working out. If he doesn't want to sleep, he just chats with his neighbor until she falls asleep. He also is using the sippy cup there instead of a bottle. While Jackie tends to be more of a sippy cup kind of person, we wanted him to practice more with it anyway. So, she gets to do the dirty work for us! She also has a very old and kind pup who Ben seems to enjoy. Apparently his first week there he picked up the word 'dog'. Great. Now I have two dog lovers - I am out numbered!
We also decided to purchase a second car seat this weekend. We have lasted almost a year with only one, and swapping cars when we needed to. We figure we will likely need two someday, so what the heck!

Ben had a fun day with the laundry. He loves to take everything out of the basket one at a time. Today he just went all out and knocked the entire thing over. He wastes no time. He also said a new word today. Before I tell you what it was, this is the list of all the words we have heard him say clearly: dada, mama, hi, bye, and the latest...ow. Now I know he said 'ow' today because I put my finger in his mouth to retrieve something he should not have eaten and I accidentally clawed him with my nail. Then, he said ow. It was my fault, but hey at least I got him to speak!
Tomorrow is another big day for him. He is starting at a new day care. It is a women who came highly recommended by a friend who currently has her two girls there. They have been there for a few years now and love her. I hope Ben will too. She seems wonderful and I sure hope that he will nap more and be sick less. However, Karra will not be going to the same place. So although we are really bummed, we will just have to schedule more baby outings. Fine by me!
We also had our family pictures yesterday. It was a beautiful 70 degrees so we were able to get some nice ones outdoors. However by the time we got inside for Ben's Christmas photos, he was not quite the participative baby I had hoped for. He just loved the fake snow way too much! I hope we at least get one good shot, but with such a cute model how could we not?!

Ben went over to play with Karra & Ayden last week and Kim snapped these oh-so-cute pictures! They were even playing in their pj's together. The last one is a little funny because Karra took that right out of Ben's hand and he looks confused. I guess a little lady always gets what she wants! They are going to be 1 in just a few short weeks. I am looking forward to him making a mess with his birthday cake! We also enjoyed our first visit to the dentist the other day. Ben did a great job until the dentist held him down to show me how to brush his teeth. He was not too happy with him after that. We have been brushing his teeth for over a month now because he has 7 already! The dentist said we are doing a great job and his teeth and gums look very healthy. We won't be introducing any toothpaste until his next appointment in May. We did leave with a cute pooh toothbrush and rubber ducky for Ben's chewing pleasure. What a big boy!

Well Ben's first Halloween was a lot of fun! We went to a friends house for some yummy chili and desserts and then headed down the block for the most amazing Halloween display we have ever seen. The entire neighborhood puts on a show with light, music and props. There were giant spiders crawling down houses, pirate ships, dancing pumpkin heads and so much more! It was a kids (or adults :)) dream come true. It was however completely packed, so the police were nice enough to shut down the streets so cars wouldn't be an issue. We went up to one house to get candy, but after that we just enjoyed the show. He did really well considering we were out past his bed time. He just enjoyed the ride on Chads shoulders most of the evening. His costume was quite perfect, and cute. He was a little cow, and he didn't even try to pull his hat off. He hates wearing hats, but must have liked this one. All in all, it was a 100% improvement from last year when we decided to stay home and pass out candy, only to have 9 total kiddos all night long.

On a side note, Ben has another bottom tooth coming in which makes a total of 7! He has his first dentist appointment on Tuesday so wish me luck! We have been "brushing" his teeth since the first one came in so he will at least be used to that. Also on Friday he stood up all by himself without the help of furniture for the first time. He put his little bottom up in the air and up he went. Now he won't stop! No steps yet, but he is getting so close!