Visit with Santa!

"I see you've been a very good little boy and girl, tell Santa what you would like for Christmas"

BEN:  A real firegun and a little monster truck for my stocking.

ELLA:  My mommeee or daddeeeee!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Ella!

 

A year ago our family was blessed with our sweet baby girl, Ella Grace.

Since then we've fallen in love...

 

with your open mouth kisses,

 

your cuddles and hugs,

 

how you giggle at your brother,

 

and fight back sometimes too!

 

We love your STRONG spirit (and cringe a little sometimes too),

we love how our lives are better

just because your you!

We thank God everyday that you've blessed our lives and look foward to watching your grow.

We sure love our sweet little you!

Happy 1st Birthday Ella Grace!!!!

Love, Daddy, Mommy and big brother Ben

Gleason's Gymnastics Birthday Bash

Ben had a blast celebrating his 4th birthday with his friends at Gleason's Gym.  They got to use a lot of the equipment, but the favorite by far was the foam pit.

Jumping in!

Swimming in it!

The hard playing crew!

Cake time!

Ben shares his birthday with his buddy Ethan!  They are both 4 today!

Presents!

Thanks to all of his friends who came to celebrate!

Ben is 4!

Happy 4th Birthday to our Benjamin!

No longer a baby, not even a toddler, our Ben has grown up so fast.

It's hard to believe we have a preschooler on our hands!

Happy, Happy Birthday to a wonderful son and brother.

We love you so much,

Dad, Mom and Ella

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween wishes!

Love, Ben and Ella

Call Me!

Ella's mastered her telephone skills!



I'm going to call Daddy at work.



 



It's ringing!





Hi Daddy, it's Ella.  Are you on your way home?




He wants to talk to you Mommy.



She stands!

Today was the first day I went in and found Ella standing in her crib.  I had just put her down for afternoon nap, and she was NOT happy about it.  I went in to calm her down and found her standing!

BIG GIRL!!!

Twin Cities Harvest Festival and Corn Maze

Brooklyn Park now has a corn maze!  We weren't sure what to expect, but Sunday was so beautiful we decided to go check it out after we got back from up north.  It was such a great place, and we all had a blast.  Ben was our leader in the maze, and he did a great job of finding the way out!  Along with the Maze, there was so much to do there! 

BUNGEE JUMPING - Sort of

Ben couldn't wait to try this out!

So high up!!  He was pretty straight faced until the last minute or so, when he finally broke out in a smile.

HAY MAZE

Kids had more fun running on top of the hay, instead of traveling through the maze.

Mom did too...

And Dad had to get in on the action as well!

CORN PIT

Finally!  Something Ella can enjoy!

Or not.

Ben loved this!  This corn pit was HUGE.

The BIG slide.

No hands!

And no festival could be complete without Pumpkin Slinging!

We could have spent a lot more time there.  We missed out on pony rides, the petting zoo, hayrides, helicopter rides, food, etc. 

Fall weekend at the Cabin

We welcomed the arrival of Fall up in Crosslake for Crosslake Days.  Classic cars, chili tasting, kiddie carnival, bonfires, and a beautiful day on the lake.  We had a great weekend!

Lounging time at the cabin - games with Daddy.

Reading time!

Last boat ride of the year!

Ben, taking his driving job very seriously.

Bye, bye Summer, welcome Fall!

Ben's 1st Dentist Visit

Ben had his very first visit to the Dentist today!  Mom took advantage of this and made it a special "Ben and Mommy Day".  First, go to Perkins and eat really healthy "rainbow pancakes".  Then go the dentist and afterward, a movie and the library!  No wonder Ben can't wait to go back to the dentist!

"You get really cool things when you go the dentist, like a water bottle and Toy Story toothbrush!'

"You have to wear sunglasses, because the light is really bright."

"Then they tickle your teeth with a cool toothbrush and I got to hold onto Mr. Thirsty!"

"See how shiny me teeth are now?  All done!"

Awesome job Ben!

Ella's Tricks

Ella wants you to know that she is....

Soooo Big!!!

And she sure is excited about that!

Yay!!! Clap, clap, clap!

Ok, that's all. Bye Bye!

First Boat Ride