Benjamin is ONE!

This is kind of a long video, but the highlight happens just after the 5 minute mark.

A big thank you to Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannon for filming and editing this for us!


Ben's First Birthday from Katy on Vimeo.

Baby Cowboy

Ben is going to be a Cowboy for Halloween, but when it's time for trick-or-treating, he will have more clothes on ;-)

Walkie Talkie

Walkie Talkie from Katy on Vimeo.

Grandpa, Come on Down!

My Mom and Dad are moving down to Texas!!! It has been in the works for a couple months, but Dad officially made the drive from OH down to TX last week to work full-time at his new job. On the way down, he stopped here for a visit. It really made it feel "official" that they are going to be close by and we will be able to see them pretty much anytime we would want. I think a part of me hasn't wanted to get too excited until I knew it was a done deal, and driving the good ole' Odessey from OH to TX is a good sign that this is truly happening :) HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!! Here are a couple pix from Dad's stopover. Ben is sitting on a beautiful rocking chair from Grammy that she is passing on to us, along with a beautiful marble-top table, toys for Ben and dolls from her collection. We will cherish these always.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On a hot, hot day in September, we went to see the Rangers play! Little did we know, they would be going to the World Series this year. We were high up behind home plate, and realized that we actually had a very nice breeze by sitting in the top row. We did our best to keep Benjamin cool, and he did great until late in the game ... he was getting sleepy on my shoulder, and just as he would be drifting off to sleep, a huge roar from the crowd would wake him back up. He was startled and cried pretty hard. So we left a little early, and precious pants slept hard on the way home :-)

A Visit from Auntie Em

My good friend Emily lives in Houston right now, so she came up to spend a couple days visiting us. We hung out in the pool, played with Ben and even had a chance to go downtown to Steel for sushi.

Labor Day Party!

On Labor Day, we had our friends over for a BBQ and Pool Party! We had a great time listening to music, splashing in the pool, and playing LRC late into the night.

Our First Family Vacation

At the end of August, we escaped the TX heat and went to Beaver Creek and Denver, CO. Ben was a wonderful traveler, and we had an amazing time. I think if we had to live anywhere else, we would definitely pick CO! Jeff played some beautiful courses, I had a day at the Park Hyatt Spa, and we went to the top of the mountain for a family picnic :) Jeff and I even managed to get a babysitter after Ben was asleep for the night, and we had a date night at a restaurant overlooking the mountains and a dip in the hot tub under the stars. It was a dream vacation.

Red Rocks

Jeff and I went to my favorite concert EVER while in Colorado. It was Ray LaMontagne and David Gray at Red Rocks. WOW! To be in this natural amphitheater, under the stars, listening to two of our favorite artists, with the love of my life ... doesn't get much better than this.

Ben's First Tooth

On 8/9/10, Ben's first tooth started to come through ... his bottom right front tooth. A couple weeks later, after a few days of teething (mainly just being very clingy with Mommy - I was MORE than happy to give him the TLC he needed!) the bottom left front tooth broke through. We just got the first picture in which you can clearly see Ben's new pearly whites :-) What a beautiful smile you have Benjamin!

Dadadadada!!!!

I am way behind on some posts about the last month ... a visit from Nana and Grandpa, a weekend with my college grilfriends, Nana's Birthday surprise weekend, Ben turning 8 months, our trip to CO ...

But I just had to get this video up for you guys to see. Ben started saying Dada in the last few days! We took this video in our hotel room in CO on Saturday. He starts out pretty much whispering it, almost like he can't beleive the sound is really coming out of HIS mouth. Soooooo precious. He just melts our hearts :)


Dadadadada!!!! from Katy on Vimeo.

Happy 60th Nana Pat!

We went down to Austin the weekend before Nana Pat's birthday to surprise her and celebrate the big six-oh! We made signs and got balloons and made special arrangements with Brad on how to really surprise her. We snuck up on her while she was browsing the magazine section of a Borders near their house. It was awesome - she was so surprised and happy! We went out to dinner at Maggiano's and then whisked the birthday gal off to Lakeway for a weekend of her favorite things :) A spa trip complete with massage, manicure and pedicure, family time around the pool, cookout, and a photo shoot with the grandkids! We all had so much fun because we love making Mama/Nana SMILE :)

8 Months

At 8 months, Ben is doing lots of fun things ...
- laughs when he sneezes
- worms/belly flops all over the place
- "cooperates" by holding his legs up and putting them down when appropriate during his diaper changes
- first teeth are breaking through
- loves his baths
- eyes are turning from blue to greenish hazel
- enjoying playdates with his friends

College Girlfriends Weekend!

Every year, girlfriends from college get together, and I look forward to it every year. This year, we decided to meet here in Dallas and OMG did we have a blast! Sarah and Lauren arrived Wednesday evening, and we stayed up til 2am catching up in the pool and hot tub :) Then Thursday we lounged by the pool and played with Ben all day, and Jeff stayed with Ben while we went out for dinner and drinks. Friday was another very relaxing day in the pool, and in the evening we took a sunset sailboat ride and saw a fireworks show on Lake Grapevine. It was a picture perfect night on a gorgeous boat. What a fum, memorable weekend. Thanks for coming down and keeping the tradition alive. Love you gals!

Seven Months

Happy 7 Months Ben!!! Our little guy continues to grow and learn and thrive everyday. He is wearing size 9-12mo cloths and is in a size 3 diaper! I think he had a growth spurt just after 6 mos, and he's now 18.5 lbs! His eyes are a really beautiful blueish-hazel. We are seeing more and more blond hairs lately, but still overall seems like his hair is a light brown with blond highlights.

He is doing lots of fun new things lately. He seems on the verge of crawling. He is scooting backwards on his tummy, and rolling across the floor to get to things he wants. He tries to pull himself up into a sitting position, although it will likely be a while before he is able to do it by himself. For now though he is working on some rock-hard abs ;) He is showing definite preference for certain books, and his favorite is still I Love You Through and Through. He turns all the pages, and when we get to the end, he closes the book and turns it back over to the front, and we begin again! He usually wants to read it through 3 or 4 times, and then starts looking around for "what's next" - haha.

His spitting up has almost completely stopped. We no longer have to cover ourselves in burp cloths all the time - yay! A couple times he has cried out when I leave the room, and he is calmed when I go back to his crib and give him a kiss and some kind words. So far, this is the only sign of "separation anxiety" we have seen, and it is very minimal. He is enjoying snuggle-time before naps and bed. I sit with him in the rocking chair and sing and hold him close. He runs his fingers through my hair or touches the soft fabric on the chair cushions. It is sooooo sweet, and I am cherishing every moment because I know he won't want these moments forever.

Ben LOVES the water spray from the shower, and squeals with delight when it sprays on him. He reaches his hands out to touch it, and tries to grab the shower head and pull it towards him. He is making lots of noises, like ba, ah goo, and tries to mimic us when we say "mama" or "dada" by saying "ah ah". He looks around the room to find us, and gets a satisfied look when he sees we are there. He loves Kodi, and has definitely been making moves to try and get to him. He loves Patty Cake and the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and he especially loves when we move his arms and legs like he's doing a triathlon (this is for our own posterity ... others may not want to read this part!) "Put your swim cap on, put your goggles on, dive into the water, swim swim swim swim swim, get out of the water, dry yourself off, take your goggles off, take your swim cap off, put your bike shoes on, get on your bike, pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal, get off the bike, take your bike shoes off, put your running shoes on, run run run run run run, cross the finish line, jump for joy jump for joy, receive your medal, yay Benjamin!" His favorite part is running. Laughs every time.

Way to go Ben! Mommy and Daddy love you buddy!!!!