Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

And it did... for 28 hours straight. On Saturday we received around 20in. of snow. It was amazing. It NEVER stopped! It was very pretty to watch, from inside our warm house :) On Sunday however, it took 3 hours to dig the car out :( here are a few pics to give you the general idea.

Random pic of Ben

Over the River and Through the Woods...

To Grandmother's house we went!!! And it SNOWED!!! We went up to Mt. Gretna to celebrate Conrad's Grandma's birthday with his aunt Barbara, cousin Dashielle and cousin once removed Nico. We got to meet Nico Charles Haskin Beaudoin for the first time. Nico is Dashielle's son. It was so fun to watch the two of them interact. Nico is 6 mos. older than Ben and MUCH more calm! He is an absolute sweetheart and has a wonderful disposition. The two of them together were very entertaining to watch. It was great that two (of the 4) of Joan's great-grandchildren could be there to help her celebrate her birthday. So for the reason that anyone really reads blogs... here are the pictures :)

We took a walk in the new snow and Ben fell asleep in his little cocoon of warmth.

The Cousins with their kids

Ben is not used to being bundled up like this so he fought us a little. Nico on the other hand was a CHAMP. He is very used to bundling... They live in Quebec... very cold... brrrrrrr.

Barbara, Ben, Joan, Dashielle and Nico

Dashielle entertaining both Ben and Nico!

Great-Grandma and her Great-Grandson

The two boys playing on the floor. Ben looking highly intelligent with a shampoo bottle hanging out of his mouth... We are sooo proud :/

We got Joan a Snuggie for her birthday. Conrad was so embarrassed to take it to the counter and pay for it. I thought it was hysterical to watch him squirm :)

Barbara got the boys these animal hats and they are sooo CUTE

Nico showing Ben the cranberry garland that was being placed on the Christmas tree.

Ben chewing on slippers and Nico dancing :)

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

On Saturday we went to the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Festival of Trees. The Kennedy Krieger Institute works with children and adolescents who deal with learning disabilities/birth defects that hinder learning capabilities, ie. cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome etc... Every year people decorate Christmas trees and donate them to the institute who in turn sells them at auction. The winner this year was a tree dedicated to the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It was a really fun tree and very different from most of the rest of the trees. However the greatest part for us was to see Ben's reaction to all of the lights and sounds. We watched an Irish dance troop perform and when they had their really sparkly costumes on he was mesmerized! Here are a couple of pictures of our trip and return home.

Ben playing before we left for the festival...

We decked him out in a Christmas sleeper... thought it was appropriate!

Family picture in front of the gingerbread train

Conrad and Ben in front of the gingerbread train

The Cheshire Cat tree that won the contest

Ben fell asleep in the car on the way home. He didn't look very comfortable, but it didn't seem to bother him AT ALL!!

Ben and I watching the Irish Dancers troop in the sparkly costumes. He lost interest when they changed clothes and lost the sparkle.



We also celebrated our first Thanksgiving in our new house and I actually cooked my first turkey which I might add came out delightfully well. We usually go up to Mt. Gretna to visit Grandma Buck but this year we are going up for her birthday next weekend instead. Thought we would stick around town and do our own thing. It was a wonderful day. Here are a couple of pictures...

Ben surveying his conquest!

Conrad and Ben cutting our first Turkey in the new house!!!


I know we haven't posted any pictures of the house yet, but they are coming as we get things slowly together and finished. So sorry for the delay! We did finally get our kitchen completed thanks to my parents for all of their help!

Halloween part II

Here is a video of the "Ben-Monster" (not quite sure what the costume is of... a dinosaur, gila monster, komodo dragon...?) in all his glory. Halloween was a few weeks ago, but we just got around to loading it onto the computer, so here it is... better late than never!!!

Halloween pics pt 1

I unfortunately had a show on the 31st, so we couldn't do the traditional family Halloween (though at least I got to have my throat slit on stage, thank you Sweeney Todd...). We did still manage to dress Benny up in his first costume and parade him around backstage before the show.

Makes one wonder though, "If a child is too young to know he is being exploited, is it still exploitation?"

Enjoy the Photos (video to come later):

Ok, so the teeth have sprouted and he crawls... army style!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mako!!! I love you :)

Sorry for the lack of pics! We have moved and are living in the house now, but we are still dealing with contractors and urging them to complete the work so they can LEAVE!!!! I hate moving, but I love the house. I will post pics of our new home very soon, but right now it is in total chaos! Here are some pics of Monkey though!



vb

Monkey is getting ready to sprout two teeth and CRAWL!!!

Oh my gosh I am not sure I am ready for this yet, but ready or not here come two teeth and a crawling infant!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

So those of you who had "three years" in the "how long will they last" pool can kiss your money goodbye. :P

Meghan and I (and Benny of course) officially celebrated our third anniversary last weekend. We went up to Catoctin state park and enjoyed a picnic. This also gave Benny his first real introduction to nature. The weather was fantastic, and it ended up being a perfect way to celebrate our three years together.

Benny sporting his particularly manly camo onesy and his only slightly less manly blue hat.

Our elegant spread, and we were able to get some use out of the picnic set given to us by Abuelita and Tadku.

Odwalla Superfood out of plastic wine glasses. Nothing but high class for this family...