Benjamin and Abby sitting in a tree...

Ben finally met Abby for the first time. She came to visit all the way from Maryland. Ben liked pointing at her nose and really wanted to grab her. We tried to enforce the 12-inch rule, but it didn't work. Ben was all over her =0)....in a cute baby way, of course!
Abby was so cute. She just kept watching Ben and willing him not to hurt her!

Can't wait to see them on Friday for Halloween and Homecoming!

Pictures from Last Week-end

Last week-end, we took some pictures that I want to share!

On Friday, Buna and Gram visited from Charlotte. We had a nice time relaxing on Saturday. Alex, Ben's cousin, was able to visit, too!! "The Boys" got a chance to play with each other. They were really cute. They both learned to share within an hour of playing together...hehe.

Gram reading to Cousin Alex

Ben- "Playing Baseball"

Alex was waiting by the video montior "willing" Ben to wake up! Naturally, it seemed best to let him greet Ben when he woke up from his afternoon nap!

Then, we went to Wilmington to visit Grammy and Grandad. Grammy's birthday was last Monday, so we were able to celebrate as a family with Auntie Joy, Uncle Glen and Craig. It was a very nice visit. Ben was practing all his "walking" skills over the week-end. Seriously, at times, he can walk by himself to the middle of the room. It's crazy how much he learns each week!

Grammy wanted a stone with Ben's hand prints. It took a few (try about 6) times, but we finally got it right! Ben didn't understand the concept and really liked the way the cement felt when he touched it. So, he decided to grab at it each time....which created little holes instead of hand prints.

See how the little fingers are curled? It was a long process, but well worth the end result:

Sneak Peek!

Our friend Rebecca took pictures of Ben. She is in the process of editing them but gave us a sneak peek of one of the shots! I LOVE IT!

If you get a chance, check out her website. I have it on my links list. She's amazing!

Ben's going to be a lion for Halloween. He has been in that outfit about 5 times since we bought it. I love to see him crawl all around in it...hehe!

Welcome Brayden Augustus!

Baby Brayden arrived Monday, October 20th at 5:30PM. He weighed 7 lbs and was 20 1/4 inches long! I was able to visit him last night at the hospital and he is SO cute. I wanted to take him home with me, but the proud parents said "No!" Mom and Baby are doing GREAT! Enjoy the pictures:

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Dear Beach Grammy-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

You are such a great Grammy. I had such a good time playing with you on Sunday. I'm sorry that I didn't understand how to make hand prints in your cement stone at first. I thought it was more fun to pick up the cement and almost eat it. But, I got the hang of it and it was a blast!

Thank you, also, for letting me try some of Uncle Scott's world famous microwave fudge! I wanted more but Mommy wouldn't let me have it! I know you would have let me have more. You're a great Grammy!

I really liked going for a walk with you around the neighborhood. I really liked playing with your nice dog (She is so much nicer than my dog!).

I felt really safe falling asleep in your arms. Thank you for loving me like you do!

All in all, I think you are swell! I can't wait to see you again in a few weeks! Enjoy your day....and if you aren't having a good day, then drive to my daycare and pick me up! I'll cheer you up!

LUV,

BEN

P.S. I am going to keep practicing my "walking" for you!

Somethings to consider....

I have been a part of a FutureCast team at work with the upper administration. Dr. O'Driskell , a Duke professor, spoke to us last month. This slide show really got me thinking....I hope it will spur conversations for you, too:

"Family Pictures"??

This was our first attempt at getting a family portrait at church:We're going to try again elsewhere....most of the pictures turned out with Ben looking like this:
Did I mention how much I love this boy?

This Past Week-end!

Last week-end was really nice. We ended up scoring free tickets to the Hurricanes season-opening game (Thanks, Casey!). Friday night, we had such a good time hanging out with Joe and Katherine while watching the Hurricanes WIN! This was Ben's first hockey game and he LOVED it. We were on the upper level, but he was still mesmorized by all the "moving dots in the sea of whiteness". He also loved all the noise when the Hurricanes scored....and they scored A LOT!The View
We still need to get Ben some Hurricane gear....I wasn't prepared =0)
Joe and Katherine

On Saturday morning, I took Caleb and Ben to the bridal shop (where I bought my wedding gown) to try on my bridesmaid dress for my best friend's wedding (August 2009). I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the sotre, but managed to talk the owner into letting me go outside in the dress to get some shots for the bride-to-be!

Ben had to be in the picture, too!
That afternoon, we were all still sick (Caleb mostly), but took a trip to the Museum of Natural Science in downtown Raleigh.
Ben liked the dinosaur!

Oh! I forgot to mention that we had a house guest this past week-end, too!

LEVI!

Ben LOVED Levi. We watched Levi while Greg and Jennifer were out of town. He was so good with Ben. He just let Ben play all over him. why can't Kirk be more like Levi? I was hoping that Levi was going to be a good influence on Kirk, but that dog is still psycho!

Here is Caleb's favorite shot from the week-end. Ben is into everything. If he's not grabbing everything in sight, then he is pointing at it with his index finger and at least touching everything in sight.

I love him!

Little Haydn!

I got to meet Stephanie and Chris' new little boy. He was only a little over a week old when I got to hold him. He is such a cute little man. I can't believe he is here! Can't wait until he's old enough to play with Ben!

Such a little Mama's boy!

You Asked For A Picture of THE Tooth....

...but can you find it????

Disney Pictures!!!

Play Date

Here are some pictures from last month's play date with the moms and babies from our Bradley Method birthing class. Ben loved playing with all the new toys and his friends!

I think I have a concussion (Minor, but one none the less)

I knew it would be a stupid idea to play soccer last night with Caleb. I knew that even though they said they needed me as just a sub, I would end up playing THE WHOLE game! I knew all of this, but played anyway.

I have to admit that I loved and hated every minute of it. It has been about 20 months since I played with them.

My body is very sore....and I'm pretty sure that I have a minor concussion from the corner kick I "blocked" with my head. It's hard to focus at work and all I want....to....do....is....go....to.....sleep. No matter how much caffeine I consume!

Ben's First Tooth! (And other Ben News!)

Ben FINALLY has his first tooth. It poked through on Wednesday, October 1st! (Pictures are going to be hard to get, though! He hides it!!)

At Ben's 9-month check up, I had a small list of things I wanted to talk to the doctor about. The last thing on my list read, "Teeth Please!"

The doctor took one look in his mouth and said, "He has a tooth!"

I laughed because I thought he was joking....but there it was in all of its little white glory! I'm pretty sure I made a comment about how I was sorry I didn't believe him, but how could I since at Ben's 6 MONTH check-up, he "swore" we'd see teeth by that week-end! =0) I forgave him, though. He really is a great doctor!

Ben weighed in at 19 pounds 13 ounces- 50th percentile. I don't think they got the right length measurement because that child REFUSED to lay still and spread out! The nurse wrote down 27 1/2 inches but I KNOW he has grown more than 3/4 of an inch since the last check-up 3 months ago!- 25th percentile.

He's currently in 9-12 month clothes but can still fit into from 6-9 month pants. (He has a little waist...hehe...but a big baby gut!)

In other news, he is cruising around all over the place and crawling like there is no tomorrow. The little man can "book-it" if he has some place to be! He can even stand alone for small periods of time when he doesn't realize what he is doing.....AND he has stood up on his own once or twice without holding onto anything!

That's all I can think that is new for now....I'm sure I'll think of more things to add later!

VERY BEHIND!

I feel like I haven't posted in ages about LIFE.

I think that because I have so many Disney pictures left to post, I have somehow decided that I can't go on with "life on the blog" until they are up. I've decided to get over that. You will see Disney posts in the future mixed in with other posts!

We really had a wonderful time at Disney and I can't wait to post pictures of Ben hanging out with Disney Dogs (Goofy & Pluto were BY FAR his favorite!), pictures of Epcot and pictures from Ben's first haircut!!

Anyway....all that to say that I have not forgotten about Disney, but I need to move on or I will get too behind!

House For Sale!

Our house is officially on the market....so go run out and tell all your friends!!!

You can see pictures of it here with our realtor:

http://ericclemente.com/

Click on "My Listings" on the left-hand side!