Ben feeling the cold glass of the window. Apparently, it's also fun to blow on cold windows.

Here are a couple videos of Ben walking a little bit better today. He didn't need us to hold the walker for him!

I let Ben play with a couple kitchen utensils and he had fun making music (or noise...as some might call it :) ). He is really getting into it now! Look at that crazy smile.

Ben is borrowing a little walker from one of our friends. He hasn't been too interested in using it until tonight. Curt tried having him walk behind it (with a little help) and he just got better and better. He didn't want to stop. He ended up using it for around 30 minutes! Every day he is getting closer and closer to walking.

I let Ben watch a few minutes of a Baby Einstein ( Neighborhood Animals ) before we needed to leave to get his pictures taken. I tried to get him to look at me while I took his picture, but he was too mesmerized by the animals. When we got home, after a LONG wait at the picture place, Ben was ready for lunch. Here he is eating some bananas and avocado. His new eating method is to grab a handful and shove half of his hand into his mouth. He makes me nervous that he is going to choke (hasn't happened yet). I miss watching him nicely pinch one item between two fingers. :) Going in for more food. This boy LOVES to eat!

Ben is getting his one year pictures taken later this week (I know...I'm a little behind). So, we practiced smiling for the camera. Hopefully, we will get at least one smile when we go...last time he was not so cooperative. :)

Today is my birthday and I had a wonderful day with Curt & Ben. Thank you to everyone who wished me a "happy birthday" today. Ben and I sharing some birthday smiles :). Before dinner, Ben and I spent some time reading together.

There it is! A few days ago, Ben started showing me his belly button when I ask him where it is. It's pretty cute.

Ben loves his little bear/blanket and often takes it around the house. I got some pictures today of him with it. Holding the bear out to get a good look at him. Biting the poor bear's face. Ben trying out some growling. It looks pretty scary :). Checking out his reflection in the table.

Ben standing by the couch this morning. He doesn't look so excited to have his picture taken. He quickly left the couch and crawled to me to try to grab the camera. He was not successful :). After lunch, he played with some utensils. Apparently, they can be more fun than toys. Making beautiful music.

This afternoon, Ben enjoyed his first graham cracker. He loved it and ate every last bite!

Ben trying to loosen the gate a little bit, so that he can break free. Little does he know, that gate is not going anywhere. :)

Recently, we got Ben a basketball hoop for his birthday. Curt can't wait until Ben is walking and can use it more. Right now he usually just bounces the ball or rolls it around. He also likes us to lift him up to make baskets, but that only lasts a few times with my weak arms :).

Today, Ben played with his new stuffed animals in his playroom. We think the penguin might be his favorite. *If you notice the mark by Ben's eye, he had a little fall on the porch on Monday. It is almost better :). Picking some more animals to play with. He changed his mind to the dog for a minute. "I'm outta here!" "I'd rather look at my book."

Yesterday we decided it was time to get rid of Ben's bottles. At his appt. on Wed the dr suggested we get rid of them all at once because he is very attached to his bottle. I was worried that I would have some BAD days with him. He definitely shows his temper when he doesn't get what he wants. Surprisingly, it all went pretty smoothly. There were some screams, tears, and slapping away of the cup, but we made it through. Tonight he actually took his cup of milk with a smile...so I got a picture of him drinking. He still likes to lay back sometimes, but we'll work on that another day :).

The weather is so beautiful today that we had to get outside to play for a while. Ben played on his bikes for a little bit. He still doesn't quite understand how to move his feet, but he will lift them up so that you can push him. Maybe he really has it all figured out and just wants to make me do all the work :). He played with a couple leaves he found in the grass. Surprisingly, he did not try to eat anything from outside today. A little boy came past on a battery-operated tractor. Ben thought that was pretty cool and tried to crawl after him.

We took Ben in for his 12 month check-up this morning. He was 31 inches tall...in the 90th percentile! He did so good with his shots, only crying for a few minutes afterwards. When he got up from his nap, he wanted to play with his new Little People dinosaurs. After a little bit, he decided that he really just wanted his bear/blanket. That is understandable after having a rough morning. :)

We went to my parents house in Grand Rapids this weekend to celebrate Ben's first birthday. We had a Curious George themed party. My sister made a really cute cake and my mom found some books and stuffed animals to go along with the party. The table all ready for the party. Ben checking out his cake. About a second later he tried to grab it. The disaster was averted with Curt's quick reflexes. :) Ben did not want to wear his party hat. Ben, my niece Molly, and I hanging out before present time. Ben really liked his cake. He especially liked the chocolate frosting. It got all over his face and hair, but he still did not make a very big mess of the cake. That's fine with me because I don't really like big messes. :) Spending time with his Uncle Matt.