Ben had his 18 month appt today and he did a great job. He cried when he was being examined and getting his shots, but otherwise he calmed right down. While waiting for the doctor, he was happy playing with the dinosaurs in the room. He even pointed out all of the dinosaur pictures on the walls to us. He was 27 lbs 11 oz (74%) and 34 inches (90%). He is a big boy!

Benjamin has started climbing up on the couch by himself. I'm not too excited about this development, as I can predict future injuries from falling off of it! Today he climbed up there, threw the pillows on the floor, and settled in to watch Handy Manny.

Friday afternoon we headed up to Cadillac to spend the weekend with Curt's family. We had a few birthdays to celebrate and were looking forward to some warm weather. Earlier in the week it said sun and 80's but by Friday that was changed to rain and 40's. So, we spent the weekend indoors, but still had a great time visiting with everyone. It is around a 4+ hour drive, so we get a little bored at times. Ben's holding Curt's basketball and staring into space. That's probably the same look we all had on our faces about halfway through the drive. Friday was the only good weather day. I got a picture of Ben, his Aunt Molly, and cousins on the swing outside. Peyton with some of his presents. He loves Thomas trains and was very excited to start playing with them. Ben having some fun with the tissue paper. His cousins took turns throwing it into his face. Katie getting ready to open her presents. Curt's mom and dad Curt's dad getting a turn to open his pres...

While we were at the zoo today, Ben was really excited to see the goats. He was smiling so big while he was petting them. I didn't get his face in the picture, but he is loving the goat! This goat got a little too close (nuzzling on him) and Ben had enough of that! His expression in this picture is priceless...he wants the goat to get out of his personal space. He started crying after this and I had to carry him around by the goats. He did not want them to get too close. The goat was probably just looking for a snack...and no he did not snack on Ben. :)

This morning, Ben and I took our first trip of the year to the zoo. It was a little chilly at first, but that didn't stop us from having a good time! Ben enjoyed seeing all of the different animals. It was fun to watch him notice many more things this year, than he did last year. Ben threw up his hands in shock when the komodo dragon started sticking his tongue out. One of his favorite words is "whoa"...he kept saying that over and over. Getting friendly with a fake komodo dragon. Watching the sea lions. He didn't really think being a "joey" was that thrilling. :) But, he LOVED the log ride...up until the last minute when he decided it was time to get out!

The Bairds stayed with us until this afternoon, when they headed back to MI. Today we spent time hanging out together and headed to Casa Grille for lunch. Rachel and I...it's hard to believe we have been friends more than half of our lives. I really miss seeing her more often. Ben and Luke playing together. Luke brought along his Handy Manny tools. Ben loves that show, so he thought the tools were awesome! I think we'll need to add those to the birthday list. :) Derek, Rachel, and Luke at Casa Grille. We all enjoyed a good lunch before they headed home.

My best friend Rachel came for a visit with her husband Derek and son Luke. Their other son Jackson stayed at home with grandma and grandpa. It was so nice to be able to visit with them. We don't get to see them often enough! Curt and Derek went golfing (of course). Rachel and I took the kids for a walk to the playground and later went shopping (all by ourselves :) ). Ben having a little time in the swing. Rachel helping Luke walk up to the slide. Wheeeee! Luke...looking so cute! Ben picking a dandelion. The boys having fun in Ben's playroom. All the fun wore Luke out and he fell asleep on the couch. :)

I am LOVING the sunshine that we've had the past two days. It is nice to let Benjamin play outside and run around. Yesterday afternoon playing in his sandbox. Trying to climb up the hill behind our house. Sadly, I stopped him before he got very far because I didn't want grass stains all over his jeans. He only has a couple pairs that fit right now because he is a growing boy! Looking pretty sweet in his sunglasses. This morning after I got groceries we still had time to squeeze in a visit to the park before lunch. It was really busy, but Ben was able to go on the swing and slide. He mostly wanted to walk around and pick up sticks and woodchips. Finding more stuff on the ground. He found rocks, leaves, woodchips, sticks, and pinecones.

Benjamin does!

Since we had another rainy day today, I tried to think of some fun things to do inside. This morning I made a fort in the living room for Ben to play in. I left the sides of the blanket up so that he could walk through it. He had fun playing with his toys in there and running under the blanket. Ben peeking inside the fort. Tonight he started using both hands on the golf club. We might have a future golfer in the making. Curt said this looked more like a hockey player...Ben still needs time to work on his golfing skills. :)

Easter morning was pretty relaxed for us because we went to church on Saturday night. It was a great service and reminder of what Christ did for us on the cross. We got Ben a bag of a few little things, so we let him open that up after breakfast. I didn't get him a basket (bag instead) because I honestly don't know what do with it once Easter is over...we'll see if I decide to get him one next year. :) We got him some sand toys for his sandbox. My parents got him a bucket and shovel last weekend, so he should be all set. He is holding part of a screwdriver. Curt was fixing one of Ben's trains with it earlier and Ben did not want to put it down. Some more coloring books! While he was napping, we hid a few eggs for him in the living room. Here he is opening one of his eggs. Eating the treats inside the egg. Finding another egg underneath the chair. "Which one should I open first?" I think this is a horrible picture of me...Curt took it when I wasn't looki...

Curt took Ben outside for a little bit this afternoon. They looked so cute out there that I snuck a few pictures from the back door. Talking to daddy. Giving Curt something he found on the ground. Looking at something together on the ground. I thought Ben looked so cute trying to crouch a little like daddy. He caught me taking pictures!

Since we are stuck inside from the cold and rain, I decided to break out the crayons and color for a while. Ben did really well...sitting nicely and coloring for about 25 minutes. That's FOREVER for a one-year-old! At the end he started coloring the sides of his booster seat, so I had to call it quits. Getting started on his two pages. I taped them to the table, so that they wouldn't move all over the place. So many colors to choose from! Coloring is so much fun! :) The finished masterpiece. I think he gets his coloring skills from his dad...jk Curt! :)