This week, Ben worked on the letter N. After taking a couple weeks off for the holidays, it was nice to get back into the swing of things. We had fun with some different activities and even made a yummy treat!  Ben glued numbers onto the lowercase n.  After gluing noodles on the uppercase N, Ben painted them.  I had him use cards numbered 1-10 to count with Nutter Butter Bites. After all that counting, he ate some for a snack. :)  Counting and placing the Nutter Butters on the cards.  One of the days, we made edible nests for a special treat. We mixed melted chocolate with chow mein noodles for the nest and added Whoppers for the eggs. They turned out HUGE, so we didn't end up eating the whole thing. We also put together a Noah's Ark mural. My brother Matt picked up an art wire for me at IKEA & I've really enjoyed hanging up Ben's art work this week. It is much easier than taping it to the refrigerator!

One of the Christmas presents that Ben received from my parents was a Cars color changer car wash. Before Christmas, he had a few color changers that he would usually take into the bathtub or play by the sink. Now he has fun using the car wash at the table. It does make a wet mess, so we like to put a towel underneath it. I took a few pictures of him playing this afternoon.  Very focused on squirting the cold water.  Putting the car on the slide that goes down to the warm water. A crazy smile for the camera! :)

 Curt found out that the Cornerstone University men's basketball team was going to be in Fort Wayne again last night and decided to take Ben out to the game. They went to a game together last month and Ben did really well sitting through the game. Cornerstone vs. Indiana Tech  Curt humored me by taking the camera along. :) Ben made it through quite a bit of the game, but in the second half he was starting to get tired, so they headed home. Curt found out after they got home that Cornerstone won the game!

When we were at the VB Christmas party, Ben got to have his picture taken with Santa. Curt got the cd of pics back a few days ago, so I thought I'd share one of them with you. Ben kinda looks like he is just dangling there, but he is really sitting on Santa's knee. I hope everyone is enjoying the first day of 2011. Someone around here (Curt) has been waiting all morning for the Spartans game to start. I think it's going to be a football filled afternoon/evening for us.

We spent Sunday through Tuesday afternoon with Curt's family. They had quite a bit of snow up in Cadillac and Ben was able to go sledding two times. Sadly, I didn't send Curt with the camera either time. On Monday we celebrated Christmas together. We started with stockings, had a fabulous breakfast, then opened presents after each family shared something (like a story or song that they had planned). The rest of the day was filled with toys, fellowship, and games. We had a fun time and made lots of great memories.  Ben with his stocking. I'm not sure why he has such a pained smile.  Katie and Abby played a song together.  The Nickel kids shared a story about the true meaning of Christmas.  Curt's mom read a Max Lucado story about an little lamb that spent the night in the stable with Jesus. Ben was really excited to get a Cars racetrack. His cars really fly fast on that thing!

This year, we spent Christmas Day with my family. It was fun to spend time with my parents, siblings, my sister's fiance Paul & his kids, and my cousin Miranda & her daughter Bella. I ate way more food than I should have because there were so many choices. We had fun games for the adults & kids and enjoyed our time visiting together.  Ben and Bella. They had a fun few days playing together.  My brothers, Joe & Matt, being forced by me to take a picture. :)  Ben with Gramps and Grandma.  Emma and Mya getting into the Christmas spirit with some singing.  Time to open presents.  I got a new fleece from my brother Matt. The kids had fun playing a hot-potato type game with a singing Rudolph. Grandma had lots of prizes for the winners to choose from.

When we were up in Grand Rapids, we got to spend the evening of the 23rd with the Bairds. They invited us over for dinner and we were able to have our first experience with Derek's new grill he got a few months ago. It's a "Big Green Egg" grill. We've heard many tales about how awesome the food turns out, so it was nice to taste it for ourselves. He made a couple chickens and baked potatoes. It was SOOO good! The chicken was tender, flavorful, and juicy. The potatoes picked up some of the smoky flavors and were so fluffy. I think we'll have to invite ourselves over for dinner again!  The grill...it definitely lived up to the hype. :)  The boys hanging out in the kitchen before dinner.  The chicken turned out so well. I wish I could eat it every week. Luke, Ben, and Jackson had fun exchanging presents. Ben got a new bat & ball and a soccer ball.