Thanksgiving

Because of our new arrival, we weren't going to travel for Thanksgiving this year...so the whole Dick clan came to stay with us and enjoy the holiday at our house. We brought in our picnic table from the backyard, and ended up fitting around the table very nicely. Ben thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner. He didn't eat a ton of anything, but he did enjoy most of the food on the table. We took advantage of the company and went and did some fun things: hiking at Red Rock Canyon, feeding the ducks at the park and riding the new quad at the park. Plus we also enjoyed some time in our own back yard playing in the sand. A co-worker of Sean gave him a little battery powered quad recently. It has been fun to watch as Caelan has learned to drive it. While we were at the park we let her give Ben a little ride. She's gotten confident enough for us to feel okay about letting him ride with her. What fun for both of them.

Big Brother

Ben has a new little sister. YAY. Megan came really early on the morning of Nov 6th. Aunt Heather came and stayed with Caelan and Ben while we went to the hospital. She brought them to see Mom and the baby the later that afternoon. Ben was immediately smitten with her. He wanted to touch her and hold her and give her kisses. He was especially excited to help her with his binkie (probably because he still has his own little binkie at night). Grandma Dick got into town the next day. Ben and Caelan loved having Grandma there. She would read them stories and play with them and wake up with them first thing in the morning (I loved having Grandma there too). I've caught Ben several times laying on the floor right next to the baby giving her her binkie or just touching her face or just wanting to be close to her. It's very sweet. So far he has been nothing but sweet and gentle to her and there hasn't been one bit of jealousy. We are all loving the new addition to the family.

Car Washer

Ben is ALL boy! He loves cars and trains and guns and balls. He went out to help Dad wash the car the other day. He thought he was such a big boy out there dipping the sponge in the soap and the scrubbing the car.

Nascar Races

We took the kids to a "pumpkin patch" in Henderson (I quote that because it was a little partitioned off section of a Casino parking lot that had hay and pumpkins and some carnival rides). Ben got to ride on a little train with Caelan (which they both thought was pretty grand). We decided to forgo purchasing the pumpkins there (we could get a much better deal at Walmart), but we had fun nonetheless. We also braved the Nascar races in Vegas this month. Jenny was coming down from Utah with Kelly and his parents, so we met them there. It was exciting...and LOUD! We all got ear plugs to use, and Ben didn't mind them one bit even being as young as he was.

Reunions

We had a fun time at the Sorensen Family Reunion at the Heber Girls Camp in Utah. It was great: cabins for each of the families, fire pits and benches close to each of the cabins, a big common area for times when the whole clan was together and access to the awesome "Ropes" course (which is really a bunch of different activities to that teach cooperation, teamwork, perseverance and other important qualities - plus it was great fun). It was fun to get together with all the family. On one of the days we had a family tug-of-war. We let the kids join in for the "easy" round, and then it was just the adults (we didn't want any little bodies getting hurt). Earlier this summer we had another family reunion in Washington - the Grant Family reunion. We went to a fun park in Spokane with a giant sized wagon to play in and sky buckets to ride in (which were excruiciatingly HOT), a carousel to ride, fun playground, etc. We spent the fourth of July on the Lake in Cour de' Lane. We had a family talent show and enjoyed fun days together.

Walking

He finally decided it was time to get up and walk. He's been getting braver about letting go when he is standing next to the couch, but it wasn't until this week that he decided to try and take some steps. Then it wasn't just one or two steps - he wanted to walk the whole length of the room. He was so proud of himself!! He giggled every time he would let go of us and walk to the other side of the room. So cute!!

War Wound

Ben had himself a really good fall a couple of days ago. We were having a little birthday party for Caelan on the Memorial Day holiday, and so we were playing outside in the pool and barbequeing for most of the afternoon. Ben was playing on one of the pool tubes and climbing in and out, in and out. At one point he was inside of the tube and climbing out, but his hands weren't in a good position to keep the balance he needed and he went face first onto the cement, and them almost proceeded to continue falling into the swimming pool. I caught him just in time. It didn't grow into too much of a bump, but man, it is bruised. Another war wound for the little man. Grandpa and Grandma Dick were here for a visit for the holiday weekend. Ben is going through a little mom-attachment phase and he didn't want anything to do with anyone else when I was in the room. he would cry and lean towards me. When I was gone he would usually go to someone else just fine, but the second I returned he wanted me. It's kind of sweet to see how excited he gets when I get home or come back into a room, but I will be glad when this phase passes. It's nice to be able to hand him off to someone else every now and then. Maybe when he starts walking he won't feel so attached to me - he will feel his own little bit of freedom. I'm not sure how soon that will be because he still is showing no sign of wanting to starting moving around on his feet. I guess when he is good and ready then he will decide to get up and go.

Peanut Butter

Still no walking. A couple of times he has let go of everything around him and stood by himself for a second, but then he plops back down onto his bottom. Maybe the problem is that Ben actually likes to fall on his bottom (he thinks it;'s pretty funny). Dad and I have tried to have him walk back and forth between us, but most of the time he curls up his two legs and won't even straighten them out to take a step. It's almost like he is thinking, "why are you making me do this ridiculous balance thing - I can get along fine without it."I know when he makes those first few steps and starts to get the hang of things he is just going to take off. He always wants to be where Caelan or I am, so it would be a lot easier to be there if he could walk there by himself. I don't think it will be too much longer (maybe). He had a few sick days - yesterday and the day before. He had a pretty high temperature (102-103 for most of the day), but that was the ONLY symptom he had (minus the fact the he just wanted to lay around and he was grumpier than his usual self), but no cold symptoms or flu-like symptoms. Dad gave him a blessing last night (Caelan actually put her hands on his head and started talking like she was the one doing it when we mentioned that maybe that';s something we should do - it was cute), and he is doing much, much better today. I'm glad because his Grandpa and Grandma Dick are coming to visit. This Dude loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He is also a serious fan of water. When we get to the dinner table he wants to just drink and drink and drink - he gets a little upset when we take a break so that we can actually get in a few bites of our food. He is getting better about the water in the swimming pool. He doesn't like getting all the way in yet, but he loves putting his little feet in and kicking them around. All we have to do is open the front or back door and Ben starts giggling in delight. What an outdoors boy! Too bad it is starting to get Las Vegas hot here now that we are almost into June. There will be a lot of swimming in the pool for the next few months, I can tell you that.

Playing with Caelan

Caelan

loves to play with Ben. She helps him in so many ways. She also knows that she is bigger than he is, and sometimes she takes advantage of that fact (taking toys away, etc), but he will catch up to her eventually and then she will probably change some of her ways. It's pretty fun to watch them play together in their room (the best way to have fun apparently is to take out every toy and book in the whole room -at least Caelan is pretty good about putting things back and cleaning up her messes).

Falling

I took Dude to the doctor last week for his 12 month appointment. He was 24 lbs (75th percentile for his age) and 32 inches long (off the charts again for his height). He is healthy and growing fine, the doctor said. We already knew that. He is getting quite the personality. It's fun to watch him interact with Caelan and Dad and me. Since he started crawling about a month ago, he has really taken off in the movement department. He gets around quite readily on all fours, but he also pulls himself up onto things and walks along them a little bit. We have found him sitting on top of the fireplace hearth a couple of times now, and sometimes when we go into his room in the morning he will be standing up at the edge of his crib. He has learned about pushing buttons, and one of his favorite buttons to play with is the on/off button for the TV. When we go to the Armantrout's he is in high heaven because they have all their electronic devices right down at his level, so he pushes every button the the DVD player and the DVDR and TiVo. He thinks it is hilarious too. Another one of his funny games these days is crawling away when we try to change his diaper., He thinks he is so clever and he is getting pretty quick too, so when it's time to hold him down to actually get the changing done, he usually isn't too pleased with me. This boy is a vegetable LOVER. It is awesome. A couple times we have been eating dinner and he will still have several things on his plate yet he fusses and points to the table for something else. Sometimes I think he wants water (which is also a serious favorite of his) but he just keeps fussing. I try to get him to eat his meat and rice or pasta or whatever is still on his plate, but he is adamant about getting something else. I have finally realized that what he want sis more vegetables; beans, corn, spinach, peppers, carrots, peas, broccoli, etc. I guess that is a good sign, right? Today he had one of his first big crashes. Caelan was playing with him and trying to carry him around a little bit. He was having tons of fun with the whole things until I heard a loud crash and found him laying face down on the carpet right next to the couch. I picked him up and quickly realized he must have just bumped his head right into the edge of the couch before he fell because he had quite the bump on his head to prove it. He cried for a minute and then wa

s okay...until I had to put frozen corn on it to reduce the swelling - he wasn't very fond of that at all. Anyway, he is a cute little Dude. He is getting so big and growing so much - it's crazy.

Standing Up

Still no sign of walking....but Ben has started climbing up on the furniture and standing next to it. He can pull himself up and loves to stand. Sometimes he will even walk along it. One of his favorite places to stand up is right next to our entertainment center. I'm sure it won't be long before he figures out that he can pull out all the DVDs (just like Caelan did at that age). He is also currently very fascinated with toothbrushes. He and Caelan always want to bring them into the bath with them. Ben just chews and chews on his. He'll actually find his on other occasions too. Silly boy.

Grand Canyon

Ben got to meet his Great Grandpa and Grandma Anderson. We met them along with Grandpa and Grandma Dick in Flagstaff, AZ. We stayed at the Little America hotel for a couple of nights and went to the Grand Canyon one day while we were together. It was Ben's first time there too. When we first got there, Grandpa and Grandma Dick had Ben's birthday present that they wanted to give to him. They got him a cute little outfit and a construction truck that was almost big enough to ride in. In fact, Dad put him in it. He was not so sure about that. Actually it made him sadder and sadder by the minute....after a quick picture we took him out. He has since enjoyed playing with it quite a bit. His Great grandparents loved spending time with him and getting to see his little personality. He was okay about letting them hold him, especially if there was food involved or if he could see me close by. We had a great visit.

Birthday

Ben is one year old. We had a small little family party at home. I made him a Noah's Ark cake. He loved the candles all lit up. And then he was a big fan of eating the cake too. My little boy loves himself some treats. We are so lucky to have Ben in our family. He loves baths. He loves to chew his toothbrush. He loves fruits and vegetables and drinking water. He is a happy little guy and a good sport of doing what his big sister wants him to do. He loves to be outside crawling around on the cement or splashing in puddles or pushing around his little push cart or walking around in his walker toy. He is definitely a Mama's Boy. He has a contagious little laugh and a smile that lights up the room. He a good sleeper and has been for months and months. He likes his bed. He easily goes down for naps and at bedtime.

Disneyland

One year old tomorrow. I can't believe it! He's getting better at crawling - he still isn't very fast, but if he wants to get somewhere he can get there eventually. He had a fun time at Disneyland. I was surprised to see how many rides he could go on. He went on the Roger Rabbit ride, Snow White, innochio, Dumbo, the Carousel, the Teacups, Buzz Lightyear, It's a Small World, the Haunted Mansion. He also enjoyed the Bugs Life show at California Adventure and the Tiki Room. He was quite entertained by all of the characters and music. He fell asleep at around 8:30 at night, and slept for a while. Then he woke up VERY SAD for a while (I eventually got him calmed down). While he was sleeping we took off the front seat of our double stroller and put him down in the little basket below, which worked out fantastic. It was

a cozy little bed for him. He woke up about 5 minutes before we got home - we were stopping to eat at Jack In the Box. He was starving - no wonder he was so sad earlier. He hounded down on my chicken sandwich. He was exhausted the next day - we had really worn him out. It was fun for Charity to be able to see him - she had just gotten home from her mission earlier that week. The trip was a success. Now we are getting geared up to meet Grandma and Grandpa Dick as well as Great Grandma and Grandpa Anderson at the the Grand Canyon this weekend.