Ten months old!

Ten months ago today, we welcomed this little guy into the world:





And now look at him! He's sure wonderful to have around, and I'm glad I had both my little boys this year while Dirk was gone.

Ben Paints

Someday, the world will thaw out and we can go to the park. But in the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to give Ben paint. He's done really well with it - meaning the paint has stayed in the jars and on the paper. He absolutely loves it, and has produced countless masterpieces. Sadly, because the paint is made out of milk, I can't keep his masterpieces. They smell like sour milk once they dry. I found the recipe in a toddler busy book. The paint is evaporated milk, thickened with flour, and colored with food coloring. I don't have to panic if he tries to eat it because it isn't toxic. (He hasn't tried to eat it, though.)

I love the combination of concentration and delight on his face in these pictures.

Handsome Boys

Reading a book

Christmas morning

Merry Christmas, honey! I hope you're feeling better. Here are the boys playing with the presents you bought them.

Look who's 7 months old today!

Brothers

Once you get done admiring how cute my boys are, you can tell me how well my blue-checked tablecloth goes with my red plaid wallpaper.

Simon

Simon at the museum

Shawn and Kris and their kids came down for an afternoon at the Dinosaur Museum. Kris is homeschooling two of her kids, so this was officially a field trip. Simon got to play with his Uncle Shawn.

More cuzzins!

Simon got to go hang out with Emma too! Coincidentally, Kecia was also there. We had a good visit, comparing chubby babies and laughing at their antics.

Cuzzins

Ben went to visit his cousin, Emma. He took along his favorite toy, a green plastic caterpillar that he calls his bee. He was quite happy to play with Emma's toys, but was pretty possessive of his bee. Emma was curious about the new toy, and persisted in trying to get it. In the video clip, Emma had gotten the bee while Ben wasn't paying attention.

Daddy's hat

Dirk bought this cool European-looking hat a couple years ago. Ben loves it. He frequently asks for "daddy hat". Sometimes he even shares it with Simon.

Strolling with buffalo

Ben wanted to take his buffalo for a walk. He got the clips done up all by himself!

Simon outgrew this seat . . .

Little Mozart

Here's our budding musician!

Birthday in the park

Ben had a great time at the Willden party in the park. Besides the fun presents, he got to feed the ducks!








And he found a feather to take home with him!