Ben's First Birthday Adventure!

First of all, I know everyone says it, but I can't help myself.  I cannot believe it has been a year already! While I feel like Ben has been part of our family since forever, it still seems like he just got here! Even though we have not taken any big vacations, this is has been the biggest adventure of our lives and we are so glad we got to share it with the most awesome little guy ever! We have had so much fun watching Benjamin grow and develop over the past year! It's hard to remember those first days when he was so helpless, just sleeping and eating and laying there. Now he eats every food we offer him even though he only has 1 1/2 teeth - no more purees for this guy! He still is a great night time sleeper (we are so thankful for that!), but laying there...yeah right! This little boy is on the move! He's not walking on his own yet, but he is a very fast crawler, can climb the stairs in no time (still working on going down the stairs), and pulls himself up on everything! He aslo does well walking while pushing his walking toy.

Other things Benjamin is good at now that he is one...he is a master at giving kisses (open mouthed, drooly kisses - but they are still super sweet!). He loves to play peek-a-boo, especially with Aunt Kay on skype! I love watching him stare at the computer and then bend his head down and pop back up! For some reason, he really only does this with Aunt Kay. He has learned to play "So Big" and will continue to lift his arms up so daddy can tickle him! Silly boy! He is doing really well playing catch with mommy! He will "catch" the ball when I roll it to him, pick it up and "throw" it back to me...he thinks this is the funniest thing and just starts giggling! He also loves when daddy flips him and flies him around...even if it makes mommy nervous...although maybe that's part of why he thinks it is so funny! He also is great around little kids, so I have high hopes for him being an Awesome Big Brother!

I am sure I am forgetting things, but we are completely in love with this perfect little boy and so excited to be lucky enough to watch him grow!

Luckily, Eric had some training this week, so he switched days and got to be off for Ben's birthday. So we spent the day together and did a few special things with our little man! We also got lucky because it was only about 80 degrees and the coolest, least humid day of the week! Here's our day in photos!

Rise and Shine! Our Birthday Boy woke up with a big smile on his face! :) 

Special pancakes for a birthday breakfast! (I did steal this idea from someone, but glad my #1 turned out!) I thought I would see if Ben could take bites of the little pancakes...instead I caught him shoving a whole pancake in his mouth! Somehow he didn't choke, but I did break up the rest of the pancakes! 

 Our final Zebra photo! I love how it looks like he is trying to hug his Zebra and he has those cute little feet crossed!

 Now he is attacking the Zebra!

 That's better...nice Zebra!

 A book to keep him distracted!

 Our first stop of the day - the doctor's office...not the best planning on mommy's part, but daddy was off and it worked out! Our little guy weighed in at 21lbs 7 oz (29%!) and he was 30 1/2 inches tall (79%), I would say we hit a growth spurt! :) Good Job little man! He also had to have his finger pricked to check his iron levels (looked great!) - he did NOT like that...he held his mouth open in a silent cry for what seemed like forever! He finally took a breath and we heard all about it! He also got 3 shots in his legs. Poor Guy!

 To make up for the shots and the finger prick, we took Ben to Stick Boy! He normally just gets a little bit of  whatever we have, but today, this birthday boy got his very own spinach and cheddar scone!

I love his face in this picture...he takes eating seriously!

 All done! :) Yep...he ate pretty much the whole thing!

 And a family photo in front of the bakery!

 Here's the family photo we took when we brought Ben to Stick Boy for the very first time...I think he is only 4 days old!

 And what kind of birthday would it be without ice cream!!! A trip to Sunny Skies! Ben enjoyed several bites of my ice cream and Eric's ice cream!

 After a failed attempt at napping - we took advantatge of the great weather and took Ben for a walk around the neighborhood on his Radio Flyer Tricycle.  He was very alert and enjoyed taking in all the scenery!

 Finally, we had to have a little cake for the actual birthday day, so Eric, Ben and I split this tiny cake with a fun candy shark on the top! :)

After a little more play time and a quick skyping session, it was time for this litty guy to go to bed! Happy First Birthday Benjamin! We can't wait to celebrate many more years with you!