The Christmas Tree

Last weekend we did something I have always wanted to do....we chopped down our OWN Christmas tree. I don't know why cutting my own fresh tree has always had some mystical Christmas fantasy. But, nevertheless, it has always embodied some old fashioned Christmas spirit in my mind. So this year, we went for it. It wasn't like we went on a day long hike in the forest covering miles of ground before we found "the one" (as in the National Lampoons Christmas). Pennsylvania doesn't have tons of public land close to Philadelphia that would allow us to do that. Rather, we found a tree farm that had 11 acres of trees, all for the taking. They had tractor rides (we were way too tough for that), horse petting, free cocoa and cookies, and a 20 foot tall Santa to boot. It was like a Christmas festival compared to the tree shopping of my youth--a dimly lit cage of trees in the parking lot of Kings, every year.

We had a ton of fun and we found a really great tree. It's a bit on the short side because they charged us by the foot. But at least it's fresh. Putting lights on it the next day, I hardly had to sweep up any needles afterward! So, Christmas has arrived at our place. Santa is welcome to stop by anytime. :)

Utah

I'm finally getting around to the latest update on our recent trip to Utah. We had a GREAT time. Bennett really loved playing with his cousins! Just look at all those crazy kids..especially the crazy big one:


While we were there, Bennett got a new do. My brother, Steve, has always been the neighborhood barber and I got him to give Bennett a shave while we were there.

So unsuspecting...


Ahhh! What is this??


Torture..I'm gonna die...


Do they have locks of love for boys? There was a heaping dustpan full of hair when we were done. Where did this kid get all his hair??


Thanks for putting up with us Steve! One more pic I couldn't resist--Emily looks so cute here. Look at those eyes!! What a doll!


Thanks family! We had a blast!

Dr. Card

We got a house call the other night from the world famous Dr. Card. What a professional. Great bedside manner, very caring. Not to mention the excellent training he has. Graduated at the top of his class. Dr. Card is one of the best.


Just like a doctor, his pager went off right as we were sitting down to dinner. Typical--ARGH!!!


"Ok ma'am. Where is your pain?...Your toenails again?...On a scale of 1-10, how painful is it?"


Off to work! Dr. Card had to rush away to get his patient in for surgery. What a busy guy!


Happy Halloween!!!

It's official....

I'm the worst mom EVER!!! Seriously, I won the contest on this one.

First of all is the fact that the cupboards are bare at home. Seriously, Mother Hubbard lives with me. I gotta quit this job SOON so I can go grocery shopping more than once a month! Anyways, on Sunday I made a PB&J sandwich for Bennett and he happily enjoyed his grub. Later that day, Keith took out a piece of bread and as he was fixing his food, I realized that it was MOLDY!! I'm talking green fuzz all over the crust mold. Poor Bennett had a p-nut butter and MOLD sandwich. EWWWW! Then, the next day, I packed Bennett's lunch for school with the few leftovers in the fridge. When I picked him up from school, his teacher had written a note saying the yogurt I had brought for lunch was bad. It was 2 weeks expired and it smelled! How embarrasing!!! (sigh)

So I went to the grocery store last night and I am committed to giving Bennett only food that is mold free and that has enough chemicals and preservatives so that it has a shelf life of at least a decade. This ought to keep him healthy, right?

As bad as this all sounds, at least I won something. Worst mom EVER. Hooray.

It's been a long time

Sorry all y'all. It seems like I haven't posted for about a year. We've just been so lazy with our new camera and we never got them onto the computer. Plus, I didn't really have much to say without pictures. Actually, we have had a TON going on in the past month or so. But, blah blah, who really cares. Here's pics of the big boy instead!!!

The snaggle...He's got a couple more teeth now--thank goodness! I was really afraid that he would live up to the Waltbob name by having a snaggle tooth for the rest of his life.


Bennett's first ride


Can you believe this mess!!??




Walking!!! This picture was taken just after he decided that he had figured out walking. Funny kid--he took his first steps only a couple of days after his birthday but it took him another month and a half to really get moving. One minute he was pushing around his little truck then he stopped, shoved the truck out of his way, and walked straight to me halfway across the room. He hasn't really crawled since!


I love this little cutie...

Help

This blog entry isn't about the Big Boy today. It's about a little girl. A little girl that needs help. I can't stop thinking about this little one and I figured maybe I could reach out in some tiny way to all my blog followers (all both of you) to ask for your help.

I met Alexa Aigner only a couple of weeks ago but she has impacted my life so heavily in such a short time. Alexa is an adorable, sweet little 2-year old from Texas that has stage IV neuroblastoma--a very critically advanced stage of cancer. She is in Philadelphia for a last ditch effort to save her life.

Alexa was diagnosed in December and in only 8 short months has been with her family through an unimaginable roller coaster. Alexa has been through 6 rounds of intense chemo and her body has not responded to treatment and now CHOP is one of 2 childrens hospitals in the country that could offer any hope. She arrived in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago with her parents but without knowing a single soul in town. Alexa's family are members of our church in Texas. I became aware of Alexa through her worried family--so concerned that they were all alone in this battle.

My heart is aching for this little family. I can't even begin to fathom what it must be like to watch your little baby suffer so horribly. Alexa's mom keeps a journal on her website (www.alexaaigner.com) where she frequently updates on Alexa's condition. I've been so torn up over little Alexa that I've read the whole thing, all the way back to January! I can't help but imagine if it were little Bennett in that situation. I honestly don't know how you would keep a brave face and keep going everyday. I desperately wish I could help them but all I can really do is pray.

So, I'm asking for your help. Include little Alexa in your prayers. If anyone needs them right now, she does. Help her hope for a miracle.

Back from the dead

Ignoring the blog again. Mostly because Keith and I have been so sick during the past week that we could hardly breathe. Poor Bennett got so ignored while we both laid around in bed! Keith and I both came down with some kind of stomach virus last Friday. We both lost tons of weight and couldn't eat. I ended up in the hospital on Sunday for IV fluids and basically couldn't get out of bed for days. Towards the end of last week, we both felt somewhat normal but it's still lingering every now and then. I've never been so sick in my life!! So miserable....

I'm posting a couple of pics from our recent Cape Ann trip. As I mentioned before, we dropped our camera in the water so we had no evidence of the trip. However, we were on a hike one day and saw a few people taking pictures. I offered to take a picture of the whole group and they offered to do the same for us. I told them about our camera and they felt sorry for us. They happened to be professional photographers and they took pictures of us and e-mailed them! Random acts of kindness still happen....

The Challenge

I have been seriously delinquent in updating this bloggedy blog. I guess you could pretty well figure out that we survived the chicken pox without permanent damage. None of the kids from his birthday party came down with anything either--serious answer to prayers on that one!!! Life has pretty much returned to normal at our casa.

Except for the ridiculously fun weekend we just had!! Keith has been training for a couple of months for a boat race, the Blackburn Challenge. It's a crazy boat marathon around Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Something like 25 miles out in the open ocean in only human powered craft. There were some wacky dudes there. The race itself is to honor a wacky dude. Some fisherman named Blackburn was out in his dory when the fog moved in and he lost his orientation back to his ship (this was way back before fishing was done with nets from the main ship). His dory mate died and Blackburn was so afraid of losing his oars overboard that he actually froze his hands to the oars--on purpose--in order to be sure that he could continue to row to land. He ended up rowing 60 miles to Gloucester, Mass and they do this race now every year starting in Gloucester to honor crazy ol' Blackburn.

Enter crazy ol' Keith... Somehow I can imagine some wacky event being named in Keith's honor. Anyway, that's beside the point.

We had a really great time even though we actually had a string of bad luck. We managed to get stuck in the worst lightening storm I have ever witnessed. When I mean stuck, I'm serious. We were cooking dinner in the campground when we heard a whooshing sound. Keith and I looked at each other and suddenly, the heavens opened up. We only had time to grab Bennett and run for cover under our tent. And there we sat for the next hour--right next to our metal tent pole--while the lightening literally danced around us. It rained at least 4 inches in that hour. It was insane!

Bad luck #2 was that the friggin race got cancelled after all. I guess crazy ol Blackburn was trying to make the 20th annual Blackburn Challenge a little too realistic. The fog turned out to be so thick that the Coast Guard pulled the plug. Obviously, we were really bummed but we made the best of it. We took a family boat ride around the bay instead.

Then bad luck #3. After our fabulous family boat ride, we were unloading the boat only to find our camera floating around in some of the water we took in. Sweet.

So, no fun pics of our family bike ride, the beautiful New England coastal towns, beaches, boat ride, crazy dudes...

Luckily, I had downloaded pics off the camera from our last family bike ride so these will have to do for now. And maybe for a pretty long time.




Honestly, could the B-man be any cuter?????

The Pox

This has been the week of the pox. Poor kid. It started out looking so innocent. Just a few light spots on his face Saturday morning...

Then spreading to his neck and back later that day....



The next day a few more...


Then just flat out miserable...


But we still celebrated the 4th of July in style. We went to the Lansdowne parade and got loads of free stuff. If you thought Kaysville was small town, you've gotta come check out Lansdowne's parade. It's about 10 minutes long. Still fun though!


The chicken pox have cleared up a TON so we are definitely getting better instead of worse. Despite the itchies, we had a great week at home!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Look at my big birthday boy!!!

Yesterday was Bennett's birthday. I can't believe it's been a year! What a great year it has been. He is the sweetest little guy and every single time I look at him, I am amazed by how much I can love the little monkey. He has been the most amazing addition to our lives! We had a few friends over last night for some cake and ice cream. Here's a couple highlights....











We had a great day. It would have been even greater if Keith could have been home!! :( He had such a busy day at work that he missed the cake action. Bummer. I guess we'll have to do it again with just us!

Happy Birthday Bennett! Here's to many more happy birthdays!!!!

Isn't there a stigma about regrets on the morning after? Well, we've got a serious case of it here. Bennett woke up today with a few spots on his face. After his nap this morning, there were more on his face and neck. I'm afraid the pox came. Now that we've infected the whole neighborhood....

For the record, daycare stinks. Thanks for the chicken pox, daycare. That was a fabulous birthday present. Really. Thanks.

Growing up so fast!!!

This kid has so much stinkin hair. If he were a little girl, his hair would be halfway down his back by now! He has had a half dozen good haircuts and has needed a few more than that. I've stopped saving his hair when I cut it because I could make a good wig by now. But last week, he REALLY got it cut. One of Bennett's teachers at school cuts hair on the side and she gave him a good summer cut on Thursday last week. When I picked him up after work that day he was looking all dapper with his new do. He looks like such a big kid!



In other Bennett news, he is finally getting his first tooth! I've been wondering if he even had any teeth and I'm glad to know that he'll at least have one! If he doesn't get any more teeth, I offically give everyone permission to call him Waltbob for the rest of his life...

Also, it's looking like Bennett is coming down with the chicken pox. It's in the real early stages but they made me pick him up early today because of suspicious looking red spots on his back. There has been an outbreak of it at his school and six kids (out of 12) have already been confirmed with chicken pox. Mind you, he is already scheduled to be vaccinated for chicken pox one week from TODAY. What stinkin luck. So much for planning his birthday party..... :(

Coolest Dad EVER

When you love your baby, you want nothing but the best for them. Of course, Bennett is no different. I love him so much I can't stand it. So, how lucky is he that he has the best Dad EVER??? As a mother wanting the best for her child, I couldn't ask for a better Dad for the B-man than Keith. He's the coolest ever.

Babies and bikes

I've been meaning to post this pic since Memorial Day--the day Bennett got brave:



He's going to be walking before long!! This week, Bennett discovered the stairs. He had been curious about the stairs before but this time he really got serious. He checked them out for a while then got to business. He learned to climb not just one stair--but ten!!! He went 3 steps shy of going the whole way up. Of course, I was spotting him once I realized what he was doing. We will have him on belay before too long!

In other news, we went to the Liberty Classic this weekend. This race is the National Championships for cycling and it is always a huge deal in Philly. It is on a beautiful course and it has the famous "Manayunk Wall", a super steep 17% grade climb. It is always a blast to watch and the partying Philly crowd is always a trip too. We got Bennett a seat for our tandem and cruised around the course on our family bike. It was a good time...





But in the life of a baby, all good things will come to this end...

Relaxed?

Aaahhhh....home from vacation. Had a FABULOUS time. We just spent 10 days with the coolest people (thanks fam) in the most gorgeous places.

Portland, beaches, bikes, Tillamook, sea stacks, bikes, beaches, California redwoods, fish tacos, beach house, bikes, beaches, San Francisco....






WE LOVED EVERY MINUTE!!!!

But, going back to work? Sorta feels like this.....

First Pet

Bennett's first pet? A squirrel. You see, we don't get sissy dogs from fancy breeders, the pet store, or even the pound. Not here. We like to catch 'em wild and domesticate 'em. How can to you take a pet huntin' if it ain't never been out in the wild?

So, we set a crazy trap to catch ourselves a good pet. We were just waiting for the right animal to be crazy enough to lift the chimney cap off, fall 30 feet into the fireplace and survive. Now that there's a good pet.

We discovered "Squeeker" the other day---about needed a diaper myself when I saw him---running around in the fireplace. I don't think he was used to his new environment but he obviously liked it enough that when we built an escape route for him, he decided to stay right where he was. That Squeeker. Sure is a loyal little bugger.

We didn't realize he was still there until the next day. He found a little nook up above the fireplace door so we didn't see him for a while. But, sure 'nuff. There he was the next day. Keith wasn't at home that night though so we didn't try to play with him. Then, when Keith did get home the next evening, he found Squeeker had gotten trapped in the vent and, well, we'll just say that now he's in pet heaven.

So, that's the story of Bennett's first pet. Such a tragic ending. Now he just has to play with his same old toys.....

Tough Guy

He thinks he's such a tough guy....but I know better.

This little man LOVES his blankies. He can't sleep without them. Any super soft, sluggly, silky thing will do. The other day Bennett was going down for a nap. He had just eaten, had a binkie, he was really tired. No reason to fuss, right? Not so. He screamed and cried. Then I realized what was missing! Stupid me! I gave him his blankie and he immediately stopped crying, rolled over and hugged his blankie and fell right to sleep. Tough guy.