Tuesday, December 14, 2010

December 13, 2010

Santa Ben!

Enough said.

*Thanks to Auntie Celeste for the super outfit!

December 12, 2010

It's a monster!

Ben put his hammer/nail toy over the toy piano.

Dun dun dun.

December 11, 2010

Rick took Ben to his work's kids Christmas party this morning. Ben enjoyed the magic show, cupcakes, balloons, and presents. He's still unsure about that Santa guy though.

Friday, December 10, 2010

December 10, 2010

Hey Ben, you appear to have something on your face.

Usually Ben scribbles on his legs or arms once he gets tired of coloring on paper, but today he branched out.

By the way, did you know that washable markers aren't so washable off of skin?

December 9, 2010

Mmm gingerbread house.

Today we tried to put together a house from a kit that Ben was given. First, I laid the pieces out... and then Ben ate the tree. Then I opened all the candy decorations... and then Ben ate most of them. Not the intended outcome, but cookies and candies what a great present!


December 8, 2010

It's always time for pumpkin pie!

Since Rick couldn't come to CA to celebrate Thanksgiving, Ben and I decided to make him a pumpkin pie. Ben was a great helper as usual and Rick was nice enough to share his pie with us! Yay pie!

December 7, 2010

Home sweet home.

Getting right back into the swing of things, here's Ben relaxing in his chair, watching The Wiggles, and eating an ice cream cone. Haha... sigh.

December 6, 2010

It's our last day here in CA. I thought it would be nice to have a photo of Ben, Alli, and Axel together...

Well, at least everyone's eyes are open.

December 5, 2010



Today, we went to a birthday party! There was a super cool swingset in the back to play on. Ben convinced Grandma to lift him up on the slide over and over and over again. Fun for Ben, funny for everyone else to watch.





And nothing like ending the day playing the falling down game with Auntie Celeste. She's so fun.

December 4, 2010

Choo choo!

We went over to our cousin's house today. Ben had a great time running around with the other two boys. It was non-stop action over there and Ben loved playing and watching what the other boys did. I don't think I've ever seen Ben run around that much ever.


December 3, 2010

Today we had a playdate/lunch at a family friend's house. Ben immediately made himself at home on their Ben-sized chair.

Their son is about 4 months older than Ben and Ben had a great time playing with the big kid toys. He was especially fond of the remote controlled trucks and cars... cough, cough, ahem, Grandma and Grandpa. :)

December 2, 2010

During the "Play Your Guitar with Murray" song on Ben's Wiggles DVD, the giant inflatable Murray keeps falling down throughout the song. Ben thinks it's hilarious and he got Auntie Celeste to copy it with him.

They were falling down over and over and over and Ben was hysterical with laughter the entire time.

December 1, 2010

Ben and I went to Valley Fair this morning. We got there about 20 minutes before the stores opened, so we hung out in the play area to pass the time. Ben had the place all to himself and had fun running around and climbing on everything. He tired himself out and happily sat in the stroller while I shopped later on. Win win!

November 30, 2010



This morning, Ben decided to take a break from his simultaneous Yo Gabba Gabba tv watching and Wiggles dvd watching to play with some of the other things around the house.

He worked on some puzzles-- his favorite is the $2 one we bought from Michaels.


And he had some fun riding around on his plasma car with my rainboots on.


November 29, 2010


Here's Ben rocking out on the drum Grandma and Grandpa gave him.

Originally, the sticks were attached to the drum and Ben was not pleased. Grandpa freed them and all was well in Ben-land once again.

Bam, bam, BAM, BAM, BAM.

November 28, 2010

Flashback time!

Ben hanging out on Grandpa's legs when he was 3 months old, chomping on Grandpa's hand.









Ben at 21 months 29 days hanging out on Grandpa's legs, chomping on a car.

November 27, 2010

Hello Sacramento!

Today we headed up to Sacramento to visit the Kohaya side of the family. Ben was overwhelmed at first but soon warmed up and wandered away from me to hang out with Grandpa... and Grandpa's chips and soda.

And while soda is delicious, it's even better in a tiny Ben-sized cup. Thanks Uncle Gene!

November 26, 2010



We went to go see the tree lighting in downtown San Jose tonight. They had all sorts of displays and decorated trees. Here's Auntie Celeste and Ben by the Winnie the Pooh tree.









And there were also a whole bunch of fun cut-outs to pose with too. Snowman Ben!











We finished the night off at In-n-Out. Ben heartily approved.

November 25, 2010




Happy Thanksgiving!

The day started off with Ben and Auntie Celeste taking the dogs for a walk...

Actually, first there was pumpkin pie and then there was the walk. Yay pumpkin pie breakfast!





Celeste and I went to go see Harry Potter and when we came back, we were shushed because Ben was napping. I thought he was napping in the bedrooom since that was where I said to lay down with him... but then Grandma pointed to the couch. Haha.

November 24, 2010



It's Ben and Ya-eeee (aka Alli).

Ben has been having a great time with Auntie Celeste's dogs Alli and Axel. He even waves to them when they come into his room in the morning!




A nice tummy rub for Alli.







"Ahhh Alli kissed me!"


Also of note, Ben is anti-pants once again. LOL.

November 23, 2010

We made it! Besides that whole Ben-running-away-while-we-were-going-through-security-all-the-way-through-the-metal-detector incident, the trip went really well.

Here's Ben hanging out at the airport (drinking what I thought was a smoothie I bought for me, but I was very very wrong) while we wait for our flight. He saw that I had packed his bedtime stuffed animals in the carry on and he promptly took them out so they could enjoy the airport too.



November 22, 2010


Tomorrow Ben and I are leaving for CA for two weeks!

While it's good to pack things like diapers and clothes, the most important item on our packing list- Ben's DVD player!

Here's Ben checking that it still works.

California, here we come!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

November 21, 2010


Mmm... dim sum breakfast.

Ben is an admirer of dim sum in general and today he was chowing down on the beef ribs and sticky rice. Yummy.

He might also still be wearing his pajama top from last night because his parents thought they were just running errands and no one would ever see... oops.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

November 20, 2010


Snow!



November 19, 2010


This morning we went to the Aquarium. We were supposed to meet a friend there, but they had car trouble and couldn't make it.

Ben was less than thrilled last time we came, but today he was actually interested in the fish and running around the place to see everything.

We walked all around and found this downstairs by the elevators...






What up, Kermit? This was definitely Ben's favorite part. :)

November 18, 2010

After nap, bedhead! Hee hee.

November 17, 2010


And the rain is back...

Ben is loving all the puddles though... stomp, stomp, stomp. He is getting better at walking in his rainboots too.

November 16, 2010


Ben was hunting cat, so he carried around the food bowl, until he found one! Ben was very pleased that Smudge ate the food he brought. Nahhh!

November 15, 2010

Here we are working on our "smile at the camera." I've noticed at the birthday parties for the 2 year olds that they all smile when told, so I figure I should at least introduce Ben to the whole idea now and hopefully he too will pick it up at some point.




This was our first practice session and I was surprised when Ben actually smiled when I said "smile" and "cheese." Who knew?

Next step, looking at the camera!

November 14, 2010

Ben's new way of watching tv.

November 13, 2010

Hanging out in daddy's shoes.

November 12, 2010



Here's Ben helping himself to some cookies from the giant Costco- sized container Grandma and Grandpa brought him.





He even put them on a plate! What good manners!

And you might think he was going to share with me... but we appear to still be working on that.

November 11, 2010

Toot toot tooooooooooooot.

Ben played with a recorder at Catherine's house the other day and I saw one at Old Navy for super cheap, so I picked it up...

Now I'm thinking that wasn't the greatest idea.

Oh well, at least he likes it!

Toooooooooooooooooooooooot.

November 10, 2010

Nothing like a shirtless car ride to start the morning.

And if you're thinking that Ben looks tired, I agree... stupid daylight savings, we had such a good thing going before.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

November 9, 2010

The destructive duo!

Ben had a playdate with his friend Catherine this afternoon-- and boy did they do a number on Catherine's living room!

Ben had so much fun today. He thinks Catherine is hilarious and follows her around because wherever Catherine goes, fun things happen!

November 8, 2010



ZOMG, Westside Family Place is closed this week! Now what?!?!

Through the mommy grapevine, I heard about another family centre that our friend goes too, so we decided to head over there and check it out.



Ben enjoyed his time there. He found some cars to play with and he was good to go for the rest of the morning. It was more structured than we were used to (set times for indoor play, snacks, outdoor play, and songs), but Ben loves to follow other kids, so he had a great time and adapted easily.

November 7, 2010

"Ben. Benjamin. Ben. Look at mommy. Ben. Benjamin."

"La la la. I can't hear you."

A part of dinner tonight was spam sushi. Yummy! Ben was very impressed.

And there's cat puppet!

November 6, 2010



We needed to go to IKEA to buy a storage cabinet, so we thought we'd go for breakfast too. Ben enjoyed the sausages and potatoes, but not so much the eggs... a dollar well spent nonetheless.

And of course, we picked up some fun things for Ben too-- cat puppet!