Like Father, Like Son

...and I'm so glad!! (Seriously :)

Monkeying Around

For Ben's first birthday, we had a monkey-themed party. Very fitting since he loves bananas and climbing :)

Here's the birthday boy ~ looking sharp for his party!! The Invitation:

The Party Scene:

I had to show those because seriously, between the banner and the invitations, Mama had a CALLOUS on her finger from the scissors! Ahhhh....the things we do for our babies :)

Other party goods included a monkey cake, TONS of bananas, and 2 TONS of pictures of Ben throughout his first year...some would call it a shrine (ha ha!!). Mark made everyone take a banana home as a party favor because we'd never get around to eating them all.

Also out among the photos was Ben's "Official Baby Book"...the one where you record all the firsts, doctor visits, each month's happenings, etc. I worked on it NONSTOP every night for a week and I think one person actually looked at it ~ Tee Hee!! Oh so worth it, though....having a deadline to finish something is a really good motivator and it may still be hanging over my head otherwise!!

So, we visited with family, ate BBQ, and opened presents. Ben had never opened a present before and he got the hang of it very quickly! This is the first or second one we opened, so he's looking a little perplexed...Then it was onto the good stuff....Let's Eat Cake!!! Right around this time, Ben was getting his 8th and 9th teeth - one of which was a first molar. So, "picky eater" was indeed the case for a few weeks. I made him a banana-flavored cake 1. because it fit the monkey theme, of course! and 2. in hopes he'd enjoy the cake since he'd eaten regular white cake a few times before and not been too interested.

In the end, I do think he enjoyed the cake despite the fact that he didn't actually eat that much of it. After all, what boy doesn't enjoy making a mess??!!

Here's the Before, During and After....Squish! A new "trick" he's been doing lately...Whew! I don't know HOW we got that little booger cleaned up for the rest of the party! Fun times with Daddy...

"I'm ONE!!"

Ben's First Birthday

It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since my perfect little baby boy entered this world! What a wonderful year it has been (the best year of Mama's whole life!!)...every single day has been so, so special :)

On the morning of his birthday, Mama, Daddy, Mason and Chandler all woke up at the crack of dawn when Ben did and went into his room singing "Happy Birthday To You". He was a little confused at first, but......

"Hey, what's going on here??"

Mason was excited!!Happy Mama!!Ummmm....sleepy Daddy, LOL! Mark stumbled right back to bed as soon as the serinade was over! Oh, and where was Chandler? Behind the camera, of course! He's the MASTER of getting smiles out of Ben!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Mama took off work for the occasion, and we played-played-played all day! Here's Ben modeling his "jeans" diapers and playing Peek-a-Boo with the blinds.
Later that day we went out to Jason's Deli for dinner and to Rita's Italian Ice for dessert. We've all been looking forward to giving Ben a "Rita's" for his birthday. He tried everyone's flavors and his favorite was Wild Black Cherry ~ YUM!

So, we had a really fun day with our sweet baby Ben. Mama got a lump in her throat a few times during the day (and maybe shed a tear or two as I rocked him to sleep that night)....but that's just what mamas do, I guess. And to think: it's only just begun!!

Well, speaking of beginnings, the next day when we woke up, it was time to get the party started!! Stay tuned for pictures of Ben's Monkey Birthday!!!