Ben's first Christmas

 

 

 

 

Christmas eve

Hot off the camera...we held nothing back (hi mom). Here is our Christmas eve footage. We took Ben for a walk to the park by our house and played in the snow for a few minutes. Note his awesome snow boots brought back by Marty and Sara from non other than El Salvador! We've never seen this much snow in Vancouver. Merry Christmas everyone.

vancouver...seattle.....vancouver

After a failed attempt to fly to Los Angeles for Christmas and three days at a hotel at the Seattle airport we headed back to Vancouver so that at least we would be "stuck" at home for Christmas. We made the right choice...it started snowing sometime Tuesday night and hasn't stopped (now Wed morning). Here are a a few essential images for our trip. Apparently the captions don't line up with the pictures but you get the point. We'll post some pictures of Ben's first Christmas soon. Hopefully we'll get to Chicago for part 2 of our Christmas journey.


Ben was a great sport despite his front teeth coming in.



Lots of football was watched on TV


our essential snacks when staying in a hotel with no fridge etc.

Ben's first snowy day

out in the snow

our "view"

waiting for the bus

snowy park by our house

Being mischevious

I got my computer back (yeah Dan Ray!) but we are working with a new photo program so things have been a bit delayed. Here are a few shots of Ben doing what he has been doing all week...getting into things he shouldn't be.


Getting into the recycling...eating paper is always fun.


Gotcha! I am seriously convinced that someone should make baby toys that are similar to computer cords...nothing is more inviting to Ben than the computer cords.


Just being loud here.


This picture is on his way back from what appears to be an attempt to eat the radiator. He loves to put his mouth on the warm radiator. Weird.

Working on a Dream

Bruce and the E Streeters have a new album out in January. Here is a video from a song that will most likely be a b-side to the album. Enjoy folks.

Still thinking of you Yanger. Your lucky day is coming soon. Here's to you!

Hold on!

There will be a temporary lapse in Ben photos for a while because the old lap top is in the shop. By in the shop I mean at Dan Ray's house getting worked on. The other old laptop we have doesn't do the photo thing too well. Sorry...but when we return we'll get a video of Ben's new and exciting trick...clapping!

Sunshine and Rainbows

A nod to the Yanger...dont let the post office get you down. Keep moving forward!

Asian Costumes: Part III

Here we have the last installment of Ben's Asian costumes. Of course this isn't a traditional Asian costume, however it was picked up by Gail and Andy on the trip to Asia. Andy thought Ben definitely needed some camo to properly do the army crawl. So here he is. At the end when he is looking at the green circular thing he is actually checking himself out in the mirror.

Asian Costumes: part II

Here is the second installment of Ben's Asian wear. He really liked doing the army crawl across the hard wood floor in these silk pjs. Speaking of army crawl...just wait for tomorrow's post!

Asian Costumes: part I

As most of you know my mom and a few other blog reader/Ben fans just got back from a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. They brought back more than one "traditional" outfit for Ben. Starting off the fashion show, from Karen people of Thailand comes a traditional outfit that would never pass a North American "baby" safe standard test. For further commentary watch the video.

Mr. Odd Face in a Plaid Shirt

Here is Ben looking like an old man for some reason. He is wearing his "new" plaid shirt and making some strange faces (and of course one good smile). Yes that is my deodorant he is holding. Whatever works right?
Coming soon (as in this week): Ben in Asian costumes!

A few new pics

Hello! Here are a few new pictures of Ben in some "new" winter clothes. We finally got him a few outfits to tide us over until Christmas (: It feel like Ben is changing everyday right now. We are having a lot of fun playing with him and watching him discover everything for the first time (and rediscover things he forgot about). We are looking forward to seeing Grandma (Chris) who has been stranded (although in good company) in Bangkok for a week. Rumor has it they are taking a bus to Malaysia and flying home this week. FYI: bus to Malaysia is about a 20 plus hour endeavor! Without further adieu:

Live From Slane Castle

Ben and I are watching a little U2 - Live from Slane Castle. It is his first helping of the band in concert.

For some reason, I can't get this one part of the song New Years Day out of my head and my heart.

"It's true. It's true. We can break through...we can be one."

Jane has been collecting photos from our last year. The past can be a scary place to visit. Our little tribe here got bruised and knocked around a bit.

I guess what I am trying to say is that as the year is coming to a close, I feel hope. We feel hope. May you feel the same.

Friends!

Here are some action shots of Ben, Jaiden and Gideon. A few of the families in our church are starting a babysitting co-op. These are some of the boys Ben will be playing with. They are both about 4 months older than Ben and lots of fun.


Jaiden and Ben on the floor in the background.


Jaiden chowing down at lunch



This one is a classic. Ben in the "exercise saucer" because he can't sit, Jaiden up and walking and Gideon in his standard position (he moves very quickly across the floor just like that).


This was right before Gideon generously offered Ben a big piece of bread with peanut butter - oops!

Updates galore!

There are lots of updates. For the Ben obsessed in BC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Spain, London, and those stuck in Bangkok:

* Ben is a big boy! In fact he is so big (top heavy as the doctor said) that he can't get balanced enough to sit on his own. She told us we should start practicing without a diaper on as to provide a "flatter" surface.

* Ben has his first ear infection. He was only really miserable (or acted miserable) for one day. The meds kicked in and now he is in normal self.

* Ben is definitely a red head (see photo). As my red headed friend Beth would say, he is part of the "ging conting"

* Ben has a newly redecorated room. I probably shouldn't say "re"decorated as it was pretty plain before. Luckily Laura B moved in down the street. Enough said (see photo). I'll try to get some photos of the room but it seems whenever I have time to update the blog someone is sleeping in there.

* Ben is a bit too much of morning person. We can't get him to stay up past 630pm and he is often up at 4am. GONG!

* Ben is becoming fluent in Japanese

Ben is Back

We had a temporary lapse into the real world with that last post. What? Something besides Ben "crawling," eating, jumping etc? Don't worry he is back and I'm pretty sure you'll like this video. There really isn't any more to say about it.

lovin' the Bon Iver skinny

Check this video out. He is quickly becoming a favorite. Thanks to 'Q' for the introduction.

Not much going on here.....

I tried really hard to capture some unique moments...some major cuteness...some funny noises but alas, we have a few videos of Ben moving around. However, I happen to know there are some people that will still watch them and even like them despite their, shall we say, lack of umph. I'll keep trying. Although one of the photos does reveals Ben's new fang.