What constitutes a blog? Can you really call it a blog if you only update it once a quarter? Oh well, despite my tardiness in blogging, I thought I'd post a final update for 2009. All in all we've had a great year. Ben had his first birthday and his first haircut; Eddie and I took an amazing vacation to the Southern Caribbean and celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary; we took our first "family vacation" to San Antonio and visited some wonderful friends; and we've watched Ben grow and develop into an amazing, beautiful toddler!
Ben's Updates / Milestones
Ben started attending day-care in August of this year. We decided it was the best decision for us as a family, rather than driving an hour and fifteen minutes everyday for a baby-sitter whom we loved, we had to consider the toll the commute was taking on us as a family and our overall way of life. We were exhausted and had less time to spend together. I learned from several co-workers that there is a great day-care only 2 blocks from my office. It wasn't the easiest transition, but he did adjust after a little time and he's now to the point of crying when it's time to go home! I guess that's a good thing...
Ben's passion for anything w/four wheels has deepened. He LOVES cars, trucks, tractors, four-wheelers, etc. 'Car' was one of his first words, and one that he still uses regularly. He also loves airplanes. I think he could work for Air Traffic Control b/c he can spot an airplane in the dark of night, from inside the house he hears them, anytime of day - rain or shine, he can spot and point out an airplane!
This fall Ben had his second Trick-or-Treating experience and he was a fireman. He made an adorable one, and really seemed to grasp the concept of Trick-or-Treating. In fact, he thought he had it figured out by the last house and was more than happy to reach in the candy bowl and help himself to all of the candy! Luckily for Ben he's cute and can get away w/that, for now:)He's also started using more and more words, and he's putting them together now. Some of my favorite phrases: 'Love you Mommy', 'Love you Daddy', 'Daddy home', 'Mommy home', 'I tooted', (quickly followed by a mischievous grin and 'scuse me'), 'I got it' (when he's helping Daddy feed/water the dogs), 'It's cold', and 'thank you'.
He had his first "real" haircut! This was slightly traumatizing, for Mommy anyway. But he's adorable regardless and I'm not bias or anything. Below is a before picture, and then after his trip to the barbershop.
Family Vacation
Eddie and I decided to take up some of our good friends on an offer to visit and stay with them anytime we liked after they moved to San Antonio a few years ago. Eddie and I discussed it many times, but finally decided to make it happen this fall. We booked our trip for the first weekend in December because we knew by then it would be very cold in Missouri, but nice and mild in Texas. WELL, we were halfway right. Missouri was cold, but it just so happened Texas had one of their very rare cold snaps the weekend we visited, in fact, in many parts of Texas they received record amounts of snow!
None the less, we had a wonderful time and Ben had his first opportunity to ride on an airplane. We saw some awesome sites: Sea World & Shamu; The Alamo; and The Riverwalk at Christmas time. We ate some delicious Mexican cuisine, and had an amazing time visiting Bob and Patrice. BTW, the Cooks are wonderful hostesses! Thanks Bob and Patrice!
Looking Ahead
In 2010, Eddie and I are hoping to sell our home and move to a more "rural" environment. We like the idea of being able to look out our windows and see trees and nature, and not other houses. Of course, we love our neighbors - they are all awesome and we are so blessed to live in such a nice, quiet neighborhood...but we both feel we're ready to move on. Eddie is continuing to work towards his degree in Computer / Information Technology; and I'm currently working on an independent side job selling BeautiControl products, which I love! It's a lot of fun, but I'm still working at Sigma-Aldrich full-time. Ben will turn 2 in March, and Eddie will turn 30!! That is so hard to believe, but we look forward to it. And my younger brother David is getting married on March 20 to his very sweet, very beautiful fiancee, Courtney. We've also been attending a really amazing church called Rooftop Community Church, and we're planning/hoping to become more active and involved. We've tried other churches, but we both feel this is where God wants us to be. So all in all, we've had a great year in 2009 and we're really looking forward to 2010!
