Thursday in the Park

Benjamin and Grandma spent a little time on the playground last night.   He was so enthralled with the playground equipment, that I had to keep reminding him to look at me and SMILE.  Every now and then, he granted me a fleeting moment of that sweet face.

 

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….and we can’t forget A.J.

Guitar Hero

Our son Kevin and soon to be son-in-law Brock might think they hold the record in this family for most points scored in Guitar Hero - but they haven't come up against the latest challenge. Watch out guys - this one's got something to prove.

Benjamin...

This is Benjamin. He will be 3 in December. He is an only child - for 10 more weeks - and then his life will change forever. That's probably a good thing for Benjamin. He is getting a new bedroom and a new baby brother. Sounds like a good deal to me. I kind of doubt that Benjamin will agree at first. You see, Benjamin is a very smart little guy. He talks constantly and asks a multitude of questions. For three years, he's had the undying attention of his mommy and daddy and now, this new little person is going to move into HIS house and steal some of HIS thunder.

Hey Benjamin - welcome to the life of a big brother!!! You'll survive.

Ben and Jack

Ben Van Fleit and Jack Urbanski are cousins. Their moms are sisters. They live in the same neighborhood. They were born one week apart. These two fight like two little puppies. They love to play pirates and Star Wars and someone always ends up hurt. These two are going to be Chrissie and Brock's ring bearers. Should we be worried???

Happy Halloween....

So, I'm at work this afternoon and this little green dragon appears at my door looking for candy. I was terrified that he was going to attack me with a blast of flaming fire, so I frantically found 50 cents and headed straight for the candy machine in the break room - with a green dragon close on my heels. Luckily, he was pacified with chocolate and after a "sweet" kiss, he was off to terrorize the ladies at mommy's salon.

Ben's "YION"

My grandson Ben has this lion or "yion" as he calls it. Let me just say that this thing is UGLY!! It is skinny, has very little hair and just isn't what you'd expect a two year to carry around as his favorite toy. He sleeps with it, he drags it everywhere he goes. Sunday after church, we met Colleen and Jimmy and Ben at Logan's for lunch and "yion" came too. Half way through lunch, "yion" ended up in Colleen's ranch dressing and she told us that the night before (while at some friend's home) "yion" ended up thrown into a bonfire - and was recovered. It's like that Energizer Bunny - takes a licking, but keeps on ticking - just not nearly as cute!

Summer Shades

This week's completed layout. Photo taken LAST Labor Day. (I told you I was nearly a year behind!) This is a TOTAL scraplift. Saw the layout in a magazine and had the perfect photo of Ben wearing mommy's sunglasses. AND OF COURSE, I see a typo - I have it dated 2007 instead of 2006. That's what I get for being SO FAR BEHIND!!!!

Spittin' Image...

This is Ben - he belongs to Colleen and Jimmy. Ben is 16 months old.



It's just dawned on me in the past few weeks how much he looks like his mom.

Today, his Aunt Katie calls me with a funny story....

She has this photo in a frame on her desk at work. Today, a woman comes in, sits down and comments on the photo, asking Katie if this little guy belongs to her. Katie replies, "No - he's my sister's". The lady just can't get over HOW MUCH he looks like Katie - the same eyes, the same smile. Katie laughed and told her, "Well, that could be because his mom is my identical twin."

No wonder Ben gets such a big smile on his face when he sees his Aunt Katie...she looks just like his mama.

Grandma Duty

Colleen and Jimmy are in Las Vegas and I have "Ben Duty". So, I'm back to picking up children from the sitters - then home to deal with strained sweet potatoes and some sort of fruit concoction. So far, so good. We got the diapers changed and the pajamas on and his bottle. We settled into a comfy chair to bond. He proceeded to somehow dislodge the nipple of his bottle and eight ounces of stinky formula dumped all over my sweater, my pants, and his clean pajamas. Now he's MAD!!! No patience for Grandma to make another bottle. So, we've stripped off the wet pajamas and I've dug through my son in law's drawers for some 2001 golf/beer drinking t-shirt (to take the place of my soaked sweater) - which looked exceptionally stylish with my black tweed wool pants. We finally got a new bottle, clean pajamas and a dry grandmother - and he was ready for bed. By 7:30, Aunt Katie had arrived for the overnight stay and I drug myself home - only to do it again tonight.

Katie called me at 8:30 this morning, complaining about how much work it is to get him up and dressed and fed and to the sitter's. She was sooooo exhausted before she even got to work.

Don't even go there with me missy!

Ben at the Pumpkin Patch

Colleen is not my photo-taking daughter, so it always seems like I have so many more photos of Nolan, Grace and Jack - thanks to Carrie.

So.....when I get a good one of the Van Fleit family, I've got to share it!

Ben is 7 Months Old

OK - I know - I have the "grandma syndrome" here - but isn't he just the cutest thing?

It won't be long and he'll be tearing things up in his new house. This time next week, they'll be ready to move in - not soon enough for his mom and dad!!!

A brand new house and what's the first room his mom want's to decorate? Ben's room - of course!

Grace in Charge...

Our Gracie will be two in another month and here she is - showing her little brother Jack and her cousin Ben just who's in charge. These two little guys are CONSTANTLY getting kisses and hugs from her. If they could ONLY defend themselves!!!

One of these days, they'll both be bigger than her, but for right now - Gracie's in charge!

Design Team Assignment

My most recent Design Team assignment for PIT - the new baby line by Daisy D. Helps that I have plenty of new baby pictures!!

We Are Blessed...

These two little guys showed up just before Christmas.

Ben (on the left) was born on December 13th and Jack on December 20th. Our family is growing quickly and we couldn't be more blessed. GOD is GOOD!!

Our Family Has Grown by Two...

This year's family Christmas photo includes two new little guys - Ben Van Fleit and Jack Urbanski. In this photo, Ben is 11 days old and Jack is just 4 days old.


Next year should be a real challenge - with two 1 year olds crawling (or toddling) through the gifts.

Benjamin James Van Fleit

Ben arrived 3 weeks early - just in time for Christmas (and beating out his cousin who will arrive next Tuesday). After a very long labor and four hours of pushing, he arrived weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds 11 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches long. According to the doctor, he would have been a 9 pound baby at full term.

Colleen’s water broke at 6:00 a.m. and she went to the hospital – arrived at already 4 centimeters and 70% effaced – everything progressing well. She was pushing by 3:00 and then little Ben hit a brick wall – or rather her pelvic bone. After 4 hours of pushing, it was evident that he couldn’t get his head under that pelvic bone and into the birth canal, so she was taken back for a c-section. I saw Colleen’s doctor talking to Carrie and hearing how Nolan was born with two broken collarbones and Carrie’s subsequent c-sections and knowing they were sisters, I don't think it took long for them to make the decision.

So, as the nurse put it last night – Colleen suffered from a double whammy. She is recovering from an exhausting labor and now abdominal surgery. But right now, she doesn’t seem to care one bit. She’s got a BIG smile on her face this morning and she keeps telling EVERYONE who will listen just how “stinkin’ cute” that baby is…and she’s right! Her request for today…a mocha frappacino from Starbucks.