My BenBen

One of my favorite BenBen pictures. The Disney Cruise; May 2008

This year I thought I'd pay a little tribute to each of my kids on their birthdays. I'm a little late, but I wanted to write a little about Ben. Ben was born on February 18th in Woodbridge Virginia. He was 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. He was (so far) my largest baby which was probably do to the fact that he was 9 days late. His labor was my easiest and shortest being only 45 minutes from start to finish (also possibly due to the fact that he was so late.) He was a natural birth with no epidural which was easy to do because the labor is only 45 minutes. He came out not breathing, but the doctor/nurses quickly cleared his airway and we heard his little scream.

Thanksgiving 2004. 9 months old.

(I don't have any digital pictures before this one and I can't get the scanner to work so this will have to be the youngest picture of Ben this year.)

When I found out he was a boy I was so excited and so scared at the same time. I didn't know what to expect with a boy, but Ben has proven to be one of the neatest little kids I know. As a baby Ben was a chunk. He was born with fat rolls and quickly got more rolly polly. He ate whenever and whatever he could. He was such a doll with his blond hair, blue eyes, and big fat rolls. We've watched him slim down over the years. He's still tall for his age, but he's not nearly as heavy (he doesn't have that great appetite either.) His blond, blond hair has turned a little brown and his blue eyes are now a beautiful green.

One of my favorite pictures of baby Ben and I. At my cousin Amy's wedding, Summer 2005. Ben was just over 1. Notice the fingers in the mouth.

Ben has always been a wild yet mild boy. Out of all of our kids he's probably the one that requires the least amount of attention, which is good in some ways and bad in others. He's fairly easy going and likes to play by himself a lot. He enjoys being around other kids, but he's just fine if he's playing by himself while being surrounded by other kids. He loves his sisters and is a good brother. He gets along wonderfully with Sarah Kate and really enjoys playing with her and her friends. His wild side allows him to love to run, jump, climb, and tackle. When he was little we had to have a talk with him about how not all boys like tackling. Though he had to learn which friends he could tackle he knew Sarah and Daddy were always up for a tackle.

July 2006; Age 2

This picture was taken right before we moved to Virginia.

We've always called Ben the actor of the family. He loves to put on a show and make Kenny and I watch or listen to the funny things he does or says. In true boy fashion he enjoys hitting himself on the head and falling on the ground, he enjoys making up knock knock jokes, and countless other goofy things to make us laugh. I don't believe we've ever gone through a meal without Ben falling off his chair. Sometimes it's an accident, but most of the time he's just putting on a show. He loves to make his sisters laugh. Currently his favorite sister to make laugh is Gracie who he'll chase around the house or make funny noise at. It's so much fun watching him entertain his sisters.

January 2007; Almost 3

Ben LOVES Star Wars. If we can't find him it's likely he's downstairs building a Star Wars ship out of his Lego's, in his room playing with his Star Wars guys, or playing his Star Wars Lego video game. He also likes puzzles and other things. When he was younger we called him the puzzle king because he loved doing puzzles so much. In nursery at church they had to buy harder puzzles just for Ben because he would go through their puzzle supply in minutes. He seems to enjoy doing anything that uses his mind or his imagination.

May 2007; 3 years old

We have recently begun to see Ben show little signs of growing up. He has gained the desire to read and has been doing very well at his reading. He's reading level one books and growing his vocabulary daily. Ben's so excited to go to kindergarten in the fall. We didn't put him in a preschool this year, so that make the excitement of kindergarten so much greater. While we're watching him get smarter and bigger at the same time we still see some of that little Ben in there. He still sucks his two fingers and twirls his hair (though it's lessened, it's something I haven't figured out how to stop.) He's still that goofy fun little boy that makes us laugh.

May 2008; 4 years old.

I'm so excited to see what Ben has in store for us. He's such a fun little boy who has a mind of his own. Sometimes it can be frustrating or overwhelming, but I'm so glad he's creative, smart, and determined to do what he wants. There's never a dull moment with Ben and I wouldn't ask for anything more. I'm so excited to see him with a little brother. I wish they were closer in age, but I know Ben's going to be the best big brother who will show his little brother everything about being a boy. We're so blessed to have him and I'm so grateful to have such an amazing little boy in my life.