Happy 10 Months, Little Man

In honor of our son's 10 month birthday, I've decided to post my favorite picture of him (thanks to Hillary's amazing wedding location...) and list my 10 favorite things about being Benjamin's Dad.

10. Watching him splash in the tub

9. Hearing "Da-Da" and "Bye-Bye"

8. Random people stopping us in public to admire him

7. When he is sitting in his high chair eating, and gets tickled for no apparent reason. Much like his mother does...

6. Rocking him to sleep

5. Seeing him share his Cheerios with the two dogs

4. Pulling in the driveway to see him standing at the front door with both hands on the glass.

3. Hearing the "mmmmmmm" sound he makes when he gets a bite of real food

2. His baby face when he has his passy in

1. Knowing that the high point of his day is when we finally tire of hearing him laugh and play, and we walk into his room to get him up and out of bed in the mornings. He grins from ear to ear, bounces up and down, and we know that - whatever happens today - everything we do and every decision we make is done in order to make his life a little better.

Recent Days...

Just thought we'd follow up with a few After-Christmas pics...Jenny and I decided not to get each other presents this year, but just do stockings. Of course, I went over the $20.00 stocking limit and stuffed Jenny's with a new camera, since mine is so large and she can never take it anywhere. 

These were taken before we learned how to use it, so excuse the graininess. 

Here we have Benjamin playing with his new Jungle Ball activity center from Grammy and Granddad. He's all about the monkey dropping the ball into the chute. 

And here we have the teething little monster working on some 

linkey-doos that his Pippi gave him. 

After Christmas, but before we had returned to Little Rock, Aunt Bee Bee 

decided to lay out all of his toys at Pippi and Poppa's. 

A little over-stimulating, one might say. Check out the busy poppin' balls toy

in the bottom right corner of the pic. It TERRIFIES him. Sounds like a 

hair dryer. Freaks him completely out!

A rare shot of the bottom two teeth. 

The two Bunch Grandbabies...Abby Lynn, age 4, and Benjamin. 

Benjamin, during the Cotton Bowl, rocking out with Granddad Bunch.

Woo hoo! Grammy finally bought a high chair for her house!

Hardwoods have nothing on this kid's sock feet. He cruised right

through the house....no shoes.

Cruisin through Grammy's kitchen. 

What we neglected to get was Benjamin walking all the way through St. Bernard's Village, the retirement home where Poppy B (his Great-Grandfather) lives. We took the walker to show PaPa how he is walking, but we were unaware that he had undergone a test at the hospital that morning and was apparently radioactive, so we didn't get to go in and see him! 

Who knew!!!???!!!

A couple of random senior gals at the home were most amused by his walker. Ben's walker, not PaPa's. 

For My Fellow Hogfans...

So for just over two hours tonight, I sat, but not in amazement, and listened to yet another pair of commentators fall all over themselves every time our opponent did anything slightly above mediocre. 

Why is it? Why is every nationally-televised Arkansas game - regardless the sport, or of our ranking - subjected to the "Poor, Inbred Arkansas" phenomenon. We can't do anything right in their eyes. 

It's been this way my whole life. I've always been bothered by it.

And I won't even begin to talk about the ridiculous calls against us by the referees. I hope they had escorts to their cars tonight. 

Nor will I mention the fact that if I heard the phrase "Butt Post" one more time I was going to either vomit or throw the remote through the television.

All that matters is this: We won. Go Hogs, Go!

Abby's New Room

Here are a few pics of Santa's Extreme Makeover in my niece Abby Lynn's bedroom at our parents' house. 

Needless to say, she's thrilled with her new digs...

This bed has been in our family for years, but has been at my Grandmother's.  My parents brought it with them when they moved to Jonesboro. 

Perfect for Abby, although she has to use steps to get into it. 

Abby's other grandparents bought her this dollhouse bookcase a couple of Christmases ago, but it has been in storage. John added the wall decals. 

Some family friends sent her a monogrammed pillowcase for Christmas. 

Christmas Day

Well, here they are, the long-awaited, much-anticipated pictures of Benjamin on his first Christmas. It's been a great Holiday. I've been off work since Christmas Eve, and don't go back until Sunday the 4th. 

Just a sweet shot of him Christmas morning. 

Uncle John helping Ben with his Dump Truck.

Ben's cousin Abby Lynn helping him open his presents. 

Ben with his Daddy Christmas morning. Too early...

Ben checking out his busy ball popper. 

"Telling" Pippi and Poppa how much he loves his presents...

Cracking up at something...

First ever cell phone.

Busy gears...from Mommy.

His pile of loot at Jenny's parents'. 

Elmo...his only stocking stuffer. Nothing else would fit in it. 

His stocking from Pippi and Poppa had a stuffed Monkey...

which apparently cracked him up. 

All in all, it's been a great Christmas. Ben has done really well being off schedule for a week, and we won't be back into a routine until after the new year. We went to church with my parents this morning, which was a little weird. 

We enjoyed the service, but it was strange being on the "other end" of leaving a baby. Usually I'm getting parents into the right room and ready for Sunday School or church. This time I was the anxious visitor who had to hand over his precious son to a bunch of strangers. It didn't phase Ben, at all. He just takes to whatever his surroundings are at the time, which I guess is great since we're on the go all of the time. He must have had a great time, because he was asleep by the time we got in the car, and slept on my shoulder throughout the wait to get into the restaurant after church. 

He has so many new presents I'm going to have to take a load home, then come back for Ben, Jenny, and the dogs. I can't imagine what next year will be like with him walking, talking, and laughing. 

Hope you all have had a Merry Christmas. 

And by the way, he's saying "Bye Bye" now.

Christmas Eve eve

This year, with all of the craziness of work, families spread out, and a baby, we decided to do Christmas Eve on the 23rd. Jenny's mom's family is always together Christmas Eve, and I think everyone enjoyed doing it a day earlier. It just meant that we were that much less rushed on Christmas Eve. 

Ben had a great time, enjoyed seeing his cousins and Aunts and Uncles, and was slightly more relaxed with Santa than he was in the mall a few weeks back. 

Jenny's Grandmother, Lillian, Jenny, and Ben

Ben's Poppa. Jenny's Dad Lary.

Jenny's cousin Lana, Lillian, and Jenny.

Jenny enjoying her mom, dad, and sister's version of the Twelve Days of Christamas. 

Jenny's sister Holly, AKA Aunt Bee, who collects 

anything and everything related to Bumble Bees.

The Bunch Fam, Christmas 2008

Jenny's Mom, AKA Pippi, and Ben. 

Santa brought Ben a LeapFrog alphabet 

caterpillar. 

Poppa helping Ben open his present from Santa.

Checking out the fat jolly guy...

The girls, plus Ben. Debbie, Holly, Jenny, and Benjamin. 

Merry Christmas Eve eve!

Early Christmas

Okay, so Benjamin doesn't talk, but if he did, we imagine that he would not not be able to say his L's or R's. 

And this is what we think he'd say about tonight's events. 

Hey evewybody. This is my cousin Hawwison. He and I aw vewy impohtoant cousins. We have the same bouwfday. The vewy same bouwfday.

Dis is Hawwison

Dis is me and Hawwison. Hawwison likes to stick his tongue out. 

Dis is me opening my vewy fowst Chwismas Pwesent. 

It's Vewy, Vewy Lawge.

Dis is Me and Hawwison again. He wikes to stick his tongue owt.

Dis is me wippin into my pwesent. 

Dis is me havin a bawl with my wappin papahs...

And dis is me in my big boy caw seat.

Woo hoo...I have woom foh my wegs...

Mewwwy Cwistmas!!!!

And yes, we are so stupid over the kid that we sit around putting imaginary words into his mouth...Oh well.