Here is a copy of our 2009 Christmas Card if you didn't receive one by mail this year. We are doing well and surviving the 20 plus inches of snow we received yesterday! Enough to cancel church and close the malls on Super Saturday! It reminds me of Minnesota....except for all the closures! Ben, Kate and I have cabin fever already! Unfortunately, David is stuck at the hospital this weekend. Ben doesn't understand why daddy's work isn't closed when everything else is! They are expecting a rush of broken bones and car accidents to start flooding the ER soon! Hope you are all well and have a very Merry Christmas!

And here is our 2009 "Life According to Ben and Kate" section!

Kate: (Speaking to Karen) "Want Daddy come home, you boring."

While making dinner, I started the mixer. Kate yelling above the noise: "Mom, Annoying!

After showing Ben a preview for the "Walking With Dinosaurs" arena spectacular on the computer I asked, "Would you like to go see that show with Daddy?" Ben: "I can't mom." Karen: "Why not?" Ben: "Mom.....we just can't get into the computer."

Breaking the silence while driving in the car on the way home from turning in our pikepass: Ben, "I sure am going to miss this Oklahoma place."

Ben requested I stop the car as we pulled out of Rob and Di's driveway leaving Oklahoma. He said he needed to tell Natalee one more thing. I motioned for Natalee to come over, rolled down the window and Ben said, "Expect the unexpected!" Our parting tears turned to laughter.

While at the Baltimore Zoo, Ben: "I'm SO glad we moved to Maryland so I could see that goat poop."

As David walked in with the mail on his birthday...Karen: "Did you get any cards?" David: "No." Ben: "Is that because you don't have any friends dad?"

Seconds after Kate pooped in the toilet for the first time...Ben: "Yes! That means we can have a baby now."

While buckling Ben in after church, Ben: "I know church is good for us, but sometimes it sure is boring."

Ben: "I want a Wii for my birthday." Karen: "Oh Ben, Wiis cost lots of money." Ben: "Okay, then I'll just ask Santa for Christmas, he doesn't have to pay for anything!"

Ben: "What if boys had babies and girls had the Priesthood?"

While visiting an elderly lady in a classic nursing home today, Ben: "Are there germs here?" Karen: "Probably" Ben: "There are. I can smell them."

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Ever since we moved to Baltimore, Ben has been waiting for it to snow. A couple of months ago Nana sent gorgeous snow suits, boots, mittens, hats and jackets for the winter. The kids put them on immediately and wore them around the house the day they arrived in the mail and a few days since then. Today.....all their dreams came true! Beautiful snow...perfect for playing in. David joined them outside and even sported his own ski pants, boots, gloves, hat and Northface jacket. When he was headed outside I told him it wasn't that cold out! I think he was just a little excited too. He did admit later that he got a little hot, but now he is telling me that it was only because he was working while he was out there. :) They made a family of 4 snowmen and snow chairs for Ben and Kate. Kate enjoyed catching snowflakes on her tongue! Afterwards we all had hot chocolate and watched football. A great day in Baltimore.

It's a.....

BOY! And there was no questions about it! Before the ultrasonographer even told us Ben said, "Look...I see a penis!" Ben is already a radiologist in the making! We are excited to have another little boy join us...especially after enduring the terrible twos with a very strong willed little girl. Any name suggestions are more than welcome! Here is a recent picture of my huge belly!

5 Years!

Today is Ben's 5th birthday! Where has the time gone? I can hardly remember life without him. He is a true joy and a great little friend to me. Not a day passes by that he doesn't make us all laugh. He is clever, sensitive and genuine. I will be forever grateful to be his mother. Ben enjoyed his "Spiderman" birthday party today and a dinner trip to Red Robin this evening. He said it was, "the best day ever" and while he was playing with one of his new toys I heard him say to himself, "I'm soooooo spoiled." We love you Ben!

Embarrassed while the Red Robin crew sings Happy Birthday!

The Birthday Party Crew!

The "Spider Web" Cake!

Halloween Happenings!

We had a great Halloween this year. On Friday, Ben had a fun Halloween party at school and we went to our Church's trunk or treat. Ben invited his friend Brady, "Superman" from school. They had a great time.

My friend Heather's little girl, Brooklyn was "Bat girl". It made for a cute picture.

On Saturday, David carved a pumpkin with the kids and we enjoyed our neighborhood festivities.



We got in just the right amount of trick or treating before it started raining. Now the task is attempting to hide the candy from Kate. She can climb anywhere and is very good at discovering my hiding places. She inherited her mother's sweet tooth! As you can see from the pictures, Ben was Batman. I made his costume this year. David was a little worried, but admitted he was very impressed with the final product. I will admit Kate's care bear costume didn't turn out as well, but she loved it and that's all that really matters, right? I took advantage of David having vacation this week and got a much needed haircut(as you can tell from the picture). It had been 5 months, way too long! I feel almost as blond as Kate now! It took too long to get settled in and get over the really bad morning sickness before I could go. I have missed Diane desperately...my friend who has cut my hair for the past 5 years!

Cromwell Valley Park Field Trip

On Monday, Ben had his first official "field trip." His class visited Cromwell Valley Park and learned how to harvest pumpkins, apples, black walnuts and corn. He got to pick his own pumpkin, make and taste apple cider, crack a black walnut, grind corn into cornmeal and eat cornbread. It turned out to be a beautiful fall day. It was fun to watch Ben socialize with his classmates and see firsthand that he really has become everyone's, "best friend."







This last picture is one of Ben and his friend RJ. Ben loves RJ. I love to watch them together. RJ is the biggest kid in the class and Ben is one of the smallest, but they don't seem to care or even notice.

B&O Railroad Museum!

Anyone know what the B in B&O railroad stands for? You guessed it...Baltimore! I ventured to the railroad's museum last week with my friend Kristen and some of her kids. Kate insisted on wearing Ben's railroad hat the entire time and chanted "Choo Choo" the ENTIRE time we were there. We had a good time.

Go Stingrays!

We made the sad transition from the Tigers Soccer team to the Stingrays. Now that the season is nearly over, I am finally beginning to accept the fact and post some pictures. Sometimes Ben and I find ourselves accidentally cheering "Go Tigers" at the end of the games. Whenever Ben scores he tells me he did it for his Tiger friends. Ben has really picked up on playing defense this season. He has learned how to get back quick and get between the other team and the goal. The head coach tells us every game he is a natural born sweeper. David has continued to help coach whenever he gets the free time to do so. I hope Ben continues to enjoy playing soccer as much as I enjoy watching him.

Where Have I Been?

For the past 7 weeks, I have been looking into one of these...



Today, it all became worth it when I saw these...




Our little miracle is expected to arrive in April!

Packing His Bags!

Ben disappeared for a few minutes, when I heard him yell for help in his room. He had his little suitcase filled and needed help shutting it. I asked, "Where are you going Ben?" His reply: "I'm moving back to Oklahoma!" If only I could fit in his bags!

An Eventful Week!

David had this past week off so we took advantage and explored. On Tuesday (David's 30th birthday) we rode the light rail train to Baltimore's inner harbor and visited the National Aquarium. Although it took longer to ride the train Ben and Kate loved every minute of it. Kate said "choo choo" the whole way. At the aquarium, Ben and Kate especially loved the Dolphin show and all of the sharks. Ben thought it was so funny when the dolphins splashed the crowd. When Ben grows up, he now wants to be a "fish doctor". That evening David and I were able to go out to dinner for David's birthday, while my new friend Kristen (I do have 2 friends!) watched the kids. I don't think I will ever take for granted a meal without little kids around!




On Wednesday, we decided to drive to the nearest beach in Delaware. It took us about 3 hours, but it was a very pretty drive. Kate was terrified of the tide, but loved playing in the sand. Ben had a great time burying David in the sand and building a sand castle. On the way to the beach, Ben informed us that we needed to review the beach rules which according to him were: #1. Don't wander off. #2. Don't go into the water without mom or dad. #3. No coconuts on the beach. #4. Have fun! Apparently, he learned these on the television show, "Little Bill." Ben remembers everything. While we were there we even saw a group of dolphins swimming very near to the shore. It was pretty cool to see them in the wild, just a day after we had seen some at the aquarium.



On Friday, we went to the Baltimore Zoo. We had planned on going to the National Zoo in D.C., but the weather called for rain so we stayed close. We had a good time. Ben's favorite animals were the polar bears, penguins, a baby elephant and the camel that he got to ride with David. After about 3 hours it started to downpour...quickly ending our trip.






Sunday was our 8th wedding anniversary. We had a pretty relaxing day. David let me take a nice long nap and I made him lasagna for dinner. It's crazy how time has flown by. We decided to buy an area rug we really liked for our family room as a gift to each other. I had been eyeing it for quite some time.
It's monday and it's back to the grind...working...bills...laundry...errands...cleaning and of course blogging!