We're Back!!!

We're back!  and so sorry for our long absence from the blog ... I know we've probably lost most of our readers - not that we had that many to begin with - but here we are, back with all sorts of cuteness, as you can see.

After our computer died, we purchased a Mac, which has been great, but has presented me with quite a learning curve in the photo/video department, thus the long delay in getting Benjamin's birthday pictures up, along with all other happenings of the past month!  I think we're finally on the way though, so I promise a post soon with all those cute photos (plus, someone I know was a pretty ferocious lion for Halloween)

Anyway, just wanted to say a quick hello to reintroduce ourselves.  Hopefully, all the technical difficulties are behind us, and it'll be pure blogging bliss from here on out.  Happy Monday, all!

My first logarithm....

thinking, thinking thinking...

Got it!

PS:  I promise a birthday post soon.  This week has been full - to put it mildly - and it seems our six-year-old computer has decided its time for semi-retirement ... after all, why should it have to boot up every single time we push the power button?!  So between the busyness and the unreliable computer, a birthday update should be coming sometime soon ... hopefully :)

Happy Birthday!

Of Benjamin, he said, 

'The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.  

The High God surrounds him all day long 

and dwells between his shoulders. Deut. 33:12

Can it possibly have been a whole year? Twelve whole months?

And then on the other hand, it seems like 10 years ... when were you not a part of our lives?  How could we possibly have gotten along without you?  (Oh, we just got more sleep?  Well, sleep's not all its cracked up to be.)

How could we have known how desperately we would love you, how much you would bring us together, how much you would bring us closer to the One who has gifted you to us for such a short time?

For you are truly a gift, every ounce of your cuddly little self (and there's quite a few more ounces than there were a year ago!)  Your fuzzy hair, the way your whole face lights up when you smile, your love of life, expressed in the tiniest of moments ... how amazing the water is as it runs over your fingers, how fun it is to be in motion, in some way, every moment you're awake, and how you simply MUST figure out everything around you.

It's funny for us to think now how new everything was when we first brought you home ... where should we put you?  It's not like you could just hang out on the couch... Which of these tiny clothes are pajamas? Does it even matter?  But you've taught us how to take care of you.  And God has been so very faithful.

Our hearts are so full this day, and our spirits so full of hopes and dreams and prayers for your future.  But above all, we ask that God would give you a heart strong in faith and full of passion for His Kingdom.  That you would know "what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:18-19) and that we would be given the grace to love and guide you toward HIM.

We love you Benjamin Boy!  Happy First Birthday!

There's Gonna Be a Par-tay!

Preparations have officially begun!  Cupcakes are baked (and safely stowed in the freezer till Saturday), wrapping paper has been purchased (hopefully I'll get a chance to wrap the gifts tonight) and my crafty side, such as it is, has reappeared after a long hiatus (all my creative energies having been recently invested in cooking-type endeavors).  We'll see how it all turns out.  (((fingers crossed)))

AND!  Benjamin got his first ever birthday package in the mail!  He was so excited!

Is that really my name, Dad?  It says "Benjamin Trautman" right there?

Thanks Nana, Papa, and Aunt Mattie!

A long, but glorious day

Yesterday was the longest day we have had in quite some time.  Benjamin and I left for the farmers market at 6:30 ... that would be in the AM!  It was still dark outside, but we had lots to do, and first on the list was picking up our farm share.  Since it was pretty chilly, I just slipped Benjamin's jacket on over his jammies...

He's thinking, "Golly, Mom, can we stop trying to 'get this jacket to last' and just go ahead and let me wear one that actually reaches my waist?"  No worries, son!  The bigger one was in the dryer, ready for us to get suited up to head to...

the weddin'!

It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day for an outdoor wedding on a quaint little farm in a town a couple of hours from home.  Benjamin was a little overwhelmed by all the people, but livened up around lunchtime...

I just couldn't get over what a beautiful setting it was for a wedding (or how cute Benjamin looked in his little corduroy pants - thanks for letting us open the birthday present early, Grandma!  :)

 While we were in the area, we thought we'd also take advantage of the state park that's nearby, boasting "19 waterfalls along an easy gorge trail."  Why not?  Benjamin was such a trooper, and the views were worth every minute.  We didn't take the whole trail (it was already 4:30 and Little Man hadn't had a nap yet!), but we're hoping to go back someday!

I wonder...

Benjamin's new favorite activity is rearranging my spice shelf.  No kidding ... once he gets done peeping out the dining room windows, that's his next stop ... every time!  So, I'm wondering if I should return some of the toys I got for his birthday, and just go buy some more spice bottles instead?

PS: I've since moved the toaster ... that was bad news.

And it begins...

Benjamin's birthday season officially began today when he discovered the stash of birthday presents.  Not that they were that well hidden - just stuck in a corner of our bedroom.  It's just that he'd never discovered that corner before ...

In fact, he'd never discovered A LOT of stuff before today.  For, today, Benjamin discovered ... drum roll please... the REST of the HOUSE.  And, not only did he discover that the other rooms of the house still exist when he's not in them, he discovered that ... cue fireworks ... HE CAN GET THERE!  By crawling, cruising, climbing, or any other means at his disposal, Benjamin covered every inch of our house today, to his great delight, my great exhaustion, and the great dismay of the knees of his pants.

My life is never going to be the same.

Neither are his pants.

Anyway, the other aspect of his birthday beginnings was the sampling of the birthday cake.  I really wanted him to try the cake before his party, in case he was allergic to anything ... who wants to break out in hives at their very first birthday party?  So, I perused countless cake recipes, trying to find a healthy one that would also taste good ... sweet potato zuchinni cupcakes with avacado frosting, anyone?  But in the end, I listened to Daddy and just found a basic cake recipe ... no bells and whistles, but also nothing fake (artificial flavors, colors, or HFCS), so we're one step ahead, right?  But when we sat down to feed it to him ...

he wouldn't eat it!  crazy kid!  he's a little sensitive to textures right now, so I think the cakiness threw him off.  Ah well, hopefully he'll eat at least a little at his party!

We also took a quick walk this afternoon.  It was drizzly all day long, but we took advantage of a brief clearing (and mid-70 degree temperatures!) to go enjoy some fall leaves around our neighborhood.

I love fall!  and I tried not to pay attention to the snowman toy that Benjamin played with the whole time ... I want to enjoy today and not dread the winter ... and yet, oh, how I am NOT looking forward to boots, hats, shivers, wind, scraping ice ... I better just go to bed ...  I will not dread winter, I will not dread winter, I will not dread winter ...