4th of July!

We had a fabulous 4th of July! We went to the Hollyhock Lane Parade in the morning, which may become a tradition for our family. Ben loved the fire trucks, the kids, and all the fun. It's a great neighborhood parade that I went to every year as a kid. Soon Benjamin will be riding his bike in it! At night we went to Holland and Ben loved the beach! He could have played in the sand all night long!

Benjamin is 2!

Benjamin turned 2 last week! He had a great birthday with mom and dad, and a fantastic ball-themed party over the weekend, complete with a basketball cake!

Sledding!

We enjoyed a not too freezing day by sledding with Benjamin on the fresh snow. Grandpa and Grandma had fun too--thanks to them for giving Ben the sled for Christmas!

Christmas 2008

 

Shop Local this Christmas

with this coupon book, which includes savings at Art of the Table, where Andrea works—seen here:

Fun-Filled Fall...and Winter

The footprints of the whole family--the first snow stuck to the driveway yesterday!

Happy Halloween!

 
 

18 months old, Aunt Lisa and more!

Benjamin turned 18 months old today (and showed his age by reading the New York Times), and Aunt Lisa was here to visit over the weekend. He was glad to see her again (and so were we)!

Reaching Young Voters

Obama in GR

Andrea and I voted for Barack Obama for Senate in Illinois in 2004 when we lived in Chicago, and have followed his sudden national rise with interest since then. Although we were split between Barack and Hillary during the primaries, we've now come together in political unity for the good of the country.

So I was excited to see Barack in person yesterday in downtown GR. Back in October 1992, my parents took me to see Bill Clinton when he was in town. I was trying to make it 2-for-2 soon-to-be presidents I've seen in person. Can't wait for January 20!

more...

September

The rest of September flew by! Over the past two weeks, Nathan and I got the flu (Benjamin somehow avoided it), we headed to Toronto for a quick weekend away during which Nathan spoke about his book to a wonderful church, and Nathan turned 29! Benjamin just got his second ear infection but has still been in great spirits, and he's been very vocal lately!

Busy Fall

September has brought busyness! Nathan's teaching two classes this fall in addition to his regular job and freelancing, and I'm taking my first grad school class in Social Work. And for some reason we've taken on many other commitments this fall--our calendar is chock full! Benjamin's as busy as ever and has officially transitioned to one nap a day (overall this is a good thing, but there are some days we still wish he would take a morning nap!). We're loving our little guy at this age--he's talkative, enjoys reading books with us and by himself, and loves to play the piano! Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.