Shopping

Okay, so the first picture is Ben trying on batting helmets. The second picture? Notice the mannequin's hand to the left of Ben. This is documentation of the first time Ben was officially embarrassed by his parents.

Turned out the only place we could find the proper size of the shirt we needed for him was on said mannequin. So we decided to remove the arm so that we could take it off. This made Ben absolutely crazy, since he assumed it was illegal and that we'd get arrested. We didn't. And after snapping a few photos, we put the arm back on good as new.

Big Brother

Here are a few pics of Ben being a great big brother. Having Phoebe on the school playground for the first time, he really watched out for her. Also, observe Ben's awesome sweatband on his left wrist. They don't call him "Cool Ben" for nothing.

Disneyland

Here are a few cute pics of the kids from Ben's birthday day at Disney. He got to ride in the front of the monorail, which he thought was pretty cool.

Girl in a box

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Happy Birthday!

One of Benjamin's favorite gifts for his birthday..! He doesn't get cereal like this very often. (Good thing he's too short to reach the top cabinet -- and he can't read yet).

Up'Chuck E. Cheese's

So Ben had been begging to go to Chuck E. Cheese's, so we took him right before his birthday. I told him that when I was paying for the pizza, the people recognized me and knew that it was his birthday... And they gave me the "birthday crown" to give to him. It made his day. Seriously.

Rockin' the Kiddie Coaster

Here's Ben and his mom on the kiddie coaster at Adventure City. He was terrified at first, but once he realized he wasn't falling out, he raised his hands in the air... And waived 'em like he just didn't care.

Phoebe on the carousel Part 1.

Here are a few pictures of Phoebe on her favorite ride -- the carousel. This one was at Adventure City... If you've ever seen the movie "Adventureland", it's a lot like that. Only sadder.

Ben Looking Cute

Just a few cute pictures of Benjamin taken with the Hipstamatic App. If I'm going to take crappy cell phone pictures, I may as well have some fun with them.

Halloween!

Here are a bunch of pictures from Halloween... Okay, so it was like two days after Halloween. We went to a party for the kids on the actual day, and not only are the pictures full of other kids, but Phoebe got squeezed out of the pictures!

On the plus side, the 50 dollar giant pumpkin only cost us 5 bucks the day after Halloween.

Benjamin made a fantastic Scarecrow, although the crow on the top of his hat wasn't too scared. And Phoebe was a girl riding a unicorn. Don't call it a pony.

Lastly, the pumpkin is Ben's first-ever carving. He drew the face, and Alison cut everything out!

The Backyardigan!

Here are two pictures of my adorable Princess Phoebe. I'm not sure if she could be any cuter, which is a good thing, since she's a trouble with a capital T.

Maceburg!

Here are a few pictures of the family dog. Her name is Macie, but the kids call her "Maceburg". I'm not sure if that means she's Jewish. But she's really sweet with the kids, and they all have a lot of fun together.

Soccer!

While it might look like the sequence of an amazing goalie save, this is actually Benjamin seeing how it would feel to roll into the goal while sitting on the ball. It appears that he enjoyed the ride!

Macie!

Here are a few pictures of Ben and Phoebe's new puppy.  Her name is Macie, and she's a chewing, peeing, licking machine.  The kids, as you can imagine, are over the moon!

Ben's First Cubbie Game (VIDEO! PRESS "PLAY"!)

Gone Fishin'

Here are a few shots of Ben fishing!  He caught more fish than his grandpa and his dad combined.  He originally wanted to take the worms home as pets, but changed his mind when he learned the were going to help him catch the fish.

The Farm!

Here are some pictures of Ben, Phoebe, and they're favorite Chicago babysitter -- Emma!  They rode some horses, picked some veggies, and had an overall good time.

Deer Forest!

Okay, so all but one of these pictures are from Deer Forest in Michigan.  Which was not quite what I remembered.  But the kids had a good time, and we came back with all of our fingers.

The last photo is from the fountain by Paul and Mia's pool.  The kids had a great time there with their Chicago pals!