Happy Halloween!

It was Ben's first real attempt at trick or treating this year! Obviously, he was Mickey Mouse, and he kept his ears and mittens on longer than I thought he would! Overall, it went well. The weather was very nice! We only went to a few houses. For the most part Ben was perplexed as to why people were just putting candy in his bag! He enjoyed sitting on our front steps handing out candy far more! He was a good helper! He was good with and without the Mickey hands at getting the candy into the kids bags, sometimes handfuls at a time!

We're exhausted. Enjoy the videos and pictures from our day! Notice the video of Ben following digging into his candy! He literally ran around the driveway full steam for a solid 15minutes. We'll see how tonight goes!

Trices and Pumpkins

(I know, this picture is ridiculous! But, I couldn't help it!)



Oh boy, did Ben have fun last weekend with his buddy Jackson here for a visit! He really took on the role of host. He showed Jackson all his toys, showed him where we eat, where to go for something to drink, everything! Me, Brian, Jen and Scott also got to just sit and watch them play! It was sort of nice! Ben is definitely a little more of a daredevil and may have been a bad influence on Jackson! Jackson would just watch as Ben climbed the walls, twirled, threw himself on the floor as though tackling (from his football watching), all sorts of stunts!

Activities we tried:

Trick-or-treating at Lincoln Park Zoo on Saturday. Not many photos from that due to the high speed winds and rain we were trying to shield out child from! We thought we'd try, but no go. Then we thought even if we can't trick or treat, we can at least go see some of the indoor animals. Well, we were there too early and they had all the buildings closed to get ready for the trick or treating. So, we packed up and came home. Watched some football and just visited.

(We did manage to get VERY near the Lion! He was enjoying his pumpkin treat!)


Sunday we did make it to Bengston's Pumpkin Farm! This is the same place we went last year and just had the best time! The boys just loved all the activities. They both REALLY got into the petting zoo this time! Ben was fearless in sticking the carrots directly INTO the animals mouths! Jackson had a little more restraint and gently handed out the carrots for the animals to grab.

The boys also enjoyed picking out their own pumpkins! Of course, Ben already had one from Grandma and Grandpa Huling's pumpkin patch, we just couldn't leave there empty handed! It was a much nicer day, weather wise and we had a great time!

Grandpa Huling just left a little while ago after a short over night visit to help us with some house projects and now we're settling in for a nice weekend at home getting ready for Halloween and hopefully Ben's first true time trick or treating in our neighborhood!




Ben feeding the cows! NO FEAR!










Ben picking out his pumpkin and the best shot we got of Ben and Jackson sitting with their pumpkins!










Ben and Jackson both loved sitting on all the big pumpkins!









The best family photo we got! We'll work on it...

Fall, 2010

We're having almost as pretty of a fall as we had a summer! We spent last weekend in Kalamazoo visiting Grandma and Grandpa Huling. Ben had a ball! The weather was beautiful! In all my travels, there is no other place that has fall colors like Michigan! We went for several walks in the fields around my parents house. Ben actually found a pile of leaves my Dad had already cleared and instinctively jumped in it! We didn't have to say a thing!

As we headed further back into the fields, Brian, Ben, Lianna, and Devin decided to play some football while Dad, Stephanie and I (with all four dogs pulling us forward) walked on! Devin and Lianna did such a nice job throwing the ball to Ben! It was pretty cute. I tried to get a picture from afar. We then tried to get a Bishop family photo but the top photo was the best we got. Abby was too distracted by the other dogs and ALL the space she had to roam!

We did get to pick a pumpkin for Ben from Grandma and Grandpa's Pumpkin Patch. They had a good yield this year! It was hard to pick. Ben got the perfect pumpkin that we may carve this weekend!

My Grandpa came down for breakfast on Sunday and it was nice to visit. Devin had been practicing piano for him. He knows how to play "The Entertainer" and "Chopsticks." He practiced and practiced! Grandpa was very impressed and even accompanied him which I caught some of on video! They did such a nice job!

In other news, Ben got his Halloween costume! He will be Mickey Mouse! He tried the majority of it on for me and seems to really love it! All except the ears. We couldn't seem to keep those on so we'll practice that before Halloween. He LOVES his Mickey Mouse hands, though! We just have a few odds and ends to take care of and he's ready for some trick-or-treating. We're also working on him actually saying "trick-or-treat."

We're getting ready for the Trice's to visit this weekend! It will be nice to see Ben and Jackson together again! We're hoping for some cute Halloween activities!

Hope you enjoy the videos. They were of our weekend in Kalamazoo including a concert by my nephew Devin and my Grandfather! I also thought I'd add the one of Ben in his costume riding his "car." He just loves that car! We've gotten in the habit of riding it up the sidewalk to go see the Halloween decorations in our neighborhood. And our neighborhood goes crazy so there's plenty to look at. I occasionally end up carrying his car back, but it's worth it to see him tooling around on it!

"Night Night Shadow"

We've been enjoying some nice weather here in the mid-west. We've been trying to soak it all in because we know that it's just a ticking time bomb here. Colder weather is coming, I know. So, the Bishops have been playing outside a lot! Also, I've been enjoying my runs when I can. When I get back, Ben generally likes to take my things and dress like Mommy. He'll walk around saying "Runnin! Runnin!" Pretty cute!

He's also been playing a lot of soccer. He's doing alright with it. He's getting the sports a little confused you can see as he tackles his father. Soon he'll know the difference between soccer and football!

The only problem with this weather, I know we always find something to complain about. We (both me and Brian) are suffering from summer and fall allergies! We haven't had a hard frost to kill off the pollens, and what not, yet the fall junk is already out! Lots of sneezes!

I also wanted to add some cute video I got of him mimicking absolutely EVERYTHING I do! Including putting on deodorant! He walked around like that much of the morning after watching me get ready!

Updates: We noticed today Ben has gone through another growth spurt! As you can see in the video taken today (and the above picture), he's t-shirt is having a hard time staying down and covering that adorable little belly. This shirt was too big for him just a couple months ago. And, it's a 2T!!!! He's lengthening again! Boy, that boy is going to be tall.

Cute things Ben has said this week: "Is Hunter home?" As I'm getting him dressed in the morning. Hunter is his buddy at the baby sitter. He just said it out of no where!

"Hello Shadow!" Ben and I have gotten into the habit of greeting our shadows every morning as I change him. He has also started saying "night night shadow." Brian has stated this makes his heart melt when he hears it.

Everything else is going well. We've been sticking to a nice routine here. Nothing outrageous to report! We're gearing up for some more weekend fun coming up. Next weekend we're visiting Grandma and Grandpa Huling for an over nighter. Then Jen, Scott, and Jackson Trice come for a visit the following weekend. Then we're already at Halloween! Can't believe it.

Hope everyone is well!

October is here!

Things have been very calm and "normal" around here. I've been working my normal days, weekends have been spent at home watching football. And this video is case and point. In an effort to get Ben to watch ANYTHING other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, we're getting really overly excited about football. So, Ben has made the observation that they "throw, run run run, fall down." You have to admit, that about sums it up! So, last night, while playing "soccer" with his father, Ben started throwing himself on the ground. He is not actually falling, he's doing it on purpose like the football players he's been watching! Pretty cute.

We're also getting excited about Halloween already. Ben LOVES his skeleton pajamas! We also went out and got gel clings for the windows that he is very in to! He loves decorating the front windows, then moving them to the back slider, and back and forth, back and forth. Yes, he's ripped a couple which really gets Brian fired up, then I remind him they cost 99cents at the Jewel. Enjoy some cute pictures.

Updates: Ben has had NO interest in the potty chair since his successful voiding in it last week. Not worried, we're still not going to push it.

He's still talking up a storm and learning more and more everyday. I'm always amazed. The other day, I lit a candle in the kitchen while he was eating a snack at the table and all the sudden he started singing the Happy Birthday song! Of course as soon as I pulled out the video camera he stopped. It was pretty cute. I know they sing that a lot at his babysitters and glad he's practicing at home.






Ben continues to work on his T-ball in the yard. Yes, we still use a log as the T. We do have a bat and a ball, but he insisted on using a stick and a Bocci ball. Aside from only using one hand, his follow through is still looking good! And this is an actual before and after! He's got a good eye!


























Ben also likes to dress like Daddy. Those boots are still a bit big for him.