December

It seems the closer we got to the end of the year the fast the months went. We were quite busy all of December and Ben certainly kept us on our toes!

Highlights of December:

• Ben was in his first St. Nicholas play at church for the St. Nicholas Day pagent. He lead the kids in holding up the Pre-K sign and was quite proud of being a line leader. He did very well singing a lot of the songs. We were very proud of him! He also was (for the second year in a row) the first one up to see St. Nicholas. He certainly is not shy!
• On one evening Ben must of been contemplating a lot about Santa Claus. He told his Dad that we need to make sure we clean up the family room before Santa comes. This way when he does come he won't step on a toy, start hopping around and wake everyone up.
• Ben finally named his Elf on a Shelf this year. His elf's name is Todd. Where he came up with this name I have no idea. He doesn't know anybody friend, story character, adult or cartoon with the name Todd.
• Ben received a very meaningful Christmas ornament (picture above) from his Aunt, Uncle and cousin this year. They were visiting Disney World when they found a glass blown ornament of Peter Pan. It really is a beautiful ornament. Ben was THRILLED to put it on the tree and has admired his ornament several times since. Peter Pan will forever remind me of my little four year old. One day when he gets older I'll give him his little ornament to remind him of his favorite character when he was four.
• As said Ben is a huge Peter Pan fan and has started incorporating lines from the Disney Peter Pan cartoon into his daily speech. One day while we were driving home from day care I was asking Ben how his day was, what he did, etc., He told me, "girls talk too much. My mouth is sleeping" and then preceded to make snoring noises. What a stinker!
• You know Ben has been watching too much Peter Pan when the other day I asked him for a kiss. Instead of giving me a usual kiss, he handed me a toy that was shaped like a thimble and then tried to call Alexis Wendy. We are not renaming her!

Brother and Sister

Don't these two look alike?

Sister and Brother

Don't these two look alike?

Ben's November

Ben had a very busy November. He went to a parade, celebrated another Thanksgiving at his Aunts house and of course had many four year old boy adventures.

Some highlights of Ben's month include:

• I was upstairs with Alexis cleaning her room when I heard scurrying going on downstairs. I came down thinking Ben was up to no good (typically this is the case with most four year olds when you hear them scurrying) but instead he yelled, "SURPRISE!!!!" He had cleaned the entire family room. He certainly surprised me!
• Our deck has become the look out point for wolves and pirates. Ben has to look out there periodically to make sure there aren't anywhere near his house.
  
• We read Peter Pan on an almost nightly basis. If he's good and goes to bed early then he gets to read his favorite story. Otherwise we read a shorter story. Typically he will go to bed on time so he can read his favorite book!
• Ben went ice skating for the second time at Reston Town Center. He did really well! He skated around a bit off the boards and only did a few snow angels when he would fall down. For some reason he thinks snow angels on the ice are funny. He is certainly on his way to learning how to skate!
• Every now and then we will do fun snacks when we get home. I decided one afternoon to do a nice Fall snack, so I made ants on a log and hollowed out an apple and poured apple cider into it. He LOVED drinking out of an apple!

• Ben will occasionally mix up super heroes and pretend to be them. One day while he was playing he told me he was Super Man, Spider Man, Peter Pan and Wolverine. What a mix! His typical everyday wear now is his cape and a sword.
  

• Ben will pick a flower for me whenever he sees one. His little face brightens up with a huge grin that just warms my heart. Keep it up Ben! Girls never get tired of receiving flowers!

• On Turkey Day Ben's Nagypapa and Nagymama called us to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. We would see them later in the day but Nagypapa wanted to talk to Ben. In typical Nagypapa fashion he greeted Ben with a "Gobble Gobble." Ben cracked up and all Nagypapa would say in different tones was , "Gobble Gobble". Ben LOVED it and got a huge rise out of it until he told Nagypapa he better stop or he'll tell Nagymama. Ha!
• Ben is quite serious about being a super hero. He had to check every room with a flashlight and sword to make sure his family was safe. He's our little protector!
  

• Ben went to his first liturgy at the new church. I was a bit worried about his reaction to going to the new building because his routine is always the same at church. However a four year old will always surprise you. He sat down at the pew, looked around and said, "This is AMAZING". He then looked up at the dome that has the icon of Christ and said, "this is beautiful! Hi Jesus!" and waved his little hand.

• Ben loves singing. His new favorite songs are Tomorrow and Edelweiss. He sings his little words so sweetly! I love hearing him sing. I love his gusto!
  

Ben's Halloween

Ben had a great Halloween this year. He was none other then PETER PAN. He has been almost living in his Peter Pan costume for months. He puts it on almost on a daily basis and wants to act out scenes from Peter Pan.

This Halloween is also Alexis' first Halloween, so we decided to pair her up with her brothers costume to something cute and feminine. He was so impressed that she was Tinkerbell! Ben loved going from house to house this year with his Dad. He also loved handing out candy to all the kiddos. I'm not sure what he liked more going to get the candy or handing it out. Thankfully it was a mild Halloween this year so he was just fine hanging outside with his Dad.

November

The month of November was busy for Alexis. She celebrated her first major holiday at her Aunt Amy, Uncle Eric and Ty's house with her entire family and has quite a few stories from this month as well! She is eight months old and growing like a weed!

Some highlights from this month:

• I was feeding Alexis peas while talking to her Aunt. Alexis took in a huge mouth full of peas and coughed. I screamed. Her Aunt asked me what was going on. My daughter had decided to do her own Gallagher act. I had peas sprayed all over me and the chair I was sitting on.

• Ben decided to play dress up with Alexis. She was half police woman and half Capt. Hook

• Alexis also received a special letter from the President and First Lady of the United States. We never get mail like this but she certainly does!

Halloween

Alexis had her first little Halloween. She was dressed as Tinkerbell and her brother was Peter Pan. She looked so cute in her little green tutu! She kept wanting to eat her tutu.



She didn't go out trick or treating as it was a bit too cold and well she couldn't enjoy the candy anyways. Instead she slept while her brother went out with his Dad and I handed out candy.