Ben's 1st birthday!

August 29 was Ben's 1st birthday. We celebrated it on Sunday, August 31, 2008. It was a great day, but some important people were missing. Nana couldn't make it since she was just down here a few weeks ago and my mom was at the hospital with my grandfather. Some of you already know, but my grandfather is not doing well at all. He has had Alzheimers for several years and a few years ago was diagnosed with lung cancer. Well, Friday afternoon he fell and broke his hip in two places. When they did a scan at the hospital, they saw a large mass in his chest which was the cancer coming back. They do not want to do surgery on his hip since he is in such bad shape with the cancer. It is pretty much a waiting game at this point. I went to see him yesterday and he still does not know people, but he does talk to you and I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him I loved him and he said I love you too. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Back to Ben: We had a few good friends and family over to celebrate his Elmo themed party. He had such a good time. He was very alert and really enjoyed his cupcake. I gave it to him and turned for a second. When I turned back around, he already had half of it in his mouth. He enjoyed playing with his gifts, but Jake seems to think they are all his toys and not Ben's. I though it would be neat to see how small he was when he was born, so I put the picture above. Today we went for his 12 month checkup. He weighed 18 pounds and 2 ounces, which was the 2nd percentile. He was 28.5 inches long, which was the 13 percentile. She said he looked great and seemed to be doing really well. Ben did not like the ear exam or the shots! Who does like shots?

Papa with Ben and Jake

The Elmo cupcake cake


Our family



The cupcake before

and after

My friend Jeanette's twins Cole and Hunter