Both Benjamin and his Mom went out today and picked up a cake and decorated it for me for Father’s Day. Benjamin picked out all the different frosting colors, and did most of the decorating (with a little bit of Mom’s help, I’m told…). Sure, it’s all a day early, but I can’t say I minded one bit!
When they presented it to me, Benjamin even wished me “Happy Father’s Day!”, which was really, really great.
“(heart) U DAD” is simply… awesome.
Proofs from Benjamin’s 2-year birthday pictures! Since they’re just proofs, they’re not large nor very high-resolution. You can click them to get slightly larger sizes.
Zachary (roughly 5 months old here) is naturally in some of them. We went to a Target photo studio near us; the woman there was rumored to be terrific…and she was. We were very impressed with her ability to capture great facial expressions and the natural look and feel of Benjamin.
We didn’t order all of these poses, of course. If you see one you really like, though, let us know!
Benjamin got a VTech Kidizoom camera for Christmas (thanks Nana and Papa!), and here are some of the pictures taken with it so far; all of these pictures are from the Christmas gathering this year in Sheboygan.
The camera is a 0.3 megapixel toy, and not a serious camera by an stretch of the imagination. The images in this post are reduced in size and slightly sharpened; one or two have had contrast/brightness adjustments as well.
The camera specs are as follows (taken from VTech’s website):
.3 megapixels with 1.8" color screen
It’s very, very cool for what it is, and pretty inexpensive, too. It’s rubberized/ruggedized, and quite sturdy; it’s already been dropped quite a few times with no ill effects whatsoever. Oh, and if you buy one from Target (available both online and in their stores), it comes with a case, too…something that seems to be a Target-exclusive deal.
None of the pictures in this post were taken by Benjamin…yet. He’s still getting used to using it (and LOVES the thing!), but as he gets a little better with the camera, you can bet we’ll post his pictures, too. :)
From everyone here, we hope you had a great year in 2007,
and we wish you all the best in 2008!
Hi Mama!
I love you every day!
I light up with all the brightness and cheer that could ever exist, every time you come home. I feel like the whole world revolves around me when you’re there, and I love all that you do for me, and for Dada.
Dada was talking about how you have a special day coming, so I thought I would have Dada help me write something since most pencils are both too big and too yummy for me to write all by myself. I also don’t know how to spell just yet.
First, Dada and I are amazed, every day, by all the love that you have to give. I know that you work very hard, and still have time for me, taking care of me, feeding me, and loving me. Dada seems to get a lot of love and attention, and he seems to really look forward to it and love it, too. We both are so excited to see you when you come home every day! Even when you look very, very tired, you have time for us and try to keep us happy!
Mama, thank you for trusting me to climb and run and play and read books and magazines.
Thank you for letting me fall and encouraging me to get right back up.
Thank you for the baths you give me.
Thank you for feeding me and tucking me in at night, reading to me, hugging me, tickling me, talking with me, teaching me love and respect, words, pictures, showing me airplanes and animals, and laughing both with and at me.
Thank you for all the different kinds of food and drink you give me to try!
Thank you for trimming my fingernails and toenails. Those things grow SO FAST!
Thank you for all the clothes and toys you buy me.
Thank you for singing and dancing with me!
And thank you so VERY much for changing my stinky diapers!
Thank you for all of the other stuff I can’t think of right now because I’m just a bab…well, TODDLER now, too!
Dada tells me almost every day now that you have another baby in your belly. I don’t know if I believe him, because I look under your shirt almost every day and I just can’t find it under there ANYWHERE! But, assuming Dada is right, it seems really hard to believe that you could have more love than what you already give Dada and me. Dada has said that he knows you do, so I know you can and will!
I know I will be a great person someday because of you, Mama. Dada says he is a better person because of you, too. We love you and need you and can’t ever imagine living without you.
Have a great Mama Day!
:)
-Benjamin (Dada helped!)
PS: Dad here… I agree 100% with our brilliant son. ;)
This picture was taken the day before Easter 2007 at my grandparent’s house. I was in a great mood when we started taking pictures, but when this one was taken, I wanted to get DOWN!
From left to right are my cousins Alejandro (Ollie), Lydia, Laura and me, and Owen. Lydia and Laura are sisters, and Ollie and Owen are brothers. I love them all very much, and they all seem to love me, too! They’re GRRRRRRRRREAT!
I had a great time with them finding eggs and putting them in a basket today. I found them all!