Happily Married and loving it!

SNOW!

2012-01-21T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well the snow has finally showed up here in Northern Indiana. I'm not sure what the grand total is since Dave is currently outside shovelling, but I know we've gotten a few inches over the past couple days.

We decided that we should take Ben for his first sledding adventure. Of course, since he's only 18 months, we thought his first experience should be pretty tame. Luckily, there's a nice slope in the park by our house just perfect for us. Ben really enjoyed it and wanted "more".

If you're interested in sledding opportunities in the Michiana area, here's an article to check out.

Here are some quick videos of our sledding adventure!

A couple weeks ago we watched Katie for Dave's parents while they were in Chicago visiting Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Greg. Izzie isn't always the best hostess, but I think she secretly likes having a friend over. Here they are snuggling on a blanket together.

Here are a couple of random videos of Ben. He's really working on his animal sounds and communicating with us in general. I think "up" is one of his favorite none animal words right now. He also likes to tell Izzie that she's a "good girl" and ever since Katie stayed over, he asks about her daily. We are so blessed with our wonderful growing boy!

Stephens Christmas 2011

2012-01-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

We all headed to Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house Friday after work on Christmas weekend. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but we all had a good time. Jim, Andrea, Joshua, and Duke came up on Sunday to join us. Ben and Joshua had a good time playing together.

Grandpa made a fire. Other than the fire pit, this was Ben's first experience around the fire and he wasn't sure what to think about it. Once he saw that Katie liked it, Ben thought it was nice too.

Grandpa, Ben, and Izzie

Ben liked rocking in the rocking chair.

The Stephens men and their fire.

Ben is very good about sharing. Here he's sharing a hat with Grandma.

Here's some video of the fire.

We hope everyone had a very happy and blessed Christmas. We are so thankful for all of our friends and family. We pray that 2012 will be a blessed year for all of you!

Wallace Christmas 2011

2012-01-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry again this is late and short. Here are some pictures from when my parents came to visit in early December to celebrate Christmas with us.

Ben loves the Christmas tree.

Ben with Grandma and Grandpa Wallace.

There was just enough snow to finally use Ben's snowsuit. Although it doesn't look like he's having a good time here, he loved walking around in the snow.

Here's a quick video of Ben and his Christmas tree. Thanks Grandpa Stephens for the tree!

Thanksgiving 2011 and updates

2011-12-03T23:49:00.000-05:00

Sorry we have been so slow on our updates. We haven't done much other than spend as much time outside as possible before winter comes and we went to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.

Ben learning how to rake leaves (teach them when they're young we say). Any excuse to be outside is a great one according to Ben.

We took Ben to Leeper Park in downtown South Bend. This park is a couple of blocks away from both Dave and my job. There are a lot of ducks and geese that people stop to feed. Ben LOVED being around all the birds!

One of the many talents we have discovered about Ben is his singing ability. Not only does he love to drum but give him a microphone (or something resembling one) and he will sing.

All the grandkids and grandparents while in Pennsylvania.

Daddy and Grand dad teaching Ben about trees.

I don't have a picture of the whole Rising family together but it was a full house!

A big thank you to Shanna and Aaron for hosting while we were in Pennsylvania. (Thanks to Aunt Carol & Uncle Larry too for allowing the Stephens Clan to invade for a few days.) Ben and Joshua really enjoyed watching and playing with the trucks!

We took Ben to see Santa Cow at Chic-Fil-A on Friday. Ben LOVES big kids and the store was packed. It was a bit overwhelming but we had a good time.

Thanks to Jim, Andrea, and Joshua for all of Ben's new clothes. Boiler up!

Warning to those who do not want to see pictures of Dave and Gary's deer. Don't scroll down.

The deer were harmed BEFORE the taking of this photo. See Grand dad's big smile? This was the largest buck he ever shot on the farm in Pennsylvania. They both shot 8 points on openning day. Our freezer is stocked once again!

Videos

2011-11-14T14:26:00.000-05:00

A few videos to tide Ben's fans over, until we have time for a proper update:

Ben's first trip to the duck pond in South Bend:

Ben doing chores:

Ben playing "chase."

Happy birthday Grandma Wallace!

2011-10-22T20:30:00.000-04:00

This past week has been cold and rainy but we really enjoyed the nice weather the week before that. It has really been an amazing fall with the beautiful colors and warmer than average weather.

Last weekend my parents drove up from Kansas to come visit. They came on my mom's birthday so we helped celebrate it with a cake.

Happy birthday Grandma!

I know Grandma's best birthday present was spending time with her grandson.

Ben enjoyed swinging and being outside.

Grandpa and Ben swinging.

I just love this smile!

Ben really enjoys clapping and dancing to the KSU fight song. I think we have a future Wildcat!

Ben also enjoys going down the slide.

Here's some video of our future Wildcat. You can hear Izzie barking in the background. I'd like to think that she is also excited about the fight song, but there was a dog walking by when I was recording.

Grandma Wallace swinging Ben. Thanks for coming to visit so we could celebrate your birthday!

New York

2011-10-16T21:42:00.003-04:00

Last weekend Dave and I took a very quick trip to New York to attend a friend's wedding.

The wedding was in Rochester so we stayed in Niagra on Saturday. Dave had been there a couple times before but it was my first time. It was pretty amazing and the weather was beautiful!

A view from above the falls, you can see Niagra Falls, Canada in the background.

This is the whirlpool. You can see the gondola on the Canadian side and the great fall colors. The water was so blue in the whirlpool.

This is called the "cave of the winds". These are the decks you get drenched on. We didn't have enough time in our schedule to go down there.

This is the "maid in the mist". We wanted to take a tour on it to see the falls closer but again, we didn't have enough time.

Of course it wouldn't be New York without the Statue of Liberty. I saw at least two statues in Niagra.

Dave and I finally saw all 5 Great Lakes because of this trip. Here we are at Lake Ontario.

Another lighthouse to add to our list, this one is at Ft Niagra.

Niagra at night. Pictures don't do it justice.

The reception in Rochester was at the Daisy Four Mill. This is a mill turned into restaurant. It was intereting to walk around and see the old mill equiptment.

These are my friends Seth and Robyn Winzer. Seth was the best man in the wedding. I became friends with them and the groom when I was in college in Kansas.

The wedding party and the newly married Wes and Katie Williamson!

The groom Wesley Williamson and Jackie.

Our view from our hotel in Rochester.

It wouldn't be a blog without a picture of Ben. I think he looks pretty adorable in these overalls. A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Stephens for watching Ben and Izzie while Dave and I went to New York. Sounds like both of our "kids" had a good time.

Here are some videos of the falls, they're short but a little better than just pictures.

Updates

2011-09-26T20:19:00.000-04:00

So not much has been going on around here. Friday night Dave spent the night at the church with the youth for the lock-in. Saturday he drove up to Michigan to go fishing with some friends. The guys didn't have a lot of luck but Dave was successful at bringing home some Sherman's ice cream (yum).

Ben and I didn't do a lot, just hang out at the park to watch squirrels and swing when it wasn't raining.

Here are some pictures from Ben's photo shoot last month. We have really enjoyed watching him grow up over the past year. He continues to amaze us each day with how much he learns. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little boy.

Here's a video of Ben in the bath tub, he really enjoys playing with his star that squirts water everywhere.

Videos

2011-09-17T18:59:00.000-04:00

Summer is quickly fading and Ben seems to want to spend all of his time outside. Last weekend we went to Potato Creek State Park since it had free admission. We didn't stay very long but it was nice to see what the park has to offer. I imagine we might be making some trips there next summer to walk the trails and take Izzie to the dog beach. Below is a video of Ben walking around while at the park.

Here is a video of Ben eating. Just want to point out that Ben has been saying a few words and is really doing well with his signing and talking. Ben will tell us if he wants to eat, drink, or have more. Other favorite words include ball, out, and "ba ball" for bubble.

Cousin Fest 2011

2011-09-09T20:23:00.001-04:00

Cousin Fest 2011 was a very successful event. We always enjoy getting the whole family together and it was great to watch the grandkids play together. This year was great for us since Ben was old enough to play with his cousins. Of course, the grandkids being another year older does have it's challenges. For example, trying to get a 4yr, 2yr, 18mon, or 1yr old to sit still long enough for an individual photo is hard enough, trying to get a group photo of all 4 is nearly impossible. We did our best and hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them and the time spent together!

Grandpa showing off his deer antlers. Savannah had a lot of questions about why grandpa hunts deer.

Ben LOVED playing with all the balls of various sizes.

Most of the Stephens family.

Ben trying to climb the stairs. He does pretty well on our front steps at home.

Ben says, "if you can't be outside, you might as well look at it".

Grandpa & Ben. There's a great picture of grandpa around age 1 that looks pretty similar to Ben.

Savannah really enjoyed spending time with her youngest cousin. She did a great job playing with Ben, especially playing catch with him.

Ben and Savannah playing with the school bus.

We went to the Ft Wayne Zoo on Monday. It was pretty cold. Luckily, mom is prepared for most weather for Ben. For myself is another story.

Between the 2 pictures, here's all 4 grandkids at the zoo.

Dave, Ben, and I made it through the African safari. Then it was Ben's nap time. I'd love to finish seeing the zoo some time. From what I could see it was really nice!

We had a cookout Sunday night complete with hotdogs, pudgey pies, and smores. YUM!

As you can tell, the kids enjoyed the cookout.

We also had tractor rides.

Most of the adults took turns driving the tractor.

Some of the kids tried driving it too!

(Just kidding)

The Georgia Stephens

Grandma and Grandpa with the grandkids. Savannah did a great job!

Ben and Isaiah looking out the window.

All four looking outside.

Trying on grandpa's hardhat.

Daddy and Uncle Tom trying on Grandpa's hardhats.

Daddy and Ben. (This is Dave's response when I ask him to smile)

Grandpa holding Ben and Isaiah.

The dogs are easier to bribe to sit still compared to the grandkids!

It wouldn't be right to be at Grandma and Grandpa's and not play a game.

Isaiah (2yrs), Ben (1yr), Savannah (4yrs), Joshua (18mon)

Isaiah learning how to play horseshoes.

The best we could do for a family picture. Not too bad considering how many people there were!

Ben and Katie.

One of Ben's new things to do is "take a nap" on a pillow when he sees it. Very cute!

All four grandkids playing. Note Ben has the ball.

Ben enjoyed throwing balls (apples) for the dogs.

With several apple trees, there were lots of "balls" to be thrown!

Daddy and Ben

Here are a couple videos from the weekend. We are looking forward to the next cousin fest!

"Ball"

2011-08-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

If you've talked with Ben recently, you might have picked up on the fact that he's learned a new word. "Ball." Last week, at Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house, he thought the tomatoes were "ball." He didn't understand why Grandpa wouldn't let him throw them.

On Sunday, our church had a picnic at the park across the street from our house. There, Ben played with several "Ball" and even tried to sneak on to the adult's volleyball court, because he could see a large "Ball" that no one was using.

Ben's new fascination with "Ball" helped us remember that we had a kickball in the basement. Needless to say, Ben now has a new best friend.

Switch

2011-08-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday Dave and I "switched" roles. Dave and Ben went to Grandma & Grandpa Stephens' house to can spaghetti sauce and stewed tomatoes while I worked on building a house.

I helped with Habitat for Humanity's Women Build. I learned how to install insulation and hurricane clips. There were some amazing people that I got to know. There were two women in their late 70's - early 80's who have been helping with building homes for a couple of decades. It was a great time & I hope I can do it again soon.

Dave forgot to take video of Ben walking while at grandma & grandpa's so here's a quick glimpse while he was home.

Girls Weekend

2011-08-22T21:48:00.000-04:00

Dave already mentioned that I had a "girls weekend" in Chicago. My friends from college, Barb & Laura, flew in to spend a couple of days with me in the Windy City. We had a great time sight-seeing and not having any responsibilities.

On Friday we took in a Cubs game. It was PACKED! It was the largest crowd since opening day 1978. The Cubs beat the Cardinals and their manager was fired. The weather was great & we watched the airplanes practice for the air show the next day.

Our seats were all the way at the top. If you look VERY close at the top of the buildings on the right & just to the left of the upper deck roof, you can see 2 planes flying by.

Since we live so close to Chicago, I've only gone on day trips. It was interesting to see all the lights. Here's the "bean" at night.

We had supper at Harry Carry's at the Navy Pier. It was great walking around watching the ships. I really enjoyed the stain glass on display inside.

Saturday we spent walking around the Magnificent Mile taking in the sights. Here Barb is checking out the new Marilyn Monroe statue.

Remember this picture of the Buckingham Fountain, you'll see it from a different view later.

There was a chance for storms, and they came. We spent the majority of it 94 floors up at the Hancock Observatory. I've been there once before (with Laura actually) but it was fun to see the air show and the storm.

There's an area that you can walk "outside" and hear the noise from the city. We went out just before the storm hit.

Navy Pier from above.

It was difficult to take a picture of the air show. You can see the smoke from the 3 planes in this picture. We were able to see a few stunts & watch the parachuters. After that, they had to postpone the show due to lightening.

We primarily walked while in Chicago. I took the South Shore while Barb & Laura flew. We did take the "L" to the Cubs game.

We briefly stopped in the mall since it was still storming so bad and didn't want to walk in it. At the Water Tower Place was Lego Land. I really liked their display of Chicago in Legos. Below, Laura's got a friend in Woody.

No trip to Chicago would be complete without a few staple foods. I had a Chicago dog at the Cubs game. We had some Chicago-style deep dish pizza from Giordanos at lunch. It was well worth the wait.

Saturday evening we took a boat tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. It was so much fun! I loved seeing Chicago from a different perspective.

We went through the locks to go out to Lake Michigan. This was my first time ever experiencing going through locks.

Our boat took us out as far as the lighthouse. We were out for 90 minutes at sunset.

What a different way of life living in downtown Chicago. The top floors are apartments, ground floors are parking, and there's even parking for your boat!

A view of the skyline and the Illinois flag from our boat.

A view of Buckingham Fountain from Lake Michigan.

What can I say...I really like lighthouses.

Here are some panoramic pictures of the skyline. I'm not sure if they're completely accurate. The water was pretty choppy when we were out on the lake so it was difficult trying to get the pictures to match up.

Trump tower.

I had a great time hanging out with old friends. I didn't take too many pictures since Laura is the expert photographer. I'm very thankful that Dave took such great care of Ben while I was gone. I did see Ben walk across the dining room and most of the living room on Sunday. He is starting to get a hang of walking and becoming more comfortable doing it. I'm sure we will be chasing after him while he's running here shortly.

Boy's weekend

2011-08-20T22:16:00.001-04:00

This weekend was Jackie's 'Girl's Weekend' in Chicago with two of her good friends from Kansas, so Ben and Daddy got to spend the whole weekend together - from Friday night through Sunday afternoon - with no girls to bother us, except for Izzie, of course.

More importantly, Ben wants everyone to know that he is working hard at this walking thing. Friday night he took about 12 to 15 steps, walking across our front room. He had a big smile on his face during the whole walk, and kept looking back at his Daddy, obviously proud of what he was doing. Although he's been taking a few steps at a time for several weeks now, this was his first extended trip.

Unfortunately, the camera was with Mommy in Chicago (and the spare was in the bedroom closet, buried somewhere), so below, Ben has drawn an artist's rendition of what happened.

After such a momentous Friday night, Ben thought it would be hard to make Saturday memorable. Boy was he wrong.

For our first Boys Weekend, we woke Saturday morning and went to the park - but not the park across the street. Instead we went to a park a few miles away where Izzie can run around without getting into trouble. As she ran and sniffed, Ben sat back in the swing - his favorite thing to do - and watched her. Every time she ran by, he laughed and laughed.

Here's Ben and Daddy in the park:

After spending time at the park, we went grocery shopping, back to the park, to the farmer's market, back to the park - this time we ran through the splash pad - and finally spent the rest of the afternoon napping and playing.

All in all, it looks like we are going to survive the weekend, but I think Ben still missed having his Mama around. Thankfully, we plan to pick her up from the train station after church on Sunday. And then we can post a real blog - with her pictures from Chicago.

Videos

2011-08-06T21:59:00.000-04:00

We haven't done much since coming back from Kansas. Ben hasn't been sleeping very well, he seems to be cutting his molars. Ben is really working on cruising and working on his confidence at walking. Just a matter of time until he's running every where.

We took Ben to the library today. I'll post some pictures on facebook. Ben was very interested in exploring the new surroundings but didn't want to sit still long enough to read. Dave & I hope to take him more often so that he will enjoy reading as much as we do.

Since I don't have any new videos or pictures to post, here are some videos I didn't post earlier. Hope you enjoy!

Ben's First Birthday!

2011-07-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

Ben is officially one year old! Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate this special occasion.

Ben loved his cake!

The happy family.

Showing Great Grandpa Wray how to play with the balloon.

Mommy and Ben with her cousin Jacklyn and son Bennett.

Benjamin and Bennett playing. Bennett is about 3 weeks younger than Ben. They had a great time crawling all over chasing each other during the party.

Playing blocks with cousin Amanda.

Hanging out with Jamie & Evan Boggs, mommy's friend Barb's children.

We made a few trips on the way to and from Kansas. On the way home we stopped at the mall in Decater, Illinois and played in the children's area. Ben really enjoyed crawling through the tunnels and watching the older children. He even crawled up a slide!

Ben's finishing up some of cousin Joshua's unfinished work at the shop. (We stopped at Andrea's flower shop to surprise her but she had just left.)

Sampson really is a big bear!

We stopped to see Aunt Andrea, Uncle Jim, and cousin Joshua on our way home. The boys had a great time playing together. Joshua was a great host!

On our way to Kansas we stopped at the capital building in Springfield, Illinois. There was a telescope in front of the building so you could see the detail work.

What a big boy!

Ben and daddy at the capital building. Notice Abe Lincoln in the background.

This is a picture from Ben's first trip to the splash pad by our house. Daddy and Ben like to run through to cool off on the really hot days.

4th of July

2011-07-04T22:19:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed a long weekend spending time with Grandma & Grandpa Stephens, Aunt Andrea, Uncle Jim, and cousin Joshua. This was the first time Ben was really old enough to play with his cousin so it was a great time watching them!

Ben received some new toys from Joshua to play with. Here he is on the car/walker.

Ben has already spent quite a bit of time playing on this keyboard. Ben LOVES music so this toy was a hit. Thank you for sharing Joshua!

On a side note, mommy loves this picture since it shows of Ben's love of K-State. Go Wildcats!

A trip to Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house wouldn't be complete without a tour of Grandpa's garden. Ben and Joshua took their tour in style...on Grandpa's tractor!

Daddy was able to take Ben on a quick spin.

Uncle Jim took Joshua and Ben for a spin around the house in the laundry basket. I'm sure this was no easy feat with a coubined total of 50 pounds in the basket!

Daddy said it was heavy. The boys just thought that it was a lot of fun!

The boys (all ages) loved playing with the blocks, especially the blocks grandpa made.

The boys loved watching the dogs play outside.

I just love this picture! It shows how much Ben looked up to his older cousin. Ben thought Joshua was pretty cool.

Of course there are always special treats at grandma's house. Ben tried a banana popsicle. I think the cold felt good on his gums. I think it's a matter of time until he gets more teeth in.

Here's some video from the weekend. As I upload more, I'll be sure to post them. The boys really had a great time together. We look forward to more visits!

11 Months!

2011-07-01T20:19:00.000-04:00

Ben is officially 11 months old! I'm not sure how much he officially weighs or how tall he is but he seems to be getting a little bigger each day. It's been a busy month without many pictures to show for it. We celebrated Dave's first Father's Day and Jackie's 30th birthday but Dave was with the church youth group for most of the weekend.

One of Ben's favorite ways to take his toys with him while he crawls is to put them in his mouth. Here he has one of his favorites, a fire truck bath toy.

Ben is getting braver about standing without holding on to things and cruising. Not too much longer until he starts taking his first steps!

Last weekend was Summerfest in Mishawaka. The festivities were outside our front door. In fact, when Dave returned from fishing in Ohio on Saturday he went a few feet from the house to get an elephant ear.

Here's a video of Ben dancing to the David Crowder Band. Ben LOVES music and dancing. He also LOVES to play with the blocks Grandpa Stephens made. Some days the first thing Ben does is crawl to his blocks.

10 months!

2011-06-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

Ben is officially 10 months old! It has been a very busy month. As predicted, Ben is a crawling machine. He caught on very quickly and quickly crawl all over the house...hardwood floors don't slow this boy down!

On Memorial Day, Ben had his first trip to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. It was really hot and crowded but he did very well. Mommy and Ben went with a friend from church and her 2 children.

Ben crawling at Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house over Memorial weekend.

Katie and Izzie play while Ben is busy reading.

Does this look familiar to any other Stephens? Ben found the sliding glass door at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It's so much fun to watch the dogs play outside.

At Grandma's house anything goes...including eating with your feet on the table. I guess we need to do a better job with table manners.

Ben reading the paper to Grandma. No stories written by Daddy in the Ft Wayne paper Ben!

Hanging out with Grandpa Stephens.

Showing off his K-State hat. It makes him look like such a big boy!

Here are our 10 month pictures with the inch worm. The only time Ben lays still anymore is when he's sleeping. Even then he still is prone to tossing and turning.

Ben is currently 20.9 pounds and still somewhere around 29 inches long.

Our new favorite game is putting a bucket on our head. Ben says that it's hilarious to see people wear it on their heads since a bucket isn't really a hat.

Ben, Izzie, and Daddy just hanging out.

I posted some pictures on face book from Ben's procedure to unblock his tearduct. It was a very quick process and we no longer have to worry about any drainage coming out of his eye. I was very proud of Ben and how well he did without eating for 7 hours.

We also got some great news after that procedure. Ben had a referral with an ENT for his chronic ear aches. We were concerned that he may have to have tubes put in his ears but the doctor said that they didn't look bad at this time so it wasn't necessary. Hopefully Ben's ear aches don't start to come back so that we are able to avoid having tubes completely.

Here are some videos of Ben. I might be biased but the one with him saying mama is my favorite!

A quick video

2011-05-23T12:05:00.000-04:00

We'll post more soon, including videos of Ben crawling, but I wanted to post something for all of Ben's fans:

Don't worry, no babies or musical farm toys were injured in the making of this movie.

Mother's Day

2011-05-13T21:57:00.001-04:00

To celebrate my first Mother's Day, Dave, Ben, and I went to Holland...Michigan that is.

As you may be able to see by the pictures, we went to Holland to see the Tulip Festival.

The two Ben read over the Declaration of Independence.

There were lots of children dressed up in Dutch outfits - including wooden shoes!

There were several fields of tulips. It was amazing to see the variety. I had never seen some of the tulips that were there.

We went to the Windmill Island Gardens while in Holland. It was really crowded so we didn't take a tour of the windmill.

There was a children's carnival at the Tulip Festival. This was the first time we were able to take Ben to a petting zoo and he really enjoyed seeing the different animals.

We fed the goats feed in an ice cream cone. Speaking of ice cream, we made a special trip in South Haven on the way home at Sherman's for ice cream. It was delicious of course!

We had a play date with a couple of Ben's friends the other day. Ben had a lot of fun playing and it was great to watch him interact with the other children.

Ben is officially mobile! He has figured out to army crawl when he sees something that he wants. He also likes trying to cruise while chasing Izzie.

9 months!

2011-05-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is so late. Benjamin is officially 9 months old.

Ben weighs 20 pounds and is 28.75 inches long. He's in the 50-75th percentile for both.

Ben has been working on trying to crawl and trying to walk. It's only a matter of time until we are chasing him around the house! Izzie had better look out once he figures out how to move since he loves to try chase her.

Ben has EIGHT teeth! He loves eating, especially Cheerios.

We hope everyone had a very happy Easter.

Ben enjoys playing with his Easter eggs.

Here's some video of Ben playing with his Easter eggs.

We want to wish a very happy Mother's day to all the special mothers out there. We love you and are so thankful for all that you do.

Pennsylvania

2011-04-30T22:02:00.001-04:00

For Easter, we took Ben to meet his family in Pennsylvania. This was Ben's first trip to Pennsylvania and his it had been awhile since his last long road trip. Ben did great! He slept most of the time while traveling and as long as he was eating Cheerios, he was happy.

Saturday evening, Dave's cousin Lee hosted the Rising family Easter party. Ben enjoyed meeting all of his aunts, uncles, cousins and of course...

Ben with Aunt Mary

Pap Pap!!

Here's Ben dressed up in his Easter best.

Ben enjoyed playing with Uncle Larry.

We introduced Ben to "the girls" at the farm. Ben LOVES animals and the cows seemed very interested in him.

Here are some videos from our trip. The first is Ben playing on Aunt Carol's music table. He might have a future as a DJ.

Grandma Wallace comes to town

2011-04-21T22:15:00.003-04:00

Hello, again, it's me Benjamin. This past weekend I had a surprise visitor -

Grandma Wallace!

As you can see , I was very surprised to see her. She came here on the train and brought lots of fun gifts. She also brought lots of hugs!

She spent some time reading to me.

And I read to her too.

Here' s a picture of me looking cool in my walker.

Just when you thought I couldn't get any cuter, here I am playing blocks with my Izzie pup. She's not very good at building things. But I am.

I hate to brag, but who has two thumbs and is seriously cute?

This guy!

With Grandma hanging out with me and Izzie, mom and dad decided to check out the Maple Syrup Festival in nearby Wakrarusa. It was too cold for me to go, but I think I had more fun staying home with Grandma.

The festival had a shuttle running to bring people downtown, but the Amish could park their buggies in the alley.

Here's Jackie in the "sugar camp". They were done making maple sugar for the year, but they (a couple of Amish guys) showed us how it was done.

Of course, you can't go to the syrup festival without brining home some syrup.

Ben says he'll let you know what it tastes like, as soon as his mom says it's OK for him to have some.

Eight Months!

2011-03-24T20:25:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe that eight months ago today we were waking up at the hospital with a precious baby boy. We are truly blessed by him and thankful for him and overwhelmed with joy by watching him grow.

Anyway, now for some photos:

So big! Ben is really starting to stretch out.
His weight last week was 19 lbs 3 oz.

This is Ben last weekend, trying to catch the bubbles that Jackie was blowing.

He seemed to think it was pretty cool.

Although we woke up to snow on the ground

this morning (just a dusting, it mostly melted by noon), last

weekend was really nice. We took advantage of it by

getting the stroller out and taking Ben for a walk.

Ben being bashful. He didn't want to show off his K-State hat.

Ben in his stroller. Last time he sat in it was probably October. Now he can
ride without the car seat.

Ben's learned to take his hats off. He likes showing off his hair.

All that riding around sure tires me out.

Finally, here's a video of Ben waking up in the morning. It's one of the

most fun parts of our day.

Happy Birthday Grandma Stephens!

2011-03-20T16:33:00.000-04:00

Monday is Grandma Stephens birthday, and Ben said he wanted to send a special message.

(Hint: it's on his shirt)

For those whose turning older (aka the birthday girl) Ben's shirt says "Grandma loves me"

Here are some photos of Ben spending time with one of his two favorite grandmas (Ben said he's excited to spend time with his other favorite grandma next month!)

Ben and Grandma Stephens spending some time together.

Doesn't it look like Grandma is giving Ben all kinds of sneaky ideas?

Ben says not to worry, he's way to cute to fall for anybody's tricks, even Grandma's.

Happy Birthday Grandma Stephens!

Benjamin's Big Adventure

2011-03-13T09:48:00.002-04:00

So, hello again. It's me Benjamin. But you can call me Ben. I haven't had much time to blog lately, what with learning how to eat solids and rolling over and almost nearly crawling (seriously, I am!). But I had some time this morning, so I thought I'd tell you about my day on Saturday.

First things first, however. check out how incredibly cute I am.

No, these cheeks aren't available for pinching.

So, you might have heard, that my dad got a new truck a couple of weeks ago. He says he'll teach me to drive it when I'm 3 or 4. Until then, I have to be content with letting Mommy and Daddy drive me around. It's not so bad, especially now that I've moved up to my big boy seat. Mommy says I can use it until I'm 100 pounds, so I'll probably keep it until next year, the way I'm growing.

The truck, a 2008 Chevy Colorado.

Ben in his "big boy" seat, sitting in the truck with his puppy, courtesy of his
friends at the Mishawaka Police Department.

Anyway, with a new truck and a new seat, I figured it was time for a road trip. And since we only had a day, I thought, why not head down to Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house!

The second part of my plan, was to get Mom and Dad out of Grandma's house for a little while, so that she could slip me some of her applesauce. Now, how can I convince them to go out.....

"Mommy needs a date night" Ben says. Daddy agreed.

So, Mom and Dad left me with Grandma and Grandpa while they went out to lunch.

First, I took a nap.

Then, Grandpa told me stories.

Grandpa: "And in 1992, the Nittany Lions were robbed again."
Ben: "Um...."

Then, I played with Grandma.

Grandma: "It's OK, a little cinnamon, sugar and apples never hurt anyone."
Ben: "Well, I guess if you insist."

Then, it was back to Grandpa, for some more stories.

Ben: "You're right, Grandpa, the Nittany Lions should be a No. 1 seed."

Finally, Mommy and Daddy came back home. It seemed like they had a good time, but not as good as I had.

Guess who just tooted!

Finally, before leaving, I had to show off my skills. You might not call it crawling, but I'm getting there.

Pretty soon you won't be able to catch me. I'll be driving the truck.

Happy Birthday Grandpas!

2011-03-02T16:01:00.002-05:00

Ben has a very special announcement to make:

Happy 55th Birthday Grandpa Stephens and Grandpa Wallace!

Ben's shirt says "I'm nuts about grandpa" and has a picture of a squirrel on it.

In this picture Ben is wearing a sweater and hat that Grandpa Stephens wore when he was a baby.

Here are some pictures of Grandpa Stephens when he was younger. I see a family resemblance in the smile!

Ben telling Grandpa Wallace, "happy birthday!"

Seven Months

2011-02-27T13:52:00.001-05:00

It's been another crazy week at the Stephens of Mishawaka house. Dave worked nights all week and this was Jackie's first week working full time again.We made it through and even got a new truck out of the deal. We've been looking for a new vehicle for Dave that is more family-friendly. When we went to a wedding on Saturday, we found one that met the needs we had and decided to trade "silver" in for "big blue". I'll have to post pictures of it later.

Ben is 18 pounds, 6 ounces!

On February 15, Ben started saying "da da" and then came "ba ba". I have some video of him talking when he wouldn't go to sleep at the hotel. Apparently Ben is not a fan of sleeping in his pack and play in strange locations. It was a LONG night for mommy!

Ben has mastered the art of rolling front to back and back to front. He also moves around in a circle on the floor to get to his toys. On of his favorite things to do is sit on the floor and dig out toys from his toy box as you see here.

Dave was a huge help this week even though we saw very little of each other. There was a party on Friday to celebrate the retirement for the lady who's job I'm taking over. Since I didn't have much time to make anything, Dave made this delicious apple braid for me to take. It went over very well!

Last weekend we went to Merrillville, Indiana for a wedding. Dave's friend Vanessa (from the Exponent days) got married and it was a good excuse for an Exponent reunion.

Dave went to the reception while Ben and Jackie stayed home. We did this since the reception was when Ben is usually asleep. However, as I mentioned before, Ben didn't really sleep much so we just played instead. Here is Dave showing of his dance moves at the reception. He likes to call this one the "squirrel".

On Sunday we drove another hour to attend church at Olivet and see our favorite pastor...Pastor Kendall. I didn't take a picture since we didn't have a lot of time to spend before heading back home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-12T18:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry this blog is so short, we haven't left the house much lately since the blizzard. There are piles of snow taller than me in some places but at least the roads are clear. This morning we enjoyed the "heat wave" and took Ben to the farmer's market after he woke up. Thirty degrees feels pretty warm after it's been below zero!

Ben inspecting the tulips daddy gave mommy for the anniversary of their engagement last week.

Here's some video of Ben playing. He really enjoys playing peek-a-boo.

We hope everyone has a happy Valentine's day. Dave and I celebrated by going out to lunch Friday in between errands while Ben was at daycare.
Also, we wanted to update everyone on some changes. Jackie is going back to work full-time. She accepted the position as OB Coordinator at her current office. It will include interviewing pregnant women before their first doctor's visit and coordinating their first few visits, tracking all 400+ pregnancies at our office, and finding resources to help our low income patients. She starts February 14, so please be praying for our family during this time of transition.

Six Months!

2011-01-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

Time seems to be moving too fast here at the Stephens house. Ben is officially 6 months old! His feet have found their way into his mouth and so have TWO teeth! Ben loves to laugh, smile, babble, and blow raspberries at everyone he meets. He's been working on sitting with support and trying to scoot but he hasn't moved too far with that yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before he's becoming even more mobile.

Ben weighs 17 pounds, 14 ounces and he's 28 inches long. His weight is in the 50th percentile and height is in the 80th. His head was 17 inches which is in the 25th percentile so it's starting to catch up with the rest of his body.

So far Ben has tried peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, and apples. He seems to like his vegetables best. Here's a video of Ben blowing raspberries while trying to eat bananas. I think more were on his bib than they were in his mouth.

Ben surprised us the morning after his 6 month well child exam, he slept almost 10 hours straight and had rolled over onto his stomach...both were firsts!

This week we are dog sitting Katie for Dave's parents. Katie and Izzie have had a great time playing together. Here's some video of them.

The mighty hunter

2011-01-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

So, we know many of our blog fans keep coming back for the Benjamin pictures and updates, but we know there are a few Izzie fans out there who want to know what she's been up to.

Basically, not much.

Despite being from a long lineage of hunters, Izzie hasn't proved too fruitful in this area. She's a bit gun shy, the bird hunting hasn't quite worked out. And because she's a Brittany, which is a pointing breed, she hasn't had much luck catching animals on her own.

It's gotten so bad that the neighborhood squirrels are starting to disrespect her.

Two squirrels.

Four squirrels.

Five squirrels.

Six squirrels.

At least the instinct is still there, and she really does try to chase them - it's just that the squirrels are on to her game and know when to run up the tree. But it never stops her from trying.

No squirrels.

Ben's Dedication.

2011-01-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday was baby dedication day at Oak Creek Community Church. There were six babies dedicated at the beginning of the service and two baptisms at the end. What an awesome day!

This is the verse Pastor Darin Garton used for the dedication. It's a verse I found soon after Ben was born and have tried to live it out...

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.

~ Deuteronomy 6:5

We are so blessed to have such an amazing church family that keeps growing! I am so thankful for all that God has blessed us with.

In addition to an awesome church family, we also have an amazing biological family! Grandma and Grandpa Stephens; Uncle Jim, Aunt Andrea, and cousin Joshua all came to help celebrate Ben's big day.

Grandma Wallace spent the weekend with us so that she could be present for the dedication. (See the yummy dessert mommy made for the dedication feast! Daddy made some pretty delicious pulled pork and smoked brisket.)

I love this picture because Izzie was trying to pose with the grandkids. She doesn't like being left out!

This was right about the time Ben started having a melt down. He didn't sleep well over the weekend, probably due to the fact that he has BOTH bottom teeth coming in right now.

Mommy, Grandma Wallace, and Ben.

We enjoyed having Grandma come visit. She got to spend a lot of quality time with Ben including reading stories and feeding him sweet potatoes and cereal. (Ben has also had peas which he enjoyed). Best of all, Grandma spending time with Ben meant that Mommy and Daddy got to have a much deserved date!

Around the house

2011-01-08T14:49:00.000-05:00

Well I decided to use the bad weather today (see pictures below) to get caught up on some blogging. Looks like we won't be going anywhere any time soon.

Dave put a squirrel twirler in the back yard for Izzie.

As you can see, the twirler has brought a lot of squirrels into the yard which has made Izzie go crazy chasing them and has helped wear her out.

Ben playing with his new animals of the sea toy.

This is Mommy trying to be artsy with Ben's Christmas present.

Ben would prefer just to eat the blocks.

Here are the pictures of snow that I mentioned previously.

Izzie does NOT like having to get out in all the deep snow. It's up to her chest at least.

So far it's snowed at least 18 inches and is still coming. Sometimes it's coming down so hard that we can hardly see the park across the street!

Here's a video of the squirrels using their new toy.

First Christmas!

2011-01-04T21:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry the update has taken so long again...more technical difficulties. But now we're back and excited to show pictures from Ben's first Christmas.

Dave and Jim had a contest to see who could do the most "baby push-ups".

Ben loved his blocks made by Grandpa Stephens.

Joshua and Ben hanging out Christmas morning before opening presents.

Ben and Grandma Stephens in matching sweaters. We hadn't planned this at all but couldn't resist a photo opportunity!

Merry Christmas Ben and Daddy!

Ben with Grandma Stephens.

Ben with Grandpa Stephens.

Skyping on Christmas day with Tom, Sue, Savannah, and Isaiah in North Carolina. This was part of grandma and grandpa's Christmas present.

Ben enjoyed the wrapping paper more than anything.

Enjoy the video of Ben unwrapping a Christmas present.

We hope everyone had a very blessed Christmas and New Year. Thank you to everyone who has sent us cards or gifts. We love you all!

Five Months!

2010-12-21T21:06:00.001-05:00

In case you're not keeping as close track as we are, Ben will turn 5-months old on Christmas Eve. He continues to grow more and more each day. His latest tricks are grabbing both feet (but they haven't found his mouth yet) and he has discovered that he can scream with delight.

Ben currently weighs about 16 pounds.

Ben telling Santa what he wants for Christmas.

To celebrate Christmas and being 5 months old, Ben said he wanted to make a video for all his fans out there. Enjoy.

Wallace Christmas

2010-12-19T18:01:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Wallace came to Mishawaka to spend some time with Ben. It was really cold and snowy so we just stayed inside but I know grandma and grandpa loved every minute of it.

Updates

2010-12-12T16:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since our last post, I've had some techinical difficulties. Here's an update since the last post.

Grandma Stephens with cousins Joshua (almost 1 year) and Benjamin (4 months).

Ben and mommy while daddy was hunting in Pennsylvania with Grandpa.

Ben and Natalia Busch at small group. Natalia is a month younger than Ben. At small group this past week they were babbling and blowing raspberries at each other. It will be so much fun to watch all the babies at church grow up and interact with each other.

Ben started eating cereal this week. He's done really well with it and seems to enjoy it. Only a matter of time until we start eating solids!

We went to an open house for the Healthworks Children's Museum, a part of Memorial which is the company Jackie works for. Ben was a little too young, but it was nice to check it out for free.

Thanks cousin Joshua for my new clothes! Daddy especially loves my hat.

Here are some videos of our little guy. He's growing up so fast!

First Thanksgiving Videos

2010-12-07T15:34:00.001-05:00

Here are some videos of Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house. My personal favorite is the one of Ben giggling. It's so much fun to make him laugh and he's such a smiley baby. I'll try to get a close up of him laughing sometime.

Dave's 7 point buck while hunting in Pennsylvania.

First Thanksgiving!

2010-12-03T18:23:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from Ben's first Thanksgiving. We spent it with Grandma and Grandpa Stephens, Uncle Jim, Aunt Andrea, and cousin Joshua. It was great to spend some time together as a family and see how much the boys have grown.

Of course, Thanksgiving wouldn't have been complete without some hunting. On Thanksgiving Day, Dave and Gary went pheasant hunting and got their limit. Dave was able to have lunch with us before heading back to South Bend to work the evening shift.

While Dave was at work we spent time playing with Ben and Joshua. They didn't interact a lot but enjoyed playing together at Ben's exersaucer. Joshua liked playing with his old bouncey seat that Ben uses. You could tell that he remembered playing with it.

I'll post some video of Thanksgiving and Dave's deer as soon as I can get the blog to cooperate!

Four Months!

2010-11-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Ben is officially four months old! We just love watching him grow and learn more and more each day. Right now, he's putting everything in his mouth and has found his feet. He's really working at rolling over from his back but isn't quite there yet.

Ben had his four month well child visit last week. He was 15 pounds, 12 ounces and 26 inches long. The nurse didn't believe that he grew 3 inches in 2 months. His height and weight are in the 75th to 80th percentile, however he still has a head in the 10 to 20th percentile. The doctor isn't concerned because he's always had a smaller head and he looks proportionate. I think he must get this from his mommy's side of the family.

Wearing a bear hat that one of the doctors Jackie works with made for him. We just love how talented our friends are.

Autumn

2010-11-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

Well, there isn't anything new to report here. We're just loving the fall colors and weather while watching Ben grow more and more each day.

Izzie loves sitting outside watching the squirrels play. I love the rich color of the leaves right now.

Here's some video of Ben's latest talent, pretending to be a motor boat (or blowing raspberries).

Here's Dave's most recent project, a shelf for the kitchen. We're hoping to figure out a way to put a dishwasher in so we need extra cabinet space. Dave did a really great job in making this very large project. It even has a magnetic chalk board on the side.

Ben has spent a little time in his bumbo and exer-saucer. He really enjoys the view he gets from sitting up. We can tell just how fast he's growing up. It seems like he's learning something new every day!

Halloween

2010-11-06T21:18:00.000-04:00

Life has been busy around here in "the Bend". We had our first snow on Friday, the same day Dave went pheasant hunting for the first time of the season, and Jackie finished her second week back at work.

Last Friday Jackie's work had an apple baking contest. Ben went to help tally the votes since he wasn't able to judge. Jackie didn't place but had a good time tasting all the different ways to use an apple.

Dave decided to give Ben's boots a try. They're a little big still.

Sorry the picture is blurry but it was dark outside. Oak Creek had a fall festival with a chili cook off and pie baking contest. Dave and I both had entries but didn't place. We did manage to get all 5 babies together though and they're all getting so big! From left to right: Dave and Ben (3mon), Drew and Natalia Busch (9wks), Lousie Busch, Liz and Jozy Boon (3mon), Tonya and Colette Frentzel (6wk). Bottom: Jackie, April and Mitchell Thompson (8wks).

After the apple contest at Jackie's work there was a parade for all the residents kids to show off their Halloween costumes. Ben was going to be in the parade but he opted for a nap instead. After his nap we headed down the street to Dave's office for the Tribune's costume contest. Above is Alicia holding Ben. Alicia won first prize by dressing up as her car, a very inventive idea!

Second prize was a parking spot close to the Tribune so I made sure Dave entered into the contest. Since we had Ben's Pooh Bear costume, I decided Dave should be Christopher Robin. Dave had this shirt made to complete his costume, he chose the number 30 since he would turn 30 on Halloween this year.

Here are the entries for the costume contest. Second Prize went to Virginia who dressed up as Zombie Santa. The judges were the evening anchors for the WSBT news so they took some video of the contest. Ben was the first close up they did for the story. We were so proud!

A big thank you to everyone who helped make Dave's 30th birthday memorable. We didn't do much on the day of, just hand out candy to trick or treaters, but it was nice to have a day together to celebrate the first 30 years of Dave's life. I look forward to spending many more with him!

Dave's 30th Birthday!

2010-10-31T05:12:00.001-04:00

Happy 30th birthday to my amazing husband! Here are a few pictures of Dave through his first 30 years.

Dave's first birthday.

Halloween 2007. If I remember correctly, this may have been Dave's first KSU game.

Halloween 2008 at Chipotle.

Halloween 2009

Three Months!

2010-10-25T19:11:00.001-04:00

Ben is three months old now! He weighs 14 pounds 10 ounces.

Mommy started back at work on Monday. Here's Ben with Mommy's boss, Deb.

Here are some videos of Ben rolling over. The first one is when he was trying to figure it out. I thought him sticking his tongue out was so cute!

Ben has discovered his hands lately and has been exploring his toys with both of them. It's amazing how every day brings something new.

Kansas Videos

2010-10-22T19:35:00.000-04:00

We had problems when trying to load video of Ben's first train ride but here they are now.

And here is some video of our other child, Izzie, playing with Katie at Grandma's house. I was trying to record them fighting over Dave's sock because Izzie would lay on her back while Katie dragged her around. However, they didn't want to perform for the camera.

Benjamin goes to Kansas (and other stories)

2010-10-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

Hello, it's me again. Mr. Benjamin G. Stephens. I don't get much opportunity to blog right now, as my schedule is mostly filled with naps, eating and the occasional stinky diaper, but I thought I would take the time to tell you about my most recent adventure.

Ben enjoying some time away from the car seat in Illinois.

I like to call it "Ben and Izzie's most excellent adventure", but Izzie doesn't like that name since she didn't get to come with me. So instead, I'm calling it Ben's Kansas Vacation - probably the best vacation of my life.

Anyway, let's begin:

One day, Daddy came home from work and said to Mommy, "let's go." And then we got in the car and drove, drove, drove. Or actually, I sat, sat, sat since I'm too young to drive or get out of my car seat. We drove until late in the night, until Mommy told me we were in a place called Missouri. We slept there and then the next day headed to Kansas, where my Mommy used to live and guess who was waiting for us: GRANDMA!

Ben helped Grandma celebrate her birthday by given her his
best present, lots of hugs and kisses.

It was Grandma Kandee's birthday so I got to spend the whole evening with her. We were both very excited. Mommy and Daddy went with their friend Laura to Matt and Barb's house, where they apparently watched some sort of animal show. All I know is Mommy was very excited about some sort of wildcat beating up and devouring a "J-Hawk". I'm not sure what a J-Hawk is, but they apparently are not match for wildcats.

Here's Mommy with her friends. I think they wear purple because it makes the wildcats happy.
And it makes the J-Hawks cry.

The next day, after going to the donut shop with Daddy and Grandma, we went and met the rest of the family. I'm sorry to say, I don't remember much of what happened next, but I think someone famous walked into the room. All I could see were dozens and dozens of camera flashes. I'm not surprised they were taking pictures of me, given how incredibly cute I am.

Four generations. Jackie, Benjamin, Great-grandpa Jack Wray and Grandma Kandee Wallace.

This is Aunt Lindy. Ben went to Grandma's workplace and met
many of her co-workers, including his great-aunt.

This is Ben with Grandpa and Grandma Wallace.

Here's another picture of Ben. He is too cute!

Ben with Jackie's cousin Mark. Isn't Mark a natural.

Here's Great-grandpa Jack with all his grand kids.

Ben hanging out with all of Jackie's cousins, and Mark's
girlfriend Lacey, just minutes after he cleared the room with a
special present.

Ben asleep in the arms of his Great-Aunt Brenda.
She liked smelling Ben's toes.

Ben with cousin Amanda. Ben thought she
was pretty cool.

Ben with Grandpa Jack, Grandma Avis and all the grand kids.

After all that fun with my family, I didn't think Kansas could get any funner. I was wrong. On Saturday, Mommy, Grandma and Daddy took me to Baldwin, where Mommy lived when she was my age. They were having a big festival, which included rides on the Midland Railway Train. I really like the train - the cars swayed back and forth and it was nice and cool. Daddy, I think, liked it too. He kept wandering around to the different cars and looking out the window. All in all, probably the best train ride I've ever been on. Also, the only.

Ben and Daddy outside the train.

David standing between two cars.

The Baldwin depot; now a museum.

Ben and Grandma, enjoying the train.

Jackie standing in a 1908 passenger car.

Because of the festival, the train only took short trips. This is
where our train went to before heading back.

Ben enjoying the train with his mommy and daddy.

Jackie saw some sunflowers outside the train station and
thought they were perfect photo opportunity.

After all that fun in Kansas, Mommy and Daddy were afraid I'd be upset if we left, so they left after dark, just as I was falling asleep. Daddy said it was easier to drive at night, because I was asleep and not fussy. I don't know what he is talking about because I've never been fussy. I just make my opinions known.

Anyway, after driving most of the night, Daddy stopped in Vandallia, Illinois. I'd never heard of it, but Daddy thought it was pretty cool, because it was, a long time ago, the state capital and Abraham Lincoln had been there. We stopped and checked out some of the sites.

Ben and Honest Abe sitting in the park.

Ben, Dave and Abe.

In front of the old state capitol.

Family portrait.

This stone marked the end of the "national road" built in the 18th century. The road brought
pioneers west; it started in Maryland and ended in Vandallia.

A statue that we thought was cool.

After leaving Vandallia, we headed for Grandma Stephens' house in Huntertown. Grandad Stephens was in Wyoming hunting deer, but we had to go pick up the Izzie Pup, who stayed with Grandma to keep her and Crazy Katie Dog company. While visiting with Grandma Stephens, we went to the grocery store where she works. She said I could have the Spiderman Cake in the display case behind us, but Mommy said no.

Ben likes grandmas, and baked goods (or so he thinks).

Izzie and Kattie fight over one of David's socks. They had a good time playing together,
even if they didn't always like to share.

Finally it was time to head home. It had been a pretty amazing adventure. I visited three new states, met lots of new relatives, rode a train, saw Blacky the Bull and lots of other things. I might only be three months old, but I think it was one of the best trips ever - and I can't wait for the next one.

Izzie, however, said we should wait awhile before our next adventure. As you can see from the photo, she was pretty worn out.

Video

2010-10-11T19:11:00.000-04:00

Not much is going on right now in Mishawaka. We're starting to prepare for our big adventure to Kansas. Dave helped remove some trees at the church on Saturday and worked on his project Sunday (I'll post pictures once it's done).

Here's Ben in the adorable pumpkin hat our friend Sarah made. She is so talented!

Here are some videos of Ben smiling and laughing. It's the best part of my day. Enjoy!

Ben's First Wild & Wacky Adventure

2010-10-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

Dave and I decided it was time to take Ben on his first wild and wacky adventure. What better place to go but my favorite...Michigan. Plus, it gave us an idea about what to expect on our upcoming trip to Kansas.

Our first stop was in Buchanan at the Sweet Shop and Pears Mill. Dave had a friend in elementary school that moved to Buchanan and he remembered visiting the candy store because of its wall filled with jelly beans. (See pictures at the end of the blog to see what we got.) Unfortunately, the shop has changed owners a few times and is now primarily a restaurant and ice cream shop. We just ate lunch so we didn't eat there but will have to keep it in mind for future adventures.

Across the street was the Pears Mill. For those of you who don't know, Dave really likes mills. Unfortunately, they are only open on Saturdays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It also looked like they had a farmers market there that they were in the procces of tearing down for the winter.

Outside the mill.

Random deer statue outside the mill.

Of course we had to show Ben Lake Michigan.

We decided to take Ben to an orchard to possibly get a pumpkin or apples. We didn't end up buying anything but we had fun taking pictures of our little Pooh Bear!

When we came home we decided to try out our treats from the sweet shop. Jackie & Izzie are showing the cow patty (brownie dipped in caramel with chocolate & nuts on top). Dave & Ben have the tiger tail (marshmellows dipped in caramel with a chocolate stripe). Both were very rich and delicious.

I love Ben's facial expressions in these pictures!

Two months

2010-09-24T06:01:00.000-04:00

Today was Ben's two month well child visit. It was a new experience for me to be the parent of the child rather than playing the role of the nurse during his office visit.

Benjamin 2 months old. Look at that head control.

Ben weighs 12 pounds and 15 ounces.

He is 23.5 inches long.

Ben is in the 75th percentile for his height and weight.

Our doctor said that he looks very healthy and doesn't have any concerns. Ben did get his first set f immunizations and did very well. Mommy is very thankful that Ben wasn't too fussy afterwards since Daddy is in Michigan for the weekend fishing with some friends.

Also wanted to say thank you to everyone for the cards and well wishes for Dave and my anniversary. We had a nice dinner out and Ben had fun while being watched by some friends.

Anniversary

2010-09-22T17:33:00.008-04:00

Today is Dave and my third wedding anniversary. It's amazing how much has changed in our lives in such a small amount of time. I figured this would be a good time to review what we've done since that day.

Here we are on September 22, 2007.

This is the day I married my best friend, for better or worse, for richer or poorer.

Not only have our lives changed but so has our family's. I am so blessed to have gone from an only child to having four wonderful brothers and sisters-in-law, one niece, two nephews, two great parents (in addition to the ones I already had), and a huge new extended family.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Romans 12:9-13

After the wedding we headed off to Maine for our honeymoon.

I was able to finally wear my sweatshirt since I was officially a Stephens!

On February 29, 2008 we moved to Mishawaka, Indiana.

June 2008 we purchased our first home (a little earlier than we had intended but we couldn't pass this place up)!

September 2008 we brought home the newest addition to the Stephens family, our little girl Izzie. (can you believe she was once this small?)

The year 2009 was a little bit of a breather for us and I'm so glad for it. We were able to settle into our jobs and home a little more. We started to find our niche in our church and get involved in our community.

Then we learned our whole world was about to change. We prepared for our next adventure in life...becoming parents.

It really felt like the pregnancy just flew by. Before we knew it, July 24, 2010 came and we officially became mom and dad to Benjamin.

Now we're to the present time, September 22, 2010. We look back with fond memories of our past three years and are excited to see what the future holds for us. We are so grateful for all the wonderful friends and family that we have in our life. Thank you to each and every one of you that has blessed us in your own special way. Thank you for all that you have taught us. Thank you for being there and continuing to be there in the future.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Playdate, fashion show, rolling over

2010-09-20T15:46:00.001-04:00

Here's a picture from Ben's first playdate. These are 4 out of the 5 babies recently born at Oak Creek Community Church. From the left: Liz and Jozy (6 wks), Mommy and Ben (6 wks), April and Mitchell (3wks), Louise and Natalia (3 wks). We look forward to many more playdates to come.
Here's a picture of Ben wearing shorts for the first time. He's crying because he's hungry, not because he hates the shorts.

Ben has been smiling and laughing a lot lately which has been fun to watch. Here he's wearing a tuxedo onesie that a coworker gave us.

Here Ben is modeling his cloth diapers. We're so happy that Aunt Sue gave us these to share. They aren't like the diapers I wore as a baby and have been very easy to take care of.

Here's a video of Ben during tummy time. He just rolled over for the second time so I had the camera ready in case he did it again. His first time to roll over was last Sunday but I figured it was just a fluke until he did it again today.

Current Events

2010-09-15T14:21:00.005-04:00

So yesterday was a fairly normal day for us here in Mishawaka. I was excited because Ben is slowly stretching how long he sleeps each night (about 5 hours) and I was successful at getting him to take a morning nap!

When I was trying to get Ben down for his afternoon nap, I decided to go out on the front porch to show him what was going on in the world. What we saw next we weren't expecting...

All of a sudden I heard a screeching and a big splash. I looked down at the park by the jungle gym and saw the back end of a car in the St Joseph River and it was sinking quickly.

I called Dave as I walked over to check it out. I figured someone else probably had called 911 at this point and I could perform CPR if needed. When I got to the scene some construction workers who were working on the bridge by our house had drove their boat over to help and three of them were in the river trying to get the guy out of the car. They were having a very difficult time trying to get the man out.

We don't know all the details about the story like what caused the man to go into the river. But he did leave the scene unconscious, breathing, and with a pulse. The man is 89 years old and it will be a long road for recovery with lots of possible complications due to his age (pneumonia would be a big one in this case). So, please pray for this man and his family. I'm reminded how precious life is each day since having Ben but seeing this puts things in perspective.

On the brighter side (you can't leave reading my blog feeling sad!), Ben did get to see his daddy at work. Here's the link to Dave's article in the Tribune.

We also found out that the park across the street will no longer be called Merrifield Park. It's now Crawford Park (although I don't see anyone ever calling it that). Here's the link for that story.

Finally, here's a cute picture of Ben holding Mickey. I'm trying to work on him having a favorite toy so that he has something when he starts daycare in about 4 1/2 weeks! Next week is Ben's 2 month check and we'll see how big he is. We're so happy to be blessed with such a sweet boy and are enjoying watching him grow.

Cuz Fest 2010

2010-09-09T14:40:00.012-04:00

We're happy to announce that Cuz Fest 2010 went very well. That's saying a lot since there were 4 grandkids, 4 dogs, 6 adults, and 2 very happy grandparents. All of us were so excited to be under the same roof again to enjoy spending some time together.

Savannah really enjoyed meeting her cousin Ben.

Cousin Joshua thought Ben could share his bottle.

We really enjoyed the great weather during Cuz Fest although I think it was a little cool for the Georgia Stephens. A lot of time was spent outside playing soccer, horse shoes, and talking around the fire pit.

Time was also spent watching everyone outside from the inside.
And time was spent napping.
Ben is already a ladies' man. Hopefully Dave and I don't have to be too worried just yet.

I was given some "Got Milk?" bibs from a friend at a baby shower. Dave commented that they were cool because of the Rising dairy farm. So Pap Pap, these pictures are for you!

Like I said earlier, there were some very happy grandparents this weekend. Here's grandma with Ben (and grandpa with Joshua in the background).

Then Joshua came in for a picture too.

Then we said, why not add in the rest of the grandkids? So here they all are: Savannah 3 yrs, Isaiah 13 mon, Joshua 8 1/2mon, and Ben 6 wks!

Just the boys.
Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Did you guess that there was an extra girl in it? Savannah made a friend during church.

Here's the correct picture of everyone. That's a lot of Stephens!

Individual family pictures (somehow we didn't get one taken of the Georgia Stephens though). Here's Jim, Andrea, Joshua, and Duke.

Joshua showing off his standing skills.

Mommy, Daddy, and Ben.

Ben and daddy matching.

On Monday we went to the mall to ride the carousel. It's pretty nice and big since it has 2 levels.

All the kids enjoyed their carousel ride. Ben liked watching all the lights.

Later that night we meet up with some of Dave's friends from Churubusco. From the left is Kendall and Tyler Hoffman, Justin and Jamie Gordon with their son Brayten; Dave, Ben, and me.

Here's some video from the carousel ride. We had a great weekend and are looking forward to the next time we can all get together!

Game Day

2010-09-07T10:24:00.004-04:00

Ben experienced his first ever game day this past weekend. Daddy and Uncle Jim went to the Purdue/ Notre Dame game on Saturday so Uncle Jim's family came up for the afternoon before heading to Grandma's house.

Joshua says "Boiler Up!"

Aunt Andrea and cousin Joshua.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Andrea, and Joshua.

The day before game day Dave dressed Ben in this outfit. Doesn't Ben look confused about who he's supposed to be rooting for?

Daddy and Ben dressed in their favorite teams outfits.

Ben says, "Go K-State!"

More pictures to come from Cuz Fest 2010!

Mommy's New 'Do

2010-08-30T10:41:00.005-04:00

So I went to my friend's house to get a much needed trim and this is what I left with....
No, I didn't decide to do the new mommy short haircut, I just took my friend's advise and decided to try something different.

What does everyone think? It's taking some getting used to but I did have my hair this short about 10 years ago.

Hanging Out

2010-08-27T20:44:00.003-04:00

There isn't anything too exciting to report on this week. Dave works on Saturday so Ben, Izzie, and I are just hanging out around the house.
Here are some pictures of Ben playing on the gym that he got from cousin Joshua.

And of course there's video of him playing with it as well.

One Month

2010-08-23T20:50:00.003-04:00

Ben is officially one month old! It's amazing how quickly time flies and we're loving watching him grow.
Grandma and Grandpa Wallace came from Kansas to spend time with Ben. This was grandpa's first visit to Indiana.

Grandma says been has gotten bigger!

So I really liked Tom & Sue's idea of having something to compare Ben to each month. Unfortunately, I didn't think about this when Ben was just born but hopefully each month I can take a picture to see how much bigger he's gotten.

For those keeping track, Ben was 9 pounds 6 ounces last week!

Here are some pictures of tummy time with the worm.

A big thanks to Aunt Mary for the Purdue blanket. It's actually his only Purdue thing (but he isn't lacking in K-State stuff).

Bath and more

2010-08-16T11:03:00.000-04:00

This weekend was pretty uneventful since Dave worked on Saturday. Eventhough Dave worked it didn't make him any less busy around the house. He had Monday off and worked on the front flowerbed by removing one of the bushes that had previously been there and planting two hydrangea bushes in it's place.
Here are the hydrangea bushes along with Dave's stone statue. The flowerbed was filled with rocks of all different sizes and Dave moved all of them out of there in order to plant new flowers.

Here are some lilies I planted just behind the flowerbed. They came from my Grandma and Grandpa Wallace's house in Kansas. My grandmother always enjoyed lilies and had a wide variety of them.

Here's the other front flowerbed that has our lilac bush. I planted more lilies in it too but they aren't blooming like the ones on the other side of the house.

I also had Dave "help" give Ben a bath. This wasn't Ben's first bath but it was the first time I've had someone around to help take pictures while he was getting bathed.

He really doesn't seem to mind getting bathed very much.

Ben says it's hard work getting a bath.

Here's some video Dave took of the bath. Hope you enjoy it.

Well, that's it for now. Ben's really excited to learn all about canning spaghetti and pizza sauce and salsa tomorrow. It might be awhile before he's able to eat any but it doesn't mean that he can't learn how to make it!

First Road Trip

2010-08-09T18:12:00.006-04:00

This past weekend we packed everything up as best we could prepare for and headed down to Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house so Ben could meet Aunt Andrea, Uncle Jim, and cousin Joshua. It wasn't too bad travelling with a two week old, Ben primarily slept while in the car. It was nice for mommy to get out of the house and to introduce Ben to more family.

Joshua was very eager to meet cousin Benjamin.

Ben and Mommy.

The Stephens family at church on Sunday.

Grandma and Grandpa Stephens, Mommy, Daddy, and Ben.

Grandma and Grandpa were so excited to have two out of the four grandchildren this weekend. They're very eager to have all four grandkids at their house in just a few short weeks! We are all looking forward to the Savannah Stephens' road trip to Indiana!!

The Stephens family hanging out by the fire pit.

Izzie always enjoys her time at Grandma and Grandpa's too. Dave and Izzie worked on their soccer skills.

Grandma spending some time with Ben.

Izzie gives Ben a quick kiss before hitting the road again.

Ben says he's ready to roll!

Ben enjoyed meeting his Aunt Andrea and Uncle Jim.

What Do You Think?

2010-08-06T18:37:00.000-04:00

One question often asked of us is who do we think Benjamin looks like. Well, you tell us. Below are our baby pictures along with a picture of Ben. Notice any resemblances? Jackie's newborn baby picture.

Jackie at 1 month old.

Dave's newborn picture.

Ben at 2 weeks.

Another question we're often asked is where did we come up with the name Benjamin Gary?

Dave and I tend to prefer more traditional names with traditional spelling. We wanted a biblical name which is how we came up with Benjamin which means "the son of the right hand". Gary actually comes from both of our families. Dave's father's name is Gary and Jackie had an uncle also named Gary that passed away when he was a child.

Ben with Grandpa Gary

Jackie's Uncle Gary.

Grandma Comes to Town

2010-08-03T23:01:00.003-04:00

We were so excited that Jackie's mom was able to make the trip from Kansas to visit Benjamin. But probably not as excited as she was to see him.

Grandma Wallace really enjoyed the time she had to hold Ben. She even got to hold him during his first church service, during which he slept the whole time.

Grandma, Mommy, and Ben.

Daddy, Mommy, and Ben.

Grandma and Ben.

Daddy, Mommy, Ben, and Izzie.

Grandma came up with her step-sister Vickie, Vickie's daughter Crystal, and granddaughter Chelsea. On Saturday, Dave showed took them to St. Joseph to see Lake Michigan, while Grandma stayed and took care of Benjamin and Jackie.

Grandma, Daddy, Mommy, and Ben.

God's Chisel .

2010-08-02T13:31:00.002-04:00

We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful church family that we found at Oak Creek Community Church. Everyone has been so helpful and this week they are even bringing us dinner for the "meals for moms" program the church provides. I also feel fortunate that we have a group of new parents that we are able to go through this new journey in life with.

The following video was played for us during our church service last Sunday. The message is one that I personally struggle with and was very moved by the video. I hope you all find it as inspirational as I did.