Birthday Morning

After Ben went to bed Jake put together the train table and set up some tracks. My mom and Granny bought the train table and then Aunt Tracy let us borrow all her train tracks, trains and bridges from when her kiddos were younger. Jake had so much fun putting the tracks together. This was the second model...I think he could've played all night!
Here's the engine. Ben kep saying, "I like trains!"

Here's the tower.
Happy Birthday big two year old!
Checking out the train depot. He was up at 6:45 and by the time Jake left for work at 7:40 Ben was still playing with the trains. I had to sit on the couch and give him his oatmeal breakfast there. Otherwise I don't think he would have stopped to eat.
You can see that Ben just woke up. His cheeks are still warm and rosy from sleeping.

Ben likes his trains! And he tells you how old he is today.

Ben is TWO!!

Before the party started, Ben was playing in the garage and found Grandpa Curt's bike helmet and his a tool to help with golf. For a while I thought all of Ben's pictures would have these two items but as soon as he saw his monkey cake he left his toys for the cake.
Ben had a Gran-made cake for his second birthday! Granny is quite the cake maker. Since Ben likes the show Curious George on PBS, Granny decided to make a special monkey cake for him. Not only was it adorable, it was delicious!

Ben and his cake. Needless to say he was overwhelmed with all the attention and with the Happy Birthday song.

Jake helped Ben blow out the candles. I think Ben was wishing he could just eat the cake.

Time to open presents! Ben was all about getting the packages open. His first few gifts were clothes. I was very excited about the clothes because Ben is growing. He was not so interested in the clothes.New coat from Grandma Jo.

Ben trying to put the Mr. Potato Head part on his head.

Ben trying to figure out his new Mr. Potato Head toy.

The dump truck was a HUGE hit. The truck has a few sayings like "Good Work" and "Here We Go!"
This is the last picture of the afternoon party. My mom's family came over for apps and cake. We had Ben's favorite treats which were chips and dip! And he does like ice-cream.This begins Ben's second party---his dinner party. Mema, Aunt Donna, and Gale and Becky came over to celebrate and eat some tasty food. Aunt Donna gave Ben a Veggie Tales tub toy that is super fun.

I wish I had this on video. Ben is bent over the present and he was pulling out the tissue behind him and laughing. Inside is a monster truck that makes all kinds of sounds.
The super cool monster truck from Gale and Bekcy.
Playing with all the loot.

The only way I can get Ben to take medicine is if he gets a treat afterwards.

We are giving Ben Claritin for his cold---hopefully they aren't allergies. I shoulda bought the grape tablets to chew but I bought the liquid and it has a menthol flavor which Ben finds extremely offensive. As soon as I say medicine, he replys with, "treat?"
Today's treat is a popsicle.

Ben is showing you that the popsicle is in his tummy.


Ben is getting some big teeth in and he will chew on everything---I thought we were out of this stage!
Ben is saying that the popsicle is COLD.

More Thanksgiving Fun

Jake and Ruthie blowing raspberries.
Ruthie and Ben playing with great Grandpa Gable.
Ben and Grandpa Gary belly laughing.

Ben giving his monkey a ride.
Going mobile
Our little turkeys.

Where the Red, Red Roses Grow

I'll Be Loving You Always

Singing to Ruthie

One of my favorite videos of Ben is when Grandma and Grandpa sang to Ben. So, I wanted Ruthie to get the same experience of getting to hear Grandma and Grandpa sing to her. Enjoy

Christmas with the Stratman Family

Christmas Card Picture: Take 1

Christmas Card Pic: Take 2

Christmas Card Pic: Take 3
Ruthie and Ben refusing to have their picture taken. They would much rather play.

Ben playing with his birthday present from Ruthie. We all had pizza for lunch!
Hanging out and playing pizza parlor.
Jules and Ruthie


Uncle Nate and Benners

Grandpa Gar opening his gift from Jake----Grandma Deb, Ruthie, and Kim enjoying the moment.
Kim and Ruth's home-made gifts from Jules.
Ben and Ruthie giving hugs.

Big Shoes to Fill

As Ben was eating a snack I noticed that he had slipped into Jake's shoes. He stood there for a while just enjoying his food and when he tried to turn around he had forgotten that he had on Jake's shoes and tipped over. Of course we laughed to make any tears go away. And then Ben slipped into the shoes again and purposely fell over. What a ham!

Halloween Dragon

It's almost time to trick-or-treat and I'm trying to get a smile from Ben. He's still just a bit sleepy from nap and more focused on snack time than smiling.

We met up with our home group friends at 3:15 to go downtown and get treats from the downtown businesses. It was really fun and really packed! By the time we were finished strolling the streets Ben was able to go up to someone and say trick-or-treat. He wasn't really interested in the candy which was good because he got a lot of candy!
Next we went to JBU and did some door to door in the dorms. Jake caught up with us and it was so fun to watch Ben go to each room and ask for treats.