Pawtucket Comes to Town

Friday night we joined my entire family and my dad's brother, Guy, his wife, Cindy and their three children at the Indians game. Although we would usually cheer for the Indians, they were facing the Pawtucket Red Sox...so we made an exception. It was a busy evening with the four tots in tow. I am not sure all 17 of us were ever all seated at one time.

Pictured: Madi, Camden, Andrew, Justin (behind my mom), next row is my mom, Guy, Cindy, Elissa, Kaylin - holding Cooper; next row is Chris (differentiating himself in the Cardinals jersey), Amy and Carson. Not pictured, but in the park...my dad, Zach, Bennett and me.

My sister and I used to love to hold and take care of our younger cousins, Elissa and Kaylin. Now it is their turn...a break for us as they hold the little guys.

Weekend Fun

The holiday weekend started a little early this year with the annual McNichols Golf Outing on Friday afternoon. Zach played in the outing and Bennett and I joined him for the last couple holes and dinner. The outing raised about $11,500 for the McNichols family and even had some wonderful coverage in the Indy Star. On Saturday we headed over to the Stanes household for some great food and a chance to visit with the Findlay folks in town for the race. I think Kevin looks like a natural holding Bennett and Mr. Stafford appears ready to be a granddad....playmates for Bennett...hooray!

Having been out of high school for about 10+ years now, we decided to revisit senior pictures with some outstanding poses...thanks for the margaritas, Amber!!


Sitting the race out this year, we headed up to the Prather's for a play-day on Sunday and to keep the race interesting everyone picked a few drivers out of a bag. Cooper was the lucky winner -- he "picked" Helio. I did earn a dollar for having the first driver out of the race. My poor nephews have to use this bucket as their pool...mean mom and dad are withholding the larger pool as long as possible.

Cooper and Bennett playing with Camden's face. They are beginning to take interest in one another which was fun to see. In the background you might notice a little bare bum...Carson getting dressed after swim time in the bucket...

Daddy and Bennett atop the playset in progress. While not quite finished (Amy and Chris have been working hard assembling it), it can be used and will provide hours of entertainment for the boys.

Thank You!

I owe a huge thank you to Zach for a wonderful Mother's Day. It is true, there is nothing more I could ask for than spending time with family...and we did just that. It is amazing just how fulfilling it is to be a mom...I feel so lucky. I have been wanting to have Bennett's photos taken for a while - so I told Zach that this is what I would want for my birthday and Mother's Day. Below is a link to Bennett's 6 month pictures (you might want to pause the music on our blog, as this site has music, as well).

http://www.presslerhenri.com/

click on Client Viewing, then Bennett. Password is: Ford.

A huge thank you to Trinity. Bennett and I had so much fun with you and we look forward to the one-year photos when Zach and Fenny (maybe?) will join in the photo shoot, as well.

Happy Mother's Day

Today we celebrated Abby's first Mother's Day. (editor's note 1: Sorry Fenny, but the last four years did not technically count as Mother's Day for Abby).
We had a great day starting with OJ in bed for Abby followed by a trip to Starbucks and then Patachou for breakfast.

Later that day my parents came by for lunch. We grilled out, visited and opened gifts. (editor’s note 2: This weekend Abby’s parents were in Valpo so we were unable to celebrate, but we will be meeting them next weekend in Valpo for a belated Mother’s Day and to see some baseball).

After Lunch; Abby, Bennett, Fenny and I went on a long stroll. We stopped into Broad Ripple for some dessert at Red Mango along the way. Please take note of Bennett's pajamas below.

For dinner we popped a bottle of wine, grilled some chicken and put together various sides.

The night was capped off by a leisurely evening saunter and a family photo opp. Above is a picture of Fenny the way she typically reacts to any animate object. In this particular case it was a pair of mallards.

All in all I hope Abby had a great first Mother’s Day. She has done a wonderful job at raising Bennett, Fenny and I. We are all nothing short of thankful for her and very proud to call her our Mom.

Click on the link to see an amusing video that Abby received for Mother’s Day from one of her friends.

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=N2mb7UeyI2trl2YkttOUaDM3MjQ5Mw--&referred_by=15735157-.ppuSzx&p=moveon

Half-Birthday

Yesterday was Bennett's half-birthday...6-months old, already -- it is true, time really does fly by. We have really enjoyed each stage thus far...it is hard to believe that in the next 6 months we will be tackling eating, crawling, teething and (if Zach has anything to do with it) walking. Bennett visits the dr. tomorrow for his well-baby visit...stay tuned for the stats.

After a long work-weekend for me, we found a little time on Sunday to enjoy the weather and our first of many trips to the park. I think the swing nearly put Bennett to sleep. The slide was enjoyed by them both and Zach almost injured himself on a trip down...how out of practice he is...

We have been working on Bennett sitting up on his own...still needs some practice. Half the time we try and sit him on the floor - he arches his back in protest...the child loves to stand and prefers it to sitting...getting a little ahead of himself, I am afraid.

Beginning to show independence...this is how I found him after his evening nap yesterday. Happily sucking on his paci upside-down. It was almost as if he wanted it like this --keeping it in long after I entered the room. It reminded me of my younger brother...he used to turn his around and keep it that way.