dog riding adventures

well this weekend ben got to be up close and personal with a few "big dogs". my parents have a black lab that is now living with my sister and we visited a friend who also has a lab, except she's brown. ben met both of them with an open mouth for kisses and his excitement came out as though he was panting. it was quite the experience. he loved both dogs even though they weren't sure what to do with him. but we did manage to capture it in a photo.

abbie & matt helping ben ride hallie the dog

adventures as a ring bearer

kaitlyn and josiah got hitched this past weekend in liberty. so we've been busy all month helping with that and getting ready for it, or at least that's the excuse i'm using for why i haven't updated! :) ben has had a HUGE growth spurt this past month. i know he's gained 2 1/2 lbs. (that puts him at 25!)and an inch or more. he's been cutting molars like a champ! the week before we went to KC he already had one and then we found out he was cutting 3 more...at the same time. but he does it gracefully. he cut one right before we left and another on the trip and the 3rd is cutting now. and now i've lost count of teeth...12 maybe! his new favorite game is chase. he looks over his shoulder at you, grins and laughs and then runs as fast as his little legs go-which by the way is pretty fast. it's been lots of fun watching him really start to play with us and follow the other kids on the playground. he has mastered the preschool slide at church and does it continuously on wednesday nights.

a recap of the weekend in short...
the wedding was great!
ben traveled like a champ! he's done this a time or 2 before.
i'm glad to be backin my own bed once again (not that i didn't love the bunkbeds b!)

here's a few pics that my aunt took at the wedding. hopefully more to come soon...

my dad and lil sis


grammie & grandad add another boy to the family


the cook family...a little disorganized, but what's new?!


kaiti & josiah trotter!

"the road goes on forever and the party never ends"

name that song anyone??

ben cut his 9th tooth the week of this first birthday and he's working on more right now. so instead of doing something productive around the house, i'm posting more party pics. and shortly i plan to join in on nap time :) the perks of staying at home.

yep our little family (minus bear) right before ben decides to try to put cake on our faces. he's in deep thought about it can ya tell?

we made ben a "Ben the Bruiser" cape for the party

tess got ben a fish tank for his birthday and he's loving it!

ben's birthday party adventure

digging into his birthday cake


that's one happy birthday boy


opening presents with dad

APRIL FOOLS 2008!

today is ben's 1 year birthday! yep, he was born april fool's day 2007. quite appropriate for his little personality.
this time last year i was half way through my labor :) thank goodness that is over! we partied hard this weekend with ben's big birthday bash. so today we're keeping it pretty low key. just some family time, dinner, ice cream. once i get pics from friends we'll post them.

thank you to all of you! your support, prayers, advice, encouragement, hugs & kisses, babysitting, feedings, and everything in between have meant the world to us. we couldn't have made it through this first year without you. we now know it truly takes a village to raise a child. thanks for being part of our village!!

love to you all!
matt, kristi & ben (and bear)

the hunt & gather of the easter eggs

last weekend ben went with nana roo & papa steve to KPC's (their church) easter egg hunt. he really wore himself out playing. he came home and slept so good that night. so here are some pictures from their adventure with ben...hunting-more like gathering-easter eggs from church pews. and don't forget to subscribe to our blog so you can get emails when i update his page. you don't want to fall behind in your ben knowledge! (it's at the bottom of the page!)

ben & papa


if i could only get those eggs!


i almost got 'em


with a little help from papa...


i got the eggs! satsifaction!


and now i need to attack them by chasing them all over the pew!

adventures in kansas city

welcome to KANSAS CITY ben!


well we had a great time in liberty last week. it's already been a week since we've been home and i'm just now posting and putting up pics. anyways, ben is a well seasoned traveler and did fantastic on the trip. he played and slept on the plane and did great in the car (even the 3 hour drive to kirksville). it took most of the week to get him back on his schedule. we really wore him out by running around everywhere! but i must admit i'm probably the most thankful. i did miss his afternoon long naps! a girl needs some down time ya know!

now a week later i'd call ben a semi-pro walker. he loves walking now and does it about 75% of the time. if he falls in the middle of the room he'll crawl to his destination and then pull himself to standing. he hasn't quite figured out how to stand without holding onto something yet. but he has recently mastered the squatting and bending to get something off the floor with out falling. i guess he figured it was easier than falling and crawling to the couch to stand and starting all over again! and while he is squatting, standing, walking and crawling...the boy jabbers all the time. he's gonna be a talker folks-watch out! and i'm sending my disclaimer now-please be advised my child may (and probably will) say something totally outrageous and embarrassing about me or perhaps you. starting now-I'M SORRY! i hope we can still be friends :)

here are some pics from the weekend courtesy of tess-she played photographer among many of her several other roles! :) thanks tess you are great! oh yeah if you click on the picture it should come up bigger on a new page.
me, great friend tess, sleepy little buddy


3 generations of Cooks-just missing dad :(
directly after this shot i asked grandmother if she thought ben looked like a Cook.
her response: "Well how can I tell? I can't see his face."
then we turned him around so she could "get a good look at him".


dinner at buca di beppo on the plaza



"nanny tess" in action

hanging out in Liberty

ben tess & i are in liberty for a few days. it's kaitlyn's 21st birthday and my cousin betsy's wedding! just one big party for us. and we were awoken this morning to snow-more than VA gets but gone just as quickly. we at least got a picture in all of the whiteness before it melted. we'll post pics when we get back.

but most importantly our little man is taking what we're calling "short walks" these days. he walks about 10 feet or so before he gets so excited he waves his arms to hard and tumbles to the ground. it's quite entertaining. he's definitely starting to default to walking instead of crawling now.

my little rock star

hair by: dana & tess
this is the result of woman getting bored while watching the super bowl!

well it's been a couple of weeks because the only internet we have is in the studio (which is finished by the way) and i keep forgetting to ask matt for the key! but i remembered today. no big ben updates really. he is talking a lot more these days and tries at times to mimic what you say. i know he knows what he is saying because it is always very deliberate, i just don't speak the same language. he really loves being in his walker these days. he loves the freedom and banging into things. it's quite funny. he goes into the back hallway and yells-not because he's stuck, but because it echoes and he likes to hear himself. what can i say the kid likes the sound of his own voice.

he eats so much! he's eating more big people food because he wants whatever is on my our plates-even if he's already eaten!

love to all!

baby steps!

well folks...he did it! his first official step was taken last night-10 months & 5 days. he decided it was his birthday present to his aunt kristin! we had him corralled in between some couches in the youth room and he did it...small step for mankind, a BIG step for ben! it was great! matt and i both witnessed it so that was special since that only happens once in life.

also while corralled in the couches at the moment (yes, i'm at the church) he has learned how to climb onto the couch and off the other end! he's an adventurous one thats for sure. he keeps us on our toes and laughing more than ever.

who would've known that a giggle so sweet and pure could be so healing! pictures soon to follow