The Big One!

Ben - One Year Old

McKenzie - One Year Old

Today Ben turned one! Time really does fly when you're having fun. Ben has almost nothing but fun. He really is such a happy guy, always ready for a little snuggle or to play some peek-a-boo. We'll be celebrating his birthday with the family this weekend so we'll have a full birthday update then.

Tonight we had a small celebration complete with cake, balloons and a present. That checked off as an official "Happy Birthday Party" according to McKenzie's birthday party requirements. McKenzie actually thinks whenever there is cake, it's a Happy Birthday. Our friend Kim comes over for dinner now and then and the last time she came over she brought a cake for dessert - instant birthday party! A few weeks ago I called Kim and invited her for dinner because I was making one of her favorite dishes and when I told McKenzie her first response was, "Happy Birthday party?"  This prompted me to call Kim back and invite her for a real birthday party. So tonight we celebrated in style, Kim brought balloons for the kids and some fancy doughnuts from Frostology, which is a tasty doughnut shop near our house that creates some unique items such as maple bars with bacon on them. While we did not sample any bacon tonight we did have some wonderful flavors to help celebrate Ben's birthday.

Here's Ben with his birthday doughnut! Don't worry I blew out the candle before he touched it but it was close!



He didn't hold back at all when he was allowed to grab the doughnut!


At some point he became too sugar overloaded to even use his hands anymore.



This past weekend McKenzie was sick and so we had her quarantined from Ben which didn't make either of them too happy.  The fantastic news is Ben made it his entire first year with nothing more than a couple of minor colds! That's an amazing accomplishment in this germ filled world. I was so relieved when today came and he was still healthy as can be.

Here's McKenize happy as can be since she has not only a balloon but a bowl full of mixed berries.  That girl is part fruit fly! She loves eating all the fruit she can get her hands on.


Here's Ben modeling a Northwest baby outfit - boots and a rain coat.  He looks like he's a fisherman at sea waiting for a 20 foot swell to crash down on him.