November to December 2006

It's hard to believe 2006 has come and gone already. It's also hard to believe that this time last year, we were settling into our new house, enjoying our first holidays in Pittsburgh, getting ready for Dave's first semester at Trinity, and expecting the arrival of Benjamin, as well as cheering on the Steelers to their 5th superbowl.

Since November we have again celebrated the holidays with family near home, with the added bonus of seeing life through Ben's eyes. Thanksgiving was a true feast for our little guy. He tried every food that was put before him, and enjoyed it all. He also fought through his first fever and saw his first snowfall of the season.

December meant the end of another semester for Dave, which was good because we started to forget what he looked like. However, after finals he was home a lot so we were able to go for more family outings. Our favorite outing was going out for Chinese and then to the children's museum with the McDonalds. Ben loves playing with Hannah Grace and Ellie. He also truly enjoyed playing in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and the floor devoted solely to nursery children.

Ben's first Christmas was also quite fun. We spent a lot of time with all our family and Ben met and played with a lot of people. By our 5th Christmas celebration, Ben seemed to get the hang of tearing open presents, yet he seems to like tissue paper and gift bags more. I guess tissue just makes a lot more noise than paper. We were overwhelmed and blessed with the amount of presents we all received, for which we are very thankful. Ben did receive a sled for Christmas, and as of yet, we have not been able to use that present since the temps here have been in the high 50s for most of the month. Yeah global warming.

We are now getting geared up for the new semester at Trinity and for a couple birthdays here in a few weeks. I'll try to post some updated photos as well.