Ben is eating his first jack-o-lantern peep (from Noni). Notice his vintage comic book t-shirt, a hand-me-down from Daddy.
Ben is learning to feed himself with a spoon. He usually gets a little bit in his mouth and it serves to entertain all of us.
Ben experienced his first parade - ECU Homecoming. He was quite enthralled, especially with the fire engines.
In this picture he is dancing to the band music.
We picked up an interesting lunch today at the Farmer's Market: tamales wrapped in collared greens. I thought they were spectacular but Ben mostly picked at it and threw the green stuff on the floor.

BEN TV RETURNS!!!!!

Elizabeth's Doings.....

When Julie got married, Elizabeth gave the Maid of Honor speech. In that speech, Elizabeth mentioned that she was so excited when Julie was born because, as Elizabeth said, "I got my very own, real live, baby doll. Well, it appears that now that Elizabeth is a mommy, that those sentiments have been transferred to Ben. I have resisted putting these pictures on the blog, but I finally gave in today.

I never really thought that Ben was going to rue the day that Ben's blog was formed, but I'm beginning to believe that he will.

***ADDITIONAL INFORMATION***I need to point out that I was down stairs when this little dress-up session took place. Otherwise, Ben would not have been subjected to playing dress-up, and once I found out, Ben was quickly removed from the dress. Aunt Marsha is as guilty as Elizabeth. Shame on you Anderson ladies. SHAME!

Swing Set Preparation

This may not look like that big of a deal, but BOY was it. What started as just cutting down a few dead bushes and weeds turned into full backyard cleaning. All of the leaves and gumballs from year's past have been removed. Bushes have been transplanted. The future garden has been weeded, tilled, and is ready for herbs and vegetables in the spring. And the space that will soon hold a swing set for Ben is now free of weeds. I may not be able to get up tomorrow, but it's DONE!

Inevitable

Over the past couple of weeks, Noni, Auntie Julie, Mamaw & Papaw, and others have all visited the Swaggerty Compound. One thing that each of the visitors learned during their stay was that Ben would soon find a way to run/fall/tumble/slip/dive/jump off of our back deck, and no one wanted it to happen on their watch, but for one luck group it did.

The honor goes to Mamaw and Papaw--both converged on Ben just as he, without even looking or hesitating, ran off the porch and used his face to stop himself. Both M&P were mortified, but Ben barely noticed after a couple of minutes passed. They are probably as mortified that I made this post on Ben's blog, but no need to be. All is forgiven (although there wasn't really anything to forgive), and as each of you know, it could have just as easily happened on your watch.

Below are a few pictures of Ben and his war wound. As you can see in the final picture Ben is already mostly healed.

Ben's First Haircut....

Ben Learns to Mow

and Noni visits. Yippie!!

Highlights from Ben & Mommy's Weekend

Plenty more pictures like these...you know where.

Ben Poses for the Camera

See the whole photo shoot in Ben's Album.

Who's Afraid of the Vacuum Cleaner?

Well, it's not mommy or daddy (unless it means I have to use it to actually clean, and then yes, daddy is afraid), but our boy Ben does NOT even like the site of a vacuum cleaner. See--

Rock On Mohawk Ben

Visitors to Casa Swag....

...and good times were had by all.

Good Morning Ben!

Tomato Walking?

So, guess who found the box of tomatoes in the closet? And guess who decided to eat it like an apple? And guess who tried to walk around with the dripping tomato juices? And, well....you'll see the result.

DISCLAIMER--This is funny, but also potentially unsafe. I would not advise for anyone under the age of 30. No children were harmed in the filming of this video.

Cake TV

Cake?

See the whole party experience in Ben's Photo Album. Oh, and the video is uploading, so check back soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!!!!!!!!

One year ago....

....and now

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! More later with party pictures and maybe even some Ben TV.

Don't forget about the Noni Number

Mamaw & Papaw Jive

Mommy & Ben Disco

New Shoes & Charlie Chaplin

More in Ben's Photo Album

Finger(Foot)Painting and Swimming

Ben & Niko let their creative side shine yesterday. Apparently, Niko prefers using his chest and face as his canvas, while Ben prefers painting with his feet. And how to clean up? Jump in the pool. What a tough life.

Ben on the Cob

I think this boy has some Iowa in him afterall.