Ben's Christmas Checklist

Here's what it takes to ensure that Santa stops at your house and brings you presents - according to Ben.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We missed you all!

Our Christmas

Christmas Eve - Ben got a puppet show from us. He really enjoyed putting on shows for us. Although, a lot of the characters ended up being killed by the other one!!

All dressed up in our Christmas Best. This was right after church on Christmas Eve.

Ben eating some of Santa's cookies.

Ben's cookies, milk and note for Santa.

Christmas morning - right after Ben got up (as if you couldn't tell that).

Ben's presents from Santa - a Lego fire station, transporter truck and computer (so Ben can work just like his dad).

Ben's Ambulance

Ben got one of the many emergency vehicles he asked for from Grandma and Grandpa Polzin. Do you think he's stopped playing with it yet? Nope.

The Polar Express

Last weekend, Jim, Ben and I took a trip on the Polar Express to the North Pole to see Santa, Mrs. Clause and their elves. If you've ever seen the movie, this was very similar. We started on the east side of Sun Prairie where Ben met Mrs. Clause and got an authentic Polar Express "train" ticket. The Conductor yelled "All Aboard!" and punched Ben's ticket. Then we all loaded on the bus and drove to the "North Pole" (the Westside Community Center) to meet Santa and his elves. The elves were all decked out and greeted us at the door. They had hot chocolate, cookies and a goodie bag for us. Ben sat on Santa's lap and told him about all of the firetrucks, police cars and ambulances that he wants, and then Santa gave him a bell (just like in the movie). We then did a craft and hopped on the bus to go back home. It was a fun day - although our smart little boy questioned why the North Pole was in the same building where he goes to his music class!! You can't pull anything over that kid!

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

Here's Ben's rendition of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

National Night Out - August 2009

This is an annual event our city puts on where people can tour all the emergency vehicles (firetrucks, police cars, ambulances, etc.) As you probably guessed, this is Ben's dream!!

Here's a related story that just happened the other day. After watching one of Ben's Fireman movies, Ben said, "Mom, I want to be a Fireman when I grow up - just like Dad." I chuckled and told him that his Dad is not a Fireman. So, he said, "Then I want to be a Policeman."

Our Little Comedian

You may have heard some of Ben's "jokes." So, you'll understand when I say, that's the not the funny part of this video. What makes me chuckle is how heartily he laughs at his own jokes (kind of reminds me of his dad!!).

Our Singing Sports Fan

Here's Ben singing "On Wisconsin" with his dad. We've got to do a little more practicing, but I think he knows the words better than I do!

Some Pictures of Ben from this Summer

These 2 pictures are courtesy of Jill. I love Ben's smiles!
This was taken at the Madison Children's Museum. Ben had a blast there.

A couple of stories

Last week, Grandma Mostek was watching Ben. She took him to Aunt Jill's house to visit their new puppy. Ben's not a big puppy lover and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it. So my mom - trying to be a trouble maker for me - asked Ben if he wanted a puppy too. But Ben, trying to trump his cousins said, "No, I'M getting a baby!" Take that, Lily and Elizabeth!!
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I thought Ben had baby intuition. For the longest time, he said that he was going to have a sister. He named her Lucy - which we had no idea where that name came from (he doesn't know any Lucys). He even told his teacher and his friends about his baby sister, Lucy. We started to get a little worried that he'd be disappointed if we actually had a boy. So, I thought there had to be something to that. That maybe kids can sense these things.

As I was telling someone about Ben's baby intuition, I asked him, "So Ben, what are you going to have - a baby brother or sister?" expecting the response to be a sister. Well, he said he was having a baby brother - Sam. Today, he told Jim that he was having a baby brother, but this time he was naming him - Tom (cuz that's what Grandma Mostek said the name was). So much for intuition...

Baby Polzin

Jim prevailed, and we didn't find out the sex of Baby #2. Believe me, I tried pretty hard to change his mind, but he kept saying how great it will be when the doctor announces what it is when it's born!! Yeah, yeah - the planner in me disagrees, but I'll let him have this one. Anyways, here are some pictures of our 2nd little bundle of joy! It looked like the baby had it's feet up by its head the whole time. The ultrasound tech said he/she is very flexible!

Ben dancing at Badger Family Fun Day

My little gangster...

Ben and I went to Family Fun Day yesterday at Camp Randall. Jim was there promoting his book. Ben had a great time playing games, getting autographs, running on the field and as you can see, dancing!

Badger Family Fun Day

SO Big!

This is how Ben measures how big he is. Looks pretty accurate!

My Sweetheart

As you may or may not know, Ben is convinced that I have a baby sister in my belly. Well, yesterday, I found out why he wants a baby sister. I was putting Ben to bed, when he said he wanted a baby girl (again). I asked why he didn't want a baby boy and he said, "Because a baby girl would be just like you, Mom. Then we'd have 2 girls and 2 boys!" Awwww...

He's also has been telling us how he loves us all the time - and out of the blue. We can be in separate rooms, and he'll yell, "Mom!" I'll say, "yes, Ben?" And he says, "I love you!" Not sure what's going on with this kid, but I'm liking it. Is it wishful thinking to hope that this behavior will last through adulthood??? Yeah, I guess I'm not that naive.

Our Little Fireman/Cowboy??

Can you sing Y-M-C-A??

My smart little boy

Today, Ben and I went for a bike ride (Ben rode his bike while I walked along side). He was slowly pedaling up a tiny hill, when he slowed down to whine, "Mom, I can't do it!" I gave him a little push and said, "yes you can!" He pedaled 3 more times before he tired out and whinily said again, "Mom - I CAN'T do it!" So, I said, "Ben, I don't want to hear that you can't do it. I want you to say, 'Mom, I can do it!'" So, he pedaled about 5 more times and then said, "Mom, I..." when I hastily interrupted him to say, "Ben, I said I didn't want to hear that you can't do it!" But then Ben said, "But I was just going to say, 'Mom, I love you.'" Oh, that smart little boy knows just the right buttons to push. Where does he learn this stuff??

Our Little Santa Claus

Last night, we were driving in the car, when Ben pointed to some random building and said, "that's where I go to work on my pooter (computer)." I asked what he worked on there. He said, "I find girls and boys that are nice or naughty." I prodded him more about his job. He said, "I give stickers to the nice kids and I fro (throw) away the naughty ones." OK... Not sure where he's getting this from. Then we drove by another building (that we've driven past a hundred times) and he says, "That's another place I work." Anxious to hear what he does at this building, I asked what he did. To which he replied, "I park my car on the roof and jump down the 'chim-i-ney'." I said, "Oh, it kind of sounds a little like Santa Claus' job." Which he then informs me, "Mom, I met Santa once, and he was really nice - so I gave him a sticker." Apparently, our Benjamin is the big guy behind the scenes making sure Christmas is merry and bright!!

4th of July Parade

Ben, Lily & Elizabeth had a great time squirting water at the people in the parade!

Our Silly Little Boy

All of these pictures were taken by Elizabeth. She did pretty good! (Check out his new buzz cut - it was his Dad's idea).

Yes, we feed him.

Like Father, Like Son

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Here's Ben singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." In the middle of the song, I think he says, "one, two, three bags of fun!" instead of "three strikes your out." Plus, he's chewing a piece of gum, so that slips him up a bit. So, it's pretty cute. He's such a little ham!

Our 8th Wedding Anniversary

Here are the flowers that Jim had delivered to my work on our 8th anniversary. Everyone was very jealous - can't say I blame them. What a sweetheart!

Who's the Boss?

This is the shirt that Brad and Kerri got for Ben. In case you can't read it, it says, "I may be small, but I'm the boss!" I'm sure we all know that it's the truth!