Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day, Eddie!

We visited Grandpa and Uncle Chris at the festival they were working. Ben liked "dancing" on the big counter!

Three Meiners Men!

My two favorite boys!

I couldn't ask for a better father for Ben - Eddie is an amazing man and such a good role!

These two are already best buddies!

9 Months Old!

Check out Ben's 9 month pictures, shot by Erin Dial (www.erindialphoto.com). She is the mom of one of my students at school, and she is amazing! We truly enjoyed working with her, and I can't say enough good things about Ben's pictures! To access them, go to:

www.erindialphoto.com

Click on blog (far right side)

Ben's should be the first ones there.

Enjoy!

The Little Things

I just love the little things about Ben that make him who he is... for example, he played with my Perrier bottle for a good 15 minutes the other day. Now, there were about 12 other toys on the floor next to him, but what did he gravitate toward - my bottle.

I'm thinking this is creative thinking on his part - or maybe just boredom?

A boy and his dog - Ben just LOVES Murphy! And I've got to give Murphy props, he is soooo good with Ben! He lets Ben pull his tail and grab his ears or fur and it doesn't bother him at all!

Look who's standing up!
This is his new favorite activity - standing. He pulls up on everything, which makes me very nervous... but he's having a grand ol' time!

And even though this one is a little dark and blurry, I just love the look on my peanut's face... and the fact that he's waving, which we've been working on!

Splash!

We took Ben swimming for the first time today! He really enjoyed it! He splashed and kicked and spent nearly an hour in the pool.

He wasn't a big fan of his float though - we think he's still a little small for it.

I sat on the side lines and was the official photographer of the day...

... it's almost like Ben's saying "seriously, Mom enough with the pictures already!"

Lions and Tigers and Bears - OH MY!

It was Ben's first trip to the zoo! We slathered on the sunscreen and went to check out the animals - and so did everyone else in Cincinnati!

Ben liked looking at the elephants - we even watched one give himself a bath!

Isn't he so cute in his hat??

Ben thought the lions looked like Murphy (our dog)!

Overall, it was a great family day!

Happy Mother's Day!

What a great Mother's Day! We hung out at home all day with our family and it was just perfect! Lots of food, playing, and cuddling - it doesn't get better than that! I am so grateful for Ben - I always wanted to be a mom, and I thank God that he chose me to be Ben's mommy!

Here's a sweet picture of the best gift ever - my gorgeous son!
(Thanks to Eddie for providing some good-looking genes! ;))

Eddie and Ben did a great job shopping!

What a great find! I just love wine bottle with fun names!

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the amazing moms I know!

Daddy Time!

Check out my handsome boys! Ben and Eddie wore matching Polo shirts to Brody's baptism last week (shockingly, I didn't plan it!). They both looked so darn cute - as always, I was proud to call them my own!

Just hanging out on a Monday with Daddy!

Whatcha lookin' at?

Ben is so lucky to be able to spend Mondays with Eddie while I'm at work - we call them "Daddy Days!" Eddie is such an amazing daddy - he's patient, kind, and just plain fun! Ben laughs all the time when he's with Eddie. I'm so thankful they are able to have their "boy time" together!