Retirement and Halloween

Sunday November 1 was a big day for Ben's parents. His dad Don, retired after 28 years of service at Our Saviours Lutheran church in Cannon Falls. Avonne also retired as the church secretary. It was a very special day for the both of them. After the morning service, there was lunch and a special program at 2:00. Don and Avonne sat up front and for an hour, we sang and told stories. People stood up and told them how their ministry impacted their lives. They are wonderful people, and the church was blessed to have them serve for 28 years. Happy retirement!!!!
Happy Halloween!! Our dragon was pretty tired. He slept through most of the trick-or-treating.

A visit to Grandma Lindell's house. Noah was a frog, and Griff was a dragon. They were soooooooo stinkin' cute!

Playing with Dad.

Bekki's Burthday and more

Sunday Oct. 25, we went to Mom and Dad's for supper to celebrate my 25th Birthday. It was fun and low-key. Here are a couple of pictures of Griffy. He looked so old-fashioned in his pajamas and mom's old blanket.


Rolling outside.

Sitting up in his high chair.

Hello, I'm 5 months old today! Just looking as cute as ever.

Visit at Grandma Lindell's Oct. 24

By the end of the visit, Griffy was wiped out. He fell asleep with his thumb in his mouth, just as I was holding him. Precious.
Griffin and Mandy talking away! He thought she was pretty fun!

Sissys! It was just soooo much fun to see Kelly and her kiddos. You too Mrs. Michelle!


Little Anna is getting so big. She is just adorable!! Who knew Justin could make someone so cute??

Rolling to his tummy, big boy!

Dad's Birthday Oct. 13, 2009

Mom and Griffin

This was taken when we were celebrating Katie's birthday at Mom and Dad's house at the beginning of October. Griffy thinks Grandma Val is very funny!

Katie's Birthday

4 months old today!! Sept. 28, 2009

Griffin is 4 months old today. He was soooo happy this morning after sleeping for 9 hours straight!!! Awesome! He usually sleeps for 5-6 hours, then 3 hours, so last night was a treat!

Playing in his Jump-a-roo!

Camping September 26

Camping makes a little boy very tired.
Telling stories by the fire.

Katherine was throwing up all day Saturday. She did not feel good and it showed. Poor girl.

Michelle and Katherine. She only wanted Mom that day. No one else would do.

Camping and More

Jamie and Michelle Stay invited us for the weekend to their camper in Winona, so this past weekend, we went!! It was very relaxing, especially for Griffin. He was getting tired, so Ben set him behind me because he needed to do something. The little guy found his thumb and put himself to sleep, right there. Funny boy.
Don't worry Mom, he wasn't there for long. And I made sure he could breathe.

Smiling at Dad.

My guys.

Ben blowing bubbles with his gum for the kids. They loved it.
Katherine, William and Ryan.

Griff figured out how to hold onto a raddle and get it to his mouth! He figured it out this weekend and he just loves it.

Oops, it fell on my face. How do I get this off of here?

Early September

Hanging around the house.
Noah and Griff playing on the floor. Noah's goofy smile.

Smiley boy!

Sept. 4, me, Ben, Katie, Jeff, Mom, Dad, Justin, Mandy, Brendon and Shelly went to see Jim Gaffigan (spelling??) at Treasure Island. We went to a Mexican Restaurant before the show and the boys were REALLY feeling festive and ordered strawberry margaritas! They were really tasty and really girly. And the show was very fun.

Cute Sunday outfit.

Griffin Talking to Ben

Making Salsa

So Katie and I decided we need to start canning. Good idea. I learned to wear a glove when chopping jalepeno peppers. My hand burned for hours, so this is me soaking my hand in cold milk. Surprisingly, it really helped... until I took it out.
Here is picture of our 17 jars of salsa!! We were so very proud of ourselves that it acutally turned out! All those years of watching Mom can tomatoes paid off!

Exhausted.

P.S. No, we did not plan to wear to same outfit, it just happens. All the time.

Katie brought down the Jump-a-roo for Griff to try. He loved it!!!!! But Noah thought he should give it a whirl again too. He was just a little too big for it. It was so funny.

Griff in his Jump-a-roo. So much fun!!

August 23, 2009 Griffin's Baptism

Three little heads peeking over the pew.

Grandpa Don putting the water over his head and blessing him.

A prayer for our little man. This was really special to have Don baptize his son Ben, and his Grandson.

Griff's Godparents Pam and Chris Bakken (Ben's brother and wife.) They had baby number 6 yesterday Sept. 24. A little girl with 5 big brothers.

Hanging out on the porch. It was a beautiful day.
Ben's Godmother Olive and a crabby Griff. I soon discovered why he was so crabby when I changed his diaper.

Some of the Bakken boys- Daniel, Matthew and John.

Dad looked so sharp that day.

The grill master. We had a great lunch of grilled pork loin, cheesy potatoes, salad, homemade bread, corn on the cob, lime dessert and root beer floats. Yummm.

Grandpa Don picking a fight.

Sitting in the shade by the tree before lunch.

This is what Noah is doing when you say, "Smile!" What a goof. He also took a dive into the gravel the day before and scraped up his nose and forehead. Poor guy.

Griffy's newest discovery... his thumb!!! What a lifesaver, and it is so darn cute.

12 Weeks Old

Here is our big boy- 12 weeks old today! He is soooo darn much fun! He is laughing and smiling all the time. He found his left thumb last night too! He has been sucking on his hands like crazy, but can only get the knuckle of his pointer finger in his mouth. Last night when he was done nursing, he got his thumb in his mouth!
Smiley boy! I got back to work on Monday and I can't tell you how much I am dreading it. I'm not anxious about his daycare, I just haven't been away from him for more than 4 hours and that is PLENTY. I'm very ready to be with him after 4 hours of being away. So I'm really axious about going to work all day. When people ask when I' m going back to work, I get all teary-eyed
when I talk about it. Uh.

The last three months have been such a joy. Being home with Griff has been the biggest blessing to me.

Griff talking

Griffin Smiling