Ornery Little Boy

This is one little boy who has proven himself to be ornery, mischievous and just a little bit of a stinker! Wishing you all a wonderful day!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Well, the Peelle house is starting to get ready for the holidays. There is something so magical about seeing Bennett excited for Christmas. His excitement and joy are so innocent and contagious.

Bennett admiring the Christmas Tree (or pulling off ornaments)

Bennett looking at his stocking

Life is Good!!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. So many wonderful people and opportunities in our life right now, which as most of you know, have kept us incredibly busy.


Since I have taken a 3-month hiatus from blogging. Here are some pictures from the fall. As always we spent a Saturday morning at Stoney Creek, picking out a pumpkin for Bennett. We had family pictures taken during the peak of leaves changing at Ft. Ben and of course we enjoyed Halloween.

Bennett was Tigger for Halloween. His latest obsession with My Friends Tigger and Pooh, keeps Graham and I singing the Super Slueth Oath most of the day!

Bennett picking out his pumpkin.



Hayride back from the pumpkin patch.

Bennett's "angry" face.

Bennett's "surprised" face

This Thanksgiving Holiday was a much needed break. It gave us an opportunity to spend time with family that we haven't seen since late summer (sorry Dad). It also gave us an opportunity to rest and relax.

We enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at our house on Thursday, lounged in our PJ's on Friday and will enjoy sometime with Grandma and Grandpa Peelle on Saturday.

Our Christmas Tree is up and the house is decorated for Christmas. December is shaping up to be another busy month but we are looking forward to the holidays.

Happy Birthday & Chicago

Happy 30th Birthday, Graham!!! We have a lot to share and this post is long so bear with me.

We decided to celebrate Graham's 30th birthday in Chicago. We left on Friday and headed up to Chicago for some baseball, shopping, food and fun!

We stayed downtown on Michigan Ave. which was convenient to all the shops and excitement. After we arrived Friday night, we decided to grab some dinner. We figured it wouldn't be a problem to find something to eat. After two hours of walking the city trying to find something to eat, we were actually hunting for ESPN Zone, we finally went back to the hotel to ask the concierge for a suggestion. We had a hard time finding a place that was kid-friendly and unique to Chicago. We didn't want to drive all that way to eat at a Weber Grill or TGIFridays. With some help from our concierge we decided to eat at a small Mexican restaurant called Su Casa. The food and Margaritas were delicious. Bennett fell asleep just as we were finishing up dinner. We walked around Michigan Ave and did a little bit of shopping before calling it a night.


On Saturday, Bennett had us up at 5:30am (6:30 Indy time) so we headed out to breakfast. We ate breakfast at a local greasy spoon. The women in the restaurant couldn't get enough of Bennett and he loved all of the attention. He was putting on a show. Bennett tried fresh squeezed orange juice for the first time and loved it (it was some of the best I have ever had).

After the rest of the city woke up, we did some shopping on Michigan Ave and hit two of three malls. One of our favorite stores was the Lego store. We bought Bennett his first Duplo Lego set. I had no idea Legos were so involved.

Mid afternoon we headed to the White Sox game. This was an experience!!! We took the subway with Bennett and were stuffed on the subway with so many people and smells. It was so hot, I even told Graham I don't think I had ever seen him sweat that much. Once we arrived at the ballpark we had great seats and even better seats when the moved us to handicap seating so Bennett could stay in his stroller. Bennett really enjoyed the game. He kept clapping and saying "Ball." The little guy tuckered out around the bottom of the fourth inning. We were able to watch the game and not chase a toddler around.

The top of the 9th inning, the sox lost the lead to a home run. Bennett was in a deep sleep and as soon as the batter hit that home run Bennett sat up (in his sleep) and started clapping. It couldn't have been more perfect timing.

After the game ended, we were hot and exhausted but we made our way back on to the hotel. I am a huge fan of public transportation but I had my share after this weekend.

If there is anything consistent about Bennett it's that he is an early riser. Sunday morning at 6am we were up and enjoying breakfast at The Corner Bakery. We finished up our shopping with a 40 minute wait to get into Garretts and a milkshake from Ghiradelhi at 9:30am.

We headed down to Navy Pier to walk around and take in the sights from the Air and Water show. Sunday afternoon, we were exhausted and ready to come home.

Bennett making his dinosaur roaring noise at the Lego Store

Graham and Lego Man

Bennett asleep after the Lego Store! All the excitement wore him out

Lunch at Rainforest Cafe! A highlight of the trip. The food wasn't great but the atmosphere was awesome and Bennett saw a lot of MONKEYS!!!!

Bennett and Daddy getting attacked by a snake!

My boys!!! Don't you love their plaid

Save the rainforest

Bennett clapping and cheering at the Sox game.

Sox game

At Navy Pier! Bennett sportin the shades. This kid loved his sun glasses!

Lake Michigan

Daddy and Bennett

Chicago Skyline

Mommy and Bennett

Helicopters at the Air show.

Cutie!!!

Bennett loved the air show. He would squat down and point to the airplanes.

Those are the planes Bennett was trying to get a better look at in the picture above.

We had a great time in Chicago. It was an exhausting weekend but we enjoyed spending time together and it's great to watch Bennett experience these things. We know he won't remember it but his joy and excitement leave memories and warmth in our heart.

What a nut!!!

So the last few days I have had so much trouble sleeping and ironically, Bennett has been sleeping so well. Well this is about night four of being restless, so I decided to clean up the pictures on my phone.

Here are a few pictures from July and early August. Bennett is such and nut and has so much personality.

You just know he just did something he wasn't supposed to. That smile says it all

"Geesh Mom"

Notice the kitchen utensil in his hand. Yep, that's about right. I find pots, pans, cutting boards, utensils you name it all over the house, especially in the loft and his bedroom.

I promise, I don't put my kid in a cage. He thinks it hilarious to crawl into the dogs crate and sit in there. We now have the dogs' crates and bedding area secluded to prevent any accidents... but really kid???

Lastly, I just thought I'd share my latest obsession. I was looking through the Pottery Barn Kids fall catalog and I fell in love with a bedroom set for Bennett's big boy bed (coming in the future). I dog-eared the page and when I went back I noticed it was called the Bennett Collection. I knew it was meant to be. I haven't purchased any of the items (I wait for the sales) but this will be what we decorate Bennett's big boy room in. He hasn't outgrown the crib yet but he will soon. I am just planning as usual.

Oldies but Goodies

I was cleaning up some of the pictures on my phone last night and noticed these two pictures of Bennett. It brought a tear to my eye and warmth to my heart. My little boy is growing up so quickly. These were taken about 9-11 months ago.

Enjoy these oldies but goodies!!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

A video of Bennett acting like a monkey. It isn't great because I took it with my phone, but it was too funny not to share. Hopefully, we can get a good video this weekend.

Enjoy

He's Growing Up So Fast

Bennett is growing up so fast. He is talking all the time and has started climbing on everything. I feel like I just got done baby proofing and now I have started toddler proofing. I look over and he is climbing the gates or jumping off the couch. My heart drops to the bottom of my stomach every time I catch him climbing or jumping.

Bennett is staring at a spider. Notice the red marks on his face? It's the last of the red bumps from the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

Bennett enjoying breakfast!!!

One afternoon I couldn't find Bennett. I went into his room and he was pulling all of his clothes off the hangers and rehanging them up. I think he is going to be my little organizer.

Our Trip to Colorado

It has been a great ten days. We made our first trip to Colorado this past week. We arrived in Colorado and stayed the weekend with Theresa and Dick Schreiber. On Monday, we made our way down to Colorado Springs. It was a blast traveling with Bennett. I am sure this is only the first of our trips to Colorado. On Monday, we headed down to Canon City to the Royal Gorge. From a distance we viewed the world's largest suspension bridge. We hiked around and let Bennett explore before we headed back to our hotel in Colorado Springs.

Graham and Bennett with the Royal Gorge Bridge in the background.

As you will see in most of the pictures, I am sitting with Bennett. I still have my fear of heights but did better than I thought. Bennett and I at Royal Gorge.

On Tuesday, we decided to head up to Pikes Peak. Graham made the trip up Pikes Peak with his family when he was about 12 years old. Needless to say, it had been a long time since we were both up there. The drive was amazing. We stopped at several spots along the way to get out and walk around. We were able to see some wildlife.

Pikes Peak in the background. This was a few pictures on the drive up to Pikes Peak. We reached the summit which was an elevation of 14,110 feet. This was better than our drive up to Mt. Evans but driving a suburban made the roads feel tiny.

I am still in awe of those beautiful mountains.

After leaving Pikes Peak, we headed down to Cave of the Winds. Not really knowing what it was all about, we hiked through a dark cave with a group of people. It was a mile an half hike and Bennett was carried the entire time. It wasn't too bad carrying him except when it got pretty steep. We were so worried about dropping Bennett that we don't have too many pictures from that day but here are a couple of the stalagmites and stalactites.

Wednesday, we decided to head to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Garden of the Gods, and Seven Falls. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was on the highlights of our trip. The zoo is embedded in the mountain and the drive through the neighborhood to get there makes Zionsville/Carmel look like the slums.

A Mountain Lion-Up Close and Personal

Bennett and Daddy looking at the Grizzly Bears. Bennett had a great time imitating the animal sounds he heard.

Bennett feeding the giraffes

We could have spent many more hours at the zoo admiring the animals but we decided to head to Garden of the Gods for a picnic lunch.

Graham and Daddy at Garden of the Gods

Mommy and Bennett sitting at Garden of the Gods

The view from Garden of the Gods

After leaving Garden of the Gods we headed down to Seven Falls. The water falls and scenery were amazing.

The three of us at Seven Falls. It was a 225 staircase to the top. The stairs were incredibly steep. I made it up about 30 or so steps before my fear of heights set in.

Thursday we said farewell to Colorado Springs and headed into Denver. We spent the morning at the Denver Aquarium.

Graham and Bennett

A Sea Turtle

Bennett found a buddy

Bennett found a little cave that he could hide in and look up and see the fish. We eventually had to crawl inside and get him. See the next picture...

He wasn't happy when we pulled him out.

After the morning at the aquarium we made our was to Casa Bonita for lunch. We met up with some of my childhood friends. The Prybella girls (well two of the three). I haven't seen them in years, so it was wonderful to get to spend time with them. I am crossing my fingers that they make it out to Indiana this year.

Friday we made our way up to Estes Park. This is our favorite place in Colorado. Graham had never made it up to Trail Ridge Road. We made the drive with Schreibers. Here are the amazing mountains.

We spent all day in Rocky Mountain National Forest. We saw 30 plus Elk in a heard and then several other Elk just walking through the forest.

We spent the weekend at Theresa and Dick's visiting and resting. We were able to spend time with both Rod, Maren and Kristina and Rich. We had a great visit. We were very sad to leave but are glad to be home. It was a long but needed vacation. We return to work and school on Tuesday. We are already planning our next trip out there. I think we will give the 1,000 mile drive a try next time.