Happy Father's Day!

Our Father's Day celebration this year was pretty low key, but really turned out to be a great day. Scott and Cathy came down to for the afternoon on Sunday, bringing along Nick's Grandma Lois and her husband Ron. We had a great time just playing outside with Ben (thankfully the rain had cleared off) and then Nick prepared us a feast on the grill using his new favorite gadget, the iGrill. It was a relaxing and fun afternoon!

Scott, Ron, Ben, and Nick

A sad attempt at trying to get a picture with Ben- he is at an age where it is impossible to get him to sit still long enough to snap a picture!

Ben watches intently as Grandpa draws him a picture on the driveway

I know this tub is for my toys, but I'll just climb in here and rest a while, okay?

A House Guest for the Summer

As many of you may know, Nick's sister Lindley is staying with us for a few months this summer. After graduating from Purdue in May (congrats Lin!) she was lucky enough to find an internship in the Noblesville area, which gives her some time to continue to search for the perfect full time job. SO, that means that Nick, Ben, and I have Lin to keep us company for a few months, and as Nick and I like to say, we have a live in babysitter! So far so good- we are about 3 weeks in and it is turning out to be fun for all of us. Ben loves having his "Aunt Lo-Lo" around to play with him... see for yourself...

Ben and Aunt Lin playing outside. Seriously- was Ben posing for this picture or what?!

Aunt Lindley even lets Ben drink out of her cup with a straw. I wouldn't drink after him if I were you Lin- I think most of what he takes up is going right back down into the cup:)

After much debate and discussion, we came to some living terms as far as what Lin would give us for letting her stay here for the summer. I mean, after all, we weren't going to charge her outlandish rent, but there needed to be some sort of understanding in place so that this little living arrangement didn't turn out to cause a rift in the family after 3 months. So Lindley had several ideas of things that she could bring to the house for "contributions" for the summer. For example, she has a self-proclaimed fantastic nail polish collection that I have at my disposal at all times. This is a pretty sweet deal so far, right? Lin also brought a big jar of homemade salsa from a good family friend, and she shared that with us too. And let's not forget the free babysitting- that has worked in our favor a couple of times already!

I would have to say though, her best contribution to date was the S'more maker. Yep, that's right. A S'more maker. No fire needed here folks, just build up your s'more with chocolate and a marshmallow tucked into graham crackers, and pop it into the s'more maker in the microwave. 20 seconds later you can close your eyes, take a bite, and you might think you are 5 years old at a bonfire. Check it out...

The infamous S'more maker in action

We're glad to have you here Lin! What will you bring to the Vollmer household next?!

Splash'n'Slide

With the nice weather we have FINALLY had lately, Ben wants to literally spend every waking minute outside. He loves it. We've tried to keep the toy selection up to snuff out there, and thankfully he was well stocked during his first birthday party. In addition to the slide, swing, wagon, and several bouncy balls, we have recently added a splash pool (a must have for these 90 degree days). It was a huge hit with Ben on Memorial Day! Check him out...

I'm not sure if you can see his face that well in this picture, but it reflects true happiness:)

After attending his best friend Owen's birthday party, Ben had a little case of lawnmower jealousy. Owen got a shiny new push mower for a birthday gift... so since Daddy is a sucker he went out and bought Ben one of his own! The hours of entertainment this will provide are well worth it!

Take me out to the ballgame...

This year for Nick's birthday I decided to surprise him with a day/night away in Chicago. Well what would a trip to the windy city be without taking in a game at Wrigley?! It was my first time to Wrigley Field, or any professional baseball game for that matter, and Nick loves the Cubbies. We were both so excited, both for the game and a little one on one time with each other!

We drove up to Chicago early this past Saturday morning, dropping Ben off at my sister's house on the way (thank you Allison)! It was a day game, and luckily the rain held off until well into the eighth inning. Afterwards, we enjoyed a little time out on the town shopping and out to dinner. It was the perfect getaway.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around we were excited to pick Ben up and spend the rest of our Memorial Day weekend relaxing at home as a family. Below are some of our captured moments from the game! Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be a "W" for the Cubs, but the beer and ballpark hotdogs were worth it;)

The birthday boy taking it all in!

The famous ivy wall. I still can't get over how much smaller the ballpark looks in person vs. on tv!

Yup, that's me with a Cubby Bear hat on!

A week in the Sunshine State

We just returned from a week of pure bliss. 8 nights, 7 full days, at Mom and Ralph's beautiful condo in Clearwater, Florida. Over the years of traveling down to Clearwater, we truly have grown to love the area. Maybe it is the familiarity of it, or that you know it is clean and safe. Whatever it is, I always know that I can truly "relax". And that is what we did.

Nick's Dad Scott and his wife Cathy travelled with us for the first few days. It was so nice to have extra hands there to help with Ben. Nick and I were actually able to go on a date one night! We enjoyed having them there and Ben loved having his Grandpa and Grandma there too. They flew out Tuesday and we spend the last half on our own, just the 3 of us. The whole week was perfect, I wouldn't change a thing!

I'll be honest, these following pictures capture the true heart of what this vacation was. Pool, beach, play with Ben. That was our agenda. And I'm really beginning to wonder what in the world I took pictures of before Ben was born?! I mean seriously- EVERY picture since March 18th 2010 on my camera has been of Ben!! I guess I shouldn't complain, he's pretty much worth it:) So here are our pictures of BEN on vacation!!

Ahhh... the $10 Meijer special umbrella stroller- we bought this specifically knowing that it would get beat up in the airport and back and forth to the pool/beach ect. It was the best $10 that we have ever spent!

Our first morning at the condo- and yes- this is Ben OFFICIALLY walking! He is now off and running- well okay maybe just off and walking- but he is doing a great job! Nick and I were happy to watch him during this transition.

Picture #1 of "the foot". For meals, Mom has this clamp on the side highchair seat that we attached right to the counter- it worked out perfectly. Except... little man felt the need to have his foot up and through the top of the chair while he was eating. Doesn't that look uncomfortable?! Every meal- here comes the foot.

All greased up in his new swim shirt and spf 60+ sunblock... I'm ready to swim Mom!!

Add matching plaid swim trunks and a plaid hat for more sun protection... now he's really ready to go!

Chillin' by the pool with Dad- notice the new hat. Mom bought Ben this blue speedo hat that is made of special material to act as sunblock- he miraculously left in on pretty much the whole time!

Mommy and Ben taking his first swim in the pool. It didn't take long before the raft was out and he preferred jumping off of the side and into the water and whoever was close enough to catch him:)

Now down to the beach- I'm not sure about this Dad.

Posing with Mom- behind us is one of the beautiful views off of the balcony of the condo.

Playing with Grandma and Grandpa by the pool- I told you we didn't do much of anything!

Out to dinner at Backwater's- Ben must not have been too thrilled with the Elmo bib that he was wearing.

Okay- nearing the end of the week and the blue speedo had wasn't such a big hit anymore!

Picture #2 of "the foot"

Ben on the beach- the tall building in the background on the right is where we stayed.

I love this shot- captures the essence of our vacation.

Gyro Bowl

You've all seen the infomercial and thought to yourself, "no way a toddler can carry that bowl around full of cheerios and not spill anything." Well, my friends, I'm here to tell you, it can happen... and the Gyro Bowl is here to help!

For those of you that haven't seen it, it is a bowl-like contraption that is supposed to make spilling virtually impossible. Here is a picture from their website so you get a better idea...

Now, just as a disclaimer, it works perfectly if your toddler is holding the bowl, maybe a little wobbly, maybe even attempting to walk and carry the bowl at the same time. BUT, it does not work so well when your toddler chucks the gyro bowl of cheerios across the room.

Little Ben loving his new Gyro Bowl full of Cinnamon Cheerios! Thanks Grandma Braun!

Catching Up...

I'm embarrassed that it has been a month since I last posted anything on here. I really wish that I had some amazing story or really fascinating excuse, but the truth is it's been a busy month and blogging was a little low on the priority list! And that sums up the glamourous life of a working Mom:)

We have honestly been very busy. Since Ben's birthday celebration we've had baby showers to attend, more birthday's to celebrate, and even a quick weekend work trip to Orlando. All that and keeping up with a one year old- you get the picture!

Ben is doing great. He is like a little sponge, repeating and mimicking our every word and movement. A few of my favorites:

• He is now saying "Allllll done" when he finishes a meal or snack. This comes out more like "Awwww duh"
• He is standing on his own with no assistance and yes, just tonight he actually took his first couple of steps! Long way to go before he's walking, but it's a start!
• Everything round in shape is "ball" to him. This is by far his favorite word. All of his toy soccer, baseball, basketballs= "ball". Blueberries= "ball". Rocks= "ball". Easter Eggs= "ball". We're working on this one.
• He gets a hold of my cell phone and holds it up to his ear like he's talking. Do you think this is a sign that I'm on my phone too much?

Here are some cute and random recent pictures. By the way, notice that fine looking haircut in the piano pictures! His botched haircut from cookie cutters finally grew out, so I took him to my hair lady in Fishers and she did a fantastic job:)

Ben's new shoes for summer- little Keen's! It was no easy task to track down a shoe to fit his little round foot- this is as close as it gets.

One of his favorite things- pounding away on the piano. I like to think I'm giving him lessons but I think that might be a little premature.

Bathtime! Daddy gave him a little suds hat:)