Ben Turns 2 (part 2)

So for Ben's actual Birthday weekend, the 17th/18th, Nick and I stuck around home and enjoyed our little boy all to ourselves.  Actually, Nick spent most of the weekend with Mike putting together Ben's birthday gift, a new playset for the backyard (literally I think between the 2 of them they worked for about 10 hours on Saturday and another 5 on Sunday).  And I, on the other hand, played with Ben and his buddy Owen, baked a cake, and supervised the building project:)  So here are some great pics of Ben enjoying his friend Owen, some chocolate cake, and his new playset!

Ben Turns 2 (part 1)

Yes- you read that title correctly- Ben is a big 2 year old now!!  And there are multiple posts for his birthday celebrations, which have been taking place for a week or so now.  We'll start with showing some fun pics from our weekend in Francesville last weekend.  This was the official last "travel" weekend before baby girl Vollmer arrives, and a great way for us to visit lots of family for Ben's birthday.  Ben got to see 3 out of 4 of his Great-Grandma's (and a couple of Great Grandpa's too), 4 out of 6 of his Grandparents, and of course his lovely aunts Caity and Lolo (with a Frankie thrown in there too!).  Here are some of my favorite shots from that weekend...

Ben loved putting all sorts of coins into his new construction pig piggy bank from Nana.

A rare shot of the 3 of us 

 Grandma made Ben some delicious chocolate cupcakes- even some pretty heart shaped ones;)

Getting ready to blow out the candles! 

The Birthday Boy shoveling in some cake... and his auntie Lolo who also was celebrating a birthday- the big 2-2!! 

Precious chocolatey face...

Okay, tomorrow you'll see the most precious post of Ben singing happy birthday to himself- you won't believe the cuteness:)

If I knew you were comin' I'd have...

...you know the rest of that little song, right?  I had so much fun making Ben's birthday cake from scratch this year- he'll be in chocolate heaven!  (okay, so will I)  It's a triple layer chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting.  'Nuff said.  

Stay tuned for pictures from his Birthday tomorrow, and what this cake looks like after Ben and I get a hold of it:)

I'm alive... and very pregnant

So I took a little hiatus from blogging over the last month.  Life continues to stay busy and before I know it I haven't a thing about what we've been up to!  I am almost 37 weeks pregnant now, and we have about  3 weeks until baby girl's birthday, which is scheduled for April 9th!  So unless she decides to come early, we are trying to maximize our time over the next few weeks enjoying Ben as much as possible.  My pregnancy has been about as easy as the last one- only dealing with swollen legs from the knee down.  I can't really recognize my feet as my own, but I know this baby will be worth it!

So I'll share a few of my favorite photos from the last month or so... then stay tuned for some upcoming posts for Ben's Birthday, Baby Girl's nursery, and more!

Mom, Carrie, and I celebrated our January/February birthdays with a family dinner and a delicious coconut cake- my favorite! 

Mom's famous coconut cake... only took her 3 tries to get it right this year:) 

Too cute not to share!

Playdate with my bud Owen- soon to be a very close neighbor!  Why not sit in the toy bins? 

What month is this?

If you have spent any time outside over the last week or so, you might be as confused as I am!  We have been so fortunate to have a mild winter so far this year, and to top that off some beautiful unseasonably warm and sunny days in the month of ... February?!  I'll take it!  We have even had a chance to let Ben burn off some energy and play outside- check out this little dude.

These sunny days also came just in time for Nick to be able to throw some wings on the grill for Superbowl Sunday!  Yummmm:)

A night out on the "Super Bowl" town!

As all of you know, the Super Bowl is coming to our hometown next weekend and Indianapolis is really making a transformation in preparation for the big event.  Nick and I hit the town Saturday night with Mike and Erin- thanks to some great babysitters staying behind to watch Ben and Owen (thank goodness for Grandparents!).

We started our night with a quick walk through the circle to check out the sites.  The crowd was pretty heavy already, even with the blistery cold winds.  I can't imagine how it will be by next weekend!

Super Bowl "46" sign in front of the monument 

Erin and I with an attempt to get a picture of ourselves in front of the sign- not the greatest angle for getting the full effect in the background (or for my face!)  

Me and my hubby

After a walk through the circle, we hit up our next destination- Capital Grille for a delicious dinner.  Nick and I had never been, and it definitely lived up to the Watts' description and our expectations!  

Several calamari, crocks of soup, and steaks later, we left the restaurant to stroll down towards Georgia street.  From east to west, Georgia street has been completely transformed into a pedestrian walkway with a huge stage/concert area at one end, a zip line at the other, and several bar areas in between.  It was very chilly, but extremely cool to see Indy take on the look of a completely different city.  

We ended our night with tickets to the NFL Experience inside of the Convention Center.  There was shopping, huge rooms set up with NFL memorabilia such as the Lombardi Trophy, and then and massive area for games and other football related events.  Nick and Mike were in football heaven, and even got Erin and I to take part in the action.  

Nick getting ready to show off his quarterback worthy arm... 

We actually got to see a station set up where they were making footballs, sewing the laces on and everything.  I was pretty impressed! 

This is apparently Nick's tough guy face, throwing up his guns just like the statues in the background.  What a guy:)

Puppy + Ring = Good Weekend for Lindley

This weekend turned out to be a very eventful one for Nick's sister Lindley!  The Christmas gift that her boyfriend Frank got for her was a brand new little boxer puppy, AKA Ruby.  Ruby wasn't quite ready to leave her momma at Christmastime, but finally this past Friday it was time for her to go to her new home!  We were all very excited for Lin to have her- such a sweet little doggy!  They dropped by the house so Gunther and Ruby could get acquainted.  She might look tiny next to Gunther now, but give her a few months and that probably won't be the case!

Look how sweet she is- her skin is all wrinkly still! 

A glance at the size difference- makes Gunther look huge! 

Either Ruby missed her momma and was looking for a little snack, or she really just wanted to get to know Gunther a little better:)

Ben also loved Ruby- I wonder how he'll feel about her when she is 3 times his size!

Well the story definitely doesn't stop here!  Not only did Lindley and Frank stop by to introduce us to Ruby, but they also had very big news... they are ENGAGED!  Turns out when Frank gave Ruby to Lindley earlier in the day, Ruby had a beautiful ring tied around her neck with a pink ribbon.  Nicely done Frank!  We are so excited for both of them and look forward to planning a wedding this year!