Christmas 2010

The Juliano-Zibel family had a great, quiet, cozy Christmas weekend at home. On Christmas Eve, we took Benjamin to see the train exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Gardens before having some friends over for dinner. On Christmas Day, Benjamin spent the day opening presents and making coffee in his new kitchen. His parents did a little cooking in the real kitchen for our neighbors who came over for dinner with Benjamin's little (girl)friend, Lizzie. See pics below.

Christmas 2010

Halloween!

Benjamin had a great Halloween weekend. On Thursday he had his parade at school; Friday, we went to Hillaween @ Eastern Market; Saturday he had his first piece of candy (a lollipop); and Sunday he rode around the neighborhood looking at all the dressed up kids and decorated houses.

Here are some pics from each of the festivities, including carving a pumpkin the weekend before.

Halloween 2010

Pumpkin Picking

We're checking all our fall activity boxes and last weekend went pumpkin picking. Despite the stink bugs and the heat, we had a fun time. Benjamin petted a goat, and saw some chickens, rabbits, and baby pigs. We also got to take a hay ride to the pumpkin patch pulled by a tractor, which Benjamin thought was pretty cool. Pictures are below.

Pumpkin Picking 2010

A Few Fun Things

We've been remiss and so here are several updates.

Two weeks ago we went apple picking at Stribling Orchard in VA, the same place we went last year. Link to that album is below.

This weekend, Benjamin got his first tricyle, a Kettler one that mom and dad can push him on. Even though his feet don't yet reach the peddles, and his negligent parents have yet to get him a helmet, he had a good time trying it out yesterday. And as you can see from the pics below, the box it came in was pretty fun too.

And videos of a bunch of stuff are coming soon once Dan edits them.

Apple Picking 2010

Tricycle (and Box)

Go Nats!

The Juliano-Zibel Family had a great Labor Day weekend. Courtney, Travis, and Grady came to visit us and a good time was had by all - the boys sort of played together in the house, the park, the zoo, a spray park, etc. - suffice to say a lot of energy was expended by Benjamin and Grady over the past 72 hours.

While the Millbrooks went to Air & Space and headed to the airport, we went to the Nats-Mets game, as we've had these tickets for months. Benjamin did his best to date at a baseball game, lasting into the 6th inning (better than both starting pitchers!). He probably could have stayed a bit longer, but his parents wanted to make sure he napped on the way home. Benjamin, we think, is still undefeated and is clearly a good luck charm for the Nats who crushed the Mets 13-7 - must have been his dancing. See video and pics below.

Labor Day Nats Game

Gettin down at Nats Park from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

15 months

Because the blog has become an online baby book of sorts, we thought we'd give an update from Benjamin's 15 month doctor's appointment today. Benjamin weighed in at 25 lbs, 8 oz, and is 32 1/2 inches long. In true Zibel form, he has quite the large head (90th percentile), while the rest of him is in the 75th percentile. But Dr. Kaplan said he's doing great!

Boyz at the Zoo

Just a few pics from our trip to the zoo with Benjamin and Ezra.

Colorado!

So Chrissie and Dan spent a week in Colorado while Benjamin stayed at home with Grammy and Grandpa Jack. While we certainly missed the little guy, it was a nice vacation. (And an early celebration of our fifth anniversary).

After one night in Denver (and a phenomenal dinner at Rioja), we headed out in our rented Chevy Cobalt to Breckenridge, Colorado. We spent the rest of the week hiking, rafting, biking, and just enjoying the scenery.

It was great to get away, but it's great to be back with the boy!

Colorado

the beach!

Over 4th of July weekend, we took a short trip to Chincoteague, VA for a few days at the beach. We don't have tons of pictures, and those that we have are more from the pool than the beach. But we had a blast!

Chincoteague 2010

First Hair Cut!

Benjamin got his first hair cut today and then spent the afternoon with Great Aunt Ellen and Uncle Allan, who were responsible for the yummy chocolate chip cookie Benj enjoyed after his hair cut.

First Hair Cut

Making a Splash

Benjamin is always splashing around in the tub or his little pool, but last weekend when temps hit 90+ (yes, it is only June...), we introduced him to a whole new world: the splash park. Just a mere 15 minutes away in a close-in Virginia suburb is a park that has everything - fountains, sand, and swings. What more could a boy (and his parents) want? The pictures do not show just how much fun Benj had, but needless to say, he had a blast.

In other news, Benjamin has gotten about 6 teeth in the last month or so and is working on cutting his 2nd (or possibly 3rd - it's hard to tell) molar. The molars are killer on everyone, so hopefully they'll come through already, and we'll all be done with it. He has practically mastered walking and has moved on to attempting to run, as well as climbing on anything and everything (like our entertainment center). Boys will be boys...

Splashin'

EZ has his priorities straight

Benjamin and cousin Ez went to the beach for a few hours today. It was only about an hour from DC -- and while it wasn't the prettiest beach we've ever been to -- it was a great day trip.

But one of the highlights of the day, was cousin Ez teaching Benj a little about sports.

They stink! from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Cousin TJ Visits Benj

Pictures from Benjamin's weekend with his (not so) lil' cousin TJ.

TJ Visits Benj

A Few More Firsts

Benjamin has had quite an eventful few days.

This past Friday, he had his one year doctor's appointment. He now weighs 23 lbs., 14 oz. and is 30 inches tall. His head continues to be in the 90th percentile :-) He got lots of shots and even had blood drawn, but he rallied like a champ and had a great weekend with his Grandpa Jim, Grandma Rhonda, Aunts Ali and Marissa, and little cousin TJ (pictures to follow).

We have previously reported that he was close to walking and his birthday present from Aunt Ali seemed to push him over the edge. It was pretty clear that Benjamin was ready to walk, he just didn't yet have the confidence to do so. Focusing on the basketball distracted him to take a few steps on Sunday afternoon and since then, he's been getting more and more bold! The video below is a compilation of Benjamin's steps from Sunday and Monday.

Benji Walks! from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Another set of videos from cousin Ez...

Two BZ/EZ videos for your viewing enjoyment!

Happy B-day cuz! from Alan Zibel on Vimeo.

Slide Already! from Alan Zibel on Vimeo.

Mother's Day

Two posts in one day... what a weekend. Below are a few pics from our day at the ballpark. Benjamin and Dan treated Chrissie to a fantabulous day. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Mother's Day 2010

A Weekend of Firsts

Benjamin had quite a weekend to celebrate his first year of life!

On Friday (his actual birthday) we celebrated, just the three of us, by going to the park after school and then having dinner at the brand new Ted's Bulletin restaurant.

Saturday morning Benjamin had his first cup of real milk without any complaint (fingers crossed that drinking milk sans bottle continues to be easy).

Later on Saturday, we had a BBQ with some of Benjamin's little friends, but mostly with our grown up friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. A good time was had by all - including two other firsts: Benjamin's first hot dog (Hebrew National All Beef) and his first piece of cake (with the slight exception of a bite from Ezra's birthday cake last week).

Pictures from the weekend are below with a few more likely to come after our Mothers Day spent at Nats Park. We're also hoping to post a video of Benj with his cake.

B's First Birthday (& Weekend Festivities)

Not quite Mexico, but its in the backyard!

As the sand and pool in Mexico was so much fun, Benjamin got to have a bit of that kind of fun in the backyard, courtesy of a birthday present from Noni and Papi. It's not quite Cancun, but it's certainly more convenient. If only there was guacamole...

Sand and Water Table!

More from Mexico...

At long last, another video from the beach in Mexico....

Sand! from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Booze cruise!

We promised videos of Mexico, and slowly but surely, they will come. On our boat ride back from Isla Mujeres, Benji was quite the little dancing machine...

Booze cruise! from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Mexico!

We just got back from our little jaunt to Mexico, where we stayed at the Riu Cancun. Dan and Chrissie had a great time. As for Benjamin? The pics say it all -- he had a blast. Swimming, playing in the sand, eating, and even sleeping. More details (and some videos) to follow -- but we wanted to get the pics up for all to see.

Mexico!

Nice knowing you!

After approximately 30 hours in Mexico, Benjamin is seriously considering moving here. A certain little boy has been having so much fun playing in the sand, swimming in the pool, crawling around, and eating lots of fresh fruit -- life doesn't get much better than this for a little guy! More pics to come when we get back!

Walking (Sort Of)

So Benjamin pretty much went from zero to sixty in the last 36 hours. He went from taking a few steps while holding our hands to walking across the house with the use of his little walking toy. Chrissie's predicting full-on walking by the time we're back from Mexico next week. Check out the video below.

In other news, today was Chrissie's last day of work! We leave Friday for Mexico, return Wednesday. She will start her new job at FDA on Monday the 12th.

Stay tuned for super cute pics of Benji at the beach!

I walk the line from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Spring has Sprung!

To celebrate Spring, we took Benjamin to the park on Saturday to try out the swings. He enjoyed them SO much, that we had to return Sunday morning with Cousin Ezra to do some more swinging. Benj is getting over his croup and still has a very runny nose so his excitement is tempered a bit by those issues. We're confident, however, that the next time we swing, there will be more smiles from ear to ear.

Weee!!!

Party Tricks!

Despite having come down with a mild case of croup this week, little Benjamin continues to grow. At his unscheduled trip to the doctor, the little guy weighed in at 22 lbs., 4 oz. -- approximately 15 lbs more than he was when he made is first appearance last May. Anyhow, we caught this video this morning and wanted to share.

How big is Benji? from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

TJ and Benj

Here are some pics from the cousins' bonding over the weekend. We were in NY for our new nephew, TJ's, Christening. You'll see there are several pictures where we tried to get the little ones together looking at the camera. There are also several pics of Aunts Ali and Marissa with Benj. So the babe that isn't Benjamin is TJ - pics can be found by following the link above to Rhonda's shutterfly account (so I can't add captions). There are some great ones of him smiling at the end. Enjoy!

The picture below is of Aunt Ali getting her first hug of the weekend from Benjamin just before the actual christening (check out his dapper outfit!).



But again, to see the album, click here!

Big Boy!

So Benjamin's teacher, Ms. Helena, kept telling us that she sits him at the table at school, rather than in a highchair, to eat his meals (the little babies use the highchairs!), and we were skeptical. So, she caught it on film (well, digitally, but you get the idea). The picture is below.




Benjamin also met his little cousin, TJ, this past weekend in NY. He's pretty cute, and we hope to post pictures of the two boys together soon (we actually went somewhere without our own camera, so we need to get our hands on the pics!).

Liftoff!

So after a few weeks of scooting backwards, crawling backwards, scooting along in a seated position (which is quite impressive)... Benjamin has figured out how to crawl forward. He's quite the fan of forward motion.

Crawling from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Bagels, Bread, and Beef!

Below are some pictures from the last 2 weeks.

Benjamin has discovered bagels, Dan made a gorgeous loaf of bread (challah), and just tonight, Benj tried beef. The (not so) little one is trying his hardest to eat any and all "table" food - whatever he can do with his 2 3/4 teeth (in addition to the bottom 2 - has about 1/2 of his top left and 1/4 of his top right coming through). He's now tried chicken, beef, and cheese, and is all about bread and yogurt too.

Last week we had his 9 month check up - his rate of growth is slowing (21 lbs. 4 oz., "just" the 50th percentile), while his height continues to mystify us (30 inches tall - nearly half way to Chrissie's height - which is the 90th percentile).

Finally, in the pictures below, you'll also see Benjamin finger painting this afternoon with Dan.

Enjoy!

Misc. Late Feb

Snowpocalypse! Or is it Snowmaggedon?

Whatever you call it, there's a lot of snow. Our guess is 20ish inches, and it's still coming down at a good clip. It's supposed to keep on snowing for at least the rest of the day. Around 11 AM, we took Benjamin out for a short walk. He seems to be liking the snow a little more this time!

Snowpocalypse!

Slip Sliding Away

Benjamin hasn't yet mastered the art of crawling - but he's getting there. As you can see, he's quite good at scooting backwards. At least until things get in his way.

Slip Slidin' Away from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Philly!

We spent last weekend outside of Philadelphia with Chrissie's best friends from college and their families - Courtney, Travis, and Grady (now 2 1/2) and Christian, Ashley, Carter and Alanna (the twins born way early last December). We all stayed at Chris and Ashley's new house and the kids had a ball with each other (and the adults did too!). The pictures below are mostly from the "Please Touch" museum in Philly, which was tons of fun. We can't wait to bring Benjamin back there when he can do more (Grady REALLY enjoyed it!).

Philly Trip

From cousin' EZ's blog

For those of you who aren't loyal followers of cousin' Ezra's blog, we thought you might appreciate this post -- to see just how well Benji and Ezra are getting along.

With the huggers from Alan Zibel on Vimeo.

Christmas/New Years 2009

Below is a link to pictures from Benjamin's first Christmas, ski trip, and New Years. We have several videos to go through as well - and they take a long time to upload - so you will likely see them in drips and drabs.

Enjoy!

December 2009

Clapping

Despite the many pleas (mainly from grandparents), we still haven't sorted through the photos from Christmas and our ski trip. We promise to do so soon.

In the meantime, check out B's new skill. Very impressive.

Clapping! from bnzvideo on Vimeo.