Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is in the air. I know this because I see presents everywhere, more cars than normal at the malls and more food has entered my mouth in the past weekend than I care to admit. Strangely enough, though, it is like Christmas in (Massachusetts) July down here. Ok maybe not July...definitely May though. Yesterday the girls were out shopping while the men were home watching the Patriots. We were out in light shirts and no jackets and it was Christmas Eve. It is so nice to not have to be bundled up to get to your car and then overheating in Target. I love it!! While I was hoping to see a few flakes fall just to get into the Christmas spirit, I am happy that our Christmas travels will be enjoyable....for the whole 1.8 miles we have to drive to Todd's house.

Ben is still asleep, obviously not a child who understands Christmas since it is almost 7. I think he will enjoy the presents we have for him here. At Cameron's birthday party, Ben loved the paper and the action....in fact, I dare say he enjoyed it more than his own party a month ago. Now that he is walking all over the place, I think he can really get into it.

Anyway, have to get ready to start the day and then get Ben up for some presents before heading over for our real Christmas where I am willing to bet he is getting a crazy amount of gifts from everyone. Since my mother cannot even remember what she bought at this point because she bought so much, I think it is a safe bet that we will take some gifts for playing now, and use the rest to fill up the minimal remaining space in our storage unit until we move.

Presents and food...what could be better??

Hope everyone enjoys their day! Merry Christmas :)

Ben Walking to Mommy

Ben is really getting this walking thing down!! He loves to chase his mommy and daddy and the Phoebe cat. In this delightful video, Ben has learned to walk and talk on the "phone" at the same time. Hopefully these videos will be a lot more clear once we start using our video camera instead of our digital camera. Enjoy!

The first 9 weeks

We have been in NC almost 9 weeks now. It has been a great experience so far. I feel like we are so carefree here. We still have most of our responsibilities from MA (work, Ben and general life things), but it seems like we can just be out and about without a care. It is wonderful. We spend every weekend exploring some place new and checking out the sites. We are starting to know which roads lead where and how to get to different towns.

This past weekend, we went to Chapel Hill, home of UNC. It was nice over there. The street signs around the college are Carolina Blue and there are lots of restaurants. A very college feel. Even the McDonalds had a UNC theme (mascot painted on the wall, ACC competitors logos on another wall).

Things to get used to in NC:
1. tax on clothes
2. What it means to take "the Beltline"....I know its a highway....I'll get it someday

Things to love in NC:
1. Being home from work before 4:30
2. Not selling your first born to buy a nice home
3. Feeling like Ben is dressed too warm in a jacket and long sleeved shirt
4. 75 degree days after Thanksgiving :)
5. Not wearing a winter coat yet and it is December 4

Note the theme on the last 3...it is warm here. No, not Caribbean warm, but warm. Like, once the day is started, I don't wear a jacket (and I am one of the coldest people I know!). A long sleeved shirt will do. No sweaters have come out of their drawers yet. We had the AC on last week and fans on, at least during the afternoon hours, everyday. It is awesome.

Anyway, I have rambled enough. I didn't have anything to really write about, hence the lack of blogs. I am trying to spend as little non-work time on the computer. I have been pretty successful except for Christmas shopping. Usually it is a battle to keep Ben away from me long enough to write an email anyway.

And on the Ben note, he has learned to turn. Until today, all of his walking has been in a straight line, only to drop to the floor when he is done. Now he turns, both left and right, to get where he wants to be. He is hell on wheels and we love it. He also loves the phone. I think he is so used to me talking my mom on the phone that he developed a habit of pretending to talk on the phone by copying me. And, whenever I am on the phone, he pretends to talk to and sometimes steals the real phone away to chat. Luckily, Grandma can entertain him pretty well.....she likes to try and entertain Ben even though he typically only recipricates with a grunt, groan or some heavy breathing.