Christmas 2008
friends and family Archives
December 29, 2008
November 29, 2008
The Cutting of the Tree 2008
The Graf family made its 36th annual trek out into the wilderness to kill a tree in the name of holiday cheer.
November 2, 2008
Halloween Marathon Weekend
Halloween started at Ben's day care, with a party, a parade around the neighborhood, and then trick-or-treating at the retirement home next door. As you can see, Operation Elmo went down in flames. We gave it a shot, but probably would've gotten a visit from DCFS had we kept the costume on him.
Busy Week!
This week we had visits from Dr. Seth from California, and our cousin David from Florida. They were in Chicago for an ER doctor conference. Ben helped clean.
October 5, 2008
Family Fun
We extended Ben's birthday party to today, re-connecting with Grandma B and the Lunas at Honey Hill Orchards in Waterman, IL for some good old fashioned wholesome Americana family fun. We lucked out with the weather, as it quit raining pretty much right when we got there. The boys got to ride on a wagon behind a tractor, pet goats and rabbits, pick raspberries and pumpkins, eat waaay too many apple cider donuts, and generally just run around like crazypeople in the country.
October 4, 2008
2nd Birthday Party
Today we lucked out with some excellent fall weather for Ben's 2nd birthday party. Thanks for coming, everyone!
September 13, 2008
Rainy Saturday
(Ben)evolent Ruler gave us an unexpected reprieve this morning, sleeping until 9:30! Perfect timing to get up and go for brunch with Val, Jeff, Liz and Brad at Eleven City Diner in the south loop.
Later in the afternoon, Lisa decided Ben needed some good ol' fashioned stomp-around-in-the-rain time, so they did some gardening while dad went to the Jewel.
When I got back they were investigating a worm and pouring water out of the recycling bin. This eventually turned into "cleaning" off the porch by dumping water all over the place over and over. Look at that freshly painted porch!
Then, banana bread was made. And Ben helped! The photo on the right is the first one where I see some of Lloyd in Ben. That's a total Lloyd face.
August 23, 2008
Fox River Fun
We spent the day out at our friends the Yerkes' on the Fox River. They had constructed pretty much a wonderland of awesomeness for all the kids, with wading pools, giant floating rafts, a bouncy house, a friggin' snow cone machine, and jet ski and boat rides. Fun was had. Thanks Brad and Lisa!
Ben learned how to drive the Barbie Jeep
August 7, 2008
Some Long Overdue Updates
Lots of bits lying around on memory cards. Figure it's time to upload them to the Internerd.
A few weeks ago, The NYC Messleys came back to the Midwest for a little visit, and we got to meet Emma for the first time. She is ridonkulously cute, and will destroy boys with her smile.
July 7, 2008
Fourth Weekend Extravaganza
Ben had an action-packed, fun-filled good ol' American holiday weekend.
FUN!
We have a about a gajillion photos to update, but this one needed its own post. My Aunt Deb took this last week when Ben stayed overnight at Grandma B's with his cousins. They had a great time.
This photo stops me in my tracks. Every time.
June 21, 2008
Monkeys at the Zoo
Today the Luna(tic)s came into Chicago to hang with cousin Ben and go look at animals in captivity. Originally the plan was Lincoln Park Zoo, then it seemed like it was going to rain so we headed down to the Shedd, only to find absolute pure chaos; a beautiful day down by the lake, a giant country music concert at Soldier Field ($40 parking—really?) and perfectly timed road construction throughout the museum campus area.
So, we punted and headed back up to the zoo since the weather appeared to be cooperating. After lunch, John, Ben and AJ had a great time just running around being crazy kids on the lawn, eventually devolving into some belly-bump game that must be innate to kids. Ben was trying his best to hang in there, but it seemed like he was having the most fun being plowed over by John.
June 2, 2008
Jack's First Birthday
We spent yesterday afternoon celebrating Jack's first birthday with the Fullers and family and friends. It was great to see all the boys (Ben, Liam, Karthik, Jack) all very close in age having a great time together, mostly wreaking havoc at the sand and water table. I think these things are basically like craps tables, but for toddlers.
This series of shots of Ben and Karthik and a wagon is particularly entertaining.
May 26, 2008
Uncle Arn and Aunt Christie's Wedding
My brother Arnie got married over Memorial Day weekend in Harbor Springs, Michigan. It was a beautiful wedding and the weather was perfect. Ben had a lot of fun eating chocolate cake at the rehearsal dinner which was held by Little Traverse Bay where Christie's family has a sailboat. Welcome to the family, Christie!
May 11, 2008
Conversation
Me: Hey, John! So are you and AJ excited for T-Ball?
John: Yeah!
Me: Are you gonna hit the ball real hard?
John: Yeah! You gotta come see me and AJ's T-Ball games!
Me: Sure! When are your games?
John: My favorite color is red!
6/02/08 Update: Pic from Alex at the boys' first game! Go Cubs Go!
April 30, 2008
A Trip to Ohio
Last week Ben and I flew to Ohio for a few days (this flying with Ben stuff is a piece of cake now, even if he does refuse to sit down in his seat!). My brother Arn is getting married next month and his fiancee, Christie, was having her bridal shower and bachelorette in the Cleveland area. Ben had so much fun spending time with my family and it was great to get to meet my brother's future in-laws and Christie's friends. Within a few days, Ben figured out who we were talking about when we said "Halmoni, Grandpa, Uncle Arn, Uncle Jim." He now calls my mom "Halmo." My parents indulged him in letting him pretend to drive their cars, logging a few hours in the driveway of their house. Ben has become completely obsessed with "driving." He has even learned to say "drive" although it comes out more like "die." It's a little unsettling to have an 18 month old walk around the house saying "die, die, die!" as he pleads with us to take him outside to the car. In one of the pictures below, you can see him signing "more" while sitting in one of those mall rides for little kids. This was after six rides!
April 22, 2008
Johnny's 4th Birthday
Ben's cousin, John, turns four this Wednesday. Happy birthday, John! We celebrated by going out to the Lunas' house in Byron on Sunday. It turned out to be a beautiful day for a party and Ben had to borrow some shorts from his cousins, it was so hot! There were eight little boys at the party and no girls. That made for lots of running around with squirt guns, climbing up the fort and playing sports (or their version of, anyway). Ben overindulged in M&Ms and ice cream cake, then he fell down the steps of the deck and got a bloody lip. He topped off the evening by streaking the party after a much needed bath, then passed out as soon as we got in the car to drive back to Chicago. He knows how to party.
April 12, 2008
Another Fine Day
We spent another great Saturday morning with Val and Jeff, this time hitting the Shedd Aquarium, and then breakfast at Eleven City Diner. Ben had an early morning snack—breakfast of champions, really—of a chocolate glazed donut.
February 20, 2008
Aloha
Yeah, this pretty much rules.
Update: I'm just going to keep adding photos and stuff to this post. The weather is here, wish you were great.
One final Hawaii update. We're back home in cold snowy Chicago. What have we learned?
1) Our child is freakishly adaptable to large time changes, so much so that we have seen no ill effects from jetlag in either direction. A great flyer (no baby Benadryl needed!), but not a fan of being belted in to an airplane seat. We purchased a CARES harness, but he's on the small end of its usefulness, so I'm sure it'll still come in handy. It couldn't be easier to use, and installs in seconds. Highly recommended.
2) We would like to move to Maui, effective immediately.
We finally got off our keisters and explored a bit on Wednesday, venturing north of Kapalua, up to Honokohau Bay and Honolua Bay. Photos can't begin to describe. Here's a quick video of surfers at Honolua.
January 5, 2008
They Ain't Kiddin' About Texas
Osby Thane Contreras, born 1/2/08. 9 lbs. 12 oz., 21 in. long. Congrats to the entire Contreras Clan.
December 25, 2007
The Insanity That Is Christmas At Grandma B's
December 1, 2007
Happy 96th Grandma Falconer!
Vara just keeps on truckin'. We all got together for her favorite, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and ice cream cake.
Cousins
AJ, John and Ben are endlessly fascinated with Grandma B's washer and dryer. It's like Vegas for little kids. I guess that would make AJ the pit boss, Ben the enforcer with his SpongeBob bat, and John the "overserved guest."
November 26, 2007
Congrats Chris and Anne
Emma Parker, born last Friday. We thought she was going to get here right on the money, but she apparently had last minute packing to do or something. Looking forward to more photos and glad to hear everyone's home.
November 25, 2007
October 7, 2007
Ben's First Birthday Party
Wow. What a day. A big thank you from all of us for making Ben's first birthday and dol such a great time. Of the items we placed on the dol sang (bundle of string, pen, stethoscope, $100 bill, and a soccer ball) Ben chose, without hesitation, well... the Benjamin. Suhweet!
It's been an incredible year, and so many great friends and family have helped make it better than we ever could have imagined. A very special thank you to Halmoni for whippin' up some incredible Korean fare, and just being a great help for the past week.
Tons more photos here.
September 4, 2007
"Hiya!"
So it's pretty much been confirmed that Ben's first word is "Hi!" He's been saying it with regularity and purpose for the past week or so. This morning after he woke up, Lisa went in to get him. As she walked into his room, Ben said, "Hiya!" Then he played his latest game, "pretend to go back to sleep."
He's also getting pretty confident in the standing department, fooling himself into standing unassisted for 5-10 seconds at a time, as well as climbing stairs like crazy. Multiple gate-containment systems have been deployed.
Ben's got a new ride, too. Kickstart, suicide shifter, hardtail.
August 27, 2007
Summa-summa-summa tiiime...
Ben got to hang with some of his Near West Suburban Posse (NWSP) at a BBQ at Liam's crib (where he literally spent the first hour of the party in Liam's crib). Then on Sunday got some super bonus train table fun time with AJ and John. The big folks got ribs and sweet corn. And maybe a little train table time.
Oh, and for those of you in the Northern Illinois area, they ain't joking about that Mirai sweet corn from Harvard. That stuff is the bomb.
August 25, 2007
Congrats Seth and Tatiana!
Talia Eve Kaufman, born Wednesday, August 22nd at 10:03am. 7 lbs, 13 oz., 20.5 in.
August 19, 2007
He Ain't Pretty No More...
Last week Ben had a minor "incident" at his new day care. Apparently another kid decided to welcome him to the neighborhood by scratching his face. It sounds a lot worse than it was, but he did look a bit like he'd been in a car accident for a day. You can tell it's really slowed him down.
We spent the weekend out in Rockford to see Grandma B. (back from the Yukon!) and the cousins, where Ben, AJ and John played trucks at Aunt Marcia and Uncle Dan's. Ben also got his first taste of playing at the train table with John in the playroom at B.'s.
It was fun to see Ben interact and play with other kids. Lisa observed that it makes him seem a lot older than he is. Then he pulls a sock off and tries to eat it and that sorta brings it back into perspective.
August 14, 2007
Ben Loves Tha Ladies
July 1, 2007
Blueberry Pancakes and LA Ladies
It's been a weekend filled with friends and family at Chez Falconer. Grandma and Grandpa are here from Ohio, Lisa's cousin Anna is here visiting from LA with some friends (and instant honorary aunts to Ben). On Friday night, Val, Jeff, Karen, Ethan and Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. (the French Bulldog) came over to take advantage of the perfect "hanging out in a backyard with a fire" weather.
Ben continues to expand his culinary horizons. This morning he got to try mom's world famous blueberry pancakes. Yum!
May 31, 2007
Just Jack!
Congrats to the Fullers on the arrival of Jack Carlyle on Monday. It's rainin' babies around here!
May 19, 2007
School of Rock - Get The Led Out
Today Ben went to his first rock concert, the Chicago School of Rock Led Zeppelin show at the Abbey Pub. Notice his makeshift mom earplugs. We went all MacGyver on him and ended up taping them to his ears. That's right: I taped wadded up tissue to my son's ears.
Here's the kids busting out "Over the Hills and Far Away"
May 11, 2007
Welcome to the Party, Charles!
Congratulations to Melinda, Ryan and new big sister Norah!
May 1, 2007
Ben Does Impressions
This past weekend Ben had his first swimming class (Perch classes at the local Y) and did his best little fish impression. He dug every moment of it, as we'd suspected he would. Afterwards, we went home and he crawled around on our bed, carrying a toy in his mouth, doing a pretty decent impression of our dog, Dexter. The next day, Grandma and Grandpa Graf came to visit us from Ohio for a few days. Halmoni carried Ben around, marsupial-like. Note his grip on her shirt.
March 26, 2007
Places To Go, People To See
Man, this kid is busy! Grandma and Grandpa Graf came to visit, and Ben got to hear some stories in Korean, we all got to meet Liam for the first time last weekend, and Ben went to his first birthday party! Happy Birthday, Oscar! (You too, Lucas!)
March 16, 2007
Wow, What A Week!
Firedog fans, do not despair, your long awaited update has arrived. We spent the last week in Florida with the Falconer/Luna clan, enjoying the sunshine and warm breezes, eating far too much Peanut Butter Capt'n Crunch (hey, we were on vacation), swimming, playing mini-putt, and generally just taking it easy™. So go to the bathroom, grab a beverage, and flex that mouse finger.
February 23, 2007
Drunkle Jim's Baby Care 101
Last weekend we were in Ohio, where Jim got to give his Unclin' skillz a test run. How do you think he did?
(psst. Rollover me.)
February 11, 2007
What Have We Gotten Ourselves Into?
Just before leaving Rockford yesterday, we (read: Lisa) decided it would be a good idea to have an impromptu photo shoot with two over-tired, amped up cousins. Hilarity ensued.
We're not quite sure what the deal is with the John and AJ sticking of tongues out for photos. It's been going on for awhile now. My theory is when we say, "Say Cheese!" they hear, "Stick out your tongue and act like a ravenous zombie!"
December 28, 2006
Uncle Jpeg!
Ben's uncle John returned from Paris last night, so we had what we thought was going to be a small, low-key get-together so he could meet Ben and see some friends before heading back to Teh-has. The night was full of surprises, including this totally amazing gift from Pazen.
The day Ben was born the Bears played the Bills, and Pazen joked that after 10:37am my job was done, so I should just head on down to Soldier Field and meet up with him for the game. Well, now Ben has a framed program and ticket from the game. Underneath it says:
On October 8, 2006, upon receiving word that Benjamin Rhys Falconer was born just prior to game time, the Chicago Bears became so fired up they lifted the entire Buffalo Bills football team and spanked them.
Bears 40, Bills 7
Welcome to the world, Ben
December 19, 2006
John and Becky Practice
Sunday evening John and Becky came over for dinner and took Ben for some test-run holdin'. Next Lesson: Diapers!
December 9, 2006
Skanksgiving
Usually the greatest of the eating holidays is observed the Saturday before Thanksgiving, but we still managed to eat too much and enjoy meats wrapped in other meats, a Skanksgiving must.
December 2, 2006
Chickenbutt II: Christmas Pajamas
For those regular readers of Firedog Falconer, you may recall the adventures of John Ross and Chickenbutt on Halloween.
Well, today the idea was to get all the grandsons into Christmas pajamas for a photo with Grandma B. John had other ideas.
Happy 95th Great Grandma Falconer!
November 12, 2006
New State: Indiana!
We took Ben to see his Great Grandma Kate for the first time yesterday. She had no idea we were coming, so it was a pretty good belated birthday present. We took him on a quick tour of Grandma and Grandpa's old college stomping grounds, the wild and crazy party school of Manchester College*, but he seemed to be most interested in the ceiling fans at the Main View Tavern.
*It's quite possible that this is the first time those two terms have been uttered in the same breath without a negative qualifier involved. Did you know that in the early 60s, if you were a Manchester College student and were caught in the Main View Tavern, you could get expelled from school? Well, you could. Those were some wild times, man.
November 1, 2006
Chicken Butt! No Chicken Butt!
Consider this a preview of years to come, I guess. For weeks, Sarah and Alex have been talkin' up John's chicken costume, and if you had asked him what he was going to be for Halloween, he dutifully responded, "CHICKEN BUTT!" He was into it.
Well, "Go Time" came for Chicken Butt... (Results after the jump.)
October 30, 2006
So Many People to Meet!
October 28, 2006
The Three of Us
I think this is the first photo of just the three of us since Ben's birthday. He even cooperated and kept his eyes open. Can't believe it's been almost three weeks since Ben was born!
Great Grandma Falconer
Today Ben got to meet his Great Grandma. Her eyes lit up like saucers, just like his.
October 26, 2006
Monkey Feet
Ben gave us a surprise Happy Big One present last night. He slept like a champ! I actually woke up at around 3 because he hadn't woken us up all night. Thanks, dude!
Today is 15 years of the Graf and Andrew. That's pretty crazy.
October 22, 2006
David and Shannon Visit
David and Shannon were in this weekend to eat lots with us, meet Ben, and oh yes, a small matter of Shannon running the Chicago Marathon. She busted out a 4:15, missing her goal of qualifying for Boston, but it was damn cold out there today and tough on those Florida arms and legs. Nice job, Shannon!
Post-race we all headed to Giordano's to carbo-load and drink. Ben just sat around bein' cute.
October 19, 2006
Ben's New Friends
Bomber and Dexter have been pretty good with the new addition around here. For Dexter it just gives him one more person to herd, guard and generally obsess over. Bomber's getting the short end when it comes to quality lap time, though.
October 16, 2006
Grandma and Grandpa Graf
Grandma and Grandpa came to visit yesterday, and Grandma's staying all week.
