Tonight is my work Christmas party. Last year was Ben's first year to attend. We had only been home for a couple of weeks. I still remember last year so vividly. It's amazing to me how much bigger and older Ben looks now!
December is flying by like the rest of the year. Ben and I are in the Christmas spirit big time! A lot of people have asked me what Ben wants for Christmas. If you ask him, he says the same thing every time: "Open presents". That is really all he cares about at this point.
We got our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I will say that it is one of the saddest trees that I have ever had. I put it up on Saturday and decorated it while Ben was asleep. It looked pretty good (meaning the large holes were covered). At 6 AM Sunday morning, I woke up to the sound of the tree crashing to the ground and ornaments shattering. Ben was still asleep, so it was no fault of his.
I got out of bed to survey the damage. Only 3 ornaments were broken (thankfully none of these were of super importance). The star on the top of the tree was broken as well. This was the star that I grew up with as a child, and there was no repairing it....very sad. Anyway, Ben is amazed by all of the ornaments. So far, he just touches the ornaments.
There is a mischievous Christmas Elf at our house. He shows up every morning much to Ben's delight. He laughs and laughs about the naughty things Christopher Pop-in-Kins does to our home. 
Not too long ago, I realized that I had been cramming Ben's foot into shoes that were too small. I quickly remedied the problem by purchasing new, bigger shoes. About 2 weeks after receiving the new shoes, it felt as if Ben was already outgrowing them. I took him to a kid's shoe store to have him measured and to purchase the correct size shoe. The sales lady was very helpful. I told her that I thought we needed bigger shoes. She took a look at Ben's relatively new shoes and thought that they should be the correct size. Upon further inspection, she discovered the problem....there was paper still in the toe of Ben's shoes! I was mortified! So, while he is growing like a weed, his shoes still fit properly!
As a bonus, on our way to get the "new" shoes, we came across a local Christmas parade. Ben was so excited to see all the clowns, floats, and cars. His favorite though was Santa Clause riding in a firetruck with horns blowing! I, sadly, did not have my camera.
Finally, on Saturday morning, we had a dusting of snow. I got Ben up, and we were outside playing at 6 AM. Ben has a running joke that he is going to 'eat snow', and Saturday he got his chance. He fell to his knees and ate some snow.
The contests for Ben are over, and we came out 1 for 2. We didn't place in the Baby Gap which wasn't too surprising. There was maybe a 1 in a million chance for that contest.
Ben did, however, win the Birmingham Parent Magazine contest. I received a phone call today that Ben won his division. Thank you to everyone who voted!! His cover photo shoot will be in January. I'm not sure yet what issue he will be on but will be sure to post when I have more news!
Then....Ben in his carseat last year.
Now....Ben in his carseat this morning.
I can't believe how much he has changed!
I can't believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone! The time is really flying by!
Uncle Bradley and Ben on this swings. Ben has decided that he is too big for baby swing. He was a pro on the sling swing.
Ben's first time ever to jump into a pile of leaves!
Ben working in the yard.
Nana and the boys getting ready to jump in more leaves.
The gang gathered at the dinner table to feast.
Uncle Eric and Bradley hanging out with Ben...Note Ben's hand in his mouth...GROSS!
A quick cousin hug.
Poppy with the cousins
Ben and Nana playing on the computer
Since we were at my parent's house and they could keep Ben, Celia, Buffy, and I braved Black Friday shopping. We left the house at 3:45 AM and didn't ready until almost 9:30 AM! We drove all over down for a record shopping extravaganza. I'm still trying to catch back up on sleep but it was totally worth the lost sleep!Ben was home one year and 1 day before we had to venture to the ER.
This Friday, Ben spent the night with my parents so I could go to dinner and to a movie for a pre-birthday celebration. I slept late on Saturday and then decided to put up my Christmas decorations. I NEVER put Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving, but I figured it would be a lot easier to do without Ben. So I got the decorations put up and went to get Ben.
This morning, I was getting ready for church while Ben played with his toys. I fixed his breakfast and was calling him to come eat when I heard the screaming. I rounded the corner to find blood gushing from Ben's face and the heavy Christmas stocking holder on the floor. He was pulling a toy off the shelf and must have shook the shelf enough to knock the stocking holder off the top of the shelf. It then fell ~ 4 feet straight onto Ben's face.
I wasn't sure initially if the blood was coming from his face or his eye. I just grabbed him up and started applying pressure. When I looked, the wound was next to his eye (Praise God). Had he been hit in the eye, Ben would have most likely lost vision in his eye.
So, I was freaking out. I couldn't get the blood to stop, and Ben was screaming uncontrollably. My heart was racing so fast that I came very close to passing out (that would have been horrible). I grabbed the phone, called Auntie Buffy, and just yelled that I needed her to take us to the ER.
Buffy was completely panicked and apparently sped through several red lights to get to us. By the time Buffy arrived, Ben was calmer though still bleeding. We loaded up and headed to the ER.
This picture is of Ben in the car on the way to the ER.
Ben sitting in the ER waiting to be taken back.
More waiting and we finally saw the doctor. He assured me that Ben's face was not fractured. He wasn't sure if there would be enough skin for stitches but wanted to numb up the area and then take a better look. Here is Ben with the numbing cream. 
I don't think he would have minded it so much had the nurse not taped his eyelid as well.
We sat in the room for 2 hours after that. Ben wasn't a high priority so we sat. This picture is Ben as the doctor came back into the room.
The final verdict was stitches were needed. In order to stitch Ben, he would have to be restrained since his wound was so close to his eye. They wrapped him up in a sheet and then put him in the papoose holder.
Ben was NOT pleased at all to be in the papoose. He screamed bloody murder. I told the nurse that if he got too upset he would vomit. She brushed my comment aside and went about her business. About 5 minutes later, Ben threw up all over himself, the sheet, and the papoose. So we had to take him out, clean him up, and put him back in. It took 3 people to get him back into the papoose.
There was no calming Ben down. He kept screaming "Mommy!" When he realized that I couldn't help him, he started screaming for Auntie. It was really heart-breaking.
The resident was barely able to get in 2 stitches, and it took forever!
Here is my poor little man after getting his stitches.
So 4 and 1/2 hours later, we left the ER. It was a very traumatic experience for both Ben and mommy. I am so very thankful that his eye was spared!!!
Ben is napping now, and the Christmas stockings are now taped to the furniture!
Pictures courtesy of Buffy's iPhone.
Update: Ben woke up. I took the bandaid off to change it, and the stitch came out as well. I am NOT happy!
Ben,
A year ago today, you were first placed in my arms. I was sitting on a van riding along taking in the scenes of Ethiopia, when I spotted you and your nannies on the side of the road. The van door slid open, and my life changed forever. In an instant, the 7 months I waited to see you, hold you, kiss you, faded away. There you were in person, a scared but beautiful baby dressed all in girl clothes.
You have been such a blessing in my life. The time we have spent together has gone by too quickly. I am trying to savor you and our moments together, because I know they are fleeting. I am aware that it won't be long before you won't want to snuggle with mommy and pretend to be mommy's baby. I am cherishing every hug and every kiss that you so freely give me. I'm trying to hold you as much as I can before you are too big. This year, our first together, was magical.
In a year, I have experienced so many things and met so many people that would never had happened had it not been for you! While I watch you discovering the world around you, I find that I am re-discovering it all through a mother's eyes.
This is the day, my sweet boy, that we became a family. This is the day that we were united forever. I love you more than I could ever put into words, my son. Thank you for all the love and happiness that you have graced upon my life.
Mommy
