Ben and Caroline's Blog

Emily has started going to a kids class at our gym. The first 30 minutes is an exercise class for preschoolers followed by a 30 minute ballet class. It is great because it is all the fun without the hassle of an end of the year dance recital and all the costs and commitments that come with that program. And Mark is happy in the nursery and I get to do my own class. Everyone is happy! Best ballet class in town. Here is video of Emily dancing in class. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MliRrdvTAU0

Mark would love to join Emily in the dance class if he was old enough. He definitely still enjoys putting on a tutu and dancing with Emily. He also likes all his other dress up gear. He loves his fireman hat but he also likes his cap, mask and cowboy hat. Here he is playing in his costumes.

I have been cutting Mark and Emily's hair myself but decided that Mark needed a professional cut. This was a first for Mark and only the second time for Emily so they were pretty excited. They were both very still and serious during the cut. Snipits had a google coupon so we went there. It is a more time consuming process than doing it myself but it definitely looks better.

At the end they get cards to put in a special machine that spits out a prize. Sort of like Buddy Bucks but with an actual prize. One more pic...this one shows off Em's new bob.

Mark celebrated his 2nd birthday at Gymboree with friends and family. A nasty cold ripped through our house over the past few weeks and Mark was coming off his turn the weekend of the party. So, the poor thing was a little worn out and cranky at first but he rallied for a strong and happy finish with lots of pizza, cupcakes and presents. I can't believe that Mark is two years old now. He is coming in to his own more and more these days. He is strong and sweet all at the same time. We love you Mark. Happy Birthday, my love. Wishing you a lifetime of happy and healthy birthdays!

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Mimi, Grandma, Emily and I went to see the Nutcracker about a week ago. Emily was so excited about it and had been looking forward to it for weeks. Here are some pictures of our first annual Nutcracker Ballet trip.

Mark had his birthday party at Gymboree on Sunday. I got a few pics with my iPhone but will do his official birthday post with real pictures next. In the meantime, here is a pic of him enjoying a birthday cupcake.

Mark and Emily's school held their Thanksgiving Program a few weeks ago. Caroline shot the video below to document the kid's first combined on-stage performance. Enjoy the show!

Also this week we have changed hosting providers for the blog. As a result you may have had or may continue to have some troubles loading the website. Most often this will result in getting a page not found error. This is a result of requests having to be routed to a new server. We're hoping that by the end of the week all of that will be resolved and you won't have any trouble loading the blog. If you run into the issue try refreshing the page or send me an email if you have any issues.

So, I know we still need to post the video of the Thanksgiving program and also all the farm pictures, but I haven't had a chance to get all the footage downloaded yet. I should have just taken the videos with my iPhone!

We put up the tree!

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We went to Lowes and Emily saw the biggest inflatable Santa we have ever seen. She is still talking about it.

Mark playing with Ben's Texas hat.

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It was a fun day. The neighborhood parade was a lot of fun for the kids and trick or treating was even better. Ben and I were laughing last night about how quickly Mark caught on to trick or treating. The first few times we took Emily she really did not get in to it but Mark was incredibly excited. I wish we had photos or video from that but it was already dark. The kids also had a blast passing out candy at the door. Here are some pictures.

Emily spotted the pumpkin patch at MDUMC and we ended up doing an impromptu stop for photos and pumpkin purchasing. They aren't in special outfits or anything like that but they had a great time picking out pumpkins and playing. Here are some pictures.

Emily has decided she wants to be a princess for Halloween. She already has the costume so that works out well. Mark really loves Fireman stuff so I decided I could dress him as a fireman. Mimi found a hat for Mark and went ahead and gave it to him. Which is great because he insists on playing dress up with Emily. Soon as we gave him the hat, he started running around the house like he was running to put out the fire. He still does it every time he puts on the hat. I will post pictures of them in their full costumes next week. But here is a preview of Fireman Mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VtUAVqvcuc

Ben and I have an adult Halloween party to go to so now I just need to figure out what we are going to wear. Any suggestions?

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The school pictures are here!

Pre-zoo resting.

Mark 's favorite.

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After three and a half years at home with Emily and Mark I decided to try re-entering the work force. I found a position much quicker than expected and started last week. We have been busy getting things together and figuring out our new schedule. I am working Monday, Wednesday and Friday doing civil litigation for Parker Allen PLLC. Emily and Mark will go to school Mon, Wed, Friday mornings as usual and then will come home with our new nanny Rosario until I get home. I have spent a lot of time debating my return to work and thus far everything has come together with ease and has been pretty smooth. The kids have not skipped a beat and Ben has been a very supportive husband. And of course we've had lots of help from grandparents as usual. I am very excited about my new job and I am very thankful for all the support from the family.

We still found some time to enjoy the cooler weather that came through over the weekend. Here are some pictures.

The kids on their way to school Friday. It was picture day so they are all dressed up. I love these pictures.