Dear Santa,

Thanks for coming through for me on at least some of my Christmas wishes.  I’ve now got two teeth coming in, and my hair growth is really starting to pick up.  (No detectable progress on the kneecaps, though.  Maybe next Christmas?)

Here’s some pictures of the good times I had visiting with my relatives during my first visit to Los Angeles.

Grandma Scherba was a great sport about playing with me.  And she introduced me to doughnuts! Yum!

Grandpa Scherba taught me about staying warm and watching football.

My Great Aunt Chris (and Great Uncle Steve) taught me about hockey.

Grandpa Stark got me a wonderful and very chewable new book!

Grandma and I got a little face to face time.

After all this visiting, I was pretty bushed!  Zzzzzz….

Santa, I look forward to your visit next year.  Please watch the blog for next year’s Christmas letter!  Thanks!

Regards,

ben

Here I am with Daddy gearing up for the big day.  We had a big car trip down, and now I’m getting to meet lots of very friendly new people.  For obvious reasons, they all think I’m great!

One of the new people is my cousin Avery.  I don’t mind sharing my genes and T-shirts with my little cuz.  (Isn’t she cute???)

Christmas is almost here!

Can you tell which picture is me, and which is my Daddy?

And yes, the sweater and bootie set is the same, handed down.  Mommy thought this would be a fun picture to have, so I agreed to do the photo shoot.

Grandma came to visit last weekend, and it was really good to see her again.  I hardly remembered her from last time – I mean at the time I had literally been “born yesterday”.  And I mean “literally” like it is actually defined, not like some people use it when they’re really just trying to add emphasis.  But I digress…

But these days I’ve learned a few more tricks for keeping Grandmas entertained, like smiling and standing up (with help), so I was able to keep Grandma around for a couple of days before she had to go.

Thanks for coming to visit Grandma!  I look forward to seeing you again soon!

(Ed. Note: Sorry for the delay in postings.  The Editor has been busy releasing a new product at work.)

UPDATE: More pictures on Uncle John’s blog here.

I’m proud to announce that Avery Elizabeth Lynch arrived last night – 7lbs, 8oz., 21 inches.  I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of her and meeting her!  Congratulations Uncle John and Aunt Heather!

(Ed. Note – Thanks to Grandma for the pictures!)

Grandpa and I bonded watching the Michigan game on Saturday.  Unfortunately, Michigan lost.  Can you tell who is the bigger fan (and more upset about it) from the picture? (Thanks for the shirt Grandpa and Grandma!)

Grandma got introduced to my tummy time / standing routine.  We had a great time!

We went down to the Village Market for brunch on Sunday.  I thought it would be fun if Daddy carried me, so I cried from the stroller until he did.  Turns out the view is much better from up here!

Grandpa and Nana decided it was time to come up for a visit, so they came by this last Tuesday to see me.

We had a great time getting to know each other.  Having already met Grandpa on my birthday, I’m already warmed up to doing my best 3-month baby cute look for Grandpa.

And this shot was taken when I was still just getting to know Nana.

It wasn’t long before we moved on to one of my favorite activities – standing practice!  (Is the genetic origin of my eyebrows apparent in this picture?)

I definitely enjoyed being the center of attention:

We walked down to the Village Market for dinner.  This picture shows my future as a Stark male, and what I’m going to look like when I’m 33 and then 61 years old.  My shirts will get greener, my hair will get longer, my hats will get bigger, and at some point I’ll get blue and white New Balance tennis shoes.  Well, I guess its better to know than not, eh?

During Uncle John’s visit to ‘Daddy Boot Camp’, he went 2 for 2 on burping, earning a 1.000 average.  Of course, I might have been going a bit easy on him ’cause, well, he’s new and all.

Extra points to my photographer for the mirror shot!

Uncle John came up to meet me and get some crash Daddy training before my new baby cousin arrives next month.

After introductions…

… I think we hit it off pretty well, though I was a little surprised to be seeing Mommy AND Daddy looking over the shoulder of… who is this guy again?  Oh yeah, Uncle John!

In addition to burping, Daddy Boot Camp provided Uncle John with training in diaper changing, stroller pushing, and all around baby handling, all crammed into a 19 hour visit.

It was great to meet you Uncle John!  Thanks for making the time to come up and visit me!

Sometimes you just have to let your parents have some fun with you.  I figure I put them through enough that they deserve a little ‘play time’.