Hello blog readers!  This is just a little reminder that our 2009 Christmas Letter can be found online from the main page.  Please take a look, though if you’re a regular reader of the blog, you won’t be surprised by its contents – namely that our lives revolve around Ben these days.  Merry Christmas, everybody!

– The Management

M&D introduced me to our new family pet.  World, meet pet heating pad!

It even comes with its own built in leash, which I use to take it for walks all over the house.  M&D say they like it because it is easy to care for and clean up after, too.

Wouldn’t you know it?  M&D had just what I need!  A Park ‘n’ Wash for my truck and tractor.  One stop takes care of all your parking and truck washing needs!

Daddy always has these big books on his nightstand.

I don’t know why it takes him so long to finish with them.  I just flip right through them from front to back!  No problem!

One thing I’ve learned while stalking Atlas is that he likes to sit in boxes – he can often be found snoozing in them.  So I figured I’d try it out and see what it was all about.  It’s never a bad idea to learn from a pro!

Here’s Atlas, demonstrating his technique.

Grandpa and Nanna came up for a pre-Thanksgiving visit.

And Wow!  Look what they brought for me!  My very own Lightning McQueen Trike!  It has lights and makes noises and everything!

Here, Grandpa is explaining the finer points to me, like did you know that there is a 1kg weight limit to the rear bin space?  That’s ’cause this baby is built for speed!  (Once I can reach the pedals, I’ll report on just how much speed it was built for.)

In between rides on the new trike, I got in some quality reading time with Nanna.  I made sure to let her know how many words I already know.

Grandpa got some reading time in, too.

We also took a trip to the park to see the ducks.  What we actually saw were some really, really large geese.  It turns out we have something in common.  We both like bread!

We also squeezed in a visit to the park where I got to go down the curvy slide…

… and climb back up again all by myself!

All in all, we had a great visit.  I’m looking forward to seeing Grandpa and Nanna again at Christmas time!

Recently, Mommy & I got to spend some quality time together.  I got to learn about catalogs and shopping.

All I need to do now is a find out what a “credit card number” is, and then I can pick up the phone and order some of these toys!

As previously mentioned, I get to help around the house by helping with the laundry.  Well, now you can see just how helpful I am!

Never mind that my feet don’t reach the end of the seat, much less the pedals – I can’t wait to drive the car!

Look!  I already know how to put the key in the ignition, and put on the air!

I bet I could get M&D to go for the idea of a chauffeur!

Weeeeeeeee!

(Ed. Note: We’re definitely going to have to keep an eye on this kid…)

I’m not sure who was more excited about Grandma coming to visit – me or her.  Judging from this picture, I think it must be her.

I was wearing my skeleton costume and scaring all of the trick-or-treaters with my big smiles.

We had a great time earlier in the day at the park.  Grandma even took me down the big curvy slide!

We found some quiet time for reading on the couch, too.  Somehow, Grandma already knew all the words in my books.  She must have studied hard before coming to visit.

Grandma was also a real sport about letting me review the pictures on her camera.  As a seasoned blogger, I do like to control my images to ensure the highest quality for my readers.

Hopefully on her next visit, she’ll bring Pa with her.  Last weekend definitely didn’t have enough ‘Lardo the cat’ or Michigan football talk.  Pa!  How am I supposed to learn about these things if you’re not here to teach me?