Gobble Gobble

Benjamin met Sir Purr at the opening of the new light rail system in Charlotte.

November has been a month full of fun and visitors for Team Goguen. Memere came to town for the first two weeks in anticipation of Emerson's arrival, thankfully Memere was in town for her arrival on 11/18 and got to spend lots of time with the boys. Tyler celebrated his 6 month birthday on 11/17. Tyler has started eating rice and oatmeal cereal along with Bananas, so Benjamin enjoyed the donut on his birthday! Grampa, Sharl and Uncle Joey arrived and celebrated Thanksgiving in Charlotte, with a deep fried turkey of course.

Happy Halloween

Benjamin the Pirate and Tyler our precious Pea had a great time Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. Mom and Dad joined in and dressed as Sir Purr the Panther according to Benjamin and Curt Schilling, complete with a bloody sock! Benjamin really showed an interest this year leading his friends from house to house. He greeted those answering the door by saying "Happy Halloween" instead of Trick or Treat. Fun was had by all!

Tyler's Baptism

On Saturday, October 8th we celebrated Tyler's Baptism. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great celebration following with family and friends. We are honored to have our best friends Ann & Chris as Tyler's God-Parents, and they made the long drive down from Albany,NY to be here for the big day!

Benjamin continues to do well in school, and seems so big these days.....he is still the best big brother, and is always so excited to see Tyler when I go and pick him up from school. Today he surprised me by saying "Mom- our house is a planetarium"- that word sure seems like a big one for a 3 year old.....he even knew what it meant when I asked him! I'm thinking he must have learned it from either Curious George or preschool- most likely his buddy the monkey!

Tyler is also growing leaps and bounds and we cannot believe he is 5 months old already!!! He is smiling, giggling, babbling, and rolling over like crazy- even beginning to scooch/scoot when on his tummy. We are sure he must be teething too with the amount of drool he has, and time spent eating his hands!! He also grabs everything from hair to toys to Benjamin's sippy cup the other day, and looks as though he's almost ready to try rice cereal with the way he watches us eat! As you can see from the picture, eventhough Ann and Chris are trying to train him to be a fellow Yankees fan, he has taken an interest in his Daddy's team while reading one of his books!

Hilton Head Island

We finally got to have a much needed family vacation to the beach with the boys. Sara and I like to get away for our anniversary (9/21) and we returned to Hilton Head Island where we have enjoyed so many trips over the years, including our engagement. Benjamin really enjoyed playing in the ocean as well as the pool. He got to see dolphins and even found a starfish! Between naps on the beach Tyler dipped his feet in the ocean and splashed and played with his big brother in the pool.

Brotherly Love...

As you can see from the photos, in the past month both Benjamin and Tyler have grown leaps and bounds, and continue to be quite affectionate with one another. Tyler continues to have the biggest smiles (will post more pictures next time of these) and could light up a room! He recognizes those closest to him and tells you so with his smiles and sounds! He is a "talking" machine these days, and we love all of the sounds, squeals, and coos that he makes- he's even started to giggle, which is fun! A few weeks ago, Tyler decided to roll over onto his side in his crib and that he likes sleeping that way, and you can see him doing it in one of the photos.

Benjamin began school this past week in the big 3year old classroom and has continued to be successfull at going on the potty! He is the best big brother and is always so excited to see Tyler when I pick him up in the afternoon- where I usually have to peel him off of Tyler so Tyler can catch his breath from all of the hugs, kisses and wet raspberries bestowed upon him!

Benjamin Turns 3!

Benjamin had an exciting 3rd birthday to say the least! Aunt Tami flew down from NY for his birthday party, and let him pick out his 1st pet- something neither he or his Dad will have an allergic reaction to....2 pet frogs whose names seem to change daily! Tyler has been continuing to smile away and adores his Big Brother as much as Benjamin adores him.......Benjamin had a blast at his Backyard Birthday Bash on the 4th that many family and friends turned out for, including Memere and Charlie who flew down from the Cape and Uncle Pete/Cousin Kevin who drove up from Myrtle Beach. Benjamin was thrilled with the planned surprise visit from Brrrgin's IceCream Truck- this year's obsession! Last year it was buses, this year it is popscicles and the icecream truck!

Upon coming home from our whirlwind visit in NY, we have been working dilligently in the potty training dept. in preparation of Benjamin beginning preschool in his 3year-old class where the children are required to be potty trained.....Benjamin has been a trooper and with the help of Aunt Tami and Memere while they were in town, has pretty much mastered going on the potty- number 1 that is, so there has been lots to celebrate at our house this past week! As you can see, Tyler even donned his "party" hat for Benjamin's birthday festivities!

Since Memere was in town and available to help out with Tyler, Benjamin had the sty that he has had on his eye since Tyler was born surgically drained on his actual birthday- Again- Benjamin was a trooper and being 3 seems to agree with him!

17 Hour Ride

A couple of weeks ago we went on a family adventure and drove to NY to visit with some of Sara's family. Although the ride was long (17 hours) and stay was short (2 days) the boys did great riding in the car for such a long time. Tyler was able to meet lots of family and friends during our visit, including his Papa who we were happy to see is continuing to improve at home. Benjamin enjoyed playing with his cousins, Anna and Lauren and meeting baby Michael for the first time.