Ben and Aunt Kim

Ben loves his Aunt Kim and spent the evening of his first snow storm hanging out with Aunt Kim and Mommy & Daddy. As always, Aunt Kim bought some adorable outfits for Ben. His favorite is the little fox outfit.

What A Big Boy - One Month Old

It is hard to believe that our little guy turned one month old, on December 1st. Time really goes by fast. He weighed 11 pounds, 1 ounce and was 22.5 inches long. He certainly is a growing boy!



We have been getting ready for Ben's first Christmas and enjoying every minute. He helped Mommy decorate the Christmas Tree over the weekend. Ben loves the lights on the tree and could sit and look at it all day long. So Cute!

Spending some time with friends

Mommy and Ben took a day trip to visit their friends, Gretchen and Zac, in Providence. We spent the day having lunch with them and seeing their new home in the fun city of Providence, RI. They are only an hour and a half away, so we will get a chance to see them often.

Ben's buddy Meghan came to visit, too. We are thinking of her and her parents, Molly and David, as Meghan had to have sugery this week. She is doing very well and is a trooper. She continues to keep that HUGE smile she always has and is home with her parents and on the mend. WE love you, Meghan.




Ben's neighborhood friend, Ava, came to spend an hour with him, while her Mommy went to the dentist. Ava and Ben played on the exercise mat together.

Ben's 1st Thanksgiving

Ben enjoyed his first Thanksgiving with his family. Unfortunately, Bammie was not able to join us for the holiday feast. She was very sick and stayed home in bed, so she would get better.

We hosted dinner at our home. We had 15 people for dinner this year. Nobody went hungry, that is for certain. Keith and I made the turkey, stuffing and acorn squash and the rest of the family members each brought some thing to eat, as well. It was a nice day and Ben was such a good boy. He is very social, so it seems that the more people around him, the happier he is.

Ben had the opportunity to meet his Uncle Brad for the first time. He really loved his Uncle and thinks that he looks a little bit like his Uncle Brad, when he was a baby. Good looks run in the family!





Ben's Great Grandfather, Papa Hartle is visiting for a month. Wow, does Ben love his Great Papa. He really has taken a huge liking to Papa. Papa comes to visit Ben once every few days, while he is here. Ben just loves to have Papa tell him stories and sing to him. If Papa moves from one place in a room to another, Ben's eyes follow Papa where ever he goes. Ben keeps his eye on Papa and watches every move he makes. It is something else watching the two of them interact. Mommy loves it! Papa is very special and apparently Ben knows that

Ben With His Friends & Family

It is hard to believe that our little guy will be three weeks old this week. He is such a good boy and Mommy & Daddy are loving every minute of parenthood.

Ben is now 9lbs, 2 ounces, soon to be even bigger, as he is a good eater. Just like his parents!


Ben has had lots of visitors over the first two weeks of his life. Many of our friends and family from near and far have made a visit to meet Ben.





Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Ben will have his introduction to Uncle Brad and his Great Grandfather, Papa Hartle. He can't wait to see both of them and spend some quality time with them. Ben's middle name Hartle is after Papa Hartle's last name, which is a family name on Mommy's mother's( a.k.a Bammie) side of the family. Keith and I are having Thanksgiving Dinner at our home, however we have lots of help from the family and look forward to having everyone here.

Introducing Ben Hartle Varriale

Ben Hartle Varriale 9lbs 1 ounce

Well, after so much anticipation and excitement, our beautiful son, Ben Hartle Varriale was born on November 1, 2007. He weighed 9 lbs, 1 ounce and was 21.5 inches long. He is a big boy! Keith and I can't believe he is ours to keep. He is just beautiful and has a wonderful disposition. He seems very low key and laid back like his Daddy, which must be why the little man didn't feel rushed to join this world

Why the big smile, Daddy?










Bammie & Ben Grandpa V. & Ben



Wow, this is a big place!



.


Red Sox Fan at heart. See my binkie.
Ben was born 3 days past his due date and after 36 hours of labor, he decided it was time to meet his family and friends. Keith and I are so thrilled and enjoying every minute of parenthood.

We are so lucky. Ben loves his sleep. Ben goes down for the night around 12 midnight or 1am and sleeps approx. 4-6 hours. He usually will wake up one or two times to eat, but we feel fortunate that we get good sleep, as we have heard so many horror stories of first time parents having sleep deprivation. He does have his meltdown time each day between the hours of 7:00pm and 11:00pm, however we are working on that and trying to keep him occupied and busy during those hours, so he doesn't get as upset and bored. He loves to be active and entertained! Must be he gets that from his mother, being that I was on the go my entire pregnancy and he is used to constant movement!



Ben has lots of family and friends, who visited us in the hospital and who have given us lots of support and love during his first week of life. We can't thank all of you enough. It means so much to us.

We invite all of you to join us in welcoming our beautiful son! Please stop by to visit and meet our little bambino. Trust me, you will enjoy his company. He is a little sweetpea and loves to cuddle.

Nana and Ben spending quality time together.

Ben with his great grandparents, G.G. and Pop Pop.

The Nursery

Only 3 weeks left to go! We wanted to share some pictures of the nursery.Crib full of soft and cuddley friends.....
This is the bassinet that Keith slept in when he was a baby. Closet full of the necessities. Thanks to all of our very giving family and friends. We are well equipped.

We are planning to add some finishing touches to the walls, once Baby Varriale arrives. We wanted to wait so that we can personalize the nursery to fit our little bundle of love.