AB^2 + X + 2c

Fan Fest 2012

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-08:00

Fan Fest 2012 was this last weekend. It was cold and windy out but at least it wasn't raining. A view of the King's Court from the right field foul pole as we were waiting in line for autographs.

The crew at Safeco really decked out this section.

This year the players who were there for the Season Ticket Holder special time slot were newly acquired Cather/DH Jesus Montero and LF/1B Mike Carp. While Anthony was in line outside, Amy hung out inside by the players. One of the staff members who stands with the players got an autographed picture of Jesus Montero and came by and gave it to Amy for Xander. It was very cool of them. So an autographed ball from each player and an autographed picture from each player later and then we walked thru the stadium.

The new Dave Niehaus tribute statue is in Center Field. It is a big area and is surrounded by Dave's slogan calls like: "Swung on and Belted", "Fly Fly Away", and "Get out the Rye Bread and Mustard."

On top of everything, the Mariners always sell autographed balls from former players. They had a Doug Fister ball at $75 which is just ridiculous. The best deal was $15 for an Erik Bedard ball. Anthony loves him some Bedard so we scooped that up quickly and kept going. Anthony sure loves autographed balls. Anyways, 13 days until Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring Training. The season is just around the corner. Go M's!

boy in a box

2012-01-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

... ok, more like a basket... but let's move on...

Xander has a good sized basket of toys. He loves playing with them and taking them out of the basket, but ultimately his mobility is still limited and the toys end up too far away. So, Mama had a brilliant idea!

Step One: Empty the toys out of the basket

Step Two: Put the boy in the basket

Step Three: Let him play in the basket

And that's the way we do it! It's a boy in a box!

Xander's First Snow!

2012-01-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

We got snow on Saturday the 14th - it was enough to look cool coming down and stick for a while but not to do any serious damage. Xander really enjoyed looking out the window, watching the snowflakes fall, and how bright and clean everything looked outside.

The next morning we woke to more snow on the ground, and even more falling throughout the day. We decided to let Xander brave the elements (with ample layers) for a little while so he could feel snow fall on his handsome little face and take it all in. He loved the snow experience!

Hahaha! I love the snow! Hehe!

Our neighbor made a snowman. Xander was checking it out. In defense of the snowman, it looked better before it snowed on top of the hat, eye, carrot nose and scarf you can sorta kinda see here.

Man, Xander sure looks a lot like his handsome Dada! Glad you enjoyed the snow, Big Guy!

Crazy Moon

2012-01-27T03:00:00.000-08:00

On (what we believe was) the evening of the first full moon of 2012, Amy just had to get some photos of how cool it all looked. Usually the full moon is worth looking at, but obstructed by clouds, or simply the only thing you can see above. On this night, however, the cloud pattern made for quite an interesting moon watching opportunity. After a little practice with the camera, we got some pretty awesome shots! Enjoy!

7 months!

2012-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Whoa baby, this baby is growin'!

This is how I flirt with the ladies...

Oh hi, Muters! Come here, I'll pet you! (Yeah right, says Mute, I know that "pet" means "pull my fur"... keep working on it and we'll talk)

Is it nap time? Just lay down time? Ugg, more photos!?

Hey, isn't this how the supermodels do it? Strike a pose!

Would you say this look is more Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren?

Yeesh! I almost rolled off the couch! False alarm, I didn't fall, Mama protects the ish out of me. Good thing cuz I'm freakin' crazy. (Mostly just not in control of my faculties)

Mama! I said NO MORE!!

Ok, twist my arm, I'll pose for a little longer.

Major poser!

Phew, I'm exhausted. Good idea, Muters, let's lay down.

Someone put baby in a corner... it was me! I can scoot backwards on my belly with my arms!

Check me out! I can get up onto my hands and knees and rock back and forth! I'm growing so much all the time! Yay!

Christmas Evening

2012-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner called for Xander to dress in his Christmas best! Mama couldn't resist a mini photo shoot!

So sweet and festive!

Who loves his Grandma? Now, who's ready for dinner?

Roasted organic red fingerling potatoes...

Organic sweet potato casserole...

All alongside roasted organic cauliflower with whipped goat cheese and pan fried wild caught turbot. For the first time in a long time Mama was happy with all the dinner results! Even though she only served one thing she'd made before. Yay Mama!

After dinner, Grandma and Grandpa sat with Xander and read him a book while enjoying their after dinner coffees.

Then it was time for some reindeer games! The game was mainly just putting Xander in the reindeer suit and seeing how cute he was :)

Jeremy and Samara joined us for Christmas dinner this year and couldn't resist the photo op! How many times do you get to have your picture taken with a bonafide reindeer!?

Mama and Dada had the best Christmas ever with Xander and the rest of our family that could join us. Looking forward to next Christmas and all the fun times that will come before December 25th 2012!

Christmas Afternoon

2012-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Brelsford came over in the afternoon for Christmas at the Beneezee residence. Once Xander was up from his nap, he got to start opening his presents brought all the way from Yelm!

Xander got his first Christmas ornament! Hard to tell from the photo, but it is a personalized giraffe with blue spots and mane. He is wearing a scarf that says "Baby's First Christmas, Xander Jax 2011". So sweet! Xander had Grandma hang it on the tree for him too.

Grandma and Grandpa got Xander (and Mama and Dada) lots of nice things including (but not limited to) this UW bib and Amazon gift card show above.

After Xander's gifts from Grandma and Grandpa were all opened, it was time to open the rest of the presents from Santa before another nap was needed. Dada helped Xander to open his card from Mama and Dada - a cute penguin one!

Santa got Xander this cute Seahawks hat. It's a little big, but Santa knows that Xander is growing fast and will need it next season.

Xander got to open the giant gift Santa left under the tree. It's an activity table! Xander loves to stand, with assistance, so Santa knew that Xander would love this toy. He started playing with it right out of the blanket Santa had wrapped it in!

Xander opened his present from Mama and Dada next - it's a personalized pirate bank with an X engraved on the sail. Dada likes pirates and pirate related things, so we figured Xander will too!

Xander got a little cranky with that last gift, but he stayed cool just long enough before needing he next nap. Overall, Xander got a ton of presents from Santa, Mama and Dada, Grandma and Grandpa and lots of other people who love him. Thanks to everyone for making Xander's first Christmas so special!

Kristmas Kitteh Kelebration

2012-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Mute and Sark never get left out at Christmas time, and this year was no exception. They, while supervised, got to spend plenty of time under the tree. They both love this for some unknown reason, maybe because it's mostly forbidden. Inevitably a kitteh being under the tree translates into something uneatable being eaten... domestic terrorism...

After Xander opened his first round of gifts, during his nap, it was time for the kitteh stockings. Mute got to start things off because she was being more social than Sark at the time. You can see his eyes glowing in the background/hallway outside the door there...

Each kitteh got four toys, including a stuffed mouse. This particular kind is Mute's favorite, so she started playing right away.

That's when Sark came in for the party. He likes to dominate every situation, so whenever Mute starts playing with something he inevitably comes along and takes the toy away from her.

So since Mute was done with her stocking, Sark got to open his.

He immediately bypassed his spring, crinkle ball and catnip infused fish on a ring and went in for the kill on his mouse.

But wait... what is Mute doing? Oh, Mute has her own mouse... Sark No Like!

Sark stole Mute's mouse and ran to a dark corner to do what he does best - destroy.

We had to intervene. We got Mute her mouse back and switched it out. Sark didn't mind that much and took his mouse out to his viewing area.

Mute was thrilled. He was free to play with her mouse again without fear of it being stolen from her. Plus she got to do a little spider-catting as well; that's one of her favorite moves!

Kitteh + Kristmas = Luv

Christmas Morning

2012-01-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

Xander's first Christmas experience started in the afternoon since Mama and Dada were up late getting the house ready for Santa and guests arriving the next night for dinner. This worked well because Xander was rested enough to open a bunch of his gifts in a cheery mood.

Before Mama could even help Xander open his stocking, he reached right in and grabbed his toy and yanked it right out! Mama freaked out with excitement! Interlocking links in alphabet shapes! Santa got Xander an educational and colorful toy that he loved instantly!

Xander got a bunch of toys that he enjoys, including some books like this one.

After a while, Mama and Dada switched so that Mama could take pictures while Dada helped Xander with his gifts.

Mama was really excited for Xander to get this gift, its a toy that sticks to his high chair so he can play with something that is harder to throw on the floor. Awesome! Luckily for Mama and Dada, Xander likes this toy too!

"Dada, thanks for helping me open my presents, I'm just not coordinated enough yet."

"Dada, I LOVE Christmas! But I REALLY LOVE You! And, no offense, but I REALLLLY need a nap NOW!" Ok, we'll get you to off to sleepy land and pick up where we left off when Grandma and Grandpa get here.

Dada got all decked out this year. Inspired by Mama's Santa socks, penguin earrings and red Melekalikimaka t-shirt, Anthony went head to toe Christmas. From the top, a red white and green rocking horse earring, red long sleeved top covered with a green Xavier McDaniel Sonic's Jersey replica t-shirt (an homage to Xander's first Christmas as the X Man), red tank over all of that, green board shorts, red and green socks with penguin slippers. How's he gonna top this next year? (Hopefully with a more attractive ensemble... BURN!)

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

This year the Beneezees started a new Christmas Eve tradition - Xander helps Mama make cookies to leave for Santa! Xander was tired and knew he had to get to bed a little early so Santa would come drop off his presents so he elected for a simple peanut butter cookie recipe.

Then he picked out a festive plate to put the cookies on...

Mama helped him organize the cookies in an alternating chewy/crispy cookie pattern...

Then, after sealing the cookies in plastic for freshness it was time to leave the cookies for Santa. Then Xander said that he learned from his "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" book that if you give Santa a cookie, he's probably going to want a glass of milk to go with it. There wasn't all that much left in the carton, only a single serving, so Xander asked if we could leave the carton out for Santa so he could take it as a "to-go" cup if he wanted. We obliged. Anything for Santa!

We made sure that Xander's personally made foot print ornament was out and well lit so Santa would remember who's house he was in as well.

Sometime after Xander went to bed, and without making a sound, Santa brought all these awesome gifts for Xander!

Mute tried to keep a lookout for Santa, but fell asleep under the tree! When she woke up, this is what she saw! Whoa!

Mute and Sark weren't much of a Santa warning system...

Before he woke up on Christmas morning, Mama set out a gift for Xander with all of his other gifts in shinny silver paper.

Then Mama and Dada set out each other's gifts and stuffed the kitties stockings with care!

Tick tock! We all can't wait for Christmas!!

Seahawks Christmas Eve Game

2012-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Sure, the season was basically over, but we still had a chance. Ok, 13 other things had to go just right for us to get into the playoffs (exaggeration, yes, but that's how it felt)... but we still had hope! It's Christmas Eve too, and what do we all want for Christmas? Playoffs!!

The highlight of the game?

The 12th Man.

The funniest part of the game? Us loosing our asses, a lot, and every time a call went the other way, or something not so good happened for the Hawks, the guy behind us would say, "Merry Christmas!" And it seemed like something that would become annoying, but it was actually pretty funny (to Amy at least) every time. Oh thanks for that amazing call, Ref, Merry Christmas. Nice incomplete pass, T-Jack, Merry Christmas.

Maybe next year?

... ner shel Hanukkah

2012-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

2011 marks many firsts for Xander, including his first Hanukkah!

Our Hanukkah celebration started off with another of Samara and Jeremy's annual Hanukkah parties. Mama dressed Xander in his Hanukkah bodysuit and over the top he wore his Santa jacket. Uncle Jeremy won't allow Santa in his house, but we knew he'd make an exception for Xander Claus... and then we took off his jacket like he was superman under his jacket. It was cute. Samara documented the unveiling but Mama can't find the photo at this exact moment. So for now, Mama likes this picture of her and Xander, commemorating the event.

There was some confusion in the Beneezee household regarding when the holiday was starting... one bad Jew and one non-Jew just couldn't figure it all out...(sleep deprivation for 300 please Alex) so we sorta missed the first night of Hanukkah, Hanukkah eve if you will. So Xander's first night of Hanukkah (the second night of Hanukkah) was spent at Pappu and Gigi's with Selena, Jason, Samara and Jeremy. Everyone exchanged gifts and we all had fun together celebrating the festival of lights!

After that we spent the rest of Hanukkah celebrating at home, including on Christmas with Grandma, Grandpa, Samara and Jeremy. We didn't take pictures every day, but we did get some one Xander's first Hanukkah at home.

I love Hanukkah!

And we love you, sweetheart!

Hanukkah is tiring... so much fire to watch... time for a break...

Meanwhile, Muters celebrates Hanukkah...

And the next day... it was Hanukkah again!

And then, the last day of Hanukkah!

Bye bye, Hanukkah, see you again next year!

Xander's first football game!

2012-01-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

Ordinarily we are not fans of bringing little babies to games, but when it's in a suite... we figured that would be ok! (As it turns out, it was just ok... turns out those vibrations we talked about at the husky game were bothering him here a lot as well, but he got through it alright) Debbie had bought a suite for Larry's 55th Birthday and the big day finally arrived on Thanksgiving weekend (pretty busy weekend for the Beneezees since we had Thanksgiving, the Apple Cup and the Hawks game! Poor us, huh?) The suite held ten people so we watched the game in style with Papa Ray, Uncle Mark, Larry, Debbie, Selena, Jason, Samara, Jeremy, Brett Goldfarb and Dan Wilner.

Mama was pretty excited - she's a big Hawks fan and she's happy to be grooming a little Hawk fan in training.

Boys looking cute in their Hawks gear, and check out that view! And sheltered from the rain too!

Xander sure loves his Great Uncle Mark! Awww!

Dada! Don't bite my hand! (But do note my adorable hat!)

So silly, Dada! I love you!

Uncle Jeremy just loves his little nephew. Aren't they so cute together?

Awww, Xander needed a hug! Good thing Uncle Jeremy was there!

This runs in the family or something because Anthony is always putting Mute in his sweatshirt, and he's tried it with Xander too. "Hey look, this is what Xander looks like inside my jersey with me!"

Apple Cup @ Qwest Field

2012-01-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Nope, still not calling it "Century Link Field"...

That's right! The Apple Cup was held at Qwest Field this year. Doesn't matter where it is, UW likes to dominate so bring it on!

We didn't take that many pictures of the action, but there was plenty of down time to photograph the bands at halftime!

Ok, we thought the UW band was awesome, but maybe that's just the caliber of marching band that a state college produces... not so much. The WSU/WAZZU band BLOWS. Literally and figuratively. Maybe they were confused by the lack of naturally occurring tumbleweeds in this area, but we like to think they are just less coordinated and awesome than our UW band....who rocks BTW.

Check out our band with not only their superior instrument playing abilities but the simultaneous precision needed to make kick ass, and sometimes fluidly changing, formations. Granted, we thought some of them were corny this season, but we appreciate now how difficult it must be since WSU sucks at making their own logo.

Photo op! Aww, dawgs in love!

Hey cougs, looks like it's too late to do anything about the fact that you are losing, HARD!

UW gets the win and the trophy! Yay!

Santa Kitteh

2012-01-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

Xander had his turn in the Santa suit... and of course we gave the kitties their due!

Santa Kitteh, I've heard you've been an awful cute boy, oh joy
But not an angel this year
Santa Kitteh, so hurry off to dinner tonight

Think of all the things you've eaten

Think of how lucky you are to not have been beaten
Next year you could be oh so good
If you'd just stop eating things that aren't food
Boo doo bee doo

Santa Kitteh, forgot to mention one little thing, you bring
This house oh so much joy
Santa Kitteh, so hurry off to dinner tonight

Hawks 12/12/11

2012-01-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

We already posted that the hawks season didn't go so well, but there were some highlights along the way, including the game on 12/12.

Amy got to see her first Monday Night Football game (insert audio clip of the old MNF song here... hehe)

Taima and the boys coming out of the tunnel is another one of her favorite parts of the game. The energy get's so high and the crowd is so ready for some football, a Monday night party if you will...

Being that it was an evening game in December, the weather was freakin' cold! Anthony layered up with 3 beanies (they were giving them out at the start of the game and Amy donated hers to the cause). It sure was frosty out, but fun to be there to witness the action!

We won almost every give away that night including the free pancakes! The doughnut eluded us for yet another game though... damn you Top Pot!

Xander @ 6 Months (Xander Claus)

2012-01-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

By now you've all seen the black and white and red Xander Claus photo, but here is the original version taken at 6 months. Xander looks awful cute in a Santa suit, but we had to get a few shots of him in street clothes to commemorate the age as well!

Sark sat in the window sill as Xander did his first flying leap forward from a seated position - too bad he was in a chair and not on the ground because this is how he wound up after Mama just caught him in the nick of time! Phew, she had to take a break so her heart rate could get back to normal before taking more photos. Looks pretty proud of himself tho, doesn't he?

Hehe, oops! Sorry Mama! Didn't mean to make you so scared. Do you need to take a moment to change your diaper?

Oh, HI Muters! She's always getting in the photo shoots.

What a sweetheart. How can you not love that little face!!?? And yes, you have seen this outfit before. Mama bought it in this size and when it went on sale she bought a tiny 0-3 month size, so this one definitely looks familiar!

two wild and crazy guys

2012-01-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

In early December, Mama went on a girls trip with Debbie, Selena, Samara, Cindy, Hannah and Ellen. While she was away, Dada and Xander had a little photo shoot.

First, why the Dr. Pepper box? Some time ago when Mama was organizing the pantry she ended up letting the kitties have an empty box in which to play and sit (so she could finish the job in peace!). This has resulted in the Beneezee household forever having an ever more dilapidated Dr. Pepper box in their hallway for the kitties to sit it, play with, hide from each other in and, well, eat. They don't mean to eat it per se, but the do SO enjoy bitting pieces of the cardboard off and spitting them out. Actually, in Sark's case, he probably does mean to eat the cardboard. Kitty pica.

Xander making eyes at the camera.

Watcha doin' kitteh?

Double click on this one for a closer look. That's a piece of cardboard in Mute's mouth. Xander was inspecting the damage. Structural integrity of the box? Sufficient.

Just maxin' and chillaxin'

Floor karate? Grabs? Floor figure skating?

There it is, the million dollar smile!

Husky Stadium - Final Game

2012-01-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

2011 marked the last game at the original Husky Stadium. Here's some photo evidence of the landmark as it was... and sadly some excrement, evidence of the presence of oregon ducks (no capitalization necessary, that's reserved for all that is proper, and ducks are not)

Let us reminisce about the days of Husky old...

Remember how people used to line up outside of the tunnel to cheer on the team? And how the husky (yes, the real dog) would run out along with the cheerleaders and pep squad?

Oh, and that last game before the remodel when UW fans came up with some crafty anti-duck signs?

... on a what?

Oh, you bet your ass!

Damn right it is!

Sark pacing on the sidelines... No one likes losing to the ducks, least of all Sark...

Remember the end zone and how the track went all around the field?

And how the band and the student section sat in some of the best seats in the house?

And the awesome turnout for the last game, even thought it was pretty much a lock that we would lose?

Go Dawgs! See you all back at the o-rig lo-cal in 2013! Until then, we'll find you at Qwest Field!

Xander's First Basketball Game!

2012-01-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

That's right! It's time to watch the Huskies play! Xander's first basketball AND Husky game! Yay! Wil was turning 30 and got a large group of his friends to join him for a game and adventures in the University District. The Beneezees made it out to the game, but as we learned the hard way, babies aren't welcome in bars...

Bundle up boys, it's cold out there! But it's a fairly short walk from the parking lot to Hec Ed. Yeah, we all still call it that. Suck it Alaska Airlines.

Aren't they so cute!?

So who did we see play? Huskies vs HUSKIES!?!? What? You mean the fake huskies! Houston Baptist University huskies that is.

Bubba and Dada watch the action!

Yay Dada! My first game!

Family photo op!

The view from our seats. No, not the best seats in the house... exactly the opposite actually. But still fun, despite the change in elevation. Ok, it's a really small stadium so it wasn't that bad at all really.

Xander was SOOO tired at the game. He's pretty good about finding a way to sleep in strange places, but this place was electric and scaring the crap out of him with every basket and crowd reaction. He's pretty sensitive to vibrations, even good good good good vibrations. We think they were giving him excitations.

We were all glad to be there for Wil and his big day, but we were perhaps equally thrilled when the game was over. We were pretty exhausted from all that trying to go to sleep!

Officially 5 Months

2012-01-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

(Didn't realize we missed this post... so here it is about 2 months late)

Xander's 5 month birthday was, of course, marked by a photo shoot with Mama. We started with some naked-baby-in-a-diaper shots and progressed to the hurry-before-you-grow-out-of-mama's-favorite-outfit shots. Xander got pretty cranky part way through but we managed to get some good ones. Drama ensued when Mama somehow lost all of these photos along with a bunch of other stuff (including the aforementioned batting practice shots that are officially gone forever). Luckily she found them on her SD card in the trash... but before she found them she took some more a few days later when Xander was happier... but in the same outfit of course!

We like how this one documents the everything-goes-in-baby's-mouth part of Xander's existence.

He, as we said, was pretty cranky... BUT looking straight up GANGSTA in this one! Listen, Bia, if you don't stop taking my picture, I'm gonna bust a cap! I'm hungry, go in the kitchen in make me some formula!

Oh, now I know why we were fussy. Every parent knows this face!

Much happier now! Yay! I love to jump!!

So cute! Always playing with his feeties too. That's our boy!

monorail kitteh...

2012-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

... only haz one stop

Solids? You mean these sharp things?

2012-01-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

No, we were thinking more like solid FOODS... but now that you mention it, yes you have been pushing those sharp things from your gum line. Those are called TEETH... but we call them teefies. (You'll need to double click on some of these to see a larger, more detailed, version...)

Sure, I'm smiling now... but soon I'll be balling my eyes out and hoping you understand that to mean I'm SO OVER eating this stuff!

I'm keeping these lips sealed for now... maybe you can try feeding me again later.

Sure, I'm hard to feed... super duper pain in your rear at dinner time... but I'm SOOO CUTE!

Can you see my teeth?

How about now?

Ahhhhhhh. Did you see them that time? Ok, they aren't all the way in yet but they are SO there! Ouch!

Time to make the lattes...

2012-01-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Mute and Sark get a little needy. For instance, when Amy uses the computer at the kitchen counter, sometimes Sark will come by and rub up on her leg as if to say, "Hey, Lady, down here... PET ME!" And if that isn't enough, he'll whine a bunch too. So finally she gives in and pulls out a kitchen chair for him to sit on while she does her stuff. He get's to sit next to her, get the pets, and keeps her company too.

Mute is also needy. She used to have a Purr Pavilion set up in the dining room just on the other side of the wall from where we keep the latte machine. Sometimes when Amy would make a latte, and Mute was feeling in the right sort of mood she'd run over and do the leg rub dance, then jump into the Purr Pavilion hoping for the pets. Well, some time ago the Purr Pavilion was removed and so now Mute and Amy do the chair dance at latte time, just like during computer time with Sark. Some evidence below. So cute.

Batting practice....

2012-01-02T21:31:00.002-08:00

So on fan appreciation day at Safeco Field, Anthony had a bunch of tickets and won 2 prizes. First was a Josh Bard autographed jersey which is now hanging in Anthony's office. And second was an opportunity for Anthony and 10 friends to take batting practice at Safeco Field. It was an amazing experience and Larry, Jeremy, Samara, Wil, Matt, Booth, Laura, Dave Arensberg, Amy and Xander all were able to go on the field, in the dugout and basically pretend Safeco Field was our own personal park for an hour. Unfortunately we lost the pictures on our camera due to some SD card transferring issues. So you will have to take our word for it. Anthony batted right and left handed and Matt had the farthest hit to deep center.

UPDATE

Okay, we were able to get ONE picture...

ARB goes to Jersey....

2012-01-02T21:31:00.001-08:00

Anthony went to New Jersey for business back in October. SMART had a one night convention and while in NJ he visited with customers. First stop was with Poor Boy Trading's Ed and Phil for lunch and a tour of their office in Sterling Plaza.

Ed paid $100 for these trophies.....funny shot, should be on their website.

At the convention, Anthony was finally able to meet some people that he had only spoke with on the phone. Below see Alan Liss from ALA in Massachusetts.

Preet from Pri Sun in Toronto.

Steve Bethell from Bank and Vogue kissed Anthony on the cheek just before this shot. Too bad the camera didn't catch that for proof.

Scott Cynamon from Cyntex, Steve and Anthony near the end of the convention.

The next day, Scott took Anthony out for a tour of New York City. They started off in Sodo and toured the upper East side, Greenich, Brooklyn among other spots. Anthony couldn't resist the Burton shot.

The Empire State Building from afar.

Anthony and Scott had lunch in Central Park.

They tried going to the Guggenheim Museum but since it was a Thursday (what the F is up with that) it was closed for cleaning.

So instead they went to the Metropolitan Museum.

There was some amazing art all throughout.

Amazing rooms as well.

This was brought in from Egypt and the room was built around it after it was brought to NYC.

The stained glass was very cool.

There was a small amount of Jewish artifacts.

And a whole midevil room with knights of armor, swords, etc.

Anthony thouroughly enjoyed New York more than New Jersey but was happy to come back home to Xander and Amy.

Seahawks update......

2012-01-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

Well the Seahawks season finally is over. It was a good ride and we played better than expected. Getting caught up since we havent blogged in a while, here are some shots from the Arizona game we went to with Mark and Cindy back in September.

T Jack celbrating after running in a TD.

Mark and Cindy both in Hawks gear.

Go Hawks. Maybe we can get a new QB, get healthy and do what the 49ers did this year and greatly improve to take the NFC West Crown..... We will soon see.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T12:16:00.001-08:00

This year we have a lot to be thankful for, but mainly Xander! Grandma and Grandpa Brelsford decided to join us all for Thanksgiving at Debbie and Larry's house. We all had a great time with our extended family including all of the kids, Uncle Rob, Samara's Mom and her boyfriend Kevin, Paul (a family friend), Lynnette and Remi (our good friend and her daughter).

Before we all headed over for the festivities and dinner, Grandma and Grandpa came over for some extra Xander time. Grandpa doesn't do such a good job of looking at the calendar when we ask him to... but here is the photographic evidence we collected..

We also got a rare photo of Great Uncle Rob with Xander! Rob generally refuses to hold children as a rule, but we managed to melt his heart a little...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cookie Monster!

2011-11-25T11:58:00.001-08:00

Xander has many nicknames, and we're sure that over the course of his life he will have many more. Before he was born he was a strong kicker, but he would get especially active when his Mama would eat one of her favorite foods... chocolate chip cookies! Thus, he was called Cookie Monster!

On Thanksgiving night, we broke out his Cookie Monster towel for the first time... it's still a little too big for him, but it gets the job done. Plus it makes him look extra cute in the process!

What's that on your dome?

2011-11-25T10:43:00.001-08:00

Mama said to Dada, "Can you throw me that burp cloth?" So Dada obliged.

Somehow the cloth wrapped around Xander's dome just so, and Mama finished off the look with a gentle wrap around the crown... the camera seems to have caught the little guy a bit off guard... but the look is still pretty cute.

November visit to Yelm

2011-11-25T10:26:00.001-08:00

Mama took Xander down to Yelm for a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Brelsford.

Grandpa had to go to work but had some time to bond with the little man first.

Mama and Xander spent the rest of the day into the evening with Grandma.

Mama and Grandma took Xander and ran some errands together. It's always nice to have that extra time to spend together. Looking forward to our next visit!

Born to be WILD!

2011-11-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

Like a true nature child, he was born, born to be wild...

What's a mohawk? Oh. What's a faux-hawk? Oh!

I like it! I REALLY like it!

And so does Dada!

Thanks for making my faux-hawk, Mama!

Attention Haters...

2011-11-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

... where's the love?

Yeah, we're talking to you!

We know you read our blog... but you never comment! We know you like to read our blog, and we like to read comments about our blog!

You don't have to follow our blog officially (by signing up as a follower with your gmail address...) but come on, would it kill you to post a comment here or there? All it takes is a moment of your time and a gmail account, which we know just about everyone in the world has...

... so come on, where's the love?

Halloween Revisited...

2011-11-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

Mama took some pre-halloween photos in the event Xander had a major growth spurt and outgrew his costume in time for Halloween, so those are the photos you've already seen. On the actual day, we took a few more too. Enjoy!

Hi, Everybody! I love my Dada!

And my Dada loves ME!

Just maxin' and chillaxin'... waiting for peeps to come get the candy from Dada

Can I have some candy?

Haha, I made a funny!

Are we done yet?

More pictures!? Fine, I'm pulling your hair... HARD!!

Sorry, Mama, I love you!

It's a Mute in a bag... a Mute in a bag yay yay...

2011-11-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

She is wise enough to know when a gift needs givin', and she's got just the one...

Anthony was pretty excited to get his new Husky backpack - just the right size to bring all the important things to those Husky games... And just like a kid going back to school, Anthony didn't want to leave home without his favorite fuzzy little girl...

After some fun in the bag, it was time for some freedom... Mute didn't mind the little excursion, but she's happy that we left her at home, it was hella cold at the game! She's so cute with her diva-serious face...

Who likes oatmeal anyway?

2011-11-10T11:47:00.001-08:00

Around four and a half months, Xander started to get a little fussy about his bottle feeding. He got to a point where he'd gone through a 24 hour period without ever finishing a bottle and not eating a whole lot through that time. He wasn't sick or all that fussy in general, he just didn't want a bottle. His Mama and Dada got worried because this is really out of character for him. As it turned out, these new parents were misreading his cues and trying to feed him too often and we've since gotten it all straightened out. But... back when this was all going down we were desperate and tried giving Xander some baby oatmeal. The doctor had already cleared us for solid foods, but we'd elected to wait till he was 6 months or we thought he needed to try something new. So... here are photos of his first bite of food!

For all you experienced parents out there, this should look about right.

Xander also got pretty serious about trying to hold the bowl, but we had it under control...

We'd tried feeding him in a bumbo seat at first, but then we moved him to his high chair for the first time! And he was enjoying himself...

Dada took a turn feeding his son...

It wasn't all smiles, but there was no crying and when it was all over Xander's expression seemed to ask, "Did I do good?" Yes, sweetheart, the best!

UPDATE: After the first feeding, Mama and Dada decided that we would try giving Xander a small amount of cereal twice a day, but only so long as the little guy was still refusing his bottle. Mama tried with the cereal again two more times, but Xander refused to eat. As it turns out he was just trying to eat too often and now he's back to just bottles... see you back at the high chair in a month or so, buddy!

Blue Bear Cub

2011-11-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

This Halloween it was time for some cuteness! FO SHO!

2011 - the year of the blue bear cub! He's ferocious....ly handsome!

When Mama suited him up in this ensemble, she almost passed out from the sheer adorable level...

And when Dada saw his first photo via Instant Messenger at work he said, "OMG is all I can say!" Ya basta!

Mr. Popular

2011-11-10T11:09:00.001-08:00

Xander is so popular that everyone is trying to book a date with him! Recently we all went over to Nana and Papa's house to visit with them and Aunti Vi. We had a nice Sephardic breakfast and took advantage of the photo op.

Aunti Vi needed some one on one time with the little man...

Nana couldn't resist getting in on the Xander action for long...

Nana sure loves this little guy!

In closing, Papa has an expression he likes to toast with, and he and Nana have a candy dish engraved with that saying... to health, love and wealth, and the time to enjoy them!

Don't forget about the kitties...

2011-10-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

Gotta show the kitties a little love and give them a blog post here and there. These were taken during Xander's 4 month photo shoot:

How much are those kitties in the window? Pretty pricey... first we'd never part with them for money, and second, you wouldn't WANT them... trust me... little miscreants...

Sup, I'm Sark, I'm a smooth operator... can't you tell?

Uh, what, huh? I'm Mute, I don't pay much attention to anything other than that which I want to...

Sometimes we look the same way, do the same things...

Other times we don't...

When I work at it, I can be pretty well mannered and I'm always easy on the eyes...

And I was born cute, or so my Mama told me, so everyone puts up with my Diva attitude because of the cuteness factor...

4 Months - strong and growing!

2011-10-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

4 months old... time for another of Mama's famous photo shoots!

Who can resist taking hundreds of shots of this precious face?

This one documents a first for Xander... this was the first time he intentionally grabbed something with this hand! He stared down the camera strap, focused, got his hand to go the right direction and PRESTO! GRAB!!

The next day it was time for a couple of belly shots. He doesn't LOVE being on his belly for too long at a time, but when he's cool with it, he's SO cute!

Chillin' on the landing of the stairs with his Mama and Dada's picture looking over him...

His 4 month appointment went awesome - vaccines taken like a champ and officially in the 50th percentile or higher for all the important stuff... way to GROW buddy!!

Beneezee's 4 Year Anniversary

2011-10-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

For our 4th Anniversary, we wanted to go to the TD206 restaurants that we haven't been to yet. TD206 is what we call Tom Douglas's restaurants. We started off at the Palace Kitchen. We had a drink and appetizers including a salmon corn chowder (a non-traditional chowder, more like a soup) and olive poppers (SO good!).

After the Palace Kitchen, we went to Dahlia Lounge. We ordered a raviollini dish that Amy was skeptical of (but admitted later that it was the best dish of the night) and an ahi dish that was very tasty.

Finally we finished by going to Lola's for some kebabs. We got 1 salmon kebob and 1 fig and halloumi cheese kebob. We were Kebob-ing, and we hope you like kebob-ing too.

It was fun to go appetizer hopping at the TD206 restaurants, we highly recommend it, and was a cool way to celebrate our anniversary.

It is funny how fast the time flies by.....

Doesn't feel like this was that long ago. Next year is a bigger milestone. Bring on #5!

3 Months Old & Getting Cuter Every Minute!

2011-10-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Since Xander is already 4 months old, we thought we'd just share a few choice photos of his third month here on Earth...

Dude can really rock a hat!

And the serious face...

And the smile that reminds Mama of Grandpa Brelsford...

And he sure does love his Dada!!

How much is that ...

2011-09-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

... kitty in the window?

Not that we approve....but she sure is cute.

Amy was taking photos of Xander on the couch and when she got up to to change angles she spotted the little girl in the window. Before scolding her, as we normally would, we had to get photographic evidence of the offense... At one point she couldn't figure out how to escape her self imposed jail, she scooted backwards across the window ledge and determined that she couldn't get out that way... finally...

Freedom!!

Husky Opener vs Eastern and game 2 vs Hawaii

2011-09-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

For many months, it seemed like football was never going to get started again. With the NFL lockout lasting 4 months and the Mariners being competitive until their 17 game losing streak in the early part of the summer, college football was kind of lurking in the background. But as the calendar turned to August the Beneezee's started to get jacked up.

The first game was against Division II National Champ Eastern Washington. It was a trap game....no win situation. If we won, everyone would be like who cares. If we lost, we are a laughing stock who cannot beat a D-2 team. Well on this beautiful Seattle day, the game was very close all game long.

Amy and Anthony got new t-shirts at the Bellevue U-book store, a book and mini Dawg for Xander among other things. Both t-shirts were sported at the game.

This TD was the 1st of the year for UW and went to the fullback.

The Chris Polk show continued with him getting over 100 yards with a knee that was at best 80% healed.

The Dawgs were up at the end and Eastern was driving down the field. Desmond Trufant fortunately made a great play and intercepted the ball to clinch the win.

Game 2 had the Huskies offense playing much better at the beginning. We scored 3 TD's and had a ton of yards in the 1st quarter. The game looked like it could be a route but Amy warned Anthony that it was really early.

The coaches and players were celebrating all over the field. It was different to see them in white pants with the purple jerseys.

Dubs was probably quite hot running around out there.

Coach Sark had a hand in the selection of the helmets we wore. This was to commemorate 9/11.

The Chris Polk show was on again. He still isn't 100% but he is getting closer.

This catch by Austin Safarian Jenkins was the clincher. It was an excellent catch. Not bad for a Freshman!

All of us dressed up in Purple to support the Dawgs! This was Xander's first game... even though he didn't get to go, he wanted to show his school spirit! He knows he's going to UW eventually, so he's just preparing himself early!

30 Surprises for 30 Years...

2011-09-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Amy, being creative and crafty, decided that she would have 30 birthday surprises for Anthony's 30th birthday. Some were small, others gigantic......... Anthony's big day was on Saturday August 13th and on the 12th, Amy surprised him with a small gathering at the house. Jere and Samara's dog Macy came and ran all over the yard prompting some to worry that Anthony wouldn't be surprised if Macy was seen when Anthony pulled into the driveway on his way home from work. No one had their cars on the block so Anthony had no hints.

It was quiet and Xander was at Gigi's house even though Amy said he was upstairs sleeping. Sommer was over all day and Amy told Anthony to go outside to see Sommer who was enjoying the nice weather. In reality, there was a whole surprise lurking behind the closed blinds. As you can see from the picture below, Anthony was quite surprised.

There was a whole bunch of food, snacks, beers, etc. Nick worked the grill to serve up salmon burgers and corn on the cob.

It was gorgeous out that day and it was really fun being outside and enjoying our yard.

Anthony relaxed a ton and drank a few beers.

Amy bought a 7 lb chocolate cake that was, as Jeremy said, "intense."

The next day around 9am, Anthony heard a knock on the door. Being tired from getting up in the middle of the night with the bubba, he stumbled downstairs without a shirt and with his shorts on backwards to answer the door. With eyes still blurry he looked thru the window of the door and saw a boy. His first thought was "why is a boy selling girl scout cookies so early in the morning?" After a few seconds to process, Anthony opened the door and was monumentally surprised when he saw the Acostas in the door way! Amy had helped fly them up to Seattle for the weekend which was the biggest surprise of all so far that weekend. We, of course, relaxed and caught up and introduced everyone to Xander. The Acostas were clearing their face book page nightly because they were in town for a few days prior visiting their family and didn't want the surprise to be leaked. No one except Lynnette knew of this surprise. Amy kept it from Anthony, her parents, and everyone else we knew for 3+ months.

That Saturday night Lynnette and Scott McEuen came over to watch the Acosta boys, we dropped Xander off at Gigi's and the 4 of us went out to Flying Fish for an all adult dinner. We each got a different fish dish and the food was excellent. It was a restaurant Amy and Anthony had never been to and it was fun trying a new place.

With Birthdays come presents... so to add to Anthony's growing baseball collection, Nick got Anthony a Randy Johnson (who had a really weird signature when he got into the league) and Nolan Ryan autographed baseball.

A whole bunch of other gifts such as a new watch from Utah, some Oregonian whisky, books, and a ton of other good loot was attained. After Anthony was done opening all presents, Amy pulled out 1 more.

Suffice to say that the Dan Marino autographed helmet was an amazing end to a milestone birthday. Anthony had wanted this since he was 13 years old, so this was a long time coming. It is now at Buffalo in a protective case.

The next day the Acostas and Beneezees went to Mercer Island to swim.

Heather and Ezra hung out for a while and swam a bit. The weather was perfect typical Seattle August and it was nice to cool off in the pool and relax in the jacuzzi.

Once home, the Acostas and Benezra's did what we do best.....nothing but sit, chill and play with our phones and Ipad.

I think we have this pose of Heather in Utah, Washington, Puerto Rico and Las Vegas. She heart's her tech gadgets and games... hella...

Jack has grown so much. It is amazing to think that Xander will be this grown up some day soon.

Overall, it was a pretty incredible weekend all thanks to Amy. She is a sly and sneaky lady and planned all of this before Xander was born. Thanks Ames! Love you!

Xander - the boy turned luck charm celebrity

2011-09-20T01:11:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was Fan Appreciation Day at Safeco... that's the one day a year Amy is a lock to go to the M's game... all other games are more torture than they are worth to her; she's a fair-weather M's fan fo sho...

So, needless to say we took the whole family to the game. We'd started the day of sports by watching the Husky game at home, but Amy and Xander didn't wear their Husky gear, so obviously the Huskies lost...

We got the Safeco a little early and on the way in we scanned all the extra tickets Anthony had collected over the season in an effort to win a prize (for once).

As we waited inside for the tickets to get scanned (the benefit of the third base D.C. entry) we got a certificate for Xander that marks the date and game information as his first ever attended M's game; pretty cool!

He also got the Moose's trading card... that's gonna be worth a fortune someday after the Moose retires... we'll try for an autograph next time so Xander can sell it and put himself through college.

We were able to upgrade our seats to Diamond Club - woo hoo! - so Anth and Ames had some grub while Xander chilled in the Baby Bjorn and eventually had some milk - his favorite meal! Everyone was in their M's garb, including Xander - he was sporting his "My 1st M's" t-shirt and beanie from Grandma and Grandpa Brelsford.

Finally it was game time and time to get to the seats. Our tickets were for the third row but the whole second row was empty, so we jumped on that action. What's better than row 3? Row 2 of course!

So as we're watching the game we're also checking our ticket stubs against the prize winning ticket numbers that are being announced. Some prizes are way cooler than others, and we never win... ever. So it came as a total shock when one of our tickets was called! Anthony won an hour of batting practice at Safeco field for himself and 10 friends! The date hasn't been scheduled yet, and we aren't sure what exactly it entails (a pitching machine, totally empty field, tarps over most of the area so we don't mess it up OR a total game-day experience with a real live pitcher, total field access, etc... we're not holding out too much hope for the latter). Way to go, Anthony, for winning the prize! And thanks, Xander, for being our good luck charm.

As we sat in out seats it dawned on us that maybe we're on TV because we are so close to the action and in the line of the camera's sight. So we asked our good friends Wil and Laura, who we assumed were watching the game, to let us know if this was the case and sure enough they sent us text message pictures of us on TV. Xander's first TV appearance!! It's a little hard to tell, but in true Benezra family fashion... Anthony is checking something on his phone, Amy is looking like she doesn't love watching the M's loose no matter how good the seats are, and Xander is totally digging the whole hand-in-the-mouth thing. Priceless.

This was shaping up to be quite the night for the little guy! But the evening wasn't over yet! Time for more prize giveaways... no chance of winning to things in one night after never having won before, right? WRONG! Xander won an autographed jersey! Ok, so it's for our backup catcher... but it's an AUTOGRAPHED JERSEY! Come on folks, let's focus on the bright side here... duh, winning!

Of course Dada is going to have it framed for the little guy (probably with Mama's help doing it on the cheap as it's only the backup catcher and all...) and he'll keep it in a safe place for him (his office at Buffalo) until he's old enough to decide if he wants to hang it up in his room (at this juncture, Mama doesn't want to give up precious wall space in the nursery for it, and quite frankly she doesn't want to see it every time she's in there... sorry boys).

Wow. Xander's first Husky loss - no bueno... but from there, the day just got better and better for the little guy! He didn't even poop himself at Safeco (something Mama and Dada were both dreading a bit). We sure had fun together, our little family sitting together taking photos of all the excitement, getting the perfect shots, making memories.

Some more photos...

Mama got Xander to sleep after his bottle while we were still inside at the Diamond Club... so he basically spent a little while hiding/sleeping under Mama's jacket.. this was when he poked his head out for the first time... Welcome to Safeco!!

Eventually it was time for Xander to sport the ear protection... we never wanted to be the kind of parents who drag their kids to things that they need ear protection for, but sometimes you gotta just live life!

Xander with Dada...

Xander with Mama...

And of course, once it got cold enough, it was time for Xander to sport his personalized "lil' neezy" All-Star sweatshirt, courtesy of the aforementioned Wil and Laura soon-to-be Lavaris. Thanks guys!

Bartender...

2011-09-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

Looking for a nightcap in the Beneezee household?

"Bartender," said Xander, "I'll have a warm milk, in a bottle please..."

"Make that two warm milks," said Dada, "but can you steam mine and put it in a glass?"

"Make that three warm milks," said Mama, "but steam mine too and add two shots of decaf espresso!"

Mmmm! Milk!! It does our bodies good!

Crocodile Rock

2011-08-31T23:31:00.000-07:00

Mama needed to get her own proof of the bubbala feeding himself, so it was time for yet another photo shoot. It was, after all, the last time Xander would fit into his cutest PJs...

First, the bottle shots. Way to go, Xander!

Then it was time for some general cuteness...

And of course, the SMILE!! Bubbala is laughing now too! He just had his first family laugh-fest this evening. He smiled, spit up, smiled and then started laughing as Mama was cleaning up... then when Dada came to see what was so funny, the spit up continued, as did the cleaning and the laughing. See, spitting up CAN be fun! Who knew!?

i feedaself

2011-08-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Dada is teaching Xander how to hold the bottle all by himself. Strangely enough, the little guy doesn't quite know what his hands are just yet or what they are meant for, BUT, if you get that bottle in his strong hands just right, he can feed himself! Way to go, Xander! And nice job, Dada, for getting the digital proof!

Eye Candy

2011-08-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

New photos hot off the camera... Enjoy!

Xander may not love our little photo shoots, but he does pretty well...

Mama had to get him in his I <3 Mommy outfit (which he always poops through or needs changing quickly after putting it on for some reason)

This photo makes you think he's shy... but we think it's a front...

No, no one scared the crap out of him, he just makes this face sometimes...

Raise your hand if you love your Mama... who loves his Mama...? "I do, Mama, I do!!"

I'm listening...

Bright lights are fun to look at, ooooooh....

Ok, Mama, time for the photo shoot to be over... oh, and could you check my diaper and put me down for a nap too please?

The next day, it was naked baby time!

Hip hop hooray, ho... hey... ho...

I'm so excited... so I'm gonna try and hide it...

Ahhh, Paparazzi!!

I love my hands SO much! They make me so happy that I smile with my whole face!

Extreme close up!

Sea Fair 2011

2011-08-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sea Fair 2011 was on Saturday this year. The day started off gloomy and gray but it burned off just in time.

Sommer and her friend Geoff showed up, along with Laura, The Fisks and the Stewarts.

Thanks to Matt Fisk for taking pictures. Anthony and Amy had to deal with a crying Xander for much of the show. They are awesome planes and pilots and we hope the government doesn't cut them from the budget due to the bad economy.

Grandpa becomes a man.....at 83

2011-08-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Due to the war, Grandpa wasn't able to become a Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13. Since the Torah says that a "normal" life span is 70 years, many Jews believe that if you are able to live to be 83 years old (13 years past your "normal" life), you can either have a 2nd Bar Mitzvah or a 1st if you missed your chance.

Allan threw a party on Friday night to commemorate this event. Since he is good buds with the owners and management he got the menu personalized. The prices were also removed so Henry wouldn't feel the Jewish guilt and could order whatever he wanted for his special day.

This was Xander's first time in a restaurant and he slept most of the time. Mama happily kept him quiet and content.

The next morning, at Temple, we were there a while before the service started for family pictures. Xander cried for some of the photos, but slept thru the whole ceremony.

Family shot minus a bunch of Friedman's.

Grandpa with the Rabbi who filled in for Rabbi Weiner who is on sabbatical.

Jeremy, Selena and Anthony all had a small part. Tough to see in the picture but Anthony had Xander with him during the prayer. That meant a lot to Henry, too.

One of the funniest parts of the Bar Mitzvah was that Grandpa's Yamacha/Kippah kept falling off. It sat at the side of his head as you can see and eventually he noticed and fixed it. Next time, a bobby pin would be helpful.

Nana and Papa were invited to the after party. Nana normally doesn't allow pictures to be taken and since this is a good one, we had to put it on the blog.

Our table was clearly the coolest. Jordan, Jonathan, Josh, Samara, Anthony and Amy were all there too of course. Xander was safely at home - this was Mom and Dad's first night out with a sitter! Thank you to Lynnette for taking such wonderful care of our little one.

A whole bunch of speeches were made in honor of Grandpa. Rob, Jeff and Debbie, David Friedman, Jeremy, Selena, Anthony, Amy and Josh all made speeches. This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma enjoying Jeff's speech. Jeff cried during his speech, and so did Amy due to post prego hormones... she also made most everyone else cry too...

The restaurant made a cake. It is always funny to see a restaurant try and write a message.

"Happy belated birthday" = nice non-Jewish way of saying "Congrats on your Bar Mitzvah."

Not sure what was happening here.....'nuf said.

The Sunday following the Bar Mitzvah, Larry and Debbie hosted a brunch for Grandpa, Grandma and their friends. Before everyone showed up, these hooligans decided to wake board and swim across the shortest part of the lake. Jeremy made it going slow and steady. Jordan got tired as he started off way too strong.

Grizzly Adams aka Joshua.

Xander enjoyed the party, though he slept thru a bunch of it. He is so damned cute, right?

Xander - 2 months

2011-08-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, he was a day short of two months, but close enough! This was an emotional time as this was the last time he would fit into this adorable onesie... it was emotional only because it's one of Mama's favorites, so she had to document the heck out of it! Here are 3 of her favorite shots!

Bath Time is Cute Time

2011-08-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Mama just can't get enough photos! Especially when Xander is wearing his hooded bath towel in her favorite color, and then on top of that Xander is the cutest baby ever!

Dada got the honors of drying the little guy off, they are SO cute together!

This is Mama's favorite photo from the bunch, so precious:

This one is pretty cute too, check the tongue action:

This is when he flexed for his uncle Jeremy - Jere wasn't there of course, but he's follows his workout routine pretty closely:

Oh no, the bath is over and it's time to lay on the changing table for diapers and clothes, Xander always hates that and has a serious pouty face to prove it!

Flashback: 1 month old

2011-08-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

Mama likes to try to sneak in a few non-professional photo shoots with the little guy from time to time. Here is a flash back coming to you all the way from July of this year!

One month later, Xander is still all about the mad grips (similar to his first moments on earth as evidenced by the 06/05/11 photo to the right):

Not all the photos come out perfect, but even the outtakes are real keepers:

And the keepers are REAL keepers!

Oh, Mama, I'm about to sneeze!!

AAAACHOOOOO! (Action shot, and a good one too cuz he does this A LOT! We call him Ebesneezer)

Awww, "Hi, Mama! I'm just the cutest thing you've ever seen, huh!?"

Ok, Mama, I'm SO done with this photo shoot!

Kitties heart Kitty Beds

2011-08-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

We've got kitty beds (really small dog beds, but who can tell?) all over the house so the little fur balls can plotz. Recently Amy thought that since they like the bed under the TV in the bedroom so much, maybe they'd sit there more often and together too boot if there were two beds there. So she moved one in and wouldn't you know the idea caught on with the little ones!? It's funny because they used to share the one bed on occasion, but now they can sit side by side, or alternate beds. They are very amused.

Proof:

Close Up Proof:

This time they were even color coordinating with their beds!

Xander - The World Traveler

2011-08-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

In an effort to show Xander the world, we recently took him on a short trip to Canada. Anthony had a work related function to attend (an Indian/Punjabi wedding for a friend from work), so Amy and Xander tagged along.

Xander didn't really want to go... he was pretty happy just before we left:

But nevertheless we headed up to the border, the Peach Arch to be exact...

As we approached the border itself, we checked in on the little guy and told him what what about to happen, he was about to leave the USA...

Wait, WHAT? (double click to see the full sized image/closer look)

NOOOOOOO! Take me back to AMERICA! I miss the land of the free and the home of the brave!

When we arrived the highlight of the trip for Anthony was the fact that our sick a$$ hotel had a TV installed IN the mirror of the bathroom. Strange as it was it got totally different channels than the TV in the other room... but it was still pretty cool. Amy enjoyed watching part of a Kids in the Hall episode (duh, cuz it was Canada, eh) and a Canadian comedian that was so hilarious she's sad that she never caught his name!

Finally, Xander decided it was time for us to go home...

But not before we got a picture of the crosswalk signs for J-Fam, he loves those jolly Canadian crosswalks! This one is for you, J!

We're all happy to be back, safe and sound, in the great US of A! Thanks for the cheap duty free booze, Canada. See you next time!

Big Day - Xander's Bris & Babynaming

2011-07-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Xander's Bris took place one week after he was born, as is the tradition in Jewish families. Family and friends were in attendance and he was a real champ through the whole ceremony... he slept!

Here are the shabbat candles, Kidush cup (Anthony's), and Xander's naming certificate from the Rabbi.

Grandma snuck a kiss before the ceremony!

Rabbi Wiener was able to perform the ceremony for us, just before his sabbatical. Phew.

Eliza caught a tender moment - here's Grandma in the foreground with Gigi and Pappu in the background keeping their emotions in control.

Grandpa Brelsford is not much for speaking in public, but he and Grandma Brelsford both wanted to be a part of this special day. Thanks to Grandpa for getting over his fears and making the day just perfect! He was the best speaker of the day, besides MAYBE the Rabbi :)

Mama and Dada could just not keep their eyes off the little guy - so precious and such a good sleeper (when he wants to be)!

Here's Dada, most likely making a smart alex remark to Aunti Vi, Nana and Papa.

The Brother's Friedman (the two Washington dwelling ones that is).

Still sleeping after the ceremony was over! This didn't last long. Once the swaddle came off and photos started, the screaming ensued.

Auntie Lynnette, Auntie Sommer being filled in on some Mama-hood details from the Mama herself.

The Benezras

The Brelsfords

The Great Grandparents

Four generations of Benezra men!

The original three Benezra kids with the new addition!

Auntie Julie and Uncle Matt - the Fisks!

Auntie Sommer, sporting her purple hat in support of Xander's future admission to UW!

Auntie Lynnette

We interrupt this regularly scheduled programing for a screaming break - time for Xander to have a snack from the Mama!

There, that's better. No more screaming now that the X Man has been well fed! Isn't his outfit so cute!?

Uncle Nick

Uncle Wil and Auntie Laura

Auntie Sara and Uncle Reid were in attendance too! All the way from Hawaii, they just happened to be in town - bonus!

Eliza Truitt in the flesh! Thanks for all the beautiful photos and memories!

TIme Machine - Xander @ 5 Days Old

2011-07-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Let's go back in time... a time when the little guy was just 5 days old, barely even...

Photo Credit: Eliza Truitt Photography (she's the best, check it out!)

Our matching ID bracelets from the hospital. Xander's, obviously in the foreground, is so little and cute!

Anthony surprised Amy as she sat down for the shoot. He pulled a gift bag out from under a sweatshirt and surprised her with a "baby gift" (also known as a "push gift" hehe). It's a beautiful ring with 3 stones, one to represent each of the three of us. The stone is called Alexandrite; we all found that quite fitting.

Proud Mama!

Proud Papa! This is one of the things Anthony loves to do with Xander... let's him use Anthony's nose as a pacifier... it doesn't work all that well, but they like it...

We had the grandmas over for the shoot too, happy family!

Here's Gigi (Grandma Benezra) with her Son and Grandson

And Here's Grandma (Grandma Brelsford) with her Daughter and Grandson

Here's Xander being swung in Dada's arms, isn't he so cute?

Xander got tired of the photo shoot and started throwing punches... here's proof!

Dada + Mama + The Boy = Love

GIRAFFE SIGHTING! The kid is inundated with giraffes, some of them hand-me-downs from Mama and Grandmama... some are new too. He's also lying on a beautiful safari/giraffe themed quilt made by his Auntie Sommer.

We hope to have a good picture of the 5 of us (Dada + Mama + Xander + Mute + Sark) soon too!

Feet

2011-07-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sark's... cute feet...

Xander's... tiny feet...

Anthony's... mutant feet... he can snap his toes, and he's crossing them here in his sleep...

Mute's... cutest feet in the house...

Amy's... missing feet...

no photographic evidence that her's exist...

This post is also intended to creep Laura out... just a little bit... she hates feet... almost all of them, except for Xander's... and maybe the kitties...

Savvy?

2011-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Mute is so cute... in this particular photo we caught her licking her chops mid yawn... but Amy says it reminds her of Captain Jack Sparrow saying, "Savvy?" She hearts it. Don't you just wanna reach through the screen and pet her...?

Sark Hearts the Sun

2011-07-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

Xander's furry brother, Sark, really <3's the sun... a lot. He know's the pattern of the sun (given that it is actually sunny enough to experience sunshine) so well that he sorta follows it throughout the day inside the house. It starts on the couch in the morning and makes it's way around along various floor sections, and not only does he find the sun, but he's training his furry sister, Mute, to do the same.

The photos don't do him justice, but one day Amy caught him catching some rays on her way up the stairs... this is Sark sunbathing at the top of the stairs just outside of our bedroom. Enjoy!

2 weeks old

2011-06-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

So over the last 2 weeks, everyone has settled into a bit more of a routine. We are far from perfect, but everyone is sleeping more (in shifts if necessary), Anthony is getting to work every day (late still counts as going) and all Doctor appointments have been good.

Amy rocking the Moby Wrap that Lynnette gave us.....Pretty cool to be hands free. Speaking of hands, can you see he's wearing his mittens...?

Coach Lavaris and Laura have been over a few times and Wil even held Xander. OMG! Obviously we had to document the big event...

On Friday, Anthony really wanted to watch the Mariners game and he lasted until the 8th inning and fell asleep with Xander on his belly. Lynnette and Amy were able to hang out and chat so it wasn't a total lost cause. Amy recorded the rest of the game just so Anthony and Xander wouldn't miss anything big...

Xander has so many cute outfits that we have tried taking pictures of our favorites so far.....some have been puked on or peed on so the outfit was only worn a short time. The gator sleeper is very cute. This particular outfit has seen it's fair share of pre-treating... first time he wore it his cord stump came off and he bled on the outfit... got it all clean, put it on a few days later... same day his scab fell off... more blood, more shouting it out...

We gave him a sponge bath the first week he was home. This week we gave him a real bath in his tub that Lana and Drew gave us. It worked pretty well. Xander hated the bath at the beginning; Anthony shown here trying to shush him to be more calm.

But he seemed to enjoy getting clean near the end. Good first bath everyone.

The bath towel he uses after a bath is adorable and we had to include the shot. He's our little blue clean and fresh puppy!

So sleep sacks seem to be a relatively new invention because Anthony didn't know about them. The cool thing is there aren't any buttons or snaps to deal with at 3am... or any other time for that matter. And Amy likes to turn up the bottom to keep his arms swaddled while she works... so multipurpose!

On Father's Day at brunch at Grandma Benezra's house (Name still TBD, Gigi anyone?) Selena decided to hold and stare at Xander for about an hour. She still hasn't stolen the baby yet, but we always have the 50's on speed dial and ready just in case.

Future All-star one-sie with grey pants and socks....simple but freaking cute....baby clothes are cute because they are so small, but also because it is fun dressing him. Plus, we've had this onesie for years waiting for the perfect baby to come along... and here he is!

Another Lynnette gift (one of the first two outfits Xander received while still in the womb). Most of Xander's socks are just still too big as you can see from the picture.

Another sleeper. This one has footies, but complete with zipper instead of buttons or snaps... we like!

So Mute seems to be warming up some to Xander. Seen here, both are sleeping but Mute is resting her foot gently on Xander's dome. This was very funny.

Such a small and quiet boy in this picture.....if he only never cried, how cool would that be? Thanks to Sommer's mom Debbie for this cute safari sleeper!

We can't believe our little guy is 2 weeks old already! We find the screaming fits a bit challenging to deal with at times, but we couldn't be more happy or in love with Xander Jax!

AB^2 + 2c + X = Family

2011-06-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

On June 5th, 2011 at 7:42 am, we welcomed a new member to our family; Xander Jax Benezra. Xander weighed in at 7lb 9oz and measured 20.75" in length. Amy's water broke at 4:24am on Saturday 06/04/11 and we went to the hospital 2 hours later. After we were admitted, Amy was put on Pitocin to start up her contractions. After a very long day and night (27+ hours from when the water broke), an epidural, a scare of maybe having to have a C-section and not having our OBGYN at the hospital because he wasn't on call, Xander finally burst into the world. We stayed at the hospital for a day and a half after the birth to recover, learn and rest up and then went home. Mute and Sark both sniffed Xander when we first got home and they are very friendly and curious. They aren't thrilled with all of the noise and commotion, but are learning to cope with it like we are.

Our family is all getting used to being together at home. We are all learning new things and the post partum process is getting better each day. He is so cute especially when he is awake and not crying....but even when he cries, he looks handsome doing it.

He is so little. He makes the kitties feel heavy.

He is a huge fan of being swaddled as he gets overstimulated because he is always playing with his best friends....his hands. He is quite strong. He gets his hands out of the swaddle blankets all the time and he has strong legs. He has turned over already a couple of times too.

Sark has really been cute with Xander. He comes close, sits next to him, sniffs him and watches him. He is protecting his human brother.

Close up of awake time last night in his sleep sack.

We love the sleep sack because the hands get covered so we don't have to use mittens.

Our adorable son loves being in this world and we feel very lucky to have a healthy and beautiful baby. We have spent most of our time at home since the birth besides the wellness check up on Wednesday for the Mom and Son. Today, Xander peed on dad for the first time during a diaper change and we expect a lot of firsts over these first days and will keep you posted to as many of them as possible.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the Bris/Baby Naming. See you there.....

Keep your damn trap shut...

2011-06-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there in the world that believe that the mere sight of a pregnant woman somehow grants you permission to say anything you can think of to that pregnant woman... keep your damn trap shut.

Do I want your advice?

No.

Do I want you to make a comment on my size?

No.

Do you bother to think before you open your mouth and say something extremely offensive to a woman in a most likely emotional state?

No.

Is ok to touch the belly of a perfect stranger merely because that stranger is pregnant?

No.

So to all of you a-holes out there that I've been putting up with for the last nine months, here are some words of advice. Keep your hands and your words and your looks and your stares and your laughter and your questions to your damn self.

And to the woman I encountered today, here are two versions of what happened earlier... the first is what actually happened, the second is what you should be glad didn't happen because I was in a relatively calm mood at the time and you lucked the eff out:

Version 1 - what really happened
"So, are you due soon?" (FYI - this is typically an offensive question to ask because how would you like it when someone asks you something like, "Oh you must be due any day huh?" And it's January, and you are due in effing June. Hey, lady, go eff yourself.)

"Yep. Tomorrow" (Being able to respond in this way makes me feel a little better, you know, cuz it's not January, it's actually June...)

"Oh. Is there just one baby in there?" (Seriously? Did you just ask me that? What the hell is wrong with you and how do you not realize the enormous potential your last question has for being extremely offensive. You work at Whole Foods, it's your job to be nice to me, in fact you are currently earning a living to do so and you are totally effing up your only job in the WHOLE WORLD right now!)

"Yep" (Stupid Bitch)

"Oh, well, congratulations"

"Thanks"

End Scene

Version 2 - What could have happened, but luckily for Stupid Bitch, Version 1 actually happened...

"So are you due soon?"

"Yep. Tomorrow"

"Oh. Is there just one baby in there?"

"Wait, let me ask you a question first... how many teeth did you come to work with today?"

"Ummm.... huh?"

"I'm asking if you know how many teeth you came to work with today because I'm wondering if you want to leave with the same amount of teeth in your mouth tonight as you had this morning... because if you do, you should keep your damn trap shut so people like me don't come along and knock your effing teeth out your effing face. Savvy?"

"... [pregnant pause]... Thanks for coming to Whole Foods."

"Eff you very much"

Mother's Day & Amy's 30th Birthday

2011-06-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

On Mother's Day we celebrated with the Friedman's and Benezra's at Goldberg's Deli in Factoria.

The following weekend, the Brelsford's came over to Kirkland so we could jointly celebrate Mother's Day with Lynn and Amy's Birthday. We made a salmon dinner and the kitties also got a bonus treat meal of salmon too. See Muters has a bit of a dandruff problem, so at her recent check up we asked the doc about it. He said we should give her a slice of bacon from time to time... and upon further explanation we determined that she just needs a little extra protein and fat in her diet here and there. So when we have salmon or fresh fish Amy skins/filets/trims the fish and gives kitties the scraps/bloodline portions and they effing love that stuff! It's helping with the dandruff too! Seen below, the kitties are sharing a plate, like the old days when they were teeny tiny, and that's their new placemat with fishies on it, so cute and really helps keep the floor clean... they are hella messy eaters!

Amy made nice presentations of the presents for the Grandmas and Mom's. We had maternity pictures taken recently and gave each Grandma and Mom some enlargements of our favorite photos.

Our cats happen to like cheap and unintentional toys. Straws, strings, and the like. Their unintentional play item... recyclable cloth grocery bags. Both cats took turns resting in the bag that Lynn had brought over.

Is this adorable or what? Above, Sark is actually being chill enough to let Lynn near him... the kid is really coming around! Below, Muters had to have her turn too!

Pregnant (super duper pregnant) lady with her mom.

Happy #30 Ames!

Meet Vivian, the Volvo XC60...

2011-06-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well a long time ago, it was decided that Amy's Toyota pick up truck would not work as a "family car." So research began in the middle of 2010 along with our search for a new vehicle. All SUV's were considered and it was narrowed down via Al Gore's internet to a select few models. Then things got pushed off because we were told the best time to buy a car was the last week of the year. So, we'd decided on what to buy and were getting the best deal around, but the catch was there were no models available... anywhere in the state... So, we elected to order our car direct from the factory, which was nice because that way we could get exactly what we wanted. The only drawback...? We had to wait 3 months for the car to arrive. 3 months came and went and one Sunday evening we got a voicemail from Volvo. "Hi Anthony, we need to talk about your car, please call me back." Now that is a sentence than when you hear it, you know something bad happened. Upon calling the sales lady back, we were told that there was a bit of damage that took place during shipping.

How bad is the damage? Are we talking about a scratch you are gonna buff out, or something more serious here? Well...

The pictures aren't quite as descriptive as they could be... the damage was bad, such a shame really. Apparently the Swedes loaded an S70 and our XC60 onto a container ship butt to butt, as we assume they normally do... except this time "items may have shifted in route" and our beautiful cars rubbed against each other the whole trip to the states. The damage was supposed to be "minimal" (the entire back window was destroyed, back fender mangled, glass all over the place, scratches and more...) and "easily repaired" (the entire back hatch/door would have to be swapped out). But who wants a "new" car that has had damage repaired? Not us, screw that.

We were told we had two options, a) accept this vehicle as soon as it's repaired or b) order another new vehicle from the factory... again... and wait 3 months... again... Three more months would have taken us past our baby due date and we weren't entirely comfortable with that, so we told them we'd take option c) (even tho they didn't offer this option)... "How about you call every Volvo dealership in the Nation, or perhaps your regional representative, tell them to run a search for the exact model and specs of our car and find a new one that has yet to be purchased, ship that car here for free, and we'll take that one..." They agreed to give that a try and get us a car "as close as possible" to which we replied, "let us be clear, this car will be EXACTLY as we originally ordered, the only difference? The VIN number..." And within a much more reasonable amount of time than originally quoted, they were able to deliver on our request.

By the way, in case you want to buy a Volvo XC60, here is the VIN # so you can avoid the busted one that you just saw. As it turns out, the Volvo we ended up with was made on the same production line and shipped out with our car... it just happened to be destined for the Baltimore Port to go to Minneapolis Volvo... so once the car hit land, they sent it here to Bellevue.

Finally she arrived and we were able to take her home where she joined Iggy the Infinity M35 in the garage. Sadly we did also have to part with Blu, Amy's 1996 Paradise Blue Toyota Tacoma... but this is Amy's first NEW car and she has enjoyed it for the 6 weeks or so that she has been able to drive her. She has that new car smell, but unlike most new cars, Amy actually likes the smell of this one. Amy named her Vivian and calls her Viv for short, unless Viv gets angry... that's when Vixen comes out to play... hehehe...

Amy's surprise Dinner party

2011-05-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

The plan was simple, throw a 37+ week pregnant lady a surprise dinner party to celebrate her 30th birthday and not have her so surprised that the baby pops out unexpectedly. The other problem was how to keep her off the scent of a party in her own house. With the help of Amy's friend Karin Extine (from Forte), Karin took Amy out for a standard Starbucks talk-athon and when she came back there was a chef, server, husband and 7 of her closest friends waiting to have a party. It was quite a fun and cool dinner party and the menu was made of course so Amy could eat everything there. The server served drinks and appetizers while the chef cooked up salad, dinner and prepped a birthday cake. They even cleaned and did dishes so there wasn't too much work * for us to do when the house was once again empty.

*the hardwoods needs a good Steam to get rid of the sauteed scallop sauce but that was it.

The menu was as follows:

Appetizers

Salmon stuffed puff pastries

Wild salmon, sauteed spinach and onions folded into a savory puff pastry baked until golden brown and served with a roasted pepper sauce.

Vegetarian stuffed mushrooms

large mushrooms cap filled with minced vegetables and herbs then topped with Parmesan cheese.

Fig and Cheddar crostini

Wine soaked figs, pureed and smeared on crostini with a crumble of sharp cheddar. Served warm.

Salad course

Butter leaf and wild greens salad with a mustard vinaigrette, tomatoes, roasted beets and herbed croutons.

Main course

Seared sea scallops on asparagus risotto

Creamy Italian style rice with asparagus and roasted shallots then topped with pan seared sea scallops and minced tomatoes.

Dessert

Chocolate chocolate cake from Sugar Bakery.

Unfortunately there weren't any pictures taken since everyone was so busy enjoying themselves.

Overall it was a great celebration and we had a ton of fun. It was super awesome that Matt & Julie, Jeremy and Samara, Nicky D, Lynnette and Karin were able to celebrate this day with Amy. Thank you all for coming and thanks to Nicky D and Karin for keeping Amy in the dark. We are hella sneaky!

Maternity Photos

2011-05-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Many of you have requested some photos of Amy while she's pregnant... maternity photos and such... we had some taken and they are available for viewing online. If you'd like a digital copy of any of them, just email us and we'll hook you up! The album link is below with login information. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE

Username: AmyAnthony
Password: 11490

Amy's Baby Shower @ Famularo's

2011-05-13T12:33:00.000-07:00

With our baby on the way, Selena and Jason offered to throw us a baby shower. In the interest of keeping it a small and more intimate affair, we chose to have a girls only shower at their home instead of a co-ed shower that would have had to be held at a restaurant.

The shower was on April 9th, and many of Amy's closest friends and family were able to attend. Fun was had by all and Amy was literally showered with gifts for baby.

We want to give a special thank you to Selena for all of her work in putting the shower together. Also to Maureen Hoffman for taking photos of the event for us with our new camera. And of course to everyone else who was able to come - thanks for being there to share in the fun!

Below are some photos documenting the affair:

This is part of the beautiful spread that Selena and Jason provided.

Above you can see Nana, Lana, Laura, Grandma Sandy and Sommer waiting for the party to start...

Sommer, Lynn, Carla, Maureen, Melissa and Lynnette also waiting for the party to begin!

We started with introductions, then played the "would you rather" game, this is Amy explaining one of her answers...

Debbie, Nana and Lana getting into the game...

Julie, mystery girl and Ellen getting in on the game too... Note about baby showers, please don't bring your friends if they aren't invited... that's why I don't know the name of the person in the middle of this photo, she wasn't invited...

After the game we got straight into gift opening. There was a ton of loot and it's impossible to show it all, so here are some of the highlights... this is the quilt that Samara made for us... it's adorable! And her first quilt too! She took a class just for this reason - what a touching gift!

No shower is complete without some baby socks and shoes! Thanks Lynnette! She got us a ton of other stuff too, but the shoes are just too cute to leave out!

Sommer is practically a professional quilter, so this is her latest masterpiece. What a shock! She'd shown us the fabrics and tried to explain her vision, but we couldn't have imagined something quite this cool! Wow!

As if the quilt wasn't enough, Sommer and her mom also made this uber cool, gigantic diaper/travel bag. Giraffe print and everything! This must have taken them forever and cost a small fortune! Again, what a shock and an amazing gift! This bag was also full of other goodies, Sommer and her family really went all out for us!

And where there is one quilt, there's more! Sommer had started this quilt years ago and when Amy saw it sitting at her house and joked that she could save it for us once it was finished... as it turned out she didn't get around to finishing it until we were due, so she ended up making the quilt for us after all!! YAY!!

Laura and Wil had gone the personalized route. The picked out some cute onesies and clothes and had them embroidered to say, "lil' neezy". Wil, one of Anth's best and longest friendships, has had many nicknames for Anth over the years, so it only makes sense that he would nick name our little one before he even arrives!

Here's everyone being partially bored with all the present opening... Debbie, Nana, Lana, Laura, Sandy, Sommer, Lynn, Carla....

Selena, Libbye, Julie, Mystery and Ellen...

The biggest surprise of the day for Amy was when Selena handed her a package from the Acosta family. As she opened it she immediately recognized Jack's handy work... Jackers had used his easel to draw many pictures and then Heather used them as packing paper for the gifts! Then the card attached had a key that corresponded to the gifts so Amy could follow along with what gift was what and why Heather and Jason had picked them out. Very awesome! It was the closest thing to Heather actually being there, so Amy really appreciated the extra effort!

And now, a photo catalogue of guests...

Maureen Hoffman... a dear friend who's known Anthony for years, works with him and his family at Buffalo and has been a huge help to us personally throughout our relationship...

Nana Benezra... Anthony's Grandma on his Dad's side...

Lana Thomason... friend of Anthony's since high school (and maybe before then too) and wife of Anth's dear friend Drew...

Sommer Ueda... a dear friend of Amy's through work who happened to know Anthony before Amy did, of course, cuz who doesn't know Anthony...

Laura Emerson... soon to be Laura Lavaris! Laura and Wil recently got engaged and we couldn't be happier for the two of them!! They are such a perfect match and we love them both!

Samara Owen... Aunty Samara, Jeremy's long time girlfriend who we absolutely adore!

Debbie Benezra... and Grandma to be!

Julie Fisk... good friend of Amy's who was brought into our lives through JCC Basketball and the rekindled friendship between Matt Fisk and Anthony who met up in their 20's again after not seeing each other since swim classes as little kids...

Libbye Wyrick... Family friend who we simply love as family :)

Carla Watkins... family friend of Amy's family since we used to live in Arizona. Carla has known Amy since she was just a little girl and even though Amy doesn't get to see her very often, Amy loves spending time talking with Carla because she is just an awesome soul to be around!

Sandy Friedman... Great Grandma to be, Anthony's Grandma on his Mom's side...

Lynnette Palmer... One of Amy's best friends since college at UW... we are so happy she is living in the Seattle area these days and we've had time to spend with her and her daughter while she is here!

Ellen Benezra... cousin of Anthony on his Dad's side...

Lynette McEuen... Mother of Heather Acosta and practically family since Amy used to spend time at her home all the time growing up!

Maureen Stewart... One of Amy's two best friends from high school, the closest thing Amy has to a real sister...

Melissa McGraw... Sister of Maureen Stewart, and also practically family what with all the time we spent together at her house growing up :)

Selena Famularo... Anthony's sister and party hostess! Thanks again Selena!!

Lynn Brelsford... Amy's Mom and Xander's Grandma to be!!

And of course, Jason Famularo... the dude who helped with the whole affair even with his busy schedule including his full time baller job at Amazon and full time graduate program at the UW.

Thanks again to everyone for coming and being a part of this awesome event!

Mariners vs Aids 4-22

2011-04-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Anthony and Nick took a turn at a Mariners game.

Rookie phenomenon Michael Pineda was pitching. Look how big this dude is. Seriously 6' 7" and 250 lb. That is a big boy! Pineda pitched pretty well over 6 innings.

Undercover shot of Nick during the game. Anthony was in the hood. April in Seattle = Herra Cold!

Look Amy, it is Oco Risp. Coco Crisp actually and his dreadlocks are not a good thing. Plus he is such a weird dude in the batter's box. No one likes him.

Yes, the Mariners actually held a lead! Stop the presses!

Haha, Laffey.....C'mon that is funny. Anyways, we won and Anthony stayed the whole game for the first time all year.

Mariners vs Blue Jays April 11

2011-04-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

So Anthony went to this game with Wil. Felix was pitching so we thought we would have a chance to see something special. After talking all day about a perfect game, Felix gave up a hit on the first batter. That was that.....

The stadium was just about empty. One of the lowest crowds in the history of Safeco. 12,000 +!

Nick gave Anthony a new scorekeeping book which he has used at each game this year. Unfortunately, the Mariners keep losing and by a lot.

Wil and Anthony left after the 7th inning. Who could blame them? We were getting killed.

On the drive home, Anthony listened to the game on the radio and they slowly made it close. He made it home in time to see them tie the game and eventually win it in the 9th by a pinch hit game winning single by a journey man infielder. That is what happens when one leaves a game early. Lesson learned!

Opening Day festivities, game, catastrophy

2011-04-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Opening Day 2011....a day long awaited by Anthony. Larry and Anthony went to the game.

Unfortunately the Mariners pre-game festivities blew smoke up the a$$ of the fans. The reason, the team sucks. They could get better, but not likely this year.

Felix was happy during pre-game introductions but that was only because he didn't have to pitch today.

Safeco Field did have fireworks in left field. So that was the coolest thing of the night.

The awards from last year were given out. Frankie G got a gold glove but couldn't be in attendance as he has IBS and his tummy hurts.

Watch out, Ichiro almost kissed Edgar (It's a Light Bat) Martinez. Ichiro passed Edgar for all time hits leader for the M's and the framed picture was a memento.

Felix got the Cy Young Award which was very cool. He was quite happy to say the least.

The Mariners very classily honored Dave Niehaus.

Part of 1st Ave South was renamed in his honor.

This is a picture from our new seats. Sick for sure! And they are closer to the parking spot. Gotta like that.

So Larry and Anth went to get dinner before the top of the 4th. Oops, that didn't work so well. The Indians scored 10 runs in one inning and obviously the M's had no chance to come back. They left before the game was over....thousands left much, much earlier! Just another year for Seattle sports!

Sark Hearts Amazon Fresh

2011-04-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

It is official - Sark Hearts Amazon Fresh.

We placed our first order this week and when it arrived Sark was on a mission to not only protect but inspect the goods. Atta boy, Sark! Way to love Amazon Fresh just as much as Mom loves the Amazon fairy! (That's what she says when a previously ordered Amazon.com purchase arrives at the front door, "Oh yay! The Amazon Fairy was here!")

Quad 2011

2011-04-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

As is tradition, we went to the UW Quad to see the cherry blossoms. It is one of Amy's favorite places to go and we have it down to a science now that the time to go is in late March/early April.

So pretty!!

Check out the panoramic shot Amy took. New camera = awesome!

Anthony was a bit chilly without his jacket that was left in the car. It was windy, like crazy and there were hella people taking pictures. You know what we mean as far as hella people taking pictures, right?

Hold on to that baby!

Portland trip Post #2

2011-04-10T22:30:00.001-07:00

So obviously we went to Portland for the game and stayed for a long weekend.

While driving thru traffic, we noticed a Customized Gold Teeth store....how ghetto is that? That's right folks, this is Portland...

So for a few weeks, we talked about doing dinner at Red Robin before the game. But since traffic was awful, we hit up Wendy's instead. Finally we made it to Red Robin for lunch on Saturday. They had this really cool art piece made of baseballs, of course Anthony liked the masterpiece.

The most important thing was to get a bottomless ROOT BEER FLOAT. It was super tasty even though it was Barq's (Anth's least favorite root beer).

So since we'd postponed the red robin/root beer float extravaganza, for dessert after the game we went to 7-11 for snacks and a Slurpee. Amy claims that she had never had a Slurpee in her almost 30 years of life. Some call shenanigans on that, but that is the best of her recollection. So we mixed up Coke and Blue Raspberry Slurpee flavors to create one mad delicious treat! We also went to the Seven 11 at least one other time, so we're best friends now...

That black bag is the most beautiful thing we have ever seen! (and the second bag we saw floating around dirty Portland... enough to inspire and American Beauty shot...)

This was our hotel. It was nice, had a pool and was within walking distance to the Rose Garden. Win win.

MMMMMMM, Airheads from 7-11 for a tasty and healthy (ok, not so much) snack! Amy had tootsie roll pops... mmmm, grape!

Any trip we go on is a good time to get caught up on movies and DVD's from the library. We watched 4 movies and some of Season 4 of the wire.

Amy found an excellent place for dinner. Anthony ordered a sturgeon with manilla clams and saffron mashed potato. It was delicious but there was some type of sausage in the red sauce (which we pushed aside) and under the potato which was annoying but that piece of fish really made up for it. It was amazing!

Amy ordered a scallop dish with pureed carrots. It too was excellent.

The restaurant was very chic. Anthony was pondering something very serious and educational in this shot. Ok, probably not, but it is possible.

Ok, less chic and more goofy. Par for the course for a Benezra male.

Amy looked very pretty in this shot even though she won't admit it. (She thinks she has pregnant fat face)

Davis Street Tavern was the name of the restaurant (seen in the background here).

The Ho Louie! Keep Portland weird...

This sign "Keeping Portland Weird" really defines the city. While it is a nice sister city to Seattle, much like Vancouver BC, it is dirty, has more bums, more weird people and Oregon Ducks/supporters. So really, Oregon is to Washington like Mexico is to the USA.

We tried to go to Voodoo doughnuts, but the line wrapped around the block. We waited for 20 minutes and gave up. We even tried driving by the next day and saw the same thing. Next time we will try Voodoo and their famous amazing doughnuts.

Portland Trailblazer game for Anth's birthday

2011-04-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

So, last August one of Anthony's birthday presents from Amy was that he could pick a Portland Trailblazer basketball game to go to. The obvious choices were Orlando to see JJ Redick, Miami to see LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, Lakers to see Kobe or Oklahoma to see the SONICS, we mean old Sonics and Kevin Durant. We went with the Sonics... umm "Thunder"...

Finally 7+ months later, we went to Portland for a long weekend. We noticed Sonic fans all over the arena dressed in Sonic gear. This was a great t-shirt, forget what the front said, but these guys were getting thumbs up signs all night.

Instead of a flying blimp like key arena had, there was a car/blimp. It was pretty cool and dropped off free stuff for fans. Unfortunately we didn't win anything.

Kevin Durant and Nick Collison warming up before the game. Amazingly enough after doing a bit of research, it was found that Collison makes 13.27 Million dollars this year. Yep, the NBA is broken. No offense Nick!

Now, who doesn't appreciate a Captain Mo ad up in the rafters? That is a nice touch Rose Garden!

Lamarcus Aldridge has become a beast for Portland this year. He finished with over 30 points and really dominated.

We would not normally put pictures of the cheer leaders on the blog but these girls were doing aerial tricks and flips all game. So props to them. They weren't the actual cheerleaders, they had some other name... kinda like drill team instead of cheer squad. The actual cheerleaders were lame and not so good...

Weak sauce mascot. What a Kitty cat has to do with a Trailblazer, we won't ever know. His name is Blaze and he's supposed to be a "Trail Cat"... but Amy liked calling him the Rip City Kitty. Rip City is a nickname for the Rose Quarter/Garden... but really has no real reason for existing, similar to the "Trail Cat"... and you wonder why Oregon has no NFL or MLB team... they are TOO LAME!

Jump ball. Nice picture Amy!

Portland couldn't compete with the exception of Aldridge who has double digits in the 1st quarter.

Durant started the game on fire. He hit shot after shot and OKC got up big.

Get that weak crap out of here. How great if a shot is this?

Anytime the referees needed to go to instant replay, secret service like agents came out to make sure security was top notch. Look how intimidating they are! Ooooooh, I'm so scared!

The owner of the Trailblazers is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. His guest tonight was in all black....none other than legendary comedian Dan Aykroyd.

Brandon Roy is slowly coming back from knee injuries and played sparingly tonight.

Former Sonic guard Nate McMillan is the coach for Portland. He always wears fancy suits and is quite angry and agitated most of the game. He ended up getting a technical foul for arguing a call.

As the game went on, Kevin Durant kept shooting and the shots stopped falling. He (pictured with a towel on his head) ended up with decent stats but missed 10 three-point shots.

James Hardin got hot and kept OKC in the game. Tough to see in this picture but Marcus Camby the Blazer forward has eyes on that ball and potential rebound.

This free throw was one of Brandon Roy's only points. He finished with 4 pts total, all on free throws.

We had to get a shot of the "Birthday Boy" at halftime with players warming up in the background. It's a super close up shot because we'd only brought our zoom lens and Anth could only get 3 rows away for the shot... still a good one though!

It was an awesome weekend getaway, our last trip before X-day. More about the rest of the trip in a separate post.

Crib Build Day

2011-04-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

Norman and Lynn generously got the baby room off to a good start furniture wise. For Amy's shower they bought us the crib, changing table, mattress, changing pad and mattress cover - super generous! YAY, we were SO excited and are so grateful!

The boxes for the crib and changing table were way too big to fit in the 4 Runner, so they got what they could in the SUV and tied the other part to the roof to get it home from the store.

Upon their arrival at our place, Sark volunteered to help and we told him to sit this one out. We will use you next time dude.

Lynn and Mute played upstairs a bit while Norman and Anthony put the furniture together. Keeping her busy was a priority as she also wanted to help build furniture... and by "build" we mean "destroy with her teeth"

This is what the Tundra looked like with all of the boxes loaded up prior to coming to Kirkland. The boxes couldn't even lay flat, that's how big they were...

Anthony had to keep taking phone calls throughout the beginning of the process, but eventually the crib and changing table were completed. We won't show photos yet as we are waiting for all the furniture to come in before deciding on the final placement of each piece.

Norman and Lynn, thank you so much for buying, picking up, delivering and helping to put together the furniture. We appreciate it and Xander will too in about 2 months!

Amy's visit with the Stewarts

2011-04-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Maureen and Amy had a girl date set for the last Saturday in March. When Maureen's car started leaking oil and Jon got put on call for the weekend, Amy decided it was best to go up and visit the whole crew. On her drive up she, of course, stopped at LaFeen's... but they were out of blueberry fritters! She settled for an apple fritter and some chocolate bars for the Stewarts... mmmm, SO good!

It was great, as always, to catch up with Maureen, Jon and Collin. Collin is such a cutie and made the perfect subject for Amy's photography practice session with the new camera. A sampling of the photos is below; enjoy!

Banana Time!

Yessssss!

Smashed bananas taste better!

Touchdown!!!

Celebration led to snapping and clapping of hands above head...

Here's that sudden energy burst they were telling me about...

So much energy!

Time for pasta!

Hello, my name is Collin and I'm ADORABLE!!

Collin hearts Mommy!

Woah! It's the ever illusive Boo!

No... YOU'RE the cutest!!

Sing us a song, Piano Man!!

Happy Birthday to Debbie (Da other Mom)

2011-03-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

First event with the new camera and things went pretty well overall. It was Mom (Benezra's) birthday and for dinner the 8 of us went to Barrolo in downtown Seattle.

The menu was personalized with Happy Birthday Debbie at the top. Nice move Larry!

This is the first of many expressions by Jeremy, and of course he's eating an olive tapenade (olives are his favorite). Amy and Anthony were just taking pictures to test things and Jeremy was happy to make things less boring.

Jason ordered a whisky, Basil Hayden, and Anthony tried it as well. Who doesn't like trying new whisky's? It was delicious.

Samara drinking a martini and Jeremy, well....being Jeremy.

Dad enjoyed the evening. Thanks for dinner!

The Husky Hoops team was playing Georgia in 1st Round action and Anthony resisted watching it on his cell phone because his awesome wife DVR'd it before she left the house so they could watch it at home later in under 45 minutes. They ended up beating Georgia and losing a close game to UNC Sunday. They will be better next year when the Frosh's become Soph's. Wilcox and T. Ross combined with I.T. could dominate. So we digress. Sorry.

Selena was the first one to the restaurant after she walked from her and Jason's Fremont house to downtown and shopped. Quite a walk, but she likes walking so whateva.

For anyone who hasn't been to Barrolo, you should try it. The restaurant has an incredible atmosphere and the food was excellent. And as a bonus it is not absurdly priced.

Sometimes, Jeremy is a bit crazy like Charlie Sheen....

Always interesting to follow the conversations of the 8 of us...

One of the coolest decorations we have seen at a restaurant. They just continue to burn candlesticks and the wax drips down into a funky shape.

Yep, this look has Jeremy WINNING! Looks like he drank a bit too much Tiger Blood at dinner.

After singing Happy Birthday to her, Mom got to blow out her candle. Her dessert was quite rich she said but hey on your birthday you are allowed a good treat.

Wow, a smile and a good picture. Thanks Mom!

Anthony ordered a Cannoli after Jason recommended it. It was delicious!

Amy got pistachio gelato and loved it. What is not to love?

Overall, a fun evening filled with good food and some laughs. Hope you enjoyed your birthday Mom!