Ruffatto Family

St. Nick's Day (more catching up)

2012-01-12T14:35:00.003-06:00

We love how these pictures show how excited Ben was when he found the treats by his shoes.

Yosemite Slideshow (part 1)

2011-12-22T12:02:00.002-06:00

It has been a long while since this blog was updated (sorry Mrs. C). Here is a slideshow from our vacation to Yosemite National Park over the summer. More posts to follow!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's (Michael, Jim and Gary especially!)!!!

This picture was taken at a trivia night that we won!

(I know that still doesn't really explain our strange head attire.)

We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday afternoon at my

sister Gretchen's house-delicious food Gretchen and Cody!

Ben got to play with his cousins Lucas and Clay

for a few hours before we drove north to

celebrate with our Ruffatto family.

Kickapoo State Park

2011-06-12T22:45:00.001-05:00

Our first hiking trip this summer was to Kickapoo State Park near Danville. We wanted to try and get Ben ready for our trip to Yosemite in July with several hikes, but unfortunately either the weather didn't cooperate for us or we were out of town on the weekends. We had a beautiful and cooler day with no other plans so we packed a picnic lunch and drove east. The trail was pretty empty and Ben even hiked the last quarter mile. Here is a picture of us next to the Middle Fork River which runs through the park.

"How much further? I think we might be lost..."

"Oh right, it's that way!"

Kevin's Graduation

2011-05-21T22:20:00.003-05:00

Mike, Ben and I headed to Jackson, TN for a long weekend to celebrate my cousin and his (now) fiance's graduation from Union University. It was a great weekend, we are very proud of you Kevin and Debbie! We can't wait to celebrate your wedding next :0)

Aunt Mary, Kevin, Aaron and Uncle Gene

We were able to bring folding chairs and a blanket to watch the graduation.

It was an evening ceremony, and the weather was perfect!

Before the graduation we went to lunch at Casey Jones'.

They also had a train museum and store.

Even though Ben isn't showing it here,

he had a fun time playing with all of the Thomas toys.

Jackson also had another train museum that we visited. There was a large display of a model town with lots of train tracks and buttons to push that would light up different things, which Ben who loves to push buttons enjoyed very much. He wasn't quite big enough to be a junior conductor, but an older boy got to go into the model and control the trains-next time Ben :)

Family Picture

2011-05-01T22:10:00.001-05:00

The day after Mike's party we took a family

picture before everyone headed for home.

Thank you all for coming, we had a fun night!

Happy Birthday Party Michael!

2011-04-30T21:54:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Mike's 30th birthday on April 30th since his actual birthday was Easter weekend. We had a fun time with family and friends, and had a great night. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!

Wagon rides and snow cones for everyone!

Coloring with Uncle Jimmy :o)

A future girlfriend prehaps???

Catch up posting begins

2011-04-23T21:20:00.003-05:00

It is kind of sad that I haven't posted anything in a while, so I decided that I am going to catch up on my posts as best as I can-sorry I let it go so long.

Happy 30th Birthday Michael!!!! We spent the day celebrating Easter at my Grandma's house with lots of family. Our activities included kite flying, Easter egg hunting, eating lots of great food and singing happy birthday to Michael. Sadly this was the last holiday that we will be celebrating with my Grandma at her house, because she passed away a few weeks later at the age of 90. For those of you who didn't know, she was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this year, and we are very thankful that we were able to spend this last holiday with her. We miss her very much; each holiday will certainly be different with out her to share it with.

Mike and Ben are ready to hunt eggs!

Great Grandma with her 9 great-grandchildren.
There are two more soon to be born that are not in the picture :)

Grandma with her 13 grandchildren.

The three one year old cousins: Clay, Ben and Lucas.

Happy birthday to you, Michael!

Milwaukee Trip

2011-04-23T10:07:00.003-05:00

Here is a slide show of our trip to Milwaukee. We had fun going to 2 Cubs games, tailgating, and staying with Ben's aunts and uncles.

Big Haircut

2011-04-03T22:49:00.002-05:00

We gave Ben a haircut this afternoon. It had started to get pretty shaggy, so we figured it was time. He has usually worked himself up so much during his haircuts that we wanted to try something a little different. We put him in his high chair and let him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my phone. This worked fairly well. He still cried, but not nearly as much.

Before

After

My Grandpa Al used to call this look a "Baldy Sour". We think Ben likes it, and hopefully that will be the last haircut for a couple months.

Jeopardy

2011-03-24T21:54:00.002-05:00

We record and watch Jeopardy every day.

Ben enjoys watching it too, and has come up

with this dance during Final Jeopardy :0)

Backyard Picnic

2011-03-23T15:23:00.003-05:00

With a hint of warm weather today, we decided to have a picnic at lunch. Ben loves to eat and loves to be outside, so we knew he would have a good time.

Fun times at home

2011-03-20T22:08:00.002-05:00

This Winter has been a busy one for our family. We have had lots of fun visiting our family and friends around the midwest, but have also been having a good time at home. Here are a few pictures of days in Champaign :0)

Minnesota

2011-02-16T19:37:00.006-06:00

Last weekend we went to Minnesota to visit our friends Luke and Cortney and their daughter Laney. Ben and Laney played very well together, with Ben usually moving too fast for Laney to catch up. It seemed that Ben's walking coaxed Laney in walking, as she took her first steps while we were there.

Our friend Katie and her friend Tom came over Friday night and they were entertained by the kids.

On Saturday, the weather turned warm (40 degrees), so we walked around a lake close to their house.

This is an armchair carved in snow out on the lake.

This is a sofa on the lake.

These people, who we assumed carved the furniture, are playing croquet on the frozen lake.

Here, Ben and Laney are ready to get out of the car.

Ben got Laney a Valentine's Day present, which was a matching shirt.

Working Man

2011-02-09T08:01:00.003-06:00

Ben is at Mike's office working hard on the typewriter.

Go Marquette!!!

2011-01-29T21:04:00.005-06:00

We traveled to Milwaukee today to walk around campus and go to the Marquette basketball game. We first went to the Union to stock up on our Marquette gear, then we walked around campus to retrace some of Mike's steps as a college student.

Ben with Auntie Em and the Golden Eagle (Ben was slightly frightened).

Ben sleeping after our walk around campus.

Good ol' McCormick. Room 532.

Ben had a great time at his first Marquette Basketball game. Marquette beat Syracuse 76-70. It was the first time MU beat them as a member of the Big East. Maybe Ben was their lucky charm.

Happy Birthday Lu!!!

2011-01-27T20:40:00.004-06:00

On January 27, 2010, Lucas Alexander was born. Last Saturday we celebrated his first birthday. All the cousins had a great time playing together. Great party, Lu!

Chattanooga Aquarium

2011-01-04T21:16:00.007-06:00

While we were in Tennessee, we also went to Chattanooga for the day and visited the Tennessee Aquarium. Even though Ben looks pretty serious in the second picture, he had a great time and so did the rest of us. Lots of neat stuff to see there-thanks again Aunt Mary and Uncle Gene for taking us!

This picture is in front of the Walnut Street Bridge-one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. It spans over the Tennessee River. It was a very nice day to be outside and explore the Riverwalk area of Chattanooga. We hope to visit again soon!

Tennessee

2011-01-03T22:22:00.005-06:00

After a busy holiday weekend Mike, Ben and I drove down to Tennessee to visit family. The weather was great while we were there and we were able to spend a lot of our time outside. On Thursday we hiked in a State Park where my cousin is a 'jr' ranger (just kidding Aaron-he is a regular ranger). We got some great pictures and we think Ben really enjoyed himself :0)

At the bottom of the steps to the Stone Door,

not to be confused with the 'stone table' from TLTWATW.

The Sikora boys fearlessness is rubbing off on Mike although I think if Justin or Jeremy would have been with us this would have been a much more dangerous pose.

Merry Christmas!

2011-01-03T21:15:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year and were very thankful to spend it with our families. We started off our Christmas Wednesday night at home opening gifts and listening to our favorite Christmas songs. Our next four days were spent at different family gatherings around the state. We have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, please enjoy our pictures below!

Ben getting ready to open his gifts at home.

Posing in his new "Radio Flyer" -thanks Grandma and
Grandpa R :0)

Michael was very excited to get all of his new tools/toys!

Ben loves his new truck-thanks for the gifts Aunt Joanne and Uncle Dick!

Sledding

2010-12-04T20:55:00.003-06:00

Today we were able to take Ben sledding for the first time thanks to the 6+ inches of snow that we got in Champaign over the last 24 hours. We live across the street from a great park that has a sledding hill. All three of us got bundled up, Mike and I not quite sure how long our adventure would last, and we headed across the street to have fun. Everything started out pretty well, but I think the cold and Ben's lack of mobility in the snow kind of dampened his mood. Mike and I had a great time and are planning to try taking him out again tomorrow.

Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa R for the great snow suit and sled. I hope you can come visit soon so that we can go sledding together :o)

Laundry Help

2010-11-23T20:42:00.002-06:00

Ben loves when we are folding laundry. He loves to take things out of the laundry basket and throw it on the floor. He loves to take the things on the floor and then put them back in the laundry basket. He loves to play with the laundry basket. Tonight, he took all his wash cloths and put them by the TV. He was very serious, so obviously the wash cloths were put there for a reason.

Playdate with Lucas

2010-11-14T20:44:00.002-06:00

This Saturday Uncle Alex, Aunt Sarah, and cousin Lucas came for a visit. While Mike and Alex when to the Illini v. SIU basketball game, the cousins and Sarah and I had fun at our house. Ben and Lucas had a blast playing together and Ben was pretty good about sharing his toys thankfully. Lucas keeps up with Ben pretty well and they are about the same size which makes it lots of fun to watch them play. Thanks for coming to visit, I hope we can plan another playdate again soon!

Aunt Sarah with the boys.

Starved Rock State Park

2010-11-09T21:20:00.002-06:00

This past Sunday we drove up to

Starved Rock State Park which is outside of Utica,IL.

We had a great day with family and enjoyed

beautiful weather as we hiked.

It is a definitely a place that we would like

to explore again in the future.

Here are just a few of the pictures from the day.

Trick or Treat!!!

2010-10-31T18:24:00.002-05:00

Ben took part in his first Halloween tonight dressed as C3PO and had a great time. It took him a while to realize the people were trying to give him the candy. He wasn't as willing to grab into the bowl when people offerred, but loved it when they handed the candy to him.

Sorry, Grandma and Grandpa, no Almond Joys or Baby Ruths.

Happy Birthday Clay

2010-10-27T21:40:00.003-05:00

Happy 1st birthday to our nephew Clay!

Can't wait to celebrate with you and your

mommy and daddy on Saturday!! We love you!!!

Ben to Clay: "I still remember holding you when you were just a little baby..."

You are such a handsome little guy!

Katy and Rob's Wedding Weekend

2010-10-24T21:11:00.005-05:00

This past weekend, we celebrated the wedding of Mike's sister Katy and her husband Rob. We were honored to be asked to be members of the wedding party. Ben even got to be part of his first wedding, serving as Ringbearer. Here are just of a few of the many pictures that show how much fun we had this weekend. We wish Katy and Rob a very healthy and happy marriage.

Carrying the bride over the threshold.

Family Weekend

2010-10-18T21:36:00.004-05:00

Mike, Ben and I had a rare weekend at home this past weekend and we were fortunate enough to spend a lot of it outside. On Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful fall weather while at Allerton Park in Monticello.

At the park there are several statues.

The one below is called "Death of the last Centaur."

We also got a chance to carve our pumpkins. Go Bears!!

The middle one is meant to be the pumpkin likeness of Ben,

it has 6 teeth and a big smile :)

Jail Time

2010-10-18T21:22:00.005-05:00

Columbus day weekend Ben and I went to visit my Grandma for our family's annual Cider Squeeze. Part of our weekend activities included visiting some of the historic sites in Knoxville,IL. We visited the new museum, the court house and the jail. Here are a few pictures of Ben and me in the "bullpen" portion of the jail.

FREEDOM!

Weekend Visitor

2010-10-18T20:34:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago Ben's cousin Clay came over for a play date (he brought his mom and dad and Grandma Karen too). They are a lot of fun to watch, and played pretty well together. Come and visit again soon Clayton!

Ben and Clay were tackling Grandma Karen.

Ben with his Aunt Gretchen and cousin Clayton.

Swim Class

2010-10-17T22:35:00.003-05:00

We got Ben swim lessons for his birthday. They started out a little rough, but now he seems to really like the water. I know Mike and I have a lot of fun with him every week. He definately can't swim yet, but I think it is a really great experience for him. Here are some pictures of him waiting for class to start.

Ben with one of the instructors. He really likes them all and

will usually flash them a big smile when they come to help.

San Antonino

2010-10-17T21:59:00.004-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend Mike, Ben and I took a long weekend trip to San Antonino to visit our good friends Jeremy, Heather, Annie, Millie, Justin and Mary. We had a blast and hope to make plans to visit with them again soon. We didn't take many pictures over the weekend, but here are a few that we did take. This is a picture of upside down Millie at Sea World.

Ben and Mike watching the seal show.

Visiting the penguin exhibit.

Out to dinner at a Tex Mex restaurant on the River Walk.

2010-10-17T21:30:00.002-05:00

On the Saturday before Ben's birthday we

had a family birthday party for him.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Ben with his cousins and Grandma and Grandpa.

Great Grandma Frances with her grandkids and great grandkids.

Happy Birthday Ben

2010-08-25T19:55:00.021-05:00

Ben turned 1 on Tuesday August 24th. We celebrated with our families over the weekend and had a little dinner with him on his birthday. It is amazing that it has already been a year. It seems not long ago that we were taking parenting and childbirth classes. The last few days, we have been remembering what we did exactly one year ago on that day. We are so happy that Ben is in our lives and has blessed our family.

Here are some pictures of Ben over the last year.

Walking/Running

2010-08-20T10:39:00.002-05:00

Suddenly, Ben has gone from only crawling to sprinting.

At the Chief's game

2010-08-08T11:38:00.006-05:00

Saturday night we went to the Peoria Chief's game with Grandpa Van Hise, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Danielle, and "Uncle" Luke. We brought Ben's booster seat and attached it to one of the stadium chairs. Even though it was a night game, it was very warm. Ben started out looking like this:

But soon looked like this:

Playing

2010-07-14T20:32:00.002-05:00

Here are some recent pictures.

And one from Ben's rash on the 4th of July.

Ben's First Cub Game

2010-05-17T22:20:00.002-05:00

We took Ben to his first Cubs game this Saturday.

We all had a lot of fun and even though it was a little

cool outside Ben was excited to be there!

Ben got his free Build-A-Bear at the game, it was

a give away to the first 5000 kids.

Ben with his Grandma and Grandpa at the game.

Go Cubbies!!!!!!!!!

Marshall Pose

2010-05-08T18:31:00.004-05:00

For any fans of How I Met Your Mother, here is Ben's immitation of one of the characters. A few episodes back, there was a montage of photos in which Marshall, played by Jason Segel, had the same funny look in each shot. Ben took this picture while eating dinner tonight.

Look what I can do...

2010-05-06T17:49:00.002-05:00

I left Ben laying on the floor in the living room

and came back to find him like this.

I guess he can pull himself up...

Scooby Doo

2010-04-19T20:42:00.002-05:00

Ben met his dad's and uncle's favorite cartoon character on Saturday at Ready, Set, Grow-a wellness fair for kids.

Bed head

2010-04-07T20:41:00.003-05:00

This is how Ben looked when we got him up from his nap. He usually rolls around quite a bit when we first set him down. Most of that is due to the fact that he absolutely loves his mobile and gets so excited to see it. He must have been especially excited last night.

Play Ball!!!

2010-04-07T20:39:00.002-05:00

We meant to post this on Monday. As you can see, Ben is very happy for the start of the new season.

Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

2010-04-01T20:59:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, Grandma Rose and Grandpa Jim came to visit.

So happy Grandma is finally here!

And now Grandpa is here too!

Trying to steal a drink from Grandpa. How can he say no to this smile?

Showing Grandma the park across the street.

So happy to be playing (and with no pants on).

Waiting for breakfast with Grandpa.

"What do you mean you and Grandpa have to leave?"

Saying goodbye.

Laughing Boy

2010-03-23T22:34:00.003-05:00

We were finally able to get a good video of Ben laughing. Usually when he is laughing, he'll see the camera and stop. Not this time.

February

2010-03-18T10:24:00.006-05:00

Some highlights of Ben in February:

Trying to help get myself dressed for my 6 month picture,

"I think I have my shirt on backwards..."

Matching with dad for the day-

by accident but still lots of fun!

Super bowl party with Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jimmy

Hanging out with Grandpa Jim :)

Helping Grandma Rose in the kitchen,

and waiting to get teeth to try some of her

delicious food!

I look sooooo cool in my new sunglasses :)

Snuggling my new friend that

Auntie Em got me for Valentine's day!

I can't crawl yet, but I sure can move.

I started out on the right side of the blanket

and made it all the way over to my rocking horse

before Mom caught me

Big boy in his high chair

Peas please...

6 months old today

Sweet potatoes, finger licking good.

Catching up--Here is January

2010-03-18T10:04:00.005-05:00

We are way behind with updating blog pictures, here is my attempt to catch up. Let me start with January...enjoy!

Here is what Ben has been up to:

Learning how to play DS from dad :) but still waiting patiently for his turn...

Celebrating Grandma's 23rd birthday (she is younger then my mom some how???)

More birthday pictures in Grandma and Grandpa's new house

Smiling as usually while playing with my dino truck

"I love playing with toys, but I especially like it when dad makes

silly faces at me before he takes a picture then I smile big!"

Starting my modeling career,

bibs are available online for purchase

Visiting Uncle Justy and Aunt Mary at their new home

Reading books with mom

and giving love to my favorite toy Giraffe-e,

what a great month January was :)

Lucas Alexander

2010-01-30T22:14:00.002-06:00

Another new cousin!!! Lucas Alexander Van Hise was born January 27th. He weighed 9 lbs 2 ozs and was 21.5" long. We got to meet him yesterday and he is sooo precious. When Lucas was born his hair was red, but now we think it looks strawberry blond. Welcome to the family baby Lucas--we love you!! Congrats Alex and Sarah!!!!!!

December

2010-01-12T10:07:00.003-06:00

November

2009-12-16T10:44:00.003-06:00

First day of daycare.

2009-12-03T09:52:00.003-06:00

This week, Ben started daycare. It was likely harder on us than him. He did great, but was a little tired when he got home.

Before

After

Crazy legs

2009-11-11T22:26:00.000-06:00

After his bath, we like to lay Ben in his crib and turn on his mobile. His mobile is his favorite toy, as it never fails to bring a smile to his face (and ours).

Something was making him extra excited tonight.

Playdate with Cousin Clayton

2009-11-05T12:16:00.000-06:00

They both slept and ate for most of the playdate, but Ben did wake up long enough to hold his cousin--0nly 1 and 10 weeks old and they are already best buds.

New Patient Exam

2009-11-02T14:02:00.001-06:00

This patient was a handful. We tried to tell him not to eat all that Halloween candy (his Aunt Emily probably snuck him some) or he'd end up at the dentist.

I'm sure some of you were wondering why it took so long for us to take this picture.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T17:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!!!

In case you can't read our name tags, we are Ghostbusters Spangler and Venkman and of course Ben is a ghost.

Cousin Clayton

2009-10-30T16:49:00.000-05:00

Ben has a new cousin, born October 27th at 5:40 am. He weighed 7lb 8 oz and was 20.75 inches long. His full name is Clayton Cody Cromwell. Ben got to meet him on Thursday and when we put them next to each other we realized just how much Ben has grown these 2 months--he is getting near 14 lbs!

Tummy Time

2009-10-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

We hope Aunt Katy is happy.

WHAT?!?!

2009-10-19T09:59:00.001-05:00

Look Mom, no clothes

2009-10-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

Leinie's

2009-10-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

Bundled Up

2009-10-02T11:41:00.000-05:00

Cuddle Bear

2009-09-30T12:52:00.001-05:00

We love how these pictures show how great it is to cuddle with Ben.

Go Marquette

2009-09-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

Ben looks to be in the middle of the MU fight song.

4 Generations x 2

2009-09-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

Waving hello

2009-09-16T22:39:00.000-05:00

Bears fan

2009-09-16T10:06:00.001-05:00

2009-09-15T22:49:00.000-05:00

Learning to Play

2009-09-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

2009-09-08T22:25:00.000-05:00

2009-09-08T14:12:00.000-05:00

Benjamin after a bath.