I took Benjamin to take pictures in his baptism outfit. I thought this one would be a piece of cake because he's such a smiley baby...nope. We got a few cute ones anyway. I guess my babies just like to make me sweat! Here are a few of our favorites.






Hannah got to meet Benjamin in the NICU. She had to be over 3 years old and not running fever. She was very timid. I think the NICU was a weird place to be.


What a difference two years can make! The one on top in Hannah and Benjamin and the one under that is Hannah with Ellie in the hospital when she was born.
Pat and Cathy stopped in with the girls over Thanksgiving. Here's a shot of all the Portele cousins.
Mom came and stayed with us the second week after Benjamin was born. As always she was a tremendous help. Don't know what we would have done without her!
Christmas was fun and exhausting. Sadly all of my pictures from the day were lost. Here's one from right after the tree was put up.
Just after Christmas, Chris and Jess came to visit for just a couple days. It was great to see them again and to spend time with Joshua, too. It's hard to believe a year has gone by since they left for Peru. Here are a few shots of the kids.
Boy Meets Girl. Benjamin's future wife was born just three weeks after him. She was due to come two weeks before him, but that wouldn't have been proper. So, here they are just a couple days after Emerson Rose was born. We're looking forward to a good relationship with Ben's in-laws (our great friends) Blake and Kristen!
Here Benjamin tries to put the moves on Emmy just a couple days before Valentine's Day. I've got to hand it to him...she's pretty cute!!
I was trying to take a picture of Benjamin when he squirmed to look up at the TV. In the second picture, he's watching the game with Daddy. Who doesn't like a little mindless entertainment?

We were blessed to have Benjamin baptized on February 15! We had lots of friends and family to celebrate with. It was a great day. Uncle Chris is Benjamin's godfather.
We were so excited for Benjamin to finally meet Granny. We had a really nice visit and he seemed happy to be with her!
The girls on "Western Day" at mother's day out. Don't let their smiles fool you. Their "Go-Texan Day" attitude went out the window promptly after we left the house. It turns out that they do not like to wear bandannas.