Ben Meets his Pennsylvania Relatives

Ben was only 7 1/2 weeks old this past weekend, but he's already been out of New Jersey and visited Pennsylvania two times already!  The first time was a few weeks ago when Jill and I took advantage of a nice day took a ride out to Peddlers Village.   I was amazed at how much attention Ben gets out in public.  Of course, all babies might get that attention, but I have to think Ben gets more because he's so cute.  People were just stopping and sitting next to me on the bench where I was feeding him just to look at him and ask questions about him!  Amazing...  

And now I got proof again that Ben can't help but be the center of attention this past weekend when we drove out to Aunt Nancy's house for the family Labor Day picnic.

Look at that!  Everyone gather around Ben and soak in his cuteness!!

We all had a great time visiting with our Pennsylvania family.  We ate really well, talked about the crazy Amish people, and Ben got passed around throughout the afternoon.  Here's a couple of shots of our family members holding Ben.

Ben seems to be a little shy in this picture with Aunt Nancy.  But he was much better than when Aunt Pat held him!   That Abby is darn cute too.  She was a lot of fun and a joy to be around.  She liked just being around Ben, (sneaking into pictures too!) 

I have to say, that is the BEST smile I've ever seen on Aunt Patty!  I think babies are like a drug that make people happy (as long as they don't have to feed them at 3AM in the morning!)

Now, Julie...  I personally think you look great holding a baby.   I can't help but use the forum to give you a little encouragement to remind you that you are Ben's last hope for a cousin around his age.  The reality is that Ben's immediate and extended family are mostly made up of old people all over the age of 40.   I think Abby is his closest relative in age and we have a few other kids in the family but they all live pretty far away.  Please take this into consideration...

Wow.. look how sweet and peaceful they both look.  Julie, you can do it.  Dan, (a.k.a. Julie's husband), just think about the awesome little soccer player that you'll be able to raise.  I'll even let you use the name Maximus, but with a new middle name...  How about Xander..   That way Ben X can play with his cousin Max X.  What a pair they would make!  Do it for Ben...  Do it for your future expert soccer player to be.    OK, I'll stop now.  I won't bug you anymore... today.

So here's our happy little family listening to everything that Ben has to tell us about his grand adventure in Pennsylvania.  I think he was saying something about how he wanted to try and convert some of the Amish girls next time...  He's going to be such a heart-breaker.

We all had a great time together and we definitely need to get out to visit our Pennsylvania family more often.   What's that??   Ben wants to say one last thing....

"I particularly enjoyed the delicious lemon pie.  It had a nice texture with just the right amount of lemon flavoring without being too tart.  I'll definitely take the pie over formula anyday.  And thank you all for making me feel so welcome!"