Happy Birthday Lil' guy Benjamin! What a special blessing boys are! It warms my heart to know that Ben LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine! Our older son, Sean was totally INTO Thomas and all his kind! And due to Grandma Liz (Todd's Mom) he got just about every one of them! HE had a lot of the wooden ones and wooden tracks--but we eventually went to the die cast metal ones. Because at that time they did not have the names ON them so Liz would use a sharpie and write the names on the bottom (and that way she could make sure she knew them just for her grandson (and to keep track of which ones she still needed to find for him!) Sean has long outgrown them and Nathan wasn't too much into them.
Choo Choo and Happy 2nd Birthday Ben!
Love, Jules

Jules, I LOVE YOUR STORY about Thomas the Train! I didn't realize there were so many trains until Benjamin's obsession! We watch and tape every show! He received several of the trains for his birthday and for Christmas. The best part about it is that Carol's Step-Dad and my late father worked for the railroad! Carol's Step-Dad is proud, and I know my Dad would be proud! Choo choo! Kirk

Happy Birthday big boy! Benjamin, you look so happy with your Choo choo Thomas the train cake! Bet it tasted good too, did you have a good time? Thank you for sharing pics of your birthday with us!! Your cake is so cute & so are you with your big smile!! Have fun playing with your trains! Jan

BenBear always had the bestest smile, and it just gets more endearing. Sounds like he came by his love of trains in a way I know you will hold dear to your heart.

That's some cake he got!
hugs, Karen

Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics

Awwww...Happy Birthday little Benjamin Bear!
Kirk, thanks for letting us know.
How lucky you are to have a little Aquarius child (if you follow that sort of thing, of course)
And how lucky he is to have you for a Dad. And lovely xmascarole for a Mom. Best wishes for your little one.
Hugs, Auntie Donna :)

What a charmer! He's a cutie. Happy birthday Ben!
Kirk, I always remember the pic you posted of your brother who died recently cuz he could be twin of a guy I remember from HS. Seems to me Ben has similar pretty eyes. All the best to you and your family.
kathy

OH he's adorable....Happy Bithtday little Ben!!!!!

Happy Birthday Glitter Pictures

Happy Birthday Ben!
Kirk & Carol, you must be so proud!

WOW what a cute little blondie.
Happy Birthday Ben

ADORABLE BIRTHDAY BOY!!!!!!! And yes that *smile* can make your heart GLOW!!!!!!
What a great little bear shirt. Did someone do it custom?? May God bless his life richly!!!!!
Susie

Benjamin!

What a cutie, Kirk! It must be something about guys born in February ... my Bob (who was just 62) is a big Thomas the Train fan too! lol! I hope Benjamin has a spectacular day!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN!! We feel like we know you since we've been seeing pictures of you since you were a baby! Hope you have a great day together!

Thanks everyone for your kind wishes! I showed Benjamin the animations on this post. He got soooo excited! He also got excited seeing pictures of himself on this post! LOL By showing him this post, I'm turning him onto GardenWeb Junk at a young age! LOL

We spent Benjamin's birthday (February 5th) at Chuck E. Cheese. He had so much FUN although Mom and Dad were exhausted after 3 hours of noise! LOL It was after school...remember I have 17 boys and 7 girls now in my classroom! I'm already exhausted at the end of the day! I made the sacrifice for my children and went to Chuck E. Cheese! :o)

Ben received a Thomas the Train DVD for his birthday. We have watched it over and over and over again!

As you know, kids grow up too fast! We're cherishing every moment! Bear Hugs! Kirk

Oh, Susie...the bear shirt was a store bought shirt on clearance! WHAT A PERFECT FIND! Ben is our "Little Bear"! Bear Hugs! Kirk

Happy Birthday Benjamin! Wow that is the cutest smile I have seen in a long time. He reminds me of my son when he was little. He will be 13 in a couple of months. It is hard to believe how fast they grow up. Cherish every minute while he is small. He is a sweetie!

~Micki~

Oh my goodness, I've been busy and I think I'm a day late & a dollar short. I sure hope lil Benjamin had a great birthday!

I love the infant pic, then the now pic, he just gets cuter every day!

My GS is outgrowing his favy sneakers, Thomas the Train, of course. And I rent the DVDs on Netflix. Our retirement home we bought 10 years ago looks like a day care center now LOL.

Oh I love those babies ... and as you know since you have grown kids too, they grow up so darned fast! Yours are getting a great home life there in the beautiful woods and your fantastic home. So happy for y'all! ~tenderlee

So Kirk, do you and Carol fall asleep dreaming about Thomas the Train? LOL
Its always amazing how little ones can watch the same movie over and over and over and over.....and LOVE it everytime.
Come to think of it, I have a few movies I feel the same way about. LOL

hugs, Karen

Kirk- When my precious GD (9) was little she called that children's party place (Chuckie Cheeses)- "Chuckie Jesus". That is what she thought the correct name was for a long time. Susie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!!

He's gonna be a heartbreaker!

happy birthday baby bear ben

ditto cait
heartbreaker for sure

Happy late Birthday, little Benbear!!
Looks like he is one happy little dude! I love his cake, so cute!
I can so relate to the Thomas the Train obsession, my son,(who is now 20) would watch it over and over and over!! Thank goodness they had come out with the recordable VHS tapes so we could tape them. He would even start to tear up when he knew they were about to end. He saw the Barnum and Bailey circus train pass in front of us at a trainstop one time and he about climbed outta his carseat, he wanted to get on that train so bad. He done his "shadowing " in High School for the railroad company here in town for two years, he wanted to become a conductor. They recently moved the school to another state and you have to relocate and then be placed there, so he went into computer networking and (sob) there went his lifelong dream. He is such a homebody, he couldn't see moving that far away with slim chance of coming back.
So, be careful with Ben, his love of trains may be around for awhile! Glad he had a wonderful birthday with his family!
blessings-sherri

Ahhh, Kirk & Carol... Ben is just such a SWEETIE! Love the pics and thanks for sharing...many, many more happy b'days to you, Ben Bear! Enjoy "Thomas!" Jeanne S.

What a DOLL!

It's hard to believe that he is that old--It seems like yesterday that you showed us that first photo!

Happy Birthday, Ben!