Beach Trip

Today we went to the beach and the Oregon Coast Aquarium with Grandma Mary and nine other family members. What a busy day!

Ben's favorite part (besides lunch) was the sand on the beach. At first he refused to step on it and held his feet in the air. Then he moved on to gigantic steps. Finally he sat down threw handfuls of sand in the air. He threw sand up into the wind over and over. He found this to be hilarious. He crawled, rolled, and ran in the sand. Sand was stuck to every part of him.

At one point we noticed he was missing an 'ear'. This caused mas pandemonium for the long 2 minutes it took to back track and find it blinking away in the sand. He spent the rest of his beach time in silence.

I think this picture (thanks to Uncle Steven) sums up my little boy.

He makes a simple, silent, exploration of the world look beautiful.

Where did this amazing little creature come from?

Celebrity

Ben was featured in a front page article in our local newspaper. The newspaper contacted us way back in December before Ben's first surgery. The reporter and photographer were so interested in Ben's story they joined us on his first surgery day and then again when he was first activated with his right ear. The photographer was even allowed in the operating room, taking pictures of the entire procedure.

Last week they came out to see how life has changed for Ben since his second implant and activation. We thought they did a fantastic job on both articles. The first page actually brought tears to my eyes.

Hope you enjoy!

First article about Ben's surgery:
http://www.itemizerobserver.com/Archives/Story.aspx/16781/moving-past-the-sounds-of-silence

Article about the activation:
http://www.itemizerobserver.com/Archives/Story.aspx/16842/his-door-to-the-world

Most recent article after his second implant:
http://www.itemizerobserver.com/DIONews0.shtml