This picture was taken on Oct 1st, 2006. Joel was 4 days old. When he was born he weighed 9 pounds but had dropped about a pound in the few days following his birth, so in this picture he's probably the smallest he ever was. I remember this moment very well. It had been a long night of interrupted sleep. We were all exhausted. Joel was curled up on my shoulder like a little puppy and we were catching a few minutes of sleep before heading back to the hospital for yet another blood test. I remember how tiny and warm he felt there sleeping on me.

Five years later. I don't even know where the time went. You know how they say that the days are long but the years are short? That's so true. Now a days he's running, playing, talking non-stop. He plays make believe all the time… like literally ALL THE TIME. We have to remind him that when he's at preschool he needs to be Joel, not Bumblebee or Iron Man or Han Solo or whatever personality has lodged into his frenetic imagination. He's loving but opinionated, intense & focused and yet constantly moving. He's a negotiator. He's determined.

He is a boy.

And yet there is still one moment in our daily routine where he's my little child again. I wake him most nights to take him to the bathroom before his mom and I go to bed. I creep into the bedroom, gently roll him out from under his covers and hoist him out of bed. His head slumps over my shoulder as I cradle his bony behind. His long arms & legs fall limp like a stringless marionette. We shuffle to the bathroom and I stand him in front of the bowl, making sure to orient him in the proper direction. Most times he doesn't even open his eyes, just lets out a long yawn and takes care of business. I help him with his pajama pants and whisper, "good job buddy" into his ear. Again I lift his increasingly heavy frame to my chest and he wraps his arms around me. Sometimes he snuggles into my neck, almost involuntarily, as if it's muscle memory from when he was much much smaller. I lay him back into bed, cover him up and hand him his Pooh Bear which he still sleeps with every night. He curls around the little stuffed bear and drifts back to sleep… my big little-boy.

Happy Birthday Joel

This whole "end of the world" Rapture thing is getting a lot of lip service. Here's the truth people:

We're all simply a heartbeat / car wreck / crazy-guy-with-a-gun-on-the-bus away from being permanently taken out of this world ALL THE TIME. So is everyone else you know and love. It's so easy to take it all for granted. Love the ones around you as much as you can while you can. You never get a single minute back.

Live like you're dying, because you are.

I mentioned a while ago that Joel really likes taking pictures with our first generation iPhone. Here's some more of his handiwork. I haven't edited these at all. I think he takes better pictures with that thing than I ever did! I also enjoy these because it gives me an idea what the world looks like from his point of view.

They're born from the same DNA, raised in the same house by the same parents. Yet, they're undeniably unique in their own little ways.

Dear Family & Friends,

Go Go Gadget Christmas Letter! What, you mean that didn't work? OK, well I suppose I'll sit down and write one. Here we go. 2010, in 500 words or less…

Life as a family with two young children can be a blur. In fact I remember my own mother telling me that she doesn't have many memories between the time that my brother Sean was born and when we all were finally in school. Our days are quite FULL. Sometimes you can't remember if you're playing "Hiding Kitty" or "Wrestling Doggy" or whatever other game has just been invented on the spot. My hat goes off to my amazing wife who continues to stay home with a couple of endlessly energetic, imaginative and demanding boys.

Speaking of my wife, sometime around December of last year she decided she was a runner. One thing I've learned about my wife in the last eight years is once she decides something then you’d better WATCH OUT! She went from casually jogging around Greenlake to an organized 5k on Valentines Day to a half marathon in Tacoma in May. And as if running wasn’t quite interesting enough she figured biking and open water swimming might be fun too, so she participated in the Danskin Triathlon in August. Finally in October, in The City of Roses (aka Portland), Sarah ran her first marathon. Twenty six point two miles ladies and gentlemen! And let me also point out that it was pouring down rain for at least twenty five of those miles.

I'm still working my day job as DER SERVER MEISTER of The Omni Group. Seriously, it's a pretty great gig. I get to help some really smart people create awesome products that I honestly believe are exceptional. Also, the fact that it takes less time to bike to work than it does to drive thru traffic doesn't hurt. When I'm not wrangling servers I can be found cycling, playing pinball, or riling my boys into a cacophonous frenzy exactly five minutes before bedtime.

Joel and Isaac are amazing. Joel talks and plays and talks and runs and talks some more. The kid has no sense of shame or personal space and is quite determined that it's his duty to inform every single person at Trader Joe's that he is “Buzz Lightyear and look at my cool LASER!" Isaac is expressive and emotional in every non-verbal way possible. His frantic laugh is pure delight, but his disappointed scowl will break your heart. He has a tender spirit and loves his doll like it's his own little baby.

We continue to enjoy living in Ballard (or Crown Hill, depending on who you ask) which is the perfect mix of neighborhood-y familiarity and grown-up city attitude. The only thing that could make it better would be having our family closer. Hope you all are surrounded by those you love this Christmas!

Peace on Earth,

The Bendicksons

Continuing our grand tradition of shopping mall Santa photos. Here's the 2010 installment. I'm thinking of submitting these to www.creepysantaphotos.com. Seriously.

And 2009.

Joel wrote his first letter to Santa and stopped by to show me. I like his style, keeping it simple & to the point.

"Mom, what's a dream job?" he asked the other day.

"Well, a dream job is the kind of job that if you could do anything you wanted, that's what you would do. What is your dream job, Joel?"

"I want to take pictures."

Honest to God, that's exactly what he said. We hadn't been discussing photography or cameras at all and I don't think any of the shows he's watched recently feature picture taking prominently. So, I dunno, I think this was an honest, gut response answer to the question. Sarah dug out our old G1 iPhone and showed him how to use the camera. Below are some of the results.

He's 4.

Just got this email from Sarah:

"I taught Joel how to take photos with the old iPhone and now he keeps it in his back pocket, calls me Sarah, and makes me call him Daddy."