BEN's 1st birthday was a lonely affair. The Blizzard of '96 dumped 2 feet of snow on our Mt Gilead home and effectively reduced the attendees to Ben, his Irish twin sister Ellen, and Mom & Dad. Although the 2nd birthday wasn't snow-free, it was benign enough to allow grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and a special guest to celebrate his entry into the Terrible Twos.

He was clueless about what all the fuss was about, but Ellen and cousins helped him build the excitement and anticipation of PRESENTS!

So Ben dutifully tore into the carefully wrapped shielding that covered his new set of toys.

After completing his mission and sampling the goodies, it was time to attack the next object of his day's assignment - the CAKE!

Wishing for his dad to win the lottery, Ben then blew out all those 2 candles and proceeded to help completely devour the wondrous confection.

But Ben's Day was not without an anxiety attack. This big purple dinosaur came to his party and Ben didn't want the monstrosity to get near him.

Barnaby's bag held lots of magical presents for all the kids. They all waited for the friendly creature to dispense his treats.

Ellen really liked her tape of Barnaby's Favorite Songs and gave the purple diety a big hug.

And before Barnaby had to leave because of his lack of a thermostat in his skin, he sat on the couch with two of his favorite friends.

Where was dad during all this excitement? He was visiting Baby Bip and V.J. But returned to find that their friend Barnaby had gone home...