meeting uncle bennerauto

My first love came to meet Natalie yesterday. And, yes, it totally still counts as a first love if you spent most of your 7th & 8th grade relationship only hanging out during GT math and holding hands at lunch. Oh, and going to see terrible movies like The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and one uh-mazing movie, Romeo & Juliet. If that's not love at 12 years old, I don't know what is.

In any case, Natalie's Uncle Benno came to visit, and it made my heart grow three sizes seeing the two of them meet each other and play by the Christmas tree. Here are some pictures of them getting acquainted:

Ben was a natural with our little girl, and she got a huge kick out of his silly antics, and even gave him some hearty chuckles (something our serious girl is slow to offer, especially to someone she doesn't know very well) to show her appreciation for his efforts. Natalie was sad to see Ben leave, but he left behind a gift to wear and remember him by until next time:

I'm crossing my fingers it won't be another year between visits, and crossing my toes that a much-sooner-than-that visit will be at our high school reunion this summer.