Pittsburg, PA

We flew to Pittsburgh July 18-20 for a business function. I was a little nervous about the flight since Benjamin is so active and mobile now. We brought lots of ear plugs and oatmeal craisin cookies for the people around us. They weren't needed, though, as he was so well-behaved (well, as much as a 9 month old could be).

                                 

                                           

Joy watched the baby when I was in the meeting. Otherwise I sat in the mother's room with him. He was the terror of the mother's room. Other moms would pull their babies away from him when they saw him coming even though they were the same age! He pushed his stroller into everyone (that's his big thing...he loves pushing the stroller himself), tried to pull the cables out of the tv that was feeding the meeting into us and insisted on putting his fingers into the electrical sockets. Wow. I mostly just chased him around. 

At the airport looking at planes and waiting. We had a long layover in Houston coming home.

Looking out of our hotel room window. We had a beautiful view of the city.

We saw Dexter Yager as we were roaming the halls and he gave Benjamin a kiss!

2nd Anniversary

Our second anniversary was Friday. It was a really busy day so went to Ojo Caliente on Monday.We each picked a spa service and spent the day in the mineral pools. It was like heaven. Since we each got $100 massages (!) we were treated like royalty. We got special locker rooms, soft robes (which Lamoni refused to wear), and even an extra towel. lol

It was the perfect weather for the hot springs. It became overcast and started raining right as we left in the afternoon.

We treated ourselves to the restaurant up there which was sadly a big disappointment. I would not recommend it. I remember going to a small restaurant in the village with my mom before and that was really good. Next time we'll go back there.

It was a hard jerk back to reality when we came home! Charity and Jarrett watched Benjamin all day for us. I was pretty worried about that but they said he didn't cry a single time (except when we left). He must be whiny especially for us! We came home to 2 more nights of him waking up every hour. For it, though, he cut 4 more teeth! Thank goodness they're through and he slept from 9-7 eating only once last night. That was a greatly needed night of sleep for all of us!

Cute things

Benjamin likes to play with cars but we didn't have any until recently so he grabs any of his toys and makes a car sound while he "drives" it around the floor! I wonder what noises boys made before cars.

We had some friends over who are pregnant with their first baby. They aren't all that baby-proofing savvy yet, so we had to help them learn how to open the cabinets etc. Well, the husband didn't lock the trash cupboard after he was in it so it was propped open just a tiny bit. Benjamin spotted it right away and sped-crawled to the cupboard and almost got the trash down by the time we caught him. And I was hoping to take those annoying locks off thinking he would just adapt to not opening certain cupboards. Yeah right!

Benjamin with the Coles and Brita's baby.

He, Jared and Benjamin are all October babies.

Benjamin waters the garden with Lamoni every day. As soon as he hears the back door slide open he zooms to it and throws a fit if Lamoni goes out there without him.

Hanging out with Daddy.

He officially has fallen down his first flight of stairs. Luckily it was a split level. He was at Faith and Jason's house and they said he got to the stairs before they even realized he had left. He can go up stairs just fine but not down them!

Grandpa Sam was in Bernallio on his way home from a job so Lamoni and Benjamin met and had lunch with him while I was teaching.

8.4.14

Here are some pictures. There are a lot more I will hopefully post soon.

One cute story first: We've been trying to put Benjamin to sleep in the crib by patting his back/bottom and singing to him. He lays down without a fuss, but it still takes a long time and then he doesn't stay asleep very long, so we're still working on it. Well, yesterday I tried just patting without singing, so *he* started singing! So cute! Once I began singing he stopped. Then today I was holding his arms down (they go crazy and keep him awake) so I couldn't pat him. He kept wiggling his bottom in a funny way, so I pat his bottom and he immediately stopped. He sure likes consistency!

Playing in the front yard. I wish we had grass! He loves trying to eat the rocks.

This is how Benjamin makes his way around the house - pushing whatever he can find with the honey stick in his mouth, going from one "naughty station" (see behind him) to another. A friend from church recently taught us about naughty stations and I'm so glad to finally have a term for the areas he gravitates towards where he leaves his mark of mass destruction. They include: 1. the kitchen drawers 2. the kitchen cabinets (both of which I left unlocked so he could occupy himself while I'm busy in there) 3. the bookshelf 4. the toilet 5. the bathroom cupboard 6. the food storage closet. He is perfectly content cruising from one to the next for large periods of time.

 Naughty station #3

His knees, tops and bottoms of feet are almost always dirty now

Eating blueberries in the morning with Olivia and Emily, who stayed the night with us while their mom was in the hospital

At Hannah's house for a play group - Emily and Olivia got to come along

Maya and her mom invited us to go to the Explora museum with them. It was definitely a hit. The baby room is amazing. I think we will be getting a year pass very soon.

Watching the balls 

The baby room: He was in heaven. The whole playground area was accessible for crawling and climbing. I don't think he came to me even once in almost 2 hours!

Lots of different stations with blocks, things to turn, switch, open, touch, knock over...

He was invited to his first birthday party! Ryan Thurgood, from church, turned 1 this month.

Ruth and Yoshi were also there. They will be a fun nursery group next year!

Boys will be boys...even when they're still babies

Getting into things with cousin, Jared, already

Bathtime is a favorite

After crawling in the water and drinking some accidentally

Brushing hair is a new favorite. One of the few times he sits still is when we brush his hair. Then he's frozen with a look of sheer pleasure on his face.