Babymoon

Because Seattle can get depressing about this time of the year, Brent and I decided to head to Kauai for a little warmth and R&R before baby girl joins our family. Bennett stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for the week and I'm pretty sure he didn't miss us at all. Thank goodness for Skype - we were able to chat with him every night before bed. Our time in Kauai was rainier thank we had hoped for but the temps were in the 80s and we still managed to enjoy every moment of our baby free vacation.

The hiking was amazing


Beach time - snorkeling was the only water sport I attempted but Brent surfed and boogie boarded.

Brent was on a Mai Tai mission - tasting each restaurants special offering.

Lots of waterfalls to discover.

Lava pools at Secret Beach (yes, rain jackets were worn frequently)

One last sunset

Birthday Boy

This is a long overdue post...

We celebrated his 2nd birthday amongst family and good friends. The highlights of the party (according to Bennett) were the balloons and his new fishing pole.

I can hardly believe he's two years old. Here are some of my favorite things about this guy:

- when something is really funny, he'll place both hands over his wide open mouth in sheer delight; and when he's really excited about something, he'll squeal and clap his hands ferociously (parks, Dad, and Grandpa are the most common reason for this reaction)

- he's says "wuv you" and "bless you" and blows kisses and gives out "big hugs" regularly

- his favorite food is the whole fruit group - any kind, in immense amounts; followed closely by the vegetable group

- when saying hi to someone new, he'll always do it with a fully extended arm wave

- he can sing "abc's" but often gets stuck on "g"; he can count to 10 and knows he's 2; he knows all his colors and most of his shapes

- he can't wear footie jammies (although he will always pick these) because his feet get too hot in the middle of the night and he ends up naked at some point late night - this apparently is genetic, Brent had the same issue and his Mom used to cut the feet off his jammies

- the transition to big boy bed and a new room was super smooth; now if only he'd show some interest in potty training :)

- he still loves any sport and loves to be outside, no matter the weather

- his verbal skills are improving everyday and if he says something new, he wants me to repeat it; if I can't understand it and nod in approval to try and change the subject, he's insists on trying it until it makes sense to Mom

- in the mornings when we watch cartoons, he's a fan of Caillou, Bernstein Bears, and Kipper

- we often go to the zoo and his favorite animal to see is the "waddles" (penguins); we also frequent the children's museum, local parks, and the pool

Big Boy

Wearing Daddy's slippers.
Sleeping in his big boy bed for the first time - he slept great the first night. Night two didn't go as smoothly but we knew it was going to be a transition so we're trying to take it one day at a time.

His brand new room, all decorated and full of his fun toys.

Hobbies

Bennett loves to paint and it's a great pastime while I am trying to organize and rearrange the house to make room for our little girl. Bennett's new big boy room will take over the office and we're almost to the painting stage of things. Not sure I'll let him help with that project.

We had a family work day last weekend (I think I'm nesting) and cleaned out the garage. Bennett was so excited that the boat was coming out that he put on his life jacket, grabbed his "fishy net" and sat in the drivers seat for about an hour. He could have cared less that he was on dry land - and it allowed us to get a lot done!

In other news....

It's a girl! Bennett is very excited to have a little sister!

Christmas and beyond

After a failed attempt with Santa, we opted for the much less scary option of Santa's vacant sleigh - while enjoying our candy cane Santa gifted us despite being scared to death of him
It's hard to get an almost 2 year old to stand still - he was fascinated by the lights on the tree, asking every morning as soon as he got up if we could turn them on

Aunt Jenny wins for best gift - a real screwdriver and a truck we can take apart (or "fix" as Bennett will tell you)

Friends waiting in line for the carousel

He asked for the purple horse

Checking out the gingerbread houses downtown - constructed by local architecture firms

Christmas morning, helping Daddy put together his new tool bench

Playdough!

This was probably the next best gift - hours of entertainment. But all those fun color options are now one big brown blog.

Bennett loved having his family around over the holidays, especially his cousins

Catch Up

Sorry about the pause in blogging...a lot has happened in the last month. Unfortunately I don't have photo documentation of a lot of it...there was a long girls weekend (plus Bennett), lots of snow days, and Thanksgiving. Here is what I did manage to capture.

We get incredible amounts of trick or treaters which means Costco sized bags of candy are a must. I innocently left them by the front door while I unpacked the groceries and returned to Bennett ferociously and happily trying to unwrap all the candy he had dumped out.
Very proud of himself and his discovery.

My Mom made the most awesome Halloween costume ever - he was a huge hit with all of our golfer neighbors. (And my Dad sacrificed a few of his old golf clubs to make Bennett sized ones)

The day after Garna's funeral, we felt it appropriate to honor her with a bit of clam digging. The weather didn't exactly cooperate but I think it was therapeutic for all to be out doing something she loved. Bennett a la "Ralphie" to protect him from the elements.

Raining so hard there was inches of standing water. And lots of birds to point out.

The troops heading out to the surf.

A couple of us opted for the warm car after just a few 40 mile per hour gusts.

Success! Grandpa brought one back for Bennett's net. Grandma would be so proud.