Maui Ocean Center

I think he could have been placed in an ad for the aquarium the way he ran up to all the tanks with his nose squashed against the glass!

A very cool presentation in the shark tank with sting ray.

All I said was, "Go give the dolphin a kiss!"

Maui Bound!

We had the amazing opportunity to go to Maui from September 29th-October 13th, 2010! My mom and dad (this is Kristen writing), Luke, Benjamin and I all got to go together. I am finally sorting through massive amounts of pictures and decided I will make a blog post for each day, documenting the highlights of the day. So, here is our diary....

I was VERY nervous (and that is an understatement) about Benjamin's first plane trip across an ocean for 5-1/2 hours. I had visions of evil glares from fellow passengers as my child screamed up and down the aisles, or even worse, clutching at his ears in pain and howling. To jump to the end of the story, he was a perfect little traveler and managed to charm all of those around him. This was one of those "little" answered prayers, that didn't seem so "little" at the time!

Blowing kisses to his fans. We didn't pay for a seat, but one was available both to and from Hawaii for Benjamin!

Oops, out of order...

....as evidenced by the red curls of hair! Had to post though because I love these pics of our little boy and his best friend Sadie.

Playing nicely.

Fighting over the toy.

What'd I do?

Our Birthday Celebration

So, Kristen's birthday is in May and Luke's birthday is in August. Kristen got concert tickets to see Carrie Underwood (!!!) for her birthday and Luke got a dinner certificate to El Gaucho. Renee and Abe babysat for our big date night September 25th!
Being artistic. :)

First Hair Cut

Before.

During.

After.

The Hood River Fruit Loop

Specifically the Hood River PEAR fruit loop. More specifically, an excuse to visit my Uncle Zigzag and Aunt Nay Nay.

Hmmm, mama looks a little wind blown and tired in this one...



My first ride on a giant pumpkin!

No Snazzy Title

Just a cute picture of our little boy in the neighbor's garden.

That Red Ball Tree

Swinging in the ball tree with my Aunt Bo-Bo.

It turns out, they are actually "Aps!"

I helped Nana make some fabulous "Ap-sauce".

Visits with Great Grandma

This sweet great grandma of mine likes to examine sticks and rocks with me, AND she lets me play with the buttons on her cart!

Beaverton Farmer's Market

The wind saw to it that we both got soaked!

Oregon State Fair

Benjamin's first trip to the Oregon State Fair.

After Papa's own heart.
Very first icecream cone (that mom witnessed anyway).

Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon

We did it! Erin encouraged me to start running again post-baby. We did a "baby swap" every Wednesday to get in a long run once a week. Thanks Erin!

More of the Water Park

Luke had never seen Ben play at a water park because when we went he was at work. We met him after work one day at Wilsonville's Memorial Park for a picnic dinner. Ben fell asleep in the car, but quickly fell into action once he realized where he was!

New Kicks

First pair of new sneakers. When "Nana" bought these before I was even born, Mom felt like they were SO big. :)

They get Ben everywhere he wants to go!

National Anthem

First Baptist Church choir sings the National Anthem at the Portland Beavers baseball game.
Luke is on the left in the white and red stripe shirt and "Nana" is on the right in the red jacket and jean skirt. Sounded good!

Tired babe in the car on the way home.

Grandma Carol came to watch!

Luke's Birthday Weekend in Redmond

We have a serious lover of books. Don't know how we got so lucky, but he could read for HOURS.

Relaxin' in Grandpa's chair.






Watching the sunset with Mom while Dad BBQs his favorite Redmond meal.
There was a baby deer on the front porch when we pulled in the driveway. We watched mom and baby for quite a while. Benjamin can now say "deer."

Petersen Rock Gardens

"I come in peace Mr. Peacock."

The chase.

The odd beauty of the rock gardens.

Benjamin LOVES to make the horse sound.

Big day for little Ben. Proud mom.

First Steps

Benjamin officially started walking the weekend of August 21-22nd at the Petersen Rock Gardens in Redmond, OR at 14 months. He had been taking a few steps here and there prior to that, but once he saw the peacocks on the lawn, he just had to catch one!