Little Rob

So, you have to really know Bennett's Daddy to appreciate this post, and I think all of you do.

The three of us went to our local pumpkin patch the weekend before last...pumpkins were only the beginning at this place. In typical Long Beach style, the patch had everything: rides, a train, a giant slide, and a petting zoo.

Here is the part where Little Rob immerged. You can probably tell from previous posts and photos that Bennett is a fairly animated guy. When he is in certain scenarios, however, usually when his surroundings are new, he turns into a tiny stone wall. He is happy, excited even, if you look closely; but his expression is dead serious. He just takes it all in, and he talks about the experience for days to follow. This was how Bennett reacted to Disneyland, for example. If you met him for the first time that day, you probably would never guess that he is an extroverted, giggly, chatty, little fella. In fact, it wouldn't even have been apparent to a stranger that he was having fun at all. But Rob and I find his "fun overload" attitude to be hilarious. You see, he comes by it honestly. I have been beside Rob through many happy moments-birthdays, graduations, our wedding, to name a few-and there are times when you have to know him quite well to recognize his excitement. I actually love this character trait. Now, I get to love it in both the men in my life!

This very short video captures the description above just a little. On his first ride alone Bennett took his driving very seriously!

The not-so-smooth start!

O.k, I can't help myself...a few more photos:

Same reaction to the ponies

A little smirk while playing with Dad

Belly update-I know I'm a lot bigger than this pumpkin :)

What finally made the little guy smile?

CHOCOLATE! That's my boy!!

Just Three 1/2 Months Ago...

Bennett and I were looking through photos and videos together the other day-one of his favorite past times- and I cam across this one. I recorded it in early July, and I can't believe how much he has changed! His voice has changed (not so babyish anymore), his vocabulary has exploded-his hair is even long. I wish I had a good recent video for comparison, but we rarely talk with him while recording; videos are mostly about capturing Bennett's dance moves.

P.S-Sorry it is side-ways, Rob has told me approximately six hundred and thirty two times that there is one correct way to hold the camera when recording, but I am a slow learner.



I can't watch it without getting a little teary; our little guy is growing up! More posts to follow soon...

Carmel Valley Trip

In the previous post I mentioned our recent trip to my home in Carmel Valley. I wanted to add some more pictures, but there were so many to choose from that I had to make a slide show-below are my favorites. Bennett fully enjoyed playing in the meadow at my parent's house, exploring the pumpkin patch at Earthbound Farms, and playing in the sand at Carmel beach. We also had a lovely visit with our family friends, the Kreps. Enjoy the photos!

I Had a Date With My Son Yesterday...

and it was really sweet.
This last weekend our little family headed up to Carmel Valley for a much needed visit with my parents. It had been way too long since we had traveled all the way up north-as opposed to meeting them in SLO-and it was wonderful, relaxing, and fun. I will post pictures soon, but the short story is that Bennett did great in the car (7 hours each way without a single gripe! Better than I can say for myself), and great during the day (he pulled out every vocab. word he has for his Grammy, Bumpa, and Mombo). He struggled with sleep, however, which is normal for him when we go out of town. This brings me to our date. Yesterday morning little B. and are were both pretty tired from a few nights in a row of interrupted sleep, so I wanted to do something a little more mellow than our usual park/play date/etc. So we headed over to the marketplace where we usually walk around the pond to look for ducks before shopping at Trader Joe's or Bennett's favorite store. Lately Bennett has become more and more interested in visiting with people as we pass by the coffee shop than he is in duck hunting. So today, we stopped in and I grabbed a drink, and as we headed over to the duck-filled waters, I asked Bennett if he would like to sit for a minute with all the other coffee and tea drinkers. He thought this was a brilliant idea (sit on a grown-up chair, say "hi" to the passers-by, and look for dogs and tiny birds-what almost two-year old could pass this up?). So we sat down for what I thought would be a couple of minutes, and those minutes turned into a half of an hour. It was so nice to just sit, chat, and look at the birds, dogs, and people with my little guy. I think it was our first real date, so I needed to write about it.

Here's a quick video of Bennett dancing while Bumpa plays his guitar.

Fall, My Butt!!!

It it so stinkin hot. 99 degrees in Long Beach a couple of days ago, 96 today. I'm dying a slow, sweaty death during my favorite season. The scarves and hats are snug in their boxes, and my house is the temperature of that nice, cozy fire I wish I was sitting by.

I am melting here, people.

A Family First

We went to Disneyland today! It was on a whim, actually. Rob recently filled in as AV director at the Disneyland Hotel, and free passes to the park was one of the perks :). It came at the perfect time, because this was an insanely busy work week for Rob. He and Bennett saw each other briefly on Sunday before Rob headed off to work, and then not again until B . and I visited the hotel on Wednesday. The hours were so long that Rob stayed at (his) Hilton two nights in a row. So, Friday kicked off our much needed long weekend, and Rob thought it would be fun to start with a trip to the happiest place on earth. He was right, we had so much fun!

In line for Bennett's first ride-he was beside himself.

The first ride: The Rockets


He loved it! Until...


it was time to get off. There were tears at the end of every ride.



Don't ask me why my eyes are crossed in this picture.

He had to ride the carousel, even though these are everywhere down here :)


Remember when you were little and you thought you were
actually driving?

We watched the band for awhile, they were excellent.

My best attempt at a self photo of the three of us. I think we look tired and a little stoned.

The park was decorated for the season. I love pumpkins, so it made me happy.

Getting sleepy. Just one quick parade before we go.

Bennett loves a parade!

We couldn't leave without a true family photo.

Highlights:
1. We went to Disneyland!
2. Decent weather (for Anaheim)
3. Bennett's huge smiles, "wow's!," and "woh's!"
4. Getting in for free (maybe I'm cheap, but it was pretty nice)
5. Discovering that B. is not at all afraid of heights-
you never know until you try
6. When he saw "the teacups" and shouted, "Tea!"
7. The moment each ride ended B. said "more"
8. Eating a churro-enough said.
9. Bennett laughing and singing the whole way home

Lowlights:
1. Traumatizing the little guy by putting him on Alice in Wonderland.
I think I was overly-excited, and forgot that this ride is loud,
dark, and scary-for this age-whoops. Poor baby was
saying "All done! All done!" Torture.
2. The melt-downs after each ride :)

Thanks for a great day, boys (and you too, Elodie)!