first birthday

 For Bennett's actual birthday, we played it pretty low-key. 

In the morning, we had him open his presents. He got lots of presents from his generous grandparents. Thank you!!

Unlike Logan at this age, Bennett seemed to know what to do with the wrapping paper. In fact, I just realized that is probably why he's always trying to rip books now...

Logan had a hard time not just watching :) He wanted to open the presents any time Bennett took longer than a few seconds. 

I made a simple chocolate cake with caramel frosting in the center. 

He didn't quite know what we wanted hi to do with it at first, but after some encouragement, he dug in a little.

Looks like Logan was excited to try it too!

This picture cracks us up every time we see it. It was a fluke from the camera--I don't think he ever really felt the way he looks in this picture, but it sure is funny!

First birthdays are the best!

1 year!

This boy is 1 year old! Like every mom, I'm wondering where the time went. 

He went from this chubby little guy...

To this chubby guy!

In that past month, Bennett has shown so much personality. 

Part of it was a two-week trip to Utah and Idaho. He was so incredibly happy there. Coming home was another story, but he's making his way back to that happy baby. I guess he just loved watching the other kids a lot. A lot.

He says:

No, dah (dog), ha (hi), da (dad)

He puts everything and anything up to his ear as a phone and says, "hi".

He waves and says, "hi"

He calls all animals and some other objects dogs.

He barks like a dog.

He fake laughs.

He is a dancing maniac!

He is so so wiggly.

He touches things with his pointer finger and then puts his finger in his mouth like he's tasting it. 

He points at things.

I am still nursing him. I'm ready to be done and he is definitely not. 

Logan is still his best friend. He is obsessed with Logan. They are starting to play together more (when Logan isn't worrying about Bennett touching his toys) and it is adorable.

Love this baby boy of mine. I can't wait to see who he becomes and how he grows.

powell butte

We are just minutes away from Powell Butte. It is a short hike (although with a double stroller, it wasn't that easy pushing uphill...) up to the top, which is huge and quite beautiful.

We found a lot of birds, not just this Robin :)

Bennett doing what he used to do best in the stroller.

Up at the top.

They are working on a construction project up there and Logan was excited to see this excavator up there.

He insisted on carrying an umbrella even though it wasn't raining.

He also wanted to stop at all the logs to stand on them.

We saw this family of coyotes, too.

oregon zoo

The first Saturday that the sun was shining and it felt reasonably warm, we took a trip to the zoo. We knew it would be something Logan would love and we were right.

Outside the zoo, they had this train for kids to climb in and see. Logan is obsessed with trains as of late, so this was like a dream for him.

Here he is inside the train. 

Not only did he love the real animals, but he liked the fake ones too :)

Bennett enjoyed himself in another way, for at least half of the time we were there.

Daddy and Logan outside the aviary. 

Mommy and Logan after seeing the new baby lions.

Riding the giant lion. Logan has a lion beanie baby, which is his favorite, so I think the lions were his favorite at the zoo.

It was fun to get out and celebrate the end of Darrin's busy season!

11 months

Bennett has really started to show how happy he can be this month.

My parents visiting really helped I think. They babysat him a lot while they were here so he was able to get over a lot of his separation anxiety. He doesn't feel like he has to be right next to me all the time now.

Here is the little munchkin taking a bath in the sink. 

He LOVES baths!

If we leave the bathroom door open he either goes straight to the bathtub and tries to dive in or to the toilet...ew.

Can you guess what he's looking at here that is making him so happy?

If you guessed Logan, you're right! :)

Many times Bennett will be in a grumpy mood and then Logan will come in the room and Bennett will immediately cheer up.

This month he learned to drink from my water bottle. 

He's now obsessed.

This month:

-We think he started saying "dog". But only when it is a real dog.

-He officially says "hi". I swear he's mimicked that sound forever.

-He barely started walking a little along furniture, but only a few steps at a time

-He still has 6 teeth--no new ones, but he's been working on one for a while now

-He waves, but not consistently

-He started smiling a lot more at strangers

-He started dancing

-He fake laughs

-He started standing in his crib when he wants out

Gulping down that water!

I'd say he's a mama's boy, but he sure does love Daddy too.

Not a great picture, but here's our 4 generation picture:

Bennett is soooo wiggly! This was a rare moment. I had never seen him do this before. Ever. 

Church is quite the adventure, but it always is with kids.

He also really started liking books this month. Before he would just try to grab them and eat them, but now he likes looking at them and turning the pages.

Having an almost 1-year-old makes me feel a little sad that he's grown so fast, but it's so fun to see him change. Love my little Bennett man!

easter

I know Easter was a while ago, but here it goes anyway.

For Easter we had a lot of plans and didn't get to all of them.

On Saturday we try to do the stuff that really has nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter, which turned out to be a good thing since Easter day was packed.

Saturday, we did Easter baskets in the morning (fully equipped with dollar store goodies) and an Easter egg hunt-which I only took videos of.

Bennett must have been really tired. This face is priceless!

On Sunday we went to church and had an Easter dinner at my uncle's house. Later that week we made the Resurrection rolls. Fun, but laid back holiday, which made it easier to remember our Savior.

10 months

On Logan's birthday, this guy turned 10 months.

His personality just keeps blossoming. It is fun to see the differences between our boys.

For one thing, he is so stubborn!

When he wants something he'll do anything to get it!

At the beginning of this month, he started signing "all done" and "more", but has decided he would rather scream  or squeal for what he wants...

He likes the heater vent. 

He'll go up to it while it is blowing air and you can hear him gulping for air as it blows in his face. It is pretty funny to watch. 

He loves going on walks in the stroller.

And he doesn't mind wearing hats, which is nice.

He absolutely knows high chair=food.

If he is put in the high chair and food is not immediately put on the tray he throws a fit.

He started pulling himself up to standing. 

At the beginning of the month, he would sit on his knees a lot instead of standing all the way up, but he doesn't do that anymore.

He also learned to pick things up from standing.

Love this baby, even with his stubborn streak. It does make me wonder what the terrible twos and the teenage years will be like though.