First snow

A couple of days ago was the first real snow of the season. Mark and I pretty much share an opinion on snow. It's interesting for a little while, but then it gets old fast! Bennett seems to agree.

About 2 minutes after these pictures he demanded to go inside. Smart boy!

C-O-R-N! B-E-L-L-Y-S!

We went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point twice this year! Bennett was obsessed with the pumpkins, and all he wanted to do was climb on them and carry as many as he possibly could.

For some reason he really hated the tractor ride. Of course, the tractor ride lasted foreverrr.

I think his favorite part, maybe even more than the pumpkins, was going down these blow up slides with Mark. These guys are best friends!

Bennett's birthday!

Oops! Bennett's birthday was four months ago already? Ever since July came, time has been flying. My mom and little sister and brother came up from Florida the week of his birthday, which was wonderful! And I was so overwhelmed at the thought of throwing a party, and my tiny baby turning one-whole-year, and making everything cute and perfect, so it was a huge relief for my mom to just take the lead on all that. It was kind of a whimsical theme, and it turned out so great!

In typical silly Bennett fashion, he cried when everyone sang "happy birthday" and tried to watch him eat cake. Then he proceeded to steal my cupcake. Typical! But we love him! We are so thankful to everyone that came and wished our little guy a happy day!

I didn't forget you fall!

I will tell almost anyone who will listen how much I love fall. Especially in Utah, it is just the most perfect season. The crisp air, the falling leaves, and all the excitement that the approaching holidays brings...it is the best. We have been staying busy with all kinds of fall-y activities, which makes me so happy! Here's a quick picture version of our fall so far (complete with some grumpy Halloween pictures due to one sick puppy).

Did I mention?

Did I mention that we are moving to Seattle next month?! We really are! Mark got a great job offer there and we can't wait to be done with school and starting a new adventure. We just feel really blessed right now. I hope Washington is ready for us!

This morning we went to this cute aquarium in Sandy, The Living Planet. My favorites were the jellyfish, the stingrays, and the penguins! Mark's favorites were the seahorses. And, Bennett was just in heaven chasing after all the other kids. 

Independence Day

On the 4th of July we went downtown to watch the parade. Bennett loved seeing all the people and clapping at the same time as everyone else. He was pooped though, and fell asleep as we were walking home. We ate some barbeque and relaxed the rest of the day. I kind of surprised myself by getting really emotional when they stood the flag at attention and everyone put their hands over their hearts at the beginning of the parade. It really is such a blessing to live in the United States and enjoy the freedoms we have.

Bennett

So, I kind of think my child is the cutest thing ever. Not to mention the smartest, funniest, etc. It's probably kind of annoying, but oh well! I can't help it! His birthday is in less than 3 weeks and I. can't. believe. it. He took his first steps about a month ago and every day he is a little faster and more balanced. I love seeing his chubby little body waddling around! He can wave, clap, throw balls, say "hi", "bye", "mom", "dad", "ok", and "yeah". He has four teeth! He loves the water and being outside. He loves electronics and the salt and pepper shakers. I love him so much and feel so lucky to get to be his mom.

Bridal Veil Falls

It's Summer! It's been so hot lately, but Bennett gets pretty bored staying inside all day, so I've been trying to get creative with our activities. We have been going to this cute little pool near our house, but we decided to change it up and go to Bridal Veil Falls. Bennett LOVES water-which cracks me up because he used to act like bath time was torture. We had a cute little picnic and walked up to just the bottom of the falls. We played in the icy cold water until our toes were a little numb. It was fun!

Love

We love three-day weekends, and we especially love watching this guy do new things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNAIRy51A0s&feature=related

Cloth diapers.

Have I mentioned that we cloth diaper Bennett? Well, we do, and we love it! Mark was pretty skeptical when I brought it up while I was still pregnant but I he warmed up to the idea when I made him research with me. Ultimately we chose to do it because of the money we save and how environmentally friendly it is. Another plus that we couldn't really have anticipated is that Bennett has very sensitive skin, so the cloth diapers have been great for him-he's never gotten a diaper rash! I do have to do a lot of laundry, but it's really the only trade off. I get a lot of questions and mixed reactions when people notice I'm using cloth, so I thought I would blog about it to show it's not actually that crazy!

Family

I miss my family so much. We got to go Florida over Christmas and it was so wonderful! My mom emailed me these pictures we took while we were there and it makes me miss everyone even more.

 P.S. How beautiful are my mom and little sister?!