Quinn's 20th Birthday Fiesta and more!

So we just got back from the beautiful Pacific Northwest and I am already going through withdrawals...we were so lucky to have perfect weather while we were up there! A lot happened during our short trip up there so here is a quick (or not so quick) synopsis...

Quinn turned 20 on October 17th and we totally surprised him by showing up for his surprise party at Mom's house in Buckley! It was so fun to see his face when he realized we were in the crowd waiting to greet him! Lydia, his girlfriend bought him this fun tequila sunrise glasses, mustache and sombrero for him to wear...it was crazy how much like our dad he looks in these pictures!

This is his friend Isaiah Trivelas and his girlfriend Lydia. I just love all three of them!

The day after Quinn's party we went to Seattle to meet up with the Ries' family at Pike Place Market. It was a gorgeous sunny day (but cold) and we had so much fun catching up with our friends.

This is Ben Ries - our Ben's namesake...

My brother Adam moved back from Rhode Island Saturday so we got a chance to visit with him before he drove up north to prepare for an interview with a prestigious firm that does sculptures/artwork all over the country. (he got the job-yay!) He is a very talented artist and we are so excited for him! It was really good to catch up.

That night, despite the odds being completely against her, Mom rolled 6 6's all in one roll while we played goocher. I rolled 5 6's earlier that night which is like 7775 to 1 odds, so her roll was ridiculous...Holy crap! Yes, we took a picture...for proof that we are not all liars.

Sunday we went to Scotty Christenson's new church plant - Renovo Church in Puyallup - renovochurch.com - it was really neat and he is such a dynamic preacher. You can really tell he is passionate about what he does.

While we were there, I also got to meet my best friend's baby boy Caden C. Bailey. He is 2 months old and just perfect! It was really great to see Arame' again and fun to see her as a mommy!

I also got to catch up with Israel and her sweet family. These are her 2 boys enjoying the fiesta!

Last but not least, here a few more of my favorite pictures from our trip.

"Punkin" Patch Season

I never realized until this year, pointed out by my husband, that I say "punkin" instead of pumpkin. I especially say it in the phrase "punkin patch" because it is so much easier than the tongue twister that "pumpkin patch" turns out to be. So I am now practicing the correct to say it so as not to confuse Ben next year...and to avoid the ridicule that ensues when I say it wrong.

We went to Fog Willow with Tim, Sarah, Audrey (3 yrs) & Devin (8 wks) Sherlock earlier this month in Wilton. I love this time of year and would enjoy going to pumpkin patch just as the dorky adult that I am, but going with kids is so much more fun!

Audrey was cracking us up...she could not choose a pumpkin. She probably picked up at least 25 before Tim sat her down and said the next one she touched was the one she was getting.

Sarah & I went with the kids on a hayride around the farm - Ben sat on Audrey's lap the entire time and just loved every second!

It is just a lot of fun to experience things through the eyes of a child. I can't believe Ben is going to be a year old in just 5 1/2 weeks...

10 months old...

Ben is 10 months old today! His latest hobbies include pulling up on anything, cruising, laughing, giving high fives, shaking his head no while he touches a "no-no" and at other very random times, standing on his tip toes to play mommy's piano, eating a ton and a half every meal, and just making us fall in love with him more and more every day. He is a very very very happy baby! I am so lucky to have such an easy kid. Of course he has his moments...like the last three days while he is teething...but other than that, he is an angel!

Here are some more pics from our family picture day

Ben and his friends

Ben was born just 5 days after Jonas Jackson Prevatt, the second son of Dave & Jenni. They are really cute together! Jonas has an older brother Ethan Rusty who likes to teach the little guys fun and noisy things to do!





Ben has learned how to crawl, climb stairs, walk using a baby walker thingy, drink from a sippy cup and grow hair on his head from Jonas! =) I watch Ethan and Jonas on Thursdays for Jenni and she watches Ben on Friday's for me. The boys seriously are so cute sitting next to each other in Sunday School.

Caden C. Bailey was born in Graham, Wa on August 14th to Brian & Arame' (my best friend in the whole world). My mom was fantastic and flew Ben & I up to surprise Arame' for her shower at the end of June...it was so fun to see her all preggers and catch up with everyone for a brief moment. We have yet to meet Caden in person but when I showed Ben his picture he laughed and clapped his hands like he knew they were destined to be great buds!

On August 15th, Devin Benjamin Sherlock (not named after our Ben - he was name after his Uncle Ben) was born to Tim & Sarah here in Cali! Their 3 year old Audrey is so good with the boys! She loves to play "catch" with Ben and she brags about her baby brother all the time! I can barely remember Ben even being so small...they grow up so fast!
















Last but not least...Samuel Harrison Churchill Redelsperger was born on September 5th to Aaron & Amy. He already has two older sisters, Grace & Noraa. Sammy was the smallest of all Ben's buddies and he is already getting so big! I can't wait for them all to big enough to play with each other and really start interacting!

Where to begin...

I have to give credit to my dear friend Sarita Smith for inspiring me to do this. It was such a blessing to be able to catch up on her life through her blogs - ourbabysmith.blogspot.com- that I realized it would be a fun way to update our family and friends on what Ben's latest feats are.

We recently had a family picture day at Chris' parents house in Lodi. Ben was perfectly dressed and smiley and then not even 3 minutes before the photographer showed up, he smacked his little head (or not so little...its like in the 85th percentile) on a metal chair! He screamed bloody murder for about 5 minutes, and then went back to being little Mr. Personality with fantastic smiles during the whole shoot! In some of the pictures you can almost see the red mark, but luckily it was much smaller than we all anticipated.

Ben makes us laugh all the time. He does this scrunchy face thing that has us rolling! He knows he is a ham too! He likes to pretend like he is going to clap, and then not actually clap while making this weird little grunt just beforehand.

He can say "mama" and "dada" but doesn't really use them as our names. To him, "mama" could be the couch, his snacks, or a golf ball. We are anticipating the day he walks...he has starting cruising around the furniture and doesn't need much help from anything to stand up on his own. Of course he is a master crawler and can get from the living room to an unexpecting open bathroom door in a matter of seconds.

Anything that has to do with being outside or in the water is his favorite thing. He had a blast at the river this summer with Grandpa Russ and Uncle Quinn. And of course his nightly baths are an adventure in and of themselves! He loves going on walks with Chris & I and thinks it is really funny when daddy rides his bike next to us. We have been blessed all summer to rent a house in Sacramento next to a beautiful park and we have loved going on walks and playground excursions with little man.

Having a kid really makes you see things in a different way. Everyday things like a leaf falling from the tree or a dog barking as you walk by their yard are suddenly great adventures and incredible learning opportunities. It is like God lets you appreciate the details of his creation all over again. What a blessing!

Ben has 2 teeth on the bottom and 2 teeth on the top with 1 more almost through the gums on top already! Don't let him get ahold of your finger because he will bite as hard as he can, and it really does hurt! Of course, if you let out an unexpected yelp of pain, it hurts his feelings and he gets the pouty lip going, but after that happened twice, he hasn't tried to bite anymore. =)

Let's see...what else? We have officially lived in California for 3 years today. How crazy is that?! I still have moments where I crave the Pacific Northwest but I do love our life down here. Fall has always been my favorite season, but I have never been more ready for cooler weather in my life! It seems like this summer has lasted an eternity. I just love the crisp air and the early evening walks through the crunchy leaves and the colors! Plus, for me it is the easiest season to decorate my house. I have to have serious restraint when shopping anywhere near fall decorations (not the cheezy ones but the classy rich looking ones, you know?).