Terrific Two-Year-Old

I can't believe our baby boy turned TWO this month!  Time has FLOWN by.  Neither of us had to work on Bennett's birthday, so we enjoyed a family day together.  

 First, we opened presents in the morning.  This was the first time Bennett knew what to do, so it was really fun.

We also went to story time and swimming at a friend's house.  In the evening, we took the birthday boy to get some ice cream and play on the toys at the play place.

 "Whee!"  Bennett says this when he goes down slides or over bumps in his stroller.

Later, we sang to him!  

 All ready for bed with his bff Bear.

Although this age can be "terrible," it is fun to see Bennett learn new things.  He is finally learning to speak and has a cute personality.  Here are the top 5 adorable things he does:

1.  He is very friendly.  He says "HI!" loudly to everyone we meet, particularly when we go shopping. He makes everyone smile.  At church, he is Mr. Congeniality, too.  He likes to turn around on the bench and shake hands with the people sitting behind us. He might have a future in public relations.
2.  He LOVE, LOVE, LOVES his Bear.  He used to only get Bear at bedtime, but then he learned how to break him out of the crib. Poor Bear is falling apart because he's been camping, swimming, thrown in the toilet, thrown in the garbage, stepped on, spilled on, chewed on, and intensely LOVED.  Disaster struck last Tuesday when Bear got left behind at Grandma Bagshaw's house.  Bennett had thrown him into a corner where no one could see him, and we didn't realize he was gone until we were on the road.  Rather than going back, we decided to have Grandma mail Bear.  It was a rough two days of separation.  This is what happened when Bear finally got home from Grandma's house.

3.  Bennett takes off his shoes EVERY time we get in the car.  I think he's proud of himself for being able to do it on his own.  When we get where we're going, I always have to find Bennett's shoes in the corners of the car and put them back on.  Once, after a short drive to the post office, I went to get Bennett from the back of the car, and his shoes were still on!  Bennett realized "Oops!  I forgot to take my shoes off!" so he frantically started doing so.  Hilarious.
4.  Like I mentioned, our little guy is starting to say words.  His favorites are "uh oh" and "watch." He can sort of say "One, two, three!" before doing something big like throwing a ball, although it doesn't sound like that to anyone but Dad and I.  He LOVES "Doggies" and can spot them from a mile away.  He tries to repeat a lot of what we say now, and I love, love, love it!
5.  Bennett likes to imitate what Dad and I do.  If Dad takes off his shirt after a run, Bennett will try to do the same.  If I am cooking dinner, Bennett pretends to mix something up.  If we are brushing our teeth, he wants to brush his teeth.  He also has a thing for doing laundry.  I have a feeling that won't last.

Outdoor Recreation

Last week, we had an Achatz family reunion in Bear Lake.  It was fun to see everyone and to play on the beach.  Ryan got to waterski a lot, which was fun for him.  At first, Bennett wasn't so sure he liked the beach, but he eventually realized playing in the mud was heavenly.  Back at camp, he got a kick out of picking up and throwing handfuls of dirt.  The little guy was filthy!  

Here's the beach babe.  Oops . . . the camera lens wasn't open all the way.

Cousin Aiden and Aunt Kristen on the beach.

 Mixing up something delicious.

After playing at Bear Lake, we visited the Bagshaws for a few days.  We went up the canyon for a picnic with my Mom and Justin and Rachel.  Ryan really looks like he's in his element in the wilderness, eh?

Bennett telling Grandma stories.

Yay! Bennett got to throw more rocks.  He gained some serious rock-throwing skills on this trip.

On the way home, we went to the Twin Falls temple for the first time.  We took turns watching Bennett so we could each go.  It will be nice when the Boise temple opens again!

While we were in town, we caught some sights, like Shoshone Falls.

 

The end!

Man vs. Wild

My dad goes backpacking every summer, and Ryan has always wanted to go, but this is the first year he's been able to.  His brother Joshua joined them, as did the Browns from Soda Springs.  They went to the Windrivers in Wyoming and started at the Big Sandy entrance.

This was their "tent."  My dad wants everything to be as lightweight as possible, which sometimes means skimping on important things like shelter.  Ryan said it took them HOURS to pack because Dad had to weigh EVERYTHING and count calories so that everything was just right.  I guess that's what happens when you go backpacking with an engineer.

There's the engineer / tour guide / mountain man!

The crew camped down by that little lake.  One day Ryan was able to call me out of the blue because he got cell phone reception from  the top of one of these peaks.  It was a nice surprise!

They hiked in along that green path.

Ryan pondering on the mysteries of life.

Ryan survived the wilderness, but he came home sunburned and scraped up.  Nevertheless, he had a lot of fun, and I'm glad he was able to go.

Meanwhile, back in Boise, things are ALWAYS wild with an almost two-year-old.

Bennett wanted to make some pancakes but made a mess instead.

A front-row seat.  The only problem was Mommy wouldn't turn on the TV.

One morning after I got ready for work, I came out to find Bennett like this.  He had climbed up in his seat and was all ready for breakfast.  I love this kid.