Where Do We Even Begin?

I cannot believe my last post was in early JULY! We are quite behind! It's been a wonderful summer, and I think in my "back to school" panic mode, I'm realizing how much we did and how much I need to update this blog! We've had so much fun and Benjamin is getting so big. He is talking and has quite the personality! Here are a few pictures from the cottage over the 4th of July to get started....there is MUCH more to come!

A Bit Behind....

Benjamin and Daddy at Sea World watching his FAVORITE show-the boat show! We saw it twice! :)
On a tourboat on the riverwalk...Benjamin loved it!

He loved the different aquariums at the zoo and Sea World.

We went in a cave...not exactly the best idea with an almost 2 year old!

Sitting in his big boy seat on the riverboat.

Summer is here-and we've been busier than ever! We just got back from San Antonio and then a weekend at the cottage, along with Natalie's baby shower-all of those pictures are to come soon! The last day of our trip, our camera broke, so we just bought a new one and I'm still learning about downloading pictures from this new camera. I am attaching a few pictures from our trip, but I'm going to make a slideshow since there are so many! We had a wonderful time. Counting down the days til Eric is home again..should only be 1-2 weeks!

The Little Gardener

Benjamin's latest favorite toy and favorite thing to do-water everything in sight. I'm trying to teach him to water the things that need it like flowers or the grass, but he really enjoys watering the driveway and the deck. He even tried to water the Explorer yesterday (it probably does need a good wash)
Watering the beautiful potted plant our next door neighbor Marcelle made for us.

He LOVES getting water from the house and the hose!

SPLASH!

Benjamin has a new pool and he loves it. We bought one of those pop-up pools and I think I've finally figured out how to put in the right amounts of chlorine and shock treatments, so we took advantage and went for a morning swim :)
This pool is the perfect size-Benjamin can reach the bottom and not be underwater.

One of his favorite things to do-take water out of the pool and water everything in sight with his little watering can.

Memorial Day at the Cottage

Benjamin LOVED the boat and actually cooperated and wore his life jacket this year. He learned to say "boat" at the cottage too. He says it all the time now...can't wait to go back! He loved helping grandpa drive and honking the horn!
Big smiles!

He and Lauryn took turns pushing each other on the farm truck.

I love this picture because you can see him saying his favorite word in the whole world right now, "WHOA!" He says it to almost everything he sees!

He found this truck at the cottage in a bin of sand toys I had brought home from school and was obsessed with it. We even brought it home because he loved it so much!

My New Ride

Benjamin has been admiring our neighbor's push car for a few weeks, so he finally got his own this weekend! He LOVES it-I am exhausted from all of the rides we've taken in the last 2 days!
As you can see in the picture, he is yelling at me because he's frustrated I'm stopping to take a picture! :)

Pushing is fun too!

Ready to ride!

ZOO!

We just renewed our membership to the Detroit Zoo, and Benjamin loved every second of our latest trip! He was very fascinated with this tiger statue, and even tried to give it a hug as you can see above.
He wouldn't leave this statue for about 20 minutes. We tried telling him there were real animals to see....


Face-to-face with a seal! :)