Benjamin Fritz - 3 Months

It really is hard to believe that little Ben is already 3 months!! He is a really great baby with a calm temperment. He still fights sleep during the day because he just wants to be in the center of the action. Thankfully, he sleeps pretty well at night. He is happiest being held, bouncing in the exersaucer or in the stroller now that he can sit up and see out. He lights up when he sees his sister and they have fun "playing" together.

Josie is doing great as a big sister. Her only fault continues to be that she loves him maybe a bit too much sometimes. But she can almost always get him to smile and engage. Hoping they will be good friends and great play mates in the coming years.

Good Times with Grandma and Papa

We all had such a nice time visiting Grandma and Papa in Bend. THANK YOU both so much for taking such good care of all of us :) Looking forward to seeing you up here sometime soon.

We were so busy every day going to a new park and the pool that I barely got any action shots.

Here is Benjamin at the pool with Auntie Angie (and cousin Avery - still in utero)

Fun Family Dinner - I wish we all lived a bit closer and were able to have dinners like this more often.

Aunt Kelley with Ben who is modeling the San Diego Zoo shirt they got him.

Grandma tickling Ben's toes.

Josie is a GREAT sleeper but I've never seen a kid flail and move around so much. Here they are together

And a few minutes later she is almost on top of him. Thankfully they both got in some good morning sleep before we took off for Portland.

Marty took the train one-way to Portland and we met him there. It was so nice to break up the trip and we all enjoyed taking Max (light rail) and walking around the city.

We had to stop to feed Benjamin. While I was nursing Marty and Josie went exlporing and she came back with a beautiful bouquet for me :)

Independence...Sort Of

Benjamin is a very social baby. He never wants to lie down and always wants to watch the action all around him. He probably wasn't technically ready for the exersaucer quite yet but he has really loved this new found freedom to be up and watching all on his own. Well, maybe it is me who loves the freedom of him being up but not being carried by me. Either way, we are all happy with the new family room piece of furniture.

I was thinking how independent he must feel.... then Josie came along to "show" him what to look at. Small steps towards independence I suppose :)

One too many "I love you's" from Josie

Josie has been playing a lot with our 9 year-old neighbor, Connor. Despite their age difference they actually play pretty well together.

Another Fun Weekend in Snohomish

While Marty and I were busy going to weddings, Josie enjoyed another fun-filled weekend with Liz and Ed. THANK YOU both so much!!

Blowing Bubbles:

Filling up the pool

Oh, kind of cold.

Lining up the ducks

Taking a break for raspberries

Making mud soup

See, look at all of that mud.

Make sure everything is really muddy

Then clean off in the pool

A misty morning hike

And snow and lunch at the top

The trip wouldn't be complete without feeding all the animals.

Thanks again from all of us!! You guys are the best.

Prince of the Party

While Josie was enjoying her time up at Liz and Ed's (photos coming) we had two weddings in less than 24 hours. It was fun to get all dressed up and go out. For his first big outing, Benjamin did great. He slept some but not as much as I woud've thought. This kid really doesn't like to miss a thing. When he wasn't sleeping, he was passed around from person to person. Because everyone wanted to hold him it was like we had 5 babysitters. He really was the Prince of the party and besides the bride probably got the most attention. He turned on his charmed and smiled and cooed for everyone.

Birthdays and the Beach

We've had a very busy couple of weeks around here: Birthday parties, a trip to the beach, 2 weddings, a visit with Liz and Ed, 4th of July celebrations, and a trip to Bend, OR... phew. It is going to take several posts to get all caught up.

We started all the crazineess off at Oma and Opa's for a joint birthday party. Happy Birthday, Oma, Stephanie and Marty. None of you look any older...well, I guess you do, Stephanie. But that is a good thing at your age :)


From the party we took off for the Washington Coast. Since our road trip in January, Josie loves to sit in the back and yell out song requests while we drive. Thankfully, not all of her song choices are Raffi, now. Here she is singing to one of her favorite songs clutching one of the party balloons. . Benjamin was already asleep and she was not far behind.

Building sandcastles with Daddy

Benjamin wanted to get out and help.

In the hotel room being entertained by big sister.... often to the point of being overwhelmed. The kid (the little one) has a lot of patience.



She literally ran around like this for hours splashing in each and every tide pool. Notice Marty flying the kite in the background?

And what does one do when they have to go to the bathroom and the hotel is too far away to make it in time? Just squat and go.

And then get right back to runnung - minus the pants. They got too wet from all the tide pool splashing.

Benjamin's favorite thing - being nice and cozy next to me. He is already a Mama's boy, just like his father :)

Josie back at it the next day, this time in her swim suit. It was nice but it wasn't that warm.

When the clouds rolled in she just put on a sweatshirt and kept right on playing.

She played so hard that she took 2 hour naps each day.

Our walk from the hotel to the beach. Josie liked to lead which was no surprise.

The kite flying really was pretty amazing.

What is a trip to the beach without a visit to the candy store. Josie enjoying a way too big lolly and I enjoyed saltwater taffy. YUM.

The Zoo

Benjamin had his first trip to the zoo a few weeks ago.

Whenever we go, Josie always wants to go by the Butterflies and Blooms area and says, "this is where you got married, right?" She even took our picture at our wedding spot. Nice to have another photographer in the family. Amazing that it will be our 5th anniversary on the 29th of July. Our lives have changed SO much in the past 5 years!

A few days later we met our friends Suzanne, Lucia and Colby at the zoo.

Although Josie and Lucia rarely see each other they are good friends and always have a great time together.

Swimming on Father's Day

After Josie's swim lessons in April she has become much more confident in the water. We are hoping to take swim lessons for several weeks this summer and getting her as much water exposure as possible.
On Father's Day the kids and I met Marty at the pool after his swim so that Josie could swim for awhile. After almost an hour she still didn't want to come out.

Benjamin took one of his best naps. It was so warm in there and had just the perfect white noise to put him into a peaceful sleep. Too bad I couldn't count on this every time. It'd be great to be able to swim laps and have him sleep by the edge of the pool.


And dinner out after a nice swim.
Happy Father's Day, Marty!!