6 months!

Benjamin James - 6 months old!

Half a year old already! I cannot tell you how much happiness this little guy has brought to our lives for the last 6 months. Life just gets more fun every day with our Benjamin James! 

The cutest thing that Benjamin has learned how to do this month is blow raspberries! He loves to stick out his tongue and puff out his checks and make the funniest sounds, over and over! It is too adorable, especially when he grabs your cheeks and blows big, slobbery raspberries right against your face!

His new favorite toy is definitely Daddy's Intel badge that he takes to work every day. As soon as Benjamin spots it, he will do anything to get his hands on it. And once he has it, there is no getting it back until he has completely sucked on every last inch. Most days, Ammon ends up finding it dripping with drool. What a silly boy we have! :)

Benjamin is becoming quite the little eater! He is not picky at all and loves to try everything, but his favorite, by far, is mango applesauce. I barely have time to scoop another spoonful before he's diving toward me, mouth wide open :)

 This has definitely made it more difficult for us at meal time. Before, Benjamin would just sit calmly and quietly while we ate our food. But ever since we let him taste a few things, meal time has become his favorite time! He grabs at our food and grabs at our forks and wants to try everything we are eating.  One time, Ammon was holding Benjamin on his lap and eating his dinner, when suddenly, Benjamin's hand shot out like a flash of lightening, and he grabbed a fistful of Ammon's rice and gravy! You have to keep a close eye on this boy!

Unfortunately, eating all this solid food has been a little hard on his digestive system. Benjamin has been getting really constipated lately and having tummy aches. We have had to help him poop the last few times with a Q-tip, because his poops are so hard and big. Not fun for the poor little guy! :( Hopefully we can figure out how to help him!

I have also realized this month just how much Benjamin loves music! There is nothing in this world that calms him as much as singing him a song. Whenever we are in the car and he gets grumpy in the back seat, I just have to turn on the baby music app I have on my phone, and he is entertained for hours! Or sometimes he can be restless or playful in church, but as soon as the congregation begins to sing a hymn, he immediately sits still and listens quietly throughout the entire song. At night, we like to turn off the lights and lie him down between us in bed and sing lullabies until he falls asleep. It usually just takes a verse or two to turn a fussy, tired boy into a peacefully sleeping angel. Our favorite songs to sing him are "Eu Gosto de Ver O Templo" (I Love to See the Temple in portuguese) and "You are My Sunshine".

One day, our neighbor's baby, Alexis, was crying and crying so we sat her down next to Benjamin. Immediately she stopped crying, cuddled up to him, and grabbed his hand! It was so sweet! Benjamin looked pretty pleased with himself too. He definitely knows how to get the lady babies!

Benjamin still isn't very mobile....unless there is an iPhone within reach! He will stop at nothing to get to the bright screen!

I just love life with Benjamin James!

Grateful for Date Nights

Homemade Pizzas

This was one of my favorite date nights we've had in a while! Ammon got the idea for homemade pizzas made with Rhodes roll dough back from his bachelor days with David Peterson. We decided to give it a try and it was amazing! The pizzas were delicious and it was fun to get creative with the toppings. I think this is going to become a family tradition, especially when we have kids that can join in the fun, too! 

The Garlic Parmesan Bread Twists were to die for! I think Ammon and I filled up on these before the first pizzas were even out of the oven....they were just too good. They are so easy to make with Rhodes roll dough!

Benjamin didn't get to enjoy any of the food, but he still had fun! There is nowhere he would rather be than on top of Daddy's shoulders. I love those smiles of my two favorite guys!

Portland Spirit Lunch Cruise

Voodoo Donuts

Singing/Piano Dates

One of our favorite things to do is to sight read together! I like to play hymns or Broadway songs while Ammon sings. Ammon has such an incredible voice and I just melt when I hear him sing. Thank you to Dad Gruwell for capturing this memory on video!

Grateful for Surprise Visits from Mom and Dad!

This summer in Oregon was already pretty great, but this last month we received surprise visits from BOTH our parents, and it became the PERFECT summer! I am so grateful to be blessed with wonderful and loving parents and in-laws. I have never met people that are so filled with love and selflessness. They bless our lives with their love every day :) 

I had kind of been hoping for a visit from my parents from the very beginning of summer, since they had mentioned wanting to make a road trip to the Oregon Coast. However, after hearing about their crazy, busy summer it was starting to sound doubtful that they would be able to make it happen. So you can imagine my surprise when one Tuesday morning I started receiving texts from my mom:

Mom: Guess what?

Jamie: What?

Mom: Dad and I are taking a road trip! :-)

Jamie: Fun!! Where are you going?

Mom: PORTLAND, OREGON! !!!

Jamie: Are you really!!!? When?

Mom: Now! !!!

Jamie: Serious??! Like you are in the car right now?

Mom: We are driving through Idaho Falls now, we will make it to Hillsboro tomorrow!

Haha! I could not believe it! I had just talked to my mom for over an hour the day before and she hadn't even mentioned a thing!  I immediately called my mom and she told me that they had just decided out-of-the-blue the night before, packed their bags, and hopped in the car! My mom said that my dad had wanted to just show up unannounced on our doorstep in Hillsboro, but she had thought we would probably want a little more warning than that. Haha! I love my parents! What an amazing surprise! I was so excited to see them that I could not stop smiling the rest of the day.

The next day seemed to draaaaaag on forever as I waited for my parents to arrive. It didn't help that, about one hour away from Hillsboro, they realized that they had left my mom's suitcase in the hotel room, two hours back! That mistake turned their three hour drive into a seven hour drive. Good thing my parents like road trips! I was happy to have the extra time to make a German Plum Pie for my dad, one of his favorites from his mission.

We spent the evening at a neighborhood barbecue with yummy hamburgers and hot dogs. Dad and Ammon played horseshoes while Mom and I just played with Benjamin and talked. I seriously could talk for hours with my mom and never run out of things to talk about :) Then we took them to the community pool so they could swim with Benjamin. He is so adorable in the swimming pool and kicks his feet like crazy. He is definitely a little fishie! It was such a beautiful, warm Oregon evening, and I couldn't have felt happier!

The next morning, I took my parents on a short hike through the woods near our house. Even though you are still in the city, the thick trees make you feel like you are deep in the mountains. It is beautiful! We took the path to a park and Grandpa played with Benjamin on the swings. He is such an amazing grandpa! They looked so adorable with matching baseball hats, I wish I had remembered my camera! On the way back, Grandpa carried Benjamin in a sling. Benjamin cuddled up against his chest and was asleep within minutes! Those two are already best of buddies :)

After our hike, we ate yummy omelets for breakfast, and then my parents left for the coast. We joined them at Seaside Beach on Friday night. My dad rented a condo right on the beach. It was incredible! The entire front wall of the condo was a huge glass window overlooking the ocean, and the view was breathtaking. All you could was sand and sea for miles! We walked on the beach before dinner to watch the sunset and let Benjamin put his foot in the ocean for the first time. 

The next morning we played some more at Seaside Beach. There was so much fog on the beach that, when standing on the shore, you almost couldn't tell which direction was the ocean and which direection was our apartments! It felt so surreal, like I was walking on water in the middle of the ocean. The water was very cold, but it felt nice for wading. Even Benjamin liked putting his feet in the puddles and splashing. Dad was the only one that was brave enough (or crazy enough) to jump in all of the way!

My favorite memory was watching Dad walking towards us, gradually emerging through the thick fog. It looked like a scene straight from the movies when the superhero appears just in time to save the day. Haha! 

After leaving Seaside, we headed for Hug Point. It was a beautiful, sandy beach surrounded by rocky cliffs and pine trees. We laid out a blanket and just enjoyed the sunshine for a couple hours. Benjamin wasn't sure about what to think of the bright sun and sand, but Gigi and Grandpa kept him entertained and happy! 

The trip ended with delicious seafood from Dad's favorite restaurant...Mo's! I could not believe how yummy the clam chowder was. And those fish tacos! Wow... I may be turning into a seafood lover after all!

The entire weekend with my parents was better than perfect and I was sad to see it end so soon! Thanks for the memories, Mommy and Daddy!

After our first surprise visit here in Oregon, you can only imagine our happy surprise when we found out that Ammon's parents would be coming too! They celebrated their 29th anniversary on August 15th and decided that their favorite way to spend it would be with their kids in the beautiful Northwest! Mom and Dad Gruwell spent the first half of the week in San Francisco and then drove to Oregon to see Ammon and Benjamin and me. We met them halfway in Medford, about 5 hours from Hillsboro.

It was so fun to see them! Benjamin gets spoiled by all of the love and hugs from Grandma and Grandpa Gruwell. He absolutely adores them! It was so cute to see him smile and squeal when Grandpa held him upside down. And Benjamin loved snuggling in Grandma's arms! I think he felt very loved, all weekend long :)

 

Jayna and Vince were so kind to let us stay in their beautiful home in Medford. They definitely know how to throw a party! We went to a cute garden restaurant for some amazing Italian food for lunch, spent the evening swimming in their pool, and enjoyed homemade pizzas for dinner! 

        

Sunday was Dad's 52nd birthday! It was such a wonderful day just going to church, relaxing, and being all together as a family. We even got to enjoy one of Mom's famous birthday cakes! Coconut Cream....it was so delicious! I am always amazed at how every cake she makes becomes my new favorite :) 

There is nothing in this world that compares to family. Thanks for always showering us with your love and your happiness, Mom and Dad! We love you so much and are so glad we got to spend this weekend with you!