Under the boardwalk, we'll be having some fun...

Yesterday, we took a drive from Monterey up to Santa Cruz. Drew and his family used to spend two weeks at the beach near Santa Cruz every summer. I have heard a lot about the memories Drew has of his time there and we were excited to take Ben there. We headed over to the boardwalk and I think the inner kid in Drew started to come out. We weren't there too long but long enough for Ben to play a few games and to enjoy a snack.

It was pretty crowded there and Ben was checking everyone out

He was really getting into this game

This was his expression when looking into the fun house mirrors. He thought it was funny.

My attempts at taking a picture of the three of us. Kind of hard to do with a big bulky camera.

Playing more games

While dad enjoyed his corn dog, Ben and I shared an ice cream. Unfortunately, a lot of it ended up on Dad's lap.

Oh fudge!

Drew got some rocky road fudge while we are on fisherman's wharf Thursday evening. Friday night, when we got back to the hotel after dinner, he decided to share some of it with Ben. I think these pictures give you a good idea of what it was like to watch Ben eat the fudge.

Why so serious?

We just got back a bit ago from our trip to Monterey. Drew had to be there for a conference starting last Wednesday. Ben and I headed down there on Thursday and met up with him. Overall, we had a very good time and only had a few meltdowns (which isn't too bad for a 22 month old while on vacation). Drew spent the mornings in meetings but was free to spend the afternoons and evenings with Ben and I. Friday afternoon, we went to the aquarium. Ben was very serious almost the whole time we were there, just taking it all in. He was enthralled with it all. You will see it in a lot of these pictures. Don't worry though, they aren't all serious and you will see some smiles towards the end.

Looking grown up...

Seriously...

How did we create such a cute child?

I wanted to get some pictures of him before he went to bed tonight and as soon as I brought out the camera, he started making silly faces for me.

Ben gets the most compliments on his eyes and eyelashes. They're huge!

This is when he really started hamming it up

He has been chomping on his fingers quite a bit lately which I am guessing is the sign of his two year molars coming in.

So many choices...

We will be getting Ben his own potty training toilet soon, just to get him used to the idea. I know it will be awhile before he is ready to be potty trained but until then, I want him to get used to having his own toilet and maybe start learning what it is used for. I figure, it can't hurt.

I was online at Babies R Us tonight looking at the selection they've got and it sure did give me a good laugh (and Drew too). I thought I would share some of the funny ones with you all.

This is the kind of toilet that a lot of guys would probably enjoy...

This one just isn't right...

Drew says that this would be a fun one since you can ride around while doing your business...

I have no words for this one, except for where is the hole?

We will probably end up going with something a little more simple, like this one...

There is no denying it...

Our baby has a penis!

It was pretty obvious as soon as we got a view of the baby's legs. There it was, just sticking out. No mistaking it!

Ben is still too young to understand it all, but he will be getting a best friend. We are very excited to see our two boys grow up together. Drew will speak from experience when he says how great it is to grow up with a brother.

Here are a couple of other pictures of the little guy, baby "Jack"...

He has his hand up to his mouth here. I think he spends a lot of time sucking his thumb.

He really has his legs stretched out here. Almost looks like a skeleton. He would not stay still the entire time we were watching him. He was constantly kicking and swinging his arms around.