End of Summer

I feel like I always begin my blog posts with an excuse.

but this really has been the longest I've gone without blogging for about a year.

We have come to PA for Henry to interview,

gone back to Utah to pack,

driven back to PA for good (with a 10 month old!)

and finally gotten settled.

We have moved into a tiny little apartment in a tiny little town in Pennsylvania.

This town is so small, we literally only have one stoplight.

In the entire county!
(And it was only put in this year!)

We are getting used to driving 20-30 minutes to get anywhere.
or do anything.

Church is a good 40 minutes away-quite a difference from Bountiful, where we walked every sunday.

But we are acclimating!

Fall is here and we've embraced it with open-hearts.

(Let's face it-we are sick of the sticky heat of the east coast.)

Bence and I have gone on walks the last few mornings and relished in the crisp weather.

*disclaimer* we aren't REALLY Steelers fans....but we are fans of Nana's finds from Savers!

Bence loves to go outside, and is as quiet as a mouse while we patrol our neighborhood.

He is so observant...always watching and looking at everything around him.

Whenever we come inside after being out in the morning, he has a meltdown that usually lasts at least ten minutes.

He would stay out all day if he could.

I am so excited for fall!

We've made pumpkin muffins and pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

(sadly both those recipes were flops...)

But the pumpkin creamer we got for our hot chocolate is amazing!

Our apartment is small, but backs a forest.

I'm not even joking.

On google maps, you can scroll north of our building for over a hundred miles.

There's nothing but trees.

It is beautiful!

It also means I've seen some of the freakiest bugs known to man in the few short weeks we've been here.

Spiders with red legs,

giant praying mantises,

(Giant...as in the length of my foot!)

and hordes of stink bugs. They are gross.
Our landlord has also warned us repeatedly about bears.
No biggie; we've just been advised to be very aware of our surroundings before leaving the house.
Nothing to worry about at all!

but the trees have turned the most vivid and beautiful colors I've ever seen this time of year.

And before the trees turned, they were the most vibrant green I've ever witnessed.

I'm pretty sure everything out here is much more colorful than out west.

Back to the master of the house.

Bence will be a year old in just a week.

I can't believe it.

It seems like just yesterday he was this little peanut.

Now he's a giant Peanut!

He has such a big personality.

He still doesn't like to sleep,

but in the last week he's made vast improvements.

That may be because i've finally given up trying to rock him to sleep and i've started to let him cry it out a little.

He usually doesn't make it more than ten minutes before he crashes.

He also loves to eat.

(See above picture)

He's particularly fond of the following:

Spaghetti,

cheese,

MANDARIN ORANGES!

pears,

peaches,

green beans,
yogurt drops,

black beans,

eggs,

bread,

meatballs,

and most of all...

ICE CREAM!

He'll be your friend for life if you share your spoon.

He also really likes those weird canned sausage things for babies, but I can't stand the smell of them.
So we're never buying them again.

Bence is also very inquisitive.

He loves to play and touch everything.

Just yesterday he discovered the shelf where all our videos/DVDs/Blu-rays are stashed.

He likes to pick them up, look at the cover, and then throw them over his head as he reaches for the next.

He also loves his binky.

Those of you who follow me on instagram or facebook probably remember,

but as I was unpacking his toys, I found his binkys from the hospital.

He hasn't taken them since he was four months old, but I just threw them in with all his other toys.

He found one, and hasn't let it out of his sight since.

I have to admit....it is really nice to have him take a paci again.

Especially during church,

or at the supermarket...

anywhere where there's other people, really. 

It's hard to get action shots that aren't blurry!

Bence is very mobile now.

He started to walk here and there when he was about ten and a half months.

And boy, does he have it down now.

He's started to run.

Usually that ends up with him doing a face-plant, but he's pretty close to figuring it out.

When daddy comes home from work, Bence gets so excited his little legs move faster than he's capable of.

and Bence just LOVES it when henry gets home.

He jibbers away in baby-talk and squeals and screams in excitement.

It's pretty cute.

He's also figured out how to climb.
Last night while Henry and I were sitting on the floor in front of the couch.
Bence climbed on my legs,
and I thought he was trying to give me a hug.
Turns out he was only using me as a step ladder to get onto the couch.

He's had a cold the last couple days, so he's been a little clingy-er than usual,

but he is such a happy and friendly little man.

He will go to just about anyone.

(including the greeter at Sams Club)

which makes it really hard to be an overprotective mother.

How can I say I  don't feel comfortable with a complete stranger holding my only baby

when he leans out and holds his arms out to them?

Oh well, I guess Bence is just more Christlike than I am.

He is also turning into a little mountain goat.

At Nana's house last weekend....this may have happened....

He is turning into a real explorer. 

These are just some more pictures from our summer.

We did so much!

We visited with lots of family,

saw a ton a cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Went to a few ball games,

ate lots of good food,

swam in Nana and Papa's pool,

went to some amusement parks,

and (obviously) took a lot of pictures of Bence. 

Goodbye summer, we had fun!