Bennett Turns One!!

Bennett Alfred Sharpe, 1 year old
Weight: 25 lbs (80th%)
Height: 33 inches (>97th%)
Head: 19 cm (90th%)

My baby boy turned one on August 30th. We spent the day before at the State Fair, which seemed totally appropriate being that I went into labor with him after walking around the fair the year prior!! Let me tell you, I was much more comfortable this year!!

Bennett is a joyful, happy, sweet, busy little boy. He is not yet walking, but crawling faster than a run, if you ask us! He doesn't seem interested in walking because he is such an efficient crawler! It seems there is NOTHING he can't get into, either. He's tipping over lamps, getting into the toilet, knocking books and puzzles off of every shelf, etc, etc. He is basically a destructo-matic right now, but boy do we love him!!

Sibling Love...

A few cute shots of my three loves.....

Hayden Jonathan, 7 years old
Erica Rae, 4 1/2 years old
Bennett Alfred, 1 year old

My Three Loves...

....at Bush Lake Beach the other day~

Date Day

Jon and I enjoyed a fantastic date day in Minneapolis recently. We started out the afternoon by walking around the Farmers Market near the Guthrie & Mill City. We enjoyed great music, some yummy food, people-watching and just perusing & holding hands.
After this we headed in to the Guthrie Theater to see "Dollhouse," which was such a treat.
Next up was a walk across the Stone Arch Bridge for some more great people-watching & some beautiful sights of downtown & the mighty Mississippi.

What an amazing day.... :)

Chicklets!

Here is Bennett at 9 months...showing off his pearly whites...aka chicklets! He currently has 6 teeth-- 4 on top, 2 on bottom. He didn't get his first tooth until 7 months, and then they just kept coming! Poor guy!
He is also showing off a bit of skin in this photo, as it was tubby time...which he LOVES!
He continues to be such a joyful little soul, and is just so much fun to have around!

I can't believe we are already coming up on his 1st birthday. :(

First Boat Ride of the Summer

We thought we finally found a nice evening to take our first trip out on Minnetonka this summer, but Mother Nature proved us wrong! The clouds started rolling in on our way out to the boat, and by the time Jon finished his first wake-board run, it was lightening in the distance. Argh!

We did manage to get a little wind in our hair, and a few photos of Bennett's first boat ride (other than in my belly, that is!)

I love this one of our three lovelies:

Bennett's Baptism Day

Bennett Alfred was baptized on February 13th at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Mpls. It was such a joyful day! He was baptized by Pastor Kurt Kalland, who married Jon & I, and also baptized both Hayden and Erica as babies, as well. He is an amazing, kind, caring & funny man who we feel so blessed to have as part of our lives.

In our move, I somehow misplaced the christening gown that Hayden and Erica wore. Nana Sharpe to the rescue!! She found this adorable white outfit at Childrens Place for him to wear on his big day! Such a handsome lil' guy....

We chose Jon's cousin Christy and her husband Ole to be Bennett's godparents. They are such wonderful people, who love and respect one another so much. We figured they would be great role models for Bennett as he grows up.

Pastor Kurt Kalland with our family
and our whole crew after the Baptism service:

After the Baptism, we headed over to Nana & Papa Sharpe's home for a delicious brunch.
It was a wonderful day with family & friends celebrating Bennett.