Catchin up!

We are so sorry it has taken us 5 months (literally) to update our website! We have been so so busy with life and with Devon, but I promise to try a little bit harder! :) Our little Devo is now 18 months... 18 months already! Time has flown by so fast. He's just growing like a weed and he's at such a fun stage, every day he wakes up w/ a different word he has learned. He's truly a parrot! :-) ha ha! His favorite words are showa (shower), Nani, Papa, Daddy, Mommy, mana (banana), shoes, Geekee (Jakie, our cat), Bobbie (Zaboo, our other cat).... and the list goes on! He also signs mo(more) and die die (all done). He always keeps us laughing... he is such a clown! :) Here is a picture of Devon sitting on our ottoman with one his books. (He just got back from daycare and must have really enjoyed his lunch!) We started reading with him when he was just a few weeks old, and now he just LOVES books!



Last weekend, my mom, Ben, Dev and I went to a really neat Japanese park called the Kubota Gardens. (Unfortunately my dad couldn't join us b/c he had to work). It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful park. It was so nice walking through all of the trails and getting to spend time with the family. The only complaint we had was that Devon didn't have a nap, and was grumpy through the majority of it! We took so many pictures! Below are just a couple of them....






After getting back from the park, we decided to go to the mall and out to Applebees for dinner. Throughout the whole day, Devon took a 15 minute power nap in the car, but decided after the park that he was going to be an angel for the rest of the evening. All in all, it was a perfect day! Here is a picture of Nani, Daddy and Devo coloring at Applebees... what would we do w/o crayons?!? :-)

A BIG THANK YOU!!

While most of you already know, Dev has been pretty sick lately. Ben and I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your continued support and let you know how grateful we are for all of your prayers! Dev's spirits seem to be high... we'll let you know when everything clears up! We love you all!

Our Little Pumpkin... Our Little Monkey

Ben and I hope you had a wonderful Halloween! For Dev's 2nd Halloween (second! Can you beleive that?), we dressed him up as an adorable monkey (it seemed fitting). He looked soooo cute but was he ever unhappy!! He threw the biggest fit! The costume was 12 months, but because he's soooo tall, it was just way to small. We took a few pictures and then undressed him right away. For Halloween, my parents spent the evening with us, which was such a treat! :) I had an ultrasound conference early that next morning, and because Dev has been sick, we didn't want to bring Dev out in the cold air. We all stayed up pretty late, ate some candy and watched a typical scary halloween movie. All in all, it was a fun evening. Hopefully next year we'll get to hit the streets! :)

To get into the spirit of Halloween, my parents, Ben, Devon and I went to the pumpkin patch and found 4 perfect pumpkins. The pumpkin patch was huge!! From farm animals, corn mazes and pumpkin slingshots to festive displays and a massive amount of pumpkins! We all had an absolute blast!! Dev rode in the wheelbarrow, helped pick pumpkins, saw some farm animals, touched a giant spider, had his first (small) bite of a caramel apple and rode on Papa's shoulders. What can get better than that?? Below are a few pictures...

The following weekend, we put Dev to bed and carved our pumpkins. My dad spent soooo long deciding what to carve. While my mom and I, found the most challenging template for Ben. (It's tradition that Ben carves the hardest design.) The pumpkins turned out great!

My pumpkin... Pirates of the Caribbean.. ARRRR

My mom's pumpkin... A scary spider... especially with those lopsided legs! :) Just kidding mom!!
My dad's pumpkin... a witch and a black couldron Ben's Pumpkin... this one's my favorite!!

Happy First Birthday Devon!!

We can't believe Devon just had his first birthday! Time has flown by! It has been such an amazing experience to watch Dev's progression go from a newborn to this independant little boy! :) Ben and I feel so blessed to have such a fun, sweet spirited, smiley little guy.

Dev turned a year on Saturday, October 11th. Because of all the craziness the last few months, Ben and I decided to have a small birthday party for him. We went to my parents' home and had a family party, with Ben and I of course, my parents (Papa and Nani), Uncle Geoffrey and Uncle Kevin (my older brothers) and Kim, my brother's girlfriend. My mom made an amazing dinner that night (as usual). After dinner, we helped Dev open up all his presents. We tried having him open his gifts all by himself, but he was more interested in everything else around him, so we had to help him out a little bit! :) He got so many wonderful toys! After his gifts, we decided to strip him down to his diaper, move my mom's floor rug, place the high chair in the middle of the room and let him dive into his cake. (Ben and I purchased 2 cakes for his birthday, one ice cream cake for the adults and a smaller cake just for Dev.) Below are the "before" pictures of his cake.

At first, he was a little unsure of to do, but after he had the first taste of cake, he dove right in with both of his hands and mouth wide open. Devon was the absolute star of the show and he definately stole it! He had everyone in the room laughing... it was histerical watching him! By the end, Dev was covered head to toe in white frosting and vanilla cake. Here's a few pictures of him. (I was videotaping him throughout all of this, so I only have pictures of the beginning. My family took most of the pictures, I just haven't gotten them yet.)


After he finished with his cake, my mom gave him a bath and got him all cleaned up and ready for bed! Dev had a wonderful birthday! Here is a picture of the aftermath of Dev's cake.

More honeymoon pictures!

These first two pictures below were taken at one of our formal nights. Doesn't Ben look unbelievably handsome? Not that he isn't gorgeous or anything! :)

The picture below was at our semi-formal night.
And last but not least, our other formal night. The sunsets aboard the ship were absolutely beautiful! We happened to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

A "Royal" Honeymoon

Although our honeymoon was a month ago, Ben and I wanted to share our trip with everyone! As most of you probably know, Ben and I took a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera on Royal Caribbean cruise lines. We had an absolute blast! We stopped at 3 ports: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. The weather was so gorgeous! It was so incredibly hot though! We can't imagine a more perfect vacation for a couple. The food was phenomenal, the staff treated you like royalty, the views were breathtaking, the sealife was amazing... we could go on for hours! :)

Our first port of call, Cabo San Lucas, Ben and I decided we were not going to book any excursions through our cruise line. Instead, we wanted to see as much of the city as possible. We ended up going on a water tour around the Sea of Cortez where we saw the famous rock arch and Lover's Beach. I've seen the arch many times in movies, but there's nothing more beautiful than seeing it in real life. The water in Cabo was also the most beautiful blue I think I have ever seen. It was just amazing!
After our tour, Ben and I walked around the city for a few hours. It was so incredibly hot though (over 100 degrees), it made it hard to enjoy the breathtaking views. We had to stop at a Burger King and buy 4 bottles of water, in which we drank in no time. :P We then drank more water and ate at a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant, "The Giggling Marlin", where they try to hang you from your feet. Ben and I avoided that though.. ha ha!! From there, we walked around the city, went in a few shops and returned to our boat. It was a great day! Below are a few more pictures of Cabo!

Our next port of call, Mazatlan, was probably my most favorite. Ben and I went on an "Island Getaway" excursion, where we swam in the ocean all day long and had unlimited drinks, a pinata party and another delicious lunch! What can get any better than that?? :) The ocean water was so warm and we had an absolute blast surfing. Throughout the day, I kept getting pounded by the ocean waves, while Ben pretty much held his own. After a couple near death experiences, I eventually got the hang of it (with much help from Ben)! This, for me, was a memory of a lifetime. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard! :) Here are a couple of pictures of Stone Island.Our last port, Puerto Vallarta, was one of the most memorable. Ben and I went on another excursion called the Canopy Tour. We drove quite a ways up into a tropical rainforest where we "swung" from tree to tree on top of platforms that overlooked the entire rainforest. I think this is the closest thing to Tarzan, although we were attached to ziplines! This was one of the most amazing things I think I have ever experienced! Unfortunately, do to the nature of the excursion, we weren't able to take any pictures.

On top of the all of the fun at the ports of call, our ship had so much to offer. Ben and I spent hours on the top deck, overlooking the water and watching all of the sealife. We saw sea lions, dolphins, a hammerhead shark, "flying fish", whales... We also spent a lot of time eating! I bet I ate at least 30,000 calories a day (literally equivalent to 6-7 meals a day, plus dessert)! haha!!! Somehow we were extremely active and didn't gain one pound. Here are just a few pictures of some of the food aboard the Vision of the Seas.... The picture below was taken at our formal diner. Ben and I ate in the formal dining room every night. We met a wonderful couple who sat with us at our table. And yes, the picture below shows 8 desserts and 4 people... sooo yummy! :) ha ha!!

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Baatz