halloween

It's Halloween.  Nick and I don't usually do much for Halloween but this year we wanted to at least get Bennett a costume to hand out candy.  I found his costume online.  I chose it because his room is a little jungle and B is the king of that jungle.  He didn't like the costume one bit.  We had a hard time keeping it on him.  We did manage to go outside across the street for some trick-or-treating to our neighbors house.  It literally took me thirty shots to get a good picture of him in his costume but it was worth it.  We ended up only having about ten kids come by so it was a quite night.  I cannot wait to do some actual trick-or-treating next year.  Happy Halloween!

 

Here are some of the outtakes. They are still adorable.

stair climbing

Bennett learned how to climb today.  I was in the middle of cleaning and went into the kitchen to clean.  I left Bennett all alone for a few minutes in the living room and it got really quite.  I got very nervous and ran into the room looking for Bennett.  He was nowhere to be found.  I heard him giggle a little to my right.  And, I saw Bennett has climbed some of the stairs.  He was just standing there and giggling at me so proud of himself.  It was scary.  I am so thankful he didn't fall!  We need to get some gates up pronto.

9 months

Today Bennett and I went to the doctor for his nine month appointment.  We were there for a regular check up.  Bennett weighed in at 19 pounds and 8 ounces at 29 and 3/4 inches long.  I was excited to hear he is growing well.  He is fiftieths percentile for weight and seventy fifth percentile for height.  We were almost out of there when the doctor mentioned Bennett should get the flu shot.  Ugh!  I was hoping for no shots this time.  Bennett did really well though.  He was annoyed when I held him down so his arms wouldn't get in the way but he didn't cry otherwise.  Love you buddy!  Happy 9 months!

exploring rush and the vicinity

Today is sad.  We are saying goodbye to Andrena, Johny and Autumn and it's our last day in Ireland.  We are determined to hold our chins up and enjoy the day anyway.  We made plans to go to the beach for a bit in the morning and to lunch before parting ways with our friends in the early afternoon.

Bennett hung out in his stroller sporting his adorable dinosaur hat.

Autumn was having fun destroying a sandcastle.  

My mom was having the most fun I think.  She collected a bag full of shells to take home.  

The weather held up well and we got inside for lunch before the rain. It was sad saying good bye to our friends. We did not nearly have enough time together. We hope we can come back and see them again soon.

The rest of the afternoon we spent sight seeing. We went to see the Slane Abbey atop Hill of Slane.

That's been around for a 1,000 years.

The view from the Abbey was gorgeous. 

We stopped for a quick pint for the adults and a Heineken coaster for Bennett at the pub in downtown Slane.  

After which, we headed to Mellifont Abbey (Irish: An Mhainistir Mhór, literally "the big abbey"). It was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland. Founded in 1142, by 1170 Mellifont had one hundred monks and three hundred lay brothers.

The Abbey became the model for other Cistercian abbeys built in Ireland, with its formal style of architecture imported from the abbeys of the same order in France. 

It was the main abbey in Ireland until it was closed in 1539, when it became a fortified house.

Our next stop were the historic ruins of Monasterboice (Irish: Mainistir Bhuithe). They are of an early Christian settlement in County Louth in Ireland. It was founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe who died around 521, and was an important center of religion and learning until the founding of nearby Mellifont Abbey in 1142.

There wasn't much left of this place but it was still impressive that something that old remains still. These crosses were used by the monks to teach religious lessons. The stories are written in pictures on the crosses and that's what monks used to help tell their stories.

After the busy day we had, we were tired but we couldn't skip out dinner with the Taylors in Dublin on our last night in Ireland. The past week has been an amazing adventure. We are so happy to have made the trip and Bennett did so well that we look forward to travelling overseas again. Tomorrow we fly back to reality. As much fun as we are having, I did miss home. I am looking forward to sleeping in my bed.

heading to rush

This morning we reluctantly got up and packed so we could head back toward Dublin. We are meeting our friends Andrena and Johny and their daughter Autumn there. I was not feeling completely well after our night out but I couldn't wait to meet Autumn. Since she lives in Scotland, we were only meeting her for the very first time. We had a stop to make before our rendezvous to see the Rock of Cashel. 

According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil's Bit, a mountain 20 miles (30 km) north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in Cashel. 

Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century.

These remnants of the past never cease to amaze. 

We finally made it to Rush around five.  We settled into out bed and breakfast first before heading over to our friend's hotel.  The place was adorable.  And, we are getting a home cooked meal in the morning!  We finally made it to meet Autumn.  She is super cute.  She was very shy at first but warmed up pretty quickly.  Andrena said Autumn picked out a special shirt to wear tonight that she was sure Bennett would like.  It was too funny that he was wearing the same shirt.  

The two kiddos headed to bed and we went out to dinner to catch up with Andrena and Johny.  It was a lovely seafood restaurant and so was the company.  We didn't want to say goodbye but we were meeting up tomorrow.  And, we really needed some sleep.