A Week in Ohio

Last Sunday Max and I flew to Columbus. I was a bit nervous about flying with Max by myself again because our last flight was quite disastrous. So I prepared for the flight with plenty of books, toys, snacks and Backyardigans videos on the iPod. However, a small miracle happened on that flight. Max fell asleep in my arms just after take off and he stayed asleep through the landing. What was I worried about? Our seven days in Ohio were packed with visits with family and friends. My aunt and uncle, Joanie and John, were in town from Seattle. It was such a treat to spend time with them. Max loved getting to know them and I'm convinced that he learned to say, "Hi, John" even though "John" sounds more like "gah!" We also managed to fit in visits with Great Grandma Mary, my childhood friends, Jenna and Ben, and their families and my good friend Kate (I'm so mad that I don't have pictures from our visits with Jenna, Ben and Kate!). We also spent a night in Cincinnati at my Aunt Judy's house. Whew! We fit a lot into one week! Jeff drove up to Cincinnati at the end of the week and we spent the rest of our trip at his parents' house. Max had a great visit with his grandparents, aunts and uncles. Max loved playing with his cousin, Chloe, and we all got to ooh and aah over baby Meghan who was born in September. We will be back in Cincinnati for the Thanksgiving weekend and look forward to visiting with more family!

Swinging at the playground in my parents' neighborhood.

Max+Swing=Happiness

Enjoying a sunny afternoon.

Look at all of those teeth!

Running in the fall sun.

Visit with Great Grandma.

(He takes his age very seriously.)

Family picture at Judy's house.

Max with John and Joanie.

Papa, Max, Me, Nana, Joanie

Playing outside at Jeff's parents' house.

Playing football with Daddy and Grampy.

Checking out Uncle Kirk's motorcycle.

I'm hoping this didn't give him any ideas!

The Banta Family

Lisa, Meghan, Kirk, Chloe, Jeff, Max, Grammy, Grampy, Neil, Liz

Notice the joy on the faces of the grandchildren!

Roar!

Max was a lion this year for Halloween. We took him around to about 5 houses. He didn't understand what was happening, but seemed pretty content to be riding around in his wagon even though it was completely dark. You'll notice in the first few pictures his cheeks look full. That's because they are full of pizza that he refused to chew and swallow :)

All ready to go trick-or-treating.

Practicing putting candy in his pumpkin.

Playing in the candy bowl.

Caught in the act.

What are we doing?

Checking out the loot.

Here are a few pictures of Max playing outside this weekend.