Pictures to prove we've moved in - stuff on the walls is always an indicator of being settled. Benjamin's room:
The man, the myth, the legend:
Family dinner at Mimi and Pop-pop's house; Benjamin and his cousin Lauren.

Ahoy there shipmates! We took a tour of the USS CONSTITUTION this weekend in Boston with Greg's (Dad's) War College Class... there's the landlubbers now!


Impressed in to the Continental Navy is Gun Captain # 1:
and on Gun # 2 is Captain Burp Cloth and his Fist Mate...

Request permission to go ashore, sir!

We cruised around Newport last week and captured some photos of the breathtaking sunset:

St. George's in the distance (place where Mom and Dad got married - where the magic started)

PLAYTIME IS FUN!!!!

Shots... take two!

As you can see from the picture, both Mom and Benjamin fared much better during our second time at the immunization table. Yes, there was crying and yes, there were little tears and big tears, but all-in-all we recovered much quicker this time. Chalk it up to experience, thicker leg fat, and/or just plain toughness - Shot Ninjas 1; Benjamin 1.

Okay, all right already... we know it's been a while, but we hope to quench those toddler tastebuds with this opening picture. Of note, Benjamin starting to eat solid food (i.e. mushy oatmeal; nothing too solid about it actually). LOOK AT THAT FACE!


Auntie Alana rolls up her sleeves. "Auntie, you really know the way to a man"s heart is through his stomach!"


"Mom, when do I start eating steak? Medium rare please"

"I ate too much mushy oatmeal!" - Fat guy in a little chair

"Time to work it off in the Jumper"

"Now it's time to relax on the beach"
"I am more of a second beach guy. You can see the church where Mom and Dad got married" - Saint George's in the distance.

We celebrated Alicia's 21st birthday... again. Of course! At the Atlantic Beach Club, in style.

All the cousins were there to help celebrate and eat cake!

Ladies, ladies, ladies!

The 'dudes' in between meals (Benjamin's meal - then Dad's meal)
Too much partying! (One of the very few instances you'll see Benjamin snuggled up to Mom in Mom's bed)

Of course we can't sleep too long without food. It helps when you have a long line of enthusiastic volunteers. Baby-sitter in training, Cousin Jordan at the bottle.

Dad and his buddy at church. God is great!

A 24 hour Grandma pit stop. Grandma needed her Benjamin fix. More like Benjamin needed his Grandma fix; Grandma's little buddy!

Shot Ninjas

Well we delayed it as long as we could. Although it wasn't a conscious decision to postpone Benjamin's first round of immunizations until his 3rd month (usually given at the second month after birth), but a move halfway across the globe with a baby and all of our stuff got in the way. Not sure anything (other than childbirth - maybe) can prepare a parent for that first blood curdling scream as the virgin skin is pierced by the needle. I knew that the physical act of administering the shot was something I was either going to sit in the corner and cringe, or roll up the 'ol sleeves and help. We played on the examination table on that crinkly rolled out sanitary paper. He laughed, stared in to my eyes... and then I slowly secured his arms. And out of nowhere two "shot ninjas" descended on Benjamin in the blink of an eye. They exacted their steely assault 3 times, effortlessly and with pure professionalism (those guys were really good). And although I didn't look down to see the needle pierce the skin, I saw those little round eyes turn playful to the size of silver dollars and then straight in to silent cry (you know the one where he opens his mouth, turns purple, but no sound comes out, until sound slowly begins to emerge from his tiny little belly.

All-in-all, not as bad as I probably made it out to be (drama sells). Just one of those things that is much better for baby in the long run... and just one of those things every parent and child must go through - a visit to the shot ninjas.

No pictures from today's events, but instead some more memorable shots from Benjamin's trip to see Great-Grandma Adams. Although a little more tired at the end of the day than usual, we did coax one of these beaming smiles from him today. A sure sign that everything is going to be just fine.

We're back in Rhode Island after a week's trip to the FARM! We brought Benjamin to Grandma and Grandpa's Farm in Cummington Mass to see Auntie's Heather and Jennifer, pick out a Christmas tree, and play trains with Grandpa. Coveralls and hay motif to prove it:

Best Buds! Auntie Heather and Benjamin in their matching coveralls.

"Grandpa, this train is pretty cool - I wonder if we could do this everyday?""Auntie Heather, look at Grandpa's tractor!!", Benjamin exclaims.

"Auntie Jennifer, did you know I flew in a plane from Hawaii to Rhode Island, and then took a car from there to here, and did you see Grandpa's tractor? What's a cow?..." Benjamin tells stories.

"...boy, I'm tired - you're a very good pillow Auntie Jennifer."

"Geesh, Auntie Heather, that's a lot of love"

"Auntie Heather! We have Sunflowers like this in Rhode Island, but I've never seen one so close! You're the coolest."

And then Benjamin took a trip south from the Farm to Canaan Connecticut to visit the Adams' Family Matriarch, Great Grammie Adams and the rest of the Adams Gang. (Pictured here: Karmela and Kristopher - Benjamin's 2nd cousins, with Great Grammie Adams).

"Dad, did you know I had so many cousins!? OH MY GOSH!"

"Grandpa, the knee movement is making me queasy. Whoa horsey!"

"Grandma, did you know I flew in a plane from Hawaii to Rhode Island, and then a car to the Farm, and now I have two cousins in Connecticut.... I mean, what else is Mom and Dad not telling me? I can keep a secret... huh Grandma"

"Now I know why they call you 'Great' Grandma, you've got this down to a science - you're good lady. You must have had lots of practice. Tell me about my Grandpa, I can keep a secret"

Benjamin Blog Relapse

As of 16 July, the Adams' have arrived in Newport Rhode Island to a large cheering family horde at the T.F. Green Airport (in case anybody is keeping track, Auntie Katie and Uncle Jimmy were the first relatives to lay eyes on target; Dad Silva and Monica were parking cars) and for all you's guys who have missed checking up on the blog, here is an insulin shot of Benjamin to cure those shakes - chew slowly, this is a big one.

Before we left Hawaii, Dad was conferred two awards. The only award worth mentioning was the austere "# 1 Burper Award" signed by none other than Benjamin William Adams himself (The humbled recipient with his lei of burp cloths):

We did find time in Benjamin's busy social calendar to visit the Kailua-town 4th of July parade:

Benjamin's buddy Wyatt Korth checks up on a sleeping Benjamin:

A visit by Erika's childhood friend Jessica Chaloupka:

A farewell stop at Bill and Mary Kearns' house:

One last stop on the Kaneohe Lanai - ALOHA!... and then a move downtown Waikiki for a 5-day 'staycation' (like a vacation, just in the town you live in). View from our swanky hotel room at the Marriott:

Benjamin after one too many white-Russians (hold the kalua, vodka, and ice):

Working it off at the pool with Mom and Auntie Tiffany:

... Then begins the travel whirlwind. There are no pictures of the actual act of traveling, because it consisted of lifting 10 pieces of checked baggage, 3 carry-ons, a stroller, car seat, and baby - on and off carts, buses, trolleys, planes, and cars... But! there is a story worth telling. The Navy Football bag below (yes, 1 of the 18 items of people and STUFF) caught the eye of a West Point football player. None other than USMA Class of '61 and retired General, George A. Joulwan. After some friendly Army-Navy banter back and forth, he introduced himself and invited the 3 of us in to the United business lounge at LAX. For once I was glad I got to the airport 3 hours before my flight. Erika, Benjamin, and I sat and ate yogurt covered raisins for 2 and a half hours. It was glorious! By the way, I found the following excerpt about General Joulwan on the internet:

"A distinguished soldier whose extraordinary achievements as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, were instrumental in building post-Cold War security structure, a Commander-in-Chief of Southern Command who made significant contribution to bringing peace to El Salvador and democracy to Panama, and a Commander-in-Chief, Europe, who conducted over twenty successful operations in the Balkans, Africa, and the Middle East wihtout loss of a single soldier to hostile fire, George Alfred Joulwan has served his country with distinction in a military career for over thirty-six years. In every assignment, from platoon leader to four-star general, George Joulwan has lived by the motto of the United States Militaqry Academy: Duty, Honor, Country."

... But has he ever been awarded the # 1 Burper Award?

We stopped over in LA to break up the long trip. We had the opportunity to escape the airport hotel and visit with some friends from Hawaii. Low and behold at a random Starbucks in Laguna Niguel we ran in to Cara Henry, former Boston University Women's Ice Hockey Captain (2006-07).

Casey and JoAnn Hughes (expecting their first daughter in September; Haillee), invited us to their newly opened (6 weeks) Chik-Fik-A. Pictured here is the proud Owner/Operator Casey Hughes and JoAnn's sister RoseAnn: ***I say again, this is RoseAnn, not JoAnn***

The Parents-to-be, Casey and JoAnn Hughes, taking Benjamin for a test drive. All smiles - that's a good sign!

And the arrival at 8 Circle Drive to the open arms of both Mimi and Pop-pop Silva and Grandpa and Grammie Adams:

The Proud Grandpa:

The Re-incarnation of "Mr. Tuff" - who's got the moco?:

There's enough Benjamin to go around... who's next? Somebody loves his Grammie:

There's something that makes a new parent gravitate towards their Mothers. Maybe it's the 7 hours of labor that does the trick:

Grandpa Adams breaks it to Benjamin that the monkies in Zamboanga have no tails. The look on Benjamin's face says it all... what are monkey's?

Benjamin meets his Auntie Alana... they have the same size head:

Benjamin gets a front row seat to cheer on his Aunties Alicia at her Wednesday YMCA workout sessions. Go Auntie Alecia!:

This picture belongs in the outtakes file: