Playing House

Starting Tuesday, Bennett is back in preschool three days of week, meaning that Monday was our last day hanging out full time. Cullen and Bennett truly are the best of friends and pretty much do everything together, so with C in school all day for the past 2 weeks, I feel like in a way I really got to know Bennett even better. 

What I have always loved about our Bubs is that he is so unique. He has always done things in his own time and only if he is really motivated to. He is strong, serious and independent, and also a phenomenal athlete. But in the last two weeks, I have loved hanging out with Bennett's gentle side. Yep, his sweet, nurturing one. 

As you know, he loves my scary childhood babydoll and has since toddlerhood. "Baby" is still a staple for him, but his new favorite game is playing house and lately, I have been invited to join along. (Wells still takes a morning nap for an hour and a half- so this is real one-on-one time for us)

Monday morning, we got Baby ready for the day.

 And put him/her (still not totally sure) down for nap. 

 And then had a little Monster Truck play time while Baby slept.

 Then it was snack time (he keep a thing of peanuts in his fridge...apparently today we were having them fried). 

 Baby couldn't have ones hot off the stove (obviously), so he/she got raw peanuts. 

 And after watching a show (looking at the artwork on the wall), it was time for Baby's ba-ba. 

And we then a picnic in his back yard (our den) for lunch with Wells too and wrapped up our morning of 'house'.

I have loved these days with my boy but I know he is SO excited for his school days too. 

How disappointed is he going to be that I monitor his fashion choices on school days?

*****

 And just in case those pictures didn't melt your heart enough, over the weekend, Kev called us on facetime and B took the phone from me and told his Daddy that he 'needed to watch this show because it is so funny' and then proceeded to hold the phone like this for 7 minutes. I kept trying to take the phone back and he gripped it tight and said 'No, me and Daddy are watching TV'.

*****

I hope you have a wonderful first day of school Bennett-B. I look forward to our Monday and Friday mornings together, and hearing about what you are learning and the friends you are making at school. 

 You are such a joy to be around and we love you so much!

Three

 Today, our Bennett is three. 

 Bubs is sort of this amazingly unique kid. He is funny, independent, smart, atheltic, sweet and stubborn all at once. I feel like Bennet was never really a baby and even now, he gets lumped in with kids older than him because he is tall and physically can do more the same as Cullen. Even though his language has been slow to develop, he has always seemed to be a 'big' kid. 

Playing tricks on the chickens, typical

 He loves the color red, lacrosse, monster trucks, riding his bike, going to the shop, Wild Kratts and Babar, mac-n-cheese, Orange juice-lemonade (his own creation), his dino blankie and my creepy old baby doll, doing things 'mah-self', working with tools, peeing out side, cuddling when he first wakes up, being able to identify sports logos but not the alphabet, his afternoon nap, the number 4, going to school, solving problems, his Mama and Daddy and more than anything else, his brothers (Wall-sie and Cull-a).

One thing I will never have to worry about Bennett doing is giving into peer pressure. He will only do thing if he wants to and don't you dare try to force him into anything, especially give affection. He will only give hugs, kisses and say I love You if he is really moved to, not just as an automatic response or if he is asked to. 

He is (terrifying) also fearless. For example this weekend, he couldn't get turned around on the ladder to get down from the tree house so instead of asking for help like a normal child, he just assessed the situation and jumped to the ground (and thankfully didn't break any bones).

He loves to sing, but only if you catch him doing it, never on command. It is so sweet though and one of my favorite little secrets of his.

Birth/One/Two

Three.

 Happy Birthday my sweet boy. 

Your Daddy and I are so proud of the person that you are and love you so much.

Never change, Bubs. 

Oh, To Be Bennett

When They Surprise Me

I know my children inside and out. Their little quirks and preferences and the details of their very unique personalities. But everyone once in a while, they completely surprise me. 

The last word I would use to describe Bennett is affectionate. He hates giving hugs and kisses, he refuses to tell people goodnight. He won't talk to anyone first thing in the morning. Kev is the only person who can get an "I love you" out of him. But that's okay. Aside from with Kev and the boys, I am not an overly affectionate person either, so I get it.

But because of this trait, when Bennett does do something incredibly sweet, it shocks me and warms my heart in a million ways. Such was the case yesterday. 

I asked him to walk to "Walls-ie" for a minute while I ran upstairs to get my shoes and when I came back, I found them like this

Bennett was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and his Walls-ie was looking at him with such a happy admiration. 

There will probably come a day when Wells looks at him with the same happy admiration because Bennett can flip a dirt bike or because his fake ID totally works, so for now, I'll take this little surprise and hold on to it forever. 

Especially for when I tell Bubs that we love him and he responds "I sleeping Mommy".

 I know underneath it all he love us too.

Wells Meets His Brothers

As I mentioned during the course of my pregnancy, one of the perks of #3 was not being afraid that I wouldn't have enough love to share with Wells or that his brothers would react negatively to his arrival.  But once again, my emotions surprised me when the boys actually met their little brother. 

Bennett's first words to me about Wells were "Aw, Mommy, our baby!" which sent my sister in law (and the rest of us) straight into tears in the hospital room. 

 Meanwhile, Cullen has assumed the role of double big brother with flying colors. The biggest jealousy issues we've dealt with are with C having meltdowns when too many people come to visit and he doesn't have a turn to hold Wells, and when W gets gifts but he doesn't (we have had a little Come to Jesus Meeting about that and it has gotten a bit better).

 Otherwise, they are having a great time with their brother,

 insisting that he take part afternoon outside time

and morning cuddles,

 and mid day chats

and check ups (I love this picture so much)

and definitely some evening snuggles

 We couldn't be prouder of our 'big boys' adjusting to their little brother,

 even when they fight over who gets to push the button on the vibrating chair.

 I couldn't feel more blessed to have these three boys as my own.

Toddler Jokes

Inspired by Shannon's post about Taylor's first joke, here are some of Bennett's favorite jokes to play on us (imagine all answers with a devious toddler cackle at the end):

How old are you?

Frwee!

What's your name?

CULL-en!

What's a dog say?

Mooooooooooooooooooooooo

What color is this? {red}

Buue!

Can you pick up your toys and put them away?

{Pretends to sleep}

*****

Lord help his 3rd grade teacher.

*****
And yep, still no baby, although I'm all ears to your labor inducing secrets since my vacuuming and jumping jacks failed yesterday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

It's My Kid's Party, And I Can Cry If I want To

I was so excited about B's birthday yesterday. I had the perfect day all planned in my head: We were going to sleep in, go out for chocolate chip pancakes, take an exciting Metro ride to the National Zoo, enjoy a beautiful day and all the animals, have a lovely picnic lunch, Metro home, nap and then party. 

It kind of went like that, except for none of it at all but the party part.
The first half of the day was an absolute disaster.

We didn't make it for pancakes.

The boys were driving me crazy before I drank my allotted half a cup (half a cup- that's all I was asking!) of coffee.

I almost got sick riding the metro.

The boys fought over the window seat, while refusing to just go sit with my mom and her empty window seat.

B sat down in the middle of a busy intersection, wailing because I wanted him to hold my hand crossing the street.

C sat down and pouted in the middle of the zoo because he wanted to see the snakes, not the elephants.

B wanted me to hold him, not sit in the $12 stroller I just rented, and I couldn't physically hold him because I am 7 and a half month pregnant, the zoo is hilly and he is heavy...

It was just one of those kind of days.

So I did what any good mom would do: took them calmly and gently home, gave them a well balanced lunch, sang them sweet lullabies to sleep and then recharged for the afternoon.

Just kidding.

I got them McDonalds, put them to bed without the option of a book first and then called Kev bawling crying. 

All the sudden everything was frustrating: The fact that he isn't here, that we don't have a place to live, that we have been in different beds and houses every two nights, that the boys keep hanging on me and I already have almost 20 extra pounds hanging on me so the addition of them is not helping. I think I was even upset that I am not 38 weeks yet and I still have to be pregnant for 2 more months and I don't know how I am going to make it.

I try my best to be gracious in life and really count my blessings instead of feeling down, but today, I needed to get those tears out. We have been through a lot in the past few weeks and will continue on quite the rollercoaster in the next few until Baby comes, we find a place and establish a real, new routine. And while 99% of the time, it really doesn't bother me, I have to allow myself to feel overwhelmed once and a while, you know? And I felt so much better after letting it out, I had no idea how much of it I had been keeping in.

 But that afternoon, my kids did nap, so I got a break from them for 2 hours, which was much needed, and then my day carried on as planned: with a beautiful little party with my family, my brothers' girlfriends, Kev's parents and two of my best friends, celebrating my little joy of a boy who honestly doesn't think traffic is dangerous.

 Thank you to everyone for your warm wishes for Bennett, he loves you all (and so do I).

Bennett is...

Two Years Old.

Bennett is independent.

He loves to do things himself, especially things that he actually cannot do: put his shoes on, buckle his own carseat, pour the milk into a glass, cook on the gas stove, swim in the Pacific...you get the idea. But I love that he is confident enough to try (even when it drives me crazy).

Bennett is stubborn particular.

He knows a lot of words, but only uses them when completely necessary. Last night, he dumped out a box of toys I cleaned up and then got the basket my mom usually keeps the toys in and placed them all in the right home. He decided on his own to sleep in a bed and never turned back to the crib. He is a Momma's Boy and if I am around, I have to be by his side. 

Bennett is enthusiastic.

He runs to greet people. He says Hi and Bye to everyone he passes. He loves to tell store clerks to "Have Good Daaaay!". He runs through the house after bath yelling "Nakie Baby!" and laughs the whole way. He sings to himself while he plays. His smile will melt your heart into a thousand pieces.

Bennett is concerned.

He will stop what he is doing when he hears someone cough and ask 'You K?' and wait for an answer. He always tells a sneezer "bless you". He hugs Cullen when he cries. He comes in the bathroom every morning when I throw up to ask "you k, Momma?' and then hands me some toilet paper. He asks for kisses with every boo-boo. He still loves and nurtures Baby.

Bennett is athletic.

He can drop kick a soccer ball, score a basket 9/10, pick of a lacrosse stick and innately know what do to with it. You might remember that his first word was 'Ball'. He loves to wrestle, tackle, jump, run and play. He can do a somersault, a motorskill usually reserved for 4 year olds. 

Look at that form

Bennett is mischievous.

He always looks like he has something up his sleeve, and has since he was a baby and Cullen started calling him Bubba Monster. His eyes glitter with anticipation of making someone laugh or scaring them from around the corner. He sticks his tongue out to the left and looks with a side eye when he is plotting, a facial expression I am sure will give him away in the years to come. And if he wasn't so stinking funny and cute about it, he'd probably be in trouble a lot. 

Bennett has white hair.

I can not tell you how often I get stopped by strangers who inform of this.

Bennett is Two Years Old.

And such a ray of sunshine. I couldn't imagine our life without him in it.

We love you Bubs and can't wait to watch you grow this year. 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy.

Celebrations

On Saturday afternoon, we gathered for one last big party with our Monterey friends for my two big boys. Cullen's 4th birthday was Monday and Bennett will be 2 on June 5th, and since our movers start packing us on Friday (!!!) we decided to combine their party for a fun celebration.

Technically, their theme was Cars but aside from their bright colored polos and a Lighten McQueen birthday sign, the theme was actually pizza, cupcakes and playground, just the way the pre-pinterest world intended.

Just up the street from our house, we have this amazing community center that we can rent free of charge. We had the party here last year too and are thankful for such a large space, with an easy clean up, for our family friends to enjoy.

After pizza and play, we gathered to sing Happy Birthday. B went for the cupcake before the candle.

Our friend Kelly came down from San Francisco and we were so happy to see her one more time before we return to the East Coast. 

 I realized as we were leaving that I didn't get a family picture...this was the best we could do.

And when we got home, two spoiled boys opened some pretty thoughtful gifts. 

On Monday, Cullen's actual birthday (as he kept telling us) we had a great day too. He brought brownies and watermelon to school, got a Happy Meal for lunch, went to another friend's birthday party in the afternoon, then came home for repeat cupcakes and candle, 

 (clearly, B prefers joint celebrations)

 followed by his birthday surprise: a big boy bike!

All in all, a perfect way to celebrate my beautiful boys (and I didn't even share that we had a shower for Baby 3 on Friday...more on that tomorrow). 

I know I say it all the time, but we are so blessed in our little life, from our supportive friends, you lovely blog readers and our loving family (Cullen told me Monday night that 'lots of peoples from Ba-ginia keep calling today!), I couldn't ask for more. I am so proud of my boys, Kev and our little one on the way, it makes my heart soar that so many people love them too.