Bennett Update {13 and 14 Months}

We have been so incredibly busy with Bennett that I keep forgetting to update on what is new with him!

Sleeping: He is going between 1 and 2 naps a day. Depending on the day, somedays he will take one afternoon nap and sometimes he still needs a morning and afternoon nap. Usually they are 1-2 hours long, and sometimes the afternoon nap is 3 hours long, if it is the only one of the day. 

Development: He is a jabber mouth! He mostly babbles but lately, we catch him repeating things we say such a "All Done!" he will say something like "ahhh duuhhh," so that has been a lot of fun. I think he says about 7-10 words, but many times words have multiple meanings (ex. "ba" can mean ball, bath, book, bubbles, anything that starts with a B). He also overuses "uh oh," everything is "hahhh" (hot), and he is specifically calling me, mama and Josh, dada. He is very athletic, and loves to throw balls (and he has a good arm!). He does not miss a thing! If you try to sneak away to get a snack, he knows right away that we are eating something and will follow you until you share. He loves to throw things away in the garbage, which is fun but also annoying (I find several non-trash items daily in the garbage). And he LOVES to copy anything we do; cooking, cleaning, vacuuming, even when I am putting on makeup or brushing my hair, he wants to pretend he is doing the same thing with the hairbrush or makeup brush (sorry Josh!)

Likes/Dislikes: Bennett absolutely loves daycare and his little friends at daycare. Books have become more popular in the last couple of months. He will now plop himself down on our laps with a book for us to read to him. Although, he typically just wants to turn the pages faster than we can read, it is still really fun. Bennett absolutely loves being outside, and I am seriously concerned for when the weather gets cold. He will stand at the garage door and pound on it until we go outside. Recently, he has fallen in love with his fuzzy blanket, and we have to carry that with us immediately after bed or nap-time until he fully wakes up. Bennett's dislikes these days are definitely the camera: phone or real thing. He could be doing the cutest thing and we get our camera out and he is over it. He hates to sit still and it is near impossible to get a picture of him unless he isn't looking. He also hates getting dressed, having his diaper changed, getting into his car seat, being put in timeout (yes, we do timeout already), or anytime we tell him "no" to (which is a lot these days). Josh and I are struggling with how to teach Bennett boundaries because it seems he wants to do anything and everything and does not care if we tell him "no." For example, he loves to play in the street, he will just walk into the street, throw his balls, play with his toys and the moment we pull him off the street he throws a fit. Oh, and don't even get me started on the tantrums! He is a passionate, determined, stubborn little boy (where did he get that from? his mom?! no way!!). We are constantly pulling him away from dangerous situations or having to tell him no and redirect his attention. I will keep you updated on how this goes because it is still a work in progress.

 (Top Left: enjoying the last few days of warm weather, playing outside. Top Middle: He loves washing the car and/or playing with water in general. Top Right: outside at the park. Bottom left: Enjoying a Waukee High School Football game. Bottom Middle: see what I mean about climing in things?? Bottom left: playing so hard, he fell asleep in the middle of the living room!)

Melissa is so great about sending us pictures throughout the day while Bennett is at daycare, these are a few fun ones I received this past month

Bennett's 1 year Pictures

We had Bennett's photos taken by Sarah McConnell a day or two before his actual Birthday. Bennett started out really strong, hamming it up for the camera and very curious and smiley for Sarah, however as the session went out it was more and more difficult to get good pictures out of him. You will notice that most of his best pictures are in his first outfit. Overall, they turned out great! I only need a few anyways and next time I might just choose to do one outfit. I definitely would use Sarah McConnell again, she does a great job!

Bennett's 1st Birthday Party

 This blog post is SERIOUSLY overdue. I have taken a bit of a break from blogging, not sure if I wanted to continue it. However, I really would like to continue my blog so I can look back and remember special events in our lives. Forgive me, I am really lazy about doing this diligently though:)

We had Bennett's 1st birthday party on Sunday August 17th, his actual birthday is August 14th. It was a Baseball themed party. We had a lot of friends and family come to celebrate.

 

For lunch, we served hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, pretzels, popcorn

Luckily, the weather was not too hot for middle of August, so the party was in our garage.

 Bennett thoroughly enjoyed his presents!

 He was not too sure about everyone singing to him (top right picture), but it did not take long for him to dig into his smash cake

After the party, it was play time!!!



Lake of the Ozarks {2014}

We spent another week at Lake of the Ozarks this July. It was an amazing week filled with swimming, sun, drinks, relaxation, and boating. We had so many great pictures I didn't want to miss anything, so I created collages of each of our activities!

 The house we rented this year had a great little pebble beach. It was great for the kids!

 These are some of my favorite of Bennett from the week

 Jordan is the fisherman of the group, but sometimes the other partake in the activity to change it up. They did a great job this year and Jordan fried us up some fish our last night there.

 We spend A LOT of time floating!!!

 A few of Miss Grace, being adorable!

 The kids were our captains for the week, and the collage of 3 pictures does not even do it justice for how much these kids actually were in the drivers seat.

 Some great pictures from the week to share

 Some more of my favorite pics of the week

 There are so many pictures it is hard to pick which ones to include!

 We have so much fun at Lake of the Ozarks

Bennett was not so sure of swimming in the lake, but Grace really came out of her shell on vacation. Swimming was fun had by all!

 We don't tube too much, but when we do it is a riot. Even Bennett and Grace got in on the action this year.

 But of course, wakeboarding is the reason we go to Lake of the Ozarks to begin with. And it is hard to include just one or two pictures, because there are hundreds to share!

This year we even took up a new activity, Wakesurfing. Even Emily tried this out (6 months pregnant)!

1 Year Old!!!

Update: Seriously, SERIOUSLY, how are we already here? This is so cliche but it honestly just flew by, the entire year! I sit here today(I am writing this on his actual birthday), a tad emotional, how big and strong and independant Bennett it. We are so proud of him and he hasn't hardly done anything (I mean beyond what is natually expected of him at 1 year old!). Most of my day has been consumed with remembering exactly what happened and how I was feeling at certain points in the day at this time last year. I know that at exactly 7:58 tonight, I will be emotional. I look back on this year and try to forget about the times I thought "I cannot wait for him to hit 'this' milestone." Because all I can think about today is how much I wish I could rewind the entire year and do it again, well, let's not get too crazy! Don't get me wrong, there are days where Bennett makes us absolutely want to pull our hair out. He is wildly independant and stubborn (like his mom), and always making us laugh (like his dad), he is curious and fearless and persistant, and would prefer to climb in, on, and through things (regardless of what it is). He is 100% boy-to the core, he loves getting dirty, throwing balls, building and destroying blocks, zooming around in cars, and playing with steering wheels (don't get me started on the absolute FIT he throws when he can't play with the REAL steering wheel in the REAL car). Bennett is not much of a cuddler and he would prefer to feed himself, but he can be SO clingy, especially to mommy right after work, in new settings, around new people, or anytime he is feeling cranky, tired, or needy. And by clingy, I don't mean he wants to sit on the couch and hang out together, no, he wants me up, walking around, with him on my hip and don't I DARE sit down for 1 second or he will throw a fit. But, all of that does not matter. I would do anything for Bennett and I know Josh would too. He has brought us so much joy this past year, and we are excited to see what year #2 brings!

Likes

• Cars, trucks, anything with a steering wheel
• Playing outside
• Climbing on everything!
• Sitting in "big kid" chairs
• Throwing and playing with footballs, baseballs, golf balls, etc

Dislikes

• Diaper Changes
• Getting dressed/undressed
• Being put in his car seat
• Having to sit still
• When he is feeling needy and we cannot hold him

Stats: 1 Year appointment is next week!

Features: I cannot wait to find out how tall he is, I definately feel like he has gotten taller. I am also excited for him to look less "bow-legged"haha.

Sleep: Bennett has always been a great sleeper. Lately, this month we have been able to push him through his first nap (when we are out doing things), and have him only take 1 long nap a day. But, if we are home and he is not being entertained that first morning nap is essential. I will admit, I will miss two naps a day when they come to an end here in the next couple of months. He also has been sleeping a little longer in the morning (yay for 7 am!) and/or able to stay up later at night (9 or 10 pm at times!)

Diapering: Size 3 Diapers- in both nighttime diapers and daytime diapers, I will probably start buying size 4 next time we buy diapers

Clothes: Mostly, 12 month clothes, some are even still to big. He is just still so short that his shorts hit his ankles and the waste bands are a bit big.

Social: SO chatty! And we have no idea what he is saying. I think he says "dada" and "uh oh" and knows what they mean, but the kid could babble and jabber for hours and we have no clue what he is talking about. He is pretty shy around new people, but it only takes him about 5 minutes to warm up, especially if they have food or toys to share. He is definately a momma's boy and can be needy and clingy when he wants to be (which is usually when I need to make dinner, clean the house, get ready, you know.....anytime I actually need to DO something). Bennett can give high 5's, he consistently gives us wet, slobbery kisses, and has started to learn to wave (but this is hit and miss). I cannot wait to have him start talking more so I can understand him and I know he will just say the most hilarious things!

July was a VERY full month. We did alot of traveling and took alot of pictures.

(First time at the Jones county fair! Bennett did great and enjoyed MOST of Miranda Lambert concert)



(He did not sit still during the concert, but he enjoyed it nonetheless)



(We left about 2 songs before the end of the concert to try to beat the traffic and crowds)

(Waiting for the concert to start with Grandma Sara)

(We spent the next day riding rides at the carnival and they were a hit!)



(The car was obviously a favorite)



(Slow down dude!)



(The train he got kicked off of shortly after this picture. Bennett decided to crawl out of the seatbelt, which the ride operator said no to)



(This one was not so much a hit, Bennett wanted to move/walk around on the Ferris Wheel and we would not let him)



(As you can see, he is struggling a bit to be  happy)



(This one was his favorite! He threw a fit when he had to get off)

(Playing the piano at Grandma Lock's)

(Right after the fair, we drove to Lake of the Ozarks for vacation with Josh's family)

(Bennett was hit and miss with swimming in the lake)

(Luckily, we had a GREAT house with a grassy lot and beach area to play)

(Part of the beach area for Bennett and Grace to play)

(The life jacket struggle was not so bad during vacation, Bennett was a champ!)

(We did not leave Lake of the Ozarks without a battle wound though. The house had a stone fireplace with a step-up, and sure enough Mr. Wobbly-legs crashed face first into the fireplace. Everything turned out fine and now he is rocking a pretty decent scar, but it healed nicely)

(Playing in the toys at Toys-R-Us)

(We went to look at birthday presents and Bennett had so much fun!)

(He loved this also, but still a bit too small for something like this)

(Enjoying music in the park with Dad)

(Two peas in a pod)



(Spent some time at the Sculpture park, where we were able to snap a cute family pic!)

(This kid will climb in anything)



(Birthday present from us)

(Playing with his new toy for his birthday)

(Morning at the State fair)

(Loving the Little Hands Farm at the State Fair)

(Driving the truck at the State Fair)



(Fuzzy picture-but that is every single wipe pulled out of the container. No wonder he was being so quiet and good!)

(Washing Dad's Car. The hose is also a favorite toy)