Let's Try Something Different. Also, don't share my pics.

Over the past year I've really moved away from blogging because I've been more focused on doing pages in Bennett's baby book instead.  I'm going to try something different this year (2-3years.)  I'm going to try to blog EVERYTHING, and then at the end of the year pay for one of those services that turns your blog into a book.  If I hate it, I'll go back to doing it the other way.  But this way all of you loyal followers (you know. . . all 3 of you) can be kept updated without having to wait until the end of each year when I get his books published.

Also as a plea:  Please do not publicly share photos of Bennett without my permission.  I have been having some problems with that lately and if it continues I will no longer put pictures of Bennett on Facebook or on my main public blog.  I try really hard to have control over Bennett's "online presence" and am just trying to keep him safe by keeping tabs on who is able to see pictures of him.  This blog will likely become private at some point so let me know if you want a blog invite.  So far I've only told a couple people about this blog so I think I know everyone who sees this - but if I ever feel like people I don't know are starting to check this blog (friends of family, etc) then I will make it private.  This blog is meant to be a personal journal of sorts for him and those closest to him.

Thank you!

2 years, 3 months

Stubborn and independent as ever!

• You're beginning to use possessive words like "mine" and "I" in your speech.  Just little phrases so far, like "where mine binky?" or "I see it!"  You still refer to yourself ("nennett") in the third person plenty.
• You are starting to show a preference in clothing.  You often ask for your shoes with the blinking lights instead of whatever else I'm trying to put on you, and you love your tiger sweatshirt and monster shirt. . .to the point that you don't want me to take them off sometimes!
• We've finally got bedtime back under control.  There was about 6 weeks there (including New York) where you weren't sleeping through the night, or would have a really hard time going down, or waking up way too early.  We tried a cool toddler race car bed for a while but you wouldn't stay in it.  So you're sleeping in your crib again, although we had to take out the screws so that the bottom could sit flat on the floor so that you couldn't climb out.  Now you're going to bed on your own and sleeping through the night again, thank goodness!  I can't complain too much because for most of your life you've been a very good sleeper.
• You are a pretty good eater now.  I decided that when you turned two, I would stop worrying about your food intake and just do my best to feed you at normal meal times and that would be it - no more desperately trying constantly all day long to get you to eat a bite of food.  I don't know if my plan worked because you learned to eat when the opportunity was given, or if the problem just self-corrected, but now you'll eat at least something at each meal.  I know I can pretty reliably give you Go-gurt, cheese, white grape juice, pretzels, chicken nuggets, and popsicles (which are really just frozen applesauce mixed with butternut squash or fruit pulp so I let you eat as many of them as you want each day!)
• You regularly speak in 4 word sentences now!  You can also voice your own thoughts now, instead of just expanding on what we're already talking about.
• You are such a little monkey and can clamor up onto the couches with no hesitation now!

2 Year Update!

You have been having so much fun in New York with Nana and Papa, where we have been spending most of your last month of being 1 year old.  You were away from Daddy from a couple weeks and I was so excited for him to come and see all of your new words and tricks.

Because we were having so much fun, I didn't keep notes about your new skills like I usually do.  Here is what I know:

• You got 3 more teeth while in NY. . .your "fill in the gap" teeth as I call them (the canines).  Now you just have a perfect row of 8 teeth on the top and 8 more on the bottom, although the canines still have a long way to go before they're grown out as much as the others.
• You've learned at least 30 new words while in NY.  I think the exposure to different situations and to other people with a different daily vocabulary has really helped with that. 
• Most noticeable of those words - colors!  You know so many colors now!  You've had blue down for a while, but now you can correctly name green, yellow, red, black, white, and sometimes pink/orange/purple.
• Your sleep pattern has really become a mess while on vacation.  You're frequently waking me up between 5 and 6.  I'm hoping that once we're home that will fix itself because this mama is tired!
• You are so stubborn and independent.  You have reached that phase where you want to do things yourself without our help.  When you're in that mood, I'll try to help you and you'll shriek "nennett! nennett!" meaning you want to do it.
• You have figured out how to clamor up onto the couches.  At least the ones here at Nana and Papa's, we'll see if you can climb on ours at home too.
• You have figured out your own way to jump and have fun, since you can't jump with your feet off the ground yet.  Instead you just collapse backward onto your bum.  You have been having fun bouncing on pillows and tramps this way.
• You said your first 3 word sentence while on this trip.  We went over to Grandma Beverly's for dinner and you asked "where nennett chair?" and were looking around for your highchair.  Since then you have said a few more 3 word sentences, although they all seem to be asking about where something of yours is.
• Your hair is insanely long.  I've been trying to grow it out because it's so fine so when it's short it just sticks up everywhere.  I'm hoping if I grow it out a little longer it will lay flat.  It makes you look like such a big boy!  While in NY the humidity made your hair all curly and cute, but now that we're back in Utah it has straightened out like normal and made it very obvious that you're in need of a trim.  You are looking pretty shaggy around the edges.

From now on I'm only going to do updates every 3-6 months, now that you're a little older.  I will make sure to write about milestones though since there are quite a few coming up in the near future.  I've prioritized them so that we only work on one thing at a time.  First comes getting you back on a good sleep schedule.  Once that's well established we'll take away your bottles (although I'm already starting to at least cut the amount in half and encouraging you to drink more cold milk at meals instead).  Then we'll work on weaning off the binky AGAIN (seems like every time we think it's gone, you get sick or something happens that requires us to bring it in again- for now I've at least got it cut back to only when you sleep. It was getting pretty bad in NY because you wanted it all the time.)  After that we'll give potty training a go and see if you have any interest in that.  You did go pee-pee in your little potty twice right before we came to NY but haven't shown much interest since.

23 month update - June

The days to 2 are flying by!  Some things about you at 23 months:

• You are understanding a little more about pretend games, although so far you can only do it with games that relate to bedtime.  For example, you like to lie down on the floor or couch and say "night night!"  Or you'll put your cars to bed too.
• Although you might like to play "night-night," you have started to resist going to bed yourself.  For the last 6 months or so it's been really easy to put you down to sleep and you've always been pretty agreeable.  We even were at a point where I rarely needed to give you your binky to go to sleep.  But all of a sudden you have been crying and whining again when I put you down.  You must be at that stage where you just want to stay awake and play instead of sleep.  So the binky has because a necessity again, along with just letting you cry it out.  I'm hoping this stage passes quickly because it has been so stressful for me! 
• You've started to accept kisses as fixes for boo-boos (although you hate real bandaids).  If you get a minor bump or scrape you'll let me kiss it and that usually calms you down considerably.
• Ever since the binky has made a reappearance at bedtime, we've been using it to bribe you to do other things as well, such as sitting down in your carseat to let us buckle you.  You just adore your binky and will do anything to get it.
• You are learning more about how to interact with the pups, both in terms of loving them and in teasing them.  When we need to run errands you will crate the pups then go in and lovingly pet them goodbye.  Other times you want nothing more than to tease Pocket by doing fake-out throws with her ball and then giggling uncontrollably at your own antics!
• You've started to sing again when you get sleepy.  You used to do this when you were a baby and I'm really glad that you're doing this again!  It's so cute!
• You've developed more of a sense of self.  You know that you are called Bennett.  The other day we were playing ball with Pocket and I was trying to teach you about taking turns.  I would throw the ball and say "mama's turn!" and then the next one I would give to you and say "Bennett's turn!"  You caught on fast and would happily say "mama!" when it was my turn, but as soon as the ball left my hands you'd eagerly use both hands to point to your chest and say "nennett! nennett!" So that I would remember that it was your turn next.  You also know which shoes/toys/clothes are yours and which belong to us.

22 month update - may

You are definitely a TODDLER now, no question!  You are trying to be so independent, which usually comes through as being stubborn.  It is both so fun and exhausting chasing you around all day as you try to figure out this world.

Favorite Color:  blue
Favorite Book:  Spiderman and Friends
Favorite Song:  Popcorn Popping
Favorite Word:  elbow

Some things about you at 22 months:

• You can now say "yes" and several variations (yeah, mm-hmm, yesh).  It makes it so much nicer to hear "yes" instead of just a grunt when I ask you a question!  It also makes conversing with you so much more fun because you can clearly answer yes or no.  You also string two ideas together regularly now, although it's still a little forced (bye-bye choo-choo, thank you dada, etc).  You are always very concerned with where everyone is.  Your most frequent question is "where ____", whether in the grocery store or even at home when one of us walks away for a moment.  When we're video chatting with Nana and Papa if one of them leaves the screen all you'll do is ask where they are until they come back.
• You've developed this funny little habit of saying "hmm. . ." when you're trying to puzzle something out.  When you first started saying it though I felt a little guilty, because you say it in such a distracted way, and I know you must have picked it up from me!  I know I probably say it that way when I'm trying to just keep you busy but my mind is really somewhere else.  It is very interesting as a parent to watch you pick up these habits and reactions - it really is like looking in a mirror sometimes and is very eye-opening.
• You have FINALLY had a little growth spurt and are starting to wear 9-12month clothes!  It's a good thing too because you've been wearing the same clothes for a year now and they are all worn out.  If you ever have a little brother they're not going to get any hand-me-downs because we really get our money's worth out of your clothes since you grow so slowly.  Right now you are still mostly wearing last summer's shirts and shorts but hopefully we'll find the need to buy you new ones if you can grow just a bit more.  We're also starting to go up a shoe size.
• You like to help me crate the puppies when we leave the house.  I'll ask you if you can crate the pups and you'll say "yeah!" and run toward their gate. Usually the pups go in automatically if they see that we're getting ready to leave, so you will bend down and push their doorstop out of the way then pull the gate closed.  I still have to latch it but it makes you feel like such a big helper.  Speaking of the pups, for the most part you are now leaving their food and water dishes alone.  We no longer have to hide them out of your reach.  At least once a week you get into their dishes and spill food and kibble everywhere but it's much more manageable than before where that's all you wanted to do.
• We bought you a little wagon to ride in for walks and you LOVE it.  You learned how to climb in and so you'll get in to play or just in hopes that we'll take you outside if you get in.
• You have figured out that your finger fits in your nose. . .enough said!  I'm having a hard time trying to break you of the habit because I think you might have my spring allergies because you are frequently a little stuffed up.
• We finally put you in a toddler carseat.  It is still rear-facing because you don't weigh enough, but you love it!  You can actually see out the windows now and will just turn your head from side to side to try to see everything while we drive.  We decided to make the purchase because car rides were becoming a miserable experience because you hated your baby seat so much.
• You have started saying prayers with us.  When you're in a good mood you'll even kneel down and clasp your hands, although most of the time you just lurk nearby while we kneel.  You'll repeat what we say in the prayer.  Right from the beginning, as soon as we say "Heavenly Father" you'll say "Sissy. . ." to bless Roshini because you know we'll name a few people.  But "Sissy" is always first.  It's so cute although we have no idea where it came from.
• You find laughter contagious.  If Daddy or I start laughing you'll laugh too and we can keep you laughing for several minutes if we just keep laughing too!
• You have become such a climber suddenly.  I blame this on Daddy because he's been teaching you how to climb the rope cargo net at the playground!  Now you can pull yourself onto chairs and toilets and sometimes the couch.  Worse, you figured out that if you want something on the table you can push the chair against the wall and climb up to it.

21 month update

Some things about you at 21 months:

• You are so helpful around the house, when you're in a good mood.  I am constantly having you bring me things, throw something away, help hold something, etc.
• You love to hide behind doors.  Several times a day you will run behind a door, pull it as closed as you can, then call out "where nennett!" prompting me to start playing.
• You've suddenly become attached to your monkey blanket that Aunt Amanda gave you when you were born.  You become frantic if I put you down for a nap and it's not in your crib.  It's all very strange because I've never put you down with blankets before, only sleepsacs, so I'm not sure where this sudden love for your blankie came from.
• You like tv now, or at least a few select kids shows.  In a way it's nice, because if I need just a few minutes to work on dinner or something else that I don't want you getting into, I can turn on the tv and take care of it.  Plus you eat MUCH better if you're in your highchair watching tv, so I always try to give you healthy snacks while you watch.  I do just have to be careful though to make sure you're not watching more than is absolutely necessary!
• You like counting with us, and you can count to 6!
• You're starting to enjoy the alphabet song, and sometimes will repeat the letters back to me.
• We had you switched to a different nursery class, and you are doing much better!

20 month update

This has been a bad month, picture-wise.  We lost both the camera and my phone this month, which means we've lost all of our pictures from 2013 so far.  I did take a few pictures on our new camera, but I'm going to have to scavenge pictures from other people to help fill in the gaps. 

 

 

Some things about you at 20 months:

• You talk SO much!  I'm no longer recording your new words because there is just too many.  Plus, you now say MAMA!!  Finally!  It's probably like your 70th word.  You've only said it to me once or twice, but if you see a picture or me or something that belongs to me you'll say it readily.
• You love to look at photographs.  You especially like our little wedding scrapbook because it's easy for you to carry around and open on your own and has pictures of everyone you know. 
• You love climbing on anything you can.  You can't get on the couches yet thankfully, but you'll climb on anything on the floor or even up onto the jumper.
• You will sit and "read" books aloud to yourself.  This works out nicely when I can convince you to read books in your room while I'm getting ready for the day.
• You love Spiderman and get really excited anytime you see a book or socks with him on it.  You pronounce it "my-man"
• You also love Curious George.  You'll only sit still for about half an episode, but that's amazing since you don't really care about watching tv.  I think the only reason you pay attention is because you've been sleeping with your Curious George monkey for a long time now and we always call him George so you paid more attention when you saw the animated version.
• Multiple times a day you will go sit on your potty to get a treat.  Sometimes I have to hide your potty because you're doing it too much!
• You love love LOVE outside, especially now that it's starting to warm up!  We can spend a couple hours outside and you'll still start bawling if I try to bring you inside.
• You are obsessed with eating Cuties, although you call them apples.  You can almost peel it yourself, and will chew on the pieces until the juice is gone then you'll spit out the pulp.  You would eat them all day if we let you.  Once you ate 4 in a row before we told you no more.