Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Bennett at 3 and a Half Years

Bennett turned 3.5 last month and I've been reflecting more and more on where each boy is at in their development and I so miss recording it. Poor Crosby has literally had nothing documented of his first year. In any case, I want to keep up at least every 6 months with where they're at. So, here's what I know about Bennett right now and some of my favorite pictures of him from the past 6 months.

 photo IMG_8091_zpsqipozyut.jpg

 photo IMG_8828_zpsroh1vrc0.jpg

Bennett is SUCH a three year old. Happy one minute, melting down the next. He has a whine that sounds to me like nails on a chalkboard. I'm pretty bad at just giving him WHATEVER it takes to stop that sound immediately. Bad mom, I know. When he's happy though? He will light up your life.

 photo IMG_8900_zpsv38neyye.jpg

He's sweet and snuggly and easy going. He loves to play with trains, legos, "shooters" (ugh), balls, tinker toys, the matching game, Sequence, Jenga, Go Fish, puzzles and books. He loves being read to and really enjoys getting new books from the library. His favorite thing is probably dressing up in costumes. He mostly prefers to be Elsa or anything that involves a dress. I think he's the most beautiful princess.

 photo IMG_9351_zpsqwqll2m2.jpg

I love that he's fully his own person. He's not easily influenced by what others want to do or play with. He just wants what he wants and he's not afraid to express that. He LOVES being around others and playing with friends, but if they're not doing what he wants, that's fine, too - he'll do it anyway! He's learning to share with his baby brother, a task proving much harder than it seems :)

 photo IMG_9361_zpsl4xanbtj.jpg

 photo IMG_9365_zpsjlwlurbg.jpg

He's tracing larger letters (ones that take up a whole page) and can recognize some numbers but not many letters yet. He loves to do "school work" as long as I don't help him or ask him any questions. So.... basically I'm choosing not to worry terribly about what he knows or doesn't know. I figure he'll get there eventually. He can count to 13 without help and his 1:1 correspondence with counting is up to about 5. He's dressing himself with ease now with the exception of his socks and shoes.

 photo IMG_9443_zpsrfzxzdyr.jpg

 photo IMG_9544_zpsqp6hhtnq.jpg

It would be a marvelous thing to report full potty trained status but alas, I cannot. He can pee in the potty without assistance, but he's still pooping in his pants. Again, I'm trying to remember that he will get there. Bennett cannot be pushed into something he doesn't want to do. He's stubborn and self-assured. Bribing isn't working.

 photo IMG_9755_zps8l7mujyy.jpg

Bennett likes to change his clothes about 6 times a day and prefers pajamas to all other clothing choices. But, he also likes to accessorize sometimes. Hats, scarves, gloves. He enjoys them all.

 photo IMG_1115_zpsl0ynm0vj.jpg

He has enjoyed gymnastics and is looking forward to soccer in the spring. He LOVES preschool and always looks forward to going.

 photo IMG_1199_zpstql4prb1.jpg

 photo IMG_1240_zpsqvjfxdqh.jpg

He's adventurous. He'll try pretty much anything once. He may never do it again after that, but he's always game to try. He does try to keep up with Max in regards to sports and physical activity and in most cases, he can easily keep up. He's a very physical child and needs to exert his energy daily. Sometimes this means at bedtime he's going crazy and jumping and climbing because he didn't get it out earlier. Whoops!

 photo IMG_1295_zpsj2fb7g8z.jpg

The child will eat ANYTHING. He's not picky, although lately he's shown much more preference for certain foods (toast, cereal with milk, fruits, chicken and rice, etc..) as opposed to just eating whatever I give him. He's a pretty adventurous eater and will try anything once. He likes spicy food and hummus and things that Max won't touch.
 photo IMG_2386_zps2hdd5j5s.jpg
A terrible photo for its quality, BUT this is my boy on Christmas morning. Pure joy.

I really GET Ben. He's completely my child. Looks like me, acts like me. It's easy for me to empathize with ALL of those big emotions because I have them, too. This makes the relationship between Ben and me pretty easy. I don't raise my voice or lose my temper as often with him. He brings out the patient side of me (well, most of the time - I'm so far from perfect it's not even funny).

 photo IMG_8161_zpsmlnkbdvo.jpg

He'll say his best friend is Kira and he's been hugging and kissing Crosby A LOT lately. He tells me he loves me and says he needs a hug often. He's starting to not want kisses anymore (thanks a lot, Max!) but I sneak them in and he doesn't seem to mind. He loves to help, sit on my lap and be by my side.
 photo IMG_8632_zpstnlnmczo.jpg

I'll leave you with my favorite photo from the past 6 months. A Daddy and his boys. Bennett kissing him. Bennett, giving love. That's how I always think of him, so this is the perfect last image.

Ben is treasured in our family and I often think he'll be the link for the bond between his brothers. Because, I believe, anyone can get along with Ben. He's just so likable. And loving. He provides something in our family that is irreplaceable and I hope he feels loved and valued every single day.




Monday, February 23, 2015

House Tour: Kitchen

Our kitchen was my least and most favorite thing about this house when we bought it. I hated it for everything it was.... maple cabinets, gross smells coming from the cabinets, hideous blue laminate countertops (Are they laminate? I don't even know - they're just ugly). BUT, I LOVED it for its potential. The layout is great and there's lots of storage. Plus, I could totally picture it all white with new countertops and some subway tile etc.. We just had to move in, clean it up and redo the whole kitchen! Easy, right?

Ha!

Here's where we're at now, about 6 months after moving in:

 photo IMG_4839_zps79c6f979.jpg
Here's the view from the playroom.

Pros: Lots of light, easy access to the kids, and open floor plan!

Cons: Everything else.

 photo IMG_4840_zps826df1d8.jpg
We have this eat-in dining area with a lot of extra storage. Don't mind those seedlings we're working on for our garden. They're not usually up there. This extra counter space and cabinetry we wouldn't be able to function without. It's awesome!

 photo IMG_4841_zpsd190ce84.jpg
Our pots and pans also hang over there. I've always loved displaying these and our cookbooks up top there.

 photo IMG_4843_zpsb491af46.jpg
This is the far end of the kitchen towards the formal dining room.

 photo IMG_4844_zpsd70d1ece.jpg
This is standing back by the fridge.

 photo IMG_4845_zpsdfcad114.jpg
Lots of lovely blue counter space! The space is great! The counters... not so much.

 photo IMG_4846_zpsfff46f64.jpg
Here is standing back the other way. In the past 6 months we've done a few things. The dishwasher and cooktop are new, the island has been painted this green color and given some amazing hardware. That's it though! SO much more to do!

Some of my favorite things:
 photo IMG_4848_zps08d1eae5.jpg

 photo IMG_4849_zps6402488f.jpg

This little area is just really decorated and colorful and I love it.

 photo IMG_4850_zps5ba76059.jpg

That's it for the kitchen! I'm HOPING to start the white paint this weekend so fingers crossed I'll have a good "after" shot soon-ish.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics. Life, you know?


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...