Bennett
His memory is incredible! He remembers such small details, and things from so long ago; it is truly surprising. For example: We had seen my sister Jayni during the summer for a few days. About 3 months had gone by and Bennett saw me wearing a hair elastic on my wrist (which Jayni does all the time). He ran over and said, "Mom! You're like aunt Jayni!". I couldn't believe it... little smarty pants!
Speaking of memory... he knows so many songs and stories by heart. To name a few songs: Let me call you Sweetheart, You are my sunshine, My Heavenly Father love Me, I love to see the Temple, I am a child of God, Little Baby Chick Chick, Rock-a-bye, Springtime in the Rockies, The Cupycake song, A Bushel and a Peck, I'm in love with you, You must've been a Beautfiul Baby, In the leafy treetops, Once there was a Snowman, The itsy-bitsy spider, Horsey Horsey, Twinkle twinkle Little Star, The Animals had a Fair, ETC! He loves singing. A lot of those songs are from my grandma and grandpa Bangerter. I love that he knows them and loves them!
He is so incredibly active. This child runs NONstop all day. He can't just walk across the room, he has to run. If its a few feet, he will do high knees. He does laps around our kitchen table and living room probably 100 times a day. It's tiring just watching him!
It's tricky to get him to eat. He runs so much, but doesn't eat a ton, so he's just a little stick!
He is working on potty training. He was 4 days accident free, and now he likes to poop in his undies! He's got the other part down, but we are looking for another incentive to help him go in the toilet again. This is the worst!
He is a little parrot. He likes to stand at my door while I am doing my makeup and say, "I am going to sing one more song, and then thats it. Then I'm going to go out." He'll sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and then proceed to say, "Te Amo! Boa noite! Tschau zinho! Dorme bem! Beijos!" and then "I love you sweetheart" with a wrinkled nose-smile. (If you can't tell, this is our nighttime routine, although I'm not as harsh as he is :) )
He likes to stall when going to bed. He will come up with a million things he needs to do in order to escape bed time!
He likes to cuddle. If he is tired, he will say, "I need you, Mama!" and then lay his head on my shoulder.
He still loves his two blankies he has had since he was a newborn. You can't have the red blankie without the blue blankie. HUGE meltdown if they are dirty and in the laundry.
He can recognize about half of the letters in the Alphabet. We will be driving places and he will see them on billboards and say, "Mom! Look! There is a D for Daddy!". It is so fun to watch him learn and grow.
He LOVES his little friend Cannon. Whenever they see each other, they run at each other while yelling the others' name and give each other big hugs! They run and laugh together and hold hands while they are walking. They play so well together, it is hilarious to watch! They fight sometimes, but are quick to say sorry and go back to playing. When we leave, they say "Good bye! I love you!" Cutest little friendship... don't move in May, please don't!
Some funny Bennett quotes in the past few months:
"Daddy, did you eat your food all gone?"
B: "Dad do you need a napkin to make the mess go away?"
Dad: "why, did you make a mess that needs a napkin?"
B: "I DID make a mess!"
Elise spit up and B said: "Oh my goodness GROcious!"
He was on a monster kick for a while, so I decided to get some "monster spray", aka febreeze bathroom spray, and spray it under his bed so the monsters wouldn't get him. I heard him wake up from his nap one day, but he wasn't knocking at the door like he usually does. Pretty soon I walked up the stairs to check on him and I could smell the spray REALLY strong. I opened his door and there was just a mist of it hanging there. I was about to get really angry when he turned around with a big grin on his face and said, "There's no more monsters!"
Me talking to Bry:
"I told [Bennett] that he could have some popcorn so you and Bennett can share some"
Bennett: "Ya! Me and Bennett can share some!"
Me: "I got a new book for you, Bennett!"
Dad: "What's your book called?"
B: " It's called Jesus Christ."
B: "There are monsters at the church, Mama!"
Me: "No there's not, hunny"
After a long pause, B: "If we just say a little prayer, then Heavenly Father will make it so there are no monsters at the church!" (So sweet...)
B: "Dad stop singing!"
Dad: "You don't like my singing?"
B: "Daddy, don't make a noise."
Playing with his sword: "Mama the naughty people need to go in time out! I'll put them in time out. 'You go in timeout right now! One, two, three! And you be nice to my sister!' Mama the naughty people aren't going in time out! They need to go cry in their bedroom cause they are not staying in time out..." (I don't think I'm that mean... maybe I am :) haha)
"Poor wittle kitty! He wants his mudder..." (Said in a little whiny voice)
Me: "I know that you're a happy boy."
B: "But i'm not a happy boy, I'm just a Hobo!" (I'm pretty sure he got this from Wreck it Ralph)
"Look mom! I'm brushing my teeth with my sucker!"
B: "Mama, you be a good girl and I will get you some licorice. Ar you being a good listener?"
Me: "Yes..."
B: "Then I will get a you a treat!"
Bennett was being baby sat at my friend Krista's house, and she was trying to put him down for a nap:
B: "I just need my mama and daddy"
K: "OK, do you want me to call them?"
B: "Ya, you can call uncle Bryan."
K: "Uncle Bryan?"
B: " Ya I call him daddy, but you can call him uncle Bryan."
"But you HAVE to let me, cause it's my birthday today!" (NOT!)
"I can't go to bed, cause I need to study for my test!"
Needless to say, he is a spunky, energetic, sweet, thoughtful and hilarious two and a half year old. I love him so much!
Elise
This little girl has such a strong personality! (You would have to in order to keep up with Bennett). She has a way of telling you what she wants, and she will let.you.know.
She likes to growl! It is so funny to hear it coming from this little baby, but she just drops her jaw and... growls.
She is rolling EVERYWHERE. If she wants something, she can get to it. It is interesting to watch her roll back and forth and stretch and reach until she gets to it.
She is sitting up all on her own now.
She is quick to smile. When this girl smiles, there is a real twinkle in her eye. I don't know how to describe it... once you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. It really is something sweet!
She loves to eat. This is one time where she will really growl at you if you aren't getting her food there fast enough. She is eating HUGE bowls of baby food at every meal and nursing 4 times a day. She loves to breastfeed still, but she gets impatient quickly if the milk doesn't come fast enough... it makes me worried as to how much longer she'll last :(
She has been sleeping through the night for a while now! This is really the greatest news. Sometimes she will wake up at like 5 o clock, but I just put her binky back in and she goes back to sleep.
When I hear her wake up in the morning or from naps, she just talks to herself and kick-kick-kicks until I come get her. As soon as she hears me open the door, she freezes with her eyes open as wide as they can be, and then waits for me to peek my head over her crib. Then she kick-kick-kicks as hard as she can with a HUGE grin on her face! I really need to capture it on camera, because it is so sweet.
She is truly a mama's girl. If I walk away from at all she will start to whine. I love it, but I hate it. It's hard to get much done with a baby on my hip!
She LOVE to cuddle. She will just nuzzle her little face into my shoulder and lay her head there. It is my favorite. (Bennett never liked to cuddle when he was a baby. I love this so much!)
She is teething. Need I say more?
My heart is bursting with love for this little sweetie. She completes our family and I am so grateful for her spirit in our home.
