christmas

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

Had to do a baby's first Christmas photo.

They opened their Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve. 

Logan kept feeling his pants and saying, "I love my fabric!"

Christmas morning!

Thanks Grandma for this fun, kid-friendly nativity!

We sure felt spoiled! Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas on both sides!

Christmas with a toddler was magical. After each present, Logan would want to play with it until we reminded him there were more presents to open. He loved every second of Christmas.

Can't forget these handsome boys 

Who do you think was most excited? :)

Not the best night's sleep...

Later that day we went to Uncle Keith's house for dinner. A different, but fun Christmas. We sure missed seeing our families though.

five months!

Bennett is growing up too fast!

This month he seemed to change the most.

It's is getting easier to get him to smile.

He also started really laughing this month, although it isn't that easy to get him to laugh for you.

He is very alert and aware now.

He loves watching Logan and smiles a lot for him.

When he's happy he gargles.

He sure loves his daddy and big brother.

To celebrate being 5 months old, he rolled from his back to his belly.

When he's on his back, he will spin in circles to see around the room.

This month he:

-took a road trip to Idaho and Utah

-met his Grandma

-Met Uncle Jeff

-still wakes up once at night to eat

His eyes really became blue this month.

He started grabbing this month. He grabs toys, people, and hair most of all.

His favorite toy is the vibrating frog, same as Logan at this age.

Love you, Bennett!

catch up 2: instagrammin' friend

Darrin and I don't have Instagram, or smart phones for that matter. I had a friend in Spokane who took some cute Instagram pictures and sent them to me. 

Here is another one from the splash pad in Spokane:

She was so helpful when Bennett was born. We took Logan to her house in the middle of the night when I was in labor, and then the entire next day (4th of July) to Coeur d'Alene Lake with her husband and two kids. (all the while she was pregnant too!!) What a life saver.

Getting ready to play on the beach.

Getting sand all over his face.

Swinging on the swings in Coeur d'Alene.

The morning Bennett was born. He really loved their play wheelbarrow. 

Thanks so much Marianne for all your help and for the cute pictures!

playing catch up: splash pad

I found some pictures I never blogged that I meant to, so here is the first catch-up post.

A couple weeks before Bennett was born, I took Logan to a splash pad (in Spokane). 

We met some friends there and Logan had a blast

While we waited for our friends to show up, we played on the swings.

I can't believe how young he looks!

At the splash pad with Sadie.

Squirting the water gun.

With one of his best friends, Tyler, or Ty Ty. 

Logan loves holding hands with other kids. It is just adorable to me.

Warming up in a towel.

We definitely miss our Spokane friends a lot!

four months

At Bennett's 4 month appointment he measured:

Weight: 16 lbs about 65th percentile

Height: they didn't tell me, but I measured him 26.5 inches about 90th percentile

It's funny to see that he is so close to what Logan was. I was thinking he was shorter than Logan, but this doctor doesn't do print-offs so their percentiles are estimates. Looking back at Logan's they are within 1 oz in weight and .25 of an inch! Crazy.

This month, Bennett met these special people, Aunt Natalie, and Grandpa Bronson:

But I realized I never got a picture with them and Bennett. Oops.

-He has really started to focus his attention. He loves looking at Logan, mom, and dad, and of course himself.

-He started grabbing onto hanging toys.

 -He started a small laugh.

-He LOVES his daddy. One day in church he kept looking over at Darrin and smiling when Darrin wasn't even looking at him. When I handed Bennett over, he got really excited and smiled really big and kicked his legs.

 -He talks a lot.

-He still does really well at tummy time. And drooling :)

-He celebrated his 1st Halloween.

Love you baby boy!

happy halloween!

From Santa, his elf, Rudolph, and a lump of coal.

At our ward Halloween carnival.

It took some convincing to get Logan excited about wearing a costume, but two Halloween parties, lots of candy and treats later, I think we've won him over.

Bennett didn't seem to mind so much, even when the hat fell over his eyes.

They had face painting at the ward party. Logan wanted a star, but the girl heard "scar". When we got home, he looked in the mirror and said, "Hey, wear'd  my star go?!". He wasn't too impressed by the black lines on his face.

new activities

The rainy season has started here in Portland. I forgot how much I don't like being cooped up inside. 

Logan has found a couple ways to entertain himself. I have to say I am not a mess person. No, I'm not the cleanest person ever, but when I can't control the mess it is hard for me not to get some anxiety. I need to work on that now that I have a 2-year-old...

Here are some ways Logan has tried to help me...

Playing in the flour while I tried to make some empanadas for dinner.

And peeling all of the wrappers off the crayons. The. Whole. Box. It took him a good part of the day, but he had his mind set on doing it. This one made me laugh. But if this were my box of crayons, he'd be in big trouble--and I wonder where he gets some of his OCD habits.

One new activity we tried was making bath paint, just with shaving cream and food coloring. Logan was really excited. The anti-mess in me has kept me from letting Logan use any kind of paints. (Did I mention we are also living in a condo with all white carpets, even under the kitchen table?)

Like I said, really excited.

Here he goes at it.

And we can't forget Bennett watching from the sidelines.

Next time, I'll give him less. I had to empty the tub and fill it back up again to actually give him the bath he needed.

Any other rainy day suggestions? We'll have plenty of those days...

three months

It's hard to believe little Bennett man is already 3 months old! He still seems so much more new, but at the same time so much part of our family.

At 3 months...

-Bennett is getting to be a tummy time man. He does get tired after a while, but seems to enjoy being on his tummy

-has rolled over several times to his back, but he doesn't do it that often.

-Daddy lovingly calls him "Bologna"--it morphed from Bennie Baroni into this. (I'm hoping it doesn't stick...)

(I couldn't resist this next picture. It makes me laugh. Out loud. I guess the flash was too bright for him. Doesn't he look like an old man?! Ha!)

-He smiles regularly, especially when you tell him "goo" :)

(These were his beginning smiles, almost like he had to work hard at them)

-He is vocal when he gets bored. Sometimes if I just give him a new view, he goes right back to being content

-He started cooing

-He loves to talk back and forth with mommy and daddy. 

-He's finally learning how to take good naps. We're still working on it though.

-He usually wakes up once a night

(Here he is today at 3 months wearing his pumpkin hat. As you can see, he has his smile down now)