Bennett Update

Bennett is currently 14 months old and as busy as can be. At his last appointment, about 4 weeks ago, he weighed 23 pounds (down .5 pounds from his last check up).

We found out Bennett has fluid in his ears at his year appointment, which we were led to find out because of his low communication skills. He babbles 24/7 and will ask you questions and respond, but it is just jabber. We think that though we try to get him to say words like "ball" all he can hear is "sjdhadhnaskjdkb". Confusing, huh! We have been going in every 4-6 weeks to check his ears. Our next appointment is tomorrow but at our last appointment they did a hearing test and the sound  wave was supposed to go in his ears and then come back out like a bell curve...his was just a straight line. The fluid in his ears also affects his balance, hence the no walking yet. He is an absolute pro at standing up to things and climbing (he can get himself up on the couch, bed, really on anything he wants), and always walks along things while holding on. We are trying no dairy right now to see if that helps to naturally get rid of the fluid but if not, then probably in a few months he will have to go in for surgery and get tubes in his ears and then he should catch up to where he needs to be communication wise.

Other things about Bennett: 

-We are really trying to feed him healthy foods and thankfully he LOVES them! Seriously, his favorite foods are: broccoli, zucchini, sweet potato and squash. We are trying to find fruit for him to eat because we have found some (bananas) set off the Eczema on his legs and arms but he loves grapes and strawberries. 

-Bennett is a very busy boy and most days I just spend chasing him around so he doesn't harm himself or get into things he shouldn't. 

-Bennett loves to be outside, go on walks and play in the grass.

-Bennett sleeps through the night every night, usually from 7:30-8:00 pm to 7:00-8:00am. And he still takes 2 naps, ranging from anywhere from 1-2 hours each.

-He has 4 teeth on the top and two teeth on the bottom and I think the others are coming soon.

-He is currently wearing 12-18 month clothes, right on track! And he wears size 4 diapers.

-He hates wearing socks and shoes and always manages to pull them off.

-He loves books and can be found "reading" to himself or flipping through pages.

-He also loves playing the piano and when you sing a note he tries to match it.

-Bennett claps after anyone sings a song and so in church, whenever a song is done, he claps. 

-Bennett is a great jumper and could spend a long time in his crib just jumping up and down while holding onto the rail and seeing how high he can jump.

I am sure I am missing some things but we sure do love our little guy and feel so blessed to have him in our lives.

St. Patrick's Day

On St. Patrick's Day, the Leprechaun came to visit our house by leaving his usual trail of pennies from the side of the bed to some location. Bennett loved picking up the pennies!

 It lead the boys to the living room where they found their "pot of gold" of green treasure!

Aaron found mint Oreos, a green drink, green gum and green Pringles. Bennett on the other hand found some green zucchini and some green broccoli. Don't be fooled, he was thrilled! He loves that stuff!

 But he also love sharing Oreos with Dad.

We had a green dinner that night and though it wasn't completely green or used any food coloring, we still loved it.

We made homemade salsa and cilantro tomatillo ranch dressing.

And then we had green cilantro lime rice, with green lettuce and had homemade Cafe Rio salads. So yummy! Love this new tradition!

For dessert we had a yummy pistachio cake that is a recipe Aaron's family makes and he has been wanting for a while! It was so yummy!

We had a great day and thankfully no one got pinched! ;)

Trip to AZ

On February 26th Bennett and I got to head down to AZ to visit my family, see Ethan in his school play and watch Ethan while my parents went on a trip. We were gone 10 days and though we missed Aaron tons, it was so nice to get away and take a break from life and enjoy the most perfect weather ever! The second night I was there I saw Ethan in his High School Musical, Hairspray! He did great! 

I didn't get a whole lot of pictures taken of this trip but the ones I did sum up our trip pretty well.

Multiple times a day Bennett and I would go on walks in the wagon which Bennett loves and could spend every waking minute in it walking around outside. We went to the park down the street, went on the swings and walked around the neighborhood.

Everyday we ventured out somewhere and one day we went to the grounds of the new Gilbert Temple. (I was lucky enough to be in AZ during the time of the dedication and it was so beautiful! Can't wait to go inside! I also got to watch the Cultural Celebration which Ethan was in which was awesome as well as they preformed in the pouring rain!)

We then headed to the outdoor mall where we found puppies to look at.

And Bennett loved playing outside at the covered kids play area. He crawled and climbed up all of the toys they had there, chased birds and loved playing with the other kids.

And of course we visited the Disney store!

Just another stroll in the wagon before bed!

One of my last days there we went to the Zoo. We had a great time. We got Ethan out of school early, grabbed some lunch and headed to the Zoo. It was sure warm that day and Bennett really couldn't see any animals because they were sleeping or tucked behind cages and fences but we loved it anyways!

I promise his shorts go to his knees.......

And he loved the Petting Zoo.

And then we were done...

We also had a great time visiting the Butlers a couple times during our trip and seeing new baby Elisabeth! Bennett slept the whole time on the plane which was a miracle to say the least! So grateful! Overall it was a wonderful trip but it was sure great to come back home to Aaron!

Spaghetti Dinner

Most of these pictures speak for themselves. We had spaghetti one night for dinner and though I think Bennett got some in his mouth, it mainly got all over him! Love that sweet, messy and big personality boy of mine.

I think these next couple would make great "gifs".

No more pictures mom!!!