Flashback Friday

Our Bennett bear in his patriotic wear, 2 years old.

This generation is all about documenting, and I'm happy to play my part. Thanks for the memories #TimeHop!

Bennett turns four!!!

Our sweet and silly Bennett bear turned four years old this Valentines day. My little love is growing quite the large personality and we're so blessed to be his parents, not to mention audience to the hilarious one man show he daily performs. Happy birthday Bennett Shepherd, we love you!!!

In the spirit of turning four, here's 4 things this mama adores about her little in the middle.

1. Bennett is the funniest kid. He has that magical ability to light up a room and make people laugh. He is full of crazy faces, silly voices and all kinds of made up, nonsensical words that could give Dr. Seuss a run for his money.

2. He is giving. Bennett is always willing to share his snacks and never fails to make sure that everyone has equal parts before having something. He shows genuine concern for the needs of others and is quick to meet those needs-in the best way a four year old can express that is. I pray these seeds of compassion would bear much fruit as he grows into a young man.

3. He is just as tender as he is strong. As rough and tumble as he may appear, he is equal parts soft, sweet and gentle. This is obvious in his crazy love for his baby Asher. :-) Which leads me to number four...

4. He is the BEST brother. The greatest gift we ever could have given Evan was Bennett.  "Friend-amies" aside, they really are the best of playmates. I can't imagine one without the other. The two run together, EvanandBennett. And for Asher, he is one lucky little boy to have such a loving big brother as Bennett. He loves to hold and hug and kiss him, and always jumps at the opportunity to help me with all things baby related, from fetching diapers to popping pacis and giving baths. I can't tell you how many times a day he tells me "I love the baby" in that endearing high pitched voice of his. Bennett has always worn his "little brother" shoes so well, and I'm happy to say that he is now rocking the new big brother status.

We are so thankful for you buddy!!!

Last but not least, no Scott boy's birthday is complete without the traditional "year in review" slideshow. The boy has grown up so much this last year, here's to making many more memories!

Bennett is 4! from Rebecca Scott on Vimeo.

Happy birthday Bennett bear!

It's hard to believe our sweet little Bennett bear is almost 3. We celebrated his birthday this past weekend with family and had a blast. On the agenda was a visit to Build a Bear and then lunch at Kanki for my little chef.

I knew Build a Bear would be cool but it was really even much more adorable than I could have imagined. Above you see Bennett giving his animal a "heart" and picking out it's characteristics, and below is one of the first stations where the stuffys get fluffy.

Bennett picked out this cute pup, a dalmatian, and outfitted him for space in a super cool Buzz Lighthearted costume. Evan opted for the less traditional "Tootheless" the dragon and if I thought for a second we missed the build a bear boat with him, I was wrong. Both boys really enjoyed picking out their special animals, naming them, bathing them, giving them birth certificates and taking them home in their special boxes. Two thumbs up build a bear, and many thanks to Gigi and Poppy for treating!

 

After a quick stop into the Disney and Lego stores, we settled in for a show at Kanki for lunch. We were so happy to have Aunt Catherine and Uncle Kerrick join us there, and both boys really enjoyed the Teppankyi grill. It was entertaining and delicious!

At home we sang happy birthday over these dreamy cupcakes, and opened the rest of his gifts.

Grandma sent this cool blue set of new wheels, and at the rate he's going he'll be riding fast beside brother sooner than you can say "watch out for that gutter!"

Three years has flown by, and I've enjoyed every day with these special boys-even the ones where I feel like I've gone to the proverbial gutter myself! Happy birthday sweet B, I'm so thankful to see you blow out your candles for a third year in a row. You are a gift!

The first cut

The time had come. At 2 and a few, it was time for Bennett's very first big boy haircut. It may or may not have been long overdue...

A mountain of anticipation preceded this moment. Months of what I call the "battle royal" of hair ensued back and forth between Chris and I. To cut, or not to cut. 

Well, it was time. The pancake syrup said it, his sweaty neck in the hot summer sun told us so. The detangler agreed. And the well meaning old ladies in line at the supermarket commenting on "her" beautiful hair? Well I had just plain had it up to here with that.

Drumroll please......here come the before and afters...

 Before...

 

After!!!

I'm happy to say that a few curls stuck around. His first haircut was a glowing success, and we are so pleased with how it turned out. Did it usher in his boyhood? Only by a few inches. ;-) He is as handsome as ever! His hair is still long and totally "Bennett." It's not a drastic departure from the former look, but it IS clean, off his shoulders, above his eyes and safely out of girl zone! It's just enough change for this mama's heart to handle.

First cut? Check! He's got the lollipop to prove it. :-)

Growing up-17 Months

He waves "bye bye," can sip from a straw, and is wearing more shirts without snaps. And, though I'm trying even now to block it from memory, he certainly did climb/fall out of his crib the other day. By all appearances, our Bennett bear is growing up.

Living in the day to day mess and excitement of it all, I often receive these newsflashes from other people-whether it be family, mom friends, or grocery store strangers. And with surprise I agree, "Yes, I guess he is getting taller" or "no I didn't notice his hair was so much more blonde." Sometimes it's the tags in the back of those tiny shorts which tell me my baby is getting bigger. Or the ever quickening disappearance of groceries. Didn't we just go shopping?

Anywho, it's July and Bennett is days away from 17 months. Oh.my.goodness. So I thought it was about time to give an update on my littlest boy. In true mommy fashion, I'll be writing about Evan next. Needless to say 3yrs is a hoot. A hoot. Back to B...I took this picture of him earlier today for "cow appreciation day" at our local chick-fil-a. Will "moo" for chicken...so cute!

Full of cool dude moves and curly blonde locks, he is a feisty, sweet, and endlessly hungry mommy's boy. He prefers crayons over cartoons, and loves playing with his big brother. His most common nickname lately is "baby-zilla" and you can imagine why. Most everything he touches turns to mess. So yes grocery store stranger, this one does keep my hands full.

My hands are full. I am so thankful for both of my growing boys!!!

And lastly, a few mommy markers for future reference...(that are likely just exciting and noteworthy to this mommy, feel free to tune out here!)

• Bennett has six teeth now, and more on the way. Praise the Lord for teething tabs!
• He is usually in bed by 7:30pm and wakes up a little after 7:30am. Just recently we've successfully transitioned from 2 naps to 1. He was much more ready than I was! 
• We've finally discovered one food he doesn't devour-watermelon! Who knew?
• For the first time EVER he's started to be interested in the TV for more than say, 2 seconds? Thank you Yo Gabba Gabba, I'm sorry I ever trash talked you. 
• Just moved up to size 4 diapers this month, say it isn't so! 
• Still fits well in 12 mo clothes, with some 18 mo(pj's) sprinkled here and there. 
• He got his first "goose egg" AND cut within 2 days of eachother, the first a misstep on the playground and the second a nasty fall involving a colored pencil.  I'm thankful we've avoided these bigger boo boos for 16 months, and hope to miss them for a while yet! However, it's becoming pretty obvious that we have BOYS. 
• He is becoming much more verbal now, especially when the paci is on a break. Outside of his many nonsensical musings, he clearly says dada, mama, hi and bye, ball, baseball, quack quack, crack-er, Piper, nana, what sounds like water and the beginnings of some two word phrases like thank you.

Picture Lane

Every once in a while I get this craving to pick up my camera and very simply shoot. I'm not sure if it's because these boys of mine are growing way too fast and I want to capture every moment, or truly because I just love taking these pictures. Like catching up with a close friend after a short season of silence, my camera doesn't sit idol for too long without calling out to me. And when I pick it up by it's pink polka dotted strap and hang the awkward weight of it around my neck, inspiration and focus and happiness abounds. Unless you're going for that perfect Christmas card photo, in which case...disaster lol.

On Saturday we had a post office errand downtown and I took it as the perfect opportunity to spy out some old and new photo ops.  Just for fun, this post is sprinkled with photos from the not so distant past. Remember this colorful place?

Bennett above at 16 mo, Evan below 19 mo

Sometimes I think I'd like to do nothing but just take a walk with my camera. Yes please.

Then and now...can you believe how quickly he's become a little boy?

  

I love these colors below. Somehow they remind me of Greece and no, I've never been there. I have seen "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" though, and surely that counts for something. ;-)

I love this one above but am kicking myself for leaving the good lens at home. Surely this smile speaks louder than portrait quality anyways right?

 

I promise there's much more than blue here.

 

And below, one of those really cool ideas gone awry. But, somehow I think I like this better...one for the "happy accidents" file. 

That concludes this photo stroll for the day, until next time old friend!

Introducing...

...his two front teeth.

I snapped these shots this morning and stared at them for quite a bit wondering what seemed different.  Could it be those new pearly whites? These are the first pictures where you can noticeably see his brand new bottom teeth. So happily I'll file this in the "milestones" category. :-)

One

My sweet Valentine is officially a ONE year old. Hard to believe? Yes! This year has quickly tranformed our sweet, tiny baby Bennett into an almost walking, always eating, happy and handsome one year old. Gone are the many middle of the night feedings and 2am "paci pops." I remember like yesterday cheering him on as he rolled from his belly to his back for the first time, and here we are today counting first steps.

He is...

A big brother lover, paci clipped, mama's boy, cookie monster, small and mighty, daredevil, always on the go, serial snacker, cling bug, a sweetheart, with blonde hair and bright eyes.

To start Bennett's birthday week, we had a fun Valentines themed playdate for a few of our friends here at the house. Strawberry cupcakes, candy hearts and pools of pink-it was tons of cuteness! Hallmark holiday or not, I've always enjoyed Valentines day and hold it all the more dear to my heart now. Praise the Lord for this best Valentines day gift ever-Bennett Shepherd!

 On Thursday we shared a special birthday lunch with daddy at Chic-fil-a.

 

Grandma and auntie Paige came down for the weekend, and on Friday we celebrated with a family pizza party and smash cake.

  

Bennett's big presents were a Radio Flyer red wagon and a new, front facing carseat. A big thanks to both sets of grands for contributing to these awesome gifts-the wagon continues to be a great deal of entertainment, and it hasn't even made it outdoors yet! Carrying it to checkout at Target, a lady walking by caught a quick glance at my two boys, and looking between them and the great, red box said "Those wheels are gonna get a lot of miles!" I think she's right. :-)

Our family celebration consisted of a fun "create your own pizza" dinner. We made a Hawaiian, chicken alfredo, and good ol' faithful pepperoni pizzas. 

 

 

As expected, he LOVED his cake. Any self respecting son of mine is a buttercream lover from the start! 

Giving his new seat a spin...I love his expression here. It's like he's saying "Eeeeee I love my carseat!" He's ready to ride(with a few more pounds that is)! 

We had a great time celebrating B bear's first year with family and friends. Happy birthday Bennett!