One night when I was putting Bennett to bed, I wanted to give him a kiss. He was already laying down, so I taught him to give me kisses through the slats in his crib. We did this for several weeks and he loved it! He would giggle and get so tickled about it. A a couple of weeks ago, I put him down for the night and got ready to do our little ritual, but he was so tired he just started holding his blankie and sucking his thumbs (Yes, both thumbs. One is not enough for him!). I tried to get him to give me a kiss, but he wouldn't do it. Finally, I said, "Can I at least give your foot a kiss?" and he lifted up one for me to kiss. Now, footprint kisses are our thing. Every night I ask for and kiss (hoping he'll give me one) and he nonchalantly lifts one foot up. Hey, I'll take what I can get!
Speaking of kisses ... At the beginning of July, we went down to Texas to celebrate Savannah's second birthday. Benny and Savvy played so nicely "with" each other and got along so well! One evening, we went to downtown Frisco to walk around and explore. We found this pretty spot to take some pictures of the kids. They were good sports and even gave each other some kisses for the camera.
One of Bennett's new favorite things is swinging. Grammy and Grampy got this Little Tikes swing and swing set for him. At first, he was a little hesitant about it, but now he absolutely loves it! He likes to swing high and usually requires that you sing to him the whole time. Some of his other favorite things are his plastic cow and pig (one in each hand), "Melmo," and dancing. Bennett's dancing is hilarious! His signature move is squatting down with his feet far apart and swaying. He's also discovered that his shorts have pockets, so sometimes he incorporates those into his moves as well. Push toys are also big right now. I was going to put away the little "mail truck" walker that he used while he was learning how to walk, but he has rediscovered it. He's really good at steering it and likes to "drive" it fast. When we were in Texas visiting Aunt KK and Uncle Ryan, we went into an adorable little baby and kids boutique in the shopping center where Katie works. Bennett found a little Maclaren toy stroller and latched onto it. (I'm sure it was a mere $100, considering what real Maclarens cost!) He wheeled that thing all around the store and was none to happy when we had to leave it. Let's just say it was a little traumatic! Right now, we are borrowing the Morris girls' stroller and baby doll and Bennett LOVES it.
Bennett is really into closing doors, so sometimes, he closes himself in his room and plays. Usually, he is pretty good and not too destructive. On Sunday, though, he had closed his door and had been in there for quite awhile. James asked me what he was doing in there and it was pretty quiet, so I decided to investigate, because as all you moms out there know, quiet can be a bad sign! I was envisioning a disaster area of clothes and toys or the CD player completely taken apart. This is what I found. What kid puts themselves to bed before lunch? Crazy Benny, that's who!
Today we went to a McDonald's Playplace with Lindsey and the Morris kids for some indoor fun since it was supposed to rain. This Playplace had a big three level maze of steps and slides and activities, as well as a small slide and play area for toddlers. I contained Bennett for a long time in the toddler area, but eventually I looked up in the big kid's play area and there he was. Since the Morris kids were up there and watching him, I decided to let him stay. After about twenty minutes, I heard him crying and another mother that was in the play area was holding him. I felt so bad and rushed up there thinking he was hurt. Nope. He had fallen asleep. I guess waking up in a strange place with kids running everywhere scared him.
Last night, Bennett was sprawled out like this in the tub. He just looked so long and big, and I couldn't help but think that he's growing up so fast! These are such precious moments...
