Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures of Bennett while down in Houston for Christmas... Playing in Jonas' bouncy seat

In the kids' play area at the Woodlands Mall

Having fun with his new toy from Grammy & PopPop

Back home in Fort Worth with spaghetti in his hair--What a trip!

Christmas comes early in DFW

Here are some pictures of Bennett opening the presents from Mom & Dad. By the way, a co-worker offered a tip for the ball pit situation: place foam at the bottom. Simple enough and it seems to have worked, though Bennett also doesn't seem to be enjoying it quite as much. The child likes to live dangerously!

Who Needs McDonalds?

We're trying out the Hanukkah tradition of opening one present a day for seven days (or as many as it takes). Honestly, since we're going to be down in Houston for such a long time, and Bennett has no idea what Christmas is all about yet, we've just been handing him toys willy-nilly. First up, a set of balls to make his very own ball pit using his baby pool. The weather was nice enough to be outside this weekend, but we moved the ball pit inside where it now sits in my kitchen. He loves it, and it saves my sanity (he usually tries to juggle knives out of the dishwasher when I'm not looking).


You can tell by the first picture that Bennett was unsure why we covered him in bright balls. However, by the last picture he has the art of ball pit moshin' down to a science. Now he'll even jump in, which I don't think is safe, considering the ball pit is not THAT full of balls, but he'll figure it out. Luckily these aren't his permanent teeth.

Get this man in a red suit away from me!

Thanksgiving

I know, I know--it has been too long, but this what we've been dealing with. Bennett is into EVERYTHING! You name it, he's probably tried it. Climbing, falling, experimenting with electricity, running with scissors...we constantly feel like we're earning Bad Parent of the Year awards. Anyway, here is a picture of Bennett on Thanksgiving, dragging around his cousin Natalia's Barbie suitcase, which he loved. Natty was not too keen on sharing her Barbies (and seriously, who blames her?), but Natty and Bennett really enjoyed playing with each other. It was a successful Thanksgiving--good food, good company, good memories.

Looking Forward to Thanksgiving

Bennett is getting out the turkey lifters--gearing up for Thanksgiving here in Fort Worth.

Bubbles & Friday Night Shenanigans

Here are some pictures of Bennett trying to figure out his new puppet, pulling Smith's tail, playing in his first bubble bath, and otherwise, just being Bennett. A typical Friday night in the W-R household.

Happy Halloween

The last 2 pictures are from this morning. We didn't go trick-or-treating, but Bennett found it very fascinating to hand out candy to kids that came to our door. The first 2 pictures are from Bennett's fall festival at daycare. He ate an entire apple, skin and all! And he loved the bean bag toss.

Attack of the Killer Koi

Bennett feeding the koi fish at the Japanese Garden. He wanted to climb into the water with them, but Daddy held on tight!

Its Getting Cold Outside

So Bennett needed some Elmo slippers...

He loves pushing the button on the skeleton to see him twirl his chain, sing and dance.

Walk like a baby...

So Bennett is starting to get the hang of this thing his parental units call walking. I created a little video with a couple of Bennett's unsuccessful tries and then his most successful marathon that happened tonight.

Enjoy!

Bennett at the Fair

We took Bennett to the State Fair of Texas this weekend, and he had a good time. Good thing he slept during the 2 hour drive (mostly stopped in traffic) to Dallas. Mom and Dad got their corndog fix and Bennett got his staple, quesadilla. We took his wagon out there, and he had a good time looking over the side--almost getting his head knocked by anything Dad was near.


By the way, fried smores are a very good idea.

Bennett in the Big Tex Sandbox. Ever since California he has loved the sand.

Bennett knocked out during Michelle Branch's performance.
P.S. No crypto!

Fall Fun

We still don't have the crypto results, but Bennett's poop is finally back to normal! Hallelujah! That's how it always works--make mom, in an act of utter desperation, do the most disgusting thing she has ever done in her life, and next day, BLAMMO, the boy is better. Of course, he is.

We went to a fall festival this evening, and Bennett enjoyed playing with the little pumpkins. He took one home and refused to let it go the entire walk and hayride back to our car. Of course, he thinks its a ball, which makes me think that I need to get some better balls at our house before he crashes a pumpkin on the rug.

For a development update, Bennett is not quite walking yet, but will take a few steps when he deems its quicker than crawling. He tries to say "dog", but it comes out "da". He can point to the dogs and the light, and is doing great at one step commands, liking putting his toys in the ottoman or sitting down. We are still working on night-weaning. He's not screaming as much, but an unexpected side effect is that now he wants to wake up and not go back to sleep around 4:30 or 5 a.m. We're officially over the first week and we will keep trying. On a positive note, though he woke up crying at 4 and then 4:30, he put himself back to sleep by the time I got down the hall to check on him. Unfortunately for me, I still woke up, but hopefully this is a good sign.

Fire Drill

When I arrived to pick Bennett up from daycare last week, this is what I saw! I had to snap a picture. All the nonwalkers in his class get thrown into one crib during fire drills, and its adorable. Also, not to worry anyone, but because Bennett has had loose BMs for the last 2 months and some other kid came up with crypto, his daycare is making us get Bennett checked out for crypto. Our pediatrician says no way, given his lack of other symptoms, but after I shoveled poop into disgusting vials and then stirred and shook it up, per instructions, the darn test better show something! I'd be happy to have Bennett "regular" again. We had to stop cloth diapering during this time, and I'd love to be able to go back to it. Plus, it can't be pleasant for Bennett being known as the kid who dirties his clothes every other day at daycare (and at home--he just pooped on our new rug-ick). I'll keep you updated on the crypto results.

Good Dog, er, I mean Boy

Bennett loves wrapping things around his neck: cords, string, necklaces, ribbons, whatever. We went to the Humane Society's dog walk this past weekend, and when we got home, Bennett quickly became enamored with the dog leashes. We figured no harm there and turned our backs for a few minutes. When we turned around, this is what we found--notice Bennett somehow got Smith's pronged/pinch collar over his head as well. Crazy kid!

Adventure Island

There is a kid play area in the mall, and Bennett loves it! He can climb just about everything and has even figured out how to slide down--even if it means face first or sideways. He played for at least 30 minutes and never uttered a whine or cry. Of course, every once in awhile he came back to check in with Mom and get a hug, but then he was off again. In the last picture, you can see how Bennett is trying to make his own Adventure Island in our living room! UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Bennett has started taking his first steps. Just a couple at a time so far, but I'm sure he'll be taking off any day now.

Hurricane Ike Evacuees

Hurricane Ike resulted in lots of people without electricity, including just about everyone we know who lives in Houston. Most people got their electricity on within a few days, but Aunt Tiana, Uncle John and new baby cousin Jonas weren't so lucky. So they came to stay with us (how lucky is that?!). They stayed for almost a whole week, and Jonas and Bennett had a great time waking each other up at night.Jonas & Bennett
On their last day here, we all went to the zoo. Jonas slept the entire time, and Bennett finally got to have a good time at the zoo. On previous trips, Bennett was the blob, but what a difference a year makes! Here is Bennett with Daddy and Uncle John.
Bennett playing with the alligator.
Bennett listening to all the messages about animals. Uncle John kept pushing buttons, and Bennett loved to listen!

Bye Bye Paci!

The last picture of Bennett with his paci--its officially Day 4 of No More Paci, and I think we're in the clear.

First Haircut-No Tears!

BEFORE
AFTER
OUTSIDE THE BARBER SHOP

Sept. 3rd-the REAL birthday

Pic of Bennett playing in his room on his real birthday. I think its time for a haircut. Whaddya think?

Happy Labor Day!

We had a very relaxing Labor Day. We took 1-yr pictures in the morning, along with some new family pics. Then, we just hung out at home so Bennett could explore all his new toys. We decided to go try out the indoor playground at the mall, which Bennett thoroughly enjoyed, though he needed a little protection from the big kids (the too big kids who were taller than the posted limit for the "toddler" playground). The first picture is Bennett at the playground. The second one is Bennett inside his new Tonka truck. He can climb in, but he can't get out. He's fallen a couple of times, but I'm sure he'll figure it out soon enough (like, maybe don't climb in there!).

1st Birthday Party

Bennett celebrated his birthday a little early in Houston this weekend. He had lots of family and friends around, and he had a wonderful time. So much fun, in fact, that he needed a 1 1/2 hour nap right in the middle! He loved playing with all his new toys with his friends and swimming was great. He did not like the cake, however. I guess Mom has done too good of a job keeping him away from sweets because he wanted nothing to do with the cake. We even had pictures taken on Monday and tried another cake, but nope, he just doesn't like cake. We'll be bringing cookies to his daycare for his birthday, instead of cupcakes! Here are some birthday pictures.