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.

Big Smiles

Bennett figured out he could shut the bathroom door. Then he would cry because he shut the bathroom door and he was inside all alone. Then when I tried to open the door, he would shriek with laughter and try to keep me out. Big smiles for both of us!

Lord of the Flies a.k.a. Toddler Class

I haven't been able to post because the last week has been too exhausting. Bennett's first week in toddler class has been draining, to say the least. Unfortunately, he hates it. He cries when we drop him off and all last week he was waking up like a newborn during the night. I was up 2-4 times each night with a screaming, unhappy little boy. We had a great weekend, and I had high hopes for Monday, but no dice...still very upset to be left, but at least when I picked him up, he seemed happy enough. We're still working it out. Tomorrow we're going to try just Daddy dropping him off, instead of both of us.

This weekend Bennett tried out the swings at the local park--yeah, not so much. He kept kicking his legs frantically and whining, as if he was saying, "I can't touch the ground, I can't touch the ground." He might have inherited a little of Arty's control-freak tendencies (wink, wink-all bad traits are Arty's). He did enjoy going down the slide in my lap though. After being up too many times Saturday night, we decided we needed pancakes Sunday. At IHOP, Bennett ate a full adult-size pancake, some eggs and sausage. He was hamming it up for the little girl in the booth next to ours. See for yourself--heartbreaker?

New Cousin

Bennett visited his new cousin, Jonas Tristan Rodriguez, born Tuesday, August 12, weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs, 4 oz and 20 inches long.

Tomorrow is Bennett's first day in the toddler class. He has to wear shoes, use a sippy, and he only gets one nap a day. Heaven help us!

He knows what he likes...

or at least what he doesn't.