A great day!

I know everyone loves their little ones all the time... but there are definately days that I feel extra lucky to have our little guy... and all I can think about is how proud I am of him. Today was like most days, busy busy, but at the end of the day I look back and just think about how blessed we are.

We started off the day with a trip to Childrens Hospital in Seattle for a routine check-up. Today I decided that instead on carting him around in the stroller, which usually is very frustrating for Bennett, I was going to just let him go. He greeted everybody, child, adult, patient or doctor with a HUGE grin and squeal. He has become so social recently and I cant help but laugh when he just struts on up to a stranger looks at them with a huge grin and pats them on the leg. He is definately lacking a comfort zone and jumps right in to see how close he can get. Here he is getting to know this very adorable little lady... She was kinda nervous but Bennett was really sweet with her.

We then spent a couple hours at the Seattle Aquarium with one of his favorite ladies in the world, Hadley Block... Wow are these two a pair!!! They raced around screaming and touching everything... they darted for every open door and ran up to every other kid in the place to say hello. There is apparently a "one finger rule" when touching the water life... this was clearly a problem with these two that see their world through grabbing everything... needless to say, their mommies were kept VERY busy chasing them and protecting them from everything! Hadley is so very close to becoming a big sister at any moment. We cant wait for him to get here!

He loved the jellyfish tunnel...

Just taking it all in... he is so curious...

We ended the day with a walk around the yard. Bennett has learned to throw the ball for the doggie which has made them an even closer team. He follows the doggie everywhere and they both love every minute of it.

Our little family is so much more than I could have dreamed of... We can not wait for this Summer! We are going to have so much fun!!!

Our Lil' Swimmer

Water has always been a little scary for us. When Bennett had his trach we had to be really careful even in the bath... swimming was kinda out of the question. Since his surgery a couple weeks ago when the Dr. closed up his trach hole to make a pretty little scar... we have officially been cleared for swimming!!

We took him for his first swim in Grandma & Grandpa Jones hot tub. Bennett and I were having so much fun that the other cousins had to join in...

He loves trying new things and seems quite fearless at times. It is so fun to see his smiles for something so simple. We didnt even think this was something we would be able to do this summer. Definately celebrating the small things this Spring!

We will have to be really careful this summer because I am pretty sure Bennett would have dove in by himself

I think he would have stayed in there all day...

We spent a lot of the time trying to teach him that he shouldnt be drinking from the big water foutain. He thought it was pretty funny and I couldn't help but laugh a little...

How to train these dragons...

I have very much enjoyed seeing Bennett in these adorable pajamas he got from the Easter Bunny. They are from the movie "How to Train a Dragon" and although we haven't seen the movie yet I am pretty sure Bennett is a fan.

We spent the day with all the Jones family at Grandma & Grandpas for our new cousin-to-be, Violet Scott's, Baby shower. The shower was in Boise so we were able to use Skype to be part of it. What a fun day with family... can't wait for many more days on the back deck this summer.

Flying with the help of his cape... and Daddy...

Reece borrowed Bennetts cape and got in on the fun a bit...

Sweet lil' Evie, laughing at those silly boys!

Is It Spring Time Yet?!

 Bennett and I spent the morning at the Farmers Market in Olympia and walking around at the park on the waterfront. Bennett loved the market but spent a little bit too much time "seeing with his hands" and therefore I spent a little too much time chasing him and replacing items on shelves. We then fit in a quick walk at the park before the rain came in and Bennett loved chasing the crows...

A few new things this week... His favorite is his new big boy front facing car seat. He definitely thinks car rides are way more fun and that going in reverse is hilarious. He actually busts out in giggles every time I put the car in reverse and look over my shoulder to back up.

He has been into EVERYTHING lately. We have chosen not to baby proof too much (or just ha vent gotten around to it yet) and instead we have been attempting the "No, that is not Bennett's" and redirecting his endless energy at something else. So far it has added a few more frustrating moments to my day like yesterday when he dumped the full dog water bowl over his head or this morning when he handed me a piece of our wedding china from the hutch.

This is how I usually find him and he definitely knows that he shouldn't be in there, but has the look of "oh mama, I just couldn't help myself"... did I mention, I LOVE that belly sticking out of pajamas!

Not to speak too soon, but Bennett has been saying "dada" He only does it when Joel isn't around but it is a clear "dada" so either he is thinking about his daddy a lot or he just thinks it is a funny sound, we will see.

Bennett's 2nd Easter... What a difference a year makes!

What a great Easter weekend... I am sure this feeling will continue to hit me on special days for a while but it is so hard to not think of how far we have come in the last year.

Last Year...
Bennett's First Easter

Last Easter Bennett was 4 months old and had been home from the hospital with a trach for 4 days. We ended up back in the hospital the day after Easter with complications. We had such a wonderful day last year, just enjoying having him home and being around family. There wasn't one ounce of me that felt like we weren't past the hard part. I really felt a sense of relief to have him home and working up his health.

This year I can't even explain how lucky we feel, He was running around enjoying family like I couldn't have dreamed possible last year at this time... what lucky parents we are to have such a little joy in our lives!

Bennett and I were rained in this week but tried the boots out anyway...This is what he wanted to wear on Easter. When he first got these boots, I couldn't imagine our boy being big enough to wear them... oh has our little man grown!

Bennett and the Easter Bunny were busy this weekend... on Saturday we went down to his Grandma & Grandpa's in Chehalis, even though they weren't home. We stayed the night there with his Auntie Katie and Uncle Marty and played all evening with his best buddy and cousin Reece. They are both on the move and they sure had fun running around in the basement.

Here they are conspiring an escape

And Bennett trying to sneak in on Reece's dinner

Sunday we went up for a visit with Grandma & Grandpa Olsen and all the Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. The weather cooperated just long enough for Bennett to participate in his very first Easter egg hunt. We loved watching all the boys play so great together. Hunter and Alanzo are definately busy boys and Bennett seems to be facinated with them and just tries to keep up.

Such a good little egg scavenger...

Daddy and Grandpa Steve helping me find eggs
Playing dress up in the toy closet
Even though I am not ready for my little boy to be playing cowboys, it was a little too cute...
In true Jones family tradition, we took advantage of the holiday and let Bennett wear his pajamas all day, nothing better than a Sunday in Pajamas!

Every time I look at him in those Pajamas I can't help but smile and feel like the luckiest mommy in the world.

Farm Fun!

This morning Bennett and I met up with our friends Jen and Tessa for a day at the petting zoo to hang out with some of the animals. The weather agreed with us just long enough to get up close and personal with some farm life.

Bennett loves all animals. He is so used to our big dog that he didn't seemed phased at all by the bigger animals he met today. He would walk right up to them, pet them and then turn around and run for the mud puddle.

What a fun day! Thanks Jen and Tessa!

Petting the Donkey

Bennett & Tessa with the little animals
Oh, If I could just catch those ducks...

School Pictures

Bennett had school pictures today so I took the opportunity to put him in some cute duds and chase him around with my camera... All the teachers at his school just ate him up today and he sure liked the attention.

Here he is going into the school. We try to keep everything routine by parking in the same area and walking into school like a big boy... He sure seemed to know where he was going and turned at me like "come on mom, aren't you coming?!"

I am such a proud mama at school. He "danced" today when they started playing music and helped find Easter eggs to put in the teachers basket (after giving each of them a good slobber.)

Woke up feeling nearly 100%...

After one morning with this smile around again... all the nights of tears in the last week are a distant memory.

There is something about these Shrek pajamas that made me smile all day!

Catching his "more" sign... in this case it was "more peanut butter toast, mama"

Our family on sleep deprevation...

During his week of recovery Bennett has had good moments and he has had some not so good ones. It turns out that most of the good moments are during the day outside and most of the not so fun ones are in the middle of the night and nap time. So instead of getting too frustrated with our new found sleeping arrangements I decided that we were just going to capitalize on his fun awake moments and get out in the sun and be active.

That was a great plan up until about 6 days in and Joel was forced to come home from work to save mommy from a lack of sleep meltdown. Since then Bennett, and mom, have been sleeping better and almost an hour or two at a time. I am just praying that this is another phase that will pass when he feels 100%. Wish us luck...

Ever since Bennett came home from the hospital last April, if he was cranky, we drug him outside and he was happy. This was our plan of attack for the weekend and it seemed to work. We spent some time at his school playground on Friday and went to visit Katie and Marty while they were camping on Saturday.

He has some new found sounds and although he hasn't completely forgotten his favorite "aaarrggh" sound, he has now replaced it most of the time with "yah-yah" and "mamama" (which I like to think is "mama") He is still going to see Nancy for speech therapy once a week who gives us stuff to work on and he seems to be doing great with it.
He has started his first form of REAL communication with his sign language of the word "more" which is usually refering to "more cracker". He has also learned a thing or two from his father and one of them is to Dance! When you say "lets dance, dance, dance" he shakes his knees.

Where's Bennett?!

If you find yourself asking this question... I am pretty sure I have the answer...

Bennett's friend Ryan gave him these cool tents today. We set them up tonight and I am sure they will be a staple in our living room for a while, it looks a little like tent city. He climbs inside and loves playing the "where's mama?" and "where's Bennett?" game. I must admit it is a little easier for Bennett to navigate them than mom and dad... but we sure gave it our best shot tonight.

Sunshine and Goats!

What an amazing day. Bennett has been feeling better each day so we decided to pack up, throw on some shorts (well for Me anyway) and head to the ZOO. We went with our friends Emily & Ryan and the boys definately had a blast in the sunshine. This is Bennett's forth time going to the Zoo and I am pretty sure this is the first time he has noticed the animals.

He likes the animals that are really close the best... and none got closer than the goats! This is a new petting zoo portion for the little ones and Bennett loved it.

Thanks Emily & Ryan for a great day!!! I am sure we will have many more play days this Summer.

Everytime we go to the zoo I think of the first time we took him there. Bennett was 8 months old and had a trach. We went with Stacey our home nurse (thank the lord for her) and had a great day walking around as if we had a totally average child. Stacey was 6 months pregnant and trucked it around all day with all the equipment. He loved it but I am pretty sure it ment more to me than to him.... we missed you today Stacey!

I love the Easter Bunny

Bennett has been feeling better so we took an outing with Grandmama Ruth and Auntie Katie. We went to the mall and ran right into the Easter Bunny. Although I was anticipating it may send Bennett into hysterics, I just couldn't help myself.

Little did I know he would LOVE him. He was out loud laughing and enjoying every second. Thankfully I have been carting my camera around everywhere and the sweet woman working with the Easter Bunny let us sneak some of our own pictures.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

The Great Outdoors

Is that Bambi in our backyard?!