October 5, 2013

Today Benson is 21 months old.  He is becoming a little boy.  We turned his carseat around today even though I really would have preferred to keep him rear facing for longer, but our mirror in the back broke.  I couldn't see him and if anyone knows me, they know I cannot handle not being able to see him.  I have anxiety about his safety (this also the reason I LOVE our video monitor).  We also got his haircut today.  He looks SO grown up!

 Ben got a bit sick in the middle of work today so he was actually home during the day and Benson got to spend some time with him.  This is such a rarity lately, so Benson LOVES any time he can spend with his daddy. (Ben is working full time, student teaching full time and taking two classes at UVU.  He leaves the house at 6:30 AM and gets home at about 10 PM.  Saturdays he leaves about 8 am and gets home around 8 pm.  It is rough and we miss him, but are so grateful for his hard work)

These are a few of the hilarious facial expressions he makes.  This kid has quite the personality! 

 

Um, when did my baby become a little boy?

We go play at the park almost every day.  Benson is starting to love the swing, which is totally new.  He used to want to get off after just a few minutes, now he could stay on there for an hour with no problem.   He also loves slides, climbing up them and sliding down them.  His only problem with the park is other kids.  He is terrified of children he doesn't know.  As soon as someone walks anywhere in his direction he screams and runs towards me, even if he is at the top of the slide.  It's a bit scary for me since he would jump off that top of a slide rather than be confronted with a scary child :)

Love this boy!

October 4, 2013

Today was a day with a few firsts.  Benson said a few new words today, "blankie" and "monkey". He says a lot of words, but  he does not talk to anyone other than us.  He says things like shower and stroller almost perfectly, he says airplane and helicopter and butterfly and now belly button multiple times a day. If I counted all of the words he knows it would probably be hundreds, but who has time for that :)?  It is amazing to hear his little voice and each day it seems to be easier and easier to understand as his speaking becomes more and more clear.  Another word he says lately is "money".  When he sees coins on the floor or in the car he gets this goofy grin and then grabs it and we take it in and he puts it into his "future missionary" bank.  He thinks it is so fun to get the coins in himself and to hear them jingle around the can. I love to see his chubby baby fingers wrapped around the words "future missionary" as he maneuvers around like a pro to get those pennies in the slot.

Another thing he did for the first time today was get his own sock on.  He has been trying and trying to put socks on for the past couple of weeks.  He gets super frustrated when he can't do it.  Well, this morning I was distracted with Ella and I heard his little voice say "mom." and when I looked down at him he had the proudest face on and pointed to the sock.  He was SO proud of himself and so excited to share with me.  I was super excited and so proud of him too. 

Below is just a quick look at what my living room floor looks like 90% of the time.  I am pretty sure I clean these toys up at least 4x a day.  It gets pretty exhausting.  The funny thing is, after the 3rd time cleaning it today Benson came out and while playing turned the entire box of toys upside down on the floor and then proceeded to spread them everywhere with the biggest grin on his face.  While there is an urge to stop him for fear of having to clean it all up again, I bite my tongue and just smile just knowing how much fun it is for him to do it.  I can teach him cleanliness later on, right now it is all about fun and exploring. 

Another BIG first today was Benson decided he wanted to try and poo on the toilet.  I have been thinking for a while that I needed to start the potty training process, but with him not even being 21 months old and with all of our moving and changing there just didn't seem to be the right time.  He tells me when he is going to poo, so I know he is pretty ready.  But tonight was the first time he has really tried to go.  He was pretty adorable as he would sit for a minute and then immediately look behind him into the bowl to see if anything was there.  LOL.  No luck tonight, but potty training is starting soon and we are hoping he continues to think it's a novelty and fun.  Hope no one is offended by his pictures, but he had just gotten out of the tub and it was too big of a moment not to get pictures.

This age is amazing as it really seems he is doing something new every single day.  It is so fun to be a part of all of these firsts. 

October 3, 2013

Benson has started doing the cutest things when he wakes up.  I walk into his room and he is so happy to see me but immediately turns around, grabs his bear and hands it to me, then grabs his lion and hands it to me, and finally grabs his blue blankie and hands it to me.  As soon as I have all his precious items in my arms he reaches his hands up for me to pick him up too.  He then cuddles all of the items and me at the same time.  It is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. This blankie was given to him by his birth Grandma at the hospital.  He had it with him in the NICU and ever since.  I love that this is the blanket he is attached to.  The bear was given to him by Grandma Johnson and the lion was in storage from our move and he clung on to it as soon as it came out of the box.  It actually came from a set I bought at Deseret Book before he was even born.  I love that he loves these things.  At nap and bed time he will cuddle with and talk to his "friends".  I die when I hear it!  So adorable.

 I have been wanting to do this fun family magnet craft for a LONG time.  It's been on my pinterest for like a year.  Well, I finally did it and am so happy with the results.  We have magnets of every single person in our family.  We love that even if we don't see some of them often, Benson can know who they are a recognize them and hopefully learn each of their names.  I will say that while I was making these I just kept thinking "we have too many people in our family :)".  Haha, I obviously do not craft much. And for anyone wondering, size of picture does not correspond to importance or value of the particular person.  :)

 

Benson and Ella were more enemies than friends today.  I played mediator most of the day as they went after each others toys and food and were constantly at each other.  But, they did have a few moments of fun together.  Spinning each other in the office chair brought peels of laughter (more like Ella spinning Benson, cause as soon as she wanted a turn he threw a fit).  They also really enjoyed pushing each other in Ella's plastic car (actually, again, Benson only enjoyed that when Ella was pushing him.  I am sensing a theme here).  It was a fun day and we are interested to see what tomorrow brings.

 

Benson truly is the joy and light in each of our days.  Tonight as I was repeating the bed time "story/poem" that we recite each night I actually started to cry.  It is all about how special and unique and loved and important he is, and for just a moment I realized that he may not always feel that from every person in his life.  It broke my heart. The mother in me wants to protect him from everything and everyone that might hurt him.  For now, I can and will protect him and I will just worry about the future when it gets here. 

October 2, 2013

Today was a fun day for us because we had a visitor for most of the day.  Ella is our upstairs neighbor and we get to watch her for the next three days while her mommy is at the Doterra conference.  We aren't complaining.  Even though Benson acts jealous and cranky and doesn't share well, I can tell he LOVES having a companion and tomorrow and Friday are going to be even better. 

One of his favorite things to do is play in water.  While we were back living in our house we would do this out on the front porch, but now that we are in a basement and don't have a porch the kitchen sink it is.  He loves it and could probably be there all day if I allowed it.  My favorite part is his tongue, he was concentrating extra hard on getting that water where he wanted it.  

This picture below is my favorite from today because THIS is the face he makes when he sees something exciting and awe-inspiring.  This is when he thought he heard an airplane.  The excitement he feels about the little things truly do make life exciting and fascinating again.

Anyone who knows me well, knows I do not cook!  Well, staying home at full time has changed that.  I actually cook dinners :).  Tonight it was my mom's spaghetti for the first time.  From Benson's face and the fact that he ate two full bowls, I am thinking it was a success.

Today was a good day for us.  We played with Ella, went to the Orem library for laptime, came home and had lunch and then both of them went down for a nap.  Later this evening I made dinner then Benson and I walked down to Grandma's so she could watch him while I went out for a jog/walk.  We walked home together in the cool, almost rainy weather and then had dinner and bath time.  It was a very normal and typical day for us, but we were both in great moods and extra happy today.  Maybe we need visitors more often.

October 1, 2013

I have not posted about our family happenings for 6 months!  6 months!!!!!  Because it has been so long I have been overwhelmed with the idea of catching up and I just keep putting it off.  So, I made a decision to start from today and if and when I have time to post about all our goings on over the last six months, then I will.  But, we are starting with October 1st and moving forward.

Benson is doing the cutest things lately.  He just started "skipping" when he walks.  Its like a little hop every few steps and he does it when he is happy.  He has become a bit obsessed with belly buttons.  He loves any type of button, so the fact that he has one on his body makes him very happy.  He can say so many words and is saying new ones every day.  He especially loves trucks, buses, airplanes, helicopters and anything else big and loud.  He is all boy!  The other thing memorable he started doing today was yelling "baby" at me.  I could not figure out what he was trying to say until I realized he seemed to be yelling it every time I "babied him" and I really think he might have been trying to tell me that he isn't a baby! WOAH!  When did that happen?  He still is my baby and always will be :).

The first picture below was taken this evening at the Provo softball fields.  Benson and I picked up Grandma and headed down there to watch Nate's championship game.  It was Benson's first softball/baseball experience and he LOVED it.  Did he have any idea what was going on?  Nope, but this kid loves anything and everything that gets him outside.  He ran and played on the grass with the girls, had his first snow cone, climbed up the bleachers, pointed out every airplane that flew over and just had fun. Plus, as soon as he saw Nate walk up to the fence with the bat he pointed with this big grin of recognition on his face.  He isn't saying names yet, but he knows and recognizes his family.  He was in heaven.   

October 1, 2013

While sitting there watching Benson run around that park, I was reminded of one of the first memories I have after moving back to Utah six years ago.   We were in the same place to watch Nate play softball on August 17, 2007.  Hailey was just a little baby and Ben played with her on the same patch of grass where she, Benson and Addy were playing now.  I remember sitting on the bleachers and thinking "this is why we moved home, the simple life; family, evening softball games, beautiful weather, getting away from the stress and craziness of it all".  Tonight I realized that although it has taken us six years we really have finally attained the "simple life" we were looking for.  I am staying at home full time with our son, Ben is literally gone 18 hours out of the day to support us, we are living in a a basement apartment that is simple but comfortable, and we are truly happy.  This is what we were looking for.

 August 18, 2007

Life is moving quickly and these pictures and memories reminded me of that.  Maybe six years from now we will be attending a softball game watching Hailey or Addy, or maybe even Benson...who knows, but I cannot wait to find out. 

Happy Gotcha Day

It has been months since I have posted and in those months a LOT has happened.  We have moved multiple times, Ben has worked four jobs, I have quit my job and become a stay at home mom (!!!!), we have been to four different states, including Hawaii, and are now back in Utah living in my parents basement and selling our house.  It has been busy and crazy and someday I will post about all of those things.  But today I had to take two minutes to remember this day.  It has been one year since Benson's adoption was finalized and it is significant and needs to be remembered and celebrated.  Through all the craziness and changes we are going through as a family one thing remains constant and that is the fact that we are SO BLESSED to have this little man in our lives.  I cannot remember what it felt like before we had him.  He is our everything!  This day, July 10th, will be one we will celebrate each and every year for the rest of our lives, Benson's "Gotcha Day".

It's amazing how much changes in a year (yet he is still on a table and the same bottle is in both pictures :)) We love you little man!  Thank you for making us a family.

Scotty

On January 29th, 2013 my little brother, Adam, and his wife, Tonna, welcomed their new baby boy into the world.  His name is Scott Dean Johnson and he is perfect. Anyone who knows much about my family knows that babies do not seem to come easy for us.  My parents have 7 children and Scotty is only their 9th grandchild, the oldest being 19 years old.  So, ya, babies are few and far between around here and therefore EXTRA exciting!!!

The first picture of mommy and son.  Seriously perfect!

Adam and Tonna live in South Carolina, so we first met Scotty through Skype.  We get to see lots of pictures and are so grateful for modern technology, but they finally came into town and we got to meet him in person.  He is SUCH a doll!  He is chubby and sweet and totally looks like his mommy and his daddy (they kind of look alike, so it works).  We have loved having Adam and Tonna here and especially getting to know little Scotty.  We all spent the weekend in St George (which I will post about separately) as a family and I am already not looking forward to them going back.  It's just too far away.

The oldest and youngest Johnson grandchildren.  

The Johnson grandsons

Tonight was a special night.  We all had the opportunity to be there when Adam gave Scott a name and a blessing.  They decided to do it when they were in town so that all of the family could be there.  I am so glad they did.  My brothers were all able to be in the circle as well as Adam's brothers in law, father in law and his dad.  Adam gave his baby boy such an amazing blessing.  The spirit was strong and I was so proud of my little brother.  I am so grateful for the gospel and the family I have.  We are blessed!

Benson wasn't sure of what he thought of the baby.  Obviously Scotty isn't too concerned.

Don't love this of me, but I wanted to document our little family and Bensons future favorite cousin.  I think they will be best buds.

Father and son

Grandma and Grandpa Coleman

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

The Johnsons

Love!

Scotty was named after my dad and also after my Grandma Johnson's brother, Dean, who was killed in World War II.  Those are some big shoes to fill, but if his blessing tonight was any indication of the amazing person he will be, I don't think it's going to be a problem.  

Welcome to the world Scotty!  We are so happy you are part of our family!