I think I am finally caught up on sleep! We stayed in this weekend, and it was wonderful. I was asleep by 9:45 p.m. both nights of the weekend and I'm not ashamed to say it!

The last couple weekends, we had some birthdays to celebrate. Last weekend, my cousin Shelby came to visit with two of her friends. Shelby had just turned 21, so we wanted to take her out downtown Kansas City. Bennett loved having the company! The second video I have posted is from when they girls were here. He was definitely putting on a show!

Some big news for me this week: I passed the Praxis test for Library Media Science! I am interested in running the library/computer labs at my school now that our current librarian is retiring, but I had to get certified first. Now I am! My principal seemed very excited and the job was posted the day after I told him I had passed. I'm not sure if that is just a coincidence or not...

The job wouldn't involve any extra hours or extra pay; I would just have a change of responsibility and a change of scenery. I think I'm ready for that!

This has been a big week for Bennett, developmentally. He has picked up a few new words, including "yeah" which he began repeating after he heard it on the radio. I better start paying closer attention to what we listen to in the car!

He is also saying "Mom" now, and especially loves to holler it from upstairs when I am downstairs. He has been saying "Dad" for a while now, so I was definitely ready for my turn!

Bennett also vocalized a decision this week, which I thought was pretty smart. When I picked him up from the babysitter, I asked him if he wanted a snack. He quickly said, "No!" which is generally the answer to any question we ask him. But then I asked him if he wanted a bottle, and he attempted to say "bottle"! I fixed him one, and sure enough, that's what he wanted!

I am really liking this stage!

Here are a couple of short videos. The first shows Bennett with his best friend, Finn, who puts up with A LOT from him! He's such a great dog. (The noise in the background is from our new favorite show, Modern Family.)

The second is the one I mentioned before. It shows a dance party at our house with his cousin, Laiken. He loves to dance! Lately, his dancing has just become spinning in circles. I guess he likes the feeling of being dizzy!

Catching up!

Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I posted! Things have been crazy around here since school started back up.

Bennett was pretty new to walking when I posted last, but now I hardly remember what life was life when he wasn't walking! He is everywhere....and he gets there FAST! He also likes to keep a pivot foot steady and spin himself in circles to make himself dizzy. It's funny to watch!

We are in the process of finishing our basement and will have the drywall put up this week. I can't wait to have more room for Bennett to run around. There will also be a bathroom and another bedroom down there. Finally a place to guests to stay! We used to have a guest room, but once I got pregnant, that room became Bennett's room and the other available room became his play room and where we rock him to sleep.

Bennett is also starting to say some words, like "Dad." He loves to yell for his dad in his loud voice. He thinks it's really fun to holler at Brian from over the balcony when we are upstairs and he is downstairs.

He is also doing some animal noises that are pretty hilarious. I bought a book that is simply photos of animals and will point to the animal and make the noise, and he will do the same. He does it almost every time when it's just the two of us, but of course when I try to get him to "perform", he won't! I'll try to sneak in the video camera sometime soon.

Here are some recent pictures of Bennett. I bought a new lens and have been practicing on my favorite subject.

Sorry for the delay in posting! I won't go this long again in between posts!

Bennett: 1 Year!

Here are some highlights from Bennett's 1st Birthday! Kim and Benton let us take over their basement for the party. Thank goodness they have a lot of room down there because there were close to 50 people who made it to help us celebrate.

Bennett was really sick (not surprising, huh?) so he actually went to the doctor before the party and arrived right on time. Once he was there, he forgot he was sick and enjoyed every minute of it.

Besides watching Bennett have fun, my favorite part of the party was the cake! It was amazing! I had asked Denise Marek to make it for me and she did not disappoint. I had pretty much based the whole jungle theme around the cake, so I was happy that it turned out so well. Thanks Denise!

I've added some photos and a video from the big day, but I've also added another short video which is not from the party. Bennett is walking everywhere now, and I wanted to show everyone. He's pretty proud of himself!

I also wanted to let everyone know that I won't be doing the weekly Bennett reports anymore. I will definitely be posting mostly about him, and of course I'll still have tons of photos and videos of Bennett, but I also want to start including more about the whole family and what is going on with all of us. Thanks for following his first year! Can't wait to see what this year brings!

Bennett: 51 Weeks!

We had a WONDERFUL 1st Christmas with Bennett! He had so much fun with all of our family, and he received many great gifts. He is a very lucky boy to be so loved!

We were also blessed with a White Christmas! My dream come true. I love the snow and don't think we get enough of it. This time, we sure did!

And to top it all off, Bennett finally started walking! Right before we headed out to the Christmas Eve church service, Bennett walked halfway across my mom's kitchen. He's still pretty slow and would rather crawl, but we are still working on it. I really think the tubes helped with his balance, considering he was walking within a week of getting those.

Here are some photos from all of the family functions we attended this past week. Next up, Bennett's 1st Birthday party!

Bennett: 50 Weeks!

Bennett is less than 2 weeks from being 1 year old! How did that happen?

I am so excited that I get to spend the next two weeks with him at home. Friday was our last day of the semester. Brian and I headed to the Lake of the Ozarks right after school so he could take some photos for work and so I could get some last minute Christmas shopping done. (I'm still not done...) While we were there, Gramma Kim kept him. The next night, he stayed with Meema Deanna while we hosted our neighborhood Christmas party. It's so nice to have such great family around! They have always been there for us when we need them, and a lot of times don't want to hand Bennett over to us when it's time for him to come home. Ha!

Today was a big day for Bennett. Most of you know, he has pretty much had a constant ear infection since September. Antibiotics work, but within days of being off of them, the infection would be back. We made a lot of trips to the doctor this Fall! So the best option was to get tubes in his ears.

The surgery went well! It literally took 5-10 minutes. They warned us that he'd be cranky when he began to wake up. If you know Bennett, you can already guess....he was barely cranky! He didn't like the oxygen meter on his finger, so he did take that off and threw a pretty good fit when the nurse tried to get it back on, but that was it! The baby next to us was screaming his head off, and I swear Bennett was more worried about him than he was himself! He kept trying to pull the curtain back so he could see what was going on.

It was also pretty funny that he was eating animal crackers while still barely awake. He was even holding them himself, and sitting up on my lap, but his eyes were still closed. He sure loves to eat!

By the time we got him home, he was back to normal. Once he saw his doggies, he was ready to play. It was kind of amazing! He played hard the rest of the morning, took a good afternoon nap in the recliner with his Meema, and played hard this evening. What a trooper! I pray that this keeps us out of the doctor's office for a while.

Now it's time to gear up for Christmas!

Bennett: 49 Weeks!

Another busy week at the Freeman house! This week coming up is my last week before Christmas break! Yay!

Bennett is picking up new skills/activities daily now. He's standing on his own a lot more, and today he started holding the remote up toward the tv and pushing buttons and holding the phone up to his ear. This goes to show he really pays attention to what we are doing at all times!

We had another playdate at the Freshman Center on Saturday, but Bennett was too tired to enjoy it. He had spent the night with his Uncle Corbin on Friday (we attended Brian's work Christmas party) and that always seems to wear him out. Gramma Kim says that she wishes we could see the two of them in action first thing in the morning. I bet it is LOUD and WILD!

This coming weekend, Bennett may be making his first long road trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. Brian needs to go for work, and of course I want to tag along and get my last minute Christmas shopping done at the outlet mall! Fun!

Here are a couple of short videos. The first one shows Bennett standing for about 20 seconds! He is getting so strong, but still gets nervous when he realizes that he is standing on his own and usually slowly sits himself back down.

The second is a very short video of Bennett dancing. I've been hoping to get a really good video of it because it seems like he dances non-stop, but this one will have to do for now. Any time a song is on anywhere, he starts groovin'!

Bennett: 48 Weeks!

Bennett took his first step this week! It was just one, but that counts! He has been standing up and walking using things for 3 months now, so we are surprised he hasn't started walking yet. Sometimes he will let go and just stand, but once he realizes he is standing alone, he sits down. I bet he'll be really walking by the time Christmas comes!

This week we were referred to an ear, nose, and throat specialist because Bennett once again has a double ear infection. Poor guy! I'm going to call this week to see about possibly getting tubes put in over Christmas break.

As usual, even though Bennett is sick, he is as happy as can be! We've been singing him some Christmas carols and his favorite is "Up on the Rooftop" because of the "Ho Ho Ho....who wouldn't go" part. He dances and sometimes even sings along.

It's so hard for me to believe that in less than a month, our little guy will be 1 year old! It really doesn't seem possible.

Here is a short video of Bennett riding his duck. The first time I put him on the duck (a few months ago) he somehow knew immediately what to do. It's hilarious how serious he always looks while riding!

Bennett: 47 Weeks!

We all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are so happy we got to spend time with our families! Bennett got to meet a few family members on Brian's side whom he hadn't had a chance to see yet. You'd never guess by the way he was hugging them and reaching for them that they had never met!

Yesterday, I attended my first MU football game. Brian went too, so Grandpa Louie and Grandma Gail helped us out by having Bennett stay at their house all day. We checked in around halftime and found out that things were going great, but the house was destroyed :) Bennett is pretty good at doing that! He wants to take everything out. It doesn't matter what it is or where it is...it needs to be out. I think they had a lot of fun with him, despite the mess!

I'm sad that my 5-day weekend is over, but there are only 3 weeks of school until Christmas break!! This year, it's a long one. I think we have 17 days off. What a great break!

Here is another photo of Bennett from our Weston trip, along with a photo of Bennett with his cousins on my dad's side of the family. Getting this picture was quite the battle. We all got a good laugh out of it!

Bennett: 46 Weeks!

Bennett met Santa and Father Christmas this weekend! He was a busy guy.

Saturday, we started our day by going to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. He really like it there because there are a lot of "stuffed" animals to see and pet and some real ducks and fish. When we got to Santa, he wasn't thrilled, but he didn't get scared or cry. I'll have to get the photo scanned in so I can post it. It's not the best photo in the world. I wish I could have just brought my camera and done my own thing :)

Today, we met the Bolton crew in Weston to celebrate my Aunt Barb's 50th birthday. (p.s. I would pay to look as good as she does when I'm 50!) They were having a Christmas Homes Tour this weekend, so we joined in on the fun. We had lunch, shopped around, and then visited the homes. We were there from 12:30 to 4:30! Bennett got a little cranky midway through the day, but he was a pretty good trooper all day!

I love getting together with my family and wish we could do it more often!

Oh, and of course....Bennett couldn't get through the week without being sick. I don't want this to end up being a "Bennett is sick with (FILL IN THE BLANK) this week" blog, so I'll be brief! Bennett was up in the night coughing Wednesday night. Thursday afternoon, I took him to the doctor to find out he has croup, reactive airway disease, a double ear infection, and a throat infection. I was shocked again because he just never acts sick! We will go back this Wednesday to see about his ears. He may need tubes :(

Here are some photos from our trip to Weston today!

Bennett: 45 Weeks!

Well, Bennett sure doesn't discriminate when it comes to illnesses! This week he had pink eye (or something similar). He felt fine, but it looked like he had been punched in the eye. It was so swollen! And it was filled with gunk. Not fun!

Thankfully, the medicine helped right away and Brian and I both avoided getting it :)

Here are a couple short videos I took recently. The first one shows Bennett "reading". He really enjoys sitting and looking through books. He will "talk" while he's reading and point to things. I love it!

The second one is really short, but definitely worth watching. This shows Bennett laughing hysterically at his cousin Laiken. Not sure what he thinks is so funny! I love his laugh!