baseball cap

Bennett had fun trying on our neighbor Mike's baseball cap.

children's museum

Today we went to the Children's Museum in Acton, MA with our friends the Taylors.  Nolan and Bennett were due for a play date.  Bennett, who turned 15 months yesterday, likes to touch and feel and throw and eat everything he can get his hands on at this age.  We thought this would be the perfect place for him to do just that.

The place was not that big but it had a lot to do.  The first room was a mock train station.  Bennett and Nolan took turns disassembling the tracks.

Next door they had the ball room with all kinds of tubes for the balls to travel.  Bennett liked watching the balls go by.

He had a little snack before we headed to the next room with a giant chalkboard.

Bennett scribbled a little (the little lines above his head in the picture here) but mostly he tried to eat the chalk.

That was our cue to move on.  We stared at the "aquarium" for a bit before heading upstairs.

Upstairs we went to the jungle room.  Nolan and Bennett had fun going down the slide here.

This was Bennett's first experience with slides.  He liked it but it didn't keep his attention and we moved on to the room with a lego wall.  It also had a fort in it and daddy attempted puppet theater.  Bennett did not get it.

He did love the lego wall.  I would say this was Bennett's favorite thing to do here at the Children's Museum. 

He enjoyed ripping down the legos mommy put on the wall for him.

We skipped past the room set up as a diner because B and N are too little to do that yet but look forward to doing that someday.  I cannot wait for B to help around the kitchen.  The last room we went to was on the third floor.  It was the biggest of all the rooms and was decorated like a boat and the seashore surrounding it.

B and N liked it here.   They were able to run around more than in the other rooms.

Kind of looks like they are really looking over the edge of a boat on an ocean.

We wrapped it up after coming up here because the adults were hungry and exhausted from all the activity.  Looking forward to coming back here in the future.  There is so much more to explore.  It was a great way to spend the morning.

15 months

Bennett is 15 months today.  We are so lucky to have such an amazing little boy.  He loves to explore.  He walks around the house and opens drawers, pulls things off the shelves and likes to spread his finds all over the house.  Bennett loves going on the porch.  We had some nice days where we could take him outside for a little while and he had a meltdown every time we try to bring him in.

His favorite foods are pizza and cantaloupe.  He has a very good appetite unless he is sick.  His favorite game to play is catch with daddy and mommy.  His favorite movie is "Frozen."  He learned how to high five this week.  And, he can wave goodbye but only when he wants to do so.  He doesn't say much past babbling but I think when he starts talking it's going to be non-stop.

Happy 15 months Bennett! Every minute with you is an adventure and a blessing.

Easter

We drove to grandma and grandpa's house in Spencer, NY to celebrate Easter.  It was a long trip but it was worth it.  We had a nice and relaxing day on Saturday.  Grandma cooked and baked.  I unfortunately got a stomach bug so I couldn't help much.  Bennett walked around and rearranged grandma's house.  It was a cold day so we couldn't get outside.  Grandpa got the sauna ready in the evening.  It was warm and relaxing for all after a busy day.

We all woke up early on Easter Sunday.  This year the american Easter was on the same day as the Russian Orthodox Easter so Bennett got to experience both.  We washed his face in holy water from a bowl with a couple of hard boiled eggs inside.  Then we cut up the eggs and tried to feed one to Bennett but he wasn't having it so we decided just washing him was good enough for now.  The eggs represent rebirth and that's why they are such a big part of the celebration in the Russian Orthodox Church.  While watching mass yesterday, we learned that they are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ.  B joined us at the table for a giant breakfast after we all washed our faces and ate our eggs.  My mom made sooooooo much food we could have fed 30 people.  It is a big holiday back in Belarus so I don't blame her.

Grandma out did herself for Bennett on Easter Sunday.  She had a large basket full of goodies for him and a giant bowl of eggs for him to rummage through and open.

Every egg had a small candy or money inside.  Bennett is too little to do an egg hunt so he just got to play with the eggs straight out of the bowl.   Bennett had so much fun with the eggs.  I am wondering if I should have some around permanently.  He played with them for a good couple of hours. 

Thank you grandma and grandpa for a wonderful Easter celebration.

tickle bug

Bennett is very ticklish.  Daddy was tickling his neck today after dinner.  He would tilt his head backward and wait for daddy to tickle him and laugh and laugh.  After a while though he would just laugh at the anticipation of being tickled.  We thought it was so adorable.

double fisting

Bennett had a hard time picking between his water and milk today so he drank both.

learning how to climb on and off furniture

Bennett learned a very useful skill today.  He figured out how to get on the patio furniture and most importantly how to climb off.  I am so proud of my little man.

We spent most of the afternoon on the porch thanks to the nice weather we had today.  Bennett's favorite things are to climb, sit, lay on the furniture and look at himself in the glass sliding door.

We did take a break to come inside and harass Max.  Max loves all the attention he gets from Bennett.

This is Bennett's equivalent of petting.  Someday we will have to teach him the proper way to pet Max, but for now we find "his way" hilarious.

lounging

After a long day, it's sure nice to lay back and enjoy your favorite people.

Daddy gives the best head scratches.  

tunnel

I bought Bennett a crawling tunnel for the inside and the outside of the house.  I was thinking he would love it because he loves playing peek a boo and forts so much.  It still remains to be seen whether he likes it or not.  Tonight he gave a shot but it took a lot of encouragement.

fergus' first birthday party

Bennett was invited to celebrate Fergus' first birthday.  It was a beautiful day outside.  We were excited to spend it with friends.  Fergus' mommy Kristen did an excellent job decorating the place for the party.  It was a knight theme.  The centerpieces were home made chocolates shaped like crowns.  The gift bags had fun toys, like rubber ducks and glow in the dark necklaces, and candy.

There were foam swords and crowns for the boys.  We had Bennett dressed up within minutes of arriving to the party.  I knew it wouldn't last but he looked so darn cute.

Took about two minutes before he threw down the sword and ripped the hat off.  Mommy likes to dress up too. 

 Fergus' cake was adorable.

He also had a cupcake tower in his honor.  

Here is the little prince enjoying his long awaited birthday cake.  Fergus was a little spooked at first by all the singing and the attention.  It took him a few minutes before he started to chow down on his cake.  We got to try a little bit of the cake too.  It was really tasty!  Thanks for sharing Fergus. 

Bennett got to enjoy some of the delicious cupcakes at the party.  We are in trouble because Bennett sure does love his frosting.

Bennett doesn't even mind wearing a crown.  He needs all of his focus for the cupcake.

While at the party we got to enjoy some of the outdoors.  Bennett discovered his shadow for the first time.  He was chasing for a while.  I have seen videos of kids being scared of their shadow but Bennett was mostly curious.

We enjoyed the party quite a bit.  There were a lot of kids.  The Falcons and the Shannons have a lot of family and friends.  Everyone was so nice and we felt most welcome.  Bennett joined all the kids in the group photo.

He had a little trouble standing still.

We had a wonderful time and are so thankful to be a part of Fergus' big day.  I tried to get a picture of the boys before we had to leave.  And, at least one of the boys cooperated, right?

We love you Fergus! Happy first birthday!