One Dae at a Time: Bennett is Five!

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Bennett is Five!

Michael:
rode bikes with Bennett and Westin on Wednesday morning to Westin's dentist appointment to get sealant on his molars. Then they rode straight to school and weren't even late -- bike trails and late start times and week days off, I just love these little things that combine to make life feel lots easier some days! He had a late night meeting on Thursday. He's still in the phase here of going to all things he's invited to so he can meet a lot of dentists and reps and other people in his circle, so it can feel busy but it's good that he's doing those things. He went out with Bennett and I on Saturday night for his birthday dinner date. He ended up choosing a burger place, and then ended up choosing a corn dog when we got there :) He's so sweet. Michael also helped me put new shelves together in our basement this week and reorganize/clean up my Lighten Print warehouse down there. We're gearing up for a BIG shipment of books coming this month! They're delayed at the overcrowded ports in California right now but making their way to us.

Maddie:
I spent three hours Monday night on a hard folding chair listening to an info meeting about a charter school here, and my boys will never fully appreciate the things I do for them while being pregnant :) But it was interesting and good to do. Choosing what is right for your kids is super overwhelming. I did a huge Costco trip with Camden. Lots of people laughed at his constant "What's that!" that was on repeat, and I almost couldn't push our cart out to the car by the time we were done. That used to be something I did every few months and now it's every few weeks... these boys eat! Throwing Bennett a birthday party on Friday was fun, we haven't done that in a while for the boys since we were so new here last fall. He had fun and I loved watching him be happy. Watching conference this weekend has been peaceful and I always love this weekend. We found out this week that our book will be carried at Deseret Book, which was exciting for us. Our big goals this year were to do a successful Kickstarter before Easter and then use that to get a bunch of books on retail shelves over the holidays, and getting the book into Costco and Deseret Book were our too biggest goals with that. Then we have a line up of smaller stores that will be carrying it in Utah, too. This baby isn't timed too well with a busy season of selling books, but it'll work out and I'm just happy so many good things are happening.

Westin:
was stoked to go to Shepardson's outdoor movie night after Bennett's birthday party. Michael took all three boys and I cleaned up then laid down so early. I go to bed now based on pain level of my body rather than tired level. Westin has a love/hate thing happening with school right now that we are trying to figure out together. He's had a hard few moments at home lately, and those had disappeared for quite a while, so it's hard to figure out how to navigate that again. He's such a sweet helper and older brother 95% of the time though and I'm so grateful for him. He made dinner one night this week and it was a huge help! I was so grateful. He is such a speedy guy on his soccer team and it's fun to watch him play.

Bennett:
is 5. Five years old. What a big kid! He's so sweet. He loves peace, and making people happy, and telling stories, and going to school. He loves to play with Westin, and follows me every day to Camden's room to give him a hug before his nap and close the door for him. I forgot to take a single picture on his birthday date, which makes me sad since he was so cute and fun to spend that time with, but I'm also happy that we were just with him. He was excited for cinnamon rolls for his birthday breakfast. The boys have been playing with their sticker picture books all through conference -- having a conference birthday is actually pretty efficient when you think about the food and presents and what it all accomplishes at once :)

Camden:
got fitted for his glasses this week, cutie boy. They'll be done in a couple weeks and I still am just so surprised that he needs to wear them. He cried less at bedtimes and nap times this week, which was much appreciated, but he was SUPER unhappy when we left him with a babysitter for Bennett's birthday date. He survived though, and was happy when we got home. He's still a daddy's boy, still doing great with potty training though it's not always perfect days there, and he loves his Freight Train and Little Blue Truck books. He's such a cutie and so fun to just watch during his energetic spurts.

I was sad these were cooked too long after all that work but we actually all liked them better this way and they didn't taste burned. Felt so lucky after all that work!

Softening that butter!

When I finally laid down after making cinnamon rolls,
and noticed the flour situation on my belly.... haha.

I call this the mom night shift.
Kids and dad are asleep and still things to do to make days special.
Bennett was such a happy boy on his birthday morning.