Bennett Family Blog

Three weeks old!

2010-01-18T12:06:00.000-08:00

Honestly, the past three weeks seem like a blur to me (Amie). It could be lack of sleep or the fact that Rebecca has established herself as the diva of the family expecting to be held all hours of the day and insisting that midnight to 2 am is her playtime.

We're all determined to spoil her and give her anything she wants...of course.

Happy 3 weeks old, Rebecca!

The Girls

2010-01-14T12:40:00.001-08:00

I had to post this photo of our two girls.

Can you tell they're already friends?

Welcome to the family Rebecca!

2010-01-13T14:13:00.000-08:00

I've successfully avoided updating our blog for over a year and a half. While much has happened in the last year or so, nothing can compare with the excitement of our new little arrival, Rebecca. We are all so in love with her! At birth she weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces and was about 19 inches long. Can you believe we have six kids! We can't!! Born December 28th, she arrived just in time to miss Christmas (I appreciated that) and was able to celebrate the turn of a new decade! ...and contribute a little to our 2009 Child Tax Credit.

Because of the flu scare, the hospital didn't allow children into the hospital rooms and around the babies, so the night Rebecca was born all the kids came to the window of the hospital nursery to see Rebecca.

Here's Breanna...gushing with excitement that she finally has her sister!

It snowed heavily for two days after Rebecca was born. Not everyone gets "Welcome Home Rebecca" painted in the snow with pink food coloring!

At two weeks old, Rebecca has adjusted well to the noise and chaos of a family of 8. She sleeps best when the house is rumbling with excitement, but not so well when it's dark and quiet.

...Amie yawning...

Photo taken around 2:30 pm today. Rebecca laying on the couch with brothers and sister running around the room.

Side note: Samuel just came and sat on my lap. After smelling him I said, "Sammy are you a little stinky?" He responded, "No, I'm big stinky." Oh, the joys of having two in diapers! Better run...

New Pics of the Kids

2008-04-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

We're heading off to a baseball game but I wanted to post these pictures really quickly. I'll write more later.

Ear to Ear!!

2008-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so thrilled that I caught this picture of Samuel's new smile last night at Christian's baseball game. Samuel is starting to sport this grin a lot lately but with babies you never know how long it's going to last! I love it! Isn't he such a cutie!!

The gummy grin also reveals the fact that although approaching nine months, Samuel still is toothless! We're just waiting for those first little pearly whites to break through.

Trouble with a capital "T"!

2008-03-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

We are officially in trouble! Samuel has become an aggressive and enthusiastic crawler. That coupled with the fact that he has an intense drive to put anything and everything in his mouth has created havoc in the Bennett household. Check out the photo below for an illustration of what can happen when Mom turns her back for more than about 10 seconds! Thank goodness we have the experience and foresight to know to purchase only non-toxic Crayola markers!!! Still...the guilt of having allowed this to happen!

In my opinion the black beard really makes his blue eyes pop! Don't you agree??

Fun trip to the Temple

2008-03-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made the trek to Oakland for our monthly visit to the Temple. The Temple is about 70 miles away from where we live and requires a little bit of planning to accomplish for our young family. Usually, we are able to find a classroom at the stake center that sits adjacent to the Temple and Eric and I swap babysitting while the other attends a session. One unexpected blessing from this lengthy endeavor has been that our whole family is experiencing Temple attendance. The kids are more aware of the sacrifice and blessings than I think I ever was while growing up. We try to talk with them and teach them what we can while driving back and forth. While there we often visit the Visitor's Center or walk the Temple grounds. It's turned out to be a great thing for our family.....though we wouldn't be opposed to living closer to a Temple one day.

I shot this video of the kids playing in the classroom last night. It's a little lopsided in attention to Samuel...but so goes life these days.

Just Gushing with Talent!

2008-03-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Friday night was the culmination of several weeks of work for Andrew. He sparkled and shined at the Crossroads Elementary Talent Show! This was not just any talent show...I've been amazed at the seriousness of this production!

The experience began back in January when Andrew brought home a slip of paper announcing his audition time. Up to that point I had been oblivious to the fact that there was anything this exciting happening at the school. We arrived for auditions the following Monday night and I squirmed with nervousness as Andrew performed his piano piece for a panel of 6 judges. We were thrilled to learn later that week that Andrew had been selected from a bunch of auditioners to perform in the talent show at the end of February.

Then came the rehersals!

Dress rehersal after dress rehersal ensued bringing us several late nights in the school auditorium which added to our already hectic schedule. Every time Andrew performed his piece with style and grace and amazed me at his bravery in front of a large audience.

Finally, came the performance Friday night. The auditorium was packed with an audience who helped to raise over $600 for the school Accelerated Reader program. (Insert cheer here from Amie who is the head of the PTA - AR committee.)

All the acts were great, entertaining, exciting, etc. !!! But, we all have to vote that Andrew was the best! Here's a video of his outstanding performance:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2058909298955664747 - A link because I can't figure out why it isn't working here.

Seems that the siblings are the harshest critics. Here are their funny responses to Andrew's performance:

Link to the video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=257516098189431477&hl=en

Good job Andrew! We're very proud of you!!!

Video of Samuel Crawling

2008-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Samuel is getting faster and more confident with his crawling. We've tried to film him crawling a few times but he just sits up and smiles at the camera when it's on. Finally....a video:

Looks like the video isn't working. You can see it here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2924271882156856113

Backing into a corner?

2008-02-12T18:45:00.000-08:00

Samuel has recently become an amazingly fast backwards crawler. This week he figured out how to back himself up to a sitting position and is very proud of himself. His forward crawling is a little slow, but in reverse he's like lightning. Unfortunately, unlike Mom...he doesn't have eyes on the back of his head. So, he usually ends up stuck in a corner.

But.....characteristically, he's happy about that too.

2008-02-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Pinewood Derby - Bennett Domination!

2008-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

After a less-than-perfect showing at the annual cub scout Pinewood Derby last year, the Bennett family turned the tables a few weeks ago and showed up with three amazingly fast cars!

(Partial, if not a majority, of the credit for the repeated victories needs to go to Amie for her innovative wheel filing and grinding design that caught a lot of attention the night of the race.)

The cars were beautifully cut by Eric and decorated with original paint designs and artwork by the boys. Christian, our only official cub scout, ended up winning all but one of the races he competed in. Andrew and Jacob, our underage racers, were graciously allowed to compete with their cars. They each won every race in which they weren't competing with each other. The night brought sweet victory after last years dismal 20-something place finish. (Truthfully, Eric was the only one who agonized last years defeat.)

Being gracious winners and optomistic losers are skills that still need fine tuning in the Bennett household. It was a fun night filled with cheers and cries of victory that carried even throughout the ride home.

Here are a couple of videos showing the amazing finishes and the obnoxious celebrations:

Six Month Samuel

2008-01-21T13:51:00.001-08:00

On January 9th Samuel turned 6 months old! My how the time has flown! It's always so amazing to watch the growth and development a baby makes in the first six months!! Here are a couple of pictures of Samuel's most impressive talents to date:

Talent #1: This first talent is probably his most frequently (literally daily) displayed. We've been joking lately that someone needs to invent a crack plug for this little guy. This talent was developed early and through much practice has been more than mastered.

Talent #2: More recently, Samuel has started grabbing things. Anything within his reach is at risk. His favorite thing to grab is food off everyone's plates, the plates, and the tablecloths. He's a disaster at the dinner table. I love this picture because it shows that even in his sleep, he's practicing this talent.

Talent #3: Smiling! We are all in love with Samuel's smile. He is an easy and generous smiler and we love it!

Talent #4: Playing the piano? Actually, no....Mozart doesn't live here. (Although Christian is sure Samuel will start composing something soon.) This picture shows Samuel's newest talent which is rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. Next step: crawling. We're crossing our fingers that he'll take his time. As soon as he starts to crawl all the legos, K'nex, marbles, and thousands of other small toys will be closely watched. (It's not easy to babyproof a house with four older kids around.) Wish us luck!

Talent #5: Rolling over. Samuel never really learned how to roll over months ago when he should have. I think that's partly due to the fact that whenever he made a peep someone ran to him to hold him and play with him. Now, as his independence emerges, he is anxious to get up and join the masses and believes that rolling over is going to get him there.

Talent #6: Overall cuteness! Enough said.

NBA Hopefuls?

2008-01-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a fun basketball day for the Bennett family. We've joined a pretty competitive basketball league this year and the boys are learning a lot and developing into great players. On Saturday I stood in the middle of the gym as Christian's team played on one court and Andrew and Jacob's team played on the other. Eric was coaching the younger boys so it was a busy juggling act for me to keep Breanna and Samuel under control, manage snacks for Christian's team, cheer loudly for three boys and one amazingly handsome coach, and try to take some video.....all at 7:30 am!!! Yikes!

I'm attaching some of the photos taken during their games.....

Well, actually they were taken on the trampoline later Saturday afternoon....but it gives you a good idea of how they looked in the games. Right?

Rainy Soggy Day

2008-01-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

The month of December was a crazy, busy, wonderful, festive month for the Bennett family. We had so much fun and we now have some great pictures that we will hopefully get around to adding to our blog soon.

I'm posting these pictures taken this afternoon at the basin that is around the corner from our house. A few months ago when we had some of our family here to visit they asked what the huge basins at all the parks are for. I explained that when it rains here it pours and that the basins are actually used to collect all the rain in order to prevent flooding of the homes in the neighborhood. They seemed reluctant to believe that we could actually accumulate that much water. Well....here's proof! This is the amount of rain that fell in just over an hour this afternoon.

Our back patio started flooding during the rain and we had water at our back door so I had to run out and find the drains in the grass to unplug them. Thank goodness my vanity is in check. I sacrificed my hair and makeup for our house. I'd say that deserves some praise! Ha ha!

Makes me laugh!

2007-11-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure who's funnier in this video...Samuel or Jacob? We'll let you decide.

What a pair!

2007-11-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Mom could make such a mess of Samuel's face....

Well, it's because Mom wasn't feeding Samuel...

It's so funny to watch Samuel's reaction to Breanna's crazy antics. He thoroughly enjoys her.

Yes!! I finally got a good picture of Samuel's beautiful blue eyes. Is it ok to say they're beautiful? I think so. They're amazing.

We're in Utah for Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

The kids are having a great time playing with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. Here's a great picture of Jacob and Breanna wearing Grandpa's glasses.

Thanksgiving in "Too-ha"!

2007-11-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

We decided late last night to make the drive to Utah for Thanksgiving! The weather is surprisingly warm and dry and a normally crazy winter drive looks really safe this week, so we are going to go.

We shared the news with the kids this morning and Breanna immediately broke into song about Papa and "Too-ha". Sadly, the song ended as the camera turned on, but this video shows some of the excitement of the morning nonetheless.

We look forward to seeing as many of our family members as we can while we are in "Too-ha" for Thanksgiving and wish the rest of you, our wonderful friends and family, a beautiful holiday. We are truly thankful for you!

My New Blogging Partner!

2007-11-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

I admire Andrew so much! At seven years old he really truly believes he can do anything! For example, just yesterday I found him in the garage with bike tires removed from a few bikes, Eric's tools spread all over the floor, scrap wood in the process of being cut, and plans that he had drawn sitting in the center of all of this "creativity". He was building a car.

He has wanted to start a blog for himself for some time now. So, in hopes that his creative ambition will be satisfied by this....we have started a blog for him. He's been very excited today as he has learned how to search for and upload pictures and navigate the blog controls. All his posts are in his own words and the blog is completely designed by him (with my help where he lacked the know-how).

I'm very proud of him! And....Eric and I are hoping that by helping him find creative outlets that are acceptable to us, we'll hopefully avoid coming home to find the top of the car cut off, the exterior spray painted black, and flames painted on the sides. Grandma and Grandpa Bennett will definitely understand that concern!

You can view Andrew's blog HERE or you can click on the image he drew at the top left hand column of this page. We installed a chatbox on his blog so that family and friends could leave him messages. If you have the time, it would make his day to receive messages from anyone.

Quotable!

2007-11-08T14:23:00.001-08:00

Breanna is so cute...yet so much trouble. Last night I was on the couch feeding Samuel and she kept jumping on the couch and jumping on me. I told her a few times that she was hurting me and that she needed to stop. After several scoldings, she replied, "Relax Mom...It's ok you big clybaby!" (Occasionally her "l"s and "r"s get confused.) My frustration from the moment before turned into laughs at her funny response. Thank goodness for humor. I'd never make it through the day!!!

We've Been Tagged

2007-11-07T17:26:00.000-08:00

My friend Kristen tagged me on her blog earlier today. I guess this means I have to list six things about myself then tag six other people. Sounds fun...here goes.

1. Kristen alluded to my mattress fetish. Let me explain. I have a severe fear of touching mattresses when I'm sleeping. I actually think any mattress once purchased, unwrapped, and slept on is disgusting. Think about it. Can you launder a mattress? How much time in our lives to we spend sleeping, drooling, and sweating on mattresses? There have even been a few times when I realize in the middle of the night that our sheets have slipped off and the mattress is revealed. There is no choice in this situation but to wake Eric up and make the bed before we can resume a good night's sleep. My fear of pillows is similar, I never sleep on a pillow that doesn't have at least two pillowcases on it. And you can forget about sleeping on my pillow. No one touches it!

2. I hate grocery shopping and figuring out what's for dinner. I actually made myself a master grocery list about a year ago and I print it out every time I shop so I can shop as fast as possible and get out of the store. I try to shop for two weeks at a time and I've been known to eat bread and butter for dinner so my family will have enough leftovers to eat so I don't have to cook. I used to enjoy cooking. Picky, complaining kids must have stifled my cooking creativity. It's just not that fun anymore.

3. I love blogs! I figured out what a blog was this past year and started this one. The idea that you could design and maintain a free mini website is awesome! What a great way to keep in touch with family and friends! I actually love blogs so much that at one point I had eight blogs I was working on. I've since reduced my insanity to three blogs: This one, my scrapbooking blog, and an unlisted photo hosting blog. I love exploring new widgets, I love receiving comments, I love reading other peoples blogs, and I've even loved learning enough html to personalize my blogs.

4. I'm a sugar addict. I love sweets and can't seem to give them up for very long. I understand that sugar isn't healthy, but I just can't seem to convince myself to go without. Something about biting into a piece of chocolate relaxes my whole body and truly makes me happy. Think I've got a problem? I do.

5. I love digital scrapbooking. A few years ago I had accepted the sad reality that I would never enjoy scrapbooking again until my kidos were grown. Have you ever worked on a scrapbook page for 20 minutes only to return from changing a diaper and find that your two-year-old had used decorative scalloped scissors and expensive acid-free pens to destroy your hard work? Well I have, and that was the last straw. Discovering digital scrapbooking was so exciting! Now I can create pages anytime and anywhere on my laptop and publish them in hard-bound books, save them to DVD, or post them on my blog. I love it!

6. I'm a night owl. Even when I'm extremely tired, I can't allow myself to fall asleep until I've had a few hours quiet down-time after the kids are in bed. It probably makes no sense to anyone but myself, but I need that time and if I go to bed earlier, I miss the consciousness of experiencing it. I love getting the kids in bed and sitting in a quiet house scrapbooking, reading, or watching TV. It rejuvenates me so I can wake up the next morning excited (well, at least happy) about being a mom.

There are my six. Now...who should I tag? First, I'll tag my sisters Sarah, and Kat. I think I know everything there is to know about them....but they may surprise me. My sister-in-law Kacie has the cutest brand new baby girl! She could spend all six facts about herself bragging on Brystal. My fifteen year old brother Daniel is an awesome blogger and loves comments so don't forget to leave one. Finally, two great friends from BYU Kristen and Emily. It's been a long time since we were together so I'd love to catch up with them.

The rules of the game are: List six habits or facts about yourself then choose six people to tag. Link their blogs to yours and leave a message in their comments letting them know they've been tagged. That's it. Enjoy!

Halloween Spooks!

2007-11-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

I just said goodbye tonight to my Mom, Daniel, Sarah, Lizzy, and Katelyn. We had such a fun week while they were here in California. I have tons of pictures from the week....too many to post on our family blog. However, I know there are some grandparents in Germany who will appreciate these Halloween trick-or-treating pictures.

We met Grandma and Daniel at our favorite pumpkin patch the afternoon of the 31st. If it weren't for Grandma's amazing expert navigating through the corn maze, we may still be there!

Ready to attack the neighborhood:

Everyone successfully accumulated way too much candy Halloween night! Breanna, the princess, was chauffeured by her Dad in the stroller to most of the doors where people thought she was "so cute" that she deserved double the candy. She came home with more candy than anyone.

Jacob was truly "super". "Faster than a speeding bullet" he was usually the first one to every doorstep. His extra muscles definitely came in handy this night!

Thank goodness we had Matt, Kat, Mom, Daniel, Sarah, and her girls to help us eat the candy this weekend. The rest of it will hopefully disappear tomorrow morning when Eric heads to work....or I (Amie) will end up eating it.

Is this not the cutest picture! If Samuel only knew what was surrounding him!

Happy Anniversary! Eleven Years!

2007-10-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

Eric and I celebrated our eleventh anniversary on Thursday of this past week! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! All of a sudden we're just a little bit older with all of these kids all over the place. Where did they all come from so quickly?! I tell him that he's the only guy I've ever dated that I haven't ever gotten sick of. That's a good thing! I guess it's meant to be.

For our anniversary Eric surprised me with tickets for a date on the Sierra Railroad Sunset Dinner train. We had a great time! It was great to have some romantic alone time....with Samuel, who is my constant companion because he's still nursing.
Here are a few pictures:

The dinner was great, the sunset was beautiful, and the company couldn't have been better!

Samuel was so excited to get one-on-one time with Mom and Dad. He was definitely the "third wheel" on our date, but he was so pleasant and fun that we didn't mind a bit.

Now I have to include another infamous "Bumbo seat picture". Sanyo loves this seat! It puts him up where he can see and does an excellent job of keeping him regular....that's right, you read correctly. He poops every time he sits in it! Good thing it's made of a non-porous material! It gets wiped out almost every day.

Oh No!!! Breanna!!!

2007-10-28T21:25:00.001-07:00

Thursday something happened with Breanna that I've feared ever since her beautiful blonde hair began to grow! She and Jacob emerged from my bathroom with scissors and hair....in hand! I'm really hoping that a little creative layering will hide the damage they caused. It definitely could have been a lot worse!

Why is it that two-year-olds seem to get into everything they're not supposed to? Breanna is now talking so well and everytime she gets into something or breaks something her response is, "Oh Mommy....I sorry....but it's ok....we get a new one...relax." It's hard to scold a little girl who is so darn cute! So, yesterday as I was looking with horror at the hair in Jacob's hand, that cute little two-year-old monster said, "Oh Mommy....we sorry...but it's ok...I get some new hair....relax!"

I'm still trying to get over it.