My Benjamin

I absolutely love my little man. I've never had a child so all over the board with his moods though. He can be such a cuddlebug one minute and the next be giving you his evil eye.

Lately he's been cracking me up with his parrot-like comments. I've had to get on the other kids to be careful of the things that come out of their mouth. When you praise him for something he's done, his reply is "I'm just awesome like that" (thanks Jordan). Wow, no problems with self esteem with this guy! (BTW, we're working on stopping this phrase).

He recently lost 2 teeth. I don't think I've had a child lose teeth before kindergarten, but he is older than the others were at that point. It's hard to believe he will be going to school next year. Partly I'm excited, so that I can have a couple hours free to myself each day. On the other hand, I'm sad because my baby will be in school. It's never easy when they start school. They still seem too little, and it feels like I'm sending them in to the wolves. I really had this feeling sending my kids to middle school....probably because I WAS sending them to the wolves.

I know he thinks he's 15 at times. He feels he should be able to do whatever he wants. Mom should NEVER tell him no. Dad, on the other hand, has more power over him in that department.....but hey, most kids respond to dad more anyways. At church on Sundays, you may not see me quite so happy with him though. Since Taylor's rarely at church with us, Ben pushes my buttons a little more. When he flashes his dimply smile at me, it's hard to stay mad at him long.

These pictures really sum up his personality best........

Determination written all over his face as he learns to crawl.

This is one of my favorite pictures of him when he was little.

He loves the dogs......sometimes a little too roughly though.

Swinging on Dadoo's hammock with Charlie & Mason.

A rare sight. He's constantly moving.....and never slowly.

He is obsessed with deodorant (pronounced "doe-o-dorant"). He wants to be just like his brothers. Last Christmas Noah gave him this deodorant for a present.

Caught him reading Hailey's Twilight magazine. He was not happy I took this picture.

He loved Primary baseball.

Taking a break to visit with Brendan at 2nd base.

I'm thinking this would be a good timeout spot.

He lost 2 teeth within a day of each other.