Happy New Year!

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A Happy Day for Daddy

Now that Jackson is one year old, he can ride in the bicycle seat. Up until today, he's ridden in the bike trailer that I pull behind my bike. But, today, we strapped on his little helmet for the first time, and Daddy rode around the neighborhood. Jack thought it was way cooler than the trailer. As soon as Dave rode off, Jack started laughing. The next time Dave rode by me, Jack was on back singing. It was very cute. I'm sure mountain biker Daddy is very proud that his second little man seems to enjoy the foot-powered vehicle as much as the first one does.

"This helmet feels a little funny, Mommy."

"Oh, wow, who cares about the helmet!? This is FUN!"

Happy Birthday Jack

We spent our day visiting Molly's school for her program and party, going to the park, and visiting Daddy at the studio for a mini Christmas party, where he had a birthday cupcake. Happy birthday sweet boy!

Two Smiles and a Scream!

He wasn't so fond of Santa! Poor little man. Cracks me up how Santa smiles so consistently with a screaming, wriggling baby in his lap. I wonder if he's deaf (or atleast has a little ringing in the ears at the end of the day.)

Weekend of Fun, Installment 3: Jack's 1st Birthday Party

On Sunday, we had Jack's Star Wars birthday party. It was a great time. Mommy spent a loonnng time making an R2D2 cake and a little Yoda cake for Jack. The kids all wore their Star Wars costumes and Dave broke out his old original Star Wars toys to decorate and play with. It was a good time. Jack was exhausted by bed time. After I dropped off Molly at school this morning, I couldn't wait to get home for Jack to get to play with his toys uninterrupted. They were all a huge hit. He's sitting behind me right now in between the ball popper and the drum having a blast.

Jack looks at his book from Nannie and GG.

Jack tries to climb in his Cars ride-on before Mema can get it out of the box.

He stares at the candle flame while we sing Happy Birthday.

Getting green with the Yoda cake.

Watch us sing "Happy Birthday!"

Weekend of Fun, Installment 2: Molly's Recital

On Saturday morning, Mommy, Daddy, Will, Jack, Nannie, GG, Grandad, Mema, and our friends, the Hairstons, came to watch Molly dance. She did a fantastic job! She was so cute and all of her ballerina friends looked adorable in their pink tutus. During rehearsals, she would spend a good amount of time playing with her skirt, smiling at mommy, and giggling with her friends, so we weren't sure how the recital would go. But, I think she knew she had lots of people coming to see her and she really tried hard to watch her teachers and dance the steps. We were very proud. When we were through, she received beautiful flowers from Grandad and Mema, and had juice and cookies with her class. Then, we all went out to lunch. It was a fun morning!

The ballerinas show off their tutus! (Molly is second from the right.)

Picture perfect ballerina.

Posing with her flowers.

Molly's dances...

Weekend of Fun, Installment 1: The Nutcracker

Well, I just watched Dave and Molly leave for their Nutcracker date and they made a beautiful pair. Even though I'm not going along, Molly and I had a great time preparing for it. I told her she was receiving the full spa treatment. She started with a bath at 4:30. Afterwards, she got a mani/pedi, complete with sparkling glitter nail and toe polish. Then, we did her hair. She was amazing at staying still for her extremely long encounter with the curling iron. After her hair was finished, we put on her stick-on "diamond" earrings and she borrowed a necklace from mommy. She also included her princess ring, of course. We finished up with a spritz of mommy's perfume and a little bit of lipstick. She thought it was very cool that she got to use some of mommy's things and she kept saying, "Daddy is going to be soooooo suprised!" And, indeed he was. When he opened the door, she ran to him and he told her how fancy her hair was and how beautiful she was. She was very proud to be daddy's date. The boys and I are staying in for an evening of pizza and Christmas movies. I still love the sound of that... "the boys." I love my two little men! I digress as usual! I took a thousand pictures of Dave and Molly and I could only narrow it down to these four. Here's my precious couple...

Big Weekend Coming Up

This weekend, we have so many things planned. On Friday, Dave will take Molly to The Nutcracker for her third annual Christmas Date with Daddy night. She loves to get dressed up in her prettiest Christmas dress and have her hair done every year to go see The Nutcracker with Daddy. Her Daddy is a very proud (and handsome!) date. On Saturday, she will have her very first recital, with a ballet dance to "Shine Your Light" and a jazz dance to some really cute song I can't remember the name of. Mommy got teary-eyed at the dress rehearsal, so I'm sure we'll all be crying through the real thing! Then, on Sunday, we will have Jack's first birthday party. I'm very excited to be celebrating this fun moment in my little guy's life. Somehow, the years always pass to fast and yet every new milestone is exciting. Next week should bring an update with lots of pictures and video of the dance, but here's a sneak peek...

Dress Rehearsal

He's getting so big!

Surprising Results

I've always thought my kiddos looked just like their daddy. I wasn't surprised that this Look-Alike Meter thought Molly was the closest resemblance to him, but I was very surprised that it thought Will looked more like me! I'm sure it's all highly scientific, you know!?

Home Movies

Well, we discovered that one our digital cameras has the capability to take video so here are a few of our latest captures...

First, we have our new little walker. Mommy thinks he's pretty cute. And, his big brother and sister are obviously very proud! He seems a little proud of himself too since you'll see him clap for himself at the end. He mostly enjoys walking between two people he loves, but he is getting more brave each day and starting to venture out for a few steps here and there between the furniture. Most of all, I adore the hugs I get after he's accomplished his little stroll!



And, then we have Molly, our interpretive dance student. She cracks me up. Here she is with the "Pokie Wokie Nightgown Dance." Every dance she does has a name and every name starts with "Pokie Wokie." She truly does keep me on my toes. Every day is a new day with her. One day this week, while I was trying to tell her something, she said to me, "Mom, you tell me that all the time... blah, blah, blah!" Isn't she supposed to be at least 13 before I get that kind of lip!? But, then the next day, I asked her to clean her room. She said, "Okay, Mom!" Then, while she was in there cleaning (and she did a great job), she was singing and the song went a little something like this... "I love my mommy. Cause she says nice things to me. And she's funny. I love everybody. Except bad people. I don't love bad people. But, I do love my mommy!" So, here's my little entertainer...

Feeling poetic as we near Jack's birthday...

To Jackson:

On the day Will was born, I looked at him
And my heart nearly broke from the weight
Of all the joy that filled it up.
Oh, that powerful love is great.

As my belly grew full with Molly,
Worried I couldn't love another as much,
All my fears were pushed aside,
With that first soft, lingering touch.

A family of four, the perfect size,
A boy and a girl, then we're through.
But I didn't know that perfection could grow
Until we added you.

Little brother, sweet son, precious child,
I've watched you grow strong for a year,
And every day I see your bright smile
Is a day I will always hold dear.

To describe the blessings you are,
The words seem to little to start.
You three children who fill my lap
Also fill to overflowing my heart.

Thought I May Never Get to Blog Again!

It has been a crazy couple of months for the Bennett Family!

As most of you know, Molly was admitted to Texas Children's Hospital for ten days for a staph infection in her hip joint, bone, and muscle. She is doing well at home now. She has a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) through which Dave and I give her IV antibiotics three times a day. She will have this for a total of six weeks, after which she will have two to three months of oral antibiotics. Then, we should be DONE! Yea!! She has been such a little trooper. Our most difficult times were when she kept blowing her IVs in the hospital and would have to get "pokes" over and over again. Mommy is likely going to be traumatized much longer than poor Molly! Yesterday, we discovered that her surgery incision is infected at the surface so we are applying lots of Neosporin, changing the dressing three times a day, and keeping an eye on it. Hopefully, it will clear back up soon! The nurse will be coming this afternoon (as she does once a week) to change the dressing on the PICC and take some labwork. I'll ask her how Molly's labs from last week were and keep everyone updated. We thank you for all of your prayers, gifts, support... everything! We have truly seen the generosity and love of our friends and family through this time!

In other news, Dave had a fun birthday and is now officially closer to 40 than 30! ;) Jackson had his first trip to IHOP for blueberry pancakes, and the kiddos had a fun time at the Fall Festival. We split up so that Will could jump on the inflatables and Molly could play the little games. Being the feisty girl she is, I thought she'd fight me, but she was plenty happy to hang out in the stroller and get lots of candy!

Jack-Jack makes me think he is going to start walking every day, but still prefers the security of the ground! He will pop out a word every once in a while and then never say it again... "cracker," "Papa," "nana." But by far, his favorite is, of course, "Dada." As for "Mama," I only get smiles. Unless you count "mamamamamamamamamamamamama!"

"MMMMMM... these blueberry pancakes are GOOOOOD!"

"I don't know which is weirder... Daddy's big purple hat... or those really loud men!"

The whole family. This is when we still thought Molly's hip infection was viral
and I was carrying her around because she could barely walk.

Molly's hospital bed with all her new friends. Taken with my mom's phone.

Molly with her walker on the day we went home. She's getting around great now.

Molly finally gets out and has some fun for awhile!
This was the day of the Fall Festival and she was EXHAUSTED by bedtime!
A few days later, she went to bed at 4:30 and slept 15 hours!
She's catching up from all that great hospital sleep!

My Star Wars Fans at the Fall Festival

I mentioned a while ago that I'd post Jack's first teeth. Well, here's all five of them!

Tugging at My Heart Strings

Tonight, Dave is at a men's campout with our Bible study class. While I was putting Jack to bed, I asked Will and Molly to go play quietly in Molly's room. After I was through, I came in to Molly's room and Will was reading bedtime stories to Molly all cuddled up in her bed. I had planned on putting them to bed right after Jack so I could go read a book and relax for a while. But, they were so adorable, I couldn't ask them to stop. Will asked if they could have a sleepover. I said, "Sure. When you are done reading, just turn out the light and go to sleep." I kissed them and said goodnight. A little while later, they both asked for some water. So, I got it for them and then as I was leaving her room, I turned out the light. Molly started to say, "It's too dark!" But, I heard Will telling her, "It's okay. I'm here." I came into my room to finish up some work. When I was done, I decided to go check on them to see if they ever went to sleep and this is how I found them...


Could they be any sweeter? I just wanted to curl up right there with them!

Wedding Plans

Well, I should announce that Molly is getting married. Yesterday, she was "writing" on some construction paper. When I asked what she was doing, she said she was making invitations to her wedding. She's going to wear a lavender satin skirt, a yellow and lavender satin shirt, and some silver heels with big pink metallic hearts. Oh, and she's marrying a FIVE year old! This is the first time that she's told me that she is marrying someone other than Will or Daddy. I know their hearts are going to be broken. I asked who this lucky five year old was. She thought for a moment and then told me his name is "Kingo." Then she told me when they have a baby, it is going to be a girl baby. A bit later, she had changed her mind. She decided she didn't want to be a mommy at all. A little saddened at the thought of not having any Molly grandbabies to hold, I asked her why. She told me that she didn't want anyone to cut her tummy open to take the baby out. I wasn't sure which was worse: her envisioning herself cut in half, or telling her how babies are normally born, which would, without so much as a doubt in my mind, result in her telling everyone she knows, with descriptive gestures I'm sure, how babies are born. I went with, "Oh, honey, I don't think you need to worry about that right now!" That seemed to do the trick because she just went on to tell me how she is going to be a ballerina instead.

This afternoon, she dressed up and stood on the "stage" in the living room and gave Jack and I a "show." She sang, she danced, and my favorite, she told some jokes. They were jokes like this: "The bear chased the unicorn across the room. Ha Ha ha haaaaaaaaaa." It was hilarious. My absolute favorite part: the show elicited Jack's first real clap! Go Molly. You must have what it takes!

Bragging Rights

It's every Momma's right to brag about her progeny! I plan to exercise my right tonight! William brought home his very first "real" progress report this week. He received 3 "100"s, 1 "99", 3 "E"s (excellent), and one "S" (satisfactory). The "S" is in penmanship and if you were reading a handwritten letter as opposed to my typewriting, you would know that the apple does not fall far from the tree in that regard. He also finished his first real chapter book this week. When he finished the 16th chapter, he was so proud of himself. There is nothing better than seeing the dimples on that kid when he's beaming with pride. Have I mentioned I love my children?

Molly is doing great in preschool as well. I imagined that my biggest obstacle with her would be either a)she would decide to be the class clown and come home on "red" everyday, b)she would decide to disrobe during class and run around naked, causing the school to call CPS on us, or c)she would steal all of the other girls' cute clothes and accessories and be sent to alternative preschool. However, she is about to get her first trip to the treasure box for having so many "green" days. She's also doing really well learning the sounds that go with her letters and her writing has already gotten so much better. A funny Molly story: I did some logo work for a girl that just opened a bow boutique. She paid me in bows for Molly. When she sent them, she also sent Molly a note from "The Bow Fairy." Molly was ecstatic about getting the note. Last night, she asked my mom, "Mema, do you know where I got this skirt? From The Skirt Fairy!" Apparently, everything has a fairy now.

Jack is cruising around on everything and will stand for a second or two if he doesn't realize he is. He thinks about walking, but then decides he likes his knees much better, unless he is on a really hard floor, in which case, he prefers to crawl on hands and toes. And, he's perfecting that wave. Occasionally, it is accompanied by a "Baa-Baa."

In my world, Dave and I both got a new client this week. He hired Kim and I first to design an insert into the Houston Chronicle for the boutique he is opening downtown. It's called Ritzee Accessories. So, in a few weeks, 75,000 homes will be viewing my work. In addition, Dave was hired to shoot his inventory for the insert and for the Christmas ad we will be doing. Exciting stuff! We'll be putting a byline on the insert so it would be great if it drummed up some more business.

Well, I'm off. Seems we need a visit from The Grocery Fairy.

Oops. Forgot one...

The cute wave. Hello camera!

I LOVE my Photographer Husband!

School has been going great. We're crazy busy, but the kids are enjoying second grade, preschool, dance lessons, church, and more! Will and Molly have been really enjoying homework time now that they can sit together and do it. This was an added bonus to preschool I did not expect! So far, Will has gotten all 100s in class. This is exciting because we did not have number grades the last two years. He was very excited and has been showing everyone his latest spelling test when they come to the house. Molly is having a lot of "green days" in school and looking forward to the "treasure chest" when she completes "green day" number 5! And, Jack is cute as a button. He waves at everyone now... and everything. Hello Mommy. Hello Will. Hello car driving by. Hello bottle. Hello couch. It's pretty darn funny!

We went to the studio this week because I wanted to get an "angel" picture of Jack just like the one we have of Will in the house. Molly had wings as a baby too... but she was a butterfly. And, I wanted to get some ballerina pictures of Moo too. The following picture overload is from the shoot. I just couldn't decide! Dave is sooooo good! ;)

Momma's sweet angel.

I think he could get into Harvard now with that charm, don't you think!?

He's thinking, "Harvard mommy? Maybe Yale. Definitely not A&M." Hee hee.

Mom was there to help us with the kids. The extra hands were wonderful.
So, we had to get some pics with Mema too!

Mema and her babies (minus the four in Maryland - we miss you guys!)

Molly Amelia, Prima Ballerina

Impressed yet? I am. My inner thigh hurts just lookin' at her!

Thanks Aunt Holly for the tiara. She's perfect in it, don't you think!?

Nanny's homemade tutu!

My favorite one. I love this kid!

And, I had to throw in this one because, well, it is definitely my Molly Moo!

An angel and a ballerina. Well, we had to have a karate master too!

And the man behind the lens.
Well, except for this time... the man in front of the lens, in his favorite spot, his saddle.

So, feel free to call us to schedule your shoot! ;)

Sob, Sob, Sob, Blow, Sniffle, Sob, Sob

You've been waiting for it. I know. As of one minute ago, it is Thursday morning, a full four days after the first day of school, and yet... no blog. No pictures of my gorgeous children. No witty commentary on the joys and frustrations of getting children out the door to school. No shameless bragging about how amazing the little buggers are. Well, I've kept you waiting for the element of suspense. Okay, not really. I was just busy. As I'm sure you were too. But, humor me for a few more minutes because the witty (or not so witty) commentary is about to commence.

So, here it is, the theme of my week. *Sobbing begins here.* My children are growing up. If you don't believe me (though I'm not sure why you wouldn't unless you're suffering from parent self-preservation induced denial and fully believe that time has stopped since you gave birth - which I often prefer to do), you can just take a look at my big kids below. William is in... sniffle... second grade and... sniffle again... would not allow me to kiss him goodbye after I walked him into class. I said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot," and stood next to his desk staring at him with a goofy grin, feeling like I'd just been rejected by the cutest boy in school (well, really I was rejected by the cutest boy in school... told you there would be bragging). So far, he's had a great week. His homework tonight? A blank sheet of paper with the question: What is mathematics? Explain using words or pictures. I'm fairly certain I could spend all night thinking about the question and still not get it right. Will's answer: Math is everywhere. Math is numbers. I can add and subtract. Pretty good answer, I'd say. Certainly better than Mommy would have done.

Molly had "Meet the Teacher" today. She was thrilled last night when she found out that she'd have the same teacher she had last year. Ms. Shannon looked just as happy to see her. I was happy that my little girl was happy. They are hoping to build some emergent readers by the end of the year. The thought that in 12 months I will be sending her to Kindergarten... sorry I have to stop and take a breather here... nope can't go on... did I mention she's in dance class? That I can handle!

And, just so I leave no one out. At the preschool, all the teachers commented on how much difference a summer can make when it comes to a baby. Jack is probably twice as big as when they saw him. He couldn't sit up without some support, and now he is crawling, standing, and trying very hard to make Mommy help him figure out how to walk. Oh, and three more teeth are pushing their way through his swollen little gums. Poor guy. Gotta love that chub, though. I love me some chunky baby thigh! On that happy, yummy note...

Here's the big second grader.

She had to put on her new school clothes to see her teacher.
In the next picture, she held up the "MB" magnets for her initials. Genius.

He wanted to get out of the sun. I left my windows down so the car wouldn't get hot. It didn't get hot. It got soaked. Mommy didn't listen to the weather this morning. Silly mommy!

Oh, and this one if for Aunt Holly and Uncle Dawson, who visited a few weeks ago. Apparently, Uncle Dawson is a climbing structure... a very gracious climbing structure. But, he's rewarded with lots of love!