Bentley James

As I was going through pictures of Bentley, I realized I have a lot of him sleeping, and not as many of him awake.  As I wondered about why this is, I realized it's because he hardly holds still so any time I try to take his picture it ends up as a blurry mess.  I guess I find him extra adorable when he is sleeping because he is still and I can just admire his cuteness without him running away.

I love that when he concentrates it always means his tongue is stinking out.

Bentley's best buddy is Abby May.  They hug and even kiss sometimes without any prompting at all.  They are always incredibly happy to see each other.  These two are so adorable together, but they are also very mischievous when they are together - their nursery leaders would definitely agree with that statement.  :)

In his prayer tonight, Bentley said "and thank you for my best friend Abby."  So adorable.

Bentley loves playing Legos and has a very impression attention span and patience level. He builds the park, takes it apart, and then builds it again, each time filling every empty hole with the exact shaped piece.  He also surprised me the other day when he said, "look mom I built a double couch!" (From the Lego movie)

He also still loves to play with cars and trains.  When he isn't playing Legos, it's very likely he is playing cars or trains.  His little voice is so precious when he says, "will you play trains with me mom?"

"Bentley look here and give me a really big smile."  Not exactly what I had in mind.

The other day I went in to the bathroom with him while he was going potty.  I was smiling at him and he said, "no mom, don't laugh at me." I said, "I'm not laughing at you Bentley, I'm just smiling at you because I love you." He sat looking at me for a second and then said, "stop mom... I just need a break from that. Smile at that towel right over there."

This morning I heard him come out of his room and start down the stairs.  I went over to the bottom of the stairs, reached my arms out for a hug and very happily said, "Bentley!  Good morning!  Come here!" and he replied, "No thanks mom, I just want daddy.  Tell me where he is."  rejection!  But daddy was gone so I was an ok second I guess.  :)

He is incredibly articulate.  He has a huge vocabulary and surprises us often with the things he says, and the reasoning he has developed.  He loves to negotiate his own terms for pretty much everything. He can be very strong willed and frustrating sometimes, but he is so incredibly adorable.  He makes us laugh all the time with the funny things he says and does.  

The other night at family night we watched a short video about Jesus blessing the children.  Brad made a comment about how the people were following Him and Bentley said, "I follow that Jesus."

Bentley has the best laugh.  He is really ticklish and if you get him in the right spots, his laugh is the best sound you'll ever hear.  

He still really loves his bean (blankie) and his thumb.  I go back and forth about whether or not I should start to wean him of those things.  I feel like he is old enough, but he loves them so much I know it would be sad.

He loves his sisters.  He likes to be where Eden is and to play with her and make her laugh.  With Olivia, he just always wants to snuggle with her, hold her hands or feet, and do silly things to make her smile.  He is such a good brother.

Lately he has taken a great liking to soccer.  He runs around kicking the ball, tripping over the ball, and loving every second of it.  I actually really enjoy running around the backyard with him playing soccer. It's fun. 

This guy figured out that just eating the middle of the Oreos was the way to go.  He licked those bad boys clean before running away.

He absolutely doesn't want any help from me on these types of projects, unless he is almost done and accidentally knocks the board and the pieces slide off their exact spot.  Then it gets frustrating pretty quick.  He always finishes it though!

Potty training was an absolute breeze with him.  He has done amazing, and in fact the more I try to bug him about it the more frustrated he gets.  I just let him be and he totally has it all under control. 

I sweetly refer to him as my baby boy as I'm smothering him in hugs and kisses.  Without fail, I know he'll correct me and say, "I'm not a baby mom, I'm big" but this guy will always be my baby boy.  He has a very special spot in my heart and I absolutely adore him.  He healed my heart in such a necessary way and I will forever cherish my feelings towards him.  I feel a very important responsibility that's different with him then with my girls and I hope to be exactly the kind of mommy he needs.  

My baby boy, I love you to pieces...