1000 Days

Playing today, and only today, at our house: Bentley, on day 1000!  How do we know these crazy facts?  I'm not sure.  I think it has something to do with some free time and a fun website calculator my Mom found online a number of months back.

I still tell people that Bentley is 2 (which he is!), but just last week I realized that we're only 2 1/2 months away from having a 3 year old.  Yikes.  3 year olds... I don't know anything about those type of creatures!  There's a whole different set of tricks they're supposed to know, right?  Table setting, laundry folding, world capitals, memorized scriptures, piano, reading, writing, math, manners (in no particular order, of course) ... the kid has been busy having fun.  We'll have to get busy, I guess!!

Just kidding.  He has at least a few more years of fun times before we worry too much about most of that.  We do need to get serious about the manners though.  Bentley can see please and thank you, but they're both normally done with a shout that makes it hard to appreciate the thoughtful nature of the words.  :-)

A snapshot of Bentley at "almost" 3:

His favorite song is the ABC song.   A close 2nd is the "Wheels on the Bus", but he normally only sings along to that one on CD.  The ABC song can be heard at all hours of the day.  It is, in fact, a wake up song he sings to his lucky siblings most days.  On occasion he sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which is odd.  That's not something we sing at home.  

Bentley still loves to read.  As opposed to the twins, who still haven't quite reached a sit down and look at books nicely stage.  We'll keep waiting I guess.  Some of the books on his daily request list include: Tumble Bumble, Head to Toes, and The Bear Snores On.  All fun books, although Genevieve has started to cry when we open up The Bear Snores On.  Apparently it's not HER favorite.

Luckily enough for me (or maybe it's not all luck - there's some daily work involved!) Bentley still takes a nice long nap in the afternoon.  He's more a night owl than a morning bird, but I've been working to get him to bed by 10:30.  That may sound late - but it's relatively early compared to when our routine slips!

The favorite expression of the month is "I can not do it", sometimes "I can't do it".  The 1st sounds more dramatic so he pulls it out after the 2nd is ignored.  Sometimes the complaint is valid, sometimes it's used to request help eating, picking up, climbing the stairs, ...

Ball time, car racing (with Jake), puzzles, painting, drawing, Potato Heads, and music continue to be favorite activities.  Eating is still not a favorite activity, although I'm happy to report that there should be more than the 2 lb gain between year 1 and 2 at the check up appt for the year 2 to 3 check up.  Maybe even 6 lbs - we'll see!  With Christmas around the corner perhaps I can entice him to eat?  Bagels, toast, and waffles are favorite fare around here.  Peppers and grapes make the grade depending on the day.  Sometimes noodles, sometimes rice.  Yes, the kid likes his carbs.  And foods that are white.

Bentley enjoys his siblings.  He's always in their faces exhorting them to play with him.  Jake is getting better with throwing the ball and playing a game of catch, and sometimes they'll happily throw the ball back and forth for 30 minutes.  Bliss!  Other times they get out the big dump trucks and planes with wheels and have races on the kitchen/hallway/dining room race track.  This lasts until I have to beg (shriek?) that they stop so silence can reign.  When Jake gets bored of playing Bentley will try to convince Viva to give it a go, but he doesn't normally have much luck.  She's wary of "guy" activities.  She's seen how they wrestle, and doesn't want to get too close.

Sometimes Bentley is a little (or awfully) defiant these days.  His new trick is speaking at the top of his lungs to communicate his unhappy thoughts when he gets in trouble.  We've had more time outs lately.  I'm not sure if they work, but we keep at it!  He has started requesting that Viva & Jake get time outs when he thinks their behavior is inappropriate.  :-)  To counter balance the outbursts, Bentley is also a sweet and thoughtful little man.  He's developing a sense of humor.  He gives more hugs, he likes to help, he shares without being asked, he gives spontaneous "I love yous" out, and he makes good choices.  He's an awesome little guy.  Even if he sometimes tries to argue with me about his clothes for the day.  He always wants to wear the shark shirt or the "I dig my Daddy" shirt.  I like some variety.   Don't worry - I win.

And that's it for the 1000th day update from Bentley's home!