Bennett at One Year

365 days. What a drop in the bucket, and yet I find myself marvelling at the fact that you have been with us for more than even a week. You came rumbling into our lives two weeks early, and while I thought we weren't prepared for you at all (no infant clothes washed, Reeves still in the crib), your easy going demeanor and precious smiles made you fall right into place, and we all grew around you. It was like you came into the family and filled in that missing piece. You completed our puzzle.There were some frustrating, exhausting times early on, namely the couple of weeks when you completely forgot how to latch on and refused to eat, but you have generally been the easiest baby ever. You have slept when you are supposed to and for as long as your supposed to, you eat when you're supposed to, and you put smiles on all of our faces because yours is so often lit up in happiness. It is the rare occasion that you are upset and not easily placated. You are on a wonderful schedule - a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and bedtime around 7:30. And heaven forbid you are forced to stay up much past that betime. There is nothing that can make your life better other than your crib and your blue blanket. Unlike Reeves, you are not one to be rocked to sleep. You fuss and fight until you are in bed. It's like you must have read Babywise in the womb because you have definitely made us be better parents in that respect.I must mention here your blue blanket. Never in my life have I seen a child so enamoured with a "blankie". Oh, Reeves loves his froggies, Lolly loved(loves) her Abby, and I apparently loved my Moppie so much that all that is left is a postage stamp sized piece of it, but you adore your blue blanket. Maddelle gave it to you, and you take the corner where your name in embroidered and scrunch it up under your nose with your right hand, put your left thumb in your mouth, and roll over. It's really the cutest thing. Even if you're not in bed, if someone gives you that blanket, your hands already have muscle memory and do the same thing. (This is why I have bought four more and had Maddelle embroider them exactly the same way as the original.)What is interesting is that you only suck your thumb when it's time for bed, never at any other times of the day. I hope it stays this way. Once we realized you were a thumb sucker, I started dreading the day we had to get you to stop, but honestly, if you only do it at bedtime, I'm OK with that.
You and your brother absolutely adore each other. Your face lights up (even more than it already is) when you see him. You let out a squeal of delight when he says hello to you. He greets you each morning with a "Hi, Benny Boy!" and a kiss on the forehead, and he sends you off to bed each night with the same kiss and a "Night, night, Benny Boy. Love you." The two of you are really starting to play together a lot. You are always interested in whatever he is playing with, and he is generally good natured about it unless it is something he has had to build. I have now permanently moved all my mixing bowls to the den as you and he thoroughly enjoy putting on a drum show almost everyday. Reeves also likes to hop from bowl to bowl, and I know, as soon as you can, you will be doing the same thing too. For the most part you seem to endure and even enjoy some of the physical pain he (lovingly) puts you in. Just this morning, I heard you cackling with laughter and poked my head around the corner only to see him pulling you around the room. Even though you loved it, I had to put a stop to it. It's not all about your enjoyment; it's also about training Reeves, and I'm certain most children wouldn't have enjoyed the same treatment, especially since, for most children, Reeves didn't hang the sun, the moon, and all the stars. Just a hunch.
You haven't started walking yet, but I have occasionally caught you standing up all on your own. I know perambulation isn't far behind. Probably my fault since I only recently brought out the walker toys to help you in your development. Oops! Funny how that happens with second children. You are making all kinds of sounds, but best of all, and much to your father's delight, you scream "DaDa!!" whenever you see him. This just makes his day, especially at the end of a work day. Of course, he doesn't always make it home before your bedtime, so you have also learned to associate the phone with Dada. It's pretty cute. I have heard you say "Mama", but never in connection with me, so I'll have to add that to the Honey-Do list. You wave at anyone who will wave at you and you never meet a stranger. You are possibly the happiest child I've ever met. I envy you your disposition and the fact that any problem you have can be fixed by food, drink, sleep, or a diaper change. How nice it would be if we adults could have life be so simple.
Benny Boy, you're a year old now. I can't believe we're not measuring you in months anymore. I don't want to blink. I look back at pictures of you from only a few months ago and wonder where the time went. When did you start looking like you? Certainly not when you were first born, but I can't pinpoint a time that that newborn look changed. When did you start being you? When did you blossom into this little boy, this baby on the verge of being a toddler?
But I know, from the moment you were born, you've been an amazing, precious child that God made just for us. You and Reeves are the most wonderful gifts we have ever been given. You make us all better people and parents, and with God's help, we will spend the rest of our lives molding you and Reeves into the wonderful men we know you will be.