First Days

Yeah, I know it's almost November,

but better late than never, right?

School!

Atticus loves his preschool. He goes three days a week for 2 1/2 hours. It's a co-op preschool, so I get to be in the classroom a couple times a month.

He didn't want to stand still for a good

"first day" portrait, so this is the best I got.

On his first field trip to Red Butte Gardens. Teacher Miss Stephanie is trying to make them laugh, but only Liam (in glasses) is able to keep a straight face.

Riding tricycles. He still does this occasionally, but his favorite recess activity is digging in the sand.

Soccer!

The boy has great dribbling skills, but really isn't very interested in the game. At his first game, he spent the last half with this group:

He still prefers rolling in the artificial turf (or running in circles, or finger-walking across the field) to playing the game, but yesterday he actually kicked the ball in the right direction DURING THE GAME! High-fives all around.

I think we'll try gymnastics for a while instead. He loves climbing and jumping and balancing on stuff, so it seems better suited to his interests.

This sweet, goofy boy of mine

I wanted to record some of the things Atticus has been doing and saying, things that will record his blossoming personality. And goodness, does this kid have personality.

• He's reached that stage where he gets weird when we tell him to smile. This is the goofiest so far, but at least his eyes are open. Usually he half closes his eyes and looks down.
• He's learned how to give a "thumbs up." The other day I was putting away laundry, and he gave me a thumbs up and said "good job, Mama."
• He's learning knock-knock jokes, thanks to his cousins, but he hasn't quite figured out how they work.

Him: Knock knock who's there?
Me: Alice
Him: [laughs like that's the punchline]
Me: No, now you say "Alice who?"
Him: "Alice who?"
Me: Alice-ee you later!
Him: [laughs, but doesn't really know why]

• He's created his own imaginary past. We're reading a book about trains, and he says, "When I was a big strong boy, I drived that train." Or lately, "When I was a little boy, I read that magazine [pictured in the train book]." He'll elaborate, too, about where he went and what he did.
• He's a man of action. Unless he's really tired, he does not want to sit still. He's constantly asking "where we going today?" Even if we've been out all day, he needs to know that we're going somewhere next. Every night he asks me about the next day's schedule. I've told him he needs to just enjoy the moment, but he's not into that yet.
• He's an articulate little man. He uses words like "actually" and "otherwise," and he uses them correctly.
• He knows how society works. He wanted to bring a toy into the gym daycare, and I told him to leave it in the car. He asked, "Otherwise ["udderwise"] someone take it and say it not yours and keep it?" Yeah. Exactly that.
• He's a little bossy. He'll come wake me up (always before 7 a.m.) and say with some authority, "Mama. It time to get up. The sun's up. Get out of bed." And he'll start pulling off my covers. (I'm looking forward to darker mornings--maybe he'll sleep longer?--but my new goal is to get up before him.)

That's all I can think of right now. I wish I could record more of our conversations, and the sweet way he shows his affection. Oh, I just remembered a sweet moment. We were at the children's museum, and he came to where I was sitting and started climbing around me. He said, "I very happy. I very happy about you, Mama." I said, "Really? Why?" And he said very simply, "Because I love you."

Massive Summer Update

Yeah, ok, so I'm a blogging slacker. I'm going to say I was too busy making memories to record them, but really, I'm just lazy. Oh well. Now that school is back in session, here's my report on What We Did on Our Summer Vacation.

In June I spent a week in North and South Carolina with my mom and two of my sisters, Lara and Susan. We were big fans of the chocolate lounge. So. Many. Options.

Our real purpose there was family history. My mom's mother's parents grew up on opposite sides of the North/South Carolina border. Susan is researching the North line, and I'm working on the South. We met some cousins and looked at old records and visited lots of cemeteries. This one was my favorite, the Pickens Chapel Cemetery in Pickens, SC. The church is long abandoned, and the cemetery is overgrown. I felt like a real researcher battling huge ants and running through torrential rain (not pictured--we came back later) to get a rubbing of my great-great-grandmother's headstone.

In July we visited James's family in Mesa, Arizona. It was hot, but I was surprised at how comfortable I was most of the time. Then I found out what my in-laws pay for air conditioning. Yikes! But we had a good time. We even got most of the family together for a photo by the temple:

Atticus loved playing with his cousins Tanis and Jessie. And feeding Buster, the dog. He still talks about his cousins, and every time he plays "airplane," he's flying to Nana's house.

In August we went on a hike to Albion Basin/Cecret Lake with the ward's moms' group. Atticus hung out with his best buddy Cardon. He loved climbing over the rocks and acting like a mountain goat. He ran the whole way up and the whole way down. That kid is unstoppable.

Also in August was our first ever family reunion. My dad's an only child and my mom has lost contact with her only brother, so we didn't grow up with any extended family. But there are 9 kids in my family, and I think my parents now have 20 grandkids, so it was time. We missed my brothers who were working in California, but my Texas and Illinois sisters were able to come with their families. Again Atticus had a lot of fun with cousins. Henry (in the middle) is only three months younger. He still asks about Sam, who is 11. He wants to grow "big like Sam."

We camped at Mutual Dell in AF canyon, which comes with cool amenities like a zip line and canoes. Atticus wouldn't go down the zip line with us, but we both took a turn.

Atty wasn't a huge fan of the canoes, but he had a great time getting soaked in the lake.

So there's our summer in a nutshell. Lots of travel, lots of family. Good times. In a couple weeks I'll get to tell you about our first day of preschool, and then about his first soccer game. In the words of my son, "I so excited!!"

I love this house

Light and air in abundance. Windows I can actually open to get a breeze. Central air conditioning. Rose bushes. I never realized how happy roses make me.

But last night, my favorite part of the house was the back yard. I pulled out a lawn chair to enjoy the evening in the shade of the huge tree in the yard, and Atticus climbed into the chair with me. He nestled under my arm and we talked and talked. We watched the birds and talked about what they might be doing or where they're going. We watched the clouds, and I mentioned that when we go up in an airplane in a couple weeks, we'll fly through the clouds.

Then we spent the rest of the evening talking about our airplane trip. His eyes lit up with each new bit of information: we'll be higher than the mountains! higher than the birds! Whenever I'd pause, he'd say, "Mama, let's talk more about airplanes!" So I'd think of something else, describing the interior and the drink cart and the snacks (please let there be snacks...), the airport procedure, the pilot and the flight attendants. He kept asking where "his" plane is now.

Normally he's content to sit on my lap for a few minutes, then he starts wiggling and kicking and sliding off head first. Last night, though, we snuggled and talked for more than half an hour. It was sweet time with my boy in our lovely new yard. Double blessings.

A work in progress

I forgot to take "before" pictures, so here's a "during" shot of our new living and dining rooms. "After" pictures still to come....

Atticus has been watching a Curious George DVD practically nonstop (or he would, if we'd let him), and it's raised a couple questions.

I mean, has anyone done a psychological profile on The Man with the Yellow Hat? Single dude, lives with a monkey, dresses entirely in yellow all the time, and has an unhealthy obsession with his hat.

Childhood trauma, maybe?

Update

It has been brought to my attention that my blogging habits have declined of late. So I thought it would be a good time to update you on the big and small events going on in the Bennett household.

Big Stuff

• We moved! Or, more accurately, are in the process of moving. We're living in the new place now but still have an apartment full of odds and ends. I sometimes have fantasies about the old apartment burning down (without damaging my sister's apartment downstairs, of course) so we don't have to decide what to do with that stuff. I'll post pictures and give you a tour later. After I take some pictures.
• We moved because I'm now managing the 5-plex we live in and two other properties around the corner. It's been a busy month, with plenty of maintenance issues and showing an apartment only to have the current resident decide to stay after all. James has become well acquainted with the lawn mower, and even climbed on the roof today.
• I just got back from a fantastic family history vacation with my mom and two of my sisters. Susan summarized it well on her blog (she's a much better blogger than I am--she even posts pictures and video): click here. Added bonus: I discovered I love fried okra. Mmm....
• James finished his first year of teaching French at Kearns High and got an awesome new job at Hunter High. At Kearns he taught half French, half ESL, but at Hunter it's full-time French. He did his student teaching there, so he knows the program well and even knows some of the kids. This is a fantastic opportunity for him, and we're really excited.
• We were going to go to Seattle for a friend's wedding this weekend, but there's just too much going on with moving and managing. We're planning a trip to Arizona next month to visit James's family. It will be good to go down there, because Atticus hasn't met any of his Bennett cousins or aunts and uncles. I was just barely pregnant last time we were in town. I'm just not all that thrilled about going in the middle of July. Of course, last time I visited Arizona in July, James and I pretty much decided to get married. He knew I was serious about him if I was willing to brave 107 degree days just to be with him. So Nana, you know we love you!
• My family is having our first-ever reunion in August. I grew up without much extended family, but as the fifth of nine children I have plenty of extended family now. We had a reunion of sorts when the first grandchild got married last month, and it was a good time. I'm looking forward to seeing more out-of-towners, but sad that my LA brothers are tied up with work and won't make it. Maybe we need to take a trip to LA... (Atticus does keep talking about having a picnic at the beach ever since he saw one on a "Thomas" video.)

Smaller Stuff (the "Random" in "Random Musings")

• I've started running again with a friend who keeps a similar pace. After not running for months, we were able to get 3/4 of the way around Liberty Park (over a mile!) without stopping. Woo hoo!
• I'm not pregnant, but I've been bloated and moody enough that I've wondered whether I might be one of those rare cases where I go to the doctor only to learn that I'm really 4 months pregnant without having a clue.
• The first half of Doctor Who season 6 is over, and I TOTALLY CALLED the shocking revelation in the finale. Excellent season, BTW. Yes, I'm a nerd.
• With the move we weren't able to put in a garden. Does anyone know what I might be able to plant now? We have a great south-facing plot, but is it too late for summer crops? Should I just wait for fall plantings?

I think that's all my news for now. I will try to post more frequently from now on. And Mom, I'm totally holding you to your offer to help clean the old apartment... :)