The Slowest Week

Not a whole lot happened this week, which was nice in a way since we have had so much happening lately, but it also makes for a pretty boring blog post.So since there's not a whole lot to write about, I think I will take this time to address an issue I keep forgetting to put on here.

A few months ago when we first found out about Matt's deployment, we decided we were going to go on a family cruise in the Caribbean during the month of July. Obviously, this did not happen, since that date has come and gone. Here's why.

Sometime after we had purchased our tickets (with travelers insurance), Matt and I were going through our budget together and realized that, while what we were doing was totally reachable, it probably wasn't the best thing financially for our family at the moment. We both strongly believe that vacations are fun and even important, but there is never a good reason to go into debt for one. So because of this belief, we carefully planned our budget and figured we would have saved up enough "fun money" to do whatever we wanted with it come cruise time...but only through penny pinching for several months prior. This would have been fine, but it was a decision we made as a family to simply put the trip on hold (until Matt comes home maybe?) and leave ourselves a little more wiggle room for the remaining months until he leaves.

And then the Haiti earthquake happened and troops deployed from Fort Hood to help, which threw off the dates for Matt's unit's packing time. It moved them from June to July...right when our cruise would have been. So in the long run, we were actually very lucky to not have booked flights and hotels and all that, since we would not have been able to go anyway. At least not with Matt. And that would have been no fun at all (not that Bennett's not fun. It just would have defeated the purpose of a family vacation a little bit.)

So anyway, there you go. I have been meaning to post that for awhile now, since people keep calling me and excitedly asking when we leave. Answer: We don't. We will, however, still be doing something very fun and exciting together as a family before Matt deploys. I'm sure you will all get an eye-full reading about it in the future.

OK, moving on.

Maybe I will write a little bit about our Bennett-Boy this week. It has been awhile since I have dedicated a blog to him. I'm sure you were having withdraws :)

Name: Bennett Wayne Hargrave
Age: Approximately 15 1/2 months
Weight: Heavy. It is a good thing he has asserted his independence and insists upon walking everywhere, or else he would have a mother that looked like one of those really gross women body-builders.
Height: Tall enough to reach doorknobs and counter tops. We are sarcastically ecstatic about this.
Hobbies: "Talking" on the phone or anything that slightly resembles a phone, hiding remote controls in various closets throughout the house, and walking backwards.
Skills: Pointing out his bellybutton (and occasionally mine) to anybody who passes by, and throwing things while making intense faces and "pppsshhhh" sound-effects. He also does a wonderful imitation of cars, lawnmowers, airplanes, vacuums, and anything else with a motor in it (which apparently includes my broom?)
Favorite Words: Ba-ba (ball), buh-buh (book), beah-beah (bear), puh-puh (puppy), na-na (banana), dapuh (diaper), bye-bye, and no-no (do I really have to translate these last two?) I know that to most people these "words" are just a bunch of sounds, but we can usually tell what he is talking about.
Favorite Games: Peek-A-Boo easily tops the list here. Showing us something he knows he's not supposed to have, and then running like the dickens when we try to take it from him comes in a close second.
Obedience Level: Building, slowly but surely. We are trying some Love and Logic in our home and it seems to be working wonderfully. Bennett falls apart now whenever he hears me say the phrase, "Uh-Oh." Who knew two such simple words could strike terror into the hearts of toddlers everywhere? No, really Bennett is generally a very good boy...a very busy, very mischievous, very good little boy.
Things Bennett LOVES: His Bear-Buddy and his puppy, going outside, pushing things (vacuuming has because a very sloooooow process lately), reading books at night with mom and dad, and climbing into and onto and off of and over and under and through and around just about anything he can find. His crib may become a thing of the past before too long.
Scary Fact: Bennett has reached that wonderful Stage of Immitation. If Matt gets a drink, Bennett gets a drink. If I put on my shoes, Bennett wants his shoes on. And if we decide we want to eat ice cream for dinner, Bennett wants nothing to do with his fruits and vegetables. Looks like it's time to start thinking about what kind of examples we are setting...

Sometimes at night Matt and I will go into Bennett's room and just watch him while he sleeps. We feel so blessed to have this wonderful little person in our lives. He makes us laugh everyday--every five minutes, actually--he just makes us so dang happy! Bennett is definitely all boy, but we sure feel lucky we get to be his mom and dad.

We love you, Bennett!