Two Weeks (and two days) of Heaven

Time has a funny way of going really, really fast when all you want it to do is stop.

Matt is officially back in Iraq now, working hard to be the best, most handsomest medical officer I know. Bennett and I are back in our groove, walking with friends and going to the park to play. It was hard to say goodbye on Thursday, but we know it will only be for a little while and then we will all be together again for good. And we can't wait, because we sure do have a lot of fun being together. Here's a rundown of the last two weeks.

Me and Bennett, sooo happy to have our bestest buddy home with us for awhile!

I have told Matt that in at least one way, I am glad that he is gone right now. I think his absence is the only thing keeping Bennett from abandoning me all together (well, except to eat and when he gets hurt. Those two things I still have a monopoly in...) But this little boy loves his daddy. Matt seriously couldn't even leave the room without Bennett immediately wanting to know, "Wah ma daddy doh?" (Where did my daddy go?) and then running to find him. For two weeks and two days I hardly ever saw this kid because he was Matt's little shadow. He did what his daddy did, ate what his daddy ate, and he wore what his daddy wore. It would be easy to get jealous if it wasn't just so dang cute.

Most of the time Matt was home we just hung out. I kept asking Matt if there was anything special he wanted to do, and he said all he wanted was to be with us in our house. So that's what we did. It was the easiest, best vacation we have ever taken together.

For most of the first week Matt was here it was really cold and rained a lot. One day, while Bennett was down for his nap, Matt and I were watching the DIY Network and we started talking about things we wanted to do around the house. I mentioned a few projects I had been thinking of accomplishing in the future, and seven hours later Matt had made all my dreams come true. There really is never a dull moment when this guy is around.

Just as a side note, Bennett got this awesome Black and Decker tool set from Jace (the little boy I babysit) and he is very serious about building. Whenever he uses this thing he is in deep concentration. Bennett is not playing with this, he is working. Anyway, I only mention this because our little builder came in quite handy as we put together our projects on this day.

Here is Bennett helping with his little screwdriver. (Matt has been gone, and I don't really build that often, but Bennett must have it in his blood to build because he knew exactly what to do with this, and only used it in the appropriate places. It was rather remarkable. We were very proud parents.) One of the things I wanted to do was get Bennett's toddler bed set up so I didn't have to do it by myself later (because I don't think I could have). Bennett is NOT sleeping in this bed at the moment, however. Currently, his crib is the only confining place I can put him and know he will still be there when I come back, so I will use that as long as possible. For now this bed is in the office. But wait! There's more!

This is a picture of our office (or at least as good of a one as I could find.) Over the course of seven hours though, we turned it into...

...this! Welcome to Bennett's "Big Boy" room! I love, love, love this room! Of course, it's only halfway finished because we are still in the process of making an adorable bedspread, valance, and ordering new furniture, but these are the basic bones of it. The plan is to have this as the toy room until Bennett grows out of his nursery, and then he can just move right across the hall. The nursery will stay exactly as it is because we don't know where to store any of that stuff, and we don't have any other use for that room anyway. Maybe we will be filling it with a new occupant sometime in the near future...?

To make space for Bennett, the office moved from an entire room into one corner of our guest bedroom and half of its tiny closet. It is amazing it all fit so nicely. Almost like it was meant to be.

Now when we have guests (that's you!) they can lay in bed and watch movies and stuff on here like a TV. Pretty cool. And the best part is, none of this cost us a cent! We sold the old office desk to our neighbor and used that money to get this new desk, and everything in Bennett's room is either reused furniture from other places in our home, or from the garbage (see August 1st, 2010 blog, "Nothing Better" for full details). I love it when stuff works out the way I want it to.

Not only did Bennett get a big boy bed, but ever since we came home from Rexburg, where he sat in a booster seat at mealtimes, Bennett has found it very insulting to have to sit in his baby highchair. So that, too, got packed up and put away. By the looks of things, Bennett is quite proud of this latest milestone.

And speaking of milestones, here's another first for Bennett. "First ER visit."

One day, Bennett was playing with the bobby pin in my hair, taking it in and out and putting it in his own hair and stuff, when suddenly I hear an unholy shriek and see Bennett fall to the ground like he had been shot. At first we couldn't figure out what he had done, but then we noticed blood coming out of his ear. And what's worse, the bobby pin was nowhere to be found. We got a flashlight and shinned it in his ear and saw what we thought was the tip of the bobby pin. Great.

So we rushed to the hospital and then spent a long time in the waiting room watching Sleeping Beauty until the doctor could see us. Luckily, the bobby pin was not in his ear (we found it later, covered in blood on the floor of our living room) and he had only scraped the inside of his ear canal, versus puncturing the ear drum like we had thought. So long story short, Bennett was fine but we spent a long afternoon waiting in the hospital. I have always known I would take this kid to the ER one day (or many days, the way things are going) but I'm just so happy Matt was there to do that with me the first time.

The same afternoon Bennett decided to clean out his ear with hair accessories, Mary and Wayne came up to see us. They arrived a little after we got back from the ER and the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Thank goodness.

Because it was so cold for so long, we brought Bennett's bike inside so he could burn off some of his ever-present energy. Here's Bennett's maimie, showing him a thing or two on how to ride.

Bennett and Pop, playing with the firetruck Santa brought him. Bennett loves this thing.

Of course, we had to BBQ with Matt being home, despite the frigged temperatures. And of course, Bennett had to be with his daddy. So we bundled him up and he went outside to play with bubbles until lunch was ready. Matthew's Shadow.

The happy group.

Besides Mary and Wayne we had lots of other visitors. Joe, Matt's brother, and his wife Kim came up on Sunday and spent the day with us, too. We had so much fun with them, going to church and talking and playing Monopoly Deal. We also saw our good friends the Askerlunds from down the street who we hadn't seen in months due to Christmas travels. Bennett was especially happy to see his buddy Brielle...

They both just learned how to give kisses, and it's pretty funny/terrifying to see them practice on each other.

The next week we packed the car up (I am a self-proclaimed expert at this now) and drove to San Antonio. While there, we crossed off one of Matt's other "R&R Requests" by going to the temple together while Mary watched Bennett. To be honest, the temple is probably the place I have missed Matt the most, so it was such a good experience to be able to go together again. That night we stayed with Mary and Wayne and celebrated Bekah's (Matt's sister) birthday and Matt's visit by eating really yummy food...like, really yummy food. I love comfort foods.

Getting ready for the party.

Nathan and Bekah with her presents

Making a wish. (Notice the cake. What is it with the bunt cake? And why does Mary's bunt cake look so much better than when I make it? I need to take lessons.)

The next day we packed the car again and drove to Houston, a place I have never been before. On the way there we met Matt's older sister, Rachelle, and her husband, Jess, and their little boy, Walker, for lunch at a really good Mexican restaurant. I really enjoyed my enchiladas, and after the dinner we had had the night before I was feeling very fat and happy on our way to Houston.

When we got there we stayed with Matt's Aunt Vicki and Uncle Steve, whom I had met before but never really gotten to know until this trip. They are hilarious! We spent a lot of time just sitting on their couches talking long into the night, and Bennett loved their little poodle Katy and all the attention he got.

Aunt Vicki and Bennett wearing a pair of Aunt Vicki's glasses. He liked these things a lot and wouldn't take them off until I made him because I was afraid his eyesight would suffer.

Bennett and Uncle Steve playing on the floor.

Bennett giving Katy kisses. He also gave Katy all his food and his toothbrush when I wasn't looking. Bennett has a very strong immune system...

The one food Bennett did not share with Katy was his hot salsa. Bennett eats salsa like it's tomato soup. He definitely did not get that from my side of the family!

The next day we got back in the car and drove to see one of the greatest ladies I know. Her name is Grandma Pat, and although she has no blood relation to Matt's family she is definitely their "grandma" in every sense of the word. Grandma Pat is the reason Matt came home on his R&R earlier than we had planned. Because a few months ago we found out that Grandam Pat had developed several brain tumors.

We drove to her home in Rosenburg (right outside of Houston) and spent about an hour talking to her and her husband, Bobby Jack, before she needed to go to her next doctor's appointment. Despite the way I am sure she is feeling, she was still the same old Grandma Pat, full of fire and grit and ready to take on anything that came her way. It was really good to see her, and we think of and pray for her often.

After our visit, we drove back to Aunt Vicki and Uncle Steve's house to get our stuff and say one last goodbye before heading back to our home.

Mattie, Bennett, and Me, ready to hit the road again.

Bennett with Aunt Vicki and Uncle Steve. We will be visiting these guys again soon, I'm sure.

When we got home we spent our time together, going to Story Time at the library, playing at the park, going for bike rides (which Bennett hates even more than sledding) and eating dinners and lunches with good friends. We had such a great time together it was hard to believe it would ever end.

But of course, Thursday came and we had to say goodbye again for a few more months. When Matt walked into the airport Bennett immediately started asking me where his daddy was. I told him Daddy was going to go on an airplane. Bennett thought that was pretty cool and kept saying, "Ma daddy (gibberish gibberish gibberish) ah-pane!" So I thought he pretty much got the concept...until we got home.

As soon as we pulled in the driveway, Bennett got so excited and started looking for his daddy in every room in the house, saying "Oh! Ma Daddy!" When he couldn't find him he got pretty upset and demanded to know where his daddy had gone. I told him he was on an airplane and that he had to go back to work. That seemed to satisfy him for awhile again, but about every three minutes or so he would ask me all over again and I had to keep reminding him most of the day.

But like I said, we have already done this before, so it made it a little easier to move on and get right back in our routine. In fact, the same day Matt left I babysat Jace, went on a walk with my neighborhood friends, hosted an impromptu play date at our house, and had a Primary Presidency meeting. No time for moping around here.

Bennett still asks me where his daddy is occasionally, and even though Matt is back at work (and I've tried telling that to him) the only explanation Bennett wants to hear is that his daddy is on an airplane. So for the next eight months Matt will forever be flying to Iraq. Have fun with that sweetheart :)

We sure love you