"i bops"

we are just a couple weeks from bennett's second birthday. i can hardly believe it (and not only because we have been battling the terrible twos for months already) and i would sincerely appreciate a life "pause" button right about now. he is totally a little boy now but thankfully i still get glimpses of my baby boy in there too. gosh i love that kid.

(wearing mama's "guy-yes")

honestly as much as i hate how fast time goes, i really enjoy where we are at. every stage so far has had it's own set of challenges (some more than others) but has also been so much fun. my favorite part of almost-two is bennett's ever-increasing communication. he seriously makes me laugh every single day with something new he says. he calls himself "bops" and will tell anyone who asks, "i bops." just this weekend he started saying things are "so awesome." he tells joe he's "sinky" (stinky) and tells joe to "shhhh" when he sings. he says he needs a "mooch" (smooch) when he gets owies and then tells me he's "all bay-yer" (all better) after the kiss. he will say "mama" over and over again until i finally say "what, bennett?" then he says "umm... so..." and then comes up with something completely random like "big truck!" he just talks constantly, even when he has nothing to say. we are working on "excuse me" when adults are talking and it's so cute to hear him say "cue me, mama." love those little manners, especially when joe is holding him while he's crying and he sadly says, "mama peas." melts my heart. he's become quite the little mama's boy and i love it :)

bennett also has a crazy-good memory and loves to recount things he's done and seen. he likes talking about time spent at my mom and dad's house on the lake: "big deer" and "baby deer," "foh-wee-er" (four wheeler), ducks, boat, golf, "fwo wocks" with papa and "fwo tenn-as ball" to "pah-yo" (throw tennis ball to apollo, ryan and jeanie's dog).

he also loves talking about his friends: beau, tripp, baby cash, baby jack, micah (kee-kah), emma, landon (nan-nan), baby gray, and more.

he tells me at least once a day about watching dada and uncle jakey playing tennis at the park and seeing a turtle walking in the grass going to find his mama.

singing is something that has really taken off for bennett in the last month. listening to him sing "winkle winkle li-lla sharr" gets me every time. other favorite songs include the "toy-al" (turtle) song we learned at music class, the entire soundtrack from frozen, and wheels on the bus. he also loves to do the packer chant and yell "go pack go!" we can't wait to watch packer games with him this fall- he's going to love it.

i love that bennett is really able to communicate with us and love hearing what goes on in that little head of his. while "no" and "no don't" (no i don't) are becoming fast favorites of his, i can say that's the one serious downside to early toddler speech. but i'll take it if it means i get to hear "uhh you, mama" (love you, mama) every day.