Dear Bently,

I have been seriously slacking on writing you letters! To be fair life has been crazy busy around these here parts! I don't know if I've mentioned it yet but you are getting a new sibling! Actually really soon! I'm due in like 56 days or something! :) You're going to get a new brother! I am excited and terrified to see how it goes adding another one this time around! It's weird because you actually mostly understand what's going on. You talk about the baby all the time and are always wanting to feel him move or listen to his heartbeat. Olivia has no idea, but you kid, you are excited to get a little brother! :)

Okay I have made a list of things I wanted to mention to you so sorry if this letter is a little random!

You say "Ah!" When something is cute! You also put on this high pitched voice and it's pretty hilarious! You'll say things like "Ah what a cute little bird!" Or "Cute little doggy!" You are always making us laugh with that one!

You say restaurant so funny! I keep trying to film it! You leave out the t so it sounds like resaurant. It maybe my favorite word you say!

One of things I love about you that I've mentioned before is you will randomly tell me you love me. Or you'll say it to Dad. Just out of no where you'll say, "I love you Mom!" Every time it makes my little heart melt. :) One time I was going to the bathroom down stairs so you had to go upstairs to go. Well I was stuck on the toilet so I couldn't exactly go to you! Well Olivia and your Dad were sleeping and you kept yelling down at me. I kept trying to loudly tell you to be quiet but it wasn't working! You were just yelling down random things about going to the potty or what we were going to do that day. I kept getting more and more frustrated till finally you yelled down "MOM" and I snapped, "What!!!"  In a little bit quieter voice you say, "I love you!" Talk about making me feel guilty! You little stinker! :)

You have this weird tick lately where the toilet lids always have to be shut. I think it's because you've witnessed me drop quite a few things into the toilet and it's made you paranoid! Ops! Sometimes I'll barley stand up after using the bathroom and you are right behind me shutting it. I mean they have to be shut. So often you'll yell to me, "shut the toilet mom!" It's not such a bad thing I guess. Just kind of a strange thing for you to be worried about! ;)

The other day I was talking to you and out of no where you said, "You're a good mom" Let me tell you that just made my entire year! I couldn't believe you would think to say something like that all by yourself! Especially on a day where I wasn't feeling like a good mom. It's moments like those that make all the frustrating ones worth it! You are so cute my son and I just can't help but love you to pieces!

Another cute story is you were praying the other night and you just recently have started to switch up your prayers. You used to always say the same thing. It went like this. "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you for Dad, Mom, Olivia, Bently, and baby. Please bless I'll sleep all night long. In the  name of Jesus Christ Amen." So when you started switching it up I got really excited because you currently say pretty much 100% of the prayers in our house! Well one night you said, "Please bless we'll be a family forever and have fun!" I can't even tell you how much I hope we'll be a family forever! :) I'm glad you want to keep us around!

The last thing is your fears. You've always been a pretty anxious child but lately something has really triggered fears in you. You refuse to be left alone anywhere. You won't go anywhere without me or Dad or Liv and you are terrified to sleep at night. I feel but and frustrated all at once! It's frustrating because you can't tell me what you're afraid of. You just say everything! You will sleep with Olivia but she cries if you go in there before she's asleep. Before I would just have you fall asleep in our room and then move you once you were both asleep. Obviously that doesn't work anymore. I can't decide if I should coddle you or give you some tough love! Last night was the worst! I couldn't get Olivia to sleep and you wouldn't sleep and I had been trying for an hour and a half. Your Dad was at work so it was just me and I was pregnant emotional and done. I just wanted to get things done and I was tired of sitting in my room waiting for you to go to sleep, again, for 90 minutes! Finally you said, "Mom" and I snapped, "What Bently!?!" Well I guess you were emotional too because you burst into tears and sobbed, "Don't yell at me, I'm tired and sick!" (You have a cold) It broke my heart and I felt so bad for snapping at you! (I didn't yell by the way). I immediately cuddled you in bed and told you how sorry I was! I'm working on patience but it is not an easy thing to gain that's for sure! I hope we can figure out what's scaring you so badly. It's gotten to the point where you won't even go to the bathroom by yourself because you're scared. Wish us luck figuring out how to help you!

I love you more than I could put into words Bently! I love 4 year old you! I love hearing what you are thinking and what you want. I could listen to you talk all day, and I do! ;)

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently,

You have a funny little quirk. We decided you were old enough for silverware and it has been the best choice we have ever made! I love being able to focus on my own dinner while you happily munch away on yours. You are still really bad with spoons but we'll get there.

The funny thing is you LOVE using your fork. No matter what we're eating you want your fork. Today, for example, I gave you a grilled cheese sandwich. I set the plate in front of you and then you adamantly demanded a "fork". No matter what I told you about using your hands and that it was okay, you weren't going to eat that sandwich till you got your fork. You ate the whole sandwich with your fork. It was pretty hilarious. I don't know why eating with silverware is so important to you but I don't mind at all. I think it's pretty darn adorable! :)

I love you so much Bently!

Mom

Dear Bently,

Kid you are hilarious!!! Today we were driving home from Salt Lake and your Dad told me you were sleeping. Sure enough I look in the back seat and your head is down. I let out a pretty loud "NO!" I knew you wouldn't nap at home if you fell asleep! Your head immediatly jerks up and you have the this hilariou goofy grin on your face! Your Dad and I busted up laughing! It was hilarious! We have been mimicking you all day long! :)

Another time you were dancing in your booster seat. I said "Bently what are you doing!" and you said "I dancing!" It was hilarious! I have never heard you say the word dancing before! I loved it! :)

You keep us laughing Bently! I love seeing what new and exciting things you'll do! Every day is different and I love it!

Mom

Dear Bently,

There are so many things I want to write about, but then when I go to actually do it, they all slip from my brain like water running through my fingers! Ugh! I am such a slacker mommy. I feel like I haven't written about all the fun things you do in forever. Let's just get started shall we and we'll see where it leads! :)
You have turned into a little parrot. You repeat most everything we say. I love it! I love making you say silly words, or words I know are pretty much impossible for you to say right now! But there are always those rare moments where you actually say a really hard word crystal clear. I always am shocked and amazed and end up hugging and kissing you like crazy cause my mommy pride is exploding! :)

1-Mama
2-Dada
3-Cracker
4-All gone
5-Amen
6-Dog (mostly when we ask you to say dog you just bark! It's adorable!)
7-Duck
8-Papa (Started consistently saying this one today!)
9-Car (You say this one all day every day! It get's a little annoying sometimes!)
10-Plane (Mostly sounds like pa. It's adorable! whenever you hear one you point at the sky and say plane! :) You also said it today when you saw some balloons floating in the sky! We'll have to teach you balloon next!)
11-Home

Here's the list from before and I'll add the ones you can say now!
12. Chicken
13. Annie
14. Grandma
15. Melissa
16. Milk
17. Eat
18. dinasaur (This one is hilarious! You just say it so cute!)
19. Amublance
20. H (As in the letter H. We have magnetic letters on our fridge and every letter is H no matter how many times we tell you otherwise! :)
21. Bye bye
22. Hello or Hi
23. Cheese (You pick up our digital camera, Point it at yourself and say cheese! It's pretty much the cutest thing in the world!)
24. Bath
25. Night night

There are more but I can't think right now! I love that you can talk! It's the cutest thing ever! Everytime you say a new word I get so excited! You can't even imagine how happy it makes me!
We bought you your very own potty awhile back. No I have no intentions of potty training you yet because you are not ready. But I read this neat article about preparing your child for potty training and that is a part of it. You love sitting on your potty. It's pretty cute! :) I can't wait for the day I don't have to change diapers!
You have a weird reaction to sirens. We have 2 firestations within 1 or 2 miles of our home so we hear a lot of sirens. You have 1 of 2 reactions. The first reaction is your terrified. You will run and cling to us and snuggle down and get the scared look on your face that is adorable. You will stay that we long after there gone! Or two you look up with big eyes and imitate the sirens making a little wooing noise! I love it! That one always makes me laugh! Whenever I hear a siren I always automatically look to you to see what you're going to do! It's quite entertaining!
You have become very giggley lately! You love being chased. I will growl and you will automatically go running towards Dad! You squel with anticipation and hide your face in his legs! We then of course have to tickel you. You are so ticklish! I love making you laugh! You also laugh when I make silly faces at you! I probably look like a nerd as I munch my breakfast down making the craziest faces I can muster for your enjoyment! :) It's worth it to hear your sweet baby giggle! :)
Every night I check on you when your sleeping. I quietly sneak into your room and look into your crib. You are the sweetest sleeper ever. You are always snuggled down in some crazy upside down position with Dog dog wrapped tightly under you arm. Or Dog dog is under your belly or beneath your head, but mostly you just hold him tight as you sleep! It's incredibly adorable! I have never seen a child actually sleep with a stuffed animal until you! I just sit there and stare at you, taking in every single little detail! I whisper I love you, wrap a blanket around you and sneak back out. As soon as I shut the door I wish I had one more second with you. I always want as much time with you as possible. I miss you when your sleeping! :)
You love dancing. It's hilarious. I would like to give the credit to me. I am always having crazy dance parties by myself in the kitchen. I should say I used to because now you will usually join me for my dance parties! Before all you could do was rock your head back and forth. I'm happy to report your skills have much improved! You now can spin in a circle and bend your knees and bounce. I love it! We turn on music just to watch you dance. You are picky when it comes to the music you like though. It has to have a good beat or you will ignore it. Oh I should also mention when you spin in a circle you make yourself dizzy. Again, hilarious! :)
I'm sure there were more things I wanted to talk about but of course they have all dispeared! I hope you always know how much I love you! How much your smiles mean to me when I am having a bad day. I love getting Bently hugs. Today we just layed in my bed and snuggled and played. It was one of those moments that I wish could last forever! I am one lucky Momma to have you for a son! :)
Love,
Mommy

Dear Bently,

Child oh how I love! I love days when I get to spend time with you! I love your Dad and all but I also LOVE days where it's just the two of us hanging out! I get to play with you and love on you! :) Today was like that! We went to the park with Aunt Shawna and Christina and Stacey. You were adorable! I was pushing you in the swing and the whole time you are gripping the front and staring at the ground. You looked not miserable, but not happy. I thought you were probably done and felt bad for swinging you for 10 minutes! To my utter and complete shock when I pulled you out of the swing you threw a fit! Screaming and kicking. So you went back in the swing. You stopped throwing a fit and resumed your hunched over position. I guess you enjoy it though you don't look like it on the outside! :)
When I finally got you out of the swing you had a blast crawling around on the sand! :) I loved watching you run your fingers threw it! I began chasing you! You recently started to scream when we chase you! It's hilarious! It makes my day hearing your little baby scream! :) You also do this thing when we get close to catching you where you plop your head down on the floor. Like an ostrich hiding in the sand. It's usually not a problem but today, like the ostrich, you really were in the sand. You have been drooling a ton because of your teeth so you can imagine your face when you pulled up from the sand! :) It was pretty gross but you were just smiling the whole time! You also got sand all up your nose! That was really gross! Aunt Stacey and I ran you to the bathroom to wash you off. Aunt Stacey was holding you when you let out a terrific sneeze. Snot and sand landed all over Aunt Stacey! Thank you Bently for not doing that on me! :)
You do so many fun things! I feel like I don't write enough of them down! I am stinky about writing in my journal so this is my journal for you! I will list as many as I can think of off the top of my head!
-You are too chicken to walk but you would rather us hold your hands and walk you around then crawl.
-When you are done with your sippy cup, or food, you throw it on the ground. You sometimes also throw it on the ground because you like to watch it fall. Dad always says we could feed a whole other kid just by the food you leave on the ground! :)
-You love watching cars! I am trying very hard to get you to say cars!
-Just these past couple days you have started to say the word Mom consistently! I LOVE IT! It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life! :) I can't even describe how good it makes me feel! :)
-You love bananas, hot dogs, candy (of course), and french fries!
-Don't get me wrong we give you drinks all the time! But every time, not matter how long since the last one, you drink like you are dehydrated and dying of thirst. You will chug and chug. You drink more than you eat! Thus, we have switched to whole milk because your Momma is worried about you getting too skinny! Daddy says you got that from him! :)
-You are constantly trying to get into the bathroom. Like constantly. If you hear the door open you hurry your baby butt as fast as possible over there. You always seem so proud of yourself when you make it in!
-You love books. You will just sit and look through all your books for hours on end. You love to flip the pages. I'll read them to you but you get impatient. Flipping the pages is apparently really fun! You are gentle though. Knock on wood, but so far you haven't ripped a single book.
-Lately when we say cheese you will scrunch up your little face into the most heart breaking smile imaginable! Sometimes you'll even close your eyes! It's hilarious! I try and make you do it as much as possible because I just love it so much! :)
-Dad has been trying for months to teach you to say "Oh Bugger" and then hit your head with your hand. I thought he was going to fail but the other day he said it, and you didn't say anything, but you hit your little head with your hand. I'm pretty sure your Dad was on cloud nine! And I got a nice little laugh out of it too! :) It's pretty much hilarious!

I know there is more but that is all I can think of right now! Every day you get bigger and bigger. I think you officially look like a toddler now. (Even though there is no toddling going on! ;) I love you my little man! You light up my world and keep me smiling!
Love,
Mommy

Dear Bently,

Kid, you are TOO funny! No joke,  you keep me laughing all day every day! Lately you have figured out how to nod your head and shake it. You'll sit there and nod your head while going bah bah bah! It makes me smile every time! You shaking your head is pretty funny too! You love it when we shake our head with you! You also roll your wrist around while saying Liddle liddle liddle! It's too cute! And you give us the biggest smiles when we do it with you! :) You also dance! We'll put on music and you'll shake your little body! You make my day!!!
Bently I love being your momma! We have lots of fun together! You love ALL animal books! Thank you Aunt Carissa! You hit the pages and get so excited! You laugh when we make all the animal noises! You think we are pretty hilarious to say the least! You're favorite is dog! I swear you try and say dog and bark. We'll see... :)
I love you Bently! But I am going to go play with you now since I work 12's the next three days! :( Love you so so much!!
Love,
Mom