Dear Bently,

Yesterday 4/7/16 we had your very first soccer game ever. To be honest I expected you to be the one that just sat and played with the grass. But to my surprise you loved it! You hated every single time you had to sit out! You chased that ball all around the field. The most surprising thing may be that you loved to play goalie! You said that was your favorite part of the day! And you were pretty good at it! You stopped a couple goals! There were two pretty funny stories from yesterday.

#1 You had never seen a soccer game before or played one before. So you had quite a steep learning curve. They had the first kick off and the other team scored. The put the ball back in middle field for the kick off. You walked up to one of the coaches and loudly informed him, "I didn't get a turn!" It was pretty dang adorable! You just wanted a turn with the ball. You didn't understand you had to get it for yourself. But don't worry, you did pretty good after that!

#2 The other story is you weren't really paying attention and the other team was moving the ball down field. Dad and I frantically yelled at you to go get the ball. But you had no idea it was behind you so you started running in the opposite direction pointing at balls on the side line asking if we were talking about that ball. It was pretty stinking cute! :)

I love you my soccer star!

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently,

I hate to admit this but we are not good at having family night. I mean we really stink. As in we had it the other night, and you and Olivia had no clue what the heck we were doing! To show you just how confused you were, let me demonstrate with a story. We asked you to say the opening prayer. I thought it was a very clear and simple request. To my surprise, you folded your arms, bowed your head, then said, "Oh God, the Eternal Father" and then waited for me to help you with the rest. Your Dad and I tried really hard not to laugh. You honestly thought you were doing what you were suppose to. Then came a lengthy discussion of when we say that prayer! Only in church and when we are old enough. I have made a goal to be better at having family night, if only for the sake that you understand what it is! ;)

I love you adorable boy!

Love,
Mom

P.s. You turn 5 in 5 days and I may be freaking out about it. :( How did you get so dang old! I can't even believe it was 5 years ago that we had you! So crazy!

Dear Bently,

Yesterday was Valentines day! You've have been more into Valentines day this year because you had a preschool party. Before that, Valentines day wasn't really a big deal for you! But since you had a party I decided we should do some major Valentines day celebrating. Well it wasn't that big but we had fun! :) We made Valentines for everyone we could think of and took Valentines day pictures and had a "fancy" Valentines day dinner! I also made a special Valentines Day dessert that you loved! It was so fun to see you so excited! You kept asking if it was Valentines Day yet! I love you so much handsome! Spending holiday with you is magical and they just keep getting better as you get older!

Speaking of getting older, can you believe you'll be 5 in less than 2 months! Holy Bananas Batman! What the heck!? How did that happen. I know I say this every single year but 5 is old! 5 is kindergarten. 5 is 3 years away from being baptized for heavens sake! I know time is just going to keep getting faster and faster so I'm trying to enjoy every single minute with my adorable 5 year old! Who always tells me he loves me! You tell me all day long and I love it! And you still call me Mommy! I secretly pray you'll never stop!

I love you handsome!

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently,

Today we were walking around the Valentines day section in Walmart. You and Olivia were off looking at stuffed animals a little further down the aisle. I was surprised when you came running up to me, holding a single fake rose. With the biggest smile on your face you told me, "This is a rose. It's for you because I love you!" Talk about melting my Mommy heart! I totally got all misty eyed in the middle of Walmart. You see lately, I've been really struggling with feeling loved by your sister and you. You both are huge Daddy fans which is fine, most days. But lately I just feel unloved. It's hard to constantly hear, No I want Daddy. All day long. Especially since lately you've pulled out the big guns and have started to say, "I don't love you mom, I love Dad!" Whenever you're the least bit mad at me. I know your four and you don't mean it, but I can't help but let it hurt my feelings. So this little moment in Walmart meant more to me than you'll ever know!

Though I appreciated the gesture, I didn't necessarily want to take the rose home. So later I tried to ditch it, but you caught me and told me, "I want you to have it because I love you!" I couldn't say no to your cute face so we bought the rose! And now whenever I look at it, I remember how much my adorable 4 year old loves me! I love you more than you'll ever know!

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently,

The other day you fell asleep in our bed so you wouldn't wake up Lincoln. When it was time for me to go to bed I pulled back the blankets to move you. Seeing you there in your jammies I couldn't believe how big you are. Where did my baby go? How are your arms and legs so long! There is so much of you to carry to bed now. I love you sweet boy! I loved baby you and I love big boy you. Watching you grow is an honor! I am so glad I get to be here to witness it!

Tonight you were calling for me. And to be honest this is a nightly occurrence so I wasn't all too quick to answer your call which I assumed would mean you needed a drink. When I walked into the room your eyes were full of tears and you told me "I'm scared and I want you!" I realized in that moment our time is short. Pretty soon you will be a big boy who isn't afraid of monsters in his closet. Who doesn't call for me when he is scared. With that in mind I got in bed and cuddled and talked with you. I gave you a million kisses and soaked in the moment all that I could!

I love you handsome!

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently and Olivia,

Sometimes I catch myself getting caught up in things that aren't important. I'll tell you no or later because I have to clean or do things on the computer. And while those things are important, I'm trying very hard to stop telling you later. You guys are going to be big and old and grown before I know it. I never want to look back and say I wish I would have played with them more. Or cuddled them more. So today I stopped what I was doing and made a very sad make shift tent in the family room. I don't know who came up with the idea, but I know both of you wanted to do it. Unfortunately, when it was done, Bently wanted to read books and not play with Olivia in the tent. So I suggested we read books in the tent! So that's what we did. We read our library books in our tent. It was magical. It was perfect. It was a moment straight out of my head of what being a Mom would be like. I wish you guys could remember these moments! They are fantastic and magical and hilarious! You both say things that make me laugh all the time. I was sad when Lincoln woke up! I love spending time with you guys! You make me smile and laugh every day. I couldn't ask for a better job than being your Mommy! :) Thank you for reminding me to slow down and appreciate the moments!

Love,
Mom

Dear Bently,

In an hour and half we will be entering a new year. A big year for you. You will be turning 5 and entering kindergarten! 2015 was a pretty good year, but I'm really hoping 2016 is even better! Every year I get with you kid is such a blessing. You are maturing and growing at an alarming rate. I took your picture today and you looked so tall. I had to look back out from behind the camera to see if you were really that tall or if the camera was distorting the image. Nope, you really were just a big kid. You are quickly leaving your young years and entering full on big kid. It breaks my heart and makes me happy. Watching your children grow up is such a bitter sweet feeling. I love watching you learn and grown and mature but I hate it all at the same time. I love you with all my heart my sweet boy. You make me smile every single day and I am forever grateful I get to call you mine! Happy 2016 little man! I can't wait to see what this next year brings!

Love,
Mom

P.s. You always call me Mommy. I love hearing it every single time! I one hundred percent don't mind if you always call me mommy, because you will always be my little man!