June 9 - 15

When Bennett woke up in the morning on Monday he felt a bit warm adn said his ear hurt.  He often complains about his ear so we didn't think too much of that.  We took his temperature and he was fine, so off to school he went.
When we picked him up he had a 101 fever, so that meant no school the next day.  When we got home he watched Monsters, Inc and didn't eat much in the way of dinner, even though I tried one of his favorite foods.

On Tuesday Bennett had to stay home from school, even though his fever was gone.  He started off the day with Daddy since I had a dentist appointment.  When I got home he played nicely in my craft room while I did some ironing and some cleaning.  (There's still a LOT more cleaning to do!)

After lunch it was nap time.  He did not want to take his nap.  After a few minutes he came out of his room saying, "I rested.  Now I'm all better."  He repeated this quite a few times before finally settling down and going to sleep. After nap we watched Peter Pan and then made a Father's Day card.

After dinner we walked to the post office to mail a birthday card to Aunt Rebecca.

On Wednesday Bennett had his last week of speech for the school year.  And surprisingly, even though it was Daddy's turn, Bennett didn't sleep late.

School pictures (taken in April) finally came in!  We liked both poses and couldn't decide which to get, so we just ordered both of them.

On Thursday Bennett got his report card.  Not a surprise, but he's doing great.  I had to sign it, and he couldn't understand why he couldn't write his name on it.  We also got his class picture (they hadn't come in the day before with the rest of the pictures.)  None of the class pictures turned out well- just another reason why this wasn't a good photographer.


On Friday  evening we had a Father's Day cookout at school.  It's a nice chance to socialize with the other parents, and definitely a different vibe from the past couple of years as enrollment increases.

We got home a bit late and then let Bennett play a little while longer, so it was pretty late when he finally went to bed.



Saturday was Bennett's last soccer class.  Being the last class the parents got to join the kids on the field, so Daddy went and played some soccer.  For now we're going to hold off on signing him up for any sports.  He just doesn't seem to be all that interested in participating.

After soccer we went strawberry picking.  It's still pretty early in the season so we'll see how much jam I make from these (I need to actually work on that) and then who knows, maybe we'll go again.  Bennett was much better this year about picking ripe berries, but he still needs to work a little harder to get the bright red ones.

After strawberry picking we went to visit Mimi and were surprised to run into Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry while we were there.  They had also brought their new dog along with them so we all sat outside for a while.

Next up was bike shopping.  Well, we tried.  Turns out they didn't have the one I'd seen online (even though they said it could be picked up in the store), but Bennett's behavior was also less than stellar so we ended up leaving.  I guess he may have just been tired, because he fell asleep in the car on the way home.

When he woke up I asked him if he wanted lunch and he told me that he couldn't have lunch after rest.  Luckily he agreed that it was ok to have a big snack, which shockingly consisted of foods very similar to what he would have had for lunch.

He also had fun playing in the basement with Daddy, checking out the vise on his new workbench.

We rounded out the day by trying bike shopping again at a different store, this time ordering it online before we left and arranging for in store pickup.


Sunday was Father's Day. 

As I mentioned earlier, Bennett and I made a card for Daddy and it included a quiz.  I asked Bennett a few questions and wrote down his answers.

My Daddy's name is Daddy Breecher.
His is 10 years old.
He has grey hair and blue eyes.
At his job, my Daddy does work.
Daddy's favorite food is hot dogs.
Daddy always tells me to cut this paper.
I love to play and make cards for Mummy with Daddy.


We headed off to Sturbridge.  The first 200 dads got a mug with a lid, much nicer than the mugs we've gotten from our DCVs.  It was also Music and Art Weekend so there were a few extra things to see and do, such as listening to some fife and drum music.

While in the tinshop Phil introduced us to another interpreter, Walter, and commented that we came every week.  "No really, they do.  They have nothing better to do."  I don't think Walter believed him because he then started asking if we had seen various things.  Phil then commented that Bennett really does know all about this place and he could tell Walter all about everything.

In the afternoon Victoria was cutting profiles.  Luckily we got there a few minutes early so that we could be first in line.  Bennett was extremely wiggly and I'm not sure how much longer he would have been willing to stick around if we would have had to wait.  In fact, he was so wiggly that Daddy ended up having to hold him.

After nap Bennett played in the pool for a while, Grandpa came over to get his Father's Day gift, and after dinner we went for a bike ride.  Bennett did pretty well, but he kept trying to pedal backwards which meant that he was braking.  We'll have to work on that a bit more.

April 14 - 20

Moving along with playing catch up....


Bennett was still a bit under the weather so on Monday we picked up some cold medicine for him.  He's not a fan!

Tuesday was school picture day.  We also did some vacuuming in the evening and Bennett got very excited about that.



Wednesday Bennett has speech.  For some reason he seems to sleep late on Chris' mornings to take him but not on mine.  This being Daddy's morning, of course he slept late.
When leaving school he and Grace held hands on the way out.  Super cute.
When he got home he asked to cut paper.  The little pieces were "tape".

Thursday he had a dentist appointment.  Things are looking good.  He's had some discoloration behind his bottom front teeth, but it wasn't as bad as the previous visit.  No idea what's causing it.
At school the kids got Easter baskets.

On Friday Bennett came home to find an Easter basket from Nana and Auntie Hanna hidden in the yard.
We also all had to role play Peter Pan.  He was Captain Hook, Mummy was both Wendy and Mr. Smee, and Daddy was Peter.

At soccer on Saturday the Easter Bunny came to say hi to the kids.  In this photo Bennett is walking away after just having got a high five.

After soccer we went to Sturbridge here he got another kiss on the head from Phil.  We also got to watch a sheep give birth which I thought was incredibly neat.  I discussed recipes  with Victoria and Katie (I think that they think that I bake a lot more than I actually do), Victoria asked to borrow Bennett to check for eggs, and she also asked if he could be costumed to be her helper for a day.  Guess I'll have to work on a costume for him.  :)

Quote from the day:
Bennett: Mummy, say "brrr"
Daddy: Brrr
Bennett: Is your name Mummy?

Not interested in photos before backyard soccer.

Sunday was Easter!  Bennett woke up early and came into our room to say that he had a coloring book in his room.  The Easter Bunny also brought him The Jungle Book, a toothbrush, some socks, and some Band-Aids.
We played outside in afternoon and then headed to Home Depot.

For those of you who might be squeemish, here are some pictures of the sheep having her lambs.  

In labor with the first lamb.  You can see the hooves starting to protrude.

First lamb half out.

While the mom was cleaning off her first lamb, the second starts to arrive.  She is oblivious.

Second lamb.

It was only when the second one finally bleated after a few minutes that Momma Sheep realized it was there.  She then started to clean it off.

March 17 - April 13th

Let's back up to mid-March for the start of a three week recap.

March 17 - 23
Happy St. Patrick's Day!  There were festivities at school, of course.  Not related to anything Irish, but at home Bennett showed his love of Beauty and the Beast as he offered imaginary food to Belle, Papa, and the horse.

On Tuesday Daddy had his class so Bennett and I watched Peter Pan and had popcorn for dinner.  Hey, it's fiber, so it's good for you.  Right?

Wednesday was Daddy's turn to bring Bennett to speech.  They had a tea party while waiting for Miss Christina.

Thursday was Grandma Tedford's birthday so we Skyped when we got home.  Since we had stopped at Target on the way home this meant that dinner ended up being a bit late.  This was also the first day this week that Bennett took a nap at school.

The big excitement for the week happened on Friday.  We picked Bennett up early from school and brought him  to Nana’s house where he spent the night.  He started off by taking a two hour nap (after he finally fell asleep) and then he went to Nana’s friend’s house so that he could play with her grandson, Ryan.

While he was with Nana, Mummy and Daddy went to Sturbridge to have a Dinner in a Country Village with their friends.  Once again Mummy and Uncle Andrew went to the dinner in costume.  We were joined by the typical game night crowd (Bryants, Doucettes, York, Kristin) as well as the Birds, and Leslie.  Everyone seemed to have a great time so maybe we’ll do it again next year.

What was funny though was in the morning when we told Bennett that he would be going to Nana's house he got very excited and wanted to pack his suitcase right away.  He also talked so much at school about going to Nana's house that Berta threatened him to take a nap at school (we had said we would pick him up before nap) if he mentioned Nana again.

Here are a few pictures from the dinner.

Selfie at the hotel just before we left.

York mulling cider.

Kelly and Leslie skewering the beef.

Chris stirring the cabbage for the hot slaw.

Vegetable prep.

The pastry table.

Jason checks on his stewed pears.

Fun with cutouts as we left the Village!

On Saturday when we picked Bennett up from Nana’s we had planned to go back to Sturbridge.  He seemed fine at first, but took a quick turn for the worse and seemed to be a little under the weather.  So instead we had a low-key day at home.  Bennett watched Cars and then took a 5 hour nap!  Amazingly he was able to go to bed just two hours later.

 

On Sunday he was feeling better so we were able to go to Sturbridge.  We were surprised to see Victoria working inside the Small House.  However, it’s the first building in the village so we didn’t get much of a chance to talk.  Mummy did show her a picture of her costume and she was very impressed.  We later went back to chat with her some more and found Phil in the Small House.  I don’t think we’ve ever seen him in any building other than the Tin Shop.  Isaac is still in with Bonnie where he likely will be until he weans.  This also means that they won’t be milking Bonnie.  However, they are doing well together so I guess it’s all for the best.  We also saw Bonnie drinking Isaac's pee.  Yuck!

 

To make our weekend even busier, the Durbins came over in the afternoon.  We passed along lots of clothes as well as some toys.  It was interesting to watch the boys play together- still very much parallel play rather than interactive.

--------------------

March 24 - 30
Monday- no nap
Whenhe got home from school Bennett played Candyland and Zingo Bingo.  Then we pulled out some coloring/activity books and he did dot to dots, wrote letters/ wrote his name, and circled things like all the whatevers on the page.


Tuesday- "I did the puzzle all by myself.  Not with the help of Mummy, or Daddy, or Tony."

Wednesday-
Bennett: (while holding a banana) This is my hook.
Mummy: Are you Captain Hook?
B: No, I'm Victoria.
M: Why do you need a hook?
B: So I don't hurt my fingers.  I'm in the Small House.
M: What are you doing there?
B: Making maple syrup.  Do you have a hook?
M: Where am I working?
B: (long pause while thinking) The farmhouse.
(This conversation was prompted by watching Victoria use the hook to take the pot off the fire at the Small House while she was making maple sugar. See, he does learn things from all of our visits!


Thursday- woke up from nap at school with a fever.  When we picked him up he was rather snuggly and subdued.  It was Mimi's birthday, but given the fever we couldn't visit so instead we called to wish her a Happy Birthday.  He's slowly getting better about talking on the phone.

Friday- He was home sick with Daddy and they watched lots of movies.

By Saturday he was feeling better and he had his first soccer class.  The little uniform is super cute on him!  Mostly they run around with a little bit of direction, but Bennett isn't the best at following directions.

Spring is here!

After soccer he went to the Ecotarium with Grandpa, although he would tell you that he went to "Worcester"

After the Ecotarium he came home in time for nap.  When he woke up he climbed in bed with Mummy to nap a little longer.

On Sunday it was raining for the weekly OSV visit but that didn't keep us away.  We arrived a little later than usual.  At the farm there was a chicken that kept going in the woodshed so Bennett chased it out. There are 3 new lambs from the previous week, bringing the count up to 4.  We also saw a ram that had gotten out of its pen and was in with the cows.

Demonstrating what the privy is for.

At home after OSV he once again climbed into bed with me to finish his nap.  If only those snuggles would last longer!

---
March 31 - April 6

Monday- coloring Peter Pan pictures.

Tuesday- picked up early (Mummy had dr appt)
more coloring
Had to put books on stairs so that "we will remember to bring them upstairs."

He apparently forgot how to make the first E so I helped him with the second one.

Wednesday- The weather got a bit nicer so we were able to get outside to rake leaves and pick up sticks.  Bennett loved finding sticks to put in the bag.

Building a Duplo tower before Speech class.

Self portrait

Thursday-
As we were driving to school Bennett asked if Sturbridge was open.  We frequently have this conversation in the car.  Apparently when it's light out Sturbridge should be open and it should only be closed when it's dark out.
Mummy: The clock says it's 7:21.  Sturbridge opens at 9:30.  Does 9 come before or after 7?
Bennett: I have a clock in my bedroom.  I have TWO clocks in my bedroom.  One on the wall (mural of Big Ben) and one on the ceiling (London skyline on the sloped part of his wall/ceiling).
He also has a real clock in his room but apparently that one doesn't count.

After school we picked up more leaves and sticks.  While playing in sandbox he let us know that he was making maple syrup.

School celebrated the Red Sox home opener (a day early).  Everyone got dressed in their Red Sox apparel and they had hotdogs for lunch.

While going on a walk he decided to hold G's hand.  The teachers have commented that sometimes they will look quickly at the two of them from behind and get the two confused since they both have messy blonde curls.

Since Bennett has lots of hand me down Red Sox clothes we had hims show team pride again on Friday.  He told us that the B on his hat is for Bennett/baseball/soccer.

Asking us to repeat various words...
Bennett: Say "waterminnow"
Daddy: Watermelon.
B: No- waterminnow.
D: What's a waterminnow?
B: Peas, and rice, and corn.

Saturday
At soccer on soccer on Saturday he started tackling the other kids.  To him he was just playing, but I don't think the other kids enjoyed it.  We'll have to have a talk with him about how this isn't appropriate.

At OSV there are now 8 lambs!  Being the start of April, things picked up on the schedule.  Lots more people around, both in terms of the number of visitors and the number of interpreters.
Other randoms from the visit:

• At the tinshop, Bennett got a hug and kiss on the side of his head from Phil.  Phil also kept pulling Bennett's hat over his eyes.  We don't have a problem with any of this, but it struck us as a little odd.
• I asked Victoria a question about something completely unrelated to the Village and she gave me her cell phone number so that I could text her with more information as she said it was easier than email.

Bonnie walks around while Isaac takes a nap.

A really cool hammer that one of the blacksmith's made.  It's based off one in the collection.

Musket firing demos are back!

After we got home and Bennett woke up from his nap we went to Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry's to check out their new house.  They hadn't moved in yet, but it was nice to see.  Can't wait to see it when they've moved everything in, unpacked a bit, and gotten some of the numerous projects finished.

On Sunday we had a relatively low-key day at home.  Bennett watched Peter Pan, we baked cookies, and we did some yard work.

April 7 - 13

Monday-  We've reached the terrible threes.  Or based on comments from friends, it's the 3 and a halfs that are really bad!   At home he seemed to want lots of 1 on 1 attention- playing games, reading books, etc.  And then he ended up having to go to bed early because he wouldn't eat his dinner.

Reading the paper at school.

Tuesday was the Braves home opener so he wore a Braves jersey to school.  Got to show our support to both our teams, right?  He skipped his nap and had the attitude to match.  However, his disposition did improve after dinner, so maybe he was just hungry?

Wednesday he woke up early and got in bed with Mummy.  That didn't last for very long though.  He did play nicely on his own before speech though, which is always nice when we are trying to get ourselves ready.

On Thursday he had a very raspy voice, and I can only imagine how sore his throat must have been.  After dinner he played with the  Lego firestation while Mummy baked a cake for Kelly's birthday celebration the next day.

Sunflower/ Peeps cake

Friday night was game night.   He started off very sluggish and not feeling well, but he magically improved during the egg hunt.

The kids with their baskets of eggs.

Dying eggs.  He had a blast!

Bedtime was rather late.  After the umpteenth meltdown over little things plus falling off the couch we changed him into PJs and with Daddy holding him, he fell asleep around 10:00.  If only he were one of those kids who would lie down on their own when they are tired!

On Saturday we decided to skip soccer since it had been such a late night the night before.  In hindsight we likely didn't have to since he woke up at normal time.

But instead we went to Sturbridge a little earlier than originally planned.  The weather was awesome- warm and sunny.  It was Girl Scout Day so there were lots of other people around plus some extra things on the schedule.

Chris went to a member talk in the morning.  I would have liked to go as well, but we knew Bennett wouldn't cooperate so I took him off to the rest of the Village.  The talk was supposed to be about hand tools- planes, hammers, etc but ended up being a look at early machinery- tablesaws and the like.   He also took this picture which for some reason just strikes me as funny.

Doc and Blue were out plowing the garden.  They hadn't been plowing since last year and they weren't cooperating.

We started a new game- identify the building on the map.  Bennett surprised us by being able to correctly name various buildings when we pointed to them- the tin shop, farm, blacksmith, cookie store...

The advantage of knowing the interpreters- they let you sit places that are normally roped off.

At one point Bennett was drawing pictures in the dirt.  Victoria came over to join him and then commented, "I went to art school to be able to draw you a sheep."

Back at home after nap, we played outside for a while and Bennett did some gardening.

On Sunday Bennett went with Nana to a farm near Auntie Hanna's college for another egg hunt, and of course a stop at Target as well.