This post is a little late, but better late than never, right?
The Sticker Monster attacked one evening. Good thing we have so many of these stickers! They're "reward" stickers that we got a while back and haven't really used much.
Bennett then removed them from his face, threw them away, and asked for more, some of which went back on his face.
As previously mentioned, Bennett's school had race car week. So here he is in his car that he made.
"Reading" the paper one night consisted of him strewing newspaper all over the floor in a couple of different rooms. Messy, but he sure was happy!
Anyone need a cucumber? I have more plants than normal because I wanted to try making pickles, but this is way more than I can handle! Bennett and I can only eat so many of them. I did make some pickles (I'll know in a week or so if they're any good) and then I ended up giving a bunch away. And then I went back in the garden a day or so later and there were more to pick. I think I'm growing 3 different types which is why they are all different sizes.
And speaking of cucumbers, here's Bennett "peeling"a knit cucumber that I made. He doesn't play with them all that much, but I have a basket of knit vegetables that he brought outside one night.
On Saturday and Sunday Sturbridge had an event called Redcoats and Rebels. We told Bennett that there would be lots of people there in costumes. He asked if there would be a parade. Since there was a procession to the battlefield on the schedule we said that yes, there would be a parade.
So when we got there and saw these musicians at entrance, he asked if they were in the parade. Nope, but he definitely enjoyed watching them and listening to them.
Here he is clapping after a song.
We arrived shortly before opening, so we stood in line to get in. Once we got in, many of the reenactors seemed to still be getting settled. Here were a bunch of redcoats practicing marching.
We watched this group for a while as they were being inspected. Just before they were dismissed, they were told to "mill about smartly".
Bennett a bit confused by everything. Chris told him, "This is the weekend where Mummy and I are conflicted." Being Anglophiles we would normally support the British, but when we wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the Colonists we wonder if maybe we should be supporting them instead.
There were numerous cannon demonstrations throughout the day.
And more fife and drums as well. Here's Bennett watching the performers.
Uncle Andrew joined us a little later in the day. Here he is holding Bennett as Bennett plays his own "fife". We're trying to decide if we're crazy enough to get him a real one for his birthday.
After lunch it was time for the battle. We didn't stick around too long. It's hard to understand what's going on, and it was pretty boring for Bennett. Not to mention it was long past nap time.
Plus our day was going to get even busier as we had a party to get to! There was a pool which we avoided for a while (it was slightly chilly) but Bennett really wanted to go in. Luckily Kelly was willing to go in with him. Of course shortly after he got in the water it started to rain.
And here's a blurry picture of him jumping in, just before they got out due to the rain.
And then on Sunday we just relaxed at home- mowed the lawn, vacuumed out the car (lots of raisins, cheerios, etc), took a long nap, watched some Curious George, and then a quick trip to Target.
The week was a little wonky with the 4th of July holiday on a Thursday. Bennett wrapped up school for the week on Wednesday. Lots of patriotic crafts were made this week! They made fireworks (painted the tips of Q-tips and glued them on black construction paper), foot/handprint flags, and colored the Statue of Liberty below and also Uncle Sam who is further down this post.
On the 4th we decided to go to Sturbridge. It was HOT, but still a good time. Visiting the cooper shop seems to be a new tradition of Bennett's and he always wants to sit down on this bench to give it a try.
While we were in the cooper shop we found out more about the "save the sawmill" fundraising campaign. We are all for saving the sawmill, but none of the information really said what exactly we were saving. (unlike last year's gristmill project which was to repair the water wheel). Turns out the roof and some of the rafters are pretty rotted and need to be replaced. With a deadline of October we keep wondering when they are going to get started on the repairs.
When we were down at the farm Bennett pet a chicken!!! This is huge for him because he normally doens't want to pet animals. He could have pet the calf but he wanted nothing to do with that. One of the women was holding the chicken though so I wonder if that had something to do with it. Maybe she was much more approachable (and cat-like) that way?
We made our way back to the center village and noticed Rhys (the employee) heading into Doc and Blue's pen. He hitched them into the yoke and then started brushing them. Once they were good and brushed he started walking them around to tire them out a bit before the procession
We decided to have a picnic lunch out on the common. As we were eating Bennett kept asking where Doc and Blue were. Luckily they were usually somewhere in eyesight.
We also got to meet Lance and Henry. Ever wonder which is which when you hear the names of a pair of animals? Well, when they are hitched up, the first name always refers to the one on the right (when you look at them in this direction.) We also were wondering how we would be able to tell them apart when they weren't hitched up and we discovered that Henry has the horns that stick out like a Longhorn. (With Doc and Blue, Doc's horns point down.)
Sturbridge is a fun place to visit on the 4th because the families of the employees are welcome to come and be costumed. This is a great way to get some extra kids in costume. A small group of kids went to the school, and this group became a mini-militia who got a crash course in musket handling.
Finally it was time for the procession!
Please excuse the jitteriness of the video, especially at the beginning. Lots of waiting around for a procession that took less than two minutes!
And then afterwards Bennett kept talking about Doc and Blue in the parade.
When the procession had made its way back to the common it was time for a Naturalization Ceremony. How neat! (There had been increased security and bag checks to get into the village because of this.) Unfortunately it was about nap time and Bennett didn't want to stay still and be quiet so we missed most of the ceremony. But imagine our surprise when we ran into Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry while on the way to the bathroom! We chatted for a bit and then headed out.
We made a quick stop in the playground area because they have more cut-outs.
Back at home it was a continuation of a car nap and then when he woke up we went outside to cool down. Befitting the holiday, Bennett had a patriotic swimsuit in his pile of hand-me-downs. We went outside and played in the pool. I'd given him some balls made of cut up sponges as well as some shower poofs and he had lots of fun playing with those. (The next day he learned he could thrown them at Mummy and Daddy to get them wet.)
There's a saying that when growing corn on the cob it should be "knee high by the 4th of July" so I had to climb onto my garden bed to test this out. Perhaps for the 1st time in the 4 or so years I've tried growing corn, it's actually higher than my knees!
And to wrap yo the holiday, here's a blurry Uncle Sam costume from school.
This summer Bennett will be spending some extra time with Daddy. This gives them some extra bonding time but also helps our budget out a bit. So on Friday Bennett stayed home with Daddy and played. (This is his Duplo "house".)
And here's Bennett reading a circular and telling Daddy about all the tools that he should buy.
On Saturday we decided to go to the Children's Museum. Our membership expires at the end of the month and we haven't used it nearly as much as we should.
Once of the features of the museum is a 3-storey climber. We thought Bennett would love it. We were wrong. The first time he tried it there were a bunch of other kids around so we thought that was the problem- he didn't want to push past them. So we tried it again later, but nope. Not sure what the problem was. Usually he's a pretty active and adventurous guy. Maybe he just didn't understand it? Still too many people? Who knows.
Instead we checked out some other areas such as creating power by riding bikes or walking around in a circle.
Then we went upstairs and he got to play in the store. Using the cash register was lots of fun.
In the construction room he got to check out the Bobcat.
Daddy got to be a construction worker.
And Bennett was a welder.
In the gift shop Bennett discovered the selection of Curious George toys. He even took one of the stuffed George's around to show him some of the other toys.
On the way back to the car we stopped at the Fire Museum. It's just a small place with a couple of engines but Bennett was allowed to climb up on this one.
And speaking of fire stations, on Sunday (which we spent at home) Bennett played with some of Daddy's Legos. This was a set that Bennett had gotten Chris for Father's Day. Not only is it a big firestation, but it also has a couple of trucks and a helicopter. Bennett's still a little young to play with this, but he had fun.
And I'll wrap up this post with a video of Bennett directing Doc and Blue around the house. It's mostly him (at the end) saying "Doc, back". This is because while we were watching the oxen Doc kept trying to move away and Rhys had to keep telling him to back up. I guess Bennett picked up on that because all of a sudden we noticed him on Friday night with an imaginary stick (whip) saying, "Doc, back". It took us a bit to figure it out, but once we realized what he was doing we thought it was pretty cute.
Puzzles continue to be an almost daily activity. He zips through them pretty quickly now. Time to either mix them up a bit so that he isn't doing the same ones all the time (tricky since he likes these so much) or get him some more difficult ones.
This week he wanted to play wiht his LEGOs again. He hasn't used them in a while. One night he built a fence and then got the horses from his Little People farm sets to put behind the fence. Cute!
Silly glasses from school got played with. Given how cheap they are and the fact that the lens from one is popped out, maybe it's time they got relocated to the circular file, but Bennett doesn't seem to mind.
For a while now I've been thinking about getting Bennett a child-sized carrier so that he can wear his dolls. I wasn't sure he would be into it. But then one night we wrapped George on his back with a towel while Bennett was on his way to bed after his bath. Ever since then, Bennett wants George on his back after bath. So maybe he would like a carrier after all.
I went ahead and got one for him and when it arrived he happily tried it on. But then after a couple of minutes he wanted it taken off. Apparently, in his mind, the Boba (this is the brand) is only for use at Sturbridge. I guess this kind of makes sense since that's pretty much the only time that I wear him in my Boba.
So on Saturday when we went to Sturbridge we brought the Boba Mini and George along. He was very happy to wear George! He took George off for potty breaks and at lunch but then happily put him back on again. Now we just need him to use the Boba at other times and maybe it will really have been worth the expense.
Speaking of Sturbridge, here's our traditional photo in the cut-out.
Doc and Blue, the two oxen shown below, were out and about when we arrived. Bennett was very excited to see them and showed off his knowledge of which one was which. We were told that they needed a bit more cart training, so they had the lovely task of hauling some manure.
For months we never went in Cooper shop. Then a couple of months ago we went in and now Bennett always wants to go in and try out the draw knife.
Betsy had a calf her day before, right after closing time. She was keeping her distance from everyone.
As we were leaving I put Bennett up on my shoulders. The only thing that could make it even cuter would be if George was on his shoulders rather than his back.
We forgot to take this picture on Saturday so we were a day late. (Which is better than I've done in some previous months.) Bennett is now 33 months old. I like that he has the Curious George book in his lap. Very fitting of his life right now. Thought about switching Paddington for CG but decided to stick with the traditional stuffed animal. And since Bennett is such a creature of habit, he may not have even allowed me to make the change.
On Sunday morning we went to visit Mimi. Before we left I was cleaning up the front hall and came across a picture of a giraffe that Bennett had colored. I suggested that he bring it to Mimi since she likes giraffes. He was cool with that and then he ran off to get a library book of his (Cecily G and the 9 Monkeys) since it was about a giraffe.
After our visit we came home for lunch and nap and then headed off to Auntie Mel's house. The boys played outside for a bit and then we headed off for the pool.
I think I have this less than awesome expression on my face because I was getting splashed. The downside of Bennett still being pretty young is that I had to get into the water more quickly than I wanted. But he was rushing in, so I had to keep up with him.
He had a blast jumping off the side of the pool! Sometimes I held onto him and sometimes we just let him jump on his own. He kept jumping over and over again.
After the pool we went back inside, got changed, played outside a bit longer, ate dinner, and then headed home for a late bedtime. It was a great summer day!
