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.

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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!

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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.

April 21st - 27th

Once again I'm rather behind with my blog posting. This was last week, and I hope to get to the weeks that I missed.

Last week was Administrative Professionals week.  I came in to find some lovely flowers on my desk and later received a gift card.  That was especially appreciated!  Last summer we started using a new budgeting program and we quickly realized that we were spending way beyond our means.  As a result we had to significantly cut back on eating out.  So Friday night we were able to go out since we had some extra money!

On Monday we had three yards of mulch delivered.  Of course that was the last of the nice days so we haven't had a chance to deal with it since it was delivered.  I also need to put some edging in between the flower beds and the lawn, so that needs to get done before the mulch can be spread. 

Bennett had a blast though playing with the mulch pile and finding some clumps of dirt that had been mixed in and putting them into the garden beds.

Friday we stopped at Home Depot and Bennett had to check out the riding lawnmowers.  No idea if he knows that they really are- to him they are meant to be climbed on and sat on.

On Saturday we had soccer but when Bennett decided about half way through class that he would rather just lay down on the field, we decided it was time to go.

By leaving early this did give us a little more breathing room when we got home so that Bennett could play for a while before we headed out to Sturbridge for a family reunion.  We were a little concerned about how he would handle going to the town of Sturbridge without going to OSV and if he would get upset when we turned earlier than normal, but he surprised us by not really reacting at all.

The reunion was for members of the Bennett family.  (Yes, that's where he got his name.)  My great grandmother was one of 16 (or was it 17???) children and this reunion was for decedents of those 16- plus one who came from a cousin to the original 16.

There was a large family tree displayed and at one point Bennett looked over and noticed that his name was on it in multiple places.  Nice to know that he can recognize his name!

And here's a group shot of everyone in attendance.

On Sunday we had our weekly OSV trip.  This time Bennett brought Dolly along.  (Mom, no pictures!)

Apparently we've been going more frequently on Saturdays recently because one of the interpreters commented that we were there on a Sunday.  I suppose it is true that we've been more on Saturdays lately but that's mostly based on the schedule of events and other weekend plans.

In the farmhouse Bennett helped Victoria whisk eggs for a flour pudding.  He also filled the woodbox with very little prompting.  Maybe that will be a weekly task for him?

We also walked by all of the mills and Daddy explained how the water made the sawmill work.

Chip was working in the tinshop on this visit.  He mentioned that he had gotten the wood that he was using (as a backboard for punching tin for a lantern) from Phil and Bennett chimed in, "Daddy has wood at his work".  Yup, that he does.

Anyway, that wraps up the week.  Hopefully I'll get the other posts up soon!

Marching through March

As has been typical lately, there aren't any photos from the beginning of the week since there really wasn't much of anything going on.

On Thursday evening Bennett pulled out a game, asking if he could play it.  I suggested that first perhaps he and Daddy could vacuum.  He was so excited!  He put the game away, grabbed his vacuum, and told Daddy that he was going to vacuum upstairs and that Daddy should vacuum downstairs.  Who knew someone could be so excited about cleaning!

When they were done with that, we made a pillow fort/ tent.  I don't think Bennett really understood that the "tent" was the sheet strewn over the pillows.  I think he thought that the stack of pillows was the tent.  Either way, he had lots of fun with it.

Friday night we watched Peter Pan.  Bennett has a very abridged book that he's liked so we thought we would try the movie.  We'd forgotten how many potentially scary parts there are.  He did ok with it, but wasn't a fan of the crocodile, Captain Hook chasing people, Peter Pan trying to hurt Captain Hook, etc.


On Saturday the weather was in the 50s.  This warmer temperatures plus the fact that it was Celtic Celebration meant that there were a lot of people at Sturbridge. 

We were a little sad to learn that Isaac (the calf) is back in with his mother since he hadn’t been taking a bottle well over the week.  Hopefully he starts to eat more.  Interestingly it only takes a day or two for the mom to forget that she had a calf so we'll have to see how things go with them being back together after a week apart.  We were told that Bonnie was "tolerating" Isaac.

When we got to the blacksmith shop people were getting a chance to work the bellows and bend a piece of metal.  After lots of kids having a turn Mummy had a chance to give it a try.  Later, when speaking with the blacksmith he was surprised to hear that we had never been on the other side of the chain in the blacksmith shop. I think he thinks we've seen/done a lot more than we have!

Seeing how it was Celtic Celebration  there was, of course, some Irish music.  Full Gael was performing and Phil even joined them to play the bones.  Luckily we got there a little early and snagged some of the last seats in the room.  It quickly became packed and a bit of a fire hazard.

We also went back to Sturbridge on Sunday.  When we were there on Saturday Chris was offered a really cool experience, provided that we got there right at opening the next day.  This was likely offered to him because we go every week, have gotten to know the interpreters, and largely the stars aligned and we were in the right place at the right time.  (And this is different than the secret experience I mentioned last week.)  Talk to us in person and we would likely tell you what happened and share pictures.  Sorry, I wish I could share more about it, but I think if word got out then we might not be able to have experiences like this in the future.  :)

We couldn't go to OSV just for that one thing, so we walked around a bit more, seeing some people we had just seen the day before.  We headed out a bit earlier than usual and headed off to Alexander’s 7th birthday party.

Bennett had a blast playing with the other kids.  And considering the age range (3, 5, 7, 12, and 14) they all played together really well.  Bennett enjoyed jumping off of Alexander's bed the most.  He also played a little floor hockey and tried air hockey as well.

 Since he hadn't napped on the way to the party and he'd been running around a lot he fell asleep in the car on the way home at 5:45ish.  We got home and transferred him to bed, and then a few hours later when he was more soundly asleep we changed him into PJs.  He ended up sleeping for 13 hours!  I guess he was tired.