Scooby And The Gang {well, part of them}...

We had a great Halloween weekend this year full of parades for both girls, school parties, birthdays, grandparents visiting, end of season soccer games and flu shots! Okay so that last one was not so fun but we got all three kids taken care of at once-yeah...I'm sure you can picture that scene;0

Anyways, Mike's parents came to visit and it was Grandpa's birthday on Friday and my mom's (Grammy) on Saturday so happy birthday again to both of them! We had a great visit and Grandma and Grandpa just loved seeing the kids in their costumes....

Me and Scooby Doo! Yes, I'm in my standard cat costume-hey it's easy, the kids like it and it gives me an excuse to wear fake eye lashes-so fun!! Enough of me though, isn't he such a cute little Scooby?!

And here's Daphne and Velma!

It was a cold Halloween this year but I had the girls layered up {as in "Are Harper's legs that big", Grandma asked -nope just lots of layers-LOL} and they were on the move!

Bennett was not so thrilled about being out in the cold-you can see he's a tad bit ticked.

These two were so cute! I made them hold hands after Harper or Velma, fell numerous times. Not sure if it was the tinted glasses she was wearing or all the excitement but she dropped that bucket over and over when she fell, of course got right back up, quickly put her candy back in and went on. Just can't quite keep up with her big sister yet, I guess.

So all in all, while it was very busy, it was a great Halloween weekend!

Costume Peek...

I know I shared a part of Bennett's costume for Halloween but I just had to show you a little peek of another little one's costume....

If you ever watched Scooby Doo growing up or if your kids are into it now, you'll know who she's dressed up as;)

Harper, you make mommy and daddy smile!!

Our Saturday Nights....

...have changed just a tad over the years.

We recently started having "movie night" on Saturdays with our popcorn...

Our movie...

and lots of pillows and blankets spread out on the floor...

We watched "Up" {yeah, I know, we're way behind the rest of the world} but it was really cute and this was Bennett's first time joining us! I thought for sure he'd have to go to bed shortly after we started but he just laid there, under the covers, with his little thumb in his mouth and was as happy as could be! I couldn't believe it, he's 17 months-what 17 month old will watch a movie like a big kid?!

There he is glued to the tv-and the funny thing was, when I'd reach over him to get popcorn he'd push my arm out of the way because I was blocking his view-too cute!

This little 5 pound fur ball was determined to get popcorn out of the bowl and eventually she did-stinker! Looking pretty scruffy I must say.

I'm telling you he is such a little snuggler!!!

Mike tried to attack Bennett and you can see he's trying to kick and push daddy out of the way of the tv!

Yes, these three have changed our Saturday nights....

But we wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Sleepy Head...

I know I've said that Bennett and Harper are a lot alike, not only in looks but personality as well. But when it comes to waking up, Bennett is always my happy boy! Both of the girls had to adjust to waking up when they were babies and wanted to be held and often Harper still wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. But not my Bennett!

I often have to wake him to get up for therapy-awful I know, but it's usually after a long nap and he's still just as happy as can be!

Totally looks like his signing "mom" here, doesn't it?

Every morning I'm greeted with his shy "sucking thumb smile" and I just love it!

Can't get enough of him!

There it is again, that little smirk through his thumb sucks, love it!

He may be sleepy but he sure is happy!

For the record this may be the ONLY time Bennett doesn't grace us with his pout!

Salty and Sweet Treat!-Great for kids!!

I had these at Ainsley's fall festival at school and had to try them myself! So yummy! Your kids will have fun making these as well!

What you need: Mini pretzels, Hershey Kisses and Peanut Butter M&M's or you could use plain M&M's.

• preheat oven to 170 degrees and spread pretzels out on baking sheet, lined with tin foil.

• Next, place Hershey Kisses on top of pretzels.

• put in oven for 5-6 minutes

• after they've softened in the oven, place m&m on top of each kiss

Can you say YUM?! The salty, sweet combo is so good!

Harper can't understand why on earth it's taking Ainsley this long to pick her "perfect" one.

So she went ahead a snatched one up, I think she liked it;)

Ainsley finally chose hers and was pleased.

Two happy girls.

And what did Bennett do when I offered him one?

He gave me the classic "Bennett Pout", thank you very much. He just doesn't know what he's missing!

Try this with your kids for a fun, sweet treat!

***Edited***

Using Rolos was suggested! Must try this!

A Sincere Thank You!

First I just want to thank all my friends, the ones I know in person for being so supportive of Bennett. You probably don't even know you've been supportive but just by being so loving and accepting of Bennett, asking how he's doing, the "he's getting so big!" , "sucha a cutie!" and "he's doing so good, Adrienne!" comments, reading this blog and in general just being a friend means so much because it's not easy having a child with special needs. Just having a child that is "different" from your friend's kids can be hard at times. Very hard.

And a big thank you to my blog "friends". I honestly don't know how people do it without some kind of support. Like I said, this isn't always easy and emotionally it can be draining and extremely lonely. But when you have others that have been right where you are, encouraging you, giving you advice and just being there to say "I get it", it really makes a huge difference.

In my last post I was discouraged but after reading each and every comment I became encouraged. I'm not alone and to know others get what I'm saying and to read that their children did the same thing but overcame the hurdles, it's just very comforting.

So thank you. All of you.

And of course thanks to our family-you love us no matter what and you love Bennett no matter what and for that we are grateful for you all as well.

I was just thinking the other day that I really am thankful that God made Bennett just the way he is. Honestly. Even with all the stress it can cause, the emotional pain at times that comes with raising a child with special needs-all these things are forgotten when I see the great rewards that come with having Bennett.

God made no mistakes when he created our son. And he made no mistakes by putting certain people in our lives to love Bennett, just as he is.

Honest Mommy Post-don't judge:)

Bennett's time and mommy's time....we're starting to butt heads over here! LOL. I know-in his own time, yeah I get that but sometimes it's just so hard. Oh I'll get over it, I have no choice but meanwhile Bennett could be enlisted in the Army with his commando crawling...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

3 months folks.

He's been doing this for 3 months-although it's gotten much more efficient and his little bottom gets higher and higher, I feel like we're still in a milestone rut. Why won't he lift up on his arms? But I also think since I'm with him everyday I don't see the changes as much. He is very close to pulling up but I guess I have this huge milestone date of:

MAY 22, 2011

Bennett {according to his crazy and at times unrealistic mommy} should be walking-after all he'll be 2 and this is the average age that kids with DS start walking. I guess it's so hard because I have a lot of pride involved. Which is not good, I know. And yes, the ugly green monster starts to appear when I see other kids his age with DS that are starting to do things that he's just not ready for.

So being totally honest here- what I really think is what the heck?! Mike and I both received scholarships to college in swimming, we were both really good athletes growing up so why doesn't Bennett have better muscle tone!? Why is this so hard for him? Is that silly? Maybe. Probably. Yes. But that's what I think sometimes. I guess it just doesn't have much to do with it. I mean for the most part I'm okay with it but I guess I just thought- oh, he'll be good in that department, even with his extra chromosome because he comes from good genes. Hey, I told you I was being honest and there's some pride involved here. Working on this pride issue.

Oh, get over it Adrienne.

Suck it up.

And I will. Really, in the grand scheme of things, this is sooo not a big deal. And besides, I don't put these unnecessary expectations on my girls but maybe I just assume all will be fine with them.

Aggghhh!

Ya'll know I love him and I'm very proud of him, I just want the best for him. We want the best for him. Thanks for reading my random, honest, mommy thoughts.

Littlest Heroes Photo Shoot!!!

So excited to share some of our photos! To learn more about the Littlest Heroes Project click here.

Here ya go...

To see more from our shoot you can view the slideshow below!

We absolutely LOVED our photographer! Thank you so much Carissa for taking time out of your day to do this for us!! Click here to see more of her work!