About Bentley

It would only be fair to do a random post about Bentley, too. Although I have to begin by admitting that it's a little trickier to pin him down for something like this. So bear with me if this isn't quite as fascinating/hilarious/all-encompassing as Kendra's post was. So Bentley...

-Will frequently answer questions with the phrase, "I do!" For example, if I ask him if he wants to eat something, rather than a simple "Yes," he'll say, "I do want to eat that!" The funny thing about this is that he started doing this when I was on an Abba kick (having just seen Mamma Mia!), so I think was a direct result of listening to the song, "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do."

-He has some very strange speech problems that make me laugh. He can't say his "Z's," so if you ask him where the train took us, he'll answer, "To the Yoo!" And the end of the alphabet is, "X, Y, Ye!" And for some reason, double-L has turned into a "g" sound. So it's not uncommon to hear him tell me that he's, "A siggy boy."

-And while we're on the subject, he says his own name as, "Bucky." Which I think is pretty funny, but if I actually call him that, I get in trouble. He'll argue, "No! My name not Bucky! My name Bucky!" And the worst part is that I do in fact understand him on that one.

-One last speech thing-- for not even being three yet I think his grammar is pretty good, but one thing that's off is that he'll occasionally promise, "I not will do that." This usually leaves me with a vague memory of Opposite Day as a kid and I wonder what he really meant...

-Craig recently left out a couple long strips of cardboard (part of the box that a window came in) and Bentley promptly turned them into roads on which he would drive his cars and trucks. He even managed to create hills and everything-- it was a great toy!

-He loves to play in the fort which Daddy made my throwing a blanket over Bentley's old playmat.

-Bentley also likes building "his little nest," a game he invented with Grandma. This entails throwing all the couch pillows on the floor and then nestling in them and pretending to nap. Recently he keeps trying to convince me that he can really nap there. I just laugh and put him to bed in his room.

-He LOVES nursery, and will ask several times during sacrament meeting if it's time to go yet. The workers always tell me how good he is, too, but I don't believe them. I think he's lucky enough to not be one of the many kids who cry if their parents aren't there OR the really violent kid who's always in time-out (not naming names here). I'm pretty sure he just slips through the cracks since he isn't as noticeable. (One worker did admit that it would be nice if he would just walk. Apparently he and his friend Toby are the rebel rousers of nursery-- they like to start running around and then all the other kids all begin running, and then someone always ends up getting hurt. So, no, I'm not trying to even hint that he's some sort of angel in nursery!)

-His name, Bentley, was my maiden name. And I thought I was so clever to come up with such an original name for my son (you gotta be original when your last name is Smith), and then a family moved into our ward who ALSO had a son named Bentley. Lucky for all of us I really like them! So now Bentley and Bentley get to play together. Really, what are the odds?

-He likes to randomly shout out, "BYU!" I'm pretty sure he gets that from his friend Toby, who has the cougar fight song memorized.

-His toenails are really funky (always looking like they want to become in-grown or something) and he screams and kicks at me every time I have to cut them. It's a big pain. But fingernails are no trouble at all...

-He's got a little curl to the hair at the back of his head which I am very jealous of.

-He was born by emergency c-section, which kind of sucked, but I'm glad I had the option. Recently I was explaining this to him, so now he'll randomly announce, "That one time, I got stuck. The doctor had to take me out!" I love that he says it like he remembers it!

-He has super-pasty white skin. (Sorry, kid, you definitely inherited that from me. But I don't think that matters as much in a boy. Right?)

-He loves helping Daddy with all the home improvement projects. He has a set of toy tools from Home Depot (thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!) and will carry them to where Daddy is working and "help" out. He also enjoys painting with Daddy...

I like that he got his little stool so he could be just like Daddy as they paint together.

Concentrating hard

(P.S. That's our new door there-- just trust me when I say it's a huge improvement on the old one!)

-He can be very helpful when he wants to be, and will usually fetch things for me.

-He's also very sweet about giving Kendra the kisses she demands.

-His first word was, "No." His second word was, "Car." The love with cars and all things transportation-oriented has never ended. His favorite book when he was about seven months old was The Berenstein Bears and the Big Road Race. He would laugh and laugh as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Recently he rediscovered the book and it's been fun to see him enjoy it all over again.

So those are some things about Bentley. He's a funny boy!