Our Book of Days

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Coming Soon...

We're happy to announce that a new Benoit will be arriving around March 15th!!!

We're very excited. Emily and Cameron, being older now, are thrilled beyond words. They keep asking me questions like, "Is it a boy or girl?" (We'll be waiting to find out as we have done with all our kids.) "What are we going to name it?" "Will I be in 2nd or 3rd grade when it comes?" "Can I tell so-and-so?" Dillon and Lilly don't really have a clue but will eventually. A few days after we told the kids Cameron was saying his prayer at night and after asking for a few things for the new baby he said, "And I love the baby even though it's just in mommy's tummy right now." It was a sweet moment.

Well, forgive my horrible picture. We don't have a scanner, so I took a picture of a picture. But it will have to do. There's our little baby. It was moving around lots for my peek at it. Hopefully you can make out the head, body, and little legs that are visible.

I've been feeling yucky and tired and am hoping for the next phase of pregnancy to take over soon. But the end result is worth it. There are about a bazillion of my friends at church all due within about a month of me...kind of crazy! This baby will have lots of friends!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

A Week at the Beach

We visited Long Beach, NC for a week along with my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle, and 2 of my cousins. Highlights of the week...

The beach house (Water's Edge) and set-up on the beach

Cameron found his hidden talent...riding the skim board. He loves skateboards and seems to have the right balance for it. In the back is my cousin Alison's dog, Luca. The kids loved Luca and Lilly learned her name. She walked around saying "Luca" a lot. Right now she's sitting on my lap going crazy over seeing her in the picture.

Here's a video of Cam on the skim board. A man down the beach was doing it, too, and was really good. He gave Cameron some lessons and showed him how to even do a spin while on it. Cameron figured that out fast, but we didn't capture it on video.

We love visiting "the point" of Oak Island. I love how Dillon's trying to figure out what to do with his fingers from his older brother and sister. At low tide there were lots of pools Lilly could wade in without waves. Emily, Cameron, and Daddy crossed the water to go to a little island. I love how it looks like Dillon's saying, "No, don't go!" in this picture. We saw the sand dredger at the point, too.

I love going to the same quiet beach every year with our family. Love the taste of some fried seafood and homemade peach ice cream. Thanks, Mamaw and Papaw for a wonderful week at the beach!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Lilly's New Ride

With Dillon learning how to ride a bike without training wheels and Emily and Cameron already off, Joe and I discovered we cannot keep up with the kids anymore when we take a walk. We got some unwanted free bikes for us through someone in the ward a few months ago. Then, we started to look for something for Lilly. I found a great thing for her, and thanks to her birthday and Nana and G-daddy, here it is.....

She loves it!!! It's called the Kangaroo Wee Ride. I love that she's in front of us when we ride. It feels safe to me especially since she's a monkey and always climbing in and out of things. We can keep an eye on her.

They're about to finish a park right down the street with lots of bike trails. We're ready now!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

A Trip to the North

We had a wonderful vacation up in Massachusetts visiting Joe's family. While there, we spent some time on Cape Cod as well. We celebrated Emily's 10th birthday (a breakfast out with Daddy)...

There was some hot-tubbing with the cousins...

beach time with Grampa...

seashell-finding...

beach-walking (these 2 were inseparable)...

swimming in the ocean (Is it a little cold, Cam?)...

beach baseball (Emily didn't mind swimming for the ball in the water)...

waterfall jumping into the pool...

time with fun uncles (Joe's brothers Jon and Jeff)...

lounging and relaxing...

and swimming in the pool...

All of the Benoit kids together with Sue and Joe.

It was a great trip. Also had great fun visiting with old friends in RI, visiting the Warwick Ward, and driving by our old house. Can't wait to do it again!

(Thanks to my sister-in-law Erin for some great pictures. I'm now covetting your camera!)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Graduation

Cameron has finished speech therapy! I can't even express the joy I felt as I sat in the meeting with his teachers on Monday. 5 years ago, when he was diagnosed with verbal apraxia (a severe speech delay), I remember Joe and I looking it up online because I was not familiar with the term. We read some harrowing statistics through tear-filled eyes and wondered what our son's potential would be to communicate. My best explanation of Cameron's speech disorder is that apraxia is similar to what a stroke patient experiences as they try to regain their speech. Getting the signal from the brain to all the muscles/parts involved in speaking is interrupted.

I remember watching Cameron's frustration as he tried to tell me what he wanted. Signs and hand gestures helped, but most of the time it was a guessing game. I remember driving in the car with him in the back seat and hearing him notice things and try to tell me about them and I couldn't understand. To pacify him, I usually said something that made him think I knew what he was talking about. I couldn't stand to inflict more frustration on him.

I remember my young Emily helping him practice his sounds. She became a good signer at a young age.

Throughout this whole journey, I learned a lot about how to be an advocate for your child and trust your motherly instinct. I try to pass that on now to anyone who asks my advice about their child. Despite my trusted pediatrician's advice to not worry and that he would be fine, I began seeking evaluations and therapy for Cameron when he was 2. These early interventions have made all the difference. His wonderful teachers and therapists in preschool and beyond have always encouraged him and helped him progress with confidence. Ms. Chris and Ms. Nancy from Y's Owl Preschool helped buoy me up on the days I felt discouraged.

Most importantly, Cameron has himself to thank. His energy and enthusiasm, while sometimes challenging as a toddler, have helped him progress so much. While some kids with these delays tend to withdraw and speak less, Cameron never quieted his inner voice trying to get out. I'm so proud of his hard work and his self-esteem that has carried him when others say unkind things.

So, Cameron, congratulations! We are so happy for your accomplishment. No more "speech homework!"

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Lilly is 2!

It's amazing how quickly 2 years can fly by when we have such a lovely addition to our family! Lilly is 2 today. I think it's kind of neat that she can share her birthday with daddy's Father's Day. She brings such joy and happiness to so many. I wish I could freeze time and keep her at this age forever.

Things I want to remember about Lilly being 2:

She wakes up so happy in the morning.
She calls Dillon "Di-Di" and he calls her "Baby" because Lilly used to be hard to say. Emily calls her "Bubba." G-daddy calls her "Lil' Eve." Grampa calls her Lillian.
She likes to wrestle and plays Legos with her brothers, but then will play dress-up and get her toes painted with Emily the next minute.
She loves to give hugs and kisses.
She's fearless...She wants to ride the plasma car, ride the big swings (not the baby swing), and wants to sit in the big chairs.
She's so excited when the bus brings her brother and sister home from school. She starts waving right away.
She has the best little friendships already with her little buddies.
She wants to use the potty...we'll be working on that one.