Benny’s birthday falls right after Christmas, which in my mind means he already has enough new toys. This is a perfect time to get new books. I decided to do another book party this year (we did one at two years), of course he will still have the joys of a fun of a birthday party but his gifts will be books (don’t worry Jeff got him a toy of his favorite action figure). He loves literature and has from a very young age. This summer we checked out numerous books from the library and I bought the ones that were our favorites. The Beatrix Potter Collection was a big hit. He has a few of her stories but this book is the complete collection and we read the whole thing this summer. I know he will be so excited when he opens this one. The drawing book, we did not check out but several like it and they were a big hit as well. There are a few more that I ordered yesterday and thanks to Amazon Prime (oh how I love thee) they will be here tomorrow.This book and its pictures are so beautiful and smells so clean and fresh. I love new books!Of course there were a few books for mom in the box too. I can’t say that I love them, but I will get very familiar with them. I have six days left of this glorious vacation. Then it will be back to the books. One last time.

I wanted to show some more images from a recent session. Some of my favorites…

day 01/366
I had asked you to clean up your kitchen (it was a big mess). You organized it to your liking and then began to clean and cut your vegetables for some soup. day 02/366
Eating and swallowing. The way you eat your food and swallow is very unique to you, and I am so happy I captured just that. day 03/366
For Christmas you received some games that will help you learn how to tell time. You were very excited to pick up on it so quickly and learn in a fun way.
day 04/366
When you get hungry you love to go grab a box of Joe’s O’s and eat right out of the box. I sneaked up on you and captured this image. I love how you are hiding behind the box while playing Legos. day05/366
When you shower you love to write your letters on the walls. Sometimes you have to reach far so you can make a big word or letter.day 06/366
Mommy had a meeting and we brought lots of activities to entertain you. You were building blocks, playing Angry Birds, watching Voltron, and eating a PB&J. You are quite the multi-tasker. When you eat your sandwiches you avoid the crust leaving a face full stickiness.
day 07/366
You were so excited to go to the pet store and get some new fishes for your tank. We had to replace one and got a second one just in case.

Four days new.

I mentioned in an earlier post how I hope to complete a 365 project. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but with my busy schedule it would be extremely difficult. The next four months are still going to be busy with school, but I hope to slow down a bit with everything else that I do, leaving me more time with my family. With this goal in mind, I feel I am up for the challenge to do this project. For those of you who are not familiar, I plan to take a picture a day and share it. My subject it Benny and at the end of the year I will make a slide show and book for him to remember his 5th year. I will post my images weekly on my blog.

So to start the project off, here is a picture from yesterday (from here on out I will post at the end of the week). I hope to just catch him in the act and not stage or pose him. I had asked him to clean up his kitchen (it was a mess) and after doing so, he decided to wash and cut his vegetables for some soup.Feel free to join in on the fun!

I am so happy my friends have these photographs to remember such a wonderful time in their lives. Buying their first home.

2012. This year will be a year to remember. I have so many wonderful things to look forward too. Benny turns five, graduating from nursing school, summer, homeschooling and hopefully a baby (keep those fingers crossed for me). I am not a fan of resolutions because I don’t always stick with them. I do however, hope to make some positive choices this year. I choose to be healthy and become more vegan (less cheating). I choose to spend less money on material things and save for the future (thrifting is approved). I choose to document our life each day (365 project). I choose to stay better connected with friends and family. Lastly, I choose to slow down and let the cape rest a bit.

If I slip that is okay too. I wish you all the best in 2012. I will have some changes in 2012 with my business as well. Details to come soon.

Diana and I go all the way back to San Diego together. She has known Benny from the very beginning when she would talk to him in my belly. I squeezed her hand as I labored and she was one of the first to meet him. She loves and adores Benny and so does her boyfriend Nick. Benny feels the same way about them. Benny was so excited for their arrival. I heard countless times how he just could not wait any longer. As soon as they pulled up the fun began. Bike rides, an awesome present, yummy food and Wii bowling is where the day and night took us. The next day we said our goodbyes with plans to see each other soon.

Santa brought Benny a new bike for Christmas and we finally were able to test it out this evening. It was a size bigger from his last bike, so I thought he may need a bit of practice. I was wrong, he rode like a pro.

and a few pictures off my phone from the last week