Summer 2017 (1) from Kaelin Shaker on Vimeo.


Summer 2017 (2) from Kaelin Shaker on Vimeo.

mat's job sent him to new jersey for a training, so we took advantage and left the kids behind for a week while we explored new york. welp, 7 days proved to be too long haha and we were ready to head home by day 5. so as amazing as new york was, the last couple days we spent being lazy and we even went to the movies just to take advantage of not having to find a babysitter. but the trip was a much needed break from real life.


new york from Kaelin Shaker on Vimeo.



Christmas Morning 2017 from Kaelin Shaker on Vimeo.

technically, benson is 2 years and 9.5 months, but who's paying that close attention anyways.

this kid keeps me on my toes more often than not, but let me tell you, he is the sweetest soul on earth. we've been potty training (aka hell) and i've taken a pretty relaxed approach, mostly because mat has been gone and i can't get myself to stay home for a full 24 hours, let alone 3-5 days to really solidify it. the other day we had done pretty solid with no accidents, but i could tell he was getting bored with the whole process - didn't want to go potty and he was holding it foreeeeever until i'd finally force him. but he'd be in the bathroom for 3 seconds before he'd walk away and say "all done!" so we tried to go potty before i put him to bed and it was the same story. while i was grabbing his jammies from the laundry room, he peed on the carpet next to his bed. i got frustrated with him and made him sit on the toilet while i cleaned it up. then i went into the bathroom and sat on the tub next to him on the toilet. he looked at me and put his hand on my cheek and said:
B: oh, why mom sad?
M: why am i sad?
B: yeah. why mom cry? (i wasn't crying, just huffing and puffing haha)
M: i'm just frustrated buddy. i'm sorry i got mad but i really need you to just go toot (what he calls pee) on the potty.
B: oh, mom frustrated. *starts stroking my cheek* mom feel better?
seriously? what is this magic? talk about a guilt trip, i immediately regretting every moment i ever lost my patience with him.

on the bright side, i think we've got potty training figured out! at least #1. #2... well thats another story.

little things happen every day with him, and i wish i had cameras in every corner of my house to capture them and keep them forever. he's getting so smart and just understands things. it's been awhile since we've watched the movie cars, although about a year ago that's all he would watch. the other day in the car he asked to listen to the soundtrack. it went through all of the mainstream songs - route 66, life is a highway, etc. and got to the score music, so like the instrumental music that plays in the background of scenes like the races and when mcqueen falls out the back of mack. benson starts narrating the movie based on the music. umm... what? seriously, i hear little bits and pieces of the opening race and glance at my phone to see the name of the song is, "opening race". from the backseat benson's going, "mom! yook! mcqueen go faster!" "oh no, mom! mcqueen watch out!" "aww yook mom! mcqueen flying!" all in perfect timing with the song. insane. when did his little brain start absorbing so much.

he's been speaking in his own little version of english and i forget that people can't really understand him. my favorite word he says right now is pepperoni. somehow it comes out a-cap-a-mo-ees. and he loves pepperonis! if he finds the bag of them in our fridge he will munch on an inch thick stack haha.

as much as i love watching him grow, it also makes me so sad how quickly its happening. kacey and i have been talking about that lately, how big our kids are getting. he's got the sweetest personality and is still so innocent. i wish i could bottle up all the goodness that he is and keep it forever. but i can't, so i will just keep writing in this blog so that i can look back and remember these moments.