me and bens.

Probably one of the most used phrases over the past 3 years:

me and bens.


Bryce hears it everyday when he asks how our day went.

A response usually sounds something like this:

Me and bens went to the park.
Me and bens played with friends.
Me and bens stayed in pj's all day.
Me and bens watched CARS 2, twice.
Me and bens went to chick fil a.
Me and bens are sick.
Me and bens went to Target.
Me and bens slept in until 930am.


Ive had many sleepless nights this pregnancy. You know those nights where you lay awake thinking crazy thoughts. One of these most recent nights, i couldnt stop thinking about this phrase "me and bens." It made me sad. Brought me to tears..and then sobs. For the past three years its been just me and him. i have loved it. Every.single.minute.of.it. I realized that baby brother would soon be with us and it would no longer be just me and bens.

The next morning I decided that we would have a mom&me day. A special day for just the two of us. A day set aside to spoiling this kid rotten before baby brother comes. When I could hear that he was awake I went into his room to explain the day to him. I told him that I wanted to have a special day with him before baby brother came. Just me and him. I could tell he understood me. I then asked if he wanted to go to Chuck e Cheese, and thats when the excitement started. He talked about it while we had breakfast and then while we got dressed.

I printed off an award to bring with us. A best helper award that scored us 10 free tokens.

We arrived a few minutes after it opened and had the whole place to ourselves for about 20 minutes. We ran around non stop for those twenty minutes checking out all of the games. Benson had to check out each and every one and then make the decision if he wanted to put a token in. 

He eventually found the section with the little kid rides and thats where we spent the remainder of our time and tokens. I had to put my competitive ticket winning thoughts aside and let Bens enjoy these little rides. 

Our pizza soon arrived at our table. Mom got busy eating while Bens alternated between rides and pizza bites.

About 3 hours later..we left Chuck-e-Cheese with full bellies, happy hearts, and a few souvenirs valued at $25.

Benson was so proud of his winnings. The bracelet was large and went all the way up to his bicep but it was his favorite color and he wore it with pride.

"thank you for my orange bracelet mom"

Oh, I love this boy.

And thats why I had to take him to Toys r us afterwards. There was no way that that little orange bracelet was going to be the souvenir from this mom&me special day.

I told Benson that he could pick out one surprise.

We walked down every single isle at Toys r us. And looked at practically every toy in the store. This boy did not grab toys from the shelves, did not cry, did not beg, nothing. He knew exactly what kind of toy he wanted. We eventually reached the isle with the CARS toys. This kid got giddy. We spent about 30 minutes in that cars isle studying each toy. He eventually found a set of 10 CARS, none of which he had. And his decision was made and I bought him his souvenir from our special day.

"thank you for my cars mom."

How could I not spoil this boy? He is such a good boy..everyday. But especially this day, he was extra good. He could sense it was a special day for me and him. And it was. And though someday he might forget about it, I will not. 

There will always be a special place in my heart for this first little boy of mine, and the 3 years we had all to ourselves. 

If there is one thing I have learned, it's, I now know why my older brother is my moms favorite.