Life is Good

I thought it was time for a little update. I don't have anything in particular to write about, but Joel just took Ben and Emma for a walk so I thought this was a good time to write a blog post.

It's Saturday. The house is clean, Curry Veggie Stew is simmering on the stove, and I have a cup of tea here with me. Life is Good. This week was my second week back at work and it's gone surprisingly well. I'm not worried about Ben. Even when he got clawed in the face...or when he eats only a few ounces...or when I know he's being infected with germs...I sometimes pretend I'm worried and tell people the "drama", but in reality, I'm pretty at peace with everything. I think talking about the "drama" is kind of a bad habit I have. Maybe I feel like the "drama" is the only interesting stuff I have to talk about, so that's what I tell people...but it's really not that big of a deal to me (lately, at least).

The weather has been beautiful (as it has been all summer). When I take Ben to daycare in the morning, I see stunning views of Mt Rainier and the gorgeous sunrises. The views, along with my happy, smiley guy and my morning coffee make me feel so happy. Joel and I do have a few stressful things going on, but somehow I'm able to keep those from really bothering me. Normally, I let stress consume me...It takes concious effort, but I'm learning how to let the silly stressful things go and focus on the important things.  This is a big accomplishment for me! I'm the queeeeen of anxiety (I share that title with certain sisters and a few friends)!

Ben. What's new with Ben? He seems sooo independent! As long as he's fed and well-rested, he can spend forever on the floor by himself or in the jumparoo! He loooooves the jumparoo (we switched the exersaucer with Brenna for their Jumaparoo for a while). He also likes reading in our laps, but he only lasts for a few minutes before he starts getting squirrley. This boy is CONSTANTLY MOVING! He is the energizer bunny and his battery never dies! It's pretty funny! Even when he's sitting still, he's always marching his arms up and down or stomping his feet.

Every day his attempts to crawl get more and more advanced. Today, he displayed his backwards scooting skills. He's not scooting fast by any means, but he definitely moved from one side of the living room to the other. It's sad because he tries to go forwards towards his toy, but he ends up pushing himself further and further away. Today he discovered the wood floors for the first time. He scooted from the blanket over to the wood floor. I think he likes how easy it is to move on the hard, smooth surface! He spent a good 30 minutes playing with his toys and scooting around there. He drooled so much, he ended up mopping a good section of the floor ;)

He's still waking up every hour and a half. But, honestly, I don't really mind. I somehow manage to get enough sleep to function well at work. I think I would prefer to get a solid 8 hours, but the frequent wakings don't reaaaallllly bother me. The only time I'm bothered at night is when he takes a long time to fall back asleep, and then I get so frustrated I want to throw things!! Thankfully, that has been improving the past few nights. Joel asked me today when we're going to start "sleep training"...I told him I didn't want to talk about it right now. I know it has to happen eventually, but it's hard to do it when I'm not really motivated. There's no reason for me to do it. I like the snuggles I get with my little guy at night, especially since I see him so little during the day.

As I re-read that last few paragraphs, I realize that he has the perfect blend of independence and needing me. I love that he can entertain himself for long periods of time if needed, but he looooves his mommy snuggles at night :) I cherish this time because I know it won't last forever!!

Ben is such a champ with this whole daycare/going back to work thing. Since he's usually in bed with us when the alarm goes off at 5:30, Ben wakes up when Joel and I do. He makes a few little fusses as he wakes up, but then he's super happy and smiley and chatty. I put him in the bouncy chair while I get ready and then I feed him right before we leave for daycare. He usually falls asleep in the car as soon as I pull out of the driveway. No crying or screaming. Just my happy little guy. In the evening, when I pick him up from daycare, he's usually so exhausted that he passes out right away in the car again and he snoozes for an hour. That gives me time to wash his bottles and make our lunches for the next day. It's a nice little routine we have. Joel is coaching soccer right now, so he's gone till late on Tuesday and Thursdays when they have games.

I wish I could think of more little details about Ben, but my mind is blanking right now. I think his changes are at a little lull right now. I'm sure some big changes are right around the corner! Hopefully those changes don't include teeth :)

Morning view from the neighborhood where Ben goes to Daycare:

 

Four Months Old:

 

Another Morning View:

 

Trying out a sippy cup because he decided to refuse a bottle days before daycare started!:

 

His preferred bath position:

 

He started out on the blanket. I came back from the kitchen to find him here:

Last week of maternity leave

Well, here we go. It's my last week of maternity leave. I go back to work the Tuesday after labor day. I am just soaking up every minute with my sweet boy. I've been mentally preparing and this week I made sure all my work clothes still fit (they do!) and I made sure they were all unwrinkled and ready to go. I'm feeling more at peace about this than I was a few weeks ago. Although, I seriously feel addicted to Ben... It is going to be rouuuuuugh not being with him all day, every day.

I realize that not everyone wants to see a picture of Ben on Facebook every twenty seconds, but I am with him all the time and am so fascinated with his changes. Every stage is so much fun! It takes serious self control not to post every picture and video and announce every milestone. I never imagined myself being so enamored with anyone or anything!

Anyways, Ben has had some big changes that I've noticed this week. A bunch of things just showed up.
1) he discovered his feet
2) he tries to push onto his hands and knees as if he's about to crawl. He succeeds sometimes and when he doesn't, he ends up scooting backwards. So, he ends up scooting around backwards quite a bit.
3) he turns his head towards new sounds. I like this because I can get him to look at me for pictures now :)
4) he can sit for several minutes if he has his hands in front of him

Last weekend we went 'camping' with the Faulkners and the Fabelas. I say 'camping' because we had a lodge room and the Fabelas had a cabin...but we still cooked all our food outdoors and had campfires :) It was perfect! Ii want to go back there every year! Our family went to the same campground every year and I have such fond memories of it! Camping with my family was my favorite thing every year. I want our kids and cousins to have the same fond, family memories.

Here are some recent pictures

14 weeks

Here are some cute 14 week pictures. In one, he's making his sweet 'oooohhh' sound.

Don't forget: 3 months

Don't forget the way Ben sleepily (sooo sleepily) roots around after he's fallen asleep while nursing. It's so sweet and innocent.

Don't forget the way his upper lip makes a little beak (joel came up with that) when he makes his "oooooh" noises. Like the sighs he used to make, his "ooooh" is somehow deep and high-pitched at the same time, and his face has a semi-serious look. It's like he's trying to tell us something happy but important.

Don't forget his happy screeches and how he chatters away when he's happy. He's pretty quiet when we're out and about or around new people, but he's so chatty around Joel and I! Joel says its like we have a parrot :)

Don't forget the way he tries to suck on his whole entire hand. It's such a clumsy suck as he tries to find a part of his hand to latch onto.

Don't forget the way he smiles and sometimes laughs when he's lightly sleeping. Seeing my baby happy is the best feeling, even if he's asleep.

Don't forget the cute way his ears stick out just a little. I like it when I hold him up in front of a sunny window and I just see the outline of his face with his cute little ears sticking out.

And lastly, don't forget his sweet sweet laugh. Right now it's a bubbly little chuckle that comes from his belly. It's such a delicious sound!!!! Don't know why, but delicious is the best way to describe it :)

In the last 'don't forget' post, I talked about his sweet sigh. He doesn't really do that anymore. It's been replaced with all kinds of different noises and screeches. I also talked about his cry. Thankfully, we hear that much less now. If he cries now, it's pretty easy to know that it's probably nap time. I also mentioned his hands and his dimples- both of which are still cute as ever.

San Diego

This week, Joel, Ben and I are in San Diego. Joel has a conference for work, so we came down a few days early to hang out as a family.

On Tuesday, we took a trip to the zoo......but it wasn't exactly the most enjoyable day. I was stressed about Ben getting a sunburn, so I would zoom from one shady spot to the next. Apparently, babies aren't supposed to wear sunscreen until 6 months, and it was way too warm for Ben to be covered from head to toe. So, the shade was our protection from the sun. I was also stressed about naps. He puts up a big fuss whenever we put him in his car seat, but I knew he would fall asleep eventually. I swear people were staring at me when he was screaming, so I made sure my face looked appropriately concerned so that people would know I wasn't just happily ignoring his screams (as if that were possible??). Anyways, Ben was a champ....and Joel was able to enjoy the animals. I can't wait till he's old enough to enjoy things like the zoo :)

The rest of the week, Joel has been at the conference, so it's just been Ben and I. We haven't done anything besides hang out at the hotel, but I'm really enjoying just playing with Ben and relaxing with nothing to worry about. I take him to the hotel restaurant for my meals and we just hang out together. He's a fun little pal to spend my days with :) I've held him waaay more than normal and that means there have been lots of opportunities to kiss his sweet head and nuzzle against his cheek.

We took a little dip in the pool but I read later that day that babies shouldn't be in a pool until six months...same reason as the sunscreen....their skin is extra permeable right now and absorbs chemicals easily. Oops. Oh well, I'm not too worried about it.

Right now Ben is sleeping in my arms (bad, bad habit, but i don't want to stop! It's too precious!) and I'm tapping this post out with my left thumb on my iPhone.... I'm just going to enjoy the rest of the day with my sweet little pal. We head back tomorrow...and then we have plans to start getting him ready for day care. That involves working on his sleep habits and getting him used to playing by himself a little more :(

Below are some pics from our trip:

12 Weeks

My baby boy will be 12 weeks tomorrow. Sob. I'm sad that my maternity leave is 2/3 over, but I'm so happy that I will have more time at home with him. Frankly, I would be sad even if my maternity leave was an entire year! I'm thankful that I decided to take the full 18 weeks. This week would have been the time I would be going back to work had I not taken full advantage of the leave.

A few exciting things have happened the past few weeks. Ben has started talking differently. Before, he was very vocal all the time, but now it's more controlled ooos and aaahs in varying pitches. It's soooo darn cute! We've caught some of it on video. It makes me so happy to hear him talk away, especially since he's usually smiling so big when he's talking!

Last week, Ben also laughed for the first time. It was the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I was in the laundry room and Joel was playing with him on the couch. I heard it the first time he did it, so I came out in time to see him do it again. I cried a little :) He hasn't really laughed since then. He does a really happy sounding noise, but not a full on laugh. It's fun trying to find out what kind of things make him smile or make the happy noise.

Ben has also started to roll over from his back to his front in one direction. Yesterday was the first time that he managed to get all the way over his shoulder and into a full-on tummy time position. He likes tummy time a lot more when he's able to put himself there.

I've noticed that my feelings for Ben the last few weeks have grown even more.  I'm starting to see more of his unique personality and seeing him as his own little person. Lately, I feel more attached to him than ever...maybe it's because I've been thinking so much about going back to work. Whatever it is, I can't resist having him sleep in my arms. It's a bad habit...but I loooove nursing him to sleep and then letting him take his naps on my chest. I'm afraid I might be paying for it now, though...the last few nights he has slept horribly! I'm afraid I've spoiled him and he just wants to sleep with me. Oooops.

Lindsay and Adam had their little girl, Hailey, today!! They texted us the sweetest pciture of Lindsay and Hailey, but I haven't gotten any of the details yet. I'm excited to see the sweet little newborn! I was looking at Ben today as he was trying to hold himself in a sitting position. Sheesh, I hardly feel like I can call him a 'baby'. Obviously he's not a toddler, but it seems like there should be another term for these little ones who have grown and learned so much in their few short months!

Peace

The best morning. I'm laying in bed right now, with Ben sleeping peacefully on my chest. Everything is silent, except for the weather outside. There is a big thunder and lightening storm and the rain is pouring down. Our power went out, which means the fan and white noise machine that are on 24/7 are silent. Even Emma hasn't moved a muscle through the entire storm. I'm not normally one to think that the sound of rain is peaceful, but this morning I'm loving laying here in the silence with all my loves sleeping so soundly around me.