(title of this post is from one of our favorite bedtime books)
Monday, May 13, 2013
It's time to sleep, my love
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
11 Months
What a fun month it has been! The biggest news this month is that Ben started walking (3/13/2013, for the record). He started walking while we were at work. My mom sent tons of videos and pictures to keep us updated on his progress. On that first day, I literally told every person who would make eye contact with me that Ben was walking(!!!). On days like that, I really miss my nurturing friends from my old job. It took a few weeks for Ben to walk more than a few steps. It's sure fun to hear his little feet padding across the kitchen floor or to be standing at the kitchen sink and all of a sudden get a big hug around the legs :)
Speaking of hugs, Ben has started to become such a cuddle bug!!! He must have gotten that from his Aunt Michelle or his dad...he didn't get it from me! But boy oh boy do I love cuddles from my little guy!!! For a while now, he's loved cuddling in a chair reading books. In addition, lately he's started snuggling more. He'll hug me and rest his head on my shoulder and stay there for a while or he'll just nuzzle his head into my stomach or chest. I don't want to move or say a word to distract him, so I just rub his head or his back and rock him gently. Oh I love it so much! Even when he was a tiny baby, he was ALWAYS squirming and so strong, so I never felt like I was really cuddling him, so the fact that he's doing it now is so fun. He's also started giving kisses on the lips. I swear he gets a sweet little look on his face when he gives me a kiss. Oh. My. Gosh. He doesn't have any idea how much he kills me with all his sweetness!
We've had some beautiful days this month, so we've spent lots of time outside. Joel and I have been doing lots of yard work and Ben just toodles around the yard while we work.
For the record:
Speaking of hugs, Ben has started to become such a cuddle bug!!! He must have gotten that from his Aunt Michelle or his dad...he didn't get it from me! But boy oh boy do I love cuddles from my little guy!!! For a while now, he's loved cuddling in a chair reading books. In addition, lately he's started snuggling more. He'll hug me and rest his head on my shoulder and stay there for a while or he'll just nuzzle his head into my stomach or chest. I don't want to move or say a word to distract him, so I just rub his head or his back and rock him gently. Oh I love it so much! Even when he was a tiny baby, he was ALWAYS squirming and so strong, so I never felt like I was really cuddling him, so the fact that he's doing it now is so fun. He's also started giving kisses on the lips. I swear he gets a sweet little look on his face when he gives me a kiss. Oh. My. Gosh. He doesn't have any idea how much he kills me with all his sweetness!
We've had some beautiful days this month, so we've spent lots of time outside. Joel and I have been doing lots of yard work and Ben just toodles around the yard while we work.
For the record:
- Weight: 25 pounds
- Teeth: top 2 and bottom 2 teeth are totally broken through. I think he's working on FOUR new teeth right now, which would explain his uber crankiness.
- Sounds: new sounds include "N". Still says "baba" for bottle and ball. Sometimes makes monkey, elephant, bear and dog sounds.
- Skills: Started walking. Also, he knows where his head and his ears are
- Signs (Grandma teaches him. Thanks mom!): More, Dog, Water, and maybe mama or dada or food...still trying to figure out what he means with one sign that he's doing...
- Food: LOVES bananas and nothing else. It's a challenge to get him to eat much of anything. He'll eat yogurt and jelly/cream cheese sandwiches. The kid has a sweet tooth!
- Interests: LOVES balls. He walks around by himself and kicks the ball. In soccer, I guess that's called dribbling. Of course, Joel is very proud. Ben dribbles better than I can ;) He also likes playing with Emma. They play tug-of-war and they sometimes play chase. Ben also gets a kick out of throwing the ball for Emma (with our help). And like I mentioned above, he loves books and could read books for minutes on end (haha). Anything that keeps his attention for more than 2 minutes is amazing.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
10 Months!
My Sweet Boy! Ten Months! Life is just cruising along smoothly! I find myself counting down the months until summer break, even though I don't get to be home with Ben.
I really thought about not writing this, because I'm sure I'm just jinxing myself....but Things lately (and for quite some time) have been so easy with Ben. I'm not saying that to brag...it's just the truth. The kid sleeps like a champ, he's happy all day long, and is laid back about anything we do. And the things I've been dreading, like teething and colds, haven't been bad at all. He hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night in months. Even when he goes to daycare once a week, I drop him off and he starts playing right away. Then he only gets one nap...and he still comes home happy as a clam. I'm seriously scared for my second child. I'm SURE I'm going to get pay back.
One of my favorite things lately is that he chuckles to himself all day long. It's not a laugh and it's not a giggle. It's definitely a chuckle. He'll be cruising around the house, climbing the stairs, playing with a ball, etc and he'll just be smiling and chuckling the whole time. Joy just overflows from that boy! Another favorite thing is when we play "soccer". Ben likes it when we hold him up and he uses his feet to "kick" the ball. He's just moving his leg and it happens makes the ball move, but he squeals with happiness when he "kicks" it. Also, he loves it when Joel and I kick the soccer ball back and forth in the back yard (with me holding Ben). He squeeeaaaaals as the ball comes towards us and then bounces up and down with excitement when we kick the ball back to Joel. He makes the simplest things so much fun!
This month, I've pretty much stopped breastfeeding. I got a horrible infection and was getting a plugged duct every week. My schedule at work made it nearly impossible to maintain a regular pumping schedule, not even once per day. I tried just nursing him in the morning and before bed. But, pretty soon, he started CHOMPING whenever I tried feeding him at night. OUCH OUCH OUCH!! No no no no no. So, the nighttime feeding isn't happening anymore! We just read a book, sing a song and to bed he goes! I'm going to try to keep up the morning feeding as long as possible....but I think he'll lose interest soon.
A few new skills to document:
I love watching him grow and see his personality develop more and more. PSAT I went back and read a few of my blog posts from when he was teeny. It's amazing at how little I knew him back then. There are so many things about him that I see every day that are so hard to describe. Things that he exudes or the way he does stuff....Like the way he investigates things...or his unique way of being independent...or his own little way of being happy or excited. Brenna wrote in her blog that Eli gets so excited about things. The same is true for Ben, but they both show their excitement with their unique personalities shining through. These traits are all the things that make Ben who he is. Im excited to see how these traits develop as he gets older!
That's all for now. Just loving life with my sweet little family!
I really thought about not writing this, because I'm sure I'm just jinxing myself....but Things lately (and for quite some time) have been so easy with Ben. I'm not saying that to brag...it's just the truth. The kid sleeps like a champ, he's happy all day long, and is laid back about anything we do. And the things I've been dreading, like teething and colds, haven't been bad at all. He hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night in months. Even when he goes to daycare once a week, I drop him off and he starts playing right away. Then he only gets one nap...and he still comes home happy as a clam. I'm seriously scared for my second child. I'm SURE I'm going to get pay back.
One of my favorite things lately is that he chuckles to himself all day long. It's not a laugh and it's not a giggle. It's definitely a chuckle. He'll be cruising around the house, climbing the stairs, playing with a ball, etc and he'll just be smiling and chuckling the whole time. Joy just overflows from that boy! Another favorite thing is when we play "soccer". Ben likes it when we hold him up and he uses his feet to "kick" the ball. He's just moving his leg and it happens makes the ball move, but he squeals with happiness when he "kicks" it. Also, he loves it when Joel and I kick the soccer ball back and forth in the back yard (with me holding Ben). He squeeeaaaaals as the ball comes towards us and then bounces up and down with excitement when we kick the ball back to Joel. He makes the simplest things so much fun!
This month, I've pretty much stopped breastfeeding. I got a horrible infection and was getting a plugged duct every week. My schedule at work made it nearly impossible to maintain a regular pumping schedule, not even once per day. I tried just nursing him in the morning and before bed. But, pretty soon, he started CHOMPING whenever I tried feeding him at night. OUCH OUCH OUCH!! No no no no no. So, the nighttime feeding isn't happening anymore! We just read a book, sing a song and to bed he goes! I'm going to try to keep up the morning feeding as long as possible....but I think he'll lose interest soon.
A few new skills to document:
- He continues to say "Baba" for bottle and "ba" for ball. Sometimes he shouts it, which is pretty cute
- He can now go down stairs smoothly and orient himself properly to slide backwards off the couch, etc.
- He stands without holding onto anything more and for longer periods of time, although its still not very frequent
- He has learned how to blow kisses and kiss the characters in his books
- His "cruising" keeps getting better. He loves to walk around the house with his walkers and he cruises seamlessly around while holding onto any surface he can find
- He's starting to take direction, like "Go get tucker" or "Go get the ball"
- His two bottom teeth are in. One top tooth has totally poked out and the second top tooth is just starting to appear.
I love watching him grow and see his personality develop more and more. PSAT I went back and read a few of my blog posts from when he was teeny. It's amazing at how little I knew him back then. There are so many things about him that I see every day that are so hard to describe. Things that he exudes or the way he does stuff....Like the way he investigates things...or his unique way of being independent...or his own little way of being happy or excited. Brenna wrote in her blog that Eli gets so excited about things. The same is true for Ben, but they both show their excitement with their unique personalities shining through. These traits are all the things that make Ben who he is. Im excited to see how these traits develop as he gets older!
That's all for now. Just loving life with my sweet little family!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
9 Months
Well, we've flown through the last few months and now our baby is 9 months. The past few weeks have been full of developments and fun! Ben is becoming so much fun to play with! He gets so excited when we chase him as he crawls around, or if I hold him and we chase Emma together. He squirms, squeals and bounces with delight as we chase around the house. Every night before bath, I carry him up the stairs and Joel chases us. Now, even when Joel isn't chasing us, Ben gets really excited on the stairs and looks all around for Joel, expecting him to come chase us. It's pretty cute.
That's another thing that's been a lot of fun this month...Ben is starting to anticipate things and expect certain things. For examply, after he wakes up from his nap, my mom or I will read him the same book (the "Heads" pop-up book). He'll wave at the book sitting on his dresser when we get him out of the crib and he anticipates the actions in the book.
It seems like every day my mom tells us of a new skill that Ben is learning. It's so fun to watch him grow and develop. Even the smallest achievement is fascinating to watch! Today he watched me put blocks into a box and he came over and put some blocks in, too. I was so excited! His vocabulary continues to expand and he's added combinations of Ga, La, Da and to his Ma and Ba. He's starting to associate sounds with certain things, like "ba" for "bottle".
It's been fun to watch him observe things and figure things out lately. For a few nights in a row, he was using his shaker egg to knock a block out of Joel's hand. Everytime he knocked it to the ground, Ben would laugh. It's like he was just starting to realize that the block was falling as a result of his action. He also thinks it's really funny when we roll the soccer ball to him. I sure wish I knew exactly what was going on in his mind!
I marvel at his personality. It's hard to describe it in words. I just know in my heart and mind exactly what it is. He's so easy going...nothing bothers him. Of course, he has crabby moments, but the majority of the time, he's so mellow and chill. He just motors around, checking everything out in his own quiet way. He sure likes his independent time and spends a lot of the day checking things out by himself. But then he also loves chatting away to the people he's familiar with and playing lots of games with us. I already mentioned that he loves to play chase. He also likes to play a game where he drops something and we swoop him down for him to pick it up. As soon as we swoop him back up, he drops the toy again and the swooping continues.
Before bed time every night, we plop Ben in our big bed and we take our time getting his PJ's on and play with him and tickle him. Then, if he's not too cranky, we read "Lullaby Moon" a few times before I take him to his room and nurse him. Tonight, he was a happy camper, so we read the book like normal. But, this time, he was extra snuggly with Joel and just laid there snuggled up next to Joel, even after the book was over. He was chattering away and nuzzling Tucker (his lovie). I loved seeing him so content to lay there between his parents. Aaaaaahhhh. The sweetest moments.
When I checked on Ben before I went to bed the other night, he was even more precious than usual. I wanted to freeze the image in my mind. I took a picture, but of course, it didn't capture the sweetness He was laying on his back with his head tilted slightly back and his mouth was closed. He looked so peaceful, secure, serence, comfortable....Of course, he ALWAYS looks precious when he's sleeping, but there was something extra serene that night. I put my head down close to his and just listened to his breathing for a while. My heart could literally explode every night when I go check on his sweet, sleeping self....Sigh. I love snapping pictures of him when he's sleeping. I wish they came out clearer!!
And now for a gazillion pictures!
Cousin Eli and Lucas came for a visit. Cousin bath time!
All the cousins going to the mall to play:
He gives the biggest smiles when we come to get him out of his carseat!
Stuffing his face with food! He loves his finger foods!
This is right after he spit up all over Grandpa's brand new shirt.
His face kills me in this one!
We didn't stage this picture, I swear!
I can just hear his squeals of delight. sigh.
He loves to chug around the house with the bulb from the turkey baster in his mouth. It fills with spit and catches his spit-up and we have to empty it regularly. Grosss!!!
Mmmmm, Berries!
You are my sunshine!
At the indoor gym with Grandma
This was taken in our dark room in the morning. They were so cute snuggled up together...I took their picture, and these are their faces when the flash went off. Sorry guys!
Out for a chilly walk with Grandma:
Peek-a-boo!
More chilly-ness with Grandma.
Can there ever be too many pictures of sleeping babies? I wish I could capture the sweet sound of his breathing. Nothing sweeter.
Love those feet!
That's another thing that's been a lot of fun this month...Ben is starting to anticipate things and expect certain things. For examply, after he wakes up from his nap, my mom or I will read him the same book (the "Heads" pop-up book). He'll wave at the book sitting on his dresser when we get him out of the crib and he anticipates the actions in the book.
It seems like every day my mom tells us of a new skill that Ben is learning. It's so fun to watch him grow and develop. Even the smallest achievement is fascinating to watch! Today he watched me put blocks into a box and he came over and put some blocks in, too. I was so excited! His vocabulary continues to expand and he's added combinations of Ga, La, Da and to his Ma and Ba. He's starting to associate sounds with certain things, like "ba" for "bottle".
It's been fun to watch him observe things and figure things out lately. For a few nights in a row, he was using his shaker egg to knock a block out of Joel's hand. Everytime he knocked it to the ground, Ben would laugh. It's like he was just starting to realize that the block was falling as a result of his action. He also thinks it's really funny when we roll the soccer ball to him. I sure wish I knew exactly what was going on in his mind!
I marvel at his personality. It's hard to describe it in words. I just know in my heart and mind exactly what it is. He's so easy going...nothing bothers him. Of course, he has crabby moments, but the majority of the time, he's so mellow and chill. He just motors around, checking everything out in his own quiet way. He sure likes his independent time and spends a lot of the day checking things out by himself. But then he also loves chatting away to the people he's familiar with and playing lots of games with us. I already mentioned that he loves to play chase. He also likes to play a game where he drops something and we swoop him down for him to pick it up. As soon as we swoop him back up, he drops the toy again and the swooping continues.
Before bed time every night, we plop Ben in our big bed and we take our time getting his PJ's on and play with him and tickle him. Then, if he's not too cranky, we read "Lullaby Moon" a few times before I take him to his room and nurse him. Tonight, he was a happy camper, so we read the book like normal. But, this time, he was extra snuggly with Joel and just laid there snuggled up next to Joel, even after the book was over. He was chattering away and nuzzling Tucker (his lovie). I loved seeing him so content to lay there between his parents. Aaaaaahhhh. The sweetest moments.
When I checked on Ben before I went to bed the other night, he was even more precious than usual. I wanted to freeze the image in my mind. I took a picture, but of course, it didn't capture the sweetness He was laying on his back with his head tilted slightly back and his mouth was closed. He looked so peaceful, secure, serence, comfortable....Of course, he ALWAYS looks precious when he's sleeping, but there was something extra serene that night. I put my head down close to his and just listened to his breathing for a while. My heart could literally explode every night when I go check on his sweet, sleeping self....Sigh. I love snapping pictures of him when he's sleeping. I wish they came out clearer!!
And now for a gazillion pictures!
Cousin Eli and Lucas came for a visit. Cousin bath time!
All the cousins going to the mall to play:
He gives the biggest smiles when we come to get him out of his carseat!
Stuffing his face with food! He loves his finger foods!
This is right after he spit up all over Grandpa's brand new shirt.
His face kills me in this one!
We didn't stage this picture, I swear!
I can just hear his squeals of delight. sigh.
He loves to chug around the house with the bulb from the turkey baster in his mouth. It fills with spit and catches his spit-up and we have to empty it regularly. Grosss!!!
Mmmmm, Berries!
You are my sunshine!
At the indoor gym with Grandma
This was taken in our dark room in the morning. They were so cute snuggled up together...I took their picture, and these are their faces when the flash went off. Sorry guys!
Out for a chilly walk with Grandma:
Peek-a-boo!
More chilly-ness with Grandma.
Can there ever be too many pictures of sleeping babies? I wish I could capture the sweet sound of his breathing. Nothing sweeter.
Love those feet!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
8 months and Happy New Year!
Happy 2013! Last year was full of goodness and changes. It will be interesting to see how 2013 turns out!
Mr. Benjamin is now 8 months old and hardly seems like a baby anymore. In fact, I'm sitting here trying to think of even one thing that still seems "baby" about him....I can't think of anything. Even breastfeeding him feels like I'm feeding a baby monkey or octopus rather than a little baby! He tries to crawl around, roll over and sit up while still attached to me. With razor sharp teeth coming in, its not the comfiest thing! We still have some peaceful nursing times...right before bed and sometimes when I bring him to bed with me first thing in the morning. Despite his acrobatics, I still love nursing him so much!
His two new things are clapping and SCREAMING. The clapping just started a few days ago and he does it all the time. He looks so proud of himself when he does it. The screaming is hilarious. He uses his whole body to put out an ear piercing screaaaam! It's a happy scream. Today we went to red robin and he kept screaming over and over. Joel and I thought it was cute, but I hope we didn't annoy any other diners.
Christmas was last week. Joel and I each got a gift for Ben, but we didn't tell each other what we got so that christmas morning would be a surprise. I already wrote here that i got Ben a lovie. So far he loves it! He keeps it in his hand as he crawls around his crib throughout the whole night. Joel got him a cool little drum that came with a few other instruments. It's been so nice having some time off together as a family and Joel had had two weeks off to be with Ben.
Tomorrow is the end of the holidays for me and then Joel goes back to work on Thursday. I actually like this time of year after the holidays. Life gets back to normal, there's no pressure, and there's time time to just live. :)
Mr. Benjamin is now 8 months old and hardly seems like a baby anymore. In fact, I'm sitting here trying to think of even one thing that still seems "baby" about him....I can't think of anything. Even breastfeeding him feels like I'm feeding a baby monkey or octopus rather than a little baby! He tries to crawl around, roll over and sit up while still attached to me. With razor sharp teeth coming in, its not the comfiest thing! We still have some peaceful nursing times...right before bed and sometimes when I bring him to bed with me first thing in the morning. Despite his acrobatics, I still love nursing him so much!
His two new things are clapping and SCREAMING. The clapping just started a few days ago and he does it all the time. He looks so proud of himself when he does it. The screaming is hilarious. He uses his whole body to put out an ear piercing screaaaam! It's a happy scream. Today we went to red robin and he kept screaming over and over. Joel and I thought it was cute, but I hope we didn't annoy any other diners.
Christmas was last week. Joel and I each got a gift for Ben, but we didn't tell each other what we got so that christmas morning would be a surprise. I already wrote here that i got Ben a lovie. So far he loves it! He keeps it in his hand as he crawls around his crib throughout the whole night. Joel got him a cool little drum that came with a few other instruments. It's been so nice having some time off together as a family and Joel had had two weeks off to be with Ben.
Tomorrow is the end of the holidays for me and then Joel goes back to work on Thursday. I actually like this time of year after the holidays. Life gets back to normal, there's no pressure, and there's time time to just live. :)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
My favorite things...
I thought about naming this post another "don't forget", but this title felt more fitting for these memories...although I certainly don't want to forget about these things! These are just a few of my absolute favorite things right now. We watched a movie the other day and one of the dads said that he loved his kid so much that he was scared he would eat the kid....that's how I feel about the following things....I can't get enough and could just gobble him up!
1) Ben barks. Yes, he barks like a dog. It's hilarious. He mostly does it when he hears Emma bark, but he also does it when he's crawling after her or when he hears the neighbor dogs barking. He's definitely mimicking Emma. It's a distinct, high pitched "ar ar" sound that he doesn't make any other time. It's so playful. Oh man, I can't get enough of it. No luck getting it on video yet. Hard to get Emma to bark on cue...
2) we've started letting him try a few finger foods. He likes the sweet potato puffs and I feel comfortable giving them to him because they dissolve super fast. Anyways, I'm in love with the way he clumsily grabs the piece and tries to get it in his mouth. They end up sticking to his face and hands and he is so curious and eager to get them into his mouth. I love watching him focus on this one little treat and trying so hard to get it in his mouth. Once it's there, it's fun to watch him mash it and experience the new texture.
3) I can't get enough of his rolling around in his crib at night. He's all over the place! Thank goodness for sleep sacks, because its useless to try to cover him. On his tummy, on his back, on his side, bottom
Up in the air, head wedged in the corner, etc...and somehow he motates all around the crib in his sleep. I remember just a few months ago, I couldn't imagine a time when he would be able to move around in his sleep. Before, he would wake himself up at the slightest movement. It was so frustrating! I sure love having the video monitor. Watching our sleeping boy is the best. (Have I mentioned before the way he bangs/bounces his head on the mattress every time he's falling asleep? Sooo precious!)
Geez. So many details to love and adore! I don't know what will happen if we have other kids! Really? Is it really possible to love a second baby this much?!? I know lots of moms feel this way when they start thinking about baby #2 and now I know what they mean!! It seems impossible. Are they all just telling a little lie and they really just love their first babies more??
1) Ben barks. Yes, he barks like a dog. It's hilarious. He mostly does it when he hears Emma bark, but he also does it when he's crawling after her or when he hears the neighbor dogs barking. He's definitely mimicking Emma. It's a distinct, high pitched "ar ar" sound that he doesn't make any other time. It's so playful. Oh man, I can't get enough of it. No luck getting it on video yet. Hard to get Emma to bark on cue...
2) we've started letting him try a few finger foods. He likes the sweet potato puffs and I feel comfortable giving them to him because they dissolve super fast. Anyways, I'm in love with the way he clumsily grabs the piece and tries to get it in his mouth. They end up sticking to his face and hands and he is so curious and eager to get them into his mouth. I love watching him focus on this one little treat and trying so hard to get it in his mouth. Once it's there, it's fun to watch him mash it and experience the new texture.
3) I can't get enough of his rolling around in his crib at night. He's all over the place! Thank goodness for sleep sacks, because its useless to try to cover him. On his tummy, on his back, on his side, bottom
Up in the air, head wedged in the corner, etc...and somehow he motates all around the crib in his sleep. I remember just a few months ago, I couldn't imagine a time when he would be able to move around in his sleep. Before, he would wake himself up at the slightest movement. It was so frustrating! I sure love having the video monitor. Watching our sleeping boy is the best. (Have I mentioned before the way he bangs/bounces his head on the mattress every time he's falling asleep? Sooo precious!)
Geez. So many details to love and adore! I don't know what will happen if we have other kids! Really? Is it really possible to love a second baby this much?!? I know lots of moms feel this way when they start thinking about baby #2 and now I know what they mean!! It seems impossible. Are they all just telling a little lie and they really just love their first babies more??
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Seven Months
Well, technically, today is seven months and one week. He's about 21.5 pounds. I don't have many updates, but today we noticed that his first tooth has broken through!! I can feel the actual tooth with my finger. I haven't noticed anything until today. I can't wait to see what he looks like with teeth, although that means no more gummy grin!
Other than that, he's just been improving on his skills! He sprint-crawls around the house and disappears in no time! That boy is speedy! He's also mastered pulling himself up on anything and everything, including my pant leg (and thus, my pants come down....). Sleeping is still pretty good. Most nights, he sleeps from 6:00-4:30 (maybe one wake up around 3:30, but I turn the monitor off and he puts himself back to sleep). At 4:30, I feed him and sometimes he goes back to bed...sometimes he doesn't. As long as I went to bed early enough the night before, I actually like my early mornings with him! I get to spend some sweet time with him before I go to work AND I usually end up getting to work early. It's win-win....although I reaaaalllly don't want 4:30 to be his regular wake up time!!
One funny thing he does alllll the time is carry things around in his mouth. Washcloths, scraps of fabric, toys (his or Emma's...), bath toys, etc. He'll stick it in his mouth and crawl around or do whatever it is he's interested in, all the while with this random object just hanging out of his mouth (there are a few pics at the end of the post of him doing this. The kong in the picture is clean, I promise! I clean all of Emma's toys regularly now that Ben is interested in them...)
He's making more sounds lately and he loves to imitate Joel! Joel is good at making strang noises and Ben loves to play with him and copy him. It's fun to see them so engaged with each other. Ben looks so intently at Joel and looks like he's having so much fun! Right now he says, emma, mama, papa, baba, and occasionally dada and all kinds of variations of those syllables. He doesn't really know what any of those sounds mean, but I have a feeling that "Emma" is going to be the first word that he really uses in the right way.
My mom is taking care of Ben four days a week and it is sooo wonderful. She is so observant of every little thing he does and picks up on his smallest cues, changes, patterns, etc. She pays lots of attention to his teeny little developments that I honestly wouldn't even notice half the time. I love how much she appreciates him. I feel fortunate that Ben has her to foster his growth and development in his first year. If he was at Cheri's all week, no one would really be noticing all these tiny details. Some days at work, I feel panicky that I'm not home more with Ben. I panic that I'm not going to be around for him as he grows up. I know lots and lots of people grow up with both parents working, but I'm not quite sure what that looks like since my mom was always home for us when we were growing up.
Even though Joel and I don't get many hours of time with Ben during the day, we make the most of the time we do have. I love our family time in the evenings. From the time we walk in the door, it's all about Ben. We put our phones away and just play with Ben as a family. My favorite is when we sing songs together and dance around. Cheesy? Maybe. But I love it! At bath time, we put him in our big tub and Joel and I both sit on the side of the tub. It's fun to chat with Joel and play with Ben. This is one of Ben's favorite times to imitate Joel's funny noises. :) Weekends are also very sweet. We usually stay home, although Ben loves going on outings! I sometimes feel like he needs to get out more. He just seems to need more and more stimulation! Today, our outings included a little bit of shopping and playing outside. We put his rain suit on and went and crawled in the wet grass and explored the leaves and twigs and rocks....until I found a pile of dog poop with my shoe.....oops....
For Christmas, we're just getting Ben a "lovie". I've looked far and wide for the perfect stuffed animal/lovie/blankie. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I finallyyyyy found it. Not sure why it's so hard to find a cute, high quality lovie! We're not getting him any other gifts...I thought I would just wrap up some stuff that he needs (new spoons, etc).
One more thing...last night we had our friendsgiving/friendsmas with the Bailey's, Smith's and Dahlhauser's. I was thinking about how much has changed since last year's friendsgiving!! First of all, last year there was only one kiddo. This year, there was lots and lots of noise and commotion and some tears from the little ones. Also, last year, I remember that I was in the thick of my horrible anxiety and emotional mess! I'm so glad that's over! Hope to never experience that again, pregnant or not!
So, apparently I had more updates than I realized! Here are a ton of pics (including one of sweet Eli). I'm able to kinda control myself and not post a gazillion pics on facebook, but I can't control myself here!
Other than that, he's just been improving on his skills! He sprint-crawls around the house and disappears in no time! That boy is speedy! He's also mastered pulling himself up on anything and everything, including my pant leg (and thus, my pants come down....). Sleeping is still pretty good. Most nights, he sleeps from 6:00-4:30 (maybe one wake up around 3:30, but I turn the monitor off and he puts himself back to sleep). At 4:30, I feed him and sometimes he goes back to bed...sometimes he doesn't. As long as I went to bed early enough the night before, I actually like my early mornings with him! I get to spend some sweet time with him before I go to work AND I usually end up getting to work early. It's win-win....although I reaaaalllly don't want 4:30 to be his regular wake up time!!
One funny thing he does alllll the time is carry things around in his mouth. Washcloths, scraps of fabric, toys (his or Emma's...), bath toys, etc. He'll stick it in his mouth and crawl around or do whatever it is he's interested in, all the while with this random object just hanging out of his mouth (there are a few pics at the end of the post of him doing this. The kong in the picture is clean, I promise! I clean all of Emma's toys regularly now that Ben is interested in them...)
He's making more sounds lately and he loves to imitate Joel! Joel is good at making strang noises and Ben loves to play with him and copy him. It's fun to see them so engaged with each other. Ben looks so intently at Joel and looks like he's having so much fun! Right now he says, emma, mama, papa, baba, and occasionally dada and all kinds of variations of those syllables. He doesn't really know what any of those sounds mean, but I have a feeling that "Emma" is going to be the first word that he really uses in the right way.
My mom is taking care of Ben four days a week and it is sooo wonderful. She is so observant of every little thing he does and picks up on his smallest cues, changes, patterns, etc. She pays lots of attention to his teeny little developments that I honestly wouldn't even notice half the time. I love how much she appreciates him. I feel fortunate that Ben has her to foster his growth and development in his first year. If he was at Cheri's all week, no one would really be noticing all these tiny details. Some days at work, I feel panicky that I'm not home more with Ben. I panic that I'm not going to be around for him as he grows up. I know lots and lots of people grow up with both parents working, but I'm not quite sure what that looks like since my mom was always home for us when we were growing up.
Even though Joel and I don't get many hours of time with Ben during the day, we make the most of the time we do have. I love our family time in the evenings. From the time we walk in the door, it's all about Ben. We put our phones away and just play with Ben as a family. My favorite is when we sing songs together and dance around. Cheesy? Maybe. But I love it! At bath time, we put him in our big tub and Joel and I both sit on the side of the tub. It's fun to chat with Joel and play with Ben. This is one of Ben's favorite times to imitate Joel's funny noises. :) Weekends are also very sweet. We usually stay home, although Ben loves going on outings! I sometimes feel like he needs to get out more. He just seems to need more and more stimulation! Today, our outings included a little bit of shopping and playing outside. We put his rain suit on and went and crawled in the wet grass and explored the leaves and twigs and rocks....until I found a pile of dog poop with my shoe.....oops....
For Christmas, we're just getting Ben a "lovie". I've looked far and wide for the perfect stuffed animal/lovie/blankie. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for, but I finallyyyyy found it. Not sure why it's so hard to find a cute, high quality lovie! We're not getting him any other gifts...I thought I would just wrap up some stuff that he needs (new spoons, etc).
One more thing...last night we had our friendsgiving/friendsmas with the Bailey's, Smith's and Dahlhauser's. I was thinking about how much has changed since last year's friendsgiving!! First of all, last year there was only one kiddo. This year, there was lots and lots of noise and commotion and some tears from the little ones. Also, last year, I remember that I was in the thick of my horrible anxiety and emotional mess! I'm so glad that's over! Hope to never experience that again, pregnant or not!
So, apparently I had more updates than I realized! Here are a ton of pics (including one of sweet Eli). I'm able to kinda control myself and not post a gazillion pics on facebook, but I can't control myself here!
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