Family of 4

I told you I was recently working on a big project for our week long interview process for new missionaries. Well, last night was the commissioning ceremony for seven new missionaries! We got to dress up just a little and my dress shows off my early-popping pregnant belly, so we made a memory of it and I thought I would share.

Chillin

I was looking for Ben this morning and here is what I found. Hey - that's my spot!

Water Park

The park closest to our house has all kinds of fun water things to do. We took Ben for the first time today. He wasn't real fond of the water, but loved seeing all the kids, following all the kids and wishing he was bigger like the other kids. He was the smallest one there, but not by much. He also had the most clothes/hat on too! ha. Poor little light skinned boy!

Videos

Ben's favorite girl, Bree has been teaching Ben this trick. We never reinforce it at home, but tonight we tried and he performed flawlessly. How big is Ben? Soooo B I G



And here are a few more tricks. I mentioned before that he turns in circles with a head on his shoulder. He did it briefly for the camera. And then I think it looks like a gymnast finish that he gives at the end :) Then, he points to some body parts for your viewing pleasure.

Hot Sign Was On

A pregnant woman got what a pregnant woman wanted! Yeah for me!

Ben got his first taste of a Krispy Kreme Doughnut. It isn't Southern Maid, but it will do.

15 Month Check-Up

We just got home from Ben's 15 month checkup. He is weighing 22 lb 6 oz (25%), is 31.5 inches tall (60%) and his head is 18.75 cm (60%). He is growing perfectly! He got 2 shots this time and cried for the first time. He was not happy about it! Like a tough boy, he dried up the tears in seconds, but gave the nurse a nasty look when she offered him a sticker. What will happen when we go back in 3 months? He will probably remember that dreaded room. For some reason, we are always in the same room. Oh boy!

I think I tell all his milestones in random posts, but I will try to make a list. He doesn't seem to be learning new skills so much right now, but rather perfectly his skills.

• He has almost perfect balance with walking now. He rarely falls.
  
• He is experimenting with walking backwards and sideways which is very funny to watch because he bumps into things and people and looks shocked every time.
• He has started turning circles, but he puts his head on his right shoulder and his right hand out from his side while he does it. It is hilarious. We don't know what is going through his head sometimes.
• When walking, he almost never wants to hold our hand. He is an "all by myself" type. I'm scared :)
  
• He is full of energy and very inquisitive. He touches everything - like his father!
  
• He is a bit fearful of new places and things, but is all over the place in familiar places with familiar things (church, meetings, etc.).
  
• He is extremely good with his spoon now. We never feed him anymore. He still gets quite a bit on the floor (he eats in a diaper 90% of the time still). No baby food at all. He eats whatever we are having.
  
• We are still doing Soy milk and the doctor told me today not to introduce cow's milk again until age 2. Bummer. I may still give him tiny bits just to see. I really don't want him on Soy forever. (It does mean he can't have a bite of my ice cream and I like that :)
  
• Most days he is still taking two naps (10-12pm and 3-5pm). Some days he refuses one of those, usually his afternoon nap. Every time I think he wants to go to one nap, he will take 2 long good naps for a few days in a row. So, who knows! Most of the time he will play in his crib for an hour if he isn't going to sleep. With tiredness from pregnancy, I relish nap time.
• He sleeps at night from 7:45pm - 6/6:30am. Almost every morning I wonder how I am going to handle a newborn again.
  
• He is starting to make more and more sounds for words. He attempts a sound for out or outside pretty consistently. He has said baba when talking about a ball a couple of times. Nothing real substantial yet though.
• He mimics almost everything. I was talking to Ryan in the car on the way home from the dr this morning and said blah, blah, blah and from the backseat immediately came blah, blah, blah.
  
• He does really well in the car seat. He was terrible when really small, but got better at traveling pretty quick. He is still rear facing and loves talking to himself in his mirror. We will stay that way until he outgrows it or starts hating it.
• We bought a potty! We are letting him explore the idea of it. I personally have a thing about baby potties and cleaning them, so he has a seat that fits on the big toilet and a step stool to get up. Every time he goes in the bathroom and gets his potty we take off the diaper and let him sit there. The only scheduled time is before each bath. He sits for a minute, does nothing and then immediately pees in the tub every single time! We aren't doing any boot camp training, but we like the idea of him getting used to it.
• We are offering crayons regularly now, but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. He doesn't eat them, but doesn't make many marks either. One day he really liked the white crayon, but obviously it wouldn't leave a mark he could see. Maybe he got confused.
  
• He understands and follows directions very well. He cleans up his own toys when we are done playing. He takes his shoes to his room when we get home from an outing (I should take a hint from him). He goes to his highchair when it is dinner time. Daily tasks are taking much longer now that he does it by himself, but it is so worth it. Time, I have. Energy, not always so much! I just plan way ahead when I know we have to go somewhere.
  
• He gives "loves" and kisses. He leans in to receive kisses and puckers to give them. He will sometimes wrap his arms around for a hug, other times he just snuggles into our chest.
• He can point to his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tummy (he says mmmm rather than pointing), toes/feet, and hair. We are working on back, arms, belly button and some others.
• He has begun some whining which will not be tolerated in my house (I can't stand it). The tantrums lasted only a week or so, but I bet they will surface again. We are working on "ask nicely" instead of whining. That means he has to give a sign for what he wants instead of whining. He usually complies or just gets left to fuss by himself until he comes around.
  
• He is an absolute joy and we love (almost) every minute with him. Some days, bed time is my favorite part of the day. Other days, I can't wait for him to wake up from his nap to play!

Now pictures!

Across the street on the World Impact campus, they have brought in some heavy machinery to tear down some old garages and the walls that held them up. We snuck over yesterday to play on the machines when no one was there. Sh...don't tell!

Ben was not a fan of being up there.

Where's (Waldo) Benjamin?

Some days he thinks he is a puppy and carries everything in his mouth.

You call my name?

Exploring.

First time with sidewalk chalk. Not a huge fan really.

His fauxhawk for a staff dinner. He was a superstar!

Baby #2 Update

I really don't like calling this baby #2, but I don't know what else to call him/her.

We went for our 12 week appointment this morning. Baby's heartbeat it good and strong, all the blood work from last appointment came back great! We took Ben with us hoping this will be a way he can be involved already with the new baby. We scheduled our gender sono for 17 weeks, but when I got home and checked my google calendar, we are planning to be in Houston for the day I scheduled it. I knew the date sounded familiar when I set up the appointment. Oh well. I will have to reschedule that now. I will let you know...


Here are the belly shots. Not much difference in the pictures, but I definitely look a little pregnant now as compared to 4 weeks ago. I have moved on to all maternity clothes now. It is still that awkward stage - some of my regular clothes fit, but aren't very comfortable, but some of the maternity still looks a little too big. My friend Tina who has a baby 6 months younger than Ben let me borrow all her summer maternity clothes. Woohoo. I love it. I even got a compliment on my (her) top this morning from the OB nurse :)

I am still feeling pretty good. No morning sickness really, but hopefully it will be completely gone soon since I am moving out of the first trimester. My biggest "symptom" is being tired all the time and I snack a lot! No cravings really, same when I was pregnant with Ben.

Ben is still running around like crazy and getting more grown up by the second. He has officially learned to say the word "no." Oh joy! He reserves it for when his cup is taken away from him or it is time to clean up and he isn't ready to put away his toys. Let the fun begin!

Visit from Uncle Larry & Aunt Ginger

We have been told that Wichita is on the way to NOWHERE. My Uncle Larry (dad's bro) and Aunt Ginger stopped in Wichita on their way to South Dakota. We had a delicious meal out together, they met Ben for the first time and we hung out at the house watching Ben play with the gifts they brought.

Thanks so much for coming to see us!!

Eventually, I will get the settings right on my camera. For now, enjoy the blurry pictures and the cute (short) video.

Big Shoes to Fill

Ben insisted on wearing Ryan's shoes and socks yesterday. Hilarious!

New Sign

Ben has always loved bananas. It was the first table food he ever ate that wasn't pureed. He still loves them! We decided to teach him the sign for banana, but I'm not sure it was such a good idea now. If he is not particularly fond of the meal that I have offered he will take some bites and then turn in his high chair toward the kitchen and sign for his banana! We have created a monster.

Ben's version of the sign for banana.



Watch how to actually sign banana.

Total Slacker

While I have been slacking in my blog postings, I have been crazy busy with work stuff. Before being asked to join missionary staff all candidates have to go through a week long interview process. Ryan and I obviously survived it, but we are thankful to be on this side of it now. The Wichita staff is a very small staff and we will be hosting 7 candidates and 10 assessors (missionary staff from other cities) for an entire week at the end of June. There is so much that goes into the preparation for six 8-hour days of interviewing. I have been working on my computer ever single nap time and pretty much every evening after Ben goes to bed. I think I am done with the major work, so hopefully I can rest now.

Being in my first trimester with a toddler running around has gotten the best of me some days. It is very different having Ben to worry about instead of just worrying about myself. So many mornings I wish I could stay in bed longer, but he calls me anyway. So many days I just feel like sitting on the couch peacefully, but he climbs all over me now that he can get on the couch himself. But, I also am able to forget how tired I am sometimes because life must go on. Once bedtime comes for him I usually feel like I have been run over by a truck. The best part with this pregnancy though is no morning sickness. There is something reassuring about morning sickness before you really start showing, but I haven't missed it too much.

Ben is seemingly more and more fun each day. He also seems super smart. Being first time parents, we don't have anything else to compare and I certainly try not to compare him to all the other March babies that I read about on Baby Center. He seems to understand everything we say although still no words from him yet other than proficient use of mama and dada. He loves to wave to everyone we see, but usually once they are no longer looking. He waves to all children in the grocery store. He loves our friendly neighbors and waves and hollers the very second we walk out the front door. He is getting pretty sure he can run, but he really can't yet. It is funny to watch. Still no major bumps or bruises - how have we been so lucky?

Enjoy these few pictures.

My mom bought him a recoradable book from Halmark and recorded herself reading it. Ah! I love it. It is the only book Ben will actually listen to every page. Usually he wants to turn the pages and go from book to book at rapid speed.

He has figured out how to make bubbles although Super Magic Bubbles or whatever they are called are not very super and not very magical!

Our super eater. He eats most meals in his diaper these days because we are all about letting him learn how to feed himself. This was a plate of chili. He usually gets about 90% in his mouth and 10% on his body or floor. It is a huge mess, but I get to eat in peace. Totally worth it for us! And just in case you notice, he very rarely uses his right hand to eat. I am shocked looking at this picture. He uses his left hand with the spoon and if he gets a bite that he can't get on the spoon he will only use his right hand to pick it up. His left hand never has a bit of food on it and his right hand is always covered up to his elbow!

Bubble Fun!