Ben is learning how to pretend play. It is so cute to hear him talking to and for his toys. He also loves to watch the playback on my camera which is what he is asking for at the end of this video.
Nate is getting bigger and stronger by the day!
I thought I heard him saying "I need help" and looked to find this. He is definitely learning shapes now too. And learning how to scatter my mail...or maybe that is just innate.
I don't know where he gets his musical skills, but he sure loves singing and dancing!
Ben loves cooking with me, especially when we use the stand mixer. It was so very hard for him to keep his little fingers off my rolls while we let them rise. Ben loves Elmo. He picked out these underwear. He often asks to even wear a pair over his pants.
After the big snow storm we had gorgeous days of 60 and 70 degree weather. The boys and I went on many snow hunting adventures and even did some puddle stomping!
It was at least 60 degrees outside and we found places that still had 3 feet of snow from the big drifts.
This is how Nate hunts for snow.
A brief moment of helpfulness.
Play is hard work sometimes!
Nate is just discovering his toys and how to move his hands to hit them.
Nate had his 2 month well baby appointment. He is now weighing 12 pounds and is 23 inches long. Unlike his lanky big brother, he is as solid as they come and has my round face where Ben has Ryan's longer face.
In order to stay sane I must have home projects. I have always liked to do stuff like that, but it is an especially strong urge now that I am home so much chatting with a toddler and changing diapers all day. I have been wanting to add some more color to our bedroom, but I didn't know what to do. A few weeks ago I just decided to dive in and use what I already had. Then, I found some fabulous placemats and a table runner on clearance at Target that became pillows (remember the pic of Ben helping in my last post). And a 50% off new mirror later and I am much happier in my bedroom. Economical and it looks fabulous! My favorite combination. With Ben getting his molars it doesn't feel like we sleep much anymore, but the room still looks good and that makes me happy!
Ben watched me make pencil marks when measuring. I'm not sure when he left his mark, but I found this. I haven't erased it yet. I know it is hard to see. My new room! A little closer. My pillows.
It seems that Ryan and I make lots of huge life changes in clusters, so why not teach our children to do the same? (That last bit must be read with much sarcasm.) In this past month Ben has started potty training, moved into a toddler bed and is getting his 2 year molars and it was only two months ago we brought home his little brother! That is a lot of change for our little man.
Teething continues to be traumatic for Ben. It really seems like a switch is flipped when he starts teething and we don't see our little boy again until the tooth breaks through. He is terribly defiant, stubborn beyond belief and just overall grouchy. I miss my sweet little boy. It is really difficult to discipline because I know that he is not himself but at the same time I can't let him get away with all that he attempts.
In a fit of rage he climbed out of his crib a few days ago and landed on the top of his head. We heard the thud, ran back to his room and found him on the floor. He calmed down before Ryan and I did though. So, we had to convert the crib to the toddler bed. He likes it, but hates it at the same time. He sleeps in there all night and goes down easily, but that is because he is refusing all naps (he was still taking two naps until this tooth). He is so extremely tired at night that he is almost delirious and starts saying "I need night night." Of course you do child! He has been going to bed at 7pm for a few nights.
He is such a talker! Before he started talking I could possibly go six hours without even uttering a word. These days, I am lucky to go six seconds without having to say something. He is a chatter box! When he is impressed with something he will say "oh wow!" When he really wants something and he is unsure if it is allowed he will say "I need this...uh huh." When he sees something that is off limits he says "that no no." Most days he wont actually play with whatever it is, but recently he just continues on, but at least he has warned me and I can go remove him. He has an Elmo book where Elmo is "happy." He randomly will go through all the family members and tell us "Mommy happy" or "Mommy no happy." Usually we are all happy, except for Nate when he cries. He likes letters but he is missing something...he calls them the ABs. It's so cute. He will say it in one of the videos below. He only knows the color blue so all things are blue. He adds an 's to everything. He likes to know what belongs to whom.
Ben helped me make pillows for my bed. It was a huge mess, but tons of fun!
Apparently, it was exhausting.
He sure does love to sit in my new chair. He looks at me and asks "Mommy's?" to get permission to sit in it.
He loves the laundry sorter. He gets it out regularly. As you can see, the mesh bags do not stay in place which gives Ben even more to play with.
He is always in the way!
He has a hat fetish. He will wear them for hours. Here, he is modeling Ryan's hat.
He likes to have options. Mommy's water and his milk, two different spoons and straws for whatever reason.
Apparently the bumbo is not just for Nate. And, yes, he is wearing his jacket bc he refused to take it off when we got home. I think it is funny all the words he has learned just because he has a little brother in the house.
I know that Nate has the most face time in this video but Ben is so funny talking in the background and trying to look through the camera.
Every boy needs bracelets when riding a dump truck. I was painting a wall in our bedroom and Ben was 'exploring' our room. He kept saying "hi" and "bye" and I would just respond in kind, but never looked over. When I finally did, this is what I found. haha.
Nate is packing on the pounds it seems. We don't go to the doctor until Monday so I don't know how much he has grown in pounds and inches. He definitely doesn't feel like a newborn anymore. He holds his head up so well and does not like to lay on my shoulder, but will look around instead.
Ben is always there to help (hinder)!I tried to get some video of him cooing, but he does not like to perform for the camera and Ben is always all up in our business.
He is keeping a steady eating schedule of every 4 hours during the day. He goes down for a nap like a champ after being up for 1.5-2 hours. I swaddle him, lay him down and he goes to sleep without a fuss. It's very convenient since I have Ben helping to put him down most naps. He still wont go down in the evening well so we usually end up holding him on the couch after Ben goes to bed. Then, I feed him again at 9:45pm and he goes right down. Some nights he sleeps until 6-7am, other nights he gets up around 4-5am and then goes back down until 8am.
He is such a happy baby. Here, he was looking at Ryan and making faces.
And here he is smiling for me. He has some wild hair after baths.He is laying on one of my baby blankets.
Ben always wants to see just how close he can get.
Getting chunky.
I got a rocker/recliner for Christmas. If Nate and I are sitting in it, Ben wants up too. Nursing with Ben in my lap has become an acquired skill. We read lots of books while "baby eat."
Poor second child. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in other things I don't notice he is ready to go lay down. Oops.
He is smiling here, but he is not a real fan of the bumbo. Hopefully he will come to like it.
They both look so grown up in this picture.
Again, always helpful.
Doesn't he look huge?
Chillin'
I came back to look at him maybe 5 minutes later and this is what I found.
