STTN

I read many blogs and community forums on parenting/motherhood websites and there are acronyms for everything! Many of them I have yet to figure out. It reminds me of my childhood when I would hear a dirty word or joke. I remember one instance in particular where a dirty joke was going around school (yeah, I went to private school). I thought I understood the punch line, but it was years later as I thought back on that joke and really got it. Then, I was totally embarrassed. Crazy anology, but fitting I think since there are so many motherhood acronyms that I don't think I totally get. On a side note, the idea of Ben texting or tweeting or whatever else they will have invented when he is older just scares me to death - how will I know what he is really talking about? Back to motherhood acronyms... STTN is one that I am sure I have figured out. Every mother is always asked, "Is your baby STTN yet?" You got it now, right? STTN = Sleep through the night (and basic variations of it)

I bore you with all this because I am thrilled that my son has started STTN. Most books I have read consider 5-6 hours of consecutive sleep to be STTN. If I go by that rule, Ben has been STTN since he was 6 weeks old. But, if I am not STTN (8 hours in my book) then I don't consider my son to be STTN. But, for the past 5 days Ben has been getting 8-10 hours of consecutive sleep. You might could argue with me on the exact number of hours though because of the dreamfeed. He gets his bath and goes to bed between 7:30-8pm. At 10pm, I get him up and feed him without really waking him at all - no diaper change, no lights, just a bedtime feeding. Then, he isn't waking until 6-7am on his own. I think that is pretty darn good!

Now for a cute smile picture and a video with Daddy. This video cracks me up because Ben can't decide to smile at Ryan or cry. I wonder if he was getting sleepy when we tried to take this video. Enjoy.

)

One more thing...we are trying to introduce the bottle. I am already having separation anxiety about leaving him for even a little while, so I have been (intentionally) forgetful about pumping and offering a bottle. He did take 4 ounces from a bottle a couple of days ago. He played with it in the side of his mouth for half and hour before he finally gave up and drank it. That is what he does with a pacifier as well, except he has only twice given up and actually sucked a pacifier.

Memorial Day

I love any and every excuse to get outside in the sunshine. Ryan and I took Ben to a park and just enjoyed the morning of Memorial Day. We came home and had hamburgers for lunch. Then, later joined some friends to just hang out outside for the evening. It was a great day.

"Mom made me do my tummy time work while at the park. I thought this was a day off. "

"I don't usually get to see my Daddy in the mornings. This is great!"

"Mom, I am not a girl. I don't want to wear your sunglasses."

"Mommy loves me so much."

"More pictures with Mommy. She can't seem to get enough. Especially when someone else is around to take the pictures for her."

"I didn't spend much time awake like this in my stroller. They laid me back and I took a good snooze outside while they walked around."

More Pictures

Look at my new shorts and shoes!

Look at me talking to mom.

Look at me holding my head up.

I smile a lot, but I hardly ever let mom get one on camera.

I

recently

discovered

my

hands.

Grandpa and Nana Overview

I mentioned that Grandpa and Nana have been in town this week (Ryan's dad and step mom). They have a fifth wheel trailer that they pull all over the country visiting friends and family. They have been doing this for a while now and just bought a house in Texas where they will live during the cold months and will continue traveling during the warm months. This was the first time they have been able to make it here to see us and meet Ben! Since Ben is now giving smiles freely and cooing some, it was a perfect time for them to come. They found a place to park their trailer only a few miles from our house. That enabled them to come over to our place, eat a meal together each day either in or out and visit some places in Wichita while still being able to go back "home" each night. That meant that Ryan could still work a half day each day and then we could play the other half. It has been fabulous.

Checking out Old Town - an historic, open air shopping and dining area in Wichita.

Eating at Old Chicago (a delicious pizza place). I have to train Ben to love Pizza and Ice Cream soon.

Photo-op at the house. We couldn't have planned all the outfits any better if we had tried.

Us at the zoo with the giraffes behind us.
Notice the trend of matching clothes and not once did we intend it that way!

Talking to Nana. Ben gave Nana some of his best smiles and really talked to her a lot.

Showing Grandpa all my tricks. Ben worked really hard to hold his head up for Grandpa.

Grandpa and Nana gave us a very generous housewarming / birthday / anniversary gift of a washer and dryer. The ones we had were the bottom of the line when I graduated high school 9 years ago. The washer leaked a bit and the dryer was starting to get clothes stuck as it tumbled around and it would burn places on our clothes, towels, sheets, etc. I was getting tired of finding ruined items in the dryer. They were both delivered this morning and I took them out for a quick spin! They are fabulous. They both have much bigger capacity than the old ones, so they feel huge to me. The washer has settings I didn't have and the dryer has something called AcuDry - it senses when the clothes are dry so that it doesn't over or under dry your clothes. I wasn't a believer until I tried it. In less than 50 minutes a whole load of jeans were perfectly dry. I am in laundry heaven. Thank you God for such gracious parents / grandparents. We have been tremendously blessed every time someone has come to visit us or sent special things in the mail!!!

And, some cute pictures of Ben just because...

"Mom, I am so over this picture taking business."

"I'm a big kid now!"

"Who is that handsome devil I see? It's me!"

Recipe

I received one request for this recipe and I am just sure many others of you want it too :) They are super easy! I did put mine in the freezer, but I think I like them in the frig better. In the freezer, they are very much like an ice cream sandwich - the chocolate cookie gets all in your teeth and you don't taste the flavor of the peanut butter middle as much. I really think you could make the cookies, freeze them a little while and then fill them with ice cream to make your own ice cream sandwiches. Let me know if any of you try this.
As a general note, I get almost all my exciting recipes from Martha Stewart's website. Her desserts always seem pretty as well as tasty which is the way I like my desserts.
Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

Our Last Few Days

We have had some fun outings these last few days. We hosted a small work gathering on Saturday at our house which Ben slept through completely. Yeah. Then, we went with one other couple, Daren and Tina, to watch some fireworks at Wichita's annual Riverfest. Daren and Tina are expecting their first son in September! They love to hold Ben and are begging for a chance to keep him without us around. Ben did fabulously during the fireworks. Unfortunately, they had some cannon fireworks that were extremely loud in comparison to the regular fireworks and there was nothing to see. Ben didn't like those as much, but he barely squirmed. He slept straight through the actual firework show. I held him under a blanket with my hand over his ear and he never budged.

Falling Asleep with Aunt Tina (not a blood relative, but we call them Aunt and Uncle).

Smiling and talking to Uncle Daren.

Fireworks!

This picture obviously didn't turn out in the dark, but this gives you an idea of how Ben and I enjoyed the fireworks show - bundled up with my hand over his ear and his other ear against my chest. I promise he is under there.

Grandpa and Nana are in town! They arrived Friday afternoon and are here for the week. They have more pictures on their camera that I will have to steal from them to post. Today, we went to the Sedgwick County Zoo. It was fantastic. It was the best zoo I have ever been to. We will definitely be going back. Ben was a perfect baby. He sat in his stroller, laid back and napped in his stroller, and sat some more. He went 5 hours without fussing or asking to eat. Wow. Then, we came home and he settled right in and is now down for the night all nice and clean.

I sit in my stroller like a big boy now. I had an elephant on my outfit and my favorite toy is an elephant. See it on my stroller tray?

We have more stuff planned with Grandpa and Nana. I just need to make sure and get pictures.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Ben attended his first baseball game tonight. If you don't already know, Ryan is a huge baseball fan, so Ben will either have a love or hate for the game, I am sure. Wichita State University if pretty big stuff around here. If you remember, we went to a volleyball and basketball game while Ben was still in the tummy. The game started at 7pm and Ben usually eats at 7pm, gets his bath and goes to bed. I started working him back all day so that he would be ready for dinner at 6pm and we could go to the game. It was apparently "Faith Night" at the game, so we went with our co-workers and members of our church. Ben sat happily with two other women and then once it got chilly and sleepy time, he and I snuggled under a blanket and he slept the rest of the game. The game ended just in time (with a Shockers win) for us to get home for his 10pm dreamfeed (even though he was awake) and he went right back to sleep! Beautiful. Now, let's just hope the night continues to be so smooth.Thanks Aunt Can Can and Mama-D for the socks! He got lots of compliments on his outfit. Jill, did you give us that baseball outfit? He sure looked great in it.