Just some fun

We still have family play time every evening after dinner. Last night Ryan decided we needed another homemade gymboree. Ben thought it was the best! I just flinched and cringed the whole time.


Tonight, Ryan had to go back to work for a little while so Ben and I had family play time without daddy. Ben noticed something was missing! I haven't taken random pictures with Ben in a long time, so here is our mini-photo session for fun!

We have definitely entered a season of goofy looking pictures because this is what I get when I ask for a smile.

Smile for Mommy!

A bit more normal looking. Such a big boy!

Kissing Nate.
Sometimes he still points to himself when we ask him where his brother is.

Posing with Mommy!

Happy 18 Months

(More pictures at the bottom.)

I can't believe it. My baby is 1 1/2. I guess it is time to stop giving his age by months. I think I say this at ever milestone, but he is just growing up so fast. He has a huge personality (at home or familiar places, he is shy in public) and is loads of fun to be around. Now that we have naps back under control and he is back in the crib, we have been having a barrel of laughs every day. He finds himself highly entertaining which I find highly entertaining as well. As soon as we got the sleeping under control again his behavior has been fantastic. Here is a list of some things I have jotted down recently about him.

• If he spills his drink he gets the kitchen towel himself to clean it up.
• He will intentionally spill his drink just to get the towel.
  
• He loves tissues. He steals them when I'm not looking and blows his nose.
  
• He carries all things with a handle in the bend of his elbow (he spends too much time with mommy who likes to carry cute bags!).
  
• He doesn't like to stay dirty. He will try to flick or wipe things off his hands and feet if it gets there. At the same time he loves playing in the dirt and the water.
  
• He loves to wear socks and shoes. He will bring us a pair of socks and shoes (usually a matching pair) and ask to have them put on. He tried to do it himself, but doesn't get close yet.
• He is beginning to try to take off his clothes on his own. Thankfully, he waits until prompted.
• He likes to help with EVERYTHING! He helps unload the dishwasher, (un)fold the laundry, unload the groceries from the bags, bring ingredients from the frig or pantry to the counter, etc. He gets one at a time and says "more" until we are done.
• If he doesn't want to try to say a word he gives us the same sound every time. It is not a real word so I wont attempt to spell it, but it always sounds the same.
• He has started to makes sounds for things, his cars go vroom, etc.
• He likes us to come with him sometimes. He grabs a fist full of our clothes mostly but sometimes he will settle for our finger.
  
• He can hear anything! He comes running when he hears me pull back the shower curtain even though the door is closed. He looks for Ryan when he hears the key in the lock. He definitely didn't get that from his father - ha!
• As you saw in the video, he is learning to kick.
  
• He is not shy if someone offers him food. Our ladies Bible Study has 6 women and 4 little ones and he goes from mom to mom to get the snack that they have brought for their child, always signing please or saying "more." Drives me crazy :)
• He is very good at following directions. I can point to something across the room and he will follow my finger and go get it. He most always does as he has been asked.
  
• He is about 50/50 at holding my hand in public. If he doesn't want to hold my hand he lays himself out flat in the middle of the aisle. Not cool! At least he generally doesn't scream, so we don't draw attention to ourselves. He will get up when I use my mommy voice and tell him to do so and then he resigns to losing the freedom to walk and is carried or put in the cart.
  

Words - He has really added a lot of words.

• uh oh - He says this for every single little thing. The doorbell rings and he says uh oh. He throws sometime and says uh oh. We hear it all day long.
  
• up - When he wants to be held he is persistent.
• dat (that) - Another one we hear all day long. He wants a name for everything.
  
• more - He wants more of anything and everything. He uses "more" instead of "again" if he wants to repeat something fun. He also says it is he actually wants more of something.
  
• oh - "Ben, we need to put that away now." "OH!" "Ben, did you see that school bus drive by?" "OH!" Everything is "oh!" and he says it like he is hearing something new and gets it for the first time.
  
• ah nun (all done) - I haven't heard this one recently, but he has said it a few times. He has only said it when he wasn't supposed to be doing something and I called his name and he responded with "ah nun." Yes son, you are all done misbehaving!
  
• no - He tells on himself! He doesn't tell me no, but I know when he is doing something wrong because he starts saying "no no no" and then continues on with the unacceptable behavior. It is helpful when I am not looking - I know to come find out what mischief he has gotten himself into.
• bye bye - Very cute and sweet. He will wave first and then wait until the person isn't looking and then say "bye bye."
• nite nite - He changes his tone when he says this into such a little baby voice. Melts our hearts.
• good - Sometimes if you ask him how he is doing he will respond with "good" and nod his head.
• out - he loves going outside, especially to play in the backyard. He will say "out" about 2.7 millions times and bring our shoes to us insisting we go. If we say "out" he goes to his room to get his shoes.
  
• dog - He finds dogs everywhere. He saw a dog on a lady's shirt in a store and loudly repeated the word and pointed. He also sees dogs that I don't see. I think he just likes saying the word sometimes.
  
• hi - He reserves this one for when he is really feeling generous about giving a greeting.
• hot - This is his most recent addition. He will say "hot" about his morning oatmeal and then blow on it through his nose. Rarely he will blow through his mouth, but he has definitely mastered blowing with his nose - gross.

Lots of little kids to play with.

We went to a 1 year old bday party. He had Cheetos and watermellon for dinner and loved it. It was his first time to have a Cheeto and he was addicted at first bite. I tried to get an orange finger picture, but didn't have any luck.

He sits in a booster seat at the table now!
I asked him to smile for me.

A recent family trip to the park.

The park was surprisingly empty, so he had to make friends with the statue kids.

Learning to Kick

Ben thinks it is great fun to throw everything and with a bit more velocity than most people and other little kids prefer. We are currently working on his kicking and rolling skills, hoping those seem more fun than throwing. Yesterday evening we went across the street to the World Impact campus and played! He refused to get on the grass with the ball, but had a ball (lame, I know) playing on the asphalt. I only captured one good giggle in the video, but he was giggling like we have never heard. He loved it.



Then, we took a break in the evening breeze to relax before going home for bath time!

White Flag of Surrender

I hate to lose at anything! If I don't think I have a chance at winning, I would rather not play. My dear sisters know that well (I always changed the rules so I could win) and my dear husband has learned it as well (my favorite games are ones in which I can beat him - no Trivial Pursuit!).

I have decided to surrender my efforts in moving Ben to his big boy bed. On Saturday he napped decently, but that night he woke up and came to our room crying about six times. At 5:15am I just got in bed with him so Ryan could sleep a little more (why do I do that because Ryan slept through all the other times Ben woke up? ha). Ben and I both fell asleep until 7:30am, but we were still tired from a rough night. Ryan left us home from church and I was sitting in the glider in Nate's room, listening to my sweet boy crying in his room and I did a little soul searching. I realized we have two sets of grandparents coming in the next two months, we will be traveling two different times in the next two months, my little boy isn't even quite 18 months old yet, he was sleeping beautifully before we did this, Nate is still quite a ways off from needing the crib, and probably a few more things. It was suddenly obvious that I had no good reason for moving Ben, so once Ryan got home we took the crib apart, moved it into Ben's room and he has been sleeping like my angel child ever since and I feel a huge load off my shoulders.

So, for all the wins I have had and will have when raising Ben, I will chalk this one up as a big fat loss and move on! It still hurts to admit defeat, but we are all so much happier now. Thank you God for grace and a husband and son that still love me when I mess up!

This is how Ben feels about the US Open. Ryan and I were vegging in front of the tv Sunday afternoon. Apparently Ben wasn't quite done with his nap and quickly fell asleep watching the ball go back and forth (he loves seeing any ball in real life or on the tv). Not my best preggo pic every, but Ben sure looks cute!

Big Bed Day 2

Two steps back, but we are still working on it!

10am nap - refused!
We went to lunch as our usual Friday tradition. He fell asleep on the drive home for about 40 minutes. I tried to lay him down when we got home and he wouldn't have it!
Played, had dinner, to bed.
It only took 30 minutes to get his settled into bed for the night.

This morning he didn't even call us from his room. I woke to the pitter patter at 4:57am (sadly, very typical wake time for him). Yeah, the fun has begun.

BIg Boy Bed Update

We have officially begun the process of moving Ben into the bed and out of the pack n play. We knew when we started that the pack n play was very temporary. He is too big to sleep in it regularly and it is just an annoyance to put up and take down 3 times a day for naps and bedtime.

The process began Thursday night when he woke up screaming at 10:30pm. He is getting yet another molar so I put some orajel on and calmed him down. As I stood there over the pack n play, looking at the bed, I decided to do what I said I would never do - sleep in the bed with him. He has been waking at 4:30am, maybe 5am, quite a few nights in a row and I was really curious if something outside was waking him. His new room faces the street, ours does not so there is no way for me to know if something is happening outside that is bothering him. So, I laid him down and crawled in. He didn't budge. He slept soundly all night. Except for the many times he kicked me when rolling around, I don't think he had any idea I was in the bed with him. I heard no strange noises in the wee hours of the morning, so my research was inconclusive as to why he is waking so early, but it did spur me on to move him to the big bed.

Day 1 Report:
10am nap took 45 minutes to get him to sleep, but he did lay there on his own and stay in the bed. He slept 10:45am - 1:20pm. *I must admit that he was on Benadryl though because he woke up with horrible allergies. He slept so long that he refused an afternoon nap which wasn't surprising.
Bedtime took 30 minutes to get him to sleep. He cried a little while, but stayed on the bed and slept all night.
He woke at 6am this morning. He "called" to us a few times and then we heard pitter patter down the hall but he walked right past our room. I find that humorous because he and I always go wake up Ryan each morning so he knows he can open the door and that is where we are.

Day 1 - I call it a success.
Day 2 is underway, but you will just have to wait for the results until tomorrow. I am pretty sure my son is as stubborn as I am, so we will see how long he wants to fight me on this. I'm in it to win it :)
I didn't dare risk the flash so it's not very good quality, but look at my little sleeping boy on his big bed!

24 week update

I saw my doctor yesterday for my 24 week appointment. Everything continues to go well. The unwelcomed return of heartburn has come a few times. Thankfully, it is not in full force yet. I am still sleeping comfortably for the most part. My energy level comes and goes on different days. The cooler fall weather is definitely a welcomed sight! I seem to have more energy on cooler days and I know that makes everyone in my house a little happier.