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.

Rocking Chair

This is for Aunt T. She bought Ben the coolest rocking chair ever and he is finally loving it. He jumps on and rocks by himself now. At the end you can hear him say "more" and play it again.

We're Back

Well, we didn't actually go anywhere, but lately it felt like Ben and I took a quick trip to the funny farm. Ben's teething had him thrown off so badly that sleeping was just horrible and it trickled down into his mood. He misbehaved so badly in public a couple of times that I just had to come home and cry. In all my stressing and frustration Ryan so wisely asked me if his bad behavior was at a certain time of day. Why, yes, it was - around 11am. Before we started the nap push he would have gone down at 10am. So, maybe he was just so tired at 11am that he didn't know what else to do but act out. (BTW - he certainly misbehaves sometimes, but he was acting so far out of his character!) So, we put him down at 10am yesterday and he slept 10-12pm and woke up happy. Then, we put him down for his afternoon nap at 3pm and he slept 3-5:25pm. He only got up at 5:25pm because I was getting too nervous and had to sneak in his room, but it woke him up. He was chipper and ready for dinner and still went to bed as usual at 7:45pm. Same thing happened again today. And I took him out to run errands yesterday and today and he behaved like the little angel he has always been. Ah, I feel like I am finally back to myself again and Ben is back to himself. He did get a time out today, but that was nothing! Thank you Lord. Everyone say a little prayer that this doesn't change again in a few days!

Some of our recent fun in pictures.

In my last post I had a pic of Ben trying out the bumbo again. Today he decided to try out the swing. He has been trying to get into it for weeks, but hasn't been able to figure out how to get his big body in that tiny little space. He did it today and had to try to chew the toys even.

Don't tell him he doesn't really fit!

Ben's fu man chu - eating his soy chocolate pudding.

I couldn't pick between them bc I just love those eyes in this pic.

Ryan: "Ben, where's mommy?"

Drawing with his chalk on his shoes.

Just darn cute!