Thursday, October 20, 2011
Ben loves the pool - Jul 2011
Ben and I went to the pool this evening. He loved it, even though we only had about a 1/2 hour once we got there after supper. He seems to have no fear around the pool, throwing himself into water deeper than he is tall. I have to be there to lift him up. He enjoyed jumping around in the shallow water too, and of course liked walking under the "mushroom". Daddy said Ben had a great time at the pool with him last night as well, and got very upset when pool time was over.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Ben's 2nd birthday -April 2011
Ben turned 2 this past Friday. Scott and I have been teaching him to say that he's "2 years old". By the time that his birthday rolled around, he knew that it was a special day for him. Scott laid balloons in his crib Friday morning, much to his delight once he awoke. He enjoyed playing with them for a few minutes in his crib. Scott got some video of him with them.
Both Scott's and my immediate family came over for a party on Sunday. During the day Saturday, we talked a lot to Ben about who was coming and he seemed to understand. He says the word "party", I think possibly because they have holiday parties at school, which largely consists of eating lots of junk food at snack time. Ben can name everyone in the family, and knows who goes with who. If I say Nikki, he knows that Jody, Allie and Henry go along with her. He absolutely loves Allie and Henry, and gets excited whenever we talk about them and especially when they come over on the weekend for a visit.
Ben was very excited when he saw his cake, and had learned to say "birthday cake". He got very upset though when we told him that he couldn't eat any until after the guests arrived and after we all had lunch. Daddy tried to console him with an offerring of a spoonful of icing from the side of the cake, but Ben couldn't be consoled by then. It didn't take him that long to forget about it though and settle down. When he gets upset because he's not getting his way on something, he cries and screams for a bit and then he usually lays down on the carpet for a few minutes and sulks quietly, sometimes saying "night night". He rode with Daddy down to Lee's Chicken to pick up lunch, and thankfully got in a nap on the ride back home a little before noon.
After he and I (mostly I) blew out his candles, he clapped excitedly, which was so fitting and precious to see. He really looked like he was enjoying having everyone there, especially his cousins. He knows who the kids are, even the older ones like Chase.
Ben is in a stage where he repeats a lot of the words that others say. It was especially cute when he repeated "it's party time" several times after we blew out his candles.
Both Scott's and my immediate family came over for a party on Sunday. During the day Saturday, we talked a lot to Ben about who was coming and he seemed to understand. He says the word "party", I think possibly because they have holiday parties at school, which largely consists of eating lots of junk food at snack time. Ben can name everyone in the family, and knows who goes with who. If I say Nikki, he knows that Jody, Allie and Henry go along with her. He absolutely loves Allie and Henry, and gets excited whenever we talk about them and especially when they come over on the weekend for a visit.
Ben was very excited when he saw his cake, and had learned to say "birthday cake". He got very upset though when we told him that he couldn't eat any until after the guests arrived and after we all had lunch. Daddy tried to console him with an offerring of a spoonful of icing from the side of the cake, but Ben couldn't be consoled by then. It didn't take him that long to forget about it though and settle down. When he gets upset because he's not getting his way on something, he cries and screams for a bit and then he usually lays down on the carpet for a few minutes and sulks quietly, sometimes saying "night night". He rode with Daddy down to Lee's Chicken to pick up lunch, and thankfully got in a nap on the ride back home a little before noon.
After he and I (mostly I) blew out his candles, he clapped excitedly, which was so fitting and precious to see. He really looked like he was enjoying having everyone there, especially his cousins. He knows who the kids are, even the older ones like Chase.
Ben is in a stage where he repeats a lot of the words that others say. It was especially cute when he repeated "it's party time" several times after we blew out his candles.
Ben and Rebecca May 2011
Rebecca is getting to be such a big girl. Before she turns 5 months, she's already grabbing her feet when laying down on her back. She's been rolling over for a few weeks now. She still smiles so big whenever she sees someone or gets attention from someone.
Ben is quite a big boy too. He still loves hiding, behind pillows, curtains, or under blankets. Whenever he hears the garage door come up or I tell him that Daddy is home, he wants to hide. He still loves to play horsey, seems like even more than ever. He just holds on as he rides on my or Scott's back around the house. He usually asks for me to play with him, probably because he knows that I will give in.
The last couple of weeks, Ben has pretended that he's going to the store, especially if there's an empty bag in the family room or kitchen for him to pick up. He will name off a grocery list if you ask him what he's buying. His list usually starts with oatmeal, but he also lists oranges, butter, eggs, bread, and milk on his list. I just keep asking him what else he's getting, and he'll name one item each time after I ask. He can list several items before he gets to the bottom of his list. Ben went with me to the grocery store this morning. I would've left him at home so I could get it done more quickly, but when he realized I was going, he followed up with "me come", and I couldn't say no. He doesn't like sitting in the front of the cart.
Ben also really enjoys driving the cars and could spend 20 minutes or more in the drivers seat of the car, hitting buttons and pretend driving. It's still his usual ritual to ask if he can drive as we walk toward the van from his school each afternoon. His newest thing in the car is to ask for "window open". Now, he likes for the windows to be open when he's "driving".
Ben is quite a big boy too. He still loves hiding, behind pillows, curtains, or under blankets. Whenever he hears the garage door come up or I tell him that Daddy is home, he wants to hide. He still loves to play horsey, seems like even more than ever. He just holds on as he rides on my or Scott's back around the house. He usually asks for me to play with him, probably because he knows that I will give in.
The last couple of weeks, Ben has pretended that he's going to the store, especially if there's an empty bag in the family room or kitchen for him to pick up. He will name off a grocery list if you ask him what he's buying. His list usually starts with oatmeal, but he also lists oranges, butter, eggs, bread, and milk on his list. I just keep asking him what else he's getting, and he'll name one item each time after I ask. He can list several items before he gets to the bottom of his list. Ben went with me to the grocery store this morning. I would've left him at home so I could get it done more quickly, but when he realized I was going, he followed up with "me come", and I couldn't say no. He doesn't like sitting in the front of the cart.
Ben also really enjoys driving the cars and could spend 20 minutes or more in the drivers seat of the car, hitting buttons and pretend driving. It's still his usual ritual to ask if he can drive as we walk toward the van from his school each afternoon. His newest thing in the car is to ask for "window open". Now, he likes for the windows to be open when he's "driving".
Ben and Rebecca July 3, 2011
7-3-11 Ben is talking so much and is such a big boy! In the last few weeks, he's decided that he doesn't sleep in a crib anymore. He sleeps in the "other bed", the bed in the guest bedroom. He sleeps in the middle with pillows on either side of him, and early on with Daddy one side of him. He won't settle down and go to sleep with any less than 4 stories read to him, usually 2 from his "Nursery Tales" and 2 from his "Farm Tales" books. He loves Farmer Jones, Farmer Brown, the Drummer Boy as well as Three Little Pigs, Three Bears, Jack and Beanstalk, Gingerbread Man, and Little Red Riding Hood. His class spent the month of May learning nursery rhymes and fairy tales and since then he's been obsessed with many of the stories. He is especially interested in the "Big Bad Wolf"and pretends that the "big bad wolf comin". This morning we looked out the front windows and the front door, looking for the wolf. I've told him that the wolf can't blow our house down, but he still seems to worry about what the wolf could do if we encounter him.
Ben woke up yesterday morning and told me he had diaper rash. Luckily he didn't, but he must have remembered me explaining to him that he had diaper rash a few weeks ago. Usually when he wakes up, he either wants to see "baby" or wants to "go downstairs". He loves to play in the morning, which is tough during the week since we're rushing around trying to get ready for work. He likes to get a bag, usually either a gift bag or grocery bag, and say he's either going shopping or to a birthday party. And he always wants company...so that means I need to have a bag too and we put food from the pantry in the bags and then head out, either to the car or to the porch.
Rebecca just started sitting up without any help in the past week or so. She's also really started to have an interest in various baby toys, including the large soft block with animal pictures, the soft giraffe, her Sophie giraffe, and just about anything else you put in front of her. She's been rolling over for a while and now she seems to be able to move around a little bit by rolling and rotating on her tummy. She's just now able to play for a few minutes on her own without fussing for someone to be there with her. Before, she was only satisfied to be by herself if she was under the play gym.
Ben woke up yesterday morning and told me he had diaper rash. Luckily he didn't, but he must have remembered me explaining to him that he had diaper rash a few weeks ago. Usually when he wakes up, he either wants to see "baby" or wants to "go downstairs". He loves to play in the morning, which is tough during the week since we're rushing around trying to get ready for work. He likes to get a bag, usually either a gift bag or grocery bag, and say he's either going shopping or to a birthday party. And he always wants company...so that means I need to have a bag too and we put food from the pantry in the bags and then head out, either to the car or to the porch.
Rebecca just started sitting up without any help in the past week or so. She's also really started to have an interest in various baby toys, including the large soft block with animal pictures, the soft giraffe, her Sophie giraffe, and just about anything else you put in front of her. She's been rolling over for a while and now she seems to be able to move around a little bit by rolling and rotating on her tummy. She's just now able to play for a few minutes on her own without fussing for someone to be there with her. Before, she was only satisfied to be by herself if she was under the play gym.
Rebecca's recent milestones July 2011
It's July and Rebecca is finally sleeping through the night! She has slept throught the night one night at a time here and there, but has consistently slept for 10 hours at a time for the last week or two. I have even been able to put her down in her crib still awake and she is able to settle herself down to sleep. She may cry for a few seconds or minutes, but not long before she's settled down.
Rebecca is also sitting up very well on her own now. She started sitting up on a blanket on the floor around the beginning of July. I've stopped putting her in the seat in the morning while I shower, but instead she is content to sit on a blanket in my bedroom and play with a few toys. She'll also sit on her blanket in the family room and play with toys in the mornings for several minutes, perfectly content. She may fall forward and end up on her tummy, but often times she will lay in the position for a while before getting upset. Her brother usually takes that opportunity to straddle her like he's riding a horse. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to mind it.
Rebecca's bottom two teeth are also coming in, starting to break through her gums about 2-3 weeks ago. Ms Annette said she was fussy one day when they were first breaking through, but after that she hasn't seemed bothered.
Rebecca is also sitting up very well on her own now. She started sitting up on a blanket on the floor around the beginning of July. I've stopped putting her in the seat in the morning while I shower, but instead she is content to sit on a blanket in my bedroom and play with a few toys. She'll also sit on her blanket in the family room and play with toys in the mornings for several minutes, perfectly content. She may fall forward and end up on her tummy, but often times she will lay in the position for a while before getting upset. Her brother usually takes that opportunity to straddle her like he's riding a horse. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to mind it.
Rebecca's bottom two teeth are also coming in, starting to break through her gums about 2-3 weeks ago. Ms Annette said she was fussy one day when they were first breaking through, but after that she hasn't seemed bothered.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Ben is talking so much, and is such a sweet darling boy. He stills enjoys playing with his trucks, and most times his play consists of lining them up on the living room window sill and then loading them back into his dump truck, jack o lantern or Rebecca's pink easter basket. He'll do the same with his animals, and usually rotates between the two from day to day. Some mornings the first thing Ben utters when Daddy or I get him out of his crib is "trucks!".
He also recently started getting a shopping bag out of the pantry and filling it with food like boxes of pasta noodles as if he's shopping at the grocery store. Then he announces that we need to "go home" from the store with our filled bags. If I let him, I tihnk he'd walk out to the van and pretend we are driving home with our load.
Ben also likes to play "birthday" party, but I'm not sure exactly what the inspiration was, outside of his own birthday party in April. One day, we brought one of his helium balloons that was still inflated and a cupcake, along with a bag of either toys or food, out to the porch, where he enjoyed a "birthday party" and we sang "Happy Birthday" to just about everyone we know.
He also recently started getting a shopping bag out of the pantry and filling it with food like boxes of pasta noodles as if he's shopping at the grocery store. Then he announces that we need to "go home" from the store with our filled bags. If I let him, I tihnk he'd walk out to the van and pretend we are driving home with our load.
Ben also likes to play "birthday" party, but I'm not sure exactly what the inspiration was, outside of his own birthday party in April. One day, we brought one of his helium balloons that was still inflated and a cupcake, along with a bag of either toys or food, out to the porch, where he enjoyed a "birthday party" and we sang "Happy Birthday" to just about everyone we know.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Rebecca sleeping so much better - 6-13-11
Rebecca is doing so much better getting to sleep, I think we've finally turned the corner! I was so worried about her because I was going to celebrate Wendy's 40th birthday and would be away for up to 2 nights. But by a wonderful stroke of luck, or divine intervention, Rebecca fell asleep on her own Thursday night, lying on her stomach with her thumb in her mouth. She slept in the same position from 11 am to after 6 am. I checked on her once or twice during the night to find her sleeping peacefully! That made me feel so much better about being away. Up until then, Rebecca was having a hard time falling asleep on her own, often waking up when I tried to lay her in the crib, unless she was soundly sleeping later at night. She spent alot of evenings sleeping in the boppy in the family room and alot of very early mornings sleeping in bed with Mommy. For the last couple of months, she was waking up every 2-3 hours. She slept through the night Friday night for Daddy and Grandma Marla, who'd come to visit and help babysit. She woke up at 2am and 4am on Saturday night, but fell back asleep each time after having a bottle. I got home Sunday around noon, and put Rebecca down in her crib around 1:30 for a nap, pleasantly surprised to see her settle down in her crib, sucking her thumb, for an over 2 hour nap!
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