Rebecca is sleeping like a dream these days. She gets fussy between 7-8pm and once she has a bottle and her pj's and sleep sack, she actually giggles on the way up the stairs to her crib. I can place her in her crib, turn on her music, and she is content to go right to sleep without a peep. Scott says it's because she tired after 11 months of not sleeping! It is wonderful and she just looks like an angel when she curls up with her thumb in her mouth and her froggy in her arms to go to sleep. She will usually sleep until between 6-7am, when we'll hear her calling for us (but not usually screaming) and we'll bring her into the bed with us for a few minutes. She will not usually go back to the sleep though, but will sit still for a few minutes watching Semsame Street. She is still a baby that is on the move, and doesn't seem to enjoy sitting still for very long.
Ben is getting so big and grown up. Many days after school he exclaims that "I want to go somewhere", which usually means he wants to go to Arby's or McDonald's for dinner. Just these past few days he's started using the words "Dad" and "Mom" instead of "Daddy" and "Mommy"...I hope that doesn't stick because he sounds way to grown up doing that...but still so cute!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The last several weeks Ben has picked up a habit of asking "who bought it" for anything from his clothes and toys to the food he's eating. We have found it hilarious and most times when we ask him who he thinks bought it, he says "Mommy", which mildly annoys Daddy since often times it's Daddy who's picked out food or toys for him.
This past Wednesday night 11/2, when Lara was over with Ben to watch Cars 2 with him, Ben said he needed to go to the poddy. I asked Lara to take him, assuming it would be another false alarm. But this time, for the first time, he went poopy in his training poddy! Now in the week of 11/7 he has gone pee pee in the poddy at school more than once!
Rebecca took her first real step on 11/8! She has been getting to a standing position on her own without holding onto anything for a good while, but hadn't taken a step on her own until that night. She seemed proud and excited, but was satisfied with one step. Tonight (11/9) she took two steps. I'm sure if I encouraged her more, she'd take a few more, but I'm sure it's just a matter of days before she takes several steps on her own with or without me pushing it. Even without walking, Rebecca is into everything and anything that sparks her interest. She wants to do anything but sit still, even as it gets close to her bedtime and she's tired, she is still on the move. Tonight she tried to help Ben with his alphabet puzzle, recognizing that the pieces needed to go on the board. Ben would have liked her to find something else to play with of course!
Ben has been very interested in the alphabet puzzle from Aunt Nikki the last several days, saying he wants to fill in all the letters by ssaying he'll "do it by myself" and exclaiming "I did it!" when he's done. I'm really amazed that he can do it without help and he remembers what word each letter is associated with, like that h is for hat. This evening while getting buckled into his seat, we saw one of his classmates, Kaitlyn, leaving the school with her monther. Like I always do, I asked him who it was and he referred to her by name and then said "we saw her at the pumpkin patch". I was really surprised and impressed that he remembered we saw them there and that he could refer to the place correctly. I asked him what we did at the pumpkin patch and he responded "took pictures"! He may remember that because of how uncooperative he was when I was trying to get him to pose for a picture with the pumpkins.
Ben refers to the "family" often now. He's always loved what we call "family hug" where Scott and I put him and Rebecca in between us for a 4 person hug. But now he also likes asking for the family to be in bed with him for story time. I suspect it's because Scott refers to us as a family alot. It's cute to hear him refer to our family. Another thing Ben has started doing lately is explicitly ask me "Can I" do this or that versus simply making a higher pitched grunt. He'll ask "can I play with this" or "can I have that". He even knows raises his pitch at the end to make it clear he's asking a question. Sometimes, he calmly says "ok", if I say no to something, which is refreshing vs when he whines or does a fake cry upon hearing no. His conversation is really progressing so much and he is sounding so grown up! He's also been interested more in washing his hands at the sink, but still likes to play with the water and whatever may be in the kitchen sink at the time!
This past Wednesday night 11/2, when Lara was over with Ben to watch Cars 2 with him, Ben said he needed to go to the poddy. I asked Lara to take him, assuming it would be another false alarm. But this time, for the first time, he went poopy in his training poddy! Now in the week of 11/7 he has gone pee pee in the poddy at school more than once!
Rebecca took her first real step on 11/8! She has been getting to a standing position on her own without holding onto anything for a good while, but hadn't taken a step on her own until that night. She seemed proud and excited, but was satisfied with one step. Tonight (11/9) she took two steps. I'm sure if I encouraged her more, she'd take a few more, but I'm sure it's just a matter of days before she takes several steps on her own with or without me pushing it. Even without walking, Rebecca is into everything and anything that sparks her interest. She wants to do anything but sit still, even as it gets close to her bedtime and she's tired, she is still on the move. Tonight she tried to help Ben with his alphabet puzzle, recognizing that the pieces needed to go on the board. Ben would have liked her to find something else to play with of course!
Ben has been very interested in the alphabet puzzle from Aunt Nikki the last several days, saying he wants to fill in all the letters by ssaying he'll "do it by myself" and exclaiming "I did it!" when he's done. I'm really amazed that he can do it without help and he remembers what word each letter is associated with, like that h is for hat. This evening while getting buckled into his seat, we saw one of his classmates, Kaitlyn, leaving the school with her monther. Like I always do, I asked him who it was and he referred to her by name and then said "we saw her at the pumpkin patch". I was really surprised and impressed that he remembered we saw them there and that he could refer to the place correctly. I asked him what we did at the pumpkin patch and he responded "took pictures"! He may remember that because of how uncooperative he was when I was trying to get him to pose for a picture with the pumpkins.
Ben refers to the "family" often now. He's always loved what we call "family hug" where Scott and I put him and Rebecca in between us for a 4 person hug. But now he also likes asking for the family to be in bed with him for story time. I suspect it's because Scott refers to us as a family alot. It's cute to hear him refer to our family. Another thing Ben has started doing lately is explicitly ask me "Can I" do this or that versus simply making a higher pitched grunt. He'll ask "can I play with this" or "can I have that". He even knows raises his pitch at the end to make it clear he's asking a question. Sometimes, he calmly says "ok", if I say no to something, which is refreshing vs when he whines or does a fake cry upon hearing no. His conversation is really progressing so much and he is sounding so grown up! He's also been interested more in washing his hands at the sink, but still likes to play with the water and whatever may be in the kitchen sink at the time!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Ben and Rebecca are growing and changing so much. Ben is still very attentive and loving with Rebecca, although he did get upset this morning when I gave her a piece of his pancakes at breakfast. Even though, he refers to her as his baby and loves to touch, hold, and hug her.
Ben has said the funniest things lately too. Last week he woke up after I came into his bedroom and the first word he said was "nocturnal". When I asked him if that's what he said, he said that "owls are nocturnal"...that they sleep in morning. He remembered that from school I expect. A few days later he said "Bisquick" and then said he wanted some pancakes. I don't know how he knew that pancakes are made with Bisquick. He is learning so much so quickly. In the last week or so, I've noticed that he's started saying "why" after much of what I tell him. I wonder how long this will last, but I think it will take a long time for me to tire of his questions.
Ben loves his school, especially Mrs Carrie and his friend Will, who he now calls William...I think because Mrs Carrie calls him William alot at school. Ben is transitioning, now that he's 2 1/2, to Preppers from Toddlers, where he's been for just over 6 months. I'm worried about how it will go because he loves Mrs Carrie so much. At least Will is transitioning with him.
Ben has started watching movies over the last several weeks, really since we went on vacation in mid August when he watched Cars for the first time. Now we watch it almost every day. Mater is his favorite. He asks to watch a movie now more often than he asks to watch Caillou or Backyardigans, his earlier favorites. Cars is his favorite movie but he also has Finding Nemo and likes that one. He doesn't like Lion King and won't even watch the preview. I wasn't with him, but I understand he got very upset the first time he watched it when Simba's daddy died. He is a very sensitive little boy, so I'm not really surprised.
Rebecca has been crawling for a couple of months now, beginning to crawl much before Ben did. The last couple of week she has begun standing by herself, mostly with her legs spread under her a little wider than shoulder width. She hasn't taken her first step yet, but I think it will be any time now. She's also eating alot of adult food now, she seems to love macaroni and cheese. She also loves yogurt and pancakes, and even seems to enjoy eating broccoli off of Ben's plate. She is still very attached to me, and sometimes will not relax when being held by others if I am in the room, even with Daddy. She was sleeping better a few months ago than she is now. She has spent alot of nights in the bed with me, but I've put her in her crib the last 2 nights and she's done very well, although I have had to let her cry for several minutes.
Ben has said the funniest things lately too. Last week he woke up after I came into his bedroom and the first word he said was "nocturnal". When I asked him if that's what he said, he said that "owls are nocturnal"...that they sleep in morning. He remembered that from school I expect. A few days later he said "Bisquick" and then said he wanted some pancakes. I don't know how he knew that pancakes are made with Bisquick. He is learning so much so quickly. In the last week or so, I've noticed that he's started saying "why" after much of what I tell him. I wonder how long this will last, but I think it will take a long time for me to tire of his questions.
Ben loves his school, especially Mrs Carrie and his friend Will, who he now calls William...I think because Mrs Carrie calls him William alot at school. Ben is transitioning, now that he's 2 1/2, to Preppers from Toddlers, where he's been for just over 6 months. I'm worried about how it will go because he loves Mrs Carrie so much. At least Will is transitioning with him.
Ben has started watching movies over the last several weeks, really since we went on vacation in mid August when he watched Cars for the first time. Now we watch it almost every day. Mater is his favorite. He asks to watch a movie now more often than he asks to watch Caillou or Backyardigans, his earlier favorites. Cars is his favorite movie but he also has Finding Nemo and likes that one. He doesn't like Lion King and won't even watch the preview. I wasn't with him, but I understand he got very upset the first time he watched it when Simba's daddy died. He is a very sensitive little boy, so I'm not really surprised.
Rebecca has been crawling for a couple of months now, beginning to crawl much before Ben did. The last couple of week she has begun standing by herself, mostly with her legs spread under her a little wider than shoulder width. She hasn't taken her first step yet, but I think it will be any time now. She's also eating alot of adult food now, she seems to love macaroni and cheese. She also loves yogurt and pancakes, and even seems to enjoy eating broccoli off of Ben's plate. She is still very attached to me, and sometimes will not relax when being held by others if I am in the room, even with Daddy. She was sleeping better a few months ago than she is now. She has spent alot of nights in the bed with me, but I've put her in her crib the last 2 nights and she's done very well, although I have had to let her cry for several minutes.
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.
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