July 10, 2013
That stinks
Benjamin, Jacob and I were reading a book about sharks tonight before bed and we got to the threat of them being "extinct". Ben started laughing and saying those sharks pooped because "it stinked". Love what comes out of his mind & mouth these days :)
"Real" foods
The last few days, Jacob has been kind of fussy eating his puréed baby foods as we eat regular food at the table with him. Up to this pint, we had given him an occasion bit of bread, Cheerios, a bit of banana, etc, but his meals still consisted of "baby" foods. Until Yesterday. While eating lunch, he fussed as has become par for the last few days. So I put a piece of pasta to his mouth and let him bite it off with his super-sharp 4-top and 2-bottom teeth. He smiled and then squealed with delight. I gave him another bite. More of the same reaction. Then I gave him a bite of strawberry. He grabbed my arm and pulled it to his mouth. In the last two days, he has had pasta salad, chicken salad, guacamole, hummus, pita, strawberries and more. He LOVES "real" food! Sweetest baby ever!
June 25, 2013
June 5, 2013
Double stroller jog
I am trying to "begin as I mean to go" this summer, so I packed both the boys up in the double stroller for the first time and went for a jog. Kids can only sit upright in this stroller, so until recently Jake wasn't able to go in this one. With a little padding around his chest and neck, he fit in here just fine today, and both boys did great on the jog. Ben kept saying "This is SO fun! Right Jakey?!" Benjamin and I played I Spy as we jogged along (there was a LOT of "something green ... A tree!") and he got super excited each time I purposely pushed the stroller through a puddle :)
May 27, 2013
Espanol
Benjamin is learning some basic words in Spanish ... Counting to 10, hola, adios, gracias, colors, etc.
The other day, we were looking at colors and saying the names in Spanish. I pointed to red and asked what color? Ben said "ro-ho". "Good!" I said, and then pointed to something blue ...what color? "Blo-ho!" he said.
May 22, 2013
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes ...
At 3.5, developmental changes for Benjamin are typical subtle, slowly developing over time. But the last couple weeks have brought some big changes, with the theme of increasing independence in common.
Leaving his room on his own
For the first time ever, when he woke up, he got out of bed and came out of his room without saying a word. I hear footsteps scampering down the hallway and see him standing at the top of the stairs, clearly pleased with himself and in a great mood to start the day :) Prior to this, he would stay in bed and call for us "Mahhhhh-meeeee cuhhhhhh-uhhhhhhhm!" And for the longest time, we would go right into his room. A couple months ago, he asked us to start knocking and then would say "Come in!", and then about 3 weeks ago, we had to knock and then wait for him at the door while he said "ok, i'm a-comin' mama!"got out of bed, turned on the light, and came to open the door for us. And then, one day, it all changed and out little time in paradise of him staying in bed was over. He hasn't looked back.
Taking a shower by himself
Benjamin just took his first shower all by himself. He has showered with us, and has cleaned himself in the bathtub sometimes, but he now is able and interested in standing in the shower, cleaning himself, and doing the whole thing on his own. I could get used to this ;) I was just getting into the routine of letting Jacob jump into the tub with Ben each evening, now that he is 7 months old, so there is a part of me that hopes we continue baths with Benjamin in the evenings. But for other times when Jake isn't there, the shower is much preferred!
No more naps
We went through a couple weeks of long awake/talking/singing/playing times in bed at afternoon nap, and decided to try no nap one day. He did great! We started trying every other day no nap and this transitioned to 2, 3, 4 days between naps over a few weeks. He now rarely takes a nap and does great during the day. We do a "resting time" on the couch in the afternoon during which time we read books and watch a couple shows on the iPad. Big upside to this chnge is that he now gets into bed and, more importantly, goes to sleep around 6:30 or 7pm and sleeps about 12 hours. Mommy and Daddy like this new found time in the evenings! His bedtime with naps was around 8pm. For some reason, this extra hour in the evening makes a big difference!
Leaving his room on his own
For the first time ever, when he woke up, he got out of bed and came out of his room without saying a word. I hear footsteps scampering down the hallway and see him standing at the top of the stairs, clearly pleased with himself and in a great mood to start the day :) Prior to this, he would stay in bed and call for us "Mahhhhh-meeeee cuhhhhhh-uhhhhhhhm!" And for the longest time, we would go right into his room. A couple months ago, he asked us to start knocking and then would say "Come in!", and then about 3 weeks ago, we had to knock and then wait for him at the door while he said "ok, i'm a-comin' mama!"got out of bed, turned on the light, and came to open the door for us. And then, one day, it all changed and out little time in paradise of him staying in bed was over. He hasn't looked back.
Taking a shower by himself
Benjamin just took his first shower all by himself. He has showered with us, and has cleaned himself in the bathtub sometimes, but he now is able and interested in standing in the shower, cleaning himself, and doing the whole thing on his own. I could get used to this ;) I was just getting into the routine of letting Jacob jump into the tub with Ben each evening, now that he is 7 months old, so there is a part of me that hopes we continue baths with Benjamin in the evenings. But for other times when Jake isn't there, the shower is much preferred!
No more naps
We went through a couple weeks of long awake/talking/singing/playing times in bed at afternoon nap, and decided to try no nap one day. He did great! We started trying every other day no nap and this transitioned to 2, 3, 4 days between naps over a few weeks. He now rarely takes a nap and does great during the day. We do a "resting time" on the couch in the afternoon during which time we read books and watch a couple shows on the iPad. Big upside to this chnge is that he now gets into bed and, more importantly, goes to sleep around 6:30 or 7pm and sleeps about 12 hours. Mommy and Daddy like this new found time in the evenings! His bedtime with naps was around 8pm. For some reason, this extra hour in the evening makes a big difference!
May 18, 2013
May 12, 2013
Mother's Day!
My first Mother's Day as a Mom of 2! Jeffrey has been so sweet all weekend really, not letting me lift a finger. I got to sleep in this morning, and then we went to the club for a yummy brunch followed by a game of shuffleboard :). When we got home, it was time to have our first swim in the pool for the summer! Benjamin was so excited to get in, since he's been taking swim lessons for a few weeks now and has been waiting for the pool to be "not cold anymore". Well, he was the only one brave enough to get in the pool but we got the hot tub going and all 4 of us got in! It was Jacob's first time swimming, and it took him about 10 seconds to figure out how to splash and to know that he likes it!
The boys made me a beautiful picture with their handprints, and Jeff got me a beautiful bouquet of roses and lillies. There are cards and a gift I have yet to open.
It's been a wonderful day with my family. I feel very fortunate!! I love you Jeffrey - thank you for giving me the gift of motherhood. I love you Benjamin and Jacob ... You are the light of my life every day and it is a joy and an honor to be your mother. I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my babies you'll be.
The boys made me a beautiful picture with their handprints, and Jeff got me a beautiful bouquet of roses and lillies. There are cards and a gift I have yet to open.
It's been a wonderful day with my family. I feel very fortunate!! I love you Jeffrey - thank you for giving me the gift of motherhood. I love you Benjamin and Jacob ... You are the light of my life every day and it is a joy and an honor to be your mother. I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my babies you'll be.
May 9, 2013
Benjamin's First Real Picture!
Ben has done lots of drawing in his first 3.5 years, but this is his very first "real" picture. It's a scene from Peter Pan ... The drawing is all his, and the writing is from me as he told me what each one was. This is so interesting to me because there were no baby steps leading up to this drawing...he went from literally scribbling circles and lines to depicting several related things in detail.
He drew Neverland first and then put water in the middle and then said we need a crocodile in the water. He made sure to note the crocodile had sharp teeth. Next came pixie dust ("pisky dust"), and then Peter Pan, complete with sword according to Ben. Finally, he asked me to draw a star "right there" (pointing) ... In accordance with the known location of Neverland ... second star to the right and straight on til morning ;)
Big milestone alert: That face/body is the very first time he's ever drawn a face! This is a key developmental milestone we were anticipating sometime this year.
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