Merry (belated) Christmas!

Our Christmas(es) was wonderful. We spent a bit of time with each of our families and got to spend Christmas Day just the four of us, so it was perfect.
On the 22nd we drove down to Rochester to have Christmas with my dad's side of the family. Paul and Tracy made some delicious food and were so happy to host their first Christmas in their new house :)

On the 23rd we celebrated Christmas with my parents, my brother, and Mandy. Since Ben just had his birthday a few weeks ago, he remembered how to open presents, but Colin still helped him out. He got a Little People airport.

 And Colin got a remote control Gator.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Kevin's parents' house. Ben got a fun xylophone.

 Colin got a(nother) farm. He likes it because it has a pulley for the hay loft and lots of little pieces.

 

Then on Christmas morning, Colin woke up and asked for a banana and Daddy's iPad just like any other morning. I asked him if he thought Santa came. He walked into the living room and it dawned on him that it was Christmas. He looked at the cookie plate and said, "Santa made a mess!"

Then I reminded him about his stocking and he dumped it out. This kid is happy when he gets new socks. Easy to please.

 Then he stared at the Chutes and Ladders game that Santa brought him for awhile.

Benny woke up soon after Colin and found the sled Santa brought him and pulled it around the house for a long time.

I managed to snap a pretty good shot of the boys in front of the tree. Ben, of course, in his sled. The tree decorated by a three year old. There are no ornaments until halfway up the tree, and they're all unbreakable to avoid disaster by a certain 1 year old. Perfect.

 The boys played with the shovels Santa brought them.

Then they dug into the presents we got them. We decided to go with: Something he wants (train cars), something he needs (alarm clock that shows him when its okay to wake up), something to wear (Jake and the Neverland Pirates tshirt), something to read (subscription to Zootles by Zoobooks).

Ben opened his presents in his sled, of course. We didn't really follow the rhyme this year for him. Something he wants ( - ), something he needs (Puddle Jumper), Something to wear (diapers), Something to read ( - ). He's too little to care this year.

The rest of the day we hung out, played outside, and went through the toys in the basement to get rid of broken ones and store the toys they don't play with anymore. They are far too spoiled, and we need to clean out what they aren't playing with. We also Skyped with Kevin's grandparents who are down in Texas for the winter.

This Christmas was fun because it was the first year Colin knew who Santa was, along with knowing about baby Jesus. It was so great to see his reactions and see the holiday from his perspective. This being Ben's second Christmas, but first one that he stayed awake for, it was fun to see his excitement as well.

We are so blessed to have family that gave us such a nice Christmas. Thanks for everything, families!

Ben: 1 year (including birthday party)

Ben is one year old now!

 

He is all over the place these days. He can walk pretty quickly and navigate backwards, turn, etc. He loves to play with a toy broom and mop set that Sandy gave him for his birthday. The day she gave it to him, he didn't let go of them. He passed out in the corner with the broom in his hand. At nap time, he lay down with the broom. Sandy tried to move it out of the way and he woke up screaming at her. So strange! :)

His favorite food is still meat. When he wants a snack, he opens the cupboard and I ask him what he wants. I show him a box/package and he either shakes his head "no" or grabs it from me if he wants it.

I feel like he has a great comprehension for being so little. At night time, we ask him if he wants to take a bath and he walks to the bathroom door. We open it and he tries to climb into the tub fully clothed. He loves taking a bath and splashes himself and has a grand ol' time in the water.

He likes to take his shirt off a lot too. He walks up to me, flapping his shirt up and down as if to say, "take this off for me!" and then when I do he's happy as can be. Look at that belly.

As far as numbers go, Ben has 4 teeth on the top and 2 teeth on the bottom. He weighs an estimated 33 lbs and wears 3T size shirts and 24m/2T size pants. His shoe size is a 7. He only takes 1 2 hr nap a day (he dropped the morning nap soon after starting daycare this fall).

Ben doesn't say many words yet. He says, "na na na..." for milk. He points and says, "na" and that means "take me over there" or "I want that." He was singing "more" but he doesn't really anymore, even though we sign it to him. He has said "mama" but not recently. Typical second child late talker. He makes a lot of noise though, and expresses his emotions through talking, screaming, etc.

Ben's birthday party

We had a birthday party for him on the 8th. Family came over and we had fun celebrating Ben's first year. I didn't pause to take a picture of my awesome birthday banner I made :( We kept it simple, like I usually do. We had pulled pork/beef sandwiches, chips, and a mixed fruit salad. I made cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting.

As eager as he looks to dive into his cupcake in this picture...

he didn't even have a bite of it. Instead, he shook his head "no."

He had help opening presents from big brother.

We asked for some Little People toys since they're so well-loved and we didn't have many.

After most of his guests had left or were on their way out the door, Ben started lying on the floor. It was perfect timing to end the party and take a nap.

Thanks for everyone who made Benny's birthday special. He felt very loved and likes playing with his new toys.

Colin's Christmas Program

The 3 year old, 4 year old, and Kindergarten Sunday school classes had a Christmas program. It was pretty much adorable.

Going in, I expected Colin to not participate, and to possibly cry or refuse to stand up in front. We were pleasantly surprised when I did as he was told :) He didn't sing, but I'm okay with that!

And then the kids played Silent Night on handbells, which was too freaking cute. He did a good job of ringing his orange bell when he was signaled to ring it. In between his turn, he looks around to watch everyone else ring their bells. Watch the video. That mouth stretching thing must be a nervous tick or something. He does that sometimes.

So much to say, I don't know where to start (plus also...Ben's 1 yr pics!)

I've been super busy--Ben's birthday party, piano lessons, piano recital--and I have pictures to upload but can't find the cord. I will post soon. I might post-vomit all over here this week. Watch out!

For now...a peek at pictures that Leah took for us a few weeks ago at the Conservatory at the Walker Art Center...Love 'em! Thanks again, Leah :)

 Could his cheeks BE any squishier?

40%

Today we officially paid off Credit Card #2 in our debt snowball! ::cue happy dance:: This means both of MY credit cards are paid off and we can move on to Kevin's. The next one is slated to be paid off in February, and the other 2 by August (calculated using conservative numbers). Now that the cards are getting paid off, it's so fun to see them drop off the radar FOR GOOD.

2 down, 3 to go! = 40% paid off

How are we making it happen these days?
-Cloth diapering
-Breast feeding
-Grocery shopping at Aldi with $80/week budget, and no we are not starving ourselves or our children!
-Emeals for meal planning
-Not spending money just to spend money
-Not eating out (unless we have a gift card)
-Buying clothes that are on sale
-Selling stuff we don't need
-Teaching summer school and piano lessons
-Couponing (a little bit here and there)

2013 is our year. 30 days left until it starts :)

Double Trouble

Sandy and I were discussing the boys' personality differences the other day.

We agreed that Colin will be a sneaky one, trying to get away with things using his charming smile, dimples, and sparkly dark blue eyes.

(Picture: Leah Fontaine)

He's smart but doesn't always let on that he is. And then one day he builds a cube out of tinker toys and the next day a rectangular prism. And nobody showed him how.

 

And Ben? He's a bull in a china shop. He'll let everyone to know he's here and he'll stand up for himself, thankyouverymuch. And if you take something away from him, he'll probably sit on you until you give it back. Sandy has to put him in Baby Jail after the toys are put away because if she doesn't, Ben will take them all out again. Not because he wants to play with them, but just to make a mess. He does the same thing at home with kitchen things he finds in the cupboards and leaves strewn about the floor, leaving me to navigate trecherous linoleum while making dinner.

Ben: 11 months

If you take the date, 11/10/12, and mix it up, you get 12/10/11, Ben's birthday! How's that for numbers?

Ben is 11 months old now.

I've been telling him for the past month or so that he can't start walking until he turns 11 months old. He was a great listener. He traveled around furniture, pulled himself up, climbed stairs, and took 1 or 2 steps here and there, but he never full-out walked. However, it's going to happen any day now. The number of steps he's taking is increasing daily. In fact, I went to school for a few hours today and when I came back he was walking more than when I left.

Ben is cutting his top lateral incisors these days. He had a fever a few days ago, but I think it was just a virus. He stayed home from daycare for one day and now he can be a bit more clingy but he doesn't want any help with the pain. So...can't say I didn't try.

Virus/teething means that he's been waking up a lot in the middle of the night. For three nights in a row, he woke up three times to nurse. Just when we got into a nice habit of sleeping through the night, it all goes to pot and we have to start all over again. ::sigh::

He's one curious little bugger. He likes to get into all sorts of things and keep us on our toes. He likes to take the pots, pans, pitchers, etc. out of the cupboards. He likes to play in Colin's room and get into his stuff too. He likes to go up to the TV while Colin is watching it and bang on it and make Colin mad. He likes to rough house.

He threw his first temper tantrum. It was hysterical. Colin was playing with his helicopter, and Ben reached out and started taking it away from him. Colin tugged back on it and said, "No Ben!" and Ben threw himself on the floor, put his head on his hands, and cried for about 10 seconds. Then he tried taking it away again and the same thing happened. I wish I had a video. I laughed. Silly baby.

Ben says "hiiiii" and often puts his hand or other objects up to his ear like he's talking on the phone. When we carry him, he points to things. He always wants to know what I'm making in the kitchen.

Picture catch up

I've been so MIA lately. Sorry about that. I'll make it up to you with some pictures.

We took Colin to see Finding Nemo 3D. It was his first movie. He didn't wear the glasses for too long, but he did a great job of watching the movie!

 Benny in the bathtub

Ben and I met up wtih Sarah & Sam and Laura & Mason at an indoor playground last weekend. It was super fun getting our little guys together and to have a roomie reunion!

 Ben just being silly

About sleep and other topics

I'm home all by myself in peace and quiet today. I've been fighting allergies and/or a cold (not sure which) for going on 3 weeks now. I should have taken a day off a long time ago, but here I am. I feel better today than I did all last week. Better late than never. I've got comfy clothes on, a Caribou Hot Apple Blast by my side, TV, and a few projects I'd like to get started on. And a nap. There will be napping.

If the boys weren't such early birds I could get more sleep! Ben nurses at about 7:20 and is passed out and in bed by 7:45 every night. He wakes up, pretty reliably, at 5:00 on the dot every morning. He's finally sleeping through the night. I decided once he turned 10 months that I needed to be done nursing him in the middle of the night when he woke up. I loved that quiet time with him in the dark, but it was more for selfish reasons that I allowed it. A good sleeping habit is more important than midnight nursing (good Lord, have we learned that!). We had about a week of really rough nights. We timed it pretty poorly and sleep training ended up coinciding with teething. After a few nights of Ibuprofen and after his teeth cut through, something clicked and he's been sleeping much better since. Sometimes after I nurse him when he wakes up in the morning he falls back asleep and lets me snuggle him up.

Now if we could pass that sleep through the night dust to Colin that would be great. I don't think he'll ever sleep all night consistently. He has blanket issues. He's pretty helpless in the middle of the night and needs help covering himself up at some point almost every night. And now he's switched his preference in HOW to cover him up. He use to want to be snug as a bug in a rug, but now he wants it "smooth like the bike path." ::sigh:: 3 year olds. As soon as he hears that someone in the house is awake, he's awake too. He doesn't want to miss anything.

*************
Not about sleep...

I worked on Colin's Halloween costume yesterday and finished it. He's going on a "field trip" to the child development class at the high school, and they were supposed to wear their costume so I had to rush and finish it. I haven't seen him wear it yet, so I hope it's cute. I can't tell you what it is yet. Ben's going to be adorable too.

We have officially paid off our first credit card and now our snowball is rolling and growing very quickly! Our second credit card should be paid off in December! This feels SO good. I also just enrolled two new kids for piano lessons and there are quite a few more interested. The money from all of these new students is going straight to the credit cards.

I have an iPhone now. Kevin gave me his hand-me-down. That is part of the reason for the lack of pictures and the lack of updates. It will be nice to have it for piano lessons--scheduling, recording, etc.

10 months old on 10/10!

Happy Golden Monthday, Ben!

(picture up soon)

Benny is a busy boy! He's learning things left and right, which is so fun to witness, even the second time around.

Ben can sign "more" while he's eating (and "more" and "more" and "more".....). He might also be signing milk. The sign for it is squeezing your hand like you're milking a cow. When I say milk and if he wants some, he waves his hand up and down. He eats pretty much everything except peanut butter. Sandy gave him strawberries this week, which I secretly raised an eyebrow to, but he didn't seem to have a reaction towards them. We're loving the Baby Lead Weaning Method, and so does he. He loves to feed himself, and goes to town on things like chicken, hamburger, broccoli, sweet potato fries, green beans, waffles/pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc. etc. etc. He even likes green peppers!

His repetitive babble is becoming more meaningful. I swear he said "ni ni da da" (night night Dadda) the other night. He also says "dadadada," "mamamama" and "non non non," which may mean either milk or night time because I feel like he only says it when we're sitting in the chair getting ready to rock and nurse.

Ben has mastered cruising around furniture. How he's walking either on his knees or feet pushing objects or toys around. He can even stand on his own for a few seconds. I'd love it if he'd hold off on the walking for another month :)

His first top tooth cut through today. He's been doing okay with teething, even though his gums are so swollen and sore looking. His teething necklace seems to do a pretty good job of keeping him in a good mood. Aside from being a little more clingy at times, he's tolerating it well.

We're working on getting Ben to sleep through the night. I haven't nursed him in the middle of the night for a week now. Oh, except for last night when he had already been awake for an hour and a half and his teeth were bothering him, he had already been re-medicated with ibuprofen and got a swipe of Orajel. What he really needed was good old fashioned Mama comfort. It was poor timing to do start the crying-it-out right now, but we didn't know his teeth were on the move when we started. Hopefully when they're through he'll start sleeping all night long.

I better start thinking about his 1st birthday! Holy smokes, I can't believe it's just around the corner.

Busy Busy Busy

These next 2 weeks can be over, like, now. Here's a rundown of the events to come:

Tuesday: A student observer from UWRF is coming to my classroom, and make up piano lessons in the evening.
Wednesday: standardized test for my 1st graders, meeting after school, Ben's 10 monthday
Thursday: Parent-Teacher conferences until 7:30 pm
Friday: Vault Denim Party at a co-workers house
Saturday: Cleaning marathon in preparation for an introductory session for some prospective piano students

Sunday: Playing piano in church. yikes! Especially considering look at how much time I have to practice!
Monday: Nothing!!
Tuesday: Student observer, make up piano lessons
Wednesday: make up piano lessons
Thursday: Parent-Teacher conferences until 7:30 (although my last conference is at 6:00 so I can just hang out for the last hour and get stuff done!)

In the past, we've had conferences on Tuesday and Thursday in one week. This time around it's two Thursdays, which is just not fun. By the time I get home it will be 7:45. Hopefully Ben will still be awake for me to put him to sleep. He's usually sleeping by then :(

Pass me the wine. Or ice cream. Or masseuse. Or esthetician who gives great facials.

^See that right there?

My header? Yeah...I realize it's 2 YEARS old. Ben wasn't even a thought when those pictures were taken. I just hate making headers. I'm not good at it, and it takes so much time. So if making headers is something you're good at, you let me know and I'll let you do it for me. No? ::sigh::

EDIT: I got pseudo halfway there by changing the background. Still working on the header :)

EDIT: New header! Although I'm still not happy with it (hello white background!). Stay tuned.

Ben's 9 month appointment

Ben had a pediatrician appointment yesterday. Because the Stillwater Lift Bridge is closed for a few months, we had to see a different doctor. It was not an enjoyable appointment. Our appointment was at 4:10, but we didn't get back in the room until at least 4:30. The nurse was a frantic mess, Ben wanted to play on the floor with the toys instead of getting his head measured, his heart rate checked, etc. The doctor was VERY quick with us. It was Friday afternoon. He probably wanted to get home. I get it. But seriously. I feel like he did minimal checking and minimal talking. So different than Dr. C. who is a talker and is very thorough and fun.

Ben's weight is 30 lbs 12 oz, which is obviously still above the curve, but is slowing at the same rate the curve does, so yay! He's 29 inches, which is in the average range. I don't even know percentiles because the doctor said his paperwork would be printed off at the front desk and I could pick it up when we left. When we left the lights in the lobby were turned off and all the desk people left. Annoyed. Dr. C's nurse usually gives us the paperwork.

It was like a flashback to Colin's well baby checks. Not impressed. 

Ben: 9 months

We're a little off center this month. The sign juuuust got in the picture. It's either put it far away and hope he doesn't reach for it or put it close to him and have a drooly crumpled up sign, so I take what I can get these days! Mr. Ben is into EVERYTHING now. He's crawling and pulling himself up, so we now have to keep the bathroom door shut and put the untouchables up high. He's opening drawers and cabinets and has mastered the "dump and run."

He "talks" to us by mimicking. He'll make a noise, we'll repeat it, he'll make another, etc. etc. Or we say his name "Be-en" and he responds with a sound like "Wha-at?" :) He also says "uh" (half of "uh-oh") in context.

I love picking him up from daycare, because he gives me an honest-to-goodness genuine bear hug and then he "kisses" me by sucking on my chin, and then he sucks on my shoulder. If I pay too much attention to Colin first when I pick them up, he won't forget to be shy to yell at me.

He had some separation issues happening the last few months (as is the protocol for babies around this age), but seems to be over it for the most part now. He sat on someone else's lap in church last weekend, and my friend's lap yesterday. He's a bit shy at first and rests his head on my shoulder, but after he surveys the situation, he's, once again, easy going.

Ben is sleeping pretty well. Still not through the night, but he'll wake up once (sometimes twice). Now that I'm back to work I really, honestly don't mind it because it's one more chance to nurse him. Those days are numbered and I want to soak them up! If I didn't nurse him at night, I'd probably only do it twice a day (morning and bedtime) and I'm just not ready to give it up yet.

And these curls! They get curlier in humidity.

Ben weighs about 31 lbs now. His 9 month appointment is in a few weeks, so we'll get the official stats then. Hopefully now that he's reached the weight of a 2 year old his weight will slow down like a 2 year old's. It seems to be slowing. Although we're going to have to figure out a diaper solution because once he hits 35 lbs, his cloth diapers may not fit him anymore. He's wearing 18 month size pants and 24m/2T/3T shirts.

I'm the only parent of a non-preschooler 3 year old.

My facebook newsfeed is littered with countless 3 year olds starting preschool this year, all standing in their crisp, clean, first day of school outfits holding up a sign or standing next to an easel announcing their big milestone.

Part of me feels like a slacker for not sending Colin to preschool this year.
(He's going to be so far behind his peers!)
*Huh. This is the only thing on my list.

Part of me doesn't feel like a slacker.
(He loves daycare and Sandy is doing some preschool things with the 3 older kids this year)
(He loves being with Ben)
(He's a kid and school will start soon enough. Let him be a kid for one more year without the pressure of school)
(He needs another year of familiarity before we start the half day preschool routine)
(He'll learn his letters and numbers when he's ready)

So for now I guess I can just sit back and enjoy not having to worry about school for another year.

Summer Reflection

On the eve of the return of children to my classroom, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the last 3 months.

First off, it doesn't feel like it  was 3 months ago that I said adieu to my students and hello to my own kids. This summer has FLOWN by.

A minute ago, I went back to my blog entries in August 2011. They're filled with weekly updates of my pregnancy with Ben. It's so strange to think that not even a year ago, he wasn't out here with us and we had no idea who he was going to be. I also noticed that we did A LOT more last summer than we did this summer. I know the weather played a little part in that (heat wave, cold wave), and we were also a bit more homebound. But in reality, Colin was perfectly content bumming around home. So I guess I'll relish in our homebound (and inexpensive!) summers before these boys get old enough to ask to go to the pool, the beach, Valleyfair, Fun Fest, Como Zoo, MN Zoo, etc. etc. etc.

The boys went to daycare a couple times a week, which in the beginning I hated the thought of. But now that it's all said and done, it was good for them and good for me. I got a chance to get things done around the house, and they got to play with their friends.  The transition back into our school year routine has already proven to be seamless.

Among other already mentioned happenings (like the time he learned to ride a bike!) Colin took a class through community ed for 7 weeks. It was a gym class, held in a gymnastics room. He got some experiences with jumping off the vault, hanging from the uneven bars, balancing on the beam, jumping on rebounder trampolines, and being with other kids in a learning environment. He loved the class, so I'm hoping to enroll him in something this fall. Maybe we'll even try a non parent-child class. He did okay with Vacation Bible School, so maybe he's ready for the next step.

Ben has gone from a sitting up and rolling baby to a crawling baby over the span of the summer. He's into everything now. He's gone from drinking solely milk to eating a wide variety of foods and loving it.

So, on the eve of the official return, I bid adieu to the summer and say hello to 20 new kiddos greeting me tomorrow. At the end of 180 work days, we'll start our summer of fun all over again.

Off into the sunset

Thanks to the balance bike we got Colin for his birthday in April, learning how to ride a bike with no training wheels was a breeze! My parents had a bike at their house that the neighbor boy had given them. We were there last weekend, so I asked Colin if he wanted to give it a try. He hopped on, and I held on to the seat, but I could feel that he was balancing on his own, so I did what every good parent does: I let go. And away he went, yelling at me to hold on to him! I told him he was going too fast for me to keep up and he was doing just fine. Over the next few attempts, he gained confidence enough so that he knew he didn't need me to help. We took the bike home and Kevin showed him how to start, and they practiced turning in the church parking lot by our house. Easy as that.

And now we can be seen cruising around the neighborhood (and sometimes farther!) on our bikes, with Ben in the Burley, and it's so much fun :). Kevin and Colin even went on a ride yesterday that was almost 2 miles.

Roasting Marshmallows

We live near a bunch of campgrounds, and when we drive by in the summer, we often see tents set up. Colin always asks if they're roasting marshmallows. He'd never had one himself, so while we were visiting my parents last weekend, I asked my dad if he'd build a fire so he could try one.

Apparently the fire needs to be reduced to this in order to roast marshmallows to golden brown perfection. This explains why I always burn mine, I guess.

I mean, seriously. Look at that golden goodness.

 First taste

And the mess that follows.

He ate 2 marshmallows and got his fill. He liked them, but said they were messy. I decided to forgo the introduction to s'mores for now. Baby steps.

Summer Fun: Teddy Bear Park

Whew! We've been super busy around here. I'm back to share some more pictures of summer fun. First up, no summer week would be complete without a trip to Teddy Bear Park. Well, actually, we didn't go there every week like we did last summer. We mixed it up a little more since Colin is older and enjoys other parks now. But Ben is juuust getting to the age where Teddy Bear Park is perfect for him.

After Ben cut his two bottom teeth, he frequently stuck his tongue out.

Pulling himself up on the end of the slide. Maybe the tongue helps him concentrate?

We met up with Nolan and William at the park. Nolan shared some snacks with Colin.

 

Ben and William shared a slide.

The annual picture-by-the-bear shot.

As always, we love TBP!

In the span of 3 days

In the span of 3 days, Ben has cut a tooth, and one is nearing the surface. Needless to say, he hasn't been nursing or sleeping at his absolute best.

In addition, he can click his tongue like he's calling for a horse or something.

He also learned how to crawl! He still doesn't go very far, but he's getting the hang of it and soon he will be. This video was about the third (witnessed) attempt.

Ben: 8 months

Happy 8 months Benjamin!

If I could sum up this month as a two-word phrase, it would be: Ear Infection? (with a question mark because the whole month we wondered on and off if he had one). Ben started the month off with one, it went away, and then came back with a vengeance after a 2 a.m. trip to the ER. In the middle of the night, Ben wasn't happy doing anything--sitting up, laying down, being held, being rocked, being nursed, being walked around--so I took him in and sure enough it was a double ear infection. We are done with antibiotics now and hopefully we won't be having a three-peat. And speaking of the antibiotics, that lead to a raging diaper rash which was almost worse dealing with than the ear infection itself. With the help of some Tucks (yup-hemorrhoid pads) to wipe him with and some Lotrimin (yup-Athlete's Foot cream), we got it all cleared up. Whew!

Ben is certainly moving around more now! He can go from his belly to his butt, so we had to lower his crib mattress down. He can also crawl backwards. When he attempts a forward crawl, he ends up flopping on his belly. He makes up for it by being able to wiggle and stretch himself forward if the object he wants is close enough. He tries to pull up on couches and other things as well. He is quite strong and surprises me with what he can pull down and drag. When he's taking a bath he tries to climb out of the tub (or climb the walls). Colin's always saying, "How'd Benny get way over there?"

He seeks out the tiniest things to pick up. A tiny rock, a tiny scrap of paper, a tiny seed...whatever. He's got his eagle eye peeled for it and he will try to pick it up! He also likes to pick grass and pull this fuzz stuff off from under the couch. He plays with purpose and deliberation. I don't know quite how to explain it, but, for instance, he'll be playing with the Little People barn and tip it over and put Farmer Jed into the barn, pick up the barn, and notice that oops! Farmer Jed is now on the floor. And then he'll carefully try to put a window/door of the barn over him so as not to smash him.

Benny's personality is starting to show now. He's super sweet and loves to give hugs and slobbery kisses. He loves to play peek a boo with a blanket. He's quick to smile and has an infectious laugh.

He has upgraded from a stroller to the push car when we go for walks. He steers and chillaxes as he takes in the sights. He makes a lot of funny noises with his mouth :)

Ben slept through the night 5 nights in a row a few weeks ago. But now he's back to waking up once during the night, and then again at 5:something in the morning.

Ben loves to eat table food. He's doing really well at picking up those big chunks and eating them. His pincer grasp is getting better too. He can pick up Puffs without a problem now. His newest food loves are toast, blueberries, chicken, cheese, and baked beans. He still loves milk though :)

 

I already know that he'll be cutting teeth this month. The first ones are right under his gums. And maybe this month he'll figure out the forward crawling thing.

And for the record, he weighs 29 lbs 12 oz and has moved to 24 month/2T sized clothes.

VBS

Colin just finished up a week at Vacation Bible School at our church. I signed him up for it for three reasons.
1. To give him another experience of listening to a "teacher" without a parent around.
2. To help him realize that new situations don't have to be scary. They can actually be fun!
3. To meet friends that he'll be going to Sunday School with in September.

He had a very good experience. Here's how it all went down:

Monday: I stuck with him for an hour or so while his group played on the playground and then went to listen to the Bible story (the theme was about Babylon and Daniel and the lions). Then I told him I was going to sit upstairs and I'd see him at the end, and he said, "Yeah." So I left him and actually went home for a little bit but he never knew that :)

Tuesday: I sat with him for the opening part and then left after 10 minutes. He cried and one of the adults had to hold him back :( He was upset because I was going home.

Wednesday: I dropped him off and didn't stay for any part of it, and he cried when I left. When I came back, I watched him in the pew and saw him actually participating in the hand motions for the song!

Thursday: I volunteered to help with snack and he did a great job! I got to "spy" on him while he was at our snack station and also at the craft station since it was in the same area. As a teacher, this was fun for me. He's quiet but sociable, he listens, he's a little bit spacey, and he's messy with food :) He'd look at me and be so happy and give me the cutest little grin from across the room. When we were walking to the car afterwards, he said "I had so much fun!"

Friday: Again, I was there helping with snack. Same as Thursday.

Being there but not being with him was a perfect compromise that I hope will carry over to Sunday School when he's with his class but we're up in church. He'll know we're there and he'll be familiar with the environment. I hope. ;)

VBS was good for me too because I also got to meet some people and observed some amazing middle school and high school role models. I was quite impressed.

We got a CD of the music from the week. I put it in this evening while I was doing dishes and he listened to the songs over and over and over again and danced and did the hand motions and knew the words :) So cute.

And he has been especially sweet this week too.

So very good.

Summer Fun Part 2: Snake Bubbles

Thanks to Pinterest, and this pin, I found some really EASY things to do with Colin this summer. It helps our day go a little faster when we do just something different every day. I hope to document more of these fun activities and share them with you!

First up...snake bubbles.

Step 1: Cut the bottom off of an empty water bottle, put an old washcloth around it and secure it with a rubber band.

Step 2: Mix up a batch of homemade bubbles (squirt of dishsoap and some water).

Step 3: Dip the bottom of the bottle into the bubble solution and blow into the water bottle.

Step 4: Keep blowing! You get a snake of bubbles!

It's also fun to hold the bubbles in your hand, of course.

Colin loved this enough to keep him occupied for about 15 minutes. That's kind of substantial in 3 year old terms.