Ben: 13 months

Ben is 13 months old and FINALLY had his 1-year well baby visit.

He weighs 32 lbs, 6 oz (100th percentile) and measures 32 inches tall (95th percentile).

He was not a happy camper. We went at 4:00 on a Friday. I'm sure he just wanted to go home, but instead was being checked out by three people (nurse, resident, pediatrician) he didn't know. He didn't want anybody touching him.

He had a rash on his hand. He had it over Christmas break, it went away, and it came back again Friday morning. It was just some dark red spots on his right hand, mostly around his thumb but also on the back of his hand, his wrist, and a little bit on his forearm. I guess the consensus is that it's broken blood vessels. In other words, he gave himself a hickey from sucking and chewing on his hand. He doesn't do that very often, but I guess just enough.

Ben's bottom lateral incisors (hence the sucking and chewing on his hand) cut through on 1/11. His hair is getting to the point where I feel like it's almost time to cut it, but I just can't bear to snip the curls off yet :(

Ben's words are:
"na" = milk
"da" = this/that/there
"uh oh"
"mama" but only sometimes, like when he REALLY wants something.
"hi"

He's a bruiser. When he walks, he has a lot of momentum behind himself and crashes and falls a lot. He always has a bruise somewhere.

I love when I pick him up from daycare and he runs to me, his arms outstretched, and hugs my legs. I bend down to give him a hug and he puts his arms around my shoulders and hugs and pats my shoulders. Then he lets go, looks at me, and hugs me again. Such a great way to feel loved :)

Ben follows directions very well, which I'm quite impressed with! When we tell him to sit in his chair for meal times, he walks over to it. When it's bath time, he walks to the bathroom, opens the cabinet and picks out what toys he wants, throws them in the bath tub, and then stands next to me so I can  take his clothes off. When it's time to put his socks and shoes on, he sits on the floor in front of me and lifts up his little foot. Of course, there are times when he doesn't listen, like when he's getting his diaper changed.

Ben loves to wrestle and play with Colin. He loves to be in Colin's room, and his favorite part about it is his bed. He likes to climb up on it, walk around on the mattress, and fall down.

New Year's Resolutions 2013

We rang in the new year in exciting style. The boys went to bed at their regular times and Kevin and I were tucked in at 11:00, although I wish it were more like 10:00 (or maybe earlier).

I'm so excited for 2013. I already know it's going to be an amazing year. Before I get to my new resolutions, let's review the 2012 version.
1. Pay off more debt.
Heck yeah! We paid off 2 credit cards, and another will be paid off this month.

2. Declutter.
I was a very good declutterer while I was on maternity leave. Our closets are still pretty organized with the baskets and bins I bought last year. As life goes, I didn't finish the whole year's worth of decluttering and it would probably be beneficial to start all over again. I've learned a lot about decluttering though and that "stuff is just stuff" and I truly won't miss the things I get rid of.

3. Survive the "Terrible 2s" and the first 8 months of the "Trying 3s": Round 1 (Colin).
We're surviving and there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Now that he's getting closer to four, he understands there's consequences to his actions and he takes less time outs. Thank the baby Jesus.

4. Be more generous. I don't know...I kept this resolution in the back of my mind a lot though and I like to think I was a little more generous. There's always room for improvement.

5. Make time for Rocket. I made a conscious effort to make sure I gave Rocket attention every day. If he snuggled with me in the evenings as I'm relaxing he'd get a lot more pets. But this is one thing I will be continuing to do.


Now for resolutions for 2013:
1. Pay OFF all debt. The remaining 2 (count 'em TWO!) credit cards will be paid off this summer at the latest! Then we're going to pay off my student loans and the Explorer and then we'll be debt-freakin'-free (aside from our mortgage) baby! I'm so freaking excited about this. We've been working really hard at sticking to a budget and "sacrificing" to get this debt out of our lives forever.

2. Run another 5k. It has been far too long. I've run one time since May 2011. Not good, but growing and breast feeding Ben took priority and now that we're on the cusp of being done with it, I can start running again.

3. Unplug. I admit there are times when I'm on my phone or laptop when I should be playing with the boys or doing something more productive. So I'm going to put the phone and laptop away until they're in bed.