Saturday, February 26, 2011

reflections

Things are continuing to go well with our little June bug! I am really feeling regular movements right now and getting to know his sleep/wake schedule. It's amazing how different his movements are from B's movements at this point. Much less kicking and more pushing/swiping movements. He's also a bit calmer in general. He does, however, manage to hit nerves in my back, my bladder and my cervix on a regular basis. I could do with out those.

Here's a little something I saw on one of the pregnancy boards I follow that I want to put down for posterity. It was so true with B. I imagine it will be 2 fold this time, as I fall more in love with our bug and as I watch B interact with him and fall more in love with him too!

"Nothing you hear or read anywhere can prepare you for how your life will change or how you will feel about your child. You and your partner will probably be sleep deprived; frustrated at times by inconsolable crying; your personal needs will take a backseat for a very long time. But when you see your baby smile, hear it coo for the first time or when he or she drifts off to sleep peacefully in your arms, the intense love and satisfaction you will feel are unmatched by anything on earth. Your child will be the most amazing, beautiful creature in the world. Your love for your child will give you the strength to slay dragons."

Monday, January 3, 2011

17 week ultrasound/OB visit

Saw the OB today for our anatomical scan. Baby is growing well and active. Everything looks good!

It looks like our expanding family will be adding a little boy! Here's the ultrasound pictures. One of the face and one showing the goods :P

Monday, November 29, 2010

A year later...

Wow...

Where has the time gone?

We've moved, B has had his second birthday, gone to 3 day a week preschool, started counting to 10 in 4 languages, learned to use the toilet, moved to a bed, and many other amazing milestones have come and gone (not necessarily in this order).

And now...We are going to be having a new baby!

Our newest addition is due to arrive around June 11th.

We are very excited!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

We're moving!!!

This is more a request for suggestions than an informative post but...

We are moving into a house on December 1st. It's a rental, but it has a yard and garage and washer/dryer hook ups. Needless to say we are quite excited.

Now the request. For all you out there with little ones who have moved, how have you dealt with the packing progress with a munchkin underfoot? Any and all advice is welcome!

Thanks all!

Friday, October 16, 2009

19 Months old

Well, I seem to get around to posting once every 2 months lately.

Benjamin started a preschool program at our local JCC in September and is loving it. It is called Moving-On and is set as a transitional program two days a week. The first hour is parent participation where we spend most of the time playing on the playground. We then come in for snack (or music then snack on Thursday). Once snack is served, parents head out for the next 2 hours. Benji sometimes cries when I leave, but is usually happy within 5 minutes. He eats his lunch there and then I pick him up. It is great for both of us. He gets to experience new things and new people, and I get time to go run errands, work out, or do whatever without my shadow :)

We have been struggling with bath time lately. Benjamin had gotten to the point where he would not sit in the bathtub and screamed/cried the entire time. We got in the habit of often taking showers and he was fine there until his hair needed to be rinsed. The last 2 bath times have been better. Benji stood through most of the 1st one, but allowed me to wash him and rinse his hair with a washcloth. The last one he stood initially but eventually sat down and enjoyed splashing and having fun. He was even quite upset when he got out of the tub and tried to get back in. I still washed his hair with a washcloth, but we will hopefully slowly get better in the water.

Benji now has 12 teeth. He is communicating mostly through signs and gestures, but it seems like we are starting to get a new word or two daily. He runs around saying "da-bay". We haven't yet figured out if this has any meaning, but it is quite cute none the less.

One other struggle we have been having is whining and tantrums. Benjamin has quite a temper. When things don't go as he would like he screams, throws things, and generally flails. For a bit, we were seeing this 5 to 6 times a day, both at home and preschool. Luckily, the duration and frequency has decreased quite a bit, however we still see a tantrum occur at least once or twice a day.

We had a great time last week camping at an SCA "war". Benji loves being outside and enjoyed being so close to so many people, including our friend N who is 2 months older than Benji. The boys played very well together and we all enjoyed watching them play side by side and interact.

Monday, August 17, 2009

17 months old

When we last left our explorer, he was just starting to show his climbing skills. My, how things have progressed. Today Benjamin decided to show us that he can climb into his highchair, on top of the coffee table, and on to his diaper pail. He has also mastered going up and down the stairs and would like to do this EVERY time we leave the apartment. He still uses things to step up onto so he can climb or I'm sure he would be out of his crib by now.

In other updates, Benjamin continues to eat nearly any food we put in front of him. He loves to be social as long as Mom or Dad are around. I've been going to the gym regularly for the last month or so and Benjamin is in babysitting while I am working out. The first 2 times he was just fine. No tears, he just went on his way and played. After that, for about a week and a half, Benji would cry the entire hour I was gone. We have slowly decreased the amount of tears and usually only cry when mom leaves and comes back.

We have also had the opportunity to take Benjamin to the pool 3 times in the last month and a half. He does NOT like the pool. He cries when any friends or family are in the pool and nearly the entire time he is in the pool. He doesn't even want to be anywhere near a pool. It doesn't matter if it's child size blow-up pool or Olympic size pool. They all are evil in his eyes.

We are really enjoying this age. Both Jeff and I love to watch him explore his surroundings and figure out toys and other objects. We are amazed daily by the things he does and figures out. He makes us smile and laugh and marvel at how amazing and cute he is every day.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

15 months old

Benjamin is now 15 months old.

We had our latest visit to the pediatrician. Benji is a healthy growing 15 month old. He now weighs 22 lbs. 3 oz. and is 30 inches long. He's in the 10th to 25th percentile for both.

While at our visit, Benji decided to try out some climbing skills. He started out climbing up on a small child's chair. He then pushed it up against a larger chair, climbed from the small one onto the seat of the adult chair, and then up onto the back. He did get a bit frustrated that he couldn't manage to climb up onto the window sill. Ah, more fun and games.

He has also been trying to climb over the gate to the kitchen (after crawling under it didn't work). We'll see how long until he is crawling out of his crib. I hope it is a while yet.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Since we last left you...

Benji:

  • has gotten a haircut at a salon
  • had his 8th tooth brake through (today) molars are expected soon
  • has begun signing consistently, mostly more and food
  • is really into eating paper right now
  • has started talking instead of crying when he wakes and throws everything out of his bed and the shelves next to his bed
  • enjoys emptying his toy bucket and putting things into it (he helps clean up)
  • has started to figure out how many of his toys work and how to make the electric ones go on his own
  • has started crying when one of us walks away...nearly always.
  • has connected with our close friend Cat, cries when she walks away, calls her SCA name (Eilidh; pronounced AY-lee) and chases after her
  • likes eating with utensils, or at least trying. doesn't quite have the logistics of stabbing and scooping food down yet. He is still a pretty good eater, willing to try anything and eat most things.
  • may be progressing to one nap a day
  • started pressing the buttons on the front of our TV, we figured out how to lock them (a sure sanity saver)
  • thinks everything he picks up is a sword. He loves to pick up sticks, hairbrushes, and anything long and stick like. He will hand you a toy and want to hit the toys together with you.
  • has adopted a "lovey". He looks for the blanket his Grandma Wendy knit for him whenever he is put into bed. He has also pulled it out a few times and walked around the house with it.

In short, Benji keeping us busy. The bathroom has to be kept closed because he throws everything in the tub, tries to flush the toilet, empties the trash can and pulls things off the top of the toilet and counter. Our bedroom door must be kept shut as he goes in and opens and empties the drawers and goes into our bathroom. The kitchen is gated off or he goes in and brings out "snacks", opens cabinets or plays with the locks on the cabinets, throws things in the garbage or gets things out of the garbage and opens the drawers.

We had an unexpected doctor's visit the end of last month when Benji fell into the edge of the dresser and wouldn't walk without holding onto something for a bit after it happened. Of course, by the time the doctor saw him he was running around the room and acting normally. Doc still checked him out and said his falling is just part of being age.

In short, Benji is a healthy, happy, active, almost 15 month old boy!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A much delayed post

It has been quite awhile since my last post. I started a post on Benji's first birthday, but that never got finished. Ben is now 13 months old. Wow. He is running around like a crazy man. He LOVES to be outside, and often walks out onto the porch when we leave the door open. He now regularly walks from the apartment to the car independently (sometime with many reminders to keep moving and with holding hands when out near the cars). I managed to find him new shoes (a big feat as he has tall feet). He is wearing between size 5 1/2 and 6 shoes and size 12 mo. shirts, 18 mo. pants. He continues to be a wonderful eater, refusing only avocado and brussel sprouts so far. He hasn't shown any food sensitivities other than yeast, which he has now outgrown.

At his one year doctor's appointment B was 20 lbs. 14 oz and 28.5" long. He has just had a growth spurt and now is 29.5" long. We have a new pediatrician with whom we are very happy. I felt like he actually listened to me, asked questions about Ben's milestones and development, and did not seem like he was running out of the room, despite a VERY full office that day.

Our sleep issues have mostly been resolved, with Ben waking up often only when teething or feeling ill. Naps are regularly between 1.5 and 2 hours. Benji is babbling regularly and is sure to get his need communicated.

Benji's birthday party was wonderful, with many of our close friends who live in the area. Ben enjoyed his cake and socializing with all the guests. Ben was not at all interested in opening his presents, but has enjoyed them all.

Here are some of Benji's favorite things to do:
  • Be outside, running around, or in his stroller, or being carried.
  • Read books: Ben spends time each day alone in his room or in the living room paging through his books for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
  • Play or listen to music: either on a drum, xylophone, maracas, or anything else. He stops when he hears music and smiles.
  • Watch football: When Benji sees football on TV, he will sit down on the floor and watch for a while before moving onto something else.
Other than that, Benji continues to grow and change daily and be a typical one year old. He loves to be around other people and has great smiles and giggles.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

11 months old

Yep, our little guy is just 1 month from being a year old. We've had an eventful month. Benji cut 2 new teeth (top two) within a day of each other. He has become more and more inquisitive about his surroundings, exploring everywhere and trying to pull everything off of shelves and any flat surface. He is also VERY close to walking. He uses furniture, walls, people, toys, etc to barely keep his balance. He often walks with us holding just one hand. We got Benji a push and ride toy and a short 2 weeks ago he wasn't able to walk behind it (it moved too fast). We got home from 10 days away and off he went. He is independently taking steps on a regular basis but gets very excited and falls down.

We had a great trip visiting Grandma Wendy and Zayde Mike while they were in Tuscon. Jeff stayed for a few days and then went off to an SCA war (Estrella) for 5 days. While there, Benji was his usual happy self for most of the time. Enjoying being around people. Benji missed his Papa while he was gone, becoming increasingly fussy and unconsoalable the last 2 days and was very happy to see Papa return (after being angry for a few seconds). He did really well during our 8 hour car rides, needing to stop only 3 times each way. We celebrated Benji's 11 month birthday with a cupcake, since Grandma and Zayde won't be able to be at Benji's 1 year birthday. Benji enjoyed the cake quite a bit. Pictures will follow soon, but have to wait since our camera got left in Tuscon.

As far as other things, sleep is going well. I feared we were slipping back into old habits in Tucson with tears at nap time and many waking at night and refusing to go back to sleep. Once we got home, Benji slept very well through the night (waking our usual 2 times) and had just gone down for a nap with no tears. Benji is a very good, big eater and has started to feed himself with a spoon. At breakfast this morning, Benji fed himself after I filled the spoon with cereal. Grandma and Zayde were very impressed with Benji's ability and joy in eating table foods.

So, Benji is growing, thriving, changing, smiling, giggling, amazing.