Ben - One year!

I am a bit late posting Ben's one year information, but better late than never, right? Ben turned one on January 24th. What a great year it was for all of us! Ben started walking January 7th. He started by taking 7-8 steps on his own. By January 8th, he was up and walking all over. He would stumble and fall on his bottom some, but he would get right back up and walk again. He quickly decided walking was a better way to get around then crawling! He has a cute little gait- it cracks me up watching him cruise around. He gets into everything now- even more so than before because he is faster and makes less noise then he did when he was crawling.

He is such a smart and inquisitive little guy. He will watch what we do, then he mimics it himself. He tries to use a q tip in his ear. He tries to write with a pen. He tries to open doors by stretching to reach the handle. He tries to get things to work- like his daddy- he wants to know how they work too! He investigates all aspects of the electronics. He reaches for things on tables, counters, etc and he can almost reach them. If he can climb up on something, he will. He uses chairs to stand up on a table.

The determined look

Almost there...

Success! Look at that happy face.


He climbs onto the couch, then uses the pillows to get up on the table behind the couch. I am having to find new places to keep valuables like remotes, phones, etc. He knows where things are and when he can't reach them or we move them he gets really frustrated and cries. He tries to drink from a regular cup and usually ends up doused in water and gagging- but he keeps trying. He likes to give me food- he holds his food out and says, "AHHH!" He is smiling when he does it too- so cute!

He also tries to put his shoes and socks on. He has tried using a pencil to write. He likes to make animal noises- meow, moo, woof. He can also howl like a wolf! His favorite book makes lots of animal noises and he absolutely loves the gorilla page and thumps his chest saying o o o! This book was also a favorite of Ainsley's and strange enough, her favorite page was the gorilla page too!

He also has a book called Boo. He said Boo and went to the bookshelf and pointed at that book! Another of his favorite books, it makes lots of noises too.

Ben had his lower Right molar coming in 1/25.

1 year check up stats:

Height- 30 inches (75-90%)

Weight 23.3 pounds (50-75%)

Head 49 cm (97)

He says "Ball" and "Dog". Such great first words for a little boy!

In the past month, Ben got 2 more molars. Lower Left 2/8

Upper left 2/24

He said "No" 2/25.

He said "Dirt" 2/25

Ben's fun cake !

Ben loved the balloons. We probably did not need any other gifts, he entertained himself for days with just the balloons.

Checking out the cake- he didn't love it, but he had fun mashing it all over the place.

On Ben's actual birthday, Mandy and Ainsley made him a cake. It was pink ( because Ainsley baked it and decorated it!)
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Ben loved eating the cake this time!
Opening presents on his actual birthday! A rare family photo!


Since his birthday Ben has been sick with a few different things, making for a difficult month. He had strep throat, then a few days after he finished his antibiotics for that, he got a virus- cold symptoms. He had it for a while and it progressed to ear infections and pneumonia. Now, we hope he will stay healthy for a while. He has slept horribly this past month- waking multiple times a night crying in obvious discomfort. He would not/could not stay asleep more than an hour on his own for most of the month. Now, we are finally getting a bit better and he is only waking up once a night. I think some of the waking was due to the molars he got in too. Poor guy and poor Mommy and Daddy.

Dan spent all of January and some of February working non stop- he worked well into each night, often getting home at 11pm or later. He worked all day Saturday and Sunday each week too.

Next I will do a blog for Ainsley!

Christmas 2011

December 2011

December was a very big month for all of us. We spent a lot of time preparing for the Holidays- decorating, shopping, and celebrating. Dan and I had several Christmas parties to attend together and I had 2 on my own. It made for some busy evenings!

Ben landmarks:

Ben stopped nursing suddenly on December 5^th. He had a cold a few days prior and was teething. He did not ever want to start nursing again- though I tried for a week.

• Upper left incisor December 4^th
• Upper left tooth and Lower Right tooth December 18^th
• Climbing and climbing and climbing!
• Out of shopping cart December 7^th
• Out of high chair December 10^th
• Said ball December 14^th – not repeatable though
• Pushing car and walking behind it Mid December

He continues to be a very happy and energetic little boy. He is into everything- he loves to take things out of cabinets, loves to eat toilet paper, loves to giggle and laugh. He really likes to play peek-a-boo and laughs so hard! He hides himself from us too! He likes to be chased- he will crawl away from you and when you chase he starts laughing. Then we tickle him once we have caught him. He is very ticklish- like his Daddy- especially his feet and underarms.

He is starting to walk on furniture more and more. He has taken a few steps on his own- 2 a few times, but he is so fast when he crawls that I think he prefers that. His first steps were 12/18. Since then I have been trying to have him walk more, but when I stand him up in front of me, he will take one step and then fall onto me for a game. This week he is actually walking more when I hold his hands and getting better and better at it.

His sleeping has been so-so over the past month. He has good nights and bad- where he is up several times a night crying. Most of those times, he goes back to sleep when I hold him for a few minutes. Occasionally, he will be up crying for a while. I suspect teething is the culprit as he got 3 teeth this month. It is so frustrating for me and my sleep it completely interrupted.

Ainsley had a cute little Christmas program at her school- they sang several songs for us. She and Mandy also did a little Rudolph presentation for us that was super cute. We took her to see a Beauty and the Beast play December 17^th. We could only get tickets for the 8pm show so it was a really late night for her. Luckily, she took a long, late nap in the afternoon. We made a big production of going out – she got really dressed up and wore a little makeup. She even wore high heels. We left Ben with Grandparents and headed out. The play was fantastic! Ainsley really liked everything about it and was so much fun to have there. She knew the story from the book/movie that we have. She laughed really hard at the antics of La Fou, Gaston’s sidekick. He was very silly and energetic. He kept falling and doing silly somersaults all over the stage. She had an imaginary friend La Fou for days after the play. We were out really late – we got home at 11:30. She was up until 12 am- the latest night ever for her. She went to bed and got up at 6:30- of course (she never sleeps in).

December 22^nd we left for my parents’ house in Arkansas. We left after work so that the kids would fall asleep in the truck on the way. We got on the road at 6:45 pm. I sat in the back with the kids, Remi sat in the front passenger seat and Dan drove. We were packed in tightly and the bed of the truck was very full too! I entertained Ben for 45 minutes and then he fell asleep. Ainsley watched a movie, and then she fell asleep. It was a very quiet ride from 8:30 on. The kids slept beautifully! I actually watched a movie myself. There was no traffic and we made great time. When we stopped for gas at 11, the kids woke up. They were up for a while before falling back asleep, but they were happy. We drove really late- until 1 am- so that we would not have as far to go the next day and also because there was no where to stop. We ended up in Texarkana and stayed at a hotel near the highway. It was not really a good stop- the hotel was only so-so. The kids woke up when we stopped and Ben was up until 2:30 am crying. I don’t know why he was so unhappy, but he was. Dan had to unload everything from the back of the truck (we were worried it would get stolen). Some went into the cab and the rest came to our room – of course on the second floor. Ben then woke up at 6 am and would not go back to sleep. It was a short and frustrating night for us. Since we had made it so far the night before, our drive was only about 4 more hours.

We took our time in the morning- getting ready to get back on the road and letting Ben wander around. We had breakfast at the Waffle House and discovered that they did not have pancakes- which Ainsley had wanted. Luckily, she settle for a waffle. While we were at breakfast, we spoke a little with a man in the booth behind us. He asked us if we were traveling and where we were from. He made friends with Ben- Ben blew raspberries at him- haha. Anyway, the man was nice and surprised us with the gift of free breakfast! When we tried to pay, we found out he had paid for our check when he left. It was such a nice gesture from a stranger.

The remainder of our drive went really well. Ben fell asleep right after we got in the truck, though he did cry for several minutes first. He slept for over 3 hours! Ainsley slept for over 2 hours. They both woke up about 10 minutes from Grandma’s house!

We enjoyed our visit with my parents. The kids love their house and had so much fun getting lots of attention. We went to Christmas Eve service with my parents and then opened some gifts. Ainsley opened gifts from Mommy and Daddy and her Aunts. We figured she would have so much to open the next morning that she would need a head start. Ainsley was really into presents this year-she kept wanting more and more. She actually had a few hissy fits about other people opening gifts; apparently, she wanted them all.

She was up fairly late Christmas Eve and then Dan worked her up talking about Santa. She did great though- after she fell asleep, she stayed in bed all night. Ben had me up from 1-3:15 am. He would cry and then go back to sleep when I held him only to wake up as soon as I put him down. This went on for a long time. Mommy was exhausted in the morning!

Ainsley had a few issues with joining us for pictures- she pretty much refused to be in most of them. We got a few nice pictures with her, but we wanted more.

We had fun being “Santa.” I wrapped gifts and we put them all out. The living room looked amazing! Ainsley’s big gift was a car- a red convertible mustang. She also got a sing along/karaoke cd player that was pretty awesome. She got clothes, purses, bags, fairy wings, games and more. Ben got several trucks and balls, books and games. It was quite a haul for everyone.




View from my parent's house. It was very beautiful and peaceful there- lots of birds, great sunrises, sunny days and quiet.
Ben's baptism




Hanging out with Grandma!

Family pictures on Christmas Day

A boy and his loyal dog!
Daddy time!
Ainsley's new car! She and Ben had so much fun riding in it! Ben was a great passenger- he just cruised with Ainsley. She was a great driver. That car has some serious pep!

Pure joy!

We enjoyed our stay at Grandma and Papa’s house! It was very relaxing and nice. The kids enjoyed all the attention they got from 4 adults. Ben made us all laugh and kept us on our toes as we followed him to keep him out of trouble. Ainsley enjoyed making cookies, painting, walking and going to the park. Of course, she really enjoyed driving her car! Ben was a great passenger too. I could not believe he stayed in the car with her for so long- at least 10 minutes. He was totally relaxed and enjoyed the ride. He never sits still for that long!

The drive back went ok- we did it in one day and drove until 1 am. It was nice to get home and sleep in our beds, even if it was a short night.

Since we returned, we have been trying to recover, catch up and organize- put gifts away, unpack, remove Christmas decorations, etc. It has been hectic! Work has also been really busy for me and Dan. Dan worked late every day last week- sometimes he was not even home when I went to bed. He also had to work all day Sunday.

November

Ben is now 10 months old and so CUTE! The weather this past month has been fantastic- clear and sunny most days, with temperatures around 75-80. We spent a lot of time outside on walks, at the park, and in the backyard. Ben loves to move around and get into everything. He crawls up on his knees now, not just army crawling, and he is really fast. He walks really well around the furniture and moves from one piece to the next easily. He can balance himself on his feet standing for just a few seconds at a time. He got another tooth- the lower right incisor Nov 3rd. I think he is working on several more.

Ben loves to:

• flush toilets- he discovered how to do that on his own on Nov 3rd. Then he kept trying to do it. Now he tries to go around the toilet every time he is in the bathroom- not a place he should be, sigh! He also stuck his hand in the toilet water- yuck.
• Open doors and cabinets to see what is inside
• examine anything and everything trying to figure out how it works
• throw balls- he is really good at throwing them too!
• unroll toilet paper and try to eat it. He can unroll an entire roll super fast!
• chew on anything paper or cardboard
• take a bath- he enjoys splashing and is very tolerant of being washed. No tears!
• play with my iPhone. He screams when I take it away.
• kiss my face. His version of kissing is to open his mouth and slobber all over my face. It is so precious and it makes me feel loved! We usually start out the day with kisses, I talk to him and he "kisses" my face. I really want a video of it but have not quite captured it yet.

He can say "Uh Oh" and does so on a regular basis! so cute! His version is not exact but is really close and he definitely uses is correctly! It sounds more like Uh Ew. I think he can even say Ainsley. He has said something that resembles her name a few times over the last week when she is around!

He climbs on everything. He climbed up onto Ainsley's rocking chair and stood on the seat and started bouncing. He climbed up the attic ladder stairs on his own when Dan had them down yesterday ( 11/27). He got his knees up, then pulled himself up to get his feet on each rung. He was halfway up with me spotting him and he wanted to keep going. CRAZY! Ainsley was NOT a climber.

Ainsley still loves her little school and has several new friends. She loves her little brother and likes to help with him. She tries to pick him up which is a little worrisome, but she is usually very careful with him. She likes to cuddle and kiss him- which is so sweet to see! She is so smart and inquisitive. She will come up with the most thoughtful questions and I realize her brain is always churning. She seems so much older than 3.75... She wants to know why the moon changes size. Why the days are shorter. Why it is fall, and how we know it is fall. She asks "why" a lot, and you can tell she processes all the information. She says "goodbye! I love you! Don't hit anyone!" when I leave in the mornings! Her version of stay safe and it cracks me up. She is so sweet and funny!

My cute kids in their pajamas looking out the front door!
Ainsley- crawling with Ben
reading
The park!
Crazy hair!!
Celene came to visit for a few days just before Thanksgiving. We had not seen her since February. We had a fantastic visit and wish we saw her more. Ainsley enjoyed having her Auntie here and they did lots of special things together. I was not wanted, she wanted Celene for everything.

Making cookies with Auntie Celene

Ainsley is so pretty! She is changing every day and her features are becoming more pronounced. She is a little girl, not a toddler anymore! Her hair has gotten longer and smoother too and she actually lets me style it occasionally.


Thanksgiving outfits!

Fashion diva!
This is a cute hat Ainsley made in school!

Thanksgiving we celebrated with the Coffey Family- we all enjoyed it thoroughly!

Ben played with a balloon- he thought it was fascinating and entertained himself for a while! He took a nap at the perfect time in the afternoon and allowed us to eat our fancy dinner without having to entertain him! I was a little sad he missed his first Thanksgiving, but I was very happy to relax and enjoy my meal!


The girls had their own special table.

Decorating the tree at home.

We put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. It was really fun! Ainsley could not wait to decorate and put up most of the ornaments. She helped me put up the other decorations around the house too! We did not do all of the decorations that I usually do- mainly because we worried about Ben tearing stuff down and eating it- HA! (just like having a puppy). We only put up the unbreakable ornaments on the tree this year...we did not want to risk all of them with Ben. Ben has pretty much taken off all the ornaments on the bottom half of the tree and they have bounced around on the floor, so I think this was a good decision.




We went to the mall over the weekend so I could do a little shopping (<1hr). The kids walked around with Dan and got ice cream. There was no line for Santa- amazing! so we stopped off for pictures. Ainsley did great- she sat on his lap and smiled, but would not tell him what she wants for Christmas. Ben was great too- no crying! He kept looking at Santa and staring with his serious little face. I thought he was going to reach up and grab his beard, but he resisted the urge!

Later, Ainsley told us she did not know if that was the real Santa. I was pretty surprised, and asked why, but she did not specify. I told her that sometimes Santa has helpers because he has so many places to be. I kept thinking that she is so young to have these doubts. But, she is SMART!

Ainsley has not been very informative on what she wants for Christmas. When we ask her, she says she wants a bike for Ben. How sweet is that? But, Ben is not quite ready for a bike, so we will have to figure something else out.

Santa Pictures

Dan has had all of his childhood toys stored in boxes in our attic. He went into the attic last weekend and brought a bunch of them down. I have to admit, they are pretty awesome! The original Tonka trucks- actual metal toys that were made in the USA! An ET doll. Star Wars stuff. Optimus Prime (transformer) and many other things. The kids loved playing with the toys. It was funny to see Ainsley running around in her pink tutu playing with Dan's toy gun. I was not excited to introduce her to guns, but...at least they were toys

This is Ben playing with a helicopter. It took about 2 seconds for him to spin the rotor- I was impressed!
the gun- toting outfit
I am so excited about this upcoming holiday season with my awesome family!