Ben's Early Days

December 2011

Ben finds his voice (1 week old)

Favorite Moments from the early weeks...

This was Ben at his 1 month check-up.
Stats: 10lbs 3oz, 23in, 15in

Uncle Jason comes to town...

December 2011

Starting Fresh...Ben's Beginnings

December 7th, 2011
We welcomed Ben into our family.  All 9lbs 2oz and 20 inches of him.

I spent 3 nights in the hospital...our first 3 nights away from Jack EVER.  But he came to visit us and his new baby brother every day...

After four long days, we finally got to head home to become a family of four.

At 5 days old, we headed out to the pediatrician for Ben's first checkup.  While there, the doctor heard a heart murmur, and Mommy proceeded to have a meltdown.  Lots of tears and one short little ECHO later, we learned he had a smallish sized VSD (ventricular septal defect) that we would continue to monitor, but shouldn't require any intervention.

A few days later, we ventured out for some professional newborn pictures.  I so wish we'd done this with Jack.  We will treasure these always.

I did it! I did it!

Jack and I went to the zoo again yesterday morning. And he, finally, touched a shark. He was so proud of himself. He started jumping up and down, saying, "I did it! I touch a SHARK!" He wanted to keep touching them, but he has a bad habit of splashing the water, which scares them away. And his little arms just aren't quite long enough to reach the majority of them that do swim by. I am hopeful, though, that this is just the beginning for him. He has such a love for animals...is so intrigued by them, but usually doesn't want to touch them.

After that, the entire zoo visit went downhill, and I walked a tantrum-throwing, crying Jack all the way from the Deserts out to the car. I hate it when something taints a positive experience, but I suppose that is life with a 2 year old, and you just have to try again.

Rocketships!!!

Jack likes "rock-eh-ships" (rocket ships). In fact, this morning, he made his own. Out of blocks. No, I did NOT color coordinate them. My child received the "hint-of-OCD" gene from yours truly. And, oh my god, do NOT mix the rocket ship colors...because, well, because Jack is not okay with that. He wanted a red one, a green one, and a yellow one, and never the three shall meet. He played with these for over an hour. Blasting them into space. Getting hysterical when they fell apart. Counting them off. Chasing me into the bathroom, at one point, because we each HAD to have a rocket...AT ALL TIMES.

I am not sure where this new-found love of rockets has come from, but I am certain that it was heightened by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (MMC) because seriously the kid cannot stop watching it (and, of course, we have a few DVR'd MMCs where the gang goes into space.). We managed to only let him watch a couple today, but they were before nap and bedtime, and ooooh the fits he threw when he had to say goodbye to Mickey. The poor guy has laid in his bed crying for Mickey Mouse. Not sure what to do about that one.

Evidence of his obsession:

In other news, Jack had a sinus infection AND croup this past week. It led to one seriously NOT FUN night, but once the meds kicked in, he seemed to recover nicely, despite being extra snuggly and a little extra (okay, a LOT extra) whiney. He's in good enough shape, though, that we'll send him back to "Ox-ann" (i.e. Roxanne, our daycare provider) tomorrow.

Cheering for the Home Team!!!

This week in review:

Jack and I are recovering from our first colds of the fall.

Bob and I celebrated our 4th anniversary on Wednesday.

Grandma came on Friday--allowing us to actually go out for dinner/movie.

Saturday we all traipsed around the zoo.

He immediately ran for the "sea why-ans" (sea lions).

Jack put his hands in the shark-infested waters, but still didn't touch a shark.

He then threw a major fit because he didn't want to hold hands jumping across the rhino bridge. Some lady made a snide remark--she's lucky I didn't take her out.

After that, we moseyed on back to the car and came home for naps all around.

Nothing on the agenda for today. Grocery shopping. A nap. And then the Colts!!!

Here's more pictures from last Sunday...

My favorite Jack quote of the week:

"Four-Five-Sick-Seven-Eight....Space!!!!"

(This is his version of 5-4-3-2-1....Blastoff. And he uses a barn silo from his little farm instead of a rocketship, but its adorable).

Sharks, Sharks, Sharks

Jack's favorite thing right now. He's so busy staring and playing in the water that the camera doesn't get his attention once, but I wanted to see if I could upload a video with our new camcorder.

Don't hold your breath...

...I can't swear that I'll keep it up, but I'm going to make a half-hearted attempt at the blog. I get so overwhelmed by the choices when I have photos that I love, and it takes SO insanely long to upload that I just keep putting it off.

We've had a lovely summer (you know, since I last updated in like June). Busy. Hot. Filled with lots of laughter (and lots of tantrums). Jack is still busy as ever and continues to crack us up multiple times per day. Sadly, all our videos are currently courtesy of my iphone, which seems to be incompatible with uploads to Facebook or Blogger--because I'd love to share some of his goofiness in his own words.

What's he up to these days? Well, 34lbs. And almost 36inches (he won't stand still long enough for me to really check). He's learned all his colors, shapes, he's counting (although he refuses to start at 1, he prefers 5-6-7-8, whatever, he's Jack lol), he's singing along with ABCs (not quite on his own yet), and is currently OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and sharks (he and I have been spending some time at the shark touch tank at the zoo--he's not brave enough yet to touch them, but we're getting closer). I recently took him to the doctor because it seems that his reflux (which has never totally gone away) seemed to be getting worse, so we're back on a microscopic dose of Zantac to see if it helps with the irritability (read: screaming, arching tantrums) that seems to be directly related to it.

The best (and sometimes the worst) part of our days are truly what's coming out of his mouth. He's quite entertaining. Here are some excerpts:

-Cwarabelle!! (Clarabelle). Where's Clarabelle, Jack? I on't know. Can't fine (find) her.

-Poppy dat's gwoss (gross). (He and my dad were playing, and my dad stuck Jack's foot in his mouth, and this was Jack's initial response. He now remembers this, while laughing hysterically, and then proclaims, "I'm funny")

-After being fastened into his carseat, he looked at me, pulled on the straps with all his might, and said, "I'm stuck in here!"

-He took a pillow from the couch, proclaimed, "MINE" repeatedly despite being corrected, so I finally told him that if he said it again, I would take it away. I then hear, in a whisper from across the room, "Its my piyyow!"

-He's also becoming very bossy. As in, "Mommy!! Get in da kitchen. NOW!" "Scoof (scoot) over. NOW." "Open this. NOW." (This certainly doesn't work in getting us to do what he wants, but its a noble effort on his part).

That's all I've got for now. Tons more pictures available to post...if, ahem, I get around to it.

An Apple a Day

Illinois

We spent 2 weekends in May at Bob's Mom's house.

Here are some of the pictures from our trips...