The Learning Tree

Watching Ben learn has really been fascinating lately. First of all, I can tell that he is learning in school (which translates into - I love the new day care!). I was singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" to him the other night, something I haven't done in a long time. When I sang "went up the water spout" and "went up the spout again" he threw his hands up into the air. His teacher said they sing that, and that I should see him when they sing "Where is Thumbkin". I've tried singing that to him but he doesn't have any reaction for me. He does really watch my fingers though. At home, I read to him all the time and he's really picking things up. I've always read to him each night, but his new thing now is to bring me books. He'll sit for a little and read books on his own, so I'm trying to encourage that as much as I can. Last night I was reading "The Very Busy Spider" to him and I read "'Woof, woof' barked the dog" and Ben was making an "F" sound - so cute. Then after I meowed like the cat, he said "ow". Ah! Love it! He also knows where his nose is, where his head is, and now we are moving on to his ears. A fun game for us (ok, well, for me) when we get home at night is, "Free the Feet". I get excited and ask if he wants to 'free the feet, free the feet' and I take his shoes/socks off. Then I say "Ahhhh" and he wiggles his toes. Once in a while he'll grunt "ah". He can also imitate a lizard. See the video! I laugh every time.

Back to the Grind

Well, it's back to the grind after another great week of vacation. We started the week with a nine hour miserable car ride to NH, then went to Norway and Paris (Maine, that is) before heading back to Mass. Ben's now been to playgrounds in five different states! He also went on a train ride, went blueberry picking, went swimming and on a boat ride. He also saw lots of relatives, like his aunt, two sets of grandparents and his two great grandmothers. Here are some pictures.

On the train with Grammie and Pepere.

Picking blueberries at Grampy and Grammy's

Blowing bubbles with cousin Brooke

J.R. and I went to Fenway to watch the Sox take on the Yankees. Unfortunately, it was boring game with few hits, and even worse, the Yankees won. We had awesome seats though and J.R. was able to be at Fenway for a game.

Every time Jeter came up to bat I'd shout "I hate you but you're hot!" Hey, Yankee or not, he's hot.

It was Papi's first night back.

I'm still horrified that the Red Sox have a mascot (Wally - get it, Wall-y the Green Monster?), but here's J.R. sitting with a statue of him.

Other highlights of the night included Leanne Rhimes singing the National Anthem, Kenny Chesney throwing out the first pitch (I'm not into Country music but thought it was cool they were there - even I know who they are) and Jack Nicholaus threw out a ball too. We also saw Beckett pitch for the Sox, and Chamberlain and Rivera pitch for the Yankees. Rivera was not met with kind applause.

The first day back to daycare for Ben was good in the morning...Ben went right to a toy and started playing. I didn't even kiss him goodbye because he was to busy washing his hands. He cried when I picked him up though. He was behind a chain link fence and was all upset because he couldn't get to me. He cried when I dropped him off yesterday and today, and cried again both days when I picked him up too. I understand the dropping off cry, but it's strange that instead of being happy to see me and giving me a great smile (and boy are those smiles great) as he runs to me, he gets upset because he can't get to me fast enough. I'm hoping that now that he's going to daycare five days a week, he'll get better. Although, he's definitely at the age where separation is a stressor on him. Poor guy. Another stage he's in is the "what's that" stage. He points to everything and says "dat". It's cute, but I'm sure soon, it'll be annoying. He likes trucks and loves busses. Today we were in the kitchen and he heard a bus go by and said "dat". He said "ball" over vaca too. He has also signed "more" a few times lately and does "all done". We've been trying to teach him sign language for 7 months now and he hasn't done anything. He recognizes eat, and more, but to him, eat is opening his mouth and more is reaching out and/or opening his mouth. His "more" looks like he's waving to his food. It's cute. Because of that, though, I think he probably did it a few times before we realized what he was doing. Tonight he was eating blueberries and he was making noise/fussing a bit because he wanted more. Well, my back was towards him so he had to get my attention somehow. Once, I looked back at him to see what he was up to (he was in his high chair, I was washing dishes) and he looked at me and did "more" perfectly. He did it over vacation too. What's really great is that he did it, like I said, perfectly, just like J.R. or I would do it (more is making all your fingertips touch each other). A lot of times, kids will point with one finger to the palm of their other hand. We've let a lot of other signs go, but I'm trying to pick back up on "sleepy/tired", and "bed/sleep" as in go to bed. Speaking of bed...yeah, he's back to wanting to go to bed at 10pm. Sigh.

Dr's appointment

I forgot to post about Ben's 1 year well visit. Ben is now 30 inches tall and 20 lbs. 10 oz. He is tall and thin, but not in a bad way. He's right on track developmentally, and our homework is to work on identifying body parts! That'll be easy I think, whenever he grabs my nose, I always say, That's Mommy's nose. Now we are pointing to Ben's nose and saying, Nose, nose. He thinks its a fun game. He can drink whole milk now, but doesn't really like it. I got him to drink it the other night before bed when I heated it up and put it in a bottle. We're trying vanilla soy milk for a little bit, then may move on to 2%, then back to whole. Try to work him into it slowly. So far, the soy is going OK. I don't think he likes it cold from the fridge. He seems to drink it faster once it's been out of the fridge for a little bit. I'm also trying to work on getting rid of the bottle, however, he's really not a huge fan of the sippie. He really wants to hold onto a glass by himself, so I bought small Dixie cups. That's what they use at school. My mistake though, at school they use plastic cups. I think they are harder to fold. Last night, Ben spilled milk all over us because he squeezed the cup. Sigh.

A Year Ago Today...

Ben's first birthday party is tomorrow! I can't believe a year has gone by. I'm totally in "what happened a year ago today" mode. Yesterday was the Thursday of the first week of Day One at school. The surealness of one year hit me hard. Last year on the Thursday of the first week of Day One, I left my office a little early because I had a doctor's appointment. So I waddled downstairs with the brand new yearbook camera so I could take some pictures of the new freshmen, and grab an ice cream. I figured I'd take the yearbook camera home then bring it back the next day. I never did take any pictures, just talked to a bunch of coworkers then said "see you tomorrow" as I left. Yeah, right. Let's just say the brand new yearbook camera was broken in over the summer by taking lots of pictures of Ben! Like this one...

It was a year ago today that I called my boss and told him I'd come in a little late because I wasn't feeling well. I had started having what I thought to be indigestion discomfort the night before and had slept in a chair. I wanted to take my time and thought I'd feel better after a shower. My boss told me "I don't know if you realize this or not, but you're having a baby in a couple of days." So, I stayed home. Later, the director of a daycare I was checking out told me I was having labor pains, as I was rubbing my hips. I was in denial for a while, but the second time she said it, I really started to think she could be right. I sent J.R. a text on my way home telling him I was in labor. I still have have his response saved on my phone, "Do you want me to come home?" I spent the rest of the weekend uncomfortable on the couch.

I hope Ben is feeling well for his party. I picked him up from daycare this afternoon because he threw up 4 times. The doctor said his throat is a little swollen; there is mucus in it that is keeping all his food from going down, and when he coughs, he throws up. Poor little guy. The 19 pound 15.8 ounce critter is walking like crazy though. The past three nights he's been on his feet more than on his knees. I just watched the video from my last post, and I can't believe how much better he is already. The video just looks so... I don't know, just old I guess. I'm almost wondering how I thought that was so great, because he's doing SO great now!

Baby steps

Long story short, (because there are more important things to say) Ben is sick, possibly a slight case of croup. I really think it's just a bad cold. J.R. picked him up early from day care yesterday because he threw up 3 times (if food is fresh in him, he spits up a bit when he coughs), and although we called the doctor and we have a note, I kept him home today. Only because we rethought the barking cough, but again today, I was assured by the nurse he is fine (small attitude from daycare, but whatever).

OK - on to the cool stuff....Ben took a couple of steps by himself both yesterday and today!!! Wow! Yesterday J.R. had him and he let go of J.R. to get to the activity table. Today he let go of, oh I don't even remember, but he took two steps to get to me. He stands up by himself quite a bit, so I think his steps were mostly letting go of something and stumbling to something else (although it didn't look like a stumble), but still, pretty cool. Other than that, he is just starting to be OK with me holding his arms while he puts one foot in front of the other.

Another fun thing today....he made his first wall art! I should have taken a picture. His hands were a mess from eating baby spaghetti and his high chair is right next to the kitchen wall. Cute now, I'm sure it won't be later.

J.R. thinks it's sad when I blog and don't post a picture, so here's a couple of shots for ya.

Away for the Weekend

Isn't he "sweet"?

I won a basket during Basket Bidding at school the other night. It included a 5 pound Hershey bar, with graham crackers and marshmallows, of course! We brought the basket to Rob and Michele's for the weekend. Saturday night everyone (except Ben and I) went out and toasted marshmallows around a bonfire. The candy bar was so thick, it really didn't make the greatest smore, J.R. brought one in for me. I made a couple in the microwave on Sunday, and the chocolate became a little softer so it worked better. The rest of our weekend was just as sweet - it was fun to hang out with Rob and Michele. We haven't seen them for a while. Michele and I got to scrapbook a little bit, and J.R. and Rob killed a lot of bad guys (Halo 2). Chloe got to hang with Casey and Stella too - she had a blast.

We had a good weekend, but Ben had it a little rough. The poor little guy got his finger pinched in a door. I was in the other room when I heard Ben, and J.R. screaming. Even though there were five adults in the room when it happened, I feel incredibly guilty. I feel like I'm a bad parent. He's fine, by the way, just a bruise on his cuticle. I know he's going to get hurt - he'll fall and hit his head as he learns to walk, he'll skin his knee when he learns to ride a bike, he'll get pushed down, knocked over, and all the rest, but it still doesn't hurt me any less. I'm extremely thankful he didn't get hurt worse - I definitely gave thanks to God after the incident was over. I just can't help but feel I could have protected him. Will I always feel like this? Am I going to turn into the helicopter parent I speak against so often now? I guess I'll just take one day at a time and continue to pray he stays safe.

On an up note, Ben's giving high-fives now. He's also giving a lot of raspberries. He's really cute when he tucks his upper lip under his lower lip and puffs out his cheeks. He always did make the funniest faces. Oh - and he was quite the musician this weekend too.

Party Animal

Ben was a party animal this week. Monday he had a St. Patrick's Day party, Wednesday was the birthday of one of his classmates (he had cake, pizza and cheese twists), and Thursday was his Easter party. The Easter Bunny came to that party and Ben did not enjoy him (her). It's funny because he was fine with Santa, and he had his picture taken with the Bunny at the mall and he was fine. Oh well. Here's his mall picture.

Thursday night was exciting. Ben cut his first tooth! Yay - but it only took 9 months. It's very cute on him though. He of course had some pain this weekend, but it's really starting to come through, and it can be seen when he shows us his beautiful smile.

Easter was a party all in itself. We drove up to Grammie and Pepere's house for the weekend. We had Pepere's delicious ham and spent some great time with my family. My cousin Dan even showed up - I haven't seen him in 5 years! Ben received 9, count 'em, NINE Easter baskets!! Who gets nine Easter baskets? Easter at mom's house looked like Christmas with all the baskets for three kids! It was crazy! Ben is blessed to have family that spoils him so.

Nine months in review

Ben had his 9 month well visit this week. He's 18 lbs., 9 oz., and he's 28.5 inches long. We got a stronger perscription for his skin, and the Dr. told me to use the Aquafor on his skin three times a day instead of lotion twice a day. So far it seems to be working.

I can't believe it's been 9 months! Everyone told me it'd go by fast, but I thought since I'd be enjoying each moment...writing things down, trying to make each day last, that it'd be different. Nope! Wrong! It really doesn't seem like it's been 9 months. I had 12 weeks off from work, he's had his first Thanksgiving and Christmas and every other holiday between Father's Day and President's Day, we had our Relay for Life, took vacations, celebrated our FIRST wedding anniversary, been through a summer, autumn and winter and so much more! One of my students said to me today that she still looks at me sometimes and is surprised I'm not pregnant. She's was used to seeing me with a belly and talking about pregnancy (she can't believe I loved being pregnant). It's so crazy!

I love being a mom.

Ben at one week

Ben at 6 weeks

Ben at 3 months

Ben at 6 months

Ben at 9 months

Wave Bye-Bye!

Ben waved bye-bye today :) I guess he did it a couple of times at daycare today, and when leaving, the teacher said "Ben, show mommy you can wave bye-bye". It took me off guard at first because usually I'm the one saying "show so-and-so you can do such-and-such". When he finally did it for me, my eyes watered a bit. It was pretty cool.

It's not bye-bye, but here's some video we took the other day that's pretty cute. Someone from church gave us a new toy. Ben loves it, but as you can see, he has found a new use for it.