Breakfast with Santa 2013

Our church puts on a Breakfast with Santa every year (well, this was the 2nd year, I think) and I LOVE it. We can skip the lines at the mall and enjoy Christmas crafts, pancakes, storytelling, and of course, visiting with Santa. Not to mention it's all free.

Paint-filled ornaments and jingle bell necklaces were the crafts this year.

Logan wrote letters to Santa for him and Benjamin.

Enjoying the pancake breakfast

Decorating cookies

He ate about 1/4 of this sprinkle-covered, syrup-coated cookie. Yuck.

Wow, our Santa picture is sad. B's outfit (which Logan wore his first Christmas, too) was climbing up his legs and Logan dressed himself that morning and looks like a stray. But I have wanted a sibling Santa picture for so long that I love it just the same!

Here's a picture from when Santa came to visit the preschool. I love B's sweet smile. 

5 & 6 Months

In an attempt to NOT GO IN HIS ROOM even though he is currently crying, I am going to try to catch up. I have tried to get Benjamin to sleep better, tried to lay him down drowsy, tried to put him down sound asleep--none of which are working. I've tried to do checks in intervals, I've even let him cry for up to an hour and a half before. None have worked consistently, but then again, I haven't necessarily been consistent. It's been hard around the holidays with schedules being thrown off. But tonight starts a new year, no time like the present. I know he is healthy, fed, and tired. Don't get me wrong, if he would sleep and stay asleep after I got him to sleep, then I would be fine with that. But lately, he has been waking up 5 minutes after we walk out of the room and taking FOREVER to get back to sleep, requiring constant back patting and finally sneaking out of the room once he decides to pass out. But then he will still wake up within 3 or so hours and then every 3 hours after that, and lately it's only been 2 hours. Naps have been getting worse as well. So. It's time. For all of us. I know it will be a hard few days, but I'd rather start now while Logan doesn't have to be in bed super early and therefore the crying won't bother him. So wish me luck for the next few nights. I know they won't be fun.

On that note, let's move on.

During his 5th month, Benjamin was introduced to a lot more baby food and loved pretty much everything. He was learning to roll both ways and attempting to sit up, so he actually didn't mind being left on the floor for a decent length of time. By 5 1/2 months he was sitting up independently and loves sitting on the floor surrounded by toys, watching everything Logan does. He is very routine-oriented, especially in the evening. We can set a watch by him almost. At 6 pm, he is ready to eat (baby food). Then he is in the bath by 6:30. Once he hears that water running he gets very excited. He will play in the bath until the water gets cold. He loves lotion time (Logan did too) and I get the biggest grins then. He is usually in bed by 7:30, after nursing and falling asleep in my arms, but that is getting harder, which is why I am listening to him cry right now. 

During his 6 month, Benjamin still has no teeth but is CONSTANTLY chewing on whatever he can get his mouth on, typically his hands. His favorite food is sweet potatoes, hands down. He is not a big fan of any fruit so far, he makes very funny faces--like it's tart or something. He chowed down on some guacamole last night (Logan used to love it, too). At his 6 month appointment he is still on the small side. Everyone thinks he is so chunky, but he is just short so the chunkiness in compacted. He is only in the 15th percentile for weight and less than the 5th percentile for height. My sweet, short boy. He is happy most of the time but is not a fan of naps and bedtime right now. He isn't really showing much interest in crawling, which I am perfectly okay with.