Playing Catch Up (Months 7-10)

It has been a crazy few months. We put our house on the market, it sold (quick!), and we moved. We got so lucky to find a house in our preferred area/school but we've only been moved in for not quite 2 weeks, so things are still hectic. We just got (good) internet yesterday do I was finally able to upload pictures from my camera and post Benjamin's monthly pictures. I can't believe he is 10 months old now, almost 11 months at this point. 😥

So, since I was behind--here are months 7-10.

He is getting so big and so fun! He will be walking in no time, as he already attempts to take steps and lets go of whatever he's holding on to for a few seconds at a time. He is still nursing every 4-5 hours but we will be moving to whole milk soon and weaning. Hopefully that will be a relatively easy process--I've never really had to "wean." Logan never exclusively nursed and he moved to straight formula by 7 months. I'm proud of us for making it this far but I'm ready to be done by the time he's a year old. 

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.

Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving at my aunt's house out in Corsicana. It's always fun to go out there, cook in her big kitchen, eat good food, and get a change of scenery and lots of attention for the boys. 

Benjamin did a lot of this:

And Logan did a lot of this:

My boys on Thanksgiving (can you tell Logan loves his baby brother??):

I'm almost positive Benjamin never touched the floor over those couple days, someone was always holding him.

                           With T-Luv

                     With Uncle Ryan

                With 2nd cousin Chad

          Wait, he's not being held! 😉

                Trying out a sippy cup

                   Our yummy turkey

A few pictures from before Thanksgiving of the boys and Benjamin's cute turkey butt:

Ice-cation 2013

Last week we were hit with a huge ice storm. We were house-bound from Thursday night until Tuesday. Well, we got out a couple times starting Sunday but Logan was out of school Friday, Monday, AND Tuesday. Yeah. Luckily, Chris was off work the whole time except Tuesday so I had help entertaining both the boys.

The fun started Thursday afternoon:

This one started sitting up with very little assistance. 

Daddy came home.

 

Sweet brothers played.

Friday we woke up to ALOT of ice. Logan was pumped. He did some sledding and learned to FaceTime with his BFF, Reagan.

Benjamin and I stayed inside for the most part but we had to come see Logan sled a little.

Benjamin did enjoy a little Baby Einstein, too.

That night Logan and Chris worked on their annual gingerbread house. It turned out great, Logan gets better every year, but Chris is a bit of a perfectionist. :)

Saturday brought more ice and more sledding. Chris was great to have around, he and Logan had a blast together.

Logan loved exploring outside and finding huge icicles and "ice leaves." He made Chris send this picture to Reagan to show her. She sent us one later.

I love the way these two love each other.

Benjamin had fun in the bath that night (as always). 

Sunday, church was cancelled so we watched it online and then ventured out for lunch. It was so nice to get out, even if only for an hour or so.

Logan decorated our front door with some window clings from his elf, Buddy.

We also made some sugar cookie dough but didn't get around to making them that day. 

Monday Buddy brought him some stickers so Logan made a picture and dictated a story to me. I love his creativity.

 

And this is how he ran around the house:

He played great this whole weekend and surprisingly wasn't on "screens" all that much. He played in his playroom, "fixed" things around the house with his Scooby Doo toolbox, and lots of singing/talking to Benjamin. Benjamin worked hard on sitting up some more and rolling everywhere.

Chris went back to work Tuesday so Logan, Benjamin, and I headed to the mall to adopt our annual angel. Every year Logan picks our angel (he always picks a boy his age if possible) and we shop for just that angel that day. This year we got him a jacket, 2 shirts, underwear, socks, and some Skylander mega-block things. I really hope Logan enjoys it as much as I do and understands the meaning of it all--I try to explain it as best I can. T-Luv met up with us and took us to lunch, too!

We came home and he drew a wonderful picture to add to our ever-growing Christmas art gallery (on our fireplace surround).

And finally, while Ben was napping, we got a chance to make our sugar cookies. He loved using the cookie cutters and making the icing different colors by mixing the food coloring. Neither of us are destined to be decorators, though...

That night we went to the Keller Holly Days, but only stayed for the parade because it was COLD and also a school night (finally!). 

I enjoyed all of our family time this weekend and loved that Chris was home for most of it. I know the boys loved it, too. But man, I was glad to drop him off at school this morning. 

Fall Zoo Trip with Friends

Last weekend we went to the zoo with my BFF Lindsey, her husband, and their 2 girls, Reagan (Logan's BFF) and Reese. We got to go in early since they were members and it was a perfect day for it. It wasn't crowded, even for a Saturday. I was shocked. The kids had so much fun and Benjamin did great too! All the animals were out and active, which is usually not the case when we go.

The two BFF's--they always have a blast together.

Benjamin and Linz

The mountain goats were very close!

Logan and Reagan on the carousel.

Logan loved the Komodo dragon.

Benjamin's first train ride.

And...the end. Our day was done at this point, as you can see.