4 Months

I can't believe it's already been 4 months since Benjamin arrived. My BFF asked me if it felt like he's always been here and honestly, it hasn't. BUT it does feel more complete since he is here. We were happy with just having Logan but deep down, I always felt like something was missing. Now, that feeling is gone. I'm not sure if that means our family is complete just yet, but it feels a lot better now. 

Since he turned 4 months, it seems like he has turned a corner. He is sleeping better (hope that doesn't jinx it), happier, smilier (is that a word??), and just more fun. Itty bitty babies are cute and all but I LOVE this phase, where they are interactive, smiley, starting to laugh, and getting all chunky and stuff. 

He's still on the small side for his age (25% for weight, 5% for height) but he is just so adorable. The strawberry blond hair is still sticking around and it even has a little curl to it when he gets sweaty.

At his 4 month check-up last week the doctor said we could start oatmeal if I felt like he was interested in food or if we wanted to see if that helped him sleep at night. Well, at the time of the appointment I hadn't noticed any signs of interest in food from him. Two days later, all of a sudden he was watching us every time we ate. So we tried some oatmeal Monday night while he was taking a bath (saved myself a step right there). He did great and seemed to really enjoy it. But it didn't help with the sleeping part.  He's had it a couple more times since then but nothing routine.

This morning I decided to mash up some over-ripe banana for him to try. Just to see how he would do with it. He loved it. He kept pulling my hand closer and fussing in between bites if I wasn't fast enough. He didn't eat that much because I didn't want him to get sick but he did great with it and just woke up from an almost 2 hour nap, so it must have filled his belly.

Happy 4 months, sweet baby boy!

Pumpkin Patch Over the Years

We took our first trip the pumpkin patch as a family of four last night. Last year we had *just* discovered I was pregnant so this year was super exciting to have Benjamin with us. As I was uploading the pics from last night, I looked back at all of our old Halloween/pumpkin patch pictures over the years. It amazes me how much Logan has changed and how our family has changed. Benjamin got to wear the same Halloween sleeper that Logan wore his 1st Halloween--I am so glad I saved that all these years. It's the little things like that that I love. 

 Logan 2007:

Benjamin 2013:

2008:

2009:

 2010:

 2011:

 2012:

2013:

This Too Shall Pass...All Too Quickly

I had to remind myself of that today. I got Benjamin to sleep, he hasn't been feeling great much like myself so he has been a bit more clingy (if that's possible). I put him in his swing and, of course, he woke up. I started to get frustrated but then I realized, what else do I really need to do? I don't feel great, so why can't I just hold him and rest myself? There will be times when I need to put him down, but today is not one of them. The house/laundry/shower can wait. As soon as I picked him back up, he went right back to sleep. This won't last forever. He's already getting so big and doing more and more, soon he won't want all the snuggle time. So, for now, we sit and cuddle. 

Sleep? Who Needs That?

Who needs sleep when you have HANDS?! Hands are the best.thing.ever!

This boy. He exhausts me and frustrates me and then he grins. And I melt. 

This whole sleep thing is a constant battle. I'm sure I missed my 'window' for easy sleep training. It didn't occur to me that this would even be a battle. There are too many other influences this time around: Google, baby boards, friends with kids (with Logan I was the first of my friends to have a kid pretty much), etc. I know too much this time around therefore I judge myself and I am hard on myself.

With Logan I was quite clueless. I didn't know about the EASY routine (eat, active, sleep, you)--which Benjamin has down pat, btw. I don't even remember what I did with him but I don't remember him being this difficult when it came to sleeping. He was difficult in other ways but he slept pretty well if I remember correctly. 

I say "difficult" with a bit of hesitation. I'm trying not to constantly compare myself or Benjamin to others. Benjamin isn't difficult if you don't mind rocking him to sleep and either holding him or waiting til he's passed smooth out before putting him down (preferably in his swing or rock n' play). It's when you try the whole "put them down drowsy" thing. That is a no-go for the B man. He doesn't do the cute fuss and then settle thing. Nope. He will watch his rainforest music thing for a couple minutes and then realize 'wait a minute, I'm alone in here.' Then it's an all out wail with tears and shaking limbs. Or, if swaddled, screams while wrestling his arms free. And there's no settling him down at that point. I've tried. I've shushed, patted, rocked the crib even, but when he is mad, he's really mad. Even picking him up, it takes a while to calm him back down typically. 

But shush, pat, rock him to sleep in your arms and then lay him in the swing or rock n' play? Good to go. For anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. But the process of shush, pat, rock can take just about as long depending on his mood. So that's exhausting. But at least then he naps. 

The same is true for bedtime. Plus he's still waking up every 3-4 hours to eat. Without fail. I think I've gotten one 5 hour stretch but that's it. 

So there's my quandary. Keep the routine we've got because at least he is sleeping or keep trying the crib thing? Are some kids just not self-soothers? Or am I just being too much of a wuss? I don't know that I have the strength to let him cry for any great length of time in his crib, at least not yet. He still seems so little. Maybe I'm just naive and I'm setting myself up for disaster later. But I guess I just don't see the point of letting him scream bloody murder when I can pick him up, rock/nurse him to sleep, and set him in his rock n' play by my bed. See? No strength. Babies make me weak.

He goes to the doctor for his 4 month checkup in a couple weeks so I'll discuss it with the doctor then and see what he suggests. If he says he is ready to sleep train then I will give it a more concerted effort. Until then, I think I'm just going to leave well enough alone and enjoy holding my sweet baby and deal with the consequences later. 

Just ignore my tired eyes and don't judge my iced coffee addiction.

Could you resist this face? Didn't think so. If you can, then you may need to come move in when the whole sleep training thing gets serious.

1st Grade Favorites

I can't believe you are in 1st grade. It still floors me to think that you are that big. You are in Mrs. Rhea's class and seem to love it. You are learning to control your talking and you LOVE earning stickers on your sticker chart for good behavior. You are rocking your weekly spelling tests and really starting to click with the reading. It is so exciting to see you grow and learn.

Yeah, a miner. This was new. You said you wanted to find diamonds and gems. Up until this day, you had been saying you wanted to be a scientist, astronaut, gemologist, and paleontologist. Needless to say, I think you will work in the science field in some form or fashion.

Such a sweet big brother

Let's look back at the last 3 years, shall we?

Pre-K at SCP 2011

Kindergarten 2012

1st Grade 2013

At the age of 6 you:

• can count to 100 and then some
• are trying to read EVERYTHING
• are still best friends with Reagan (and even call her your girlfriend sometimes)
• love to play the Wii and games on our phones (sometimes a little too much, we have to make you play with toys sometimes)
• love going to school, just not getting up in the mornings for it
• love your little brother
• have jobs and responsibilities around the house that you earn money for doing
• love Pokemon, My Little Pony, Pac-Man, Ninjago, and Phineas & Ferb
• want to take art classes and gymnastics
• still love anything having to do with science
• love walking into school by yourself as I watch from the car--but you wave and blow me kisses the whole way, which I LOVE beyond words
• want to be called Gig Christopher Zach--Gig for short, but you can be called Logan at school
• weigh about 45 lbs and are about 47 inches tall
• size 1 shoe
• size 6 tops and 7 slim pants (again, too big but you need the length)

We love you more than life itself. You crack us up daily and your imagination is incredible. You are kind and sweet (most of the time) and the best Logan I know.

Brothers

For so long I have wanted Logan to have a sibling. I wanted another child for myself of course, but I wanted a sibling for Logan more than anything. Sure, I wish they weren't 6 years apart, but the love between them is incredible. Benjamin lights up when he sees Logan, follows him across the room, stops what he is doing to look at Logan. It is amazing. Logan has to kiss him multiple times a day, asks to hold him all the time, talks and sings to him, anticipates his needs, and even tells me what is wrong with him (and is often right). There has been no jealousy whatsoever as I was worried about (see this post) and Logan loves him more than life itself. I still worry about it when Benjamin is crying and interrupts our bedtime story reading time or cuts into an activity I am doing with Logan, but he doesn't seem bothered in the least. He is the best big brother and my biggest helper.

We are getting family pictures taken in October, which I can't wait for, but in the meantime, I shot some impromptu pictures myself the other day and, although it took quite a bit of effort and patience, I got a couple good ones (and SEVERAL outtakes due to a constantly moving and therefore blurry infant).

Love Logan's smile, wish he wasn't blurry

Love the laughter, but B was wiggly!

There it is :)

This one just cracks me up...we ended on this note. Benjamin screaming and Logan looking exasperated

Here are a few more that I have snapped...Logan always wants to take pictures with Benjamin and I am always happy to oblige. There are MANY more on my phone but I haven't loaded those onto the computer yet.

Looking in the mirror

Bath time

1 week old

Always giving kisses

Tummy time :)

Benjamin at 4 weeks wearing one of Logan's old outfits

This one makes me laugh!

I love that Logan is absolutely beaming

Silly brother!

I am so blessed with my 2 boys. It has been a huge change for our family and I miss my glorious full nights of sleep but Benjamin has brought so much joy to our family. I am not sure I can say our family is complete yet but it is so much fun with the two of them now. I can't wait to see their relationship with each other grow--they already have an amazing bond that just makes my heart skip a beat. 

Long Time, No Blog

So, hi, it's been a while. Almost 3 months, actually. I have wanted to sit down and jot down my thoughts/share pictures/etc. but with a newborn and a busy 6 year old, those quiet times are few and far between. And when they do come around, I typically just want to sit and veg or attempt to sleep (ha!).

My little Benjamin has gotten so big and SO cute. I mean, I thought he was cute when he was born but let's face it, that's a mother's love. He was so skinny and had no meat on his bones and looked a little monkey-ish. Sorry, but it's true. I still love him to pieces but looking back on those pictures and seeing him now with his chunky cheeks and big smiles, there is just no comparison.

1 Month:

2 Months:

3 Months:

And that's it for now...B just woke up from a glorious 2 hour nap (in his swing...don't judge. I'll get into his horrible sleep habits later).

More to come soon (I hope)!