Thursday, October 29, 2009

Polar opposites

Its amazing how 2 kids from the same parents, in the same house, being brought up the same way can be so opposite in the most basic ways.
Sam had his 1 year check up today. Overall, he's great. He finally gained some weight and is up to 20lbs 11oz (just under the 25th%) and is 29.5inches (about 50%). The big concern, on our end, are his eating habits. He is fighting us every chance he gets on everything from milk to ice cream. He doesn't want anything to do with most real foods. He has his favorites and that is all he'll eat all day, every day. When we try to introduce something new he screams and screams (and screams). I still feed him 3 times a day. As of tomorrow we are cutting out one feeding and we will either go cold turkey over the weekend or (most likely) I'll feel guilty and we'll slowly wean the last two feedings over the next couple weeks. I'm determined to be free by Thanksgiving though. The doctor suggested giving him chocolate milk (heavy on the chocolate--thats my kind of milk) until he'll drink it regularly. Also on the menu are milkshakes, yogurt smoothies, watered down OJ and anything else that has calcium that he will actually tolerate.
Ben was a picky eater, but we never had this much trouble with him. He took me, formula and milk with no problem and was weaned at 6months. Bottles and sippy cups were never an issue. Once he got used to a food, he would eat it with no problem.
Another big difference is his speech. You probably remember, I was panicked over Bens lack of speech. It was never a major source of worry, at least for the doctor, but he was definitely behind. Sam however, is ahead of the game in terms of speech. He is on the level of a 15-18month old. He knows mama and dada and most of the time will know who he is talking to. He can say uh oh, has said nana for banana (ok, just once on that one, but it counts) has said up and attempted to say more. I don't think we'll be bothering the Help Me Grow people with an evaluation for Sam like we did with Ben.
Where Sam is behind is his gross motor development. In just the past week he has started sitting up from being on his belly and consistently pulling himself up. By now he should be a bit more confident in those two activities. Fortunately, the doctor gave us a tip to help him along and is positive he will be completely on track by his 15month appointment.
As nice as it would be to have a little girl one day, I don't think I would know what to do with myself if I did. Since they typically develop faster that boys, I wouldn't have all this stuff to worry about. What would I do with all my free time????

I should mention that even though we are moving at a snails pace with the potty training, we are still moving. Ben asked to wear underwear last night and went all night with out an accident (the first time ever). He has already asked to wear his underwear after nap time again. I can't wait to be diaper/training pants free for at least one kid.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Lots of leaves

We wanted to get some pictures of Sam showing off the shirt aunt Prasti made for him. Once he saw all the leaves, thats all he could focus on.
The boys enjoyed some play ground time while I did a run:

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Think I'm losing it!

I have a couple friends that are marathon runners. One of them is running the half marathon in Cleveland next year and managed to convince me that it would be a good idea for me to run it too. I'm announcing it right now so I wont be able to back out of it. On May 16, 2010, I will be running the Cleveland half marathon. Let the training begin!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

BYOP

Tonight we headed over to Aaron and Prastis for the annual bring your own pumpkin party. We were surrounded by friends, family and lots and lots of pumpkins. There was also yummy pumpkin treats made by Prasti. Ben didn't really get into carving the pumpkin. Sam was too busy playing with Emmas toys to even notice the pumpkins. We had a great time, as usual.
Thanks for hosting A and P.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Warm weather

We've made an effort to get out the past couple days to enjoy the warmer weather. Of course, we've spent more time playing than remembering to take pictures. Luckily, I did remember the camera once or twice this past week and got a few pictures.
Ben and Emma made a trade--he got to wear her headband and she got to play with the drum Ben was carrying around. I think Ben got the short end of the stick!
Ben wanted to go outside and rake leaves with daddy on Sunday.
Play time:
After a morning at the park, we headed out for another picnic with dad. Ben is in his second round of swim lessons. He's starting to use his arms every now and then, but he mostly just likes to have them handy in case water gets in his ears.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Party time

We celebrated Sams birthday with family and friends yesterday. October has always been my favorite month, but its just not ideal for birthday parties. The cold kept us inside. Our house may be roomy for 4 people, but throw in 11 more adults and 9 kids and things get real crowded real fast! I think we will be looking for a different location for next year.
Despite the crowded living room and (fun) chaos, we had a great time. We had homemade pizza for dinner. Thanks Jon and Corrie for all the help. Ben was nice enough to help Sam blow out his birthday candles. Unfortunately, Sam didn't really get into the smash cake. His nap got cut short thanks to a loud big brother. Lack of sleep along with 2 new teeth and being hungry almost all night long, I think, kept Sam from fully enjoying the mess. We'll try it again and see if he gets a little more into it. Maybe he just takes after Ben more than we thought. Ben wanted no part of his smash cake.
Sam enjoyed opening presents. Dad kept shoving in the gold fish and Ben also helped with the unwrapping. Ty did a great job of delivering the gifts to Sam. We're glad everyone could celebrate with us. Thanks for all the fun (and loud) gifts!
Happy first birthday little man.

Ben just can't stay away from the boxes!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Birthday boy

My baby boy is a year old today. I don't know how thats possible. We were just fighting with Walmart about his dresser and putting the finishing touches on his room. Ben just got done asking us to put him back. How did he go from the 8lb baby with a mohawk and reflux who wouldn't sleep to this 20lb chunk who screams if we don't shovel in the food fast enough and who sleeps all night and most of the afternoon? Its amazing how fast a year can go by, but I wouldn't change a thing.
October 15, 2008

October 15, 2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Its a bit chilly today!

More Wordless Wednesdays here and here.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Cousins

I babysat Gibson tonight while Ben and Emma were swimming. This pretty much sums up the evening:
It actually wasn't that bad. Sam was a bit freaked out for the first few minutes because I was holding someone else. Once he realized he had all of Bens toys to himself, he calmed down. Gibson was either missing mom or he just needs to spend more time with his aunt Jenna.

Ben and Emma having fun bowling:
Ben and his new Lightening McQueen slippers:Melissa and the girls came over after church on Sunday while Lane had to take care of some tire repairs. Ben and Layla always love spending time together:
Sam being cute:

Friday, October 9, 2009

Blue noodle

Ben just finished his first round of swim lessons last night. He absolutely loves swimming and has made huge progress. He has to get the bubble with the red strap and the blue noodle, but then he's ready to go:


After a few minutes, he's ready to go with out the noodle. For some reason he doesn't like to use his arms. We've signed him up for another round of lessons to work on that.


We had Corrie over for dinner tonight. Ben loves having his aunt Corrie time.
Thanks for the cooking tips Corrie.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Cuddle time

When Ben turned 1 he became a daddys boy. Nothing has changed in the past two years. So when Ben has the opportunity to cuddle with daddy, but cuddles with me instead, we have to document the occasion.
We had another picnic at Jons office today. We're doing our best to get in as many as we can before it gets too cold to play outside.
Ben and Sam got to put on new pj's tonight. In case you can't tell, Ben has Cars pj's and he LOVES them. I'm not sure why its so much fun to buy them pajamas, but I love getting them for the boys.