So close

Jon and I had an adoption training class this morning (see adoption blog for more information) so my mom came over to babysit. Apparently they wore each other out because Ben took a great nap (which is very unlike him recently). We got to have some quiet time with Sam who has been a walking machine recently....almost. He walks non stop as long as he has something to hold on to. For the most part its just been furniture, up until today. Jon pulled out Bens train and Sam took off. He walked circles around the house for about an hour. He did great. He took corners, navigated rugs and Bailey like a pro. We're hoping a little more train time will give him the confidence to let go and take off and even bend his knees---check the video!

This video was shot in the first few minutes of his walking time today. He has already improved. I'll post an update in a day or two so you can check out his progress!

15 months

Sam had his 15month check up this morning. It was actually pretty uneventful. He is 23.5lbs (25th%) and he is 30 7/8" (between 25-50%). I'm amazed he is only in the 25th percentile for weight especially when I see that belly! She said he was right on track in every aspect. Its always nice to get that reassurance from the doctor.

He knew he was getting shots today!

Ben was actually the show stealer. If anyone has ever had a meal with us, you know that Ben doesn't like to eat. He will sit there and talk, play, sing etc etc etc. The only thing he will not do is eat. We literally have to beg him to take every bite. It is annoying and very painful. It has made us dread every meal, especially dinner. Dinner takes twice as long. I think because dad is there and Ben has one more person to talk to and entertain. We've been limiting him to 30minute meals and if he doesn't eat, then too bad. Unfortunately for us, he still doesn't eat and he doesn't care that we don't give him any snacks. Some days I think the boy could go all day with out eating more than a cereal bar and some milk. So we brought that up this morning. She told us, what we already knew--this isn't working for anyone. If we keep going like this (begging and pushing him to eat), it could negatively effect Bens attitude of food when he is a teen. I didn't even think about that one. So here is the new plan. We checked his height and weight. For the next month we are giving in to Bens stomach. We will provide either a meal or a snack every 3 hours. If he eats, great. If he doesn't take a bite, great. No more begging and pleading with him to eat. No more bribes for snacks or candy. No more time limits or sitting there until he's done. He gets 10 or 15minutes and if he isn't eating, he will be excused from the table. No more pressure on anyone. We have to cut down on the juice significantly and increase the (chocolate) milk for calories and some nutrition. In one month, we will take him back for a height/weight check. The doctor is guessing he'll still be within normal limits. If so, we'll have to be a bit more accepting of his appetite. If by some chance he loses weight, worst case is we'll have to take him to an endocrinologist for some tests. It doesn't sound like that will be very likely. We just have to trust that Ben knows his body (even at age 3) and he'll eat when he's hungry. Lets hope this works.

Peek a boo

Sam could keep himself entertained for hours if he had to!

Princess Paisley

Ben and Sams friend Paisley celebrated her first birthday on Saturday. They had a little get together for her and we couldn't pass it up. She looked adorable in her pink outfit with her pink cake and decorations. Unfortunately, I had to leave early, but Jon did a great job of getting some pictures to document the occasion.

Looks like everyone had a great time.

Happy first birthday baby girl. Thanks for including us.

Staying in

The colder it is, the less motivated we are to go anywhere. So what do you do when you're stuck inside all day??

Snuggling is always a top choice. Ben has learned that mom and dad always love to snuggle with him and he will usually pick just before bed time to ask us to snuggle on his couch with him. He may drive us crazy most days, but he definitely has us wrapped around his little finger!

Puppet shows have been a big hit. Although I think Sam likes playing with the light more than anything else.

How about a fort? The boys love to hide in corners to play so a fort is always a fun idea. Next time I think we'll need a taller fort.

As always, when the camera is out, they just can't help being cute.

We do still manage to make it out of the house. Sam loves to stay connected to everyone on his phone.

Agent Gibson with his, "what is wrong with you face." Should I be offended that I see that face a lot??

Dance party

Ben has a Disney cd that he's been listening to quite a bit recently. Every time we turn it on, Sam gets a huge grin on his face and cons dad into putting him up on his shoulders and dancing with him. My boys are dancing machines!

The boys were so good to us Saturday morning. They let us sleep in until 9am. I can't remember the last time that happened. (Sorry for the scary no make up face, but I was too excited to care).

Sam is working on his own dance moves:

Today we had a Christmas get together with the extended Purdum family. Many were out of town for Christmas, so we had to wait a little bit to see everyone. As always, it was great to see everyone and it was fun to fill everyone in on our adoption news.

I love dressing the boys alike. Jon is ok with it while they're young so I have to take advantage while I can.

Who can resist that smile??

Silly, but loved

Ben and Sam and I were eating a banana earlier. Heres a part of our conversation:

Ben: This is a good banana.

me: I know. I really like bananas.

Ben: Me too.

me: Did you know that aunt Prasti doesn't like bananas?

Ben: (in his most shocked face) WHAT?????

me: Aunt Prasti thinks bananas are gross.

Ben: Aunt Prasti is silly.

me: Yep. Aunt Prasti can be silly.

Ben: Can aunt Prasti still come over to our house if she doesn't like bananas?

me: Of course she can. We still love aunt Prasti even if she's silly and doesn't like bananas.

Ben: Ok, I still love aunt Prasti too.

Lets play

After Jon worked 13days straight, we were finally able to enjoy a nice weekend together. We relaxed as much as we could, but still found time to play. Jon and Ben did frog impersonations for me and Sam.

Ben and dad got bundled up and had some snow time:

Dad sledding down the deck stairs:

We went up to Chick Fil A today and the boys each got a balloon. Sam loves balloons even when he's hitting himself in the face with them!

Although it spent most of the night on the ceiling:

Drum line

Sam got a drum for Christmas from uncle Tony just like Bens drum. It was the perfect gift for Sam. The boys loves to turn everything into a drum. However, now we have 2 drums. 2 very loud drums. Thanks uncle Tony!

Jon has been working a ton recently so he decided to take a break and work from home today. The boys were thrilled to spend the morning with dad. Ben helped dad cook some grilled cheese for lunch. He is becoming quite the little chef!

Ben resting with Bob the Tomato:

The letter B

December was our month of B. Unfortunately, with Christmas shopping, traveling etc, we didn't get to everything on the list. Although, at this point, I don't think Ben will be too sad he missed out on ballet (sorry to all the dancers, but he is still a 3 year old boy).

B seemed to be a lot easier than A. We had a huge list of things so heres what we covered:

Food: we made some Banana Bread, a favorite of the Boys. We went to the Bagel house, as Ben calls it, and had Bagels.

Ben also helped me make Buttons for dessert.

We also enjoyed lots of delicious Bacon, Blueberries were in Grams fruit salad and we had Burgers for dinner once or twice this month.

People(ish): Bob the tomato has been played A LOT this month especially since we have the Veggie Tales Christmas cd---lucky us! BNL also has a Christmas cd and Ben is in love with their version of "Jingle Bells" so we've listened to them for every car ride in December!

Ben is a pro at spelling his name and reminded us that Ben starts with B as well as Bailey and Brothers.

Ben has a couple stuffed animals that he sleeps with every night. One of them is Baby Bear.

At Sunday school, the kids had a Birthday party for Baby Jesus and everyone got a Balloon. We spent a lot of time reading the story of Jesus' Birth, so we didn't get to our B Bible person, Boaz.

Animals: We looked at Bears, Butterflies, Birds and Baboons. Ben colored a picture of Big Bird.

We found some practical stuff around the house like a Broom, Buttons, Bathtub, Blankets and a Band aid.

We looked at some toys and found the Bushel game (also known as Hi Ho Cherryo to everyone else), the Ball pit and Bubbles.

We were going to take a picture of all the Bruises on Bens leg, but it just looked morbid!

Ben learned a new French word, Bonjour.

We didn't make it to the library for B books, but found a couple here like, "Benjamin Bear Says Sorry."

I had planned on driving up by the lake to look for Boats, but we ran out of time so we just played with his Boat in the Bubble Bath.

We found some B crayons like Blue and Brown and finally, we looked at pictures from my first vacation with Jon. We went to Maine, but spent some time in Boston first.

On to letter C....