So, here are some photos of trip #1:
And, here are some photos of trip #2:
October 21, 2010
More pumpkins!
We went on a couple trips to the patches this year... One with Ben, Mommy, and Daddy; one with Grandma Bush, Aunt Carly, and Jackson. And we still have a couple more trips with friends on the calendar! Yay for free outdoor activities to do with friends in this beautiful fall weather we have been given!
So, here are some photos of trip #1:
And, here are some photos of trip #2:
So, here are some photos of trip #1:
And, here are some photos of trip #2:
October 16, 2010
Sweet as Pumpkin Pie
I love pumpkins. That being said, I had never cooked one until last Sunday. Two pie pumpkins were purchased and I baked them for two reasons: 1. To introduce pumpkin to Benjamin. 2. To bake something with fresh pumpkin in the next couple days.
So I slaved away Friday while Erik was out golfing and Ben was napping. When he came home he was curious as to what the mess was and I told him how excited I was that I had cooked my first pumpkin.
Fast forward to Saturday morning. I hadn't done anything with the pumpkin yet, but had it chilling in the refrigerator so I could puree some for Benjamin to try... or so I thought. We went to the kitchen at the same time that morning and all I could say was : "Oh No!" Erik was concerned and saying "oh no what??? what?!?" And I held up my bowl of pumpkin that had been sitting on the counter all night. Apparently when Erik got his regular glass of bedtime juice he forgot to replace the bowl of pumpkin he had taken out to reach the carton. So there went all my pumpkin into the trash, never to be tasted or baked into awesome pumpkin muffins!
Okay, fast forward more... to Sunday night. I went to the Carrie Underwood concert with some ladies and Erik took care of Ben. The concert was awesome, but thanks to the openers, the real concert didn't start until 9:00. I roll in to my house at 11:30 expecting Erik to be watching TV or reading, and ready to go to bed...but what do I find?
My sweet, sweet as pumpkin pie, husband was standing in the kitchen where his 35 lb pumpkin we bought a few days prior had exploded into several pieces. He felt so bad about leaving my pumpkin out that he took on the task of baking pumpkin... but obviously had no idea what he was doing or what he had gotten himself into!
The pumpkin tasted like pumpkin alright, but there was a ton of it! He had cut his prize "Daddy" pumpkin into eight (8!!!) huge pieces and was baking them 1-2 at a time. He had been cooking for well over 4 hours! I couldn't help but laugh. A lot.
Since I had to stay up and pump anyway, I took over kitchen duty and finally made it to bed about 1:00 a.m. I didn't get much sleep that night but I did get a lot of chuckles, a great memory, and a very big reminder of how very sweet my husband is!!
Erik and Ben at Carmichael's Pumpkin Patch last weekend, picking out Ben's pumpkin
So I slaved away Friday while Erik was out golfing and Ben was napping. When he came home he was curious as to what the mess was and I told him how excited I was that I had cooked my first pumpkin.
Fast forward to Saturday morning. I hadn't done anything with the pumpkin yet, but had it chilling in the refrigerator so I could puree some for Benjamin to try... or so I thought. We went to the kitchen at the same time that morning and all I could say was : "Oh No!" Erik was concerned and saying "oh no what??? what?!?" And I held up my bowl of pumpkin that had been sitting on the counter all night. Apparently when Erik got his regular glass of bedtime juice he forgot to replace the bowl of pumpkin he had taken out to reach the carton. So there went all my pumpkin into the trash, never to be tasted or baked into awesome pumpkin muffins!
Okay, fast forward more... to Sunday night. I went to the Carrie Underwood concert with some ladies and Erik took care of Ben. The concert was awesome, but thanks to the openers, the real concert didn't start until 9:00. I roll in to my house at 11:30 expecting Erik to be watching TV or reading, and ready to go to bed...but what do I find?
My sweet, sweet as pumpkin pie, husband was standing in the kitchen where his 35 lb pumpkin we bought a few days prior had exploded into several pieces. He felt so bad about leaving my pumpkin out that he took on the task of baking pumpkin... but obviously had no idea what he was doing or what he had gotten himself into!
The pumpkin tasted like pumpkin alright, but there was a ton of it! He had cut his prize "Daddy" pumpkin into eight (8!!!) huge pieces and was baking them 1-2 at a time. He had been cooking for well over 4 hours! I couldn't help but laugh. A lot.
Since I had to stay up and pump anyway, I took over kitchen duty and finally made it to bed about 1:00 a.m. I didn't get much sleep that night but I did get a lot of chuckles, a great memory, and a very big reminder of how very sweet my husband is!!
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| From pumpkins |
Erik and Ben at Carmichael's Pumpkin Patch last weekend, picking out Ben's pumpkin
October 12, 2010
He's getting the hang of it!
I am writing this post filled with an abundance of excitement!!!
We are now on Day 14 of nap training. My baby is asleep right this moment, and he has been for 1 hour, 36 minutes, after only 12 minutes of whining. This is bliss. The sound of sweet silence fills our home.
I am so, SO proud of my precious baby boy. In a short two weeks (which felt like 2 years when in the thick of it) he has learned how to fall asleep on his own for most of his naps! YAY Benjamin! Although the first 10 days were miserable, when he slept for 2+ hours on day 11, I knew we were making progress. Saturday, Sunday, and the morning nap Monday all went off without a hitch. The only reason yesterday's afternoon nap didn't go well was because the dogs woke him up early and we had to start over again. Ben thought this was a terrible idea, but I knew he needed more than a 20 minute nap!
We have gone from 60 minutes of tears with no nap or just a 15 minute cat nap to 5-15 minutes of whining with 1.5+ hour naps! Hearing Ben cry in his room alone was probably the most stressed I have ever felt... EVER. But now I can say it was totally worth it. And I hope we just keep getting better from here. He doesn't cry going to bed at night anymore, so maybe we can get there for naps too!
I want to say thanks to all of you who gave tips last week! Even if a tip didn't work, I felt so comforted remembering that each of you have been in the same place before and you made it through just fine. I understand more and more each day how much all parents have in common regardless of their different parenting choices. Being in such great company feels good!
We are now on Day 14 of nap training. My baby is asleep right this moment, and he has been for 1 hour, 36 minutes, after only 12 minutes of whining. This is bliss. The sound of sweet silence fills our home.
I am so, SO proud of my precious baby boy. In a short two weeks (which felt like 2 years when in the thick of it) he has learned how to fall asleep on his own for most of his naps! YAY Benjamin! Although the first 10 days were miserable, when he slept for 2+ hours on day 11, I knew we were making progress. Saturday, Sunday, and the morning nap Monday all went off without a hitch. The only reason yesterday's afternoon nap didn't go well was because the dogs woke him up early and we had to start over again. Ben thought this was a terrible idea, but I knew he needed more than a 20 minute nap!
We have gone from 60 minutes of tears with no nap or just a 15 minute cat nap to 5-15 minutes of whining with 1.5+ hour naps! Hearing Ben cry in his room alone was probably the most stressed I have ever felt... EVER. But now I can say it was totally worth it. And I hope we just keep getting better from here. He doesn't cry going to bed at night anymore, so maybe we can get there for naps too!
I want to say thanks to all of you who gave tips last week! Even if a tip didn't work, I felt so comforted remembering that each of you have been in the same place before and you made it through just fine. I understand more and more each day how much all parents have in common regardless of their different parenting choices. Being in such great company feels good!
October 6, 2010
Moms, let's exchange tips!
Ok here are my tips for you:
1. If you are breastfeeding, don't get rid of the nipple cream once you get the hang of it. You'll need it again when they have teeth and think biting is fun.
2. Babies bite more when they are really tired. This leads me to tip #3...
3. Nap-train/sleep-train/whatever you want to call getting your kiddo to fall asleep on their own in their own bed before they get teeth.
4. Don't get rid of your teething necklace when they are not teething. Once they want to crawl away at the sign of a fresh diaper, It will help with diaper changes too.
5. If your video monitor goes out, call the manufacturer. Ours is sending us a brand new one and we will send back the broken one. They even pay for all the UPS shipping!
Now I need some tips from you:
1. How do you get a baby to stop biting? He is just 7-months. The cute little "No!" and separating him from me does not help.
2. How did you get your baby to nap on his own? Obviously tips like "start from day 1" are not going to be helpful here.
3. When you let your baby cry, what do you do to be ok with it. I keep finding myself munching on pretzels all stressed out. It doesn't take a dietitian to know this is not a good solution.
Happy tipping!
1. If you are breastfeeding, don't get rid of the nipple cream once you get the hang of it. You'll need it again when they have teeth and think biting is fun.
2. Babies bite more when they are really tired. This leads me to tip #3...
3. Nap-train/sleep-train/whatever you want to call getting your kiddo to fall asleep on their own in their own bed before they get teeth.
4. Don't get rid of your teething necklace when they are not teething. Once they want to crawl away at the sign of a fresh diaper, It will help with diaper changes too.
5. If your video monitor goes out, call the manufacturer. Ours is sending us a brand new one and we will send back the broken one. They even pay for all the UPS shipping!
Now I need some tips from you:
1. How do you get a baby to stop biting? He is just 7-months. The cute little "No!" and separating him from me does not help.
2. How did you get your baby to nap on his own? Obviously tips like "start from day 1" are not going to be helpful here.
3. When you let your baby cry, what do you do to be ok with it. I keep finding myself munching on pretzels all stressed out. It doesn't take a dietitian to know this is not a good solution.
Happy tipping!
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| From mobile |
October 4, 2010
Looney Tunes
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| From mobile |
I love this photo because it reminds me of the Tiny Tunes we used to watch. Do you remember the little character that used to say "Watch go down the hoooooole."? Can you remember who it was? Was it the little duck? I can't recall... but that is what I picture Ben thinking when he is in this photo.
Don't worry, I washed his hands.... He just has an OBSESSION with water right now. He wants to see the faucet when it is on, the toilet when it flushes, the fountain in the neighborhood, the waterfall in our pool, the bath tub filling up with water... he wants to see any running water he can hear. So I've got a little one pulling up on the toilet. Oh well. :)
Another Reason to not Blog
Another reason to not blog is not what I need right now! I love blogging and would like to be more consistant rather than the opposite. However, a friend of mine from tennis has managed to get me hooked on a new time consuming activity - knitting. Shelley owns Loops in Tulsa and she offered a free intro course to her tennis friends. I took her up on the opportunity and now I am spending a lot of my evenings with my needles in hand.
It's fun, it can be mindless, and it gives an immediate feeling of satisfaction. I made my first scarf in about five hours. I'm on my second project, another scarf, using a pattern, and this one is bound to take about twice as much time, and twice the concentration... so it has been getting much less attention.
Knitting is a good way for my mind to just go numb when I'm trying to vegetate after a long day. Blogging, not so much. This seems to take a lot of mental energy.
Other things I like to do instead of blog: SLEEP, play tennis, eat, clean up the house, run errands, and talk to Erik with a glass of wine. (Playing with Bejamin isn't on the list because I'll only blog when he is asleep.) Blogging does offer that same sense of satisfaction as knitting. You sign in, type up something you have been wanting to share, press 'Publish,' press 'Share,' and you get to mark an item off your list.
That'll keep me writing for a while. And now I have a new topic to include in my blog. Just wait 'til I show you my new scarf. :)
It's fun, it can be mindless, and it gives an immediate feeling of satisfaction. I made my first scarf in about five hours. I'm on my second project, another scarf, using a pattern, and this one is bound to take about twice as much time, and twice the concentration... so it has been getting much less attention.
Knitting is a good way for my mind to just go numb when I'm trying to vegetate after a long day. Blogging, not so much. This seems to take a lot of mental energy.
Other things I like to do instead of blog: SLEEP, play tennis, eat, clean up the house, run errands, and talk to Erik with a glass of wine. (Playing with Bejamin isn't on the list because I'll only blog when he is asleep.) Blogging does offer that same sense of satisfaction as knitting. You sign in, type up something you have been wanting to share, press 'Publish,' press 'Share,' and you get to mark an item off your list.
That'll keep me writing for a while. And now I have a new topic to include in my blog. Just wait 'til I show you my new scarf. :)
October 3, 2010
Just Sleeeeeeeep!!!
This is what I keep thinking when I am listening to Ben cry before his naps. I think "Just go to sleep, please, you are soooo tired!"
Until Wednesday someone had rocked Ben to sleep for every single one of his naps since he was about two weeks old. That was the time when we figured out that Benjamin hated laying on his back because the reflux hurt worse in that position. So to over come the pain, we held him upright, against our bodies, and we rocked. Rocked, and rocked, and rocked to sleep. It is wonderful, after all, to snuggle up to a baby, hold it tight and rock back and forth.
After finally getting Ben on the correct medication, his esophagus has healed and he has simultaneously outgrown most of his reflux problems. It has come time for my baby to nap in his crib.
There is no sneaking this one to the crib asleep... if he had a super-human ability it would be detecting the feel of downward motion five seconds before it occurs. No matter how 'asleep' he is when napping he wakes up crying right before you put him in the crib. It doesn't matter if he was rocked in the living room and you have to walk him forty feet to the crib or if you rocked him one step away, he always wakes up.
Benjamin is such a 'big' boy in so many ways. He has tackled milestones early and he is a very happy child. So you would think this transition could be pretty simple. But, no, simple it is not. Even if he is super duper tired, he does not want to fall asleep in that crib during the day (we finally have a good routine established at night.)
I don't know that the details are necessary, but he ends up crying a lot. At least so far this has been the case. We are on day 5 and finally seeing slight improvement. I've been told that nap 'training' is harder than night sleep training, so I'm not too worried yet. But, Ben, please go to sleep! Take your nap and you will be so much happier afterward. You are crying because you are tired, so let's solve this problem! I wish there was an easy way to explain this to him. Maybe I should show him... Lord knows I could take a long nap!
Until Wednesday someone had rocked Ben to sleep for every single one of his naps since he was about two weeks old. That was the time when we figured out that Benjamin hated laying on his back because the reflux hurt worse in that position. So to over come the pain, we held him upright, against our bodies, and we rocked. Rocked, and rocked, and rocked to sleep. It is wonderful, after all, to snuggle up to a baby, hold it tight and rock back and forth.
After finally getting Ben on the correct medication, his esophagus has healed and he has simultaneously outgrown most of his reflux problems. It has come time for my baby to nap in his crib.
There is no sneaking this one to the crib asleep... if he had a super-human ability it would be detecting the feel of downward motion five seconds before it occurs. No matter how 'asleep' he is when napping he wakes up crying right before you put him in the crib. It doesn't matter if he was rocked in the living room and you have to walk him forty feet to the crib or if you rocked him one step away, he always wakes up.
Benjamin is such a 'big' boy in so many ways. He has tackled milestones early and he is a very happy child. So you would think this transition could be pretty simple. But, no, simple it is not. Even if he is super duper tired, he does not want to fall asleep in that crib during the day (we finally have a good routine established at night.)
I don't know that the details are necessary, but he ends up crying a lot. At least so far this has been the case. We are on day 5 and finally seeing slight improvement. I've been told that nap 'training' is harder than night sleep training, so I'm not too worried yet. But, Ben, please go to sleep! Take your nap and you will be so much happier afterward. You are crying because you are tired, so let's solve this problem! I wish there was an easy way to explain this to him. Maybe I should show him... Lord knows I could take a long nap!
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