Small Victory

This week has been a bit of a rough one and trying on the patience for one reason only.....trying to teach Benjamin how to nap more than 30 minutes in his crib.  He will sleep for hours in the car, or in his swing or being held, and he sleeps great in his crib at night.  He just fights crib naps like crazy (unfortunately, he gets his crazy sleep habits from his mama)  So it's been a week of being patient while he cried it out some, being diligent about keeping a schedule, and being consistent.  On Friday Benjamin woke up around 7:45, and we played, read, etc, like we always do.  At 9:40 I put him down for his nap and he went down without crying.  He sometimes does this but will only sleep for 30 minutes.  This time however, he slept for 2 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES.  Without crying once.  Hallelujah!!!  I almost didn't know what to do :-)  He woke up, we played, fed him, had a bath and after about 2 hours he went down for his 2nd nap of the day.  He cried for 5 minutes, slept for 35 minutes, cried for 30 minutes then slept another hour and 10 minutes.  Hallelujah!!  Major progress.  He also went to bed that night at 8pm, we fed him at 11pm, he woke up at 5:15am to eat and then slept until 9am.  Hallelujah!!  Seriously.  The encouragement and sleep he gave me by sleeping so well yesterday is the perfect Mother's Day present.  I love my little Benjamin!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Yesterday Benjamin rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time!!  Well, the first time unassisted by mom or dad (you KNOW that with Peter as his daddy he's been rolled around a few times!)  During his normal tummy time he was holding his head up so high for so long, I couldn't believe how much stronger he seemed.....then he rolled over.  It took me a minute to realize what had happened, so then I put him back on his tummy and he rolled over again, then again another time!  Of course as soon as I get the video camera to prove that he can roll over, he freezes and acts like being on his tummy is the worst thing in the world :-)  But I did get a picture of his 3rd roll in action.  Hopefully he'll start rollin' around again today and I can post a video for the grandparents.  

3 months!!

Yesterday, my baby turned 3 months old.  3 MONTHS!  Can you believe it?  Time has flown.  Overall, I am loving this stage.  His smiles are constant, his sleeping is improving and he's just a happy baby.  His daddy and I are simply crazy about our little guy.

(Side note:  This excludes the current growth spurt he is going through which causes him to be a bit more fussy, wake up every few hours at night, and seem to only want to be held by his mama.  Hopefully this will only last a few days, or so I hear, but we love him so much all the same!) 

Benjamin doesn't have a Dr. Appt until he is 4 months so some of the following stats will be guesses!

Height - approx. 25 inches

Weight - 14-15lbs?  Total guess on this one.  All we know is that he's been described as "thriving", "healthy", and "substantial"  :-)

Likes - You still love to play on your changing table, your paci, and your swing.  You're not quite as crazy about your tummy time as you used to be, but you can hold your held up so well for the longest time.  We think it's only a matter of time before you learn how to roll over onto your back again.  You've started to really LOVE your bath time.  You smile and coo and kick your little legs, it's just darling.  You absolutely love your dog Floppy.  He's your comfort and friend.  Though when mommy bought Floppy Part 2 off of amazon.com (to use while Floppy Part 1 got washed) you knew the difference and didn't want much to do with Floppy Part 2.  GO FIGURE.  Smart cookie.  There's no foolin' you....hopefully you'll learn to love them both.  You also love playing on your play mat now and enjoy hitting the dangling toys....it's been fun to watch you develop in that way.  You also love to practice standing/dancing with your daddy (we always hum the Tequila song when we dance with you.....who knows why!)

Dislikes - You still don't like putting your arms through your clothes but only fuss about 50% of the time now.  That's the same with getting into your car seat straps too. 

Eating - You still have 5oz. every 4 hours with 6oz right before bed.  I think this will probably increase a bit during the next month to 6oz every 4 hours.  You are a great eater and aren't picky at all if the formula is warm or cold.

Sleeping - This has been improving this month but is still a bit hit or miss.  You once gave mommy a stretch from 11pm to 7am.  We couldn't believe it!  Typically though you go to sleep at 8, eat at 11, then sleep until 4/4:30, and up for the day between 7:30 and 8.  This 3 month growth spurt business is really throwing us off!

Personality - Benjamin you are hilarious.  We love watching how alert and curious you are.  You are starting to become a little ticklish and absolutely love your play time with Mommy.  You love sticking your tongue out and looking at yourself in the mirror.  You are laughing more and more and it's awesome....you're squealing too! You're even cute when you're mad, and you shake your little arms in distress.  You sometimes attack your pacifier as though you're starving (you're clearly not!) and you love to chew on and wrestle your Floppy.  You have become such a cuddle bug in the past week and a half and we love it.  You give us "hugs" while we're holding you and it melts our hearts. We just want to kiss your lovable cheeks!

Highlights - This month you traveled to Seattle for the first time and met your Aunt Anita, Uncle Nate, and cousins Katie and Jack.  You also met your Great Grandmother and Uncle Rob, Uncle John, Aunt Michelle and Aunt Allison.  You went swimming for the first time and loved it.  We've also kept you busy with garage sales, church/small group, the Portland zoo, walks, and yard work.

Benjamin, we love this age and love you more and more each day.  We fight over who gets to hold you and play with you and we just stare at you in wonder.  We love you precious boy!

Washington Weekend!

This past weekend we hit the road! Peter's sister Anita lives in San Diego but was coming up to the Seattle area because her husband Nate had some business there. Since they hadn't met Benjamin yet we decided to make the drive up there for a weekend of fun! They generously let us stay in their hotel room for Thursday and Friday night and we had a great time. They had a really fun indoor pool so we took Benjamin swimming for the first time!

Don't I look studly in my suit?

All ready to go!!

Enough pictures already, let me SWIM!

Mommy loved taking her little boy bobbing through the water

What fun to play in the water with cousins Katie & Jack!

Jack insisted on holding Ben's hand....soooo sweet!

He even got to ride in the inflatable boat which he LOVED! He was so relaxed, he almost took a nap :-)



We went swimming twice, ate at the Olive Garden, and stayed up late catching up with each other (while eating cookies, ha!) It was so nice to see the Larmores again, we miss getting to see them more often!

Jack and Benjamin were so cute playing together, hitting the toys on the play mat!

Such lovable cuties!

Ben's cousins couldn't get enough of him! Katie kept saying "what a cute Benjamin" and Jack kept pointing and saying "Baby!" and wanted to be near him

Benjamin was SUCH a great baby all weekend. His sleeping schedule was a bit off since he took naps in the carseat most of the time but he was mostly a delight. Since we shared a hotel room, his playpen was out in the main living room of the hotel and I was worried at how he would do, but he fell asleep almost right away despite the noise, lights, etc. He was such a doll while he slept.

Saturday we headed to downtown Seattle and rode the ferry!

Beautiful cousin Katie....I can't believe she's already 3 1/2!!

Aunt Nita got me to fall asleep on ferry (I then slept through lunch at Ivars....if I'd only known what great salmon I was missing!!)

Ben doesn't look too happy in this pic, but he enjoyed being taken all around to explore with Daddy!

Klingler family in Seattle!

snuggles while taking in the sights

taking silly photos with Aunt April

Peter's parents came for most of the weekend too....yea for more grandma time!

After spending the afternoon downtown Seattle, we decided to stop by and visit some of April's side of the family who lives there. Benjamin hadn't met them yet and we knew they were anxious to see the little guy. It was soo good to see them, it had been a few years!

Meeting his great grandmother (April's dad's mom) She was sooo good with him and kept saying how cute he was. She snuggled with him and loved his smiles and eyes.

My Uncle Rob also got to meet little Ben. He really liked him and remembered when I (April) was that little!


We then went to visit my other Uncle John and his wife Aunt Michelle. They were so surprised we stopped by and it was great visiting with them. How fun for Ben to meet them!

As soon as my cousin Allison heard we were in town, she came home from her dinner with friends so she could meet Benjamin. She loves his baby blue eyes and has already offered to babysit! I had to make sure she didn't steal him and take him home with her :-)

All in all, it was a great weekend! We're glad to be home but look forward to seeing everyone again.

Monday Memories

I'm going to do a post for our fun weekend away, but today I just wanted to capture the fun memories of today. I don't have any pictures to share because I just spent the day enjoying my son. He was so wonderfully cuddly and sweet. We played and played and he was laughing so much, it was killing me! He smiled and cooed through his bath, while kicking his legs in his baby tub. Mommy even got to enjoy him while he slept on her shoulder for his 2 hour nap. We enjoyed sourdough bread and vegetable soup for dinner, and tonight I'm going to enjoy ice cream and "24" with my hubby. Days like this are so simple yet so wonderful. I love the boys in my life!