Bye Bye Rompy - Hello Pre-School

Carter and I have been going to Romp n' Roll since he was 4 months old attending all sorts of classes.

We started with the Babies class which had lots of fun tummy time and lullaby time. As he got older, we enjoyed Tumble Tunes which gave Carter the chance to play all kinds of instruments.





We also tried a Gym class as well as Art Explorer which introduced us to all sorts of painting projects, play-doh, and our love for stickers. It was great to have a place for Carter to paint each week that I didn't have to clean up!







The classes have taught him lots of fundamental lessons such as participating within a group setting, listening and obeying a teacher, sharing, etc. He has also learned how to climb a toddler friendly rock roll, play all sorts of instruments, make fingerpainting masterpieces, sing his first songs. Our last class was supposed to be Monday, August 30th. But Ben had other plans. So I scheduled a make-up class for that Friday before the summer session ended.

Originally, I had planned for Mimi, Daddy, and Carter to go to this class while Ben and I had some rest time at home. But as Friday neared, I knew there was no way I was going to miss this last class with my big boy. I felt like it was his first mini-graduation. And my post-partum hormones have been kicking in with all things Carter.

So at our last class, we gave Rompy a big hug and told him bye-bye for the last time. (at least for a while.)



Now, my big boy is going to pre-school at our church two mornings a week. I was very nervous about starting this fall with all of the changes we have going on. But I was hopeful that having the familiar setting of church would make things easier. Turns out Carter's school classroom is the same classroom he has been in for nursery the past year so it was very familiar. He has really taken to his teachers, Ms. Julia and Ms. Megan. This morning he really wanted to show Ms. Julia and Ms. Megan his new boo-boo. He even wanted them to give it a kiss. Kisses make (most) everything better around here.

Here we are on the first morning of school (a few weeks ago!)



Carter climbed right in to Daddy's car, into his new car seat, and was ready to go.



When he got to school, he started playing with the toys immediately and now Daddy has to ask for a hug good-bye before he leaves.



I am so glad Carter is enjoying his new school. And I am thankful for a couple of quieter mornings around the house and some one-on-one time with Ben.

Carter - 27 months

Carter is 27 months today. I am hoping to write each month on both of our boys birthdays about their developments and changes for the month. Several of the blogs I enjoy reading have done this for their kiddos and I think it will be a fun way to keep track of their changes. So, here is Carter's 27 month update.

*He became a big brother! His transition has been better than I could have expected. He does have a few more pouty or teary moments than before, but most of the time these moments are not related to Ben, rather it happens when we tell him it is time to clean up or time to go brush his teeth. So I think the tears are somewhat related to all of the change, but also just part of being 2. He is really wonderful with Ben. In the morning when he wakes up he calls out for Mama, Dada, AND Ben! There are lots of "Ben Too!", "Hold Ben", "Ben A-Wa!". He enjoys rocking the car seat when Ben is in the car seat asleep. We are still working on the gentle rocking. He plays music for Ben when he is on the play mat or in the car. His first month as a big brother really has been fantastic, Ben is a lucky little brother.

*He started pre-school Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-12. Adam takes Carter to school and Mommy and Ben pick him up. So far no tears, Adam has to ask for a hug good-bye and he has already taken to his teachers - Ms. Julia and Ms. Megan.

*He LOVES stickers, coloring, and puzzles. We have colored every page on multiple coloring books. We sit at the table in his playroom and he always colors the left page while his coloring buddy of the moment colors the right page. He usually instructs his coloring buddy what to color and sometimes even what color to use. He prefers to use one color on his entire page. He is favoring his left hand. Makes momma proud (although I promise that I have handed him crayons to both hands to let him make the natural choice. He also prefers his left foot when kicking any ball.) When he is not coloring, he is enjoying putting any kind of stickers on paper or working puzzles.

*He unfortunately came down with a stomach bug. Thankfully it was extremely quick. But it still made his mama worry about him and about his 3 week old brother getting the same bug!

*He started singing his first songs - Itsy Bitsy Spider, the welcome song at Romp-n-Roll, ABCs. He also started saying the "God is Great" blessing at each meal. He is usually the first one to clasp his hands and close his eyes.

*His vocabulary is really expanding...and he has the cutest way of putting the inflections on different parts of the words. Here are some favorites - baseBALL, touchDOWN, mickey MOUSE, Ben A-Wa, Hold Ben, Up High. There is still lots of Mama Too, Dada Too, Ben Too. He is quite the inclusive little fella.

*Carter and Daddy got to go to several baseball games this year. Carter was a big fan and always enjoyed sharing a hot dog with daddy, patting and clapping to the "We Will Rock You" song, and of course seeing Nutzy our flying squirrel mascot.

*Stats:
Wake-Up Time: 7 to 7:300
Bed Time: We shoot for 7:30, but he is just so much fun that it often ends up 8:00 or 8:30 before he is in bed. Then he kicks and jumps around in his crip for 30 minutes or so before falling asleep. Transitioning to the toddler bed in the next month could be interesting!
Naps: 1:00 until 4:00. He either takes a fantastic nap or skips it all together.
Foods: discovered barbecue this month - big fan! "Mama cereal please" He isn't the best at feeding himself. Too interested in talking and looking around. So we usually have to either put some bites in his mouth or once we take a bite of something he has on his plate he will take a bite off of his plate.

That is all I have for now...Ben's first month update to come on the 30th!

Then and Now

As Ben was chillin' in his chair today I remembered that I had a picture of Carter in this chair in the same onesie. So I of course grabbed the camera and snapped a shot or twelve of Ben. See any similarities?



Ben on the left, Carter on the right, both at around 3 weeks.

Better Days

Thanks so much for all of the kind e-mails, comments, texts, phone calls, etc. after my last post. You guys really encouraged me. Things have been going much better since that hard Tuesday. Taking care of two boys is still a life adjustment and still a lot of work, but every day gets a little bit easier.

I don't have much time to give an update, so I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking in this post.

First, here is Ben at 2 weeks:



He is getting more alert every day. Keeping his eyes open longer and enjoying some mat time and tummy time every day.



Gram came for a visit last Wednesday and she left yesterday morning. It was such a treat to have her here and I think she enjoyed her visit as much as we enjoyed having her here. She showed up with a car full of goodies for our refrigerator and for the boys. She fed us very well these past few days - and there are new tupperware containers full of food in our freezer for the days to come. She had a little goody bag for Carter each morning with sticker books, some new clothes for the fall, and some new train stuff. She played with Carter non-stop from early in the morning until bedtime. There was always a lot of laughing going on between those two. She enjoyed some cuddle time with her newest grandson too. She did all of this with a broken foot! Thanks Gram. Hope you get good news from the foot doctor on Tuesday.



We celebrated Gram's birthday (a little late) while she was here. Carter enjoyed opening her presents for her.

On Saturday morning we went for a walk in the neighborhood to check out a yard sale. We tested out my new Moby Wrap for Ben. I enjoyed the walk hand free! Hoping this will be a life saver as we start to get out and about more or as I try to get things done around the house during times that Ben just likes to be held.



We didn't find anything at the yard sale, but we did find some really cool outdoor furniture in the alley that one of our neighbors decided to toss. It needs some work, but I think with some rust removal and a new coat or two of paint it will be a great addition to our backyard. We snagged 2 chairs and a double seat on gliders.



We also had a visit from my Aunt Judy and Uncle Steve this weekend. They have been traveling by motor home for the past several weeks up to Canada and back south to Georgia. We were thrilled they decided to stop in our town for a couple of days. We enjoyed watching the nail biting Auburn game Saturday night and then spent the day Sunday just catching up and watching the boys play and nap. Thanks for including us on your trip!



My mom and aunt's birthdays are very close so we had a cake for both of them Saturday night. It was a chocolate fudge cake with raspberry filling and it was YUMMY!!!



Carter continues to be a great big brother. Here he his talking to Ben on Saturday morning...



And this morning he brought some books to "read" to Ben while Adam was fixing some breakfast. (When I say "read" I mean that Carter turns all of the pages for Ben and then says "the end" at the end.) What a sweet heart!



So that is what we have been up to. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Good Days and Not So Good Days

Yesterday was tough. Really tough. It was just my second day with Adam back at work and I didn’t make it through the day.

The night before was a long one. Ben woke at least every two hours and we were usually up with him for an hour of each of those two hour windows. I ended up nursing him a good bit and dozing in bed with Ben in my arms. Those are very sweet times, but not very restful times.

The next morning, Carter and Adam left a bit before 9:00 for Carter’s first day of pre-school. I was hoping to snag a quick morning nap as Ben napped, but he had other plans and we basically walked around the house and outside until it was time for us to go pick up Carter from pre-school. I loaded him into the carseat and we headed out. I then pulled over probably just a mile or so away from home because Ben was crying so hard I was afraid he wasn’t getting enough air. I got him out of the carseat and tried to comfort him but all that happened was that I started crying with him! It was 11:50 and I was supposed to pick Carter up in 10 minutes. Knowing we weren’t going to make it, I called Adam and he was headed for the car before I could even ask him to.

I felt terrible. First because Ben was still wailing and I wasn’t able to comfort him. Second because we had been telling Carter all along that Daddy would take him to pre-school and that Mama and Ben would pick him up. I really wanted to be there to see how his first day went, to see his face light up when he realized we were there to pick him up, and also to have the accomplishment of having a successful outing with both boys without Daddy. I was feeling pretty pitiful. I rocked Ben a bit more until he tired out and fell asleep and we headed back home. Carter and Daddy pulled up a few minutes later and Adam stayed through lunch to give me a bit of a break.

The afternoon wasn’t much better. I assumed Carter would be exhausted from his first day of pre-school and would take a great nap. Instead, Carter decided to not nap at all. I think these boys are already teaming up on me! Ben did ok during the afternoon, and I think he took a 30-45 minute nap in his bassinet. But once Daddy got home, Ben’s fussiness escalated. Adam let me eat with Carter while he took a turn with Ben. We then traded off and I took Ben while he ate dinner and played with Carter outside. After several minutes of extreme fussiness, my tears started up again. Ben and I cried together for a bit then I finally asked Adam for help again. My sweet husband took him for a walk and the house was quiet. I fed Ben at 7:45 and Adam sent me to bed at 8:30. I gladly obeyed and the next thing I knew it was 12:30!!! I definitely needed some sleep – thank you Adam. Ben had a great night last night. He went to sleep again shortly after the midnight feeding and didn’t wake again until 4:45. After that feeding we all slept until we heard Carter around 7:30.

Today has been so much better. I feel rested. Ben took a good morning nap. Carter and I made cookies and he got to open a new sticker book from a secret “big brother” stash I created before Ben was born. Both boys are napping now and Gram is on her way and should be here by dinner.



The lesson of yesterday? Two is an entirely different ballgame than one. I know there will be hard days. Sleepless nights. Napless days. And I know there will be good days too.

"Ben A-Wa"

Imagine Ben sleeping peacefully in his bouncy chair, in his bassinet, in his car seat, sleeping anywhere really. Next imagine a very excited big brother walking up to whatever sleeping contraption Ben is in, squatting down low, and then saying as loud as possible: "Ben A-Wa!!!!!!" which means "Ben Wake Up!!!!!" Thankfully Ben is able to sleep through what has been over 100 wake up attempts by Carter so far. I tried to get this on video this morning even though Ben was already awake so you could see just a bit of Carter's excitement for Ben to be awake as well as a few sweet moments with Ben becoming more alert. Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Putting on the Pounds

We had another check up for Ben on Tuesday and he weighed in at 8 pounds 2.5 ounces! This puts us over the birth weight of 7 pounds 15 ounces which is fantastic. He seems to be a great feeder and I am so thankful.

I went back and looked at a blog entry about Carter's first check-ups. He started at 7 lb, 9 oz; fell to 7 lb, 4 oz before leaving the hospital; and weighed in at 8 lb at his 2 week check-up.

If Ben keeps this up, he should stay a little bit bigger than Carter, which I am guessing he will need to keep up with and defend himself from his big bro!



In other Ben news, he is becoming more alert and awake every day. We are trying to store up some good sleep hours at night before he fully wakes up from the newborn honeymoon and has his days and nights mixed up. His cord stump fell off yesterday and he was mistaken for the first (of probably many) times today as a girl. He was wearing his "Little Brother" blue onesie, so I am guessing that if someone thought he was a girl wearing that, then we will have many more wrong guesses in the weeks to come. This happened a lot with Carter too - which bothered me at times - but maybe that just means Ben and Carter are both pretty babies and I am ok with that.

The above picture is the first of what I am hoping will be a weekly photo of Ben for the first year of his life. Here's hoping I can remember to do this every week!

A Note of Thanks

Mimi came to visit the Thursday before Ben was born and headed home just a couple of days ago. We have been surviving without her here, but wanted to take a minute to let her know how much we appreciate everything she did for us.



Here are just some of the ways she took care of us during Ben's arrival and homecoming...

She fixed every meal and had the dishes clean and put away most of the time before I even got up from the table.

She swept, vacuumed, even cleaned Carter’s playroom table of all of the crayon marks.

She washed and folded our laundry and the boys laundry.

She colored and helped Carter with sticker books for hours!

She took care of Ben early one morning so we could get some extra sleep.

She cleared her schedule so she could come whenever we needed her as Ben’s due date got nearer.

She took care of Carter before Ben was born so I could run some final pre-baby errands solo.

She ironed Adam’s work shirts.

She took care of Carter while we were in the hospital and brought him to see us and meet baby brother Ben in the hospital. It was so comforting to know Carter was in good hands and having a blast while we were not at home.

She got up in the middle of the night to see us off to the hospital and clean up the mess from my water breaking in the living room.

She had the house so clean and welcoming when we got home with flowers in the foyer, white roses on the dining room table, and a new plant in our bedroom.

She poured her love and attention into Carter during our first days home while we were tending to Ben or while Adam was helping me recover which helped tremendously with Carter’s adjustment to being a big brother and having a new baby in the house.

She stocked our fridge, freezer and pantry with fruit, milk, veggies and yummy leftovers to last us for awhile after she is gone.

She spent several hours early in the morning in our yard pulling weeds and cleaning up areas we had neglected.

She made this beautiful blanket for Ben.



She more than likely did lots of other things that I haven’t noticed yet…

So, thanks Mimi for all of the above and so much more.
We all really enjoyed having you here and can't thank you enough for all of the help and love you gave to us during your visit.

Labor Day Came a Week Early

So the Eggplant Parmigiana was scheduled for dinner Sunday night. But, eager to get this party started, Tracy moved it up to Sunday lunch. I suppose the recipe’s effect is just an old wives tale, but we are now two-for-two.



Contractions started late Sunday afternoon, and continued on-and-off through the evening. When we had Carter, we had two nights of false labor before the real show. We know, of course, that every labor is different, but we expected that these contractions would pass and that we’d have at least another day or two. We headed to bed with plans to finish up work and chores on Monday. Maybe I would come home from work a little early.

Around 2 a.m. the contractions woke Tracy, and Tracy, in turn, woke me. The contractions were regular and increasingly intense.

In the first of a series of “Too Nice” moments, Tracy was hesitant to call the hospital. She didn’t want to wake the doctor (Nevermind that the doctor is paid big bucks to be on call and receive calls from folks like us). Tracy was hoping we could make it until morning (just like with Carter), but as we timed the contractions it was clear that they were getting closer together. We called the doctor around 4 a.m. and began to pack.

Yes, yes. We should have had our bags packed. We’d been meaning to for, oh, nine months or so. But we pushed it down the to-do list and figured we could just throw stuff together during those early hours of labor. Ha! As we were gathering items from the nursery, Tracy had a contraction that was plainly longer and more intense than the previous contractions. In a rare moment of clarity I told her that it was time to grab the essentials and get moving. Tracy concurred.

Downstairs I was gathering the bags to go. Tracy braced herself on the arm of the couch for yet another contraction. “Uh oh,” she exclaimed. “My water just broke.” Sure enough. Just like in the movies. It was 4:45 and things were getting were serious. Mimi was kind enough to help us get out the door and give us the comfort of knowing that Carter was in good hands.

After a quick drive (Accords have surprising pick-up when you really gun it), we made it to the hospital. When we pulled in to the hospital, by pure coincidence the CD player in the car was playing a song with the refrain “I can’t wait to hold your little hand. Hold your hand, child, hold your hand.” (As an aside, check out the album Dear Companion from Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee.) We checked in through the ER since it was too early for general admittance. In another Too Nice moment, in between contractions Tracy was complimenting the admitting nurse’s typing skills and efficiency. We were escorted to a room and Tracy was hooked up to the monitors by 5:28.

Just like when Carter was born, Tracy went into the labor process planning to deliver naturally, but recognizing that an epidural may be necessary. When we arrived at the hospital, Tracy had already worked through some benchmarks for the epidural decision. If she had not reached 5 cm, Hello Anesthesia. At her first check she was 8.5 cm. 8.5!

In between contractions, the Too Nice moments continued. Tracy complimented the nurse on her shoes; she apologized to the doctor for the early wake-up call; and when the doc asked Tracy to shift positions, Tracy calmly and politely asked if she could let the contraction pass first.

I joke about these Too Nice moments, but they are simple signs of how Tracy handled the whole experience. Throughout labor—and throughout pregnancy—Tracy displayed her quiet strength and unbelievable poise. She calmly worked through the contractions. She focused on the work to be done. She was amazing. After 30 minutes of labor and 30 minutes of pushing, Ben made his debut. It was 6:24. Less than an hour from when we were admitted.

The doctor immediately handed Ben to Tracy. We were blessed to have a healthy son and mother.

Making the Most of Every Hour

I really enjoy sleep. Full nights of sleep. Afternoon naps. Pre-bedtime naps on the couch. And I logged a lot of sleep hours during my pregnancy. But, you miss so many hours of the day when you sleep so much! In a 'cup-half-full' perspective, I am choosing to enjoy my new sleep patterns as a treat to enjoy more of every day. We will see how long that attitude lasts!

Our first days home have been busy. Wednesday night was actually pretty uneventful. We were still under instructions from the doctors and nurses to not let Ben sleep past 4 hours during the night to make sure he gets enough calories to get back up to his birth weight. We fed him twice during the night and he went back to sleep without too much of a struggle.

Thursday was fairly relaxing. Adam took Carter to the Children's Museum. Mimi did some yard work. I spent most of the day feeding and resting. It was just good to be home!

Ben got his first bath on Thursday night. At the very end of the bath I realized we had taken no pictures of this "first" for Ben. Let the second child lack of pictures begin. Just before we were done, I grabbed the camera and took a quick picture.



Thursday night wasn't quite as restful. I think Ben's digestive system was processing the new diet and he had some gas and then 3 dirty diapers before morning. We nursed a lot, rocked a lot, and we finally put him in his bassinet around 4:00 a.m. Old perspective - how am I going to do this? I just missed 6 hours of precious sleep! New perspective - We made some progress on figuring out his cries and his digestive system. We enjoyed some sweet night time feeding and snuggling. A Friday afternoon nap is a MUST!

Friday was our first venture out. We had a check up with the pediatrician. They were prepared for Ben to have lost another ounce or two since his birth, but were hopeful that he would have gained a half ounce or so since his hospital discharge weight. I think we were all pleasantly surprised when the scale said he had put on 4 ounces since the morning we left the hospital! Everything seemed to check out well at his check-up. Then we had a great session with a lactation specailist. Feeding is already going so much better than with Carter. For one, I was just more comfortable holding a newborn and getting him in the right position. I also think my body is just better prepared this second time around. Whatever it is - I am very thankful and hope it continues!

After the doctor, we went home and picked up Carter and Mimi for Carter's last Romp-n-Roll class. I had originally planned on staying home with Ben, but got a bit sentimental over missing his last class so we all loaded up in the car and headed to play. Carter had a blast especially with Dada and Mimi at his class and I was so glad to be there too.

We have been spoiled these last few days. Mimi has been taking care of EVERYTHING around the house. Friends and neighbors have brought food. Adam's office sent some beautiful flowers and this yummy edible arrangement. We are so appreciative of all of the help and congratulations we have received from so many!



Last night went better than the night before. We struggled (as we did with Carter) with the 7-10 at night window. It was always tough for us to get Carter calm during this time, and Ben seemed to have the same idea last night. I decided to do a double feed around 9:30 in hopes he would fall asleep and we could all get some good rest. We were told at his check-up that we no longer needed to wake him at night, that he could be in charge of his own night time feeding schedule. So we were really excited as we headed to bed around 10:30. Little did we know that Ben would wake up at 11:15! Oh no. Here we go again. I was getting ready to feed again just to make sure he got enough, when I heard a big squirt. Turns out he needed to have a dirty diaper before bed time. Once we got him changed and back to sleep, he slept until 4:15! Not expecting it again tonight. But to have a long night followed by a good night is such a treat. We struggled a bit getting him back to sleep after this feeding, so we asked Mimi to rock him a bit while we slept some more. Next thing we knew, it was 7:30 and the house was still quiet! Thank you Mimi!

It is now Saturday morning. The weather is gorgeous outside. It is the first day of college football. Life is good.

As requested by a couple of long distance grandparents...

Welcome Home Ben

We are home and I have just a few minutes before Ben's late night snack, so I thought I would share a few pictures from today.

We headed home around lunch time...



And someone was very glad we were home...



He climbed right into my lap and was thrilled to see Ben...



Seriously, I don't think I have ever seen Carter with so much energy or excitement. We all went inside and Carter showed us his "Welcome Ben" sign that he made with crayons, markers, stickers, and paint. He also started brings toys to Ben right away. He is going to be a great big brother.



We had a great afternoon. Both boys took naps at the same time. Not expecting that to happen again any time soon, but it was a nice treat for our first day home.



You might have already guessed this, but there were lots of "Ben too!" statements today. Time for Carter snack? Ben too! Time for Carter diaper change? new diaper Ben too! Time to tackle daddy? Ben too! Don't worry, we don't give in to all of the "Ben too!" requests, but it is great to have an excited big brother.



We are so thankful for our new baby boy and are very excited to be home!