the little negotiator

This morning while the boys were eating breakfast, I was fixing a snack for Daniel to take to camp (his preschool has a summer camp they can attend every morning for a week at a time, so he went a few weeks ago and is going again this week). I asked him if he wanted Goldfish crackers. He said, "no, I want muffin." Then he paused and said, "I want muffin AND Goldfish." I told him he could have one or the other. And he replied, "I want HALF a muffin and some Goldfish."

How could I refuse?

happy (belated) birthday, ben!

Poor Ben... his first birthday (which fell on Mother's Day) was overshadowed by a stomach virus that started with Daniel earlier that week and was shared throughout the family. Ben was barely well enough to eat a birthday cupcake, I was not well enough at all, and we hardly have any photos. Thankfully he's too young to have been bothered by the haphazard nature of the festivities. In fact, if it hadn't been for Alyssa, he wouldn't have had cake at all that day.

Also as a result, I also didn't finish his birthday slideshow on time, and once I was already late with finishing it, I lacked the motivation of a deadline. Poor second child! I finally told myself I would get it done by the end of May... and I did! I just didn't get it posted until today. So anyway, without further ado, here's a retrospective of Ben's first year. Enjoy!

Ben - One Year from jennifer on Vimeo.

baby yoga

There's nothing like a little early-morning yoga in your pajamas.

He's getting pretty good at downward-facing dog, don't you think?

Or maybe he's just trying to look at the world from a different perspective.

adventures in egg dyeing

This year marked the first time we attempted to dye Easter eggs with Daniel.  We were nervous... enough so that we all changed into old clothes before we got started.  But surprisingly, it went quite well!

He was SO excited to get going that many of the eggs got tossed (not too softly) into the cups.  There were a few cracks, but nothing disastrous. 

Benjamin observed from the safe vantage point of his highchair (with the ever-present Cheerios to keep him occupied).  Maybe next year he can help too.

Daniel was fascinated by the process of dyeing an egg two different colors.

When Ben got tired of watching, he was rescued by Papa who gave him a balloon to play with! 

Of course, fingers were dyed too. 

The finished products! 

egg hunt fun

The church near our house has an annual Easter EGG-stravaganza at the local park.  We went last year and had lots of fun, so of course we had to go back this year and bring Papa, Grandma, and Lala with us!  (Thanks to Rita for all the pictures!!)

Daniel got into the egg-hunting this year.  Last year he was a little young, but he definitely knew what to do this time.  Although he kept getting so focused on a particular egg that he'd run by other ones on the way...

Benjamin joined in on the fun too.  He was thrilled with this orange egg with the racing stripes.  Until he spotted another one hiding in the tree... (okay, he may have had a little help for that one). 

Who needs candy?  The eggs are pretty good by themselves!

Checking out the loot!

Ben got to meet the Easter Bunny, and he was rather taken with the bunny's furry cheeks.  We spared Daniel the trauma of an encounter - as you may remember, he's not so much a fan of large costumed creatures.

Daniel got to hold and pet a REAL bunny, which was much more fun. 

In addition to all that, there were also games!  Daniel had so much fun digging for dinosaur eggs and choosing lollipops.  We're happy to make this egg hunt an annual tradition!

big boy

This weekend we installed Benjamin's "big boy" carseat - something we probably could have done a few months ago.  However, the convenience of the infant seat won out, especially while it was still cold out and he could stay bundled and cozy in the carrier.  But with the weather warming up, there was really no excuse left for letting him be a baby any longer! 

He seems to like his new setup - he can see out the window better, and I think he can also see Daniel better.  Benjamin is rear-facing and Daniel faces forward, so they can actually look at each other pretty well.  They crack each other up in the car on a regular basis, and it always makes me smile when I hear them laughing back there.  I have no idea what's so funny, but I have a feeling that it's only the first of many jokes that the two of them will share that I'm not privy to!

This takes me back to when we installed Daniel's new carseat two years ago - hard to believe it's been that long!

helpful

This is what happens when your two-year-old decides the cat is hungry.

Note Licorice in the back, gobbling up all he can before I start cleaning it up.

nine months

My baby is nine months old.  Well, actually almost 10 months, now!  It's so amazing how in these nine months, he's gone from being a tiny helpless newborn to the little person he is now. 

At nine months, Benjamin...

... weighs 20 lbs, 8 oz (50th percentile) and is 29 3/4 inches long (90th percentile), prompting the doctor to call him "long and lean" although you wouldn't know it from his chubby cheeks and thighs.

... gets around mostly by army crawl, although he's starting to do a "normal" crawl occasionally, too.

... can pull up to standing, and is starting to cruise.

... goes anywhere he wants - there is no obstacle he can't climb over (or so he thinks).
... has done numerous face-plants into the floor (one involving a bloody lip) due to his desire to climb over everything.
... loves Cheerios more than anything, and gets excited when he sees that yellow box.  He actually has an affinity for all bread products (wonder where he gets that... Mike) and refuses to feed himself most other finger food.
... looks up to his big brother, and wants to do everything he does.
... has a bear blankie that he likes to snuggle with at bedtime.
... sometimes whistles because he purses his lips when he's concentrating.
... has four teeth, two on top and two on the bottom.
... turns every diaper change into a wrestling match.
... never stops moving.
... has crazy hair that is now slightly less crazy since he recently had his first haircut.
... has gorgeous blue eyes with long lashes.
... has an adorable scrunched-nose smile that melts my heart on a daily basis.

two and a half

My "big boy" turned two and a half this past week... or "two un-half" if you're using his preferred pronunciation.  I was going to try to make this a coherent post with actual paragraph structure and everything, but I guess my mind is having a hard time wrapping itself around the fact that he's now closer to three than to two.  Plus, I haven't blogged in a really long time (I know, I know).  So it'll be a little more of a stream of consciousness.

At two and a half, Daniel...

... will tell you every chance he gets that he is a "big boy".

... frequently utters the phrase "my do it myself!" 

... hasn't fully grasped the proper usage of pronouns (see previous).

... loves to do puzzles and is very good at them.

... has a bedtime routine consisting of reading two books and having a "big talk" with Dad.

... refuses to let us tuck him into bed, because he has to close his door himself.

... has a good time playing with his friends at school twice a week.

... loves to play any kind of ball, including his own invention, "hall ball".

... is a great big brother to Baby Ben.

... is better than anyone at making Ben laugh.

... is so much more verbal than he was a few months ago - it's so fun seeing how his mind works.

... would probably watch Thomas the Train all day if we let him.  Curious George is a close second.

... loves to build with blocks and legos.

... enjoys chatting with his grandparents via webcam.

... can count to six, but often transposes three and four.

... is learning his letters, with his favorites being D for Daniel, and B for Ben.

... gives amazing bear hugs.

... is loved a whole lot.

Happy two-and-a-half, Daniel!