Thursday, April 4, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Travel Bag for Ben
We leave on a flight in just a couple weeks, and I have to admit - I'm not looking forward to it this time around. Ben was pretty good on his last flight, but he was 7 months old at that time and super easy to contain.
It has been suggested to me to have a "fun bag" for Ben containing new (small) toys and goodies that he has never seen before in an attempt to distract him and keep him relatively quiet.
So, parents - what are your favorite small toys, snacks, iPad apps, etc. that I can easily pick up for Ben?! Amazon Prime eligible items are a plus :)
It has been suggested to me to have a "fun bag" for Ben containing new (small) toys and goodies that he has never seen before in an attempt to distract him and keep him relatively quiet.
So, parents - what are your favorite small toys, snacks, iPad apps, etc. that I can easily pick up for Ben?! Amazon Prime eligible items are a plus :)
Monday, April 1, 2013
Cars
Ben has started to make car sounds like "vroom vroom" and "errrrrrkkkkkkkk" (mimicking the sounds Greg and I make to sound like a car screeching to a halt). #Adorable
Ben's Vocabulary
Some of you may know this already, but I have been freaking out curious about when Ben would start saying "real" words. It seems silly, because I have read and completely understand that all kids are different and that they all will reach their various milestones at different ages - but when it's your kid, it becomes easy to focus on what they are NOT doing and worry - often times over nothing.
And at the same time, I also wonder if I am just not as fluent in "baby talk" as others might be? I can tell that Ben will say/babble the same sounds when he is doing specific things - so perhaps that has been his attempt to "say" different words and he just isn't quite clear enough for me to count it as "real"?
ANYWAY - lately, as in the last couple weeks, things are starting to become more clear and slightly more consistent. He definitely has the following word(s) down pat:
No
No ma (which I think means "no more" and "no mom")
Uh oh (used when he drops something or when we turn the TV off)
Mama (just really started using it intentionally, rather than before when he would just made those sounds in generel when I was around).
Dada (same as with Mama).
YumYumYum (when eating or wanting to eat something delicious).
He has started to sporadically say "hi", and he uses it correctly - like when one of us walks in the door.
While at Callie's house last week, he pointed to her eye and said "eyesmmmm" (lol) and also said "No Maylee" to Maylee.
He stood by his snack drawer and said "snackkkkkkk" once, but I think it may have been a coincidence ;)
He has repeated after me and said "Cracker" (kraaa-kerrrr) and "banana" (na-na-na) at least 4-5 times.
When he stands on the arm of the couch, he will almost always say a garbled version of "that's dangerous".
He has quacked like a duck exactly once. He has said "nay nay nay" when I asked him what a horse says a couple times. He has "mowwed" at Maxwell a few times.
I think that is the running total so far. One of the more awesome things, however, has been his growing understanding of our daily routine and surroundings. If I tell him daddy is home or Grandma is here, he knows to run to the front window to look for their cars and wave hi. He knows that Grandma comes through the front door and daddy will come through the garage. He knows where his room is, which bathroom he brushes his teeth in and which bathroom he takes a bath in. He knows to run to his highchair when it's time to eat, he knows to wait at the microwave for his bottle and then run to the couch to drink it. He knows when I ask him if he wants to go outside, that he needs to run to the garage to put his shoes on. He knows that his socks and shoes go on his feet and he sort of attempts (unsuccessfully) to put them on himself. He knows where one's eyes, nose, mouth, hair, cheeks, belly, feet, toes, hands, and ears (and probably a few other body parts) are - and will point to them when he feels like it ;)
I'm blogging this simply as a way to keep track of all of this for myself! It amazes me how much he understands right now. He truly is no longer a "baby" and is on his way to being such a big kid.
And at the same time, I also wonder if I am just not as fluent in "baby talk" as others might be? I can tell that Ben will say/babble the same sounds when he is doing specific things - so perhaps that has been his attempt to "say" different words and he just isn't quite clear enough for me to count it as "real"?
ANYWAY - lately, as in the last couple weeks, things are starting to become more clear and slightly more consistent. He definitely has the following word(s) down pat:
No
No ma (which I think means "no more" and "no mom")
Uh oh (used when he drops something or when we turn the TV off)
Mama (just really started using it intentionally, rather than before when he would just made those sounds in generel when I was around).
Dada (same as with Mama).
YumYumYum (when eating or wanting to eat something delicious).
He has started to sporadically say "hi", and he uses it correctly - like when one of us walks in the door.
While at Callie's house last week, he pointed to her eye and said "eyesmmmm" (lol) and also said "No Maylee" to Maylee.
He stood by his snack drawer and said "snackkkkkkk" once, but I think it may have been a coincidence ;)
He has repeated after me and said "Cracker" (kraaa-kerrrr) and "banana" (na-na-na) at least 4-5 times.
When he stands on the arm of the couch, he will almost always say a garbled version of "that's dangerous".
He has quacked like a duck exactly once. He has said "nay nay nay" when I asked him what a horse says a couple times. He has "mowwed" at Maxwell a few times.
I think that is the running total so far. One of the more awesome things, however, has been his growing understanding of our daily routine and surroundings. If I tell him daddy is home or Grandma is here, he knows to run to the front window to look for their cars and wave hi. He knows that Grandma comes through the front door and daddy will come through the garage. He knows where his room is, which bathroom he brushes his teeth in and which bathroom he takes a bath in. He knows to run to his highchair when it's time to eat, he knows to wait at the microwave for his bottle and then run to the couch to drink it. He knows when I ask him if he wants to go outside, that he needs to run to the garage to put his shoes on. He knows that his socks and shoes go on his feet and he sort of attempts (unsuccessfully) to put them on himself. He knows where one's eyes, nose, mouth, hair, cheeks, belly, feet, toes, hands, and ears (and probably a few other body parts) are - and will point to them when he feels like it ;)
I'm blogging this simply as a way to keep track of all of this for myself! It amazes me how much he understands right now. He truly is no longer a "baby" and is on his way to being such a big kid.
Mira, Maylee and Ben
Callie sent me this amazingly sweet photo she captured of her girls with Ben. They were having an exciting morning watching a tree get cut down in the neighbor's yard. Sometimes, it feels like Ben has 2-3 babysitters when he is there :)
Easter 2013
We had a nice, sunny Easter this year! We started the day with brunch at our place with my parents. I gave Ben his Easter basket:
My parents brought over some clothes, candy and a really cute animal puzzle (that makes animal sounds) for Ben. He correctly identified the horse, cat, puppy, and fish (which was very exciting) :) Greg's parents sent us a nice card a few days earlier, which was so thoughtful - we plan to do something fun with the money they gave us in Palm Springs in a few weeks!
We went on a little Easter egg hunt - which Ben didn't quite understand, but seemed to sort of enjoy anyway:
And then we went to Edmonds Marina Beach! It was an absolutely perfect day to be playing in the sand and enjoying the amazing weather. Ben had a blast, and actually kept his sunglasses on for the first time ever.
The Final Four
Greg is a huge University of Michigan fan. I will not pretend to know or care much about them myself, but I will say that having them make it into the Final Four this year during March Madness has been pretty fun to watch.
On Friday after work, (after a trip to Costco), we watched Michigan come from behind and tie the game with just seconds left. They proceeded to win in overtime. Greg screamed so loudly that Ben started to FREAK OUT. I had to yell (over Greg so he could hear me), "SMILE - BEN THINKS YOUR MAD AND LOSING YOUR MIND"! It was hilarious. Greg started to smile and clap his hands and then Ben caught on that we were happy - so he started to smile and clap his hands, too :)
On Sunday, they beat another team (Florida?) by a LOT. We are hoping that they can take it all the way and win the tournament!
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