Thankful

It's never too late to be thankful! I realized that in the busy aftermath of having a baby, I forgot to write about Thanksgiving. Our initial plan was just to go out to eat somewhere. Just two weeks post partum I didn't quite feel like whipping up a Thanksgiving meal. Luckily we were invited to celebrate with some other families from the ward. There ended up being 8 adults and 5 kids in attendance so it was a lot of fun. Our two boys were both cranky and crying all morning, and both sacked out in the car on the way to dinner! We ended up letting Eli nap in the car for a while, and carried Owen inside in his carseat asleep, so we actually sat down to the meal kidless! After we stuffed ourselves and brought Eli in to watch a movie and play with the other kids, Brad and the guys played some chilly football out in the street. Eli got to watch Finding Nemo on the family's big screen TV - to him it was like being in the movie theater because he only gets to watch dvd's on his little tiny auto dvd player. It was a nice day, and I'm so glad we had good friends to share it with. Before we ate, we all went around the table and said a few things we were thankful for. The first thing that came to my mind was of course my family - my two beautiful boys and my recent amazing birth experience, and my wonderful hubby who is really my best friend and greatest support. I didn't list them all at dinner, but I'm also thankful for my parents who sacrificed greatly so my mom could be out here for Owen's birth, and for my sister whom I adore and miss, for our warm and welcoming ward and great friends out here, the unique niche we have found for ourselves and the experiences we've had out here, Brad's job, a warm and inviting home, this country of choice that we live in, and the light of the Gospel in our lives.

I'm also thankful that we are heading out West for the holidays! We will be in Utah on Monday and will be there through the new year. We'll be celebrating Christmas with the Bensons, and then my sister's wedding (yay Aubrey and Dale!)! We'll be in AZ with my parents after that until the end of January while Brad does a visiting rotation out there. So if my blogging drops off for a while, that's what we are up to. If you are going to be in Utah the week before Christmas and want to get together let us know (or in AZ after New Year's)!

Chunkalicious

That's Owen! At his one month check today he weighed in at 13 pounds 1 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long. So he's gained 3 pounds and an entire inch in TWO WEEKS. He is "off the charts" for percentiles. He fills out his 3-6 month clothes, so I am going to be packing only 6-9 month outfits when we leave on our trip next week. And I thought Eli was a big baby... Owen is on his way to outdoing him by far. Oh well, at least fat rolls are cute on babies. He can hold his head up like a pro, is giving us some heart-melting true smiles, and is starting to have longer awake periods during the day. Last night I think he slept for a four hour stretch too, but I practically nurse him in my sleep and rarely check the time. So far he is still sleeping tucked right next to me... apparently he feels that being swaddled and laid in the co-sleeper is a much inferior setup.

I've been trying some natural light photography with my new camera (Kodak Easy Share, oh baby!) and I'm not very good at it so far, but here are a few shots from Owen's one month photo shoot.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Dear Eli,

I can't believe you are already two! It seems like just yesterday that I held you for the first time ... these two years have really flown by. Your second year of life on earth has been full of adventure and change. This year you have learned to walk, run, climb, shoot a basket, talk, tantrum, drink from a sippy, eat solid food (but you haven't learned to like it yet), sleep in your own bed, sleep through the night (most of the time), kiss and hug, brush your teeth, color, pretend, play with other kids, the alphabet, how to work a dvd player, and countless other amazing things.

This year you faced the challenges with us of saying goodbye to our dogs Dotty and Daisy, our first home, our yard, our family and friends. You bravely put up with a sick pregnant mommy, packing up our house, and a 5 day cross-country drive to move from Surprise, AZ to Pittsfield, MA and took having a new home and room in stride. You've seen a lot of neat things along the way that you probably won't remember, but that I hope have somehow shaped your mind and heart. You surprised us all when you walked right in to nursery for the first time on your first Sunday here in Pittsfield - like you owned the place. You haven't always been comfortable staying in there since, but we are proud of the progress you are making in warming up to other people. It's definitely ok with us that Mom and Dad are your number one friends!

A month ago you became a big brother, and so far have shown potential to be a great one! Though giving up your role as the baby was not your choice, and has been pretty tough at times, you are very loving and sweet towards Owen and like to hold him and play with him. If I don't remember to give you enough love and attention of your own, you are quick to remind me with a tantrum, or a fake "ow!". You are tender-hearted and Dad and I treasure the shower of hugs, kisses, and attention you give us. We can tell that you are super intelligent, and we get a kick out of the "intelectual" activities that you enjoy - watching Planet Earth documentaries, playing with toy animals, testing out your peripheral vision, identifying letters in the alphabet, organizing things (our shoes, my wallet, the bathroom cabinet), reading books, and practicing your sign language- though you also enjoy some good old fashioned rough-housing and hide-and-seek! You still have to be cuddled to sleep most nights (though you let Daddy do it most of the time now), and I still let you nurse a little here and there because it has been so hard for you to give up - especially with a new baby around. I'm not always so patient with you lately, but I treasure the closeness we have shared the past two years, and am so proud of the little boy you are becoming. You bring so much joy to us and to all who know you. Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Love, Mom



Your Celebration

We celebrated your birthday all weekend and made some fun memories. On Saturday we took a train ride from Lenox to Lee and Santa Claus was there! He said hello to you and gave you and Owen a gift bag. You don't quite understand who he is yet, but you enjoyed the freezing train ride. Our good friends the Woodwards came with us, and we went for Pizza at Hot Tomatoes afterwards. Yesterday, your actual birthday, you and I and Owen stayed home from church. It snowed all day and was freezing outside! Owen slept most of the morning so you and I had a lot of one-on-one playtime. We played with your puppets, your alphabet puzzle, and your whales. We also read books and cuddled. You helped me make your cupcakes and sweep the floors. Then just before Dad got home, you fell asleep with Owen on my lap in the rocking chair. You took a 3 1/2 hour nap (because you woke up 3 times in the night)! Then you opened presents - more plastic animals, a fire truck, a shape sorter, the Planet Earth movies and a signing time movie. You also got a Mr. Potato head, 2 felt board kits, and a coloring book from Grandma K (she gave you the whales and birds early when she was here) and a fun book from Aunt Aubrey about a birthday box. The Woodwards and the missionaries (Elder Walkey and Falke) came over and you and Stewart played for a couple of hours. Grandpa Benson also flew in for a business trip and got to our house in time for cake and ice cream. Even though we practiced, you didn't want to blow out your candles or eat your cake. You stuck your finger in one candle and said "ow!" though. Before bed, you got gifts from Grandpa - 2 airplanes, a sweat suit, and some bathtub crayons. It was a super fun day and you went to bed tired!

Your Favorites at Two

Toys: Whales! And other plastic animals; stuffed birds that chirp; matchbox cars, trucks, planes.

Food: You are VERY picky. Right now you love bread with nothing on it, Lindt chocolate balls, and tortillas. Sometimes I can get you to eat cheese, bananas, apples, raisins, or cereal. We stopped buying goldfish crackers because you wanted to live on them.

TV: Super Why, Clifford, Sesame Street
DVDs: Signing Time, Planet Earth documentary (the one with whales and the ocean), Cars, Finding Nemo

Books: You LOVE books and your favorites change often. Anything with birds or trucks is a hit. Current favorites include The Little Engine that Could, Where is My Cat, Are You My Mother, The Eye Book, The Very Quiet Cricket, Tip Tip Dig Dig.

Play: Hide and Seek or chasing games with Dad, Me'am and OhOh (cat and dog puppets), Alphabet Puzzle, Dancing to "the cow song" on the Raffi CD, flying airplanes around and swimming with the whales, playdoh, rocking Owen vigorously in his carseat.

Places: Stewart's house, Whitney Farms petting zoo, our house, Lindt chocolate store at the mall

Best Friends: Mom and Dad, Stewart Woodward, Grandma Kramer

Most used Words: Big, There, Mama, DadaDaddy, Ow!, Nononononono!, yeah!, EAT!, way-o (whale), ah duh and ah gah (all done and all gone), bye bye

Songs: Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Whales in the Ocean (a song we made up to the tune of Wheels on the bus), Old MacDonald (you call it E-I).

Stats: 35 1/2 inches tall, 26 pounds, white blonde hair (people often call you tow-head), blue eyes, size 2T shirts and 18 months pants (you are tall and skinny) and size 7-8 shoes.

Thought I'd Share!

I've seen commercials for this website and just now checked it out... it's awesome! You enter any store or item and it will search for coupon codes for you that you can use for online shopping, or printable coupons to take in the store. I just got %15 off sweaters for the boys (that were already on sale) that I ordered from Children's Place. Woohoo! So go visit Coupon Cabin!

Babymoon

Well, we've passed week three and we're still surviving out here. I must say, my mom leaving and Brad going back to work was a rude awakening for me! If you can't tell from my lack of blogging the past few weeks, it has felt quite hectic at times. I won't lie ... there have been days that have been just plain hard physically and emotionally. The hardest part really has been dealing with my toddler. In sleep deprivation mode, I just lack sufficient patience to handle his outbursts, which have been pretty frequent because he is still in adjustment mode himself. So there's been plenty of crankiness (on my part and Eli's) interspersed with tears (mine and Eli's!) the last few weeks. Really, the kids must plot out their crying spells because they will either alternate in perfect synchrony so that I'm running between them both all day meeting immediate needs, or they are both bawling at the same time so I get the stereo effect. I'm not sure which is worse. Anyway, I try to be honest when people ask how things are going and just say "we are still adjusting" instead of the pre-programmed "great" or "fine" =). On Sunday I feared I was losing it completely! I was so grumpy it was all I could do not to snap at people at church, and I was feeling sick of both my kids. Then I was able to take a 2 1/2 hour nap while Brad took care of Owen (and Eli napped!), and I woke up with a refreshing change of attitude. It really is amazing what a little sleep can do, as well as the lack therof!

But before I start sounding too negative, I also have to admit that there have been plenty of great moments too. I am so pleased that Eli has not been aggressive at all towards the baby. Jealous, yes. He will often insist that Brad hold the baby so that he can have some mom time. It goes like this "Dada! Baby!" while pointing back and forth between them. Or he will state his inner desires simply with "Bye bye baby, ah gah (all gone) baby." This really cracks me up. After the first week of Eli's ambivalence though, he has discovered Owen as a source of entertainment, which is both good and bad. Good because I can see them developing a bond already, but bad because now I have to be on constant guard to ensure no mortal injury befalls my newborn because my toddler is "playing" with him. Eli likes to try and hold Owen, and laughs hysterically when Owen does the newborn flail because Eli thinks he's trying to play with him. This usually elicits rougher play from Eli so I have to watch out. This makes escaping for potty breaks tricky for me, lol.

Another fabulous blessing has been how we have lucked out with Brad's schedule. He has ended up being home a lot more than we anticipated, which has really helped my sanity, and helped Eli alot as well. Brad is still putting him to bed at night, but even after three weeks there are nights when Eli still just cries for me. Whether or not I can actually help him depends on if Owen is nursing or not. So yes, there's still a great deal of adjusting for all of us to do, but thankfully we've got Brad here as a full participant in the process.

In other news, Eli is learning how to use adjectives. His favorite right now is "BIG." It's so heartwarming to enter a room and have your toddler enthusiastically shout "BIIIIG Mama!" He also shrieks "BIIIIIG Dada" when Brad comes home, and sometimes just chatters about his big family: "BIIIIG mama, BIIIIG Dada, BIIIIIG Baby" while pointing to each of us... then he usually throws in a "BIIIIG Way-o (whale)" which granted, the whales are his favorite toys right now but it's not so flattering to be grouped in with them. Speaking of whales though, (no offense Owen) my baby is chunking up quite nicely. At two weeks he was already up to 10lbs 2oz (born at 9lbs) and now at just over 3 weeks his 0-3 month clothes are getting too small. He is going to be even bigger than Eli was, and he was quite the butterball! What can I say? Mommy's milk is nummy! =) Ok here is some photo proof of our happier moments.

Brotherly LOVE:

Watching "Blue Planet" documentary about the ocean - thankfully it sometimes puts him to sleep:

Just being cute:

Watching "Happy Feet" together:

"Talking" to the monkey: