June 26, 2011

Ben at 21 months

Bennett, almost 21 months

A few things about Ben at 21 months . . .

  • He LOVES matchbox-sized cars. Most of them are the cars from the movie Cars. He plays with them constantly and carries them with him everywhere. Even if it's 5 at a time. He lines them up on the table in front of him at meals and keeps them in his cup holder when we're in the car.

    Jack didn't get into these until older, mainly because we didn't have them in the house when he was Ben's age. Give him two cars and plenty of "race track" and he'll be happy for a long time.

  • He is so friendly. He says "Hiiii" to everyone we pass, no matter where we are. If he spots someone yards away he starts waving and calling out "Hiiii!"

  • He was about 29 pounds when we visited the doctor's office in May.

  • He loves to do belly smackers. Onto the couch sometimes. Most often, he moves the couch cushions to the floor and just throws himself down onto them. One time, he got a little confused and threw himself down onto a throw pillow. There was a HUGE thud and he just laid there dumbfounded for a second. And it's really not limited to his belly. He'll jump up and just land on the floor on his bottom. Over and over. He's just rough.

  • He copies Jack like crazy. Words, actions, everything. For better or worse. We often comment that Ben doesn't do much on command. We used to ask Jack to say things and he'd just say them. When we ask Ben to say something that we know, he'll often just say "uh-uh" or "no, no, no." But he will copy Jack. So Jack likes to tell people that Ben "only does thing on my command."

  • He has a scream that is unlike anything I've heard from another human being. And he KNOWS that it gets Jack all riled up (and rightfully so) so he does it when he doesn't know how else to fight back against him. Jack tries to scream like that back at him, but I'm telling you . . . the noise is inhuman. I don't think any of us could replicate it.

    So, I've been working on teaching him to use his indoor voice. It's so funny because when he screams and I remind him to use his indoor voice, instead of whispering like I do, he does this soft little shriek. Hilarious.

  • We do happy and sad faces a lot. When I say "happy face" he smiles and puts his fingers on the side of his mouth like he's having to manually pull his face into a smile. When I say "sad face" he stops smiling and makes this pathetic little moan. It's so funny.

  • He's the first one to remind us if we've forgotten to pray before a meal or bedtime. He folds his hands and says "Ama? Ama?" (Amen?)

  • He says too many words for me to list, but my three favorites are "ink ou" (Thank you), "Baay" (Bye . . . it sounds like he's saying it with a deep Southern accent . . . in fact, many of our staff have started saying goodbye that way!) and "I unv ou" (I love you).

June 23, 2011

Injustice

I just posted these super cute pictures of Debbie and her little lemon when she was in her 14th week.

Debbie Debbie

Adorable, right?

Well, the next photo isn't quite that cute. There's something unfair about my friends and family having cute pictures of themselves while pregnant and I get stuck with the out-of-focus, bathroom mirror shots.

Oh, well.

I'm in my 14th week now, but here I am a little over a week ago at 12ish weeks. Truth be told, half of the baby bump is baby #3 and half is leftover from Ben.

Again . . . oh well.

12 weeks

I'm still feeling good . . . other than the fatigue. I still forget that I'm pregnant on a regular basis. There's really not a whole lot to report.

Compare to 18 weeks in my first pregnancy with Jack . . . yeah, things pop faster the third time around.

June 8, 2011

Jack is 4

Jack turned four years old on June 2! I'll post pictures of his real party soon, but we bought him a cake on his actual birthday, too. I'm wondering if there will ever be a birthday that I don't tear up while we sing to him.

At bedtime that night he said, "I'm so glad you're my mom. And I'm so glad I made it to four." I guess he was worried . . .

Jack is four

Jack is four

And of course, grandma brought Cars plates and party favors that Ben was loving . . .

Jack is four

June 7, 2011

Fatigued

Being pregnant this time around has made significantly more tired than it did the first two times. It looks like Jack can sympathize . . .

June 2011


June 2011


June 5, 2011

About Ben

Things to know about Ben at 20 months . . .

He loves cars. Not just any cars . . . the matchbox-style cars (though I don't think we have any actual matchbox cars). Jack didn't get into these until older, mainly because we didn't have them in the house when he was Ben's age. Give him two cars and plenty of "race track" and he'll be happy for a long time.

He loves to do belly smackers. Onto the couch sometimes. Most often, he moves the couch cushions to the floor and just throws himself down onto them. One time, he got a little confused and threw himself down onto a throw pillow. There was a HUGE thud and lots of crying. And it's really not his belly. He'll jump up and just land on the floor on his bottom. Over and over. He's just rough.

He copies Jack like crazy. Words, actions, everything. For better or worse.


T-ball

Jack's playing T-ball this year. The league is for kids ages 4 - 7 and I was a little uncomfortable with him starting this year, since he was 3 when practices started. They let him play as long as Kyle came with him to practices. The age difference between 3-almost-4 and 7-almost-8 is HUGE. But honestly, he's done okay with it.

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They don't use the tee much. It's mainly coach-pitch. The games are pretty typical . . . one kid hits the ball, and every single kid on the opposing team dives for the ball. During his first game, Jack ended up on the bottom of a pile of his teammates, all fighting over the ball. They've become much better at working together since then.

I think our "proudest" moment was when after his first strike, Jack was yelling to his coach and instructing his coach on how he should be pitching.

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Jack is so proud of his "jersey" and baseball hat. He loves the t-shirt and would wear it every day if I let him.

His, um, let's just call it his "competitive spirit" has also become more obvious. While standing on first base during his first game, I could hear him arguing with the girl on the opposite team about who was winning. Please note: They do not keep score. On our way back to the car that same night, he was sure to inform many players on the other team that his team did, in fact, win. We've had some fun conversations about that.

Do you see him chasing after the ball? Yeah, he's supposed to be running to third.

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His "victory" chant . . .

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And here's what Ben did the whole time . . .

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Twitter: Jan - May

Selected posts from our "mini-blog"

MAY 8
It's a big day at our house . . . our caterpillars are hanging upside down and building their cocoons.

MAY 7
Closing the night out by scrubbing black sharpie marker off of the stainless steel refrigerator. Just lovely.

MAY 4
Jack clearly recalled a memory of something that happened when he was less than 2 years old, that we haven't talked about since. Crazy.

MAY 2
Jack's bedtime prayer: "Dear Jesus, help mom to grow and get good at a sport or something and help her to eat her green beans. Amen."

MAY 2
Trying to keep in mind that how I respond to the death of my enemies says as much about me as it does about my enemies.

APRIL 30
of the drawer, cleaned the toothpaste off his face, & put it back in the drawer. How long has that been going on?

APRIL 29
Jack just said, "This isn't a REAL Bible. It doesn't even have any pictures."

APRIL 28
Jack's bedtime prayer: "Dear Jesus, Help me to get to first base before the ball does. Amen."

APRIL 26
Taking jack to the Doctor to have 13 splinters removed from his hand. Fun, fun.

APRIL 23
"You'll never guess what happened mom. Your youngest son dipped one of his cars in your very most beautiful cookies. So sad." - Jack

APRIL 20
I just heard Jack say to my sister, "Tomorrow? You're outta here!" People feel so welcome at our house.

APRIL 19
Sitting here waiting to go to jack's first parent-teacher conference. I wonder what we'll learn . . .

APRIL 17
To say that it's been a "roller coaster day" would be an understatement.
APRIL 12
At dinner I said, "Aren't we lucky to have such a great family?" Jack replied,"I might like it better if someone would get me dessert."

I put "frozen French fries" on our grocery list. Apparently, Kyle thought we were feeding 50 people. yfrog.com/hsi1qttj

APRIL 10
I just found Jack in bed curled up in bed with my tulips. MY POTTED TULIPS. I asked him why and he said "I wanted to see them bloom."

APRIL 9
Jack just came into my office crying inconsolably. I asked what was wrong and he cried, "BEN KILLED MY PET ROCK!"

APRIL 7
Jack just asked why we have to go back to the cold. It took me a few minutes to give him an answer.

APRIL 6
Kyle assembled and is playing the game that came with Jack's kid's meal, which I think qualifies him for sainthood. yfrog.com/gyhbkkmj

APRIL 4
Remember when the players in the NCAA tournament looked older? Like 10-12 yrs ago? The players must be younger than they used to be . . .

APRIL 3
Jack keeps asking "Where's Missouri?!" He's confusing the word "Missouri" with the word "resort."

MARCH 28
After we told him we'll be going to TN for vacation, Jack said, "I was thinking maybe Africa or Korea instead." He's tough to please.

MARCH 24
Earlier today, Jack asked me if he ever said funny things when he was little.

MARCH 19
Me: Jack, you are getting too big! You need to stop growing! Jack: I'll try to ask God, but I think he'll say no.

MARCH 16
On the way home from school, Jack said, "Mom, heaven sounds exhausting."

MARCH 15
"Jack, you need to stop talking. It's rest time." "Mom, if you just ignore me I'll probably get bored and stop."

MARCH 14
It seems that George's antics have less to do with curiosity than they do with the Man in the Yellow Hat's irresponsibility w/ wild animals.

This is what happens when you wake a child from a dead sleep and tell home to put his pants an shoes on. yfrog.com/h2smgllj

Jack swallowed a dime yesterday. And as you may have guessed, he's most concerned with getting his dime back.

MARCH 10
Jack and Ben are running races. Jack's battle cry before each lap is "Rush like a catalog, sting like a beaver." Wha?

MARCH 6
Getting in the car after church today, Jack said, "I wish there were more Sundays."


FEBRUARY 9
Another first. http://yfrog.com/h0a3oqnj

FEBRUARY 7
Jack just informed Kyle that kidney stones get out by going down your leg and popping out of your foot.

FEBRUARY 6
There's a feeling of desperation that sets in when you hear your toddler wake after only 30 minutes of napping.

FEBRUARY 4
Jack's greeting upon getting in the car when I picked him up from school was, "Hey, Swarley! What's up?"

JANUARY 25
After preschool yesterday I asked Jack, "What did you learn today?" He responded, "It's a long story. I don't really have time right now."

JANUARY 21
After coming with me to the chiropractor this morning, jack 's trying to play "Dr. Scott" with Ben . . . artificial cracking noises and all.

JANUARY 17
Jack was ear infection free for 3 years and almost eight months. The dream ended today.

This was the verse running through my mind when I woke up today: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Micah%206:8&version=NASB

JANUARY 10
Jack's response to being told he needs to wait for a snack: "What will I do if you don't give me what I need to be strong and healthy?"

JANUARY 8
Me: Jesus loves it when we talk to him. Jack: I love it when he talks to me. Me: What does he say? Jack: I'll tell you when you grow up.

JANUARY 4
I just heard Jack say to Kyle, "I just told mom she could cuddle with me. You know what that's called? Compassion."