Happy girl . . .

happy girl from Sara on Vimeo.

Claire vs. the Giraffe

WARNING: This clip may not be suitable for anyone who isn't a grandparent, aunt, or other relative of mine. It's approximately 1 1/2 minutes of my 3 week old batting her hand at a stuffed giraffe.

Some viewers may get easily bored.

Claire vs. the giraffe from Sara on Vimeo.

Counting

Many people know that I've had concerns about Ben's speech development since he was about 4 months old. The week after his 4 month check up, he just stopped babbling and didn't often make noises except for crying. Since then, I've noticed some slight delays in many things speech-related.

95% of people that I've shared this concern with think that I'm just comparing him with Jack, and I'll admit that I do that sometimes. Jack's language development was exceptional, in the same way that Ben's gross motor and fine motor development have been exceptional (we're amazed at his understanding of how things go together, the stuff he builds with blocks and the way he can manipulate small pieces and things together . . . the train systems he creates with our railroad set are pretty amazing for an almost-2-year-old).

But comparison aside, I still feel like there's something that's keeping him from saying what he's trying to. He has lots of words, and when I voice concerns people always tell me not to worry and that he has more words than average for his age. But still, it's not just about the words . . . when I see him try to tell me things, I can watch his mouth try to make the sounds he wants to as he gets frustrated. He can identify probably 10 letters and the sounds they make (thank you, LeapFrog: Letter Factory) but when he tries to put the sounds together, he gets stumped.

I don't think it's a major delay or anything and you can call me a helicopter parent if you want, but I think there's something to say for a mother's intuition. I'm just hoping that at his 2-year visit next week, the doctor will at least take my concerns seriously.

Up until today, when we'd count things with Ben, he'd point and say, "One, doo . . . NO MORE!" Sometimes he'd get to three, but he'd usually drop out at two.

So you can understand why I sat in my car and cried during preschool pick up today when Kyle sent me this video.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Knock, knock

Jack loves telling knock, knock jokes. Some of them are actually funny. And, as you might expect from a 4-year-old, some of them don't make sense. His favorite?

"Knock, knock."

"Who there?"

"EYEBALL!"

And then he erupts in hysterical laughter.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

But like any good little brother does, Bennett likes to copy Jack in every way possible. Here's his retelling of the joke to me this morning. He had already told the joke 10 - 15 times so he was lacking enthusiasm, but you get the picture.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Bubbles, knees and elbows

I'm so sad that you can't really hear Ben in this video, because I'm sure you've never heard anyone say "elbow" as cute as he does. At least you can see him in all of his adorableness.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Refreshed

I went to the Hearts at Home national conference with friends over the weekend and loved it so much. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go and I plan on going back. I'll write more about the weekend later, but I was really glad to get home to my boys. Both boys ran fevers over the weekend while I was gone (of course they did) and I called Kyle at one point on my way home, only to hear screaming and chaos in the background because JACK HAD JUST SWALLOWED A DIME. But why was he crying? Because he was worried that he wouldn't get it back.

I feel like the weekend provided the right about of a break and encouragement to re-charge me as a mom. I was able to spend a lot of time with them today and it was so much fun to parent with a refreshed perspective on motherhood.

Kyle took Jack to a basketball game tonight and it was just Bennett and I until his bedtime. We had a really good time. I think he liked not having to compete with Jack for attention or getting talked over all the time.

During his snack, I shot this little video. The video right after it was of him accidentally biting his finger . . . it left marks. It is the saddest thing ever, so I decided NOT to share that one.

Take a look at Ben in all of his cuteness.

I have so many videos that I'd like to share! I just need to get them dumped on to my computer first. They literally go back months and months.

Oh my goodness . . .

When we try to get Ben to say the word "hot" . . . he just opens his mouth up really wide and makes no noise. It's one of those things that I think is incredibly adorable, and I insist that he do it for everyone. I think I probably get a lot of eye rolls when I walk away.

And I'm not sure where he picked it up, but every time I say "Oh my goodness" he covers his face like he's embarrassed.

So, Internet, I caught it on video for you to enjoy. Roll your eyes all you want. I think it's cute.

Oh, and pardon the mouth full of half-chewed goldfish.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Oh, and here's Jack at about a month older than Ben is now.

10 1/2 months

Ben is 10 3/4 months old. Actually more than that.

He transitioned to walking earlier this month and it's brought challenges, but has made many things easier.

He's saying more and more words every day, but the one he says most clearly is "book." So my question is this . . . how is it possible that he can he say "book" getting both the "b" and "k" sounds crystal clear, but he still won't call me "Mama." Sure, he says "mamamama" when he's crying or upset . . . but it's just a noise he's making. And he says "mum mum mum" every time we put him in his high chair so he's familiar with the sound. He says "Dada" and "Jack," too. But no Mama. I'm trying not to take it personally.

He's really started to love books. He's drawn more to the books that have peek-a-boo flaps and textures that he can feel. Even when we're busy, he really likes to just sit alone with a board book and try to open each of the pages. He's so smart.

We're starting to see a little bit of a feisty/stubborn side and he lets us know when he's not happy. He has become a VERY picky eater and will eat very little of what we put in front of him. Fruits and veggies have to be hidden in order to get him to eat. This was never a problem we had with Jack, so it's new territory with us. He would eat cheerios all day if we'd let him, though.

Here are a couple of videos of Ben throwing, golfing and waving goodbye . . . enjoy!

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Who, me?

I've blogged about Jerry Jacoby before . . . um, right here. He's amazing and we have him speaking at three of our camps this summer, among a couple of other fantastic speakers. If you're a part of any organization that serves children, I highly recommend him. He does character education in schools and ministers at churches and camps all over the country (and even internationally, on occasion).

Last year, Jerry gave us one of his CDs and Jack has listened to it tirelessly. And when it's Jack's turn to choose a song, I don't really even need to ask him which one he'd like, because he almost always starts with "Heroes of the Bible." In that song, there are speaking parts, that go something like this:

"Oh, Moses?" - "Yes, Lord?"

"You're going to do great things for me, Moses."

"Who me, Lord?" - "Yes you, Moses."

"But Lord, I'm only a man." - "I know you're only a man, I made you remember?"

"But Lord, I don't know how." - "That's ok, I know how, and you can trust in me."

Then it goes back to the chorus. He does this with Queen Esther, and then, lastly with a child (who, on the CD, happens to be his grandson).

Last week, right before chapel he asked Jack to help him with it, which was no problem. Jack had heard the song so many times, that he already had it memorized. I so wish I could have been there, but his babysitter, Kylie, caught it on video. I'm so grateful that she did! It's a little shaky because she was holding Ben at the same time, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

The best medicine

There is little that I won't do to get my boys to laugh. It doesn't matter how awful my day has been . . . when they laugh, it melts my heart.

The other day, I kissed Ben's hand and he started chuckling like it was the funniest thing I've ever done.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

It totally reminded me of this video of Jack from when he was just a week or two older than Ben is now.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Ben gets his moves from his dad

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

My sweet Bennett . . .

Here are two videos of Ben that are guaranteed to make 4.5 out of 5 people smile.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

The Bear Crawl

In case you're wondering what Ben's bear crawl looks like, here's a clip of it . . . it's only a few seconds, but it gives you the idea. He's become pretty quick on the carpet, but the hard kitchen floor slows him down a bit. He's started to venture out into other areas of the house . . . for better or for worse. We really have to keep an eye on him.

I can't not laugh when I watch this.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

Music to my ears . . .

We visited friends in the suburbs of Chicago yesterday and had such a good time with them. But by the time we left, the boys were spent and ready for a nap. As we were heading back into the city, we assumed that they'd be asleep in the car within minutes.

Jack started making these obnoxious noises and just as I asked him to stop, Ben starting laughing at him. So, of course, we told him to keep making them! i think they were both so tired that they had crossed over to slaphappy.

I was holding my phone over my head to try and get video of him in his car seat, so my apologies if it makes you seasick.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

The evolution of a crawl . . .

I took this video over the course of the last two weeks or so. I don't have any of this week though, and I wish I did. He's growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday that I was taking this video.

Bennett trying to crawl . . . from Sara on Vimeo.

I know it seems cruel . . .

Do you remember this video of Jack when he was about 5 months old? No really . . . if you haven't seen it, you need to go watch it in order to appreciate what's coming next.

It just might break your heart.

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

You might get a cold just watching it . . .

Today has been an awful day. And it's only noon. It's one of those days that I might write about later, but writing about it now will cause me to have a nervous breakdown.

SO instead, I'm just going to post this video. It isn't really anything spectacular. Just 3 minutes of Jack and I talking to Bennett. He's such a sweet little boy. A little boy that won't sleep during the day unless he's strapped to my body. But sweet, nonetheless.

You might get a cold just watching this video because my boys were so congested in it. And I was holding Ben and the camera, so it's a little shaky.

So, you watch this. I'm gonna go eat a bag of Doritos.

Bennett at 5 weeks from Sara on Vimeo.

I totally missed it . . .

This week, I've been taking Jack home for a bath after dinner and then bringing him back for chapel in his pajamas. Last night, he didn't really want to sit with us, so he pulled a chair up next to the bleachers to be closer to the "big kids."

At one point I looked over and he was dancing and clapping in his chair and it was hilarious. I only caught the tail end of the clapping . . . I totally missed the dancing and it's killing me!

Oh well . . .

Untitled from Sara on Vimeo.

P.S. I got a new video camera (I didn't use it to shoot this clip, though . . . I used the sony)! I got it for a little over $100 and I LOVE IT! The video quality isn't as great as the sony, but it's MUCH easier to keep with us . . . which means more video of Jack to share. You can thank me later.

Looking back at Jack's second year . . .

I did end up doing a birthday video for Jack. It's a little sloppy because I was so rushed, but I don't really think it matters. It serves its purpose quite nicely.

Jack is two. from Sara on Vimeo.

Like a ton of bricks . . .

The last two days have been slightly better. On Sunday night he slept 12 hours, and he slept for almost 4 hours yesterday afternoon (he's usually a one hour napper) before I finally woke him up! I'd say he was overtired, for sure! I'm just not sure what I could have done to stop that, other than not take the trip. He just WOULDN'T sleep at my sister's apartment.

While things have been slightly better, the tantrums have not stopped. But during my time watching Jack sleep on Sunday night, I was trying to figure out how I could have ever raised my voice at such a sweet little person. I've done really well at remaining calm and just leaving the room for him to have his fits alone. And when he hits or kicks, I pick him up, put him in time out and tell him how sad I am that he made that choice. I feel like even though his behavior is staying the same, I'm getting better at handling it. Though, I am feeling like I can't really leave the house with him. I was planning on taking him to the library tomorrow after his nap, but I might change my mind.

To answer the question/respond to the comment that everyone has seemed to ask about on twitter and facebook . . . yes, I realize he's probably ready for a big boy bed. And to be honest, we were planning on converting the guest room to Jack's new room (to make room for baby) this month anyway. But to be even more honest, as I look at work responsibilities for this month, I'm not completely sure that will happen until sometime mid-summer.

And while I realize he's ready for a big boy bed, I also think that this is partly a matter of obedience v. disobedience. Yesterday, when I was putting him down for a nap Jack said, "Jack can climb out of crib." And I said, "Yes, Jack can climb out of his crib. But mama says,'No, no.'" And he repeated me. He knows what he's supposed to do and he needs to obey whether he wants to or not. This is no different than the time out chair. I put him there for two minutes and he doesn't move. Well, he squirms, but he never gets down. And that's only because the first few weeks of time outs, we took him back to the chair repeatedly until he got the idea . . . mom and dad are in charge. SO, yes, while I know that this probably a sign of him being ready for that change, I also think we need to teach him that it's about obeying mom and dad. After all, he'll need to stay in the big boy bed once he starts sleeping there, right?

On top of all of this, our "busy season" has hit like a ton of bricks. I have so much to do, and our Tuesday/Thursday babysitter was officially done until the end of April. I have someone who can start on May 15, but that seems like a really long time from now.

So, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and tired by Jack's new stage, stuff to get ready for the summer, the number of photos I have to edit, cards I have to complete, etc.

Tonight, when I was putting Jack to bed I said we were going to pray and he said the phrase that he says seemingly hundreds of times a day: "I do it MYSELF!"

Ok, fine by me.

We folded our hands, bowed our hands and he proceeded to say, "Thank you, God. Thank you God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen."

It's these kids of moments that keep me going.