Monday, January 31, 2011

Don't worry, we didn't!

Last Wednesday our friends Anne and Michael welcomed their son Felix into the world. On Saturday we brought them lunch in exchange for getting to hold their baby. Ben has calmed down a lot when I hold babies. He doesn't seem to mind too much, but he's still not crazy about Heath holding other kids. So when Heath was holding Felix Ben kept saying, "Give Felix to Mommy." Well, that wasn't working so eventually he tried a different tactic and said, "Put Felix in the microwave."

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Fashionista he's not

Ben has never been interested in his clothes. I offer him choices of what to wear and rarely will he look up from his toys to even look. He just doesn't care. And that includes putting them on and taking them off. Most of his friends like to strip off their clothes and diapers. I wasn't broken up about him not removing his diaper, but the fact that he never wanted to take his clothes off was beginning to worry me a bit. It's like part of the mother contract that you have to pick something stupid to worry about every quarter. They probably make you sign something at the hospital when you're totally out of it after giving birth.

I was beginning to think that he'd never learn to dress and un-dress himself and 30 years from now I'd have to drive to his house every morning and help him put on his pants. Well, I may be saved from that fate. Wednesday morning Ben did something sufficiently bad to warrant time in the corner (he probably hit me, since that's mostly what we put him in time-out for). I was in the kitchen, out of sight, and when I re-entered the hallway to retrieve him he had his pajamas halfway off. No wonder he was so quiet. Normally he yells and cries through his time-outs. I have no idea what inspired him to use that moment to disrobe, but at least now I know he can.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The pronoun game

Ben's speech is becoming more sophisticated all the time. He's speaking in sentences now and even gets a lot of diction and grammar correct. However, we're stuck in Pronoun Limbo. He says the following things a lot:

"Pick you up" (pick me up)
"Take your shoes off" (take my shoes off)
etc.

It makes sense, since I say those things to him but don't often say them about myself. When a kid is first learning to talk, books encourage you to refer to yourself in the third person, so he knows who you are. Well, Ben has "Mommy" and "Daddy" down pat, so now I'm having to get back into the habit of saying "me," "I," and "my" instead of "Mommy's."

These things come so naturally to us as adults, it's easy to forget that we've had decades of practice. This seems ridiculously obvious to type, but language is incredibly complicated and it's interesting to watch someone learn it from scratch.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Fun in the snow

We've had an unusual amount of snow here in St. Louis this winter, so Ben's had plenty of chances to play outside.

He didn't like sledding...

or snow angels.

But he did like eating snow,

playing with Uncle Chad,

and throwing snowballs!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Blargh part 2

So, I've had this cold 11 days now and it hasn't been getting much better. Friday I got the added bonus of fluid in my left ear, so this morning I went to the doctor. I have an ear infection! It's not too bad, but she did say it could've gotten worse if I hadn't come in. I used to get them constantly as a kid, but I don't think I've had one since before high school. Ben comes by his ear problems honestly.

Antibiotics are on their way and man I hope they work quickly. I am sick of being sick. The house is a mess, I'm missing time with friends and I just want to be able to breath normally again. On the upside, Ben's medicine seems to be working. Though he didn't sleep well last night, his cough isn't so bad anymore and his nose isn't too runny.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Blargh.

So far 2011 has not been kind. It's not its fault, really. How can an arbitrary block of time be blamed for germs infecting our systems? Still, shaking my fist at something helps my mood a tiny bit. But it doesn't help me breath at night. *sigh*

Ben and I have had a cold almost all year, which has led to some bad, bad sleep. And we all know how well I do with bad sleep. Really, Ben's had a cold(s) for about a month and this morning he woke up with a fever so Heath took him to the doctor. She thought he might have weak bronchitis, based on his coughing, so they came home with antibiotics in tow. I feel so bad when he's coughing because there's just nothing I can do to help.

On top of this, he's also getting his two year molars which has made him a joy to be around. At least this time we know it's teething for sure, because he told us his teeth hurt without any prompting. And that is why toddlers kick babies' asses all the way.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

In your dreams

Lately when we retrieve Ben in the morning or after a nap he tells us wild stories about dinosaurs jumping in mud and random scraps that somewhat resemble our real life. And I've come to realize that he's telling us his dreams. How crazy is that?!

This also coincides with him commenting more on darkness and occasionally using the word "scary." I suppose it's inevitable that we're in for some nightmares. At least now he can somewhat describe them.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

To start the year off...

I feel like I should write a Christmas post, but nothing too earth shattering happened. We ate. We drank. We brought home a metric ton of presents for Ben. One exciting thing: In May 2012 Ben will be getting a new aunt! Heath's brother Todd proposed to his girlfriend Sarah (and she accepted). Sarah is really sweet and she'll be a wonderful addition to our family. Plus, she's studying to be a nurse, so from now on I'll have someone to show any strange warts or boils that crop up! Sweet!

Happy 2011!