A rose by any other name

Lately I've been working on all our names with Ben. He has his own down, so if I ask him what his name is he says, "Ben Borders." He says my first name if I ask, though he doesn't always remember my last name. He can't remember Heath's name, though. So when I asked him this morning what Daddy's name was, Ben replied, "Ben Borders' Daddy."

The Easy Button

Last Wednesday we took apart Ben's crib.

We replaced it with a twin mattress on the floor.

He was excited through the entire process. He was jumping all over the place, on and off the mattress.

I'm not usually the type who's all, "My baby's growing up" *sniff sniff* but I was getting sad as we took apart the crib. He really is growing up. Look at that picture up there. He almost fills up the entire crib mattress.

It seems like these transitions are often much harder on me than on Ben because his first night in the big boy bed was perfect. It was like any other night. And it's been that way ever since. Naps, bedtimes, it's like nothing has changed. Plus, we have the added bonus that sometimes when he wakes up he'll play for a little while before calling to us. Extra sleep, FTW!

So much of parenting can be a fight or a hassle, it's wonderful when something is just easy.

Future mountain climber?

Most of Ben's playgroup friends sleep in toddler beds or mattresses on the floor. Of those over 2, Ben is the lone hold out still in his crib. We figured, why mess with a good thing? Having him in a crib is much easier than having him in a bed and he's never shown any interest in or inclination to climb out of his crib.

Until Monday.

He was very opposed to a nap Monday afternoon because he'd fallen asleep in the car for all of 15 minutes. I was on my computer, listening to him yell about not wanting to nap, when all of a sudden I heard a THUMP and a scream. By the time I got to his room he was standing at the door crying, so I have no idea how he landed, but he was fine, aside from biting his tongue.

Our friends' son Colin climbed out of his crib exactly once. Apparently he fell like Ben and it scared him, so he never attempted it again. I was hoping Ben would be the same way, because he's a strange combination of daredevil and cautious. But the daredevil side won out. Yesterday morning he greeted Heath at his bedroom door. Heath asked Ben to demonstrate how he climbed out and according to Heath, "He was like a ninja."

So, it's time for a big boy bed, which will take the form of a twin mattress on the floor for now. I'm planning to take Ben to Target to pick out some sheets this afternoon, so hopefully it'll feel like an adventure. I'm worried about how he's going to sleep (and thus how we will sleep)... But in the past when we've had big transitions like this (giving up the bottle, taking the pacifier away during the day) he's barely registered them, so I'm hoping this is the same way. I'll keep you posted!

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."

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.