I blinked.... and you're 14 months

Happy 14-month birthday, Ben. 

You are becoming your own person. 

You're funny; you crack yourself up, you crack us up. Everything is a joke to you; you have a big personality. 

You are pensive. Whenever we take you somewhere, you initially stand back, take in your surroundings, assess all that is going on. You take your time, but once your mind is made up, you go for it. And you let nothing get in your way;).

You're confident. I love how comfortable you are in your own 14-month old skin. How can I ensure that you stay this way? That you'll never feel insecure; that you'll march to the beat of your own drum, that you'll stand for what you believe in...

You're sweet. You give kisses like it's your job. You are friendly to everyone, you welcome people into your world with a huge, large-toothed grin (though you are quite attached to your mama and dada).

You adore, aDORE, your dog. You go over to her blanket regularly to sit with her. You have a hard time saying Luna; you call her 'Lala'. You pet her, you're gentle with her (most of the time time), you give her cookies when she comes in from outside and call her 'good girl' (goo-gar). 

It's funny; you don't quite look like us. You still have blondish hair and blue eyes (WE still have no idea where those baby blues came from, but they seem like they're sticking around). You look a little like your grandpa Dave and resemble your own dad in ways. But it feels like we're really grasping at straws here to find physical similarities ('he definitely has my teeth (mama), your overbite (dada), the under portion of your eyes (dada), my toes and wide feet (mama)'.... see what I mean?)

Here are some of your favorites, at 14-months:

Favorite Activities:

- Playing with Luna

- Playing with/ talking about balls (soccer balls, tennis balls, baseballs, you don't discriminate)

- Climbing up the stairs and sliding back down on your belly (and I won't lie- this one terrifies me)

- Pulling your toy dog and train around the house (you walk backwards so you can see the activity)

- Helping with household chores (you carry wood, you help to push the wheelbarrow, you swiffer, you stir eggs)

- Pulling things out of cabinets... and putting them back upon our request (not quite as fun as taking them out)

- Saying cheers with your sippy cup (this is new over the past few days- you say 'cheees' repeatedly, though you haven't quite gotten the fact that you're supposed to have a sip after you give cheers:))

- Reading, alone or with an adult (you drop the book of choice into our laps and politely ask us to 'read-a, read-a')

- Dancing and playing the piano with dada

- Playing with the shapes sorter toy (you make a really funny grunt when you're trying to force a shape into it's slot; how did you learn to grunt? I don't think that your dad and I walk around grunting.... but you've mastered it:))

-Looking out the window at night for the moon

Favorite Foods:

Hands down: avocado, bananas, eggs, tomatoes, grapes (If you had it your way, you'd eat tomatoes for every meal. We tell you that, if you don't watch it, you're going to turn into one.....)

Favorite Books:

I am a Bunny (you call Nicholas 'Ko-lick-oh-la', it is so cute that we ask you to say it every time we turn the page)

Anything Sandra Boynton

Anything Eric Carle

Goodnight Moon

Dear Zoo

Most Commonly Used Words:

Mama, dada, Luna, more, please, milk, avocado, ball, car, train

You're starting to string words together, you are repeating anything and everything that we say. I have a feeling that you're going to be a little chatterbox, if we continue at this rate:).

You are an amazing sleeper. We put you down for bed at 7pm and don't hear from you again until 7am. You are down to one nap a day, about 1.5-2 hours. You sleep hard and you play hard. 

I feel so very privileged to be your mama. I am enjoying every second of your life, of seeing you grow, watching you learn, loving who you are. You are such a sweet little guy, so fun to be around, even on the days   when you completely wipe me out. You're a little gem and I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Cheees to 14 months and many more of them......

Love, mama

Photo Credit: Thanks to Alisa, Ben's girlfriend/ nanny, for taking photos 1, 4, 8, 9 and 11:). We don't know what we'd do without her loving, patient heart and photog capabilities:).

June blooms & puppy love

Happy June.

Happy (near) summer:).

The flowers are blooming here like mad.

When I was 8 months pregnant, I planted several perennial bulbs around the house, big belly and all. 

I'm delighted that the little guys have made their appearance:). And will bloom for many years to come.

And each year that these blooms show their lovely heads, I will tell Ben that they were planted the year that he was born. The year that our lives changed forever:).



peonies from the garden- my absolute favorite:)



On another note, Ben loves himself some serious puppy.

It may not appear that way from the above photo, but he adores his dog. The phrase 'Benji, gentle...' is frequently said around here, as he wants to take his puppy and devour her. We have to show him how to be sweet to the pup. She may look like a walking teddy bear, but she's much more fragile:).



I don't know many bears that walk around the wild with tennis balls in their mouths:).



This week we had a scary reminder of how precious this life is. Thankfully, everyone will be fine, but there is an overwhelming desire to give extra long hugs, make more phone calls and throw in some extra I love yous to the people that matter. Life is so goddamned good and it needs to be cherished and celebrated. It's too short to do anything but.

Happy almost summer. I hope you're enjoying every beautiful minute of it with the ones that you love.

xoxo

In like a lion....

Happy March!

Signs of Spring are slowly appearing. The snow is melting, the chipmunks run circles around the house, teasing Luna. Spring is on it's way; we can all feel it. And it feels gooooooood:). 

Yesterday was the year anniversary of the day that we found out I was pregnant. One year ago I found myself eagerly, yet cautiously breaking into my secret stash of pregnancy kits, assuming another let down.

But this time was different.

And for every blessed second of this past year, I feel forever grateful.

little bear

xoxo

sleepy kinda week

It just will not stop snowing here. What do I expect? I live in New England......





My snow-covered garden eagerly awaits spring...

During weeks like this, I'm so unmotivated to leave the house.

He loves the monkeys. He coos and squeals as they dance circles above his head. And when they stop, he cries for an encore.

But I did venture out to give the little guy some fresh air.

Of course, getting him geared up (in his lumberjack outfit, as we so appropriately named it), took longer than the walk.

our driveway, pre-snow blowing



our driveway, post- snow blowing... what is that little black thing in the distance, you may ask? why, yes, it's Luna. She was the only one who thought me sane for taking this walk:).



Even as a lifetime New Englander, I can't seem to remember that walking on ice-covered snow with baby strapped to chest = not smart. But, whatthehell.... we did it and survived;).

After all, he is a true New Englander by blood, so he'll have to get used to it;).

And, well, days like these are pretty damn beautiful.

Not that we got far anyway... the warm house was just too inviting, so back in we went.

xoxo

settling in

Hello, December.

Thank you all for your well wishes and sweet comments on the arrival of Benjamin:). We're settling in with him, just in time for the cold front. The fireplace insert is running 24/7 and it's requiring a lot of extra work (and wood) to keep the house warm. But warm & toasty it is for the little guy, who, I have to say, all biases aside, is really a sweet & good little boy :).

We came home from the hospital in time for Thanksgiving. We had a quiet meal, which was a drastic change from our usual hosting of 25 family members:). This year, it was just the four of us, sitting by the fire, eating a (delicious!) pre-cooked turkey dinner from our local grocery store. It was relaxing and just what we needed after the hospital blur (but we do look forward to our tradition of football games and 25 stuffed bellies again next year...wait, make that 26 bellies).

Since Thanksgiving, we've been spending our time with Benjamin, staring at him, learning him and watching him take in this whole new world around him. I find myself often apologizing to him, ie. when it takes 20 minutes just to change his onesie 'honey, mama is new at this', or when I take his diaper off and forget to cover the stream of pee that soaks his chest 'mama's learning too, sweetie'. But all in all, it does seem that the past two weeks have made me a progressively better mama and he seems to be getting more patient and comfortable with both his mom & dad.

And seeing his dad with him just melts my heart. He gets this proud look. And this whole fatherhood thing seems to come quite easily for him. Another asset to add to the list of the reasons why I love him;).

And then there's the fourth (well, she would say she's the third). She has adjusted amazingly well. No adjustment at all, really. She seems to think that she is B's mama. I often spy her monitoring him while he naps. She sleeps near his moses basket, barks a bit sooner and louder when she hears outside noises. She protects him. It's really sweet. (But who am I kidding- this is no surprise;)).

So, happy December. I'm very much looking forward to my first real December in blogland:). I hope you are all enjoying this magical (and maybe a bit crazy;)) month. I look forward to basking in it all here with you:).

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo