Some news, and braggin' on my boy

So I attempted to get more serious with this blog...and then what happens but a major life event that threw all my thoughts into a tizzy and rendered me unable to think about anything else.

Of what could I be speaking?  Oh, just this...



Yep, we found out in February that we're expecting our second little CityBaby, due sometime around October 26 (which is smack-dab between my birthday - the 24th - and my mom's - the 27th). 

After the initial shock wore off, we began to get used to the idea.  We've since been to see the midwives at the birth center where Benjamin was born, and heard a beautiful, strong heartbeat at 160 bpm.  Our next appointment isn't for another month, but at that one, we'll get to schedule our ultrasound - we're all excited to find out if Benjamin's getting a baby brother or a baby sister!

On another note, I must brag about all of Benji's accomplishments lately. He's growing and changing so quickly these days, it's amazing!  What's he up to now?

At 25 months, he...

• Can sing the ABCs
• Can count to 13 in English, and we even heard him dabbling in some Spanish counting once
• Can sing/recite at least 5 songs/nursery rhymes, almost in their entirety ("One, Two, Buckle My Shoe", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Ring Around the Rosie" and "Happy Birthday to You")
• Carries on short conversations and speaks in increasingly longer/more complex sentences
• Has started reciting a couple of his favorite bedtime stories, including "Brown Bear, Brown Bear"
• Loves to help with laundry, setting the table, and other simple chores

Benjamin is a goofball - so full of energy and enthusiasm.  He's also headstrong and often defiant.  And at the same time, he's such a sweet, loving little boy.  He loves hugs and kisses (as long as he's in the right mood) and tickling and snuggling up in mama's lap, especially for bedtime stories.  I rue the day I don't have a lap for him to sit in anymore, but I know he'll just sit in front of me and snuggle up as close as he can.

My little guy still looooves his trains.  We took him to see his beloved Thomas at Day Out with Thomas a couple of weeks ago, and he had a blast. 

He also loves seeing the trains on his walk to daycare every morning.  This morning we were running early, so we hopped on the train and rode down one stop (it's on the way to daycare, it's just usually faster to walk than wait on the train to take us those few blocks).  Of course he loved that special treat!

And lastly, I'll leave you with some of my guy's favorite phrases, which we hear many times a day around our household...

"I'ga do it"
"No like it!"
"I want milk!" "I want water!"
"What doin', Mama?"
"I fall down!" (said with a laugh, as most of his falls these days are on purpose)
"Help, help, Mama!"
"Where Daddy go?"
"Where goin', Daddy?"

Emotional Comprehension

I promise to get back to my aforementioned postings about Raising a Child in the City...but I just had to brag on my boy a little in the meantime. 

Over the weekend, I noticed the first sign of emotional comprehension in my not-quite-two-year-old.  To begin the tale, you need to know that my husband loves Star Wars.  And you also need to know that he owns an interactive, voice-command R2D2 robot, which looks like this:

Artoo stands about 18 inches high, moves independently, and freaks my son out.  Ever since Benjamin was old enough to know his head from a hole in the ground, he's been afraid of Artoo. 

Over the weekend, we had a visit from my sister-in-law, her husband, and two kids.  Our six-year-old niece wanted to play with Artoo.  So we pulled him out, turned him on, and away went Benjamin, cowering behind Mommy.  He was the only one, however, who was disturbed by this toy.  Even his younger cousin Macy bravely went over and gave Artoo the stare-down.  At one point, Benjamin even gallantly pushed Macy out of the way when Artoo was headed towards her.

Later that day, he looked at me and clear as day said "Scared".  I was floored.  This was the first time he had ever expressed any kind of emotion to me.  I asked him if he was scared of Artoo, and he nodded and said "Scared, R2." 

But it didn't stop there.  A few hours later, after Artoo had been returned to dormancy, and the incident had all blown over, I was in the kitchen doing something.  I hear Benjamin calling out to me "Mama!  Look!"  It took me a minute, but I finally looked over at him - standing right next to Artoo, with his hand on Artoo's - head? top?  Whatever.  And with a voice brimming over with pride, he said "I touch it!"

Mama was so proud.  I told him so.  Several more times over the weekend and since, he's gone over to Artoo, given him a good pat, and told me "I touch it."  So proud of my kid, conquering his fear. 

On raising a child in the city...

I've often thought I should find a niche for this blog. As opposed to using it simply to brag on my son, share funny anecdotes and cute pictures, that perhaps I should make my writing more focused.

Of course the name of the blog, and our unique situation, points to a pretty obvious topic.  I'm a City Mom, part of the burgeoning generation of young professionals chosing to stay in/close to the city to raise their children, rather than following the masses out into the Suburbs.

So, I'm going to do a little series of blog posts here on our experiences raising a child in the city.  I'll talk about the good, the bad, the pros and cons, and of course, why we chose and continue to choose this lifestyle.

I hope you enjoy this little foray into more serious blogging.  I'll try to make sure and sprinkle in some cute pictures of my kid, to keep Benjamin's loyal fans interested. 

23 months, or 702 days, or 1, 010, 880 minutes

That's how long my baby has been alive.  Just one month shy of TWO years old! 

In many ways, I already think of him as a two-year-old.  The tantrums are certainly Sized Two already.  He's almost outgrown 2T clothing.  His car-seat is facing forward already (something I swore I wouldn't do until he turned 2).  And he's been in the Twos class at daycare for a month already (and he's bigger than at least half of his classmates).

But technically, there is still one more month before my baby is a two-year-old.

The birthday party plans are in full swing.  I've already ordered decor, have my menu planned out, his gift has been purchased, and invitations went out early this week.

Otherwise, we're just chug-chugging along.  It should be a pretty fun spring for us.  The weekend before his party, we're going (along with some friends of ours and their adorable daughter Emma) to see Sesame Street Live.  I've been eagerly anticipating this since we bought the tickets last fall.  When I was not much older than Ben is now, my mom took me to see Sesame Street Live.  It seems only fair that I return the favor.  :)

Then in April, we'll be going to A Day Out with Thomas.  I know my little Thomas fan will love it!

My little guy is in for so much fun in the next couple of months...and he has no idea!  :)

From the pages of Abercrombie & Fitch, Toddler edition...

My little model.  Love him!

Hello, 2012!

So, somehow, a new year snuck up on us, and all of the sudden, BAM!  It's 2012!

The holidays were good to us.  We had a wonderful time with family, got lots of good presents, and began some of our own family traditions as well.  Of course it's always hard figuring out how to balance family time during the holidays, especially once you start a family of your own.  But we managed to make it through relatively unscathed, and not nearly as fatigued as we were during our first Christmas as a family of 3.  So we considered that a success!



Checking out his new play kitchen



All 3 grandkids on my husband's side.

With a successful Christmas under our belts, my husband decided to be bold and throw a New Year's Eve party as well.  You know what?  It was so much fun!  We had about 15 people over, including a couple of little cuties (although our own little cutie rang in 2012 with his Nana, so that Mommy and Daddy could party guilt-free). 



Chris and Pete playing Kinect

 So now here we are, nearly two weeks into the new year.  Benjamin's completed his transition to the 2s room at daycare, and loves playing with the big kids.  Things are going well, and I'm looking forward to what 2012 has in store for our family!


Santa Claus is coming...

To the Arts District?

Tonight we attended a tree-lighting ceremony in Dallas' arts district.  It was a fun event - we got to hear some good singing; see the tree lit by a ballet dancer, a few kids and our city manager; and Ben and I shared milk and cookies to close out the night.  But the highlight (for me, anyway) was Ben's first time to meet Santa.

It was a spur of the moment decision to hop in line to meet the man in the red suit.  Branden was at work, and I was a little hesitant for this milestone moment to happen in his absence.  But the line was short, and the pics were free - so I went for it.

While we stood in line, I talked it up to Ben.  Reminded him about who Santa was, how he brought presents, showed him the other kids sitting on Santa's lap.  I did all the hyping you can really do for a kid who's not yet 2.  When it came right down to it, the moment of truth...

This was as close as he'd get to Jolly Old St. Nick.  We got up there and made our introductions (Ben mostly looked away, and I could already tell he was nervous and scared).  Santa asked if we were going to try this (handing Ben over)...I said "I don't know"...and as soon as I made a motion to set Ben in his lap, my son had a vice grip on me, was shaking his head vigorously, and saying "Nooo". 

Fortunately, Santa's feelings weren't hurt.  He invited me onto his lap, and I laughed.  Which is precisely when the pic was taken.  No matter, it's still cute, and it's still a memory.

And the best part?  Branden didn't mind a bit that we did it without him.  And we might go to another Santa on Sunday too...that was my original plan anyway.

Merry Christmas!

Baby's first...girlfriend?!

I heard a couple of stories today when I picked Ben up from daycare that I just had to share - and they both involve a certain cute little blonde girl with curly hair!

Sophia has been in Ben's class for a month or two now.  She's a few months younger than Ben, and an absolute doll.  I've heard mention of them being "two peas in a pod" before, but I had no idea the extent of it until today.

According to Ben's teacher, Sophia and Ben have this "thing" they do.  One will be looking out the back window at the playground, the other out the classroom door into the hallway.  They turn around, see each other - and then run towards each other full tilt and hug! 

And if that wasn't cute enough...teacher also said that when Sophia falls down, Ben gets upset if anyone else but him tries to help her up!

My baby already has his first girlfriend - and he's not even 2 yet!  I can still wait a few years before we have "the talk", right?  I mean, he has to be able to say "birds and bees" first, right?

18 months!

I neglected to do a post celebrating Benjamin's latest milestone...and anyone who knows me should know how I am about milestones!  So here's a check-in on how my little one-and-a-half year old is doing.

18-month stats:
30 lbs 11.5 oz (he was up 3 oz when we took him in 4 days later...so it's safe to say he's basically 31 lbs)
33.5 inches tall
49 cm head circumference

Those are all pretty much "big".  Height is around 90th percentile, weight is closer to 95th, and head's up there too.  It's actually good that he's proportionate, and it totally makes sense.  From all reports, his daddy was a sizable, well-built toddler, and look at him now - he's tall and muscular, built like an athlete. 

What's our little Benji up to these days?

Talking.  Talking all the time.  About a quarter of it is recognizable words.  The rest is gibberish.  He's got quite a burgeoning vocabulary (and to think, we were worried about his hearing once upon a time!).  Our favorites of his words are "shooooes" and "ouSIDE?".  His favorite lately seems to be "Eh-mo!".  He loves watching Sesame Street, and gets especially excited about seeing Elmo on-screen.

Reading.  He looooves to be read to.  He'd happily spend hours bringing you a book, sitting in your lap, letting you read to him, taking that one back for a new book - lather, rinse, repeat.  Sometimes I'll find him sitting at his bookshelf, books spread out all around him, thumbing through one after the other.  It should be no surprise that this habit of his completely warms my heart.

He's still not a runner.  He can motor on down the hall pretty quickly, but true, fast running?  Hasn't come yet.  I'm okay with that.  He's active, but not hyperactive.  He's more of the inquisitive, people-watching type.  Sometimes I'll take him down to the park and he'll just stand there, staring at all the activity around him. 

He's a lover, and a biter.  He's great at giving hugs, especially the kind that require a running start and diving into your open arms.  He loves to laugh, especially at his Daddy.  We're also working on curbing his biting behavior - which, strangely, he only lets loose on me and his friends at daycare.  Go figure.

So that's the story with Benjamin right now.  He's a wonderful, awesome, amazing little kid, and I feel so lucky to be his mama.

A couple of funny stories...

So my kid is 18 months old now...I probably should've put up some great, sentimental, 18 month post, but I didn't.  Because I was busy chasing after an 18-month-old.

I do have a couple of cute stories to share about my favorite little boy, though. 

Story #1:  The magic word

So we had chicken fajitas for dinner tonight (pretty yummy, if I do say so myself). We had a box of cookies out on the table and decided to finish them off for dessert. Ben had a piece of chicken left, and we were trying to get him to eat it before he could have his cookie.

We tried everything we could. He was near tears, shoving everything out of his way, meltdown was imminent. We were about to give up when, on a whim, I said "Benjamin, can you help Mommy? I need you to eat this piece of chicken."

A light flicked on, the heavens opened, he grabbed the chicken and popped the whole thing in his mouth. He grinned while he chewed. Branden and I stared, dumbfounded.

I never in a million years thought that would work. I just did it on a desperate whim.

Apparently, "help" is the magic word.

And then he got his cookie. :o)

Story #2: In his own time

Yesterday, I washed all of his fall clothes, which I already had hanging in his closet. This resulted in a big pile of hangers in the living room while the laundry was going. Inevitably, Ben found the pile and spread them all over, playing with them. It was fine, because he'd been fussy most of the day, and it was keeping him occupied.

So then it comes time to fold/hang up the laundry. I set the basket down by the couch, across the room from the pile of hangers. I ask Ben to bring them to me. He ignores me, because he's busy reading Railroad Toad. I ask a few more times. Nothing. I give up, thinking I'll have to get up and go get them when I'm ready for them.

All of the sudden, he puts his book down (like he was finished), stands up, picks up a couple of hangers, walks over to me, and hands them to me. It had to have been 5 minutes that had elapsed since I asked for them! And with coaxing, he proceeded to bring me every hanger over there, two at a time. It was awesome.

This kid is the coolest ever.

Videos!

Last night, I went crazy with the video camera and got three really cute videos of Mr. Benjamin!  Here they are...

17

Seventeen months have gone by since the day I held my baby boy in my arms for the first time.  Every single day, he learns and grows and changes.  He's becoming such a fun and amazing little kid!

What has he been up to lately?

• He's going through a "word explosion".  He went from maybe a handful of words at 15 months to now speaking at least 25 or 30 that I can count.  He's even started to put together two word phrases, like "I go" or "I do" or "I know."
• He's started to say "Oh no!" and put his hands on his cheeks.  OMG cute!
• He can follow commands quite well now - when he wants to.  The other day, I asked him to put his push toy away at Nana's house, not thinking he'd remember where he got it from.  To my surprise, he pushed it right over and arranged it EXACTLY how Nana had it!
• Last night, he found his discarded spoon on the floor a few minutes after dinner - and all on his own, he picked it up, walked to the kitchen, and put it on the counter by the dirty dishes!
• He loves bathtime, especially now that we have "bubbles" and his new toy letters!



In general, he just makes life really super enjoyable! 

Branden's still working his second job on the weekends...though we seem to have found a better family rhythm lately, now that he can sleep in on the weekends and get naps sometimes too.  We both look forward to the day when he can quit that second job...especially because that will mean he has a professional planning job!  It will happen...some day. 

In the mean time, we try to make the best of the time we do have together.  Several times, Ben and I have made the trek to Branden's second job with him and had dinner together out there.  And Branden and I are trying to make sure to take time for ourselves too.  On Sunday, we had a "family date".  The three of us went out to dinner, then came home for dessert (frozen yogurt w/blueberries - yum!).  After Ben went to bed, Branden and I snuggled on the couch and watched "The Tourist."  It was a nice way to reconnect, and without having to worry about getting a sitter or anything.  I highly recommend it!

So that's what we've been up to lately!  :o)  How about you?

Two years ago...

Two years ago today, our lives changed forever, with one tiny digital word...

It was a Monday morning, and though I wanted to hold out until Tuesday to take that test, I'm glad I didn't.  It sure did start our week off with a bang!

And in a crazy parallel with this week...two years ago this weekend, we told my parents we were having a baby.  When did we tell them?  Right after we went and saw "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince".  This Saturday, we're going to see the final installment of the series (Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, for you non-Potternerds).

A lot has changed in the last two years.  We're going, regrettably, without Wayne, as we did for the last film as well.  And we'll be leaving our little toddler with a babysitter.

Crazy to think that in two years, he's gone from this:

Barely even an embryo yet

To this!



A walking, talking, pointing at everything toddler!

I'm glad we have Ben now, but boy do I miss Wayne at times like these.

Cosmic Cousin Connection

Tonight was progressing like any other Friday night.  Ben went down for a quick post-daycare nap...I fixed dinner...we all sat down and ate together as a family before Branden headed off to his second job.

Ben was still in his highchair, finishing up dinner, when Branden was leaving.  He gathered his things down at the other end of the house (well out of eyesight of either of us) and then told us goodbye from there.  Only this time, Ben said "BYE!" right back to him!!  A brand new word!

So of course, Branden had to peak around the corner to wave at him, and Ben said it again!

But it only gets cooler from there.  I sent a bragging text to my mom, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law.  And my sister-in-law sends one back...saying that her daughter, Ben's cousin Macy, just said bye for the first time right after Ben did!!

Now if that isn't a cosmic cousin connection, I don't know what is.

And since a post doesn't feel complete without a picture, here's one of Ben from his friend Emma's birthday party last weekend.

14 months, 1 week, and 4 days

That's how long I breastfed my son.

I can say that now, because it's over.  We're finished.  We had our last nursing session last night before bed.

We were down to just that one time a day anyway - had been since his 1st birthday.  I noticed over the past week or so that he wasn't falling asleep at the breast like he used to.  And our sessions were increasingly consisting of kicking, slapping, poking, and pinching - nothing vicious or mean-spirited, just the result of trying to be in close contact with an energetic toddler.

I feel so very fortunate that I was able to provide my son with breastmilk for so long.  What I didn't know before I started was how attached I would become to breastfeeding!  As silly as it sounds, I feel like I'm losing a part of my identity. 

Until our next baby, of course...

More Ben videos!!

Since that last post was so down-in-the-dumps, I figured I'd better hurry up and post some cute videos of my son to make up for it!

And he's off!

Look at him go!



Another...this time holding his new ball:



And finally, showing off his new words - "kitty" and "uh oh!":

We have a walker!

Just a few days shy of 13 months old, Benjamin decided it was time to start walking. He's still a little unsteady, and only goes short distances for now, but it's a start! I got it on video a couple of times today:

At this rate, he'll be starting high school soon!

I knew things would take off once Ben turned 1, but I had no idea it would go this quickly! What's he up to? Well..

For starters, transitioning to the toddler room at daycare. It's going really well. He already picked up the sign for "more", which he did at dinner a few days ago. He spends about half a day in the toddler room each day - though today he stayed even longer. He even napped over there today! This is a huge deal - because they nap on cots, and it was the part of the transition I was most worried about. Yeah, my kid's a champ, and I totally shouldn't have worried. I even got to see him napping on the cot when I stopped by today to drop off some diaper cream. So sweet!

What else? He had a pediatrician appointment on Monday - just a make-up for his one-year appointment. He was a little under the weather the first time, so Dr. A opted to delay his shots for a couple of weeks. Since that appointment, two weeks ago, he's gained over a pound! My not-so-little munchkin now weighs 26 lbs 10 oz, and the pediatrician jokingly asked "What are you feeding him, some kind of Miracle Grow?!" I never would've imagined he'd end up in the 90th percentile - this time last year, I was worried because he was such a skinny little thing, in the 10th percentile!

Let's see...what else...he's finally getting the motivation to take some steps on his own (just a few days shy of 13 months). After waiting on it for so long, and kind of expecting it somewhere around 12 months, I finally gave up and just relaxed about it. I found out from our moms that I didn't walk until 14 months, and my husband didn't walk until 13 months - so Ben's right on track! I really think the motivation is coming from being around the other toddlers and wanting to keep up. Hey, whatever works, right?

Here's a video of him taking a little walk (with the help of his Buzz Lightyear toy) in the lobby of our building last week:



On a totally unrelated note, Ben has a pretty nasty diaper rash right now. We were good about giving him naked time tonight to let it air out. My husband put down a blanket and hung out with him until dinner was ready. After dinner, I took him into his room to have a little more naked play time. Of course, that's when he decides to poo. Gah! Thankfully, my wonderful husband cleaned it up while I kept the kid from getting it all over the place. Ahh, the glamorous life of parents!

Transitions...

Hitting the one-year mark is a time full of transitions, for both parents and child. Going from a baby to a toddler...taking those first steps (still waiting)...often it's time for full or partial weaning...the list goes on and on.

This morning, I witnessed another transition for Benjamin, and it had me more emotional than I thought it would. I always knew that he'd move from the infant room to the toddler room at daycare some time around his first birthday. There are other characteristics that they look for - mobility, eating table foods, etc. But it usually happens somewhere around (but not before) 12 months.

The toddler room is right next door to his infant classroom. A windowed door separates the two, and he's spent plenty of time over the last few months peering in at the "big kids", watching them play. Many of his former classmates are over there now. Yesterday, they told me that he finally went over to visit for the first time (and it went very well!).

But this morning, when I dropped him off, they sent him over before I was even finished unpacking his things. So I stood and watched him for a while. I watched as the tallest girl in the class crossed paths with him...and tried to put a little "bow" on his head. I watched as he made his way over to a toy that must be so exciting and new to him. And as I stood there and watched, a lump formed in my throat. Surrounded by all those other toddlers, he was no longer the big fish in the baby pond. He was, really and truly, a toddler.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it made me so emotional. My little man is growing up.

No word yet on when he'll transition full time, but my guess is it will be soon.