One of those days...

The last week and half or so have been really busy.  Out of town family visited, we went to see friends in Houghton, two weeks in a row of small group at our house where I make dinner for 12-14 people, dinner with different friends and various house projects to get finished before baby 2 makes his appearance have left us all a little weary.  Today though was a Ben day and a day I don't really want to forget.

I began my day at 5:25 when Tessa heard my alarm and let me know it was time to run.  I slowly made my 30.5 week pregnant belly get out of bed, drank a big glass of juice, tied my sneakers and waited for a friend to meet me.  We ran a little over four miles together and I added on a bit after she left as I am trying to take advantage of everyday I feel good while running.  We returned, Ben woke up, we helped Andrew get ready for work and began our day together.  

After playing for a little while, I decided it was time to visit the office to let Ben show off his Halloween costume (and to give him a chance to practice wearing it).  An adorable chocolate chip cookie, he made the office ladies smile, saw his grandmom and daddy and we returned home.

With baby #2 on the way, Ben is going to go through several transitions.  The first one to come is moving him into another room with his big boy bed.  Two weeks ago Andrew and I painted the room and this weekend we are getting the bed set up and his room ready.  This morning I thought it would be fun if Ben and I went mattress shopping.  We set out into the sunny warm weather and drove to the four stores in Fredonia that sell mattresses.  Ben loved every second.  I let him try out the mattresses and he chattered away about his "bi bo be" (big boy bed).  He was a trooper as I hauled him in and out of the car.  We made a couple of other stops to look for shoes for Andrew (very exciting) and we picked out sheets for his new room.  It took about two hours to do all of our errands and he grinned and talked away the entire time.  I felt so proud and so full of love for my little guy.

After lunch with Andrew and Granddad, Ben settled in for a very short nap and I enjoyed a few minutes to prop my feet up and relax  Once awake, we headed out again only this time to go to pick up Ben's best bud and mom to go to Harvest Hollow, a local pumpkin farm.  Ben and I went last week with my parents and today I wanted him to try out the hayride.  He was excited when we arrived to see the animals, ride in the toy cars and play in a huge thing of corn with trucks.  He was so excited about the corn and trucks that he threw a bit of a fit when I put him on the hayride.  Once the tractor started pulling us however, he calmed down and enjoyed the ride.

We dropped off our friends, headed home, ordered a pizza and ate dinner.  Ben happily munched on his pizza and some "bb's" (blueberries) before we went for a family walk with both fur kids.  He chattered away on our walk as he pointed out the moon, asked for a pumpkin and talked about the leaves.  

After second dinner, a bubble bath and a lot of snuggles both in our bed and his room he is now settling down for sleep and while I am a little tired from the day, it is a day I don't want to forget.  From his excitement over bed shopping to his joy over petting farm animals to the way he gives his baby brother kisses on my belly I am so blessed that he is mine.  I love that he called me in tonight when I put him to bed to ask for more snuggles and to say goodnight to his dogs.  I love how his entire face lights us when he sees the people around him that love him so.  He is truly a gift from God and each moment we have together is a moment that I want to make sure that I cherish.  

So today was one of those days...not a day where I want to pull my hair out and feel frustrated that I didn't get the list in my head finished, but a day where I felt honored to spend every moment with my blond haired blue eyed angel that fills my heart with more love than I ever knew was possible.  

20 Months

I think I've been a little hesitant to write this post (and apparently hesitant to post because I realized this morning that I never actually did.)  20 months just seems so old!  Ben will be two before I know it and even before that his little brother Caleb will be here.  Ben is growing into a little boy so quickly!

Stats:
Weight:  24ish pounds
Height:  Taller than last month...he is a little hard to measure.
Teeth:  Still 12, I thought that a couple more were going to pop through but we haven't seen them yet
Hair:  His light hair has a reddish tint and is still really wispy.  We might have to give him a haircut within the next six months.
Clothing:  He is transitioning into 24 month clothes although they are still a little big.  18 month pants are too short.  He solidly wears a size 4 shoe.  We still use fuzzibunz.

Communication:  New words everyday!  He is quite the little mimic and chatters all the time.  Recent highlights are "uck" for yuck (we are working on the 'y') "more," and "baby."  We love listening to him talk away.  He has learned "no" but at the moment uses it very appropriately when asked a question.

Eating:  Mealtime is a little hit or miss.  He loves breakfast and has enjoyed his pregnant mom's recent obsession with pancakes, french toast, etc.  He enjoys eggs and fruit.  He loves pasta in any form and is starting to eat more meat.  Ice cream is his absolute favorite.  He will try almost everything.  He loves pizza and one night when I walked in with a pizza box he clapped his hands and said "yeah."  He figured out where his mommy milk used to come from and scopes out the women in his life (and sometimes men) to see if it is a possibility.

Skills:  He is learning his colors and yellow is a sure pick.  He can identify some letters, especially the letters in his name and the letter 'r' because it is on the sleeve of our R1 pull overs that Andrew and I wear a lot.  He is still trying to jump up and down and he can get one foot off the ground.  He loves to run around and dance.

Loves:  Books, Chopper, trucks, his stuffed penguin, walks, hikes, going in the car, music, dancing, listening to Andrew play guitar, visiting his dad at work, and the occasional you tube helicopter video.

Sleeping:  He still sleeps like a champ from around 8:30 to 8:00 with a two hour nap in the afternoon.  It is wonderful!