TWO Years!

Two years ago Andrew and I were sitting in the hospital with our new little chunk.  Weighing in at 9 pounds our cone headed little guy captured our hearts and changed our lives.  Thinking back over the two years, I can't imagine our lives without Ben.  We've watched him grow from a wiggly newborn to a charming toddler.

Stats:

Height/Weight:  Toddler chubby and perfectly tall (we go to the doctor next week for his two year check up and will get official measurements.)

Teeth:  16 big chompers

Hair:  enough to make a mohawk post bath but not enough for a hair cut...yet

Clothes:  24 months/2t, shoes size 5

Ben's development:  Ben continues to amuse us with his rapidly expanding vocabulary.  He told me the other day he was using his "muscles" when he was working on something hard.  He is responsible and asks us to hang up his coat, turns off Andrew's amp if it is left on, and likes to help clean up and set the table.  He continues to love books and I think we read about a hundred a day.  He loves to play with play dough, take baths, build with blocks, play with his trucks and trains, and play with the dogs.  He loves to sing and is continuing to learn his letters and numbers.  He has started to test some boundaries and is trying to figure out what "no" actually means which has led to a few tears here and there.  He likes to look at the snow outside and stomp around in his boots but he isn't sure how much he likes to play in it as it is so cold!  He enjoys going to his grandparent's house and watching his favorite hockey team.

We've slowly been adjusting to life as a family of four.  Unfortunately for Ben it has been incredibly COLD outside which has limited our time walking around Fredonia.  We took a few trips to the hardware store to look at the trains and have visited the library but haven't had much of an opportunity to ramble around town.  We've found things to keep us busy in the house like reading, playing with water in Ben's learning tower, building elaborate train tracks with tunnels and dancing to silly music.

Fun things from Ben's last month as a child with an age measure in months...

Christmas!  Ben's second Christmas was so much more fun and interactive than his first.  We had to wake him up on Christmas morning for the fun to begin.  He enjoyed opening presents and we quickly learned that if he opened a book he backed into the nearest lap to hear it immediately.  He enthusiastically embraced our Christmas tree and loved hanging out with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even his cousin Lauren.

Big Brother Time:  On January 6th, Ben met his baby brother for the first time.  He came to the hospital twice to visit us and his immediate reaction was, "uh-oh."  The transition has gone fairly smoothly and Ben goes from wanting to hold his little brother to telling him to go away.  He is learning his new normal and we are all adjusting.  We have tried to make sure he still gets "mommy time" at night and before nap.  He likes to point out Caleb's body parts and makes fun of Caleb when he poops. He was the first to introduce a pacifier to his little brother and if Caleb is crying he likes to tell me that Caleb needs mommy milk.

Party!  We had Ben's second birthday party a few days after his second birthday.  We celebrated with a train cake, pepperoni rolls (to remember his WV birthplace), punch and of course presents!  He enjoyed celebrating with his family and friends.  His grandparents came up from Georgia to join in the fun and he had a blast playing with his Grandma and Grandpa Dooley.