{Ben -- Sleep, Babies and Being a Little Brother}

January has come and gone and I realized I didn't document much of the everyday happenings.  Which makes me sad because I look at the blog so much when trying to remember Luke and Ben at certain ages.  So I am trying to think of what I want to remember during this time so I have it on record.  And what I came up with was Ben.  My sweet and crazy Ben has been going through some changes in the past few months.  And I want to remember what it is like raising a toddler when you have an older sibling.  It is quite different than the first go round...

 

 

1.  Sleep.  Starting in the fall, Ben started having trouble going to bed at night.  I did everything I could think of to try to help him -- read more books, sit by his crib and sing to him, let him cry and try to work it out himself.  I figure it was a phase and that within a few weeks, we would be back to normal sleep and all would be well.  But it is over four months later since that started, and we are at a very different place than I thought we would be. 

 

Ben has dropped his nap for the most part.  I am shocked by this because Luke dropped his nap at three years old, and I felt like he was one of the early ones.  So for Ben to be dropping his nap at just over two years old, I thought it just couldn't be.  I even talked to the pediatrician to make sure this was even safe and that it wasn't an indication of something going on (which she said it is ok).  If he gets any type of nap -- even 30 minutes -- Ben is up until 9:00 or 10:00 at night.  If he doesn't nap, it still takes him till about 8:00 or 8:30 to go to bed.  The boy just rarely acts tired. 

 

For awhile I would fight it and try to think of ways or reasons as to why this was going on.  But ever since I started accepting it and making this our new normal, it is getting much better.  Even with no nap, he needs the door open, the hall light on and even sometimes needs to be rocked to bed.  The silver lining is that he is his best self at night.  He is happy, sweet and sometimes downright silly.  Some of his most precious moments have been in the late hours of the night.  So I try to cherish those...trying to forget about what I thought was 'normal' for his age and realize this is Ben and that is okay too.  And that karma is real...I wasn't much of a sleeper myself as a child.    

 

 

2.  Being a little brother is hard and wonderful.  I struggle finding the words to describe the relationship between Ben and Luke. 

 

On one hand it is hard -- two boys very close in age.  There are lots of fights, competitions and struggles.  Ben has a hard time when he can't keep up with Luke.  Luke is at the age where he is experimenting with calling names, leaves him behind or plays games when his friends are around like pretending Ben is the 'monster' and run away. Ben gets his feelings hurt a lot.  I can see Luke say one small thing and Ben's little heart breaks in two.  I worry about his little heart often.  Luke struggles when I need to praise Ben.  When I tell Ben how proud I am of him, Luke will shy away and tell me with tears in his eyes, "You aren't proud of me".  I am proud of both of them.  If they only knew the size and depth of my heart.

 

 

On the other hand it is amazing -- two boys that are true playmates that have a remarkable connection.  There are times when they play together for an hour or two straight and I don't have to do one thing.  I get to sit and hear their giggles and their conversations.  I get to see Ben start crying because he hurt himself and Luke ask 'where does it hurt?' and then kiss Ben's toe.  It makes my heart feel like it is truly going to burst.  Ben is doing so much more than Luke did at his age because he has the best teacher -- his brother.  He has a constant role model and just wants Luke to love him and include him which Luke does often.  They are friends -- true friends -- and it makes the fights seem so small and insignificant.   

 

 

They need so much from me and usually at the same time.  But they also need so much from each other.  And that is becoming more and more the norm.  Never did I realize the impact a sibling would play on the second born when I got pregnant almost three years ago.  Sometimes I wonder how much of Ben's personality comes from being Luke's little brother.  I imagine a lot, but I just don't know where that line begins or ends.  So we forge ahead and try to make special times with Ben, so he knows how to be just Ben. 

 

3.  For the love of babies.  Ben loves babies.  Like really loves them.  I noticed he would play with baby dolls whenever we were at friend's houses that had girls.  He has to point out the mama and the baby in every book we read and always asks "Where is baby?" if a book doesn't have them in a pair.  And then my sister had her baby boy Jack.  Whenever we are with them, he immediately says "I hold em" when he sees Jack.  He will pat him with his chubby hand and look him over from head to toe with the sweetest smile.  He is sweet and so loving and incredibly gentle for being such a big toddler. I love watching him love Jack (and I think Jack is pretty fond of him too!).

I love that Ben gets the opportunity to be 'the big boy' around his cousin Jack.  Ben is always the youngest in our family -- his brother Luke and then Molly.  But with Jack, Ben gets to be the older one and I think that is so good for him. What an nurturing side he has.

4.  Remembering that Ben needs his own experiences.  Today I brought Ben to his first Little Gym class.  He is two years and 1 month old.  Luke was in music, Little Gym and swim by 12 months old.  Ben gets to experience all sorts of things that Luke didn't get to at his age due to having an older brother.  He gets to go to fabulous birthday parties and do gymnastics and bounce houses, he gets to go to the park all the time and soccer practice.  But he wasn't doing some of the one-on-one things with me that I did with Luke out of pure logistics.  But they are getting older, so that is changing! 

We started class today and he did well.  At first he did not like it -- he started bawling when we were just sitting in a circle introducing ourselves.  Cue mommy guilt!  Clearly he feels most secure when his big brother is around.  Which makes me happy on one hand.  But he also needs to feel good and confident on his own.  So I am so excited we are starting this new chapter.

I am also considering putting him in soccer starting in March.  He has watched from the sidelines for almost a year now, so I hope he is ready!  But I can't help laugh thinking of a coach with lots of two year olds running around.  How the heck is that going to work?!?!

Good gracious, I love my 40 pounder (yes, he is really 40 pounds)!  He is absolutely huge and the funniest little guy I know.  I seriously think he could have his own reality show. And I just love that spice added to our family. Two years old is quite a wild ride...

{Train Show 2014!}

There is nothing like seeing your child's eyes light up with joy. Well...I have never seen Luke's eyes as bright as they were when we took him to see the Train Show in Houston in January.  It was beyond amazing!   

 

We learned about it just a few days prior to it.  Thank goodness a good friend mentioned it so I looked it up.  Immediately I knew we were going.  And it did not disappoint!  Luke was in absolute heaven.  HEAVEN.  He was so amped up on adrenalin that he was in overload.  He wanted to see it all...all at the same time.  Chat and I were literally running after him to keep up with him as he looked at everything.  It truly was incredible to see him so excited and into it. Seriously, it was rows and rows and rows and rows of trains.  And the coolest model train set-ups.  For someone who really never even noticed trains before I had Luke, I was so impressed.  We truly had a wonderful time!

 

I loved seeing all the little boys (and let's be honest...all the grown men...who knew adult men were so into trains?!?!) walking up to the convention center in their Thomas shirts and conductor hats.  It was adorable!  The boys...not the men.  Ha!

 

Of course I can't get a picture of the two of them both looking at the camera.

 

 

Guess who was there?!?!?

 

THOMAS!

Luke was super excited...

 

 

Trains galore!

 

 

 

Ben had a great time as well!  He is into trains - maybe not as much as Luke - but he loves whatever Luke loves.  He did have an epic meltdown towards the end.  So we had to get some popcorn and sprite to solve that problem.  But then he did not want to share any of it.  So after pouting for a good 10 minutes while we all regained our strength on our snack, we handed the bag and bottle over.  He had a death grip on them, and death look I might add to anyone who considered taking it.  He held it the rest of the show.  Which bought us another hour of fun!

Ben doesn't believe in eating one at a time...

Too bad the show only comes to Houston every 5 to 10 years.  Luke is still talking about it and I wish we could bring him back a few times a year.  It really was that special for him and that special for us.

{Post Christmas & NYE}

I am trying to stay caught up and not get too behind on the blog...so moving along to post-Christmas and then New Year's.  We woke up the day after Christmas and completely took down all of the Christmas decorations -- tree and lights included.  I think with all the increase in toys and clutter, we just needed to get organized and couldn't with all the decorations.  Since our house is pretty small, we need every square inch.  And really?  When Christmas is over, it is over for me. So we had our tree on the side of the curb by 8:00 am the next morning. 

Then we headed out to run a few errands with the boys!  Chat got a gift card to get a new lawn mower which he desperately needed.  So we hit up Lowe's...

They had to wear matching Thomas the Train shirts that they got for Christmas

Please note the Thomas boots that a particular toddler is still wearing...

 

We went a few more places and did some returns.  We then headed to GoodDog HotDog for lunch - a new hotdog restaurant in the Heights.  Chat's brother James works there and we had been wanting to try it out. Luckily it was sunny and warmed up a bit and we got to sit outside.  The food was delicious and the boys did well, so all-in-all a success!  Random picture from the restaurant where both boys were trying to give a kiss....Chat looks like he is bracing himself.  Which he probably should.  Typically something like this ends up with someone getting hurt or crying.  Ha!

 

 

We then had a wedding that late afternoon/evening.  When we got home that night we decided to try something new with Ben and let him sleep in a toddler bed in Luke's room.  He has been having some issues with going to bed, so we thought we would try this.  It went VERY WELL that night (following by a HORRIBLE night the next - hence he is back in his crib now).  But that first night was amazing -- both boys sleeping all night in their own beds without getting up once.

 

 

This was a shot from the second night. 

He was over it (and so was mommy!).

 

The next morning, Chat played golf with my dad, so we had some friends over to play and then went to lunch.  I feel so lucky to have such a great group of mommy friends who are always up for getting out and doing things, no matter how chaotic.

 

Why are the numbers at restaurants so fun to play with?

 

In the afternoon, I actually dropped Ben off at my  mom's and I took Luke to see Frozen with some of his friends.  I really liked the movie!  Luke did too, but to be honest, if he didn't have popcorn and sour patch kids, he would have never made it.  Then that night, Chat's grandmother Eva came for a visit from Oregon.  We had Christmas over at Chat's stepdad's house and had a blast!  The boys have such a fun time with their cousins and we love it when Chat's grandmother Eva comes.  She is just a blast!  On Saturday, we took all the cousins to try out bowling.  I was considering bowling for Luke's 4th birthday party but we had never been.  So it was fun to try it out!

 

 

Oh Benny...he is such a hot mess these days.

 

Sadly we will not be bowling for Luke's 4th birthday party.  Although super fun, the kids lots interest by about the middle of the first game since it takes a while and all of his friends' parents would kill me - it takes lots of patience and help.  I couldn't imagine tons of 4 year olds doing this without parents sweating to death and needing lots of alcohol.  But it was a fun outing for a Saturday with a smaller group!

 

Macey was not happy with Ben and Luke it seems!

 

 

If I could tell you how many times Luke or Ben dropped a bowling ball. 
We were very lucky to not have any broken toes.

 

The whole gang (minus Macey and add friend Wyatt)

 

We finished the night with more playing and pizza at our house and then called it a weekend!  We celebrated our final Christmas with Chat's dad's family on Monday and then headed to the bay house for New Years Eve!  We had our friends come with us for the first night and we had a wonderful time.  Other than people setting off fire works till 2:00 am.  I could have done without that.  So other than not getting tons of sleep, we had a great time!

 

  

 

 

  

 

Okay, I think that is it for year 2013!  It took me about a week and a half to finish this post.  Clearly I need to get better at this.  Or have shorter posts!  Signing off....

{Christmas 2013 Part 2}

I am going to wrap this up quick since I feel like Christmas was practically months ago.  It sure does end quickly, doesn't it? 

I finished the last post when Chat and I collapsed in our bed after a busy, but wonderful Christmas Eve.  The boys woke up around 7:00 am the next morning and we quickly got to opening gifts.  They were super into opening presents!

Scooters as you see in this picture were a big hit!



 

They did a pretty good job!

 

Ben's favorite present had to have been his Thomas rain boots. 
He saw them and instantly wanted them "ON!"

 

The boys got head lights, flashlights and light sabers. 

I think we are set in the light department. 

 

 

Here is a picture of our tree post-craziness.  Pictures never do Christmas trees justice...

 

After we unwrapped gifts and the boys started to play, I got busy making breakfast.  Chat's mom comes over for breakfast on Christmas morning so it was crunch time getting everything made in time.  I usually use my Christmas china, but they were still dirty from the night before so leftover plates from Ben's birthday party it was!  So it looked a bit more casual this year and I didn't make nearly as much as I usually do (out of just pure exhaustion and lack of time), but it was delicious and warm.  I made a SUPER easy cinnamon roll casserole that will definitely become a staple for Christmas morning!

 

Bebe stayed for a few hours and then it was time to head to my parents to open presents!  We headed there around 11:00 and had a ball.  We then headed home for naps and then went back to my parents around 4:30 pm for Christmas dinner.  It was delicious and of course I ate waaaaaay too much.  We all headed home that night and looked at the insane mess in our house.  We decided to leave it for the morning and went to bed!

 

My sweet nephew Jack

 

Ben loving Woody!  And look at all those stockings behind him. 
Man how our small family has grown these past four years.  I love it!

 

Buzz was there too!

 

But what was the best thing to play with?  BUBBLE WRAP!

 

Cutie cousins

 

We did have two more Christmas celebrations after this later in the week -- one with Chat's stepdad and family and then one with Chat's dad and family.  Everywhere we went there were more presents to open...so we are in detox mode with the kids trying to get them used to not getting something anytime we go somewhere now.  Ha!

 

It was an amazing Christmas!  I do realize just how much busier it is when you have kids.  Long gone are the days of watching Christmas movies everyday.  But kids sure do bring the magic back to Christmas.  And I absolutely love that.