5 on Monday

1.) I think I've mentioned before that the house we live in was previously owned by a woman who LOVED to garden. She must have planted at least 50 azaleas and hundreds of daffodils, not to mention dogwoods, crepe myrtles, camellias, roses, clematis, gardenias, and a variety of other bulbs, vines, etc..Anyway, tucked away in a far corner of our backyard are three flowering quince bushes. We don't do anything to them, but every year in late winter they produce the prettiest flowering branches. I love them so much, and when they have buds I cut as many branches as I can and force their blooms inside. They last forever as long as you change the water. We're getting towards the end of their season and that makes me sad, but at least our spirea is about to bloom next.

2.) Last week it rained and I let the boys go crazy in the puddles. One of the great things about living in such a warm climate is that a rain in late February isn't always that cold. I think on this day the temps were in the 60s? Anyway, Ben taught Abe how to stomp, and then the fun was on!

In a couple of these photos, you can see that Abe had just face planted in the water. I thought that would be the end of it, but the love of stomping in puddles won out over personal comfort! By the way, do you see that the house that they've been building across the street from us for THREE YEARS is finally nearing completion?

3.) Look who just woke up from his nap all smiley? What a cutie.

4.) I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but our boys share a room. Sometimes this isn't very fun, like two nights ago when Ben woke up in the middle of the night for no reason, and after exhausting mommy and daddy's patience and attention decided to wake up his little brother for some social time. That was a bad night. BUT, other times it's very precious. At night we sit on Ben's bed for prayers and songs, and Abe always climbs all over Ben and snuggles with him. After I put Abe in his crib he always likes to check and make sure his brother is in bed too, and if Ben leaves the room he gets VERY upset. Ideally, the boys wouldn't have shared a room until Abe was slightly older, but after a rough start it's getting much better. I actually think that Abe will be ready for a big boy bed much earlier than Ben was, and it wouldn't surprise me if they ended up sleeping together some nights. I truly think that sharing a room is making the boys closer.

5.) I guess I haven't mentioned this before on the blog, but I started running about 6 months ago. Now, you have to understand that I have NEVER EVER played a single sport in my entire life. Not even summer softball, or a few years of dance, or going out for track in seventh grade. I mean NEVER. So taking up a sport and actually sticking with it for a long period of time is a big deal for me. I won't say that I love it, but there are days when I really enjoy getting my blood pumping and the rush of endorphins. I can tell that I have more energy since I started a running regimen, and I also think it helps with my anxiety and focus. Anyway, I'm running my first 5K on St. Patrick's Day, and I'm really excited!  I'm not very fast and I don't like to run more than 3.2 miles at a time, but that's ok cause I'm pretty sure that's all they make you run for the 5K :) It's fun to have a goal.

Abe has his 15 months checkup tomorrow, so I'll post a little update on him once we have all his stats. Happy Monday!

5 on Tuesday

1.) Happy Valentine's Day! Tonight after the boys go to bed, Joel and I are going to have a date night. We're making steak, baked potatoes, roasted broccoli, and this yummy dessert. I'm excited! This morning I woke up to find this beautiful terrarium on the kitchen table. Joel had taken a glass vase of mine to a local garden shop and had them put together this perfect gift. I love it!

2.) Have I mentioned to everyone how much I hate the age of 3 1/2? I really hate it. It's the worst. I'm so ready for Ben to be four. I don't want to sound too negative because there are always great things about every age, but can we just skip ahead a few months? The whining....it just kills me. And the meltdowns over the STUPIDEST things. And Abe is at an age where he is testing my limits as well. Sometimes, when they're both being whiny and frustrating, and I get that weird feeling that I know all of you moms can relate to..you know, that feeling where everything starts to sound far away and you can hear the blood rushing in your head, and you're just staring at your children as they scream and cry over something dumb like not being able to watch TV, or play with my cell phone...at those times I just want to slowly and calmly walk out the door, get in my car and drive far far away. Anyway, my reaction to Ben's issues has been to set even more limits, and I think it's actually working. I don't do anything for him that he can do himself. Period. Even if it's frustrating. He gets himself completely dressed in the morning, brushes his own teeth, gets his own glass of water, peels his own bananas, cuts up strawberries...I even let him cook over the stove with supervision. No matter how much he whines for me to help him, I don't give in. If he's taking too long to pick up his toys and Abe and I are ready to go outside, then we leave without him. If he chooses to not wear a heavy enough coat, and goes for a bike ride and discovers that he's freezing, then that's his (bad) choice. And you know what? There were a couple of days where Ben absolutely HATED this. He got very frustrated and wanted me to help him all the time. But I didn't give in, and now it's not an issue. He's a lot happier and there's a lot less whining. I mean, he is still driving me crazy, but I guess I feel that by giving him more autonomy I can absolve myself of some stress. Another thing that has helped is realizing that he has blood sugar issues and gets shaky if he doesn't eat enough protein. So I make sure to give him a high protein breakfast on school days (NO cereal) and mostly protein filled meals and snacks, with very little sugar. If he is acting erratically you can almost guarantee that food is the issue.

3.) Abe is slowly weaning. Last night I put him to bed without nursing for the first time, which means we're down to one (naptime) nursing session a day. It's fine. I'm ready and he doesn't seem to mind. I could nurse him for few more months and be fine with it, but truthfully, my body doesn't respond well to extended nursing. I weaned Ben at 15 months at the advice of my midwife, and Abe is that age right now. At first I felt a little bit of sadness about this time of my life being over, especially since I feel like Abe's babyhood has just  flown by, but everything has to end. It's time.

4.) Lot's of exciting trips and vacations in our future! We're all flying out in March to visit Mimi and Poppy in Park City. Ben is going to go to ski school! I think he will love it, as long as he can get used to the cold. I think we're all pumped up about getting away and seeing some snow. Joel and I also have two little alone trips that we're planning. One to San Francisco in May for Joel's work, and another to see our friends in NYC in July. Of course, I'm already researching what restaurants we'll be visiting, and what I'll be wearing :) A work colleague of Joel's wants to take us out for a fancy schmancy dinner, so I think I'll just have to buy a new dress!

5.) Ben has started going to speech therapy once a week. We were aware that he was a little behind in the way he pronounced his words, but wanted to take a "wait and see" approach. A few months ago I started noticing that he was getting frustrated with himself and his mispronunciations, and that he was noticing that he says things the "wrong" way. And although he has a lot of friends and seems to be well liked at preschool, other kids were also pointing out the way he talks and having a little trouble understanding Ben when he speaks. About that time is when they had a hearing/speech screening at school, and of course Ben was flagged as a kid who needed further evaluation. We love his speech pathologist, Tracey. She is so kind and nurturing and Ben thinks of his sessions as playtime. He never lets me go back with him, I think because he thinks of Tracey as his special friend and NOT mommy's friend :) He even wanted to have his initial evaluation by himself, which I think is GREAT and probably helped Tracey get a more accurate representation of his language and speaking abilities, since he probably would not have talked as much with me around. So far he's doing well and shouldn't need too many more sessions.

Here's a cute pic of Abe to tide you over until I do a 15 month update for him :)