Rock-a-Bye Baby

Lately, I have been having a lot of fun watching Julia interact with Benjamin.  When we first brought him home she was a little shy and hesitant around him… being very cautious about touching him and she kept asking me to tell him what she was doing and saying rather than talking to him herself.  But over the past couple of weeks she has started to get over it and as Benjamin is starting to react to her more she is getting more adventurous.  This past week she has been helping me entertain him and one of her favorite things to do is rock with him when he is in his swing.  Here’s a video of the big sister in action!

Benjamin’s Workout

Benjamin woke up with a lot of energy this morning and was determined to try to roll over! 

He hasn’t made it yet but we’re starting to glimpses of his personality coming out.  He’s a very laid back baby (even sleeping late sometimes – yesterday he slept until 8:00!) and very happy but it also seems that he is determined and a go-getter when he wants something!  Try, try again!

Two months

Benjamin’s second month has been relatively quiet.  We’ve been enjoying getting out of the house a little more (mostly to watch Julia ride her bike) and he has started being awake for longer stretches of time.  He has also been growing like crazy – almost 2 lbs and 2.25 inches in the last month.  According to the doctor today, he is now 10lbs, 14oz and 23.5 inches!  A very healthy boy!!

Of course, I wasn’t able to get him to smile for this picture but in general he is a very happy baby.  He smiles quite a bit and seems generally amused by the happenings around our house.  He is quite fidgety and can already roll himself from his back to his side.  He has found his hands and likes chewing on his fists; he is still working on opening the hands more.  He really likes watching Julia and in the past few days he has taken an interest in a couple of the rattles that we have for him.  Andrew and I are enjoying seeing Julia and Benjamin get to know each other and scope each other out as they begin to interact… it’s been a fun month!

Julia’s Gallery – The Snake

Title: The Snake #1

Materials: dot markers on construction paper

Comments: This is the first very precise independent artwork that Julia has created. Andrew and I were not involved at all; she went into the playroom, got the markers, and created!  She very carefully used her dot markers to create the shape of snake and then went back and filled in the empty spots to make sure there was a continuous line.  We know  this because there three of these on our fridge right now and after she came into the room with the first one (pictured here and which we were very impressed by), we spied on her while she made the others! 

RI Hike #1: Chafee Nature Preserve at Rome Point

For Christmas I gave Andrew a short book of hikes in Rhode Island and we decided that one of our goals for this year would be to try to complete at least part of all the hikes in the book.  The weather here has been gorgeous so Sunday we got started.  The first hike was in North Kingstown only a few minutes from our house and seemed like as good as any to start with.  Also, it consisted of a walk through the woods out to the beach along the bay to Rome Point where there is a seal colony from October – April.  The hike was about 2.5 miles long and flat but there was a good stretch on the beach which gave our legs a nice workout.  Benjamin rode in the Ergo on me and Julia walked a little ways and was carried a bunch by Andrew on his shoulders (a pack for her to ride is one of our next planned purchases!).  Overall, it was a beautiful day and on Monday Julia was already asking me if we could go hiking again!

Happy Spring!

We’ve been enjoying the sunshine, fresh air… and dirt!

St. Patrick’s Day cont.

Yesterday I hadn’t downloaded the pictures from this weekend onto the computer yet so here are the shots of some of the festive outfits!

And here is Benjamin’s backside as he tries to roll over!  He’s made it onto his side from his back a couple of times now – rolling all the way over is not far away I’m sure!

Milestone: Grasping Objects

Benjamin hit one of his first milestones today.  He held a rattle for the first time.  He also hit himself in the head with it!

 

St. Patrick’s Day

We’ve been celebrating our little bit of Irish ancestry this week!  Last Sunday we went to the West Warwick parade (but we made sure to leave before the parade of fire trucks – with sirens blaring – started).  Everyone except Benjamin really enjoyed it.  Julia particularly like watching the dancers and gymnasts.  Benjamin was particularly squirmy whenever there was a loud noise and there were lots of loud noises!

Then Julia had a St. Patrick’s Day party at school on Thursday.  It was complete with a rainbow fruit salad, cupcakes, and Julia’s first taste of Lucky Charms (she loved the marshmallows – no surprise there!).

Then, for the actual day, we had our corned beef dinner which we shared with lots of good company.  For the second year in a row I brined my own corned beef and it was just as delicious this time around.  But instead of the rest of the traditional boiled dinner I made colcannon – a yummy combination of mashed potatoes and sauteed cabbage and onions, and sauteed carrots.  It was a fun night and there were green outfits all around!

Ballerina Julia

Julia has been in a dance class for the last 8 weeks.  She has been really excited about it each week.  It has been fun to watch her come home and try out dance moves, although we definitely don’t get to see all of them.

For the last class of the session Mrs. Sandy, their teacher, had them put on a 10 minute show.  They did 4 short dances during their recital and it was very cute.  It was easy to tell that Julia’s favorite was the ballet dance they did.  As you can see in the video below she was quite good at it.

Cute Kids

A few things that have made me smile recently:

• Julia’s favorite bath toys are a set of colored plastic dolphins and each night at the end of bath time she takes each one (usually there are 4-6 of them) rinses it off and gives it a kiss and hug.
• Several times in the last few days I have been burping Benjamin on my shoulder and he has patted my back with his hand at the same time.
• Yesterday, at quiet time, Julia insisted she wasn’t tired and would not lie down while I read her book but about 20 minutes later (after playing very quietly) she passed out… on the rug on her floor for an hour.
• Julia has the word “surprised” confused with the word “annoyed” as in: “Mom don’t be surprised at me!” Andrew and I always use the word annoyed thinking she’ll correct herself but she hasn’t yet, just like she still “getfors” things!
• Benjamin has started smiling at everyone, especially Julia.  He loves hearing Julia laugh.
• Yesterday was silly hat day at J’s preschool.  She had the perfect hat – a gift from Grandma Laurie’s trip to New Orleans a couple of years ago:

Wednesday Fun

Some tidbits from the last few days…. 

This first video one is of Julia swinging (at least one of the kids is using the swing!) and singing her ABCs.  You’ll note there’s a least one extra “J” - she likes to stick them in whenever she can!

This second video is one we took today after J came home from school today.  Thursday is music day and they were introduced to a new instrument.  It took me a little while to realize that she was walking running around the house all afternoon saying/singing the word “glockenspiel”… quite a mouthful for a three year old!  There was another video that was more focused on the glockenspiel but I had to share the faces that she made while I was recording this; hopefully everyone will get a laugh! 

And for those who may not have seen this photo on Facebook here is my first successful snapshot of Benjamin smiling!