Sign Language

Since Bentley was 4 months old, I have been trying to teach him sign language. Nothing big, just simple stuff like food, more, all done, and please. My purpose in doing this was to give him a way of talking before he developed the ability to actually say the words. I've heard that it helps relieve some of the frustration for parent and child. Each time I offered him something at lunch or snack time I would say "Can you say please? please? please? please?" Of course making the sign for please each time. Nothing. Then I would help him make the sign and repeat. Nothing. Well last week my little man signed "more" out of no where. I didn't ask if he wanted more. Hadn't even worked with him on sign language at all that day. And here was 'more'. So I jumped on it and got all excited. Within a week my little guy has mastered 'more' and 'please' and we take every opportunity to ask and reward each effort. I have such a smart baby.

My child

Bentley has been learning all sorts of new things lately. One of which stands out most vividly in my mind is his ability to throw a fit. The first fit he ever threw (I don't count crying a fit... more of a reaction to tired, hungry, bored... that type of thing) was of course, in the grocery store. I'm talking, intentional, trying to get attention stuff here. You know how you see those parents with the child throwing a fit in the store and you think, "what would I do?" Well here was my moment of glory to be the perfect parent with that perfect responce... I failed. I stared at my child like "Where are EARTH did you learn to do this?!" I say learn because until that point I was a firm believer that children get their habits from their parents' habits. So of course here is my child having his first real fit in public and I am in denial. No, not my child. He wouldn't do that. There's something wrong. HA! What is the cure to a child throwing a tantrum? There is no one action that yields the right result. I've learned over my last few weeks of experience that consistency is all I've got. When I don't know what to do... I stay calm and just let him get it out of his system. Several statements such as no, calm down, don't touch that, stay here, go to sleep, etc... are said. How do parents do it? How did mine do it? It's like taking a test and having no clue what the correct answer is. You're just constantly hoping that you're doing things the right way.

And that last comment brings me to another fun topic. Sleep. Bentley's been sleeping through the night since he was 9 months old. We'd put him in his bed, give him a pacifier (which he only uses at night), cover him with a blanket, shut his door and that was that. There was no crying. No screaming. No bursts of laughter. No constantly laying him back down. Where did I go wrong??? It was like, one day he woke up and decided that he was going to have a strong will of his own which included the fits and the fighting going to sleep. (No it was NOT due to immunizations) But, our journey into toddler-hood has begun. And so, as I'm told, the fun starts. :)

Don't get me wrong though. Bentley is the smartest, cutest little guy there ever was! To watch him learn amazes me. I am constantly surprised at the understanding he has of the world around him. Take for instance getting off furniture. We had taught him maybe two or three times to turn around and get off. One day out of no where I thought he was going to just fall of my in-laws trampoline. (which is 2ft at most off the ground) But no mistake, he ran to the edge, turned around and slid off... as if he'd done it a thousand times before. It just amazes me what children pick up.

Joel and I have found a lot of joy (and entertainment!) in raising Bentley. There isn't a day you don't smile and just appreciate the simpleness of his life. (and the complexity of the mess he can make!! I mean, wow!) Things stuffed behind the couch, in the couch, flushing the toilet, finding the cat-food bowl, pots and pans, ripping things, food on the floor, things smeared in his hair, the bite marks on the crib, always stuffing pacifiers behind the crib when he supposed to be falling asleep and laughing about it, the trail of kleenex's being pulled out of the box, baby wipes also fit in that category, the great discoveries made in the kitchen trash, the kitty who is no longer safe from child glee,..... must I go on? And the whole time I'm typing this I am smiling because it is wonderful to be a mom. My baby who never sits still, or stops gibbering, or knows how to keep his hands out of anything is the highlight of my life. A never boring, ever-changing day.

Here's to more fun filled days! ;)

A quick summer

It's so funny to think back to the beginning of the summer when Joel and I had all these ideas of things we would get done around the house this summer. Fence- check, door- check, garden-check. So far so good... but then there's dig out concrete pit, haul the concrete to the dump, kill the weeds, pick and spray weeds (and tree seedlings), level backyard, paint the hall and  living room and Baby room and office and craft room... Where did the time go? And I so enjoyed having Joel home for the summer. I already miss him. School time starts once again and so does my poor husbands stress. He is such a good daddy though. Every day when he gets home, Bentley is SO excited to see daddy! And of course that means he doesn't want mommy. Joel really enjoys this routine too. As soon as Joel's in the door Bentley is pure smiles. I love that he knows us.

But of course with age comes the stranger danger stage. It's cute at first. I don't have a cuddly baby so to have him cling to me as if it's life or death is wonderful. But after those first 5 minutes its not cute anymore. Now I need to get stuff done and I need you to let go. Or at least stand on the floor beside me.

Bentley's 1st birthday is just around the corner. I can't believe how fast it has gone. I am so excited for it though. I have planned and replanned his birthday party like 5 times. Big or small. All out or simple. I finally decided that I won't do something for this first birthday that I couldn't do for any other future child. I don't want there to be a competition of who got more. That being said, I'm still doing a few fun things. Decorations, home made cake, and of course the exciting presents. It'll be interesting to see how he does at the party.

So farewell summer. And ahhh, fall. I love the colors.

Fence

This weekend we are excited to put up a chain link fence in our backyard. Hopefully that will stop any issues with people messing with Chelsey's garden. The other day someone came into our backyard and ripped out the tomato plants that Chelsey had worked hard to plant. They just threw them against the house. Chelsey then re-planted them and sometime in the next 2 hours they came back and did it all over again. Needless to say this was upsetting. Thankfully it hasn't happened a third time and we are very hopeful for our tomato plants. We are very grateful to Chad and Linda who gave us a bunch of fence for free. Hopefully we will be able to put in the fence without too much hassle.

Next week comes the door!!

Bruises

This morning Bentley decided that he was going to be a little more adventurous and explore our home. For the most part he has just been crawling around in the room we set him down in. So while I was in the other room picking things up, I hear him talking to himself. Then I could tell he had made his way to the kitchen because when he talked, his voice had that little echo. And then he was silent. And we all know that silence is never a good thing with children because it means they're getting into things or being sneaky. Luckily I stopped what I was doing and started for the kitchen. I arrived just in time to see my baby land his head on the floor. It was pretty loud and he cried pretty good. Usually Joel and I try to react in such a way that he can "shake it off." But this time I could tell he'd done a good thing of it. About thirty seconds later a nice bump had already started. My poor baby's first bruise. And definitely not his last. So after being distracted, I went back to what I was doing and Bentley followed me. He crawled right to the gate and started pulling himself up. I've caught him standing in his crib only once so far and neither Joel or I has seen him actually stand by himself. But at that gate he acted like he'd done it a thousand times and then gave me the wicked little grin he has. And of course... topples over.... He's destined for multiple bruises today. It's the start of little boy-hood.

Bentley is crawling

Two days ago Bentley started really crawling. We have it on video. It was very exciting to watch.

Yesterday we were sitting together in our family room and Bentley was going crazy trying to catch Zedd (our cat). Zedd was very well behaved and let Bentley chase him for a while. Zedd would move away just a little bit and Bentley would chase him. When Bentley would catch him, Zedd would move away just a little bit again. We both enjoyed watching them a lot :) Bentley would get so excited that he would lift his left leg up too high and put his foot on the ground and push off of his foot. It was super fun to watch him get so excited.

Now that Bentley's crawling Chelsey went out and bought a gate (without measuring how wide our hall is). It is a little too small, but it should work ok with a little bit of cardboard or wood or something to make it fit.

Chelsey, I hope that I wrote enough for you :) I can't think of anything else to write.

Updated finally.

A lot has happened since January. Spring is finally starting to make its appearance. And yet- so is winter... ugh. I wouldn't mind if it stopped snowing every other week! Joel and I are planning so fun home renovation things for this spring. A door to our back yard, some lights in the family room, a garden, a fence and no more dead trees. Lets hope we can afford it all!

Bentley is getting all grown up. At his 6 month check-up, he weighed 15lbs 13oz and was 28.5" tall! A tall one! He has learned how to make his mouth say dada and mama even though he still has no idea it has meaning. I made a goal for him- sitting up by himself by Easter. At first I wasn't sure we were going to make it. (because last year, easter was the first sunday of april and I was under the assumption it would be close to that time again... not the 24th nearly the end of april) But then he surprised me and just started to not fall over as much. And now he can sit up for a long time before toppleing over. It's not even april yet and we've almost gotten it. So now I might make a new goal for him. Roll onto his tummy from his back. He's got tummy to back down... just isn't as excited to be on that tummy. Plus, with that comes crawling. When he sees other little children running around him all hyper like, he gets excited and kicks his feet and laughs. You can just see in his eyes that as soon as he can figure it out, he will be right behind them.

Being able to be a stay at home mom has been such a blessing in my life. From the time I was little I just LOVED those babies. And sad to say that as soon as I was married I was pestering Joel with "now?" "now?" "now?" Finally my baby boy arrived and I am one happy camper. I have this child to devote all my time and energy to. I love watching him grow and being able to show him off. My mother in law said it perfectly. "If you could have picked all the traits your child would have, you still wouldn't have picked a baby as perfect as he is." He is such a joy in my life. He has been called a flirt many times now by family and strangers. He is just so quick to give out smiles. Not weak ones either. The kind that just suck you in.

I have started making a 2 week meal plan for Joel and I. You see, before I got married, I was the kind of person that would buy lots of groceries of things I liked and when it came time for dinner I would stare into the fridge and cupboards and eye out what I wanted. What ever I was in the mood for. This carried into my marriage and worked still.. but I began to see how expensive this was. There were too many items of food expiring because I didn't feel in the mood for them. SO, I've changed my ways. I plan out in advance what we will eat each day and make my grocery list accordingly. It's been fun for me. In doing this I have discovered how few meals I make and have decided to expand my horizons. (This is all about me because Joel will eat anything I have prepared. He's just happy if it isn't take-out.) 3 new soups, a pasta dish, and a meat dish have come from this. Oh how I love cookbooks. In my opinion, when you go to the doc's or dentist or hair care person, they should have cook books laying around instead of magazines. Love them things! So if anyone is interested in what I make or how I make my meal plans, let me know. I'll even do it FOR you if you don't want to. It's like a hobby of mine now :)
I'll add pictures a little later. Bentley is SO SO adorable though. You'll have to take my word for it.

Winter

I had the most wonderful realization this morning. Winter is almost over! There was this part of me that kept expecting it to come (even though it had) and I thought oh man, spring!! It's funny too because it snowed a lot this year compared to previous years and it has been really cold. After thinking oh ya winter has already started, I remembered these things. It was one of those moments when someone should have thumped me on the head and said "duh!" But only a month-ish more of this aweful weather and then spring will be here. I'm very excited to take bentley outside and to do fun outdoor things with him. Soon he'll be big enough that I can take him to the Rec Center and go swimming :) ahhhhh so happy about my day now.

January

I seem to have a hard time writing more than once a month on my blog. My apologies to those who read this (if there are any).

I dread the beginning of school for Joel again. I have enjoyed having my dear husband home and I miss him a lot when he goes back to school. He leaves before I get up and gets home just in time for dinner, homework and bed. Not a lot of "us" time in there. But the good news is that he only has 3 semesters left and then he will have a BS in applied mathematics. woot woot.

Bentley has grown so much in the past couple weeks. He has changed from being a blob with likes and dislikes, to understanding his own actions an abilities more. He now reaches for objects held infront on him. Twice now he has stuck his little fingers into scalding hot food that his parents were trying to eat. He has discovered how to make different sounds and also that if he skips his whining cry and goes straight to his bloody murder cry that mommy comes right away. He is a very good sleeper. And by that I mean, lay him in his crib and he would put himself to sleep... But as learning goes, he has also decided that he doesn't want to do this anymore and resists the temptation. He will lay and cry and cry despite everyone knowing that is it well past his bed time. We think we're sneaky in putting him in his swing at this point. He still can't fight off the lulling motion and it takes all of 30 seconds for those little eye balls to shut. :)  Ah parenthood. The battle to be in control.

We gave him his first bites of cereal a couple nights ago. Baby cereal that is. He did NOT like it. He put up a good effort of covering his face as if to say "No more!" The squished dislike face was also a dead give-away. Is it bad that we enjoy seeing all these new reactions? "haha! give him another bite so I can take a picture" :) Gotta say... I think babies are meant for entertainment!