Mommy

I’ve been called many names before.  Princess, Peanut, Boobala, Michalson, Mickelson, Mrs. Mahrer, Sweetie, Ah-me (oh I miss my Grampy), Amers and of course Amy.  But my favorite name I think I will ever be called is Mommy.  Just the past two weeks Ben started calling me Mommy instead of Momma.  He used to say Momma, but it’s also the word he mumbles for other things.  But Mommy is just Mommy and I LOVE it! 

Ben’s been fighting a cold lately.  Nothing like a kid with a snotty nose.  Today though was one of the best days we’ve had with him.  It was just so much fun.  He fussed a little after I picked him up, but then once Daddy got home we hit the park and had a blast.  He must have gone down the slide 100 times laughing and squealing all the way.  After a dinner where he actually ate what we gave him (Daddy refused to give in and let him eat just bread like he wanted) he laughed and played until bedtime.  There wasn’t any tears when it was night night time, just love and kisses. 

When I pick up Ben from school I love to stand by the door and just watch through the window.  If I walk in Ben will stop what he’s doing and run to me so I stay outside and watch him.  He’s very much a teacher’s helper.  On Friday I watched him insist on turning the pages of a big book before the teacher was done with it and today he was grabbing the shakers out of everyone’s hands to put them away.  Then once I walked in he bopped another kid on the head not once, but twice.  Lovely.  Yes, I have that kid.  He’s a bit territorial.  If he’s playing with something, he does not want you touching it.  He pushed poor Mayson on her birthday twice because she used the car he was sitting on to stand up.  So looking forward to his behavior chart when he starts kindergarten.  I see many teacher conferences in my future…

I haven’t taken too many pictures lately.  Ben loved watching Daddy mow the yard yesterday.  He chased him around and around.  Being stuck inside while Daddy’s working outside is just not an option for Ben. 

Ben loves to cook with Daddy.  Lots of tears when he can’t help.  Last week Daddy was making lasagna and Ben helped with the mixing.

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for some

I.LOVE.THIS.KID!!!  Ben is just amazing and all I want to do is kiss and hug on him all day.  He’ll give hugs and kisses on demand now…LOVE IT!  And the kisses aren’t open mouth and slobbery anymore, even though we’d take those, too.  And yes in between his adorableness and sweetness his horns appear (and not the burnt orange ones).  Man this kid can throw a fit.  He is not a fan of getting in his car seat sometimes and Heaven forbid you take something away from him.  If he’s doing this at 15 months I don’t want to know what it will be like in a year or two.  Ben had his 15 month check up on Friday.  I had to get him during nap time at school.  It was the first time I’ve seen him napping on his nap mat.  He was sound asleep and wasn’t too happy I was waking him up.  I tried so hard to get him out quickly, but I’m pretty sure that his cry caused a domino effect in waking the other 3 babies in his room up-oops :)  Anyway, Dr. G said he looked great.  We’re finally getting some more teeth.  I have concerns about his toe nails and Dr. G said they will be normal “when he’s an adult.”  Thanks!  Our little trooper got 4 shots.  He’s never had an adverse reaction to a shot, but man was he crabby that night.  We had to miss out on a bday party that night because of our little stinker.

Height: 32.5 (90%)

Weight: 27.10 (75%)

Head: 20 (go ahead and guess the %)

 

Football started this weekend so Daddy is one happy boy (hence the post title).  Ben sat and watched some football, but called it bay-ball the whole time.  We worked on touchdown and he’ll do it at random times.  Shoots his arms in the air and starts going “woo.”  Mommy’s team plays Daddy’s team this weekend- GO MOMMY’S TEAM!

 

Ben LOVES to help Daddy cook.  B let him dump the beans in the pot when they were making chili the other night.

Thanks to our buddy Wyatt’s blog we had to break out our tent from Aunt Kristin and Uncle Tommy.  Not sure who enjoyed it more, Ben or Daddy.

 

He just looks so grown up dressed like this

 

Today we went outside because we have two escape-artists of dogs and I needed to watch them.  Ben found their big water bowl and had a blast with it.  He was drenched when we went in for dinner.

 

Do you see his head?  He fell on a big wooden block toy Sunday and it left a huge mark.  There’s a straight line from where his head hit the edge and a goose egg formed around it.

A new thing-he puts his arms up like this as if he’s say “what is it?”  He does this when he sees something new or if the dogs do something crazy. 

 

Ben loved chasing Bailey girl through the yard.

 

3 more days until the weekend and Miss Mayson’s bday!!!  And yes, it’s Pop’s bday, too, but Ben never got an invitation to his party.

Bay-eee

Did you miss us?  Sorry for the very long delay in posts.  There just aren’t words to describe the complete exhaustion I feel after work.  I’m not going to lie-it’s going to be one rough year (just ask B about the content of the emails he gets daily from me), but…I will get through it and things will perk up (and thank God I work with 4 amazing girls-finally).  Ben, on the other hand, LOVES school.  He loves to run in each day and on Friday the weather finally cooled enough so he could go out and play and he was so excited.  When I get home any energy left in me goes to playing with our boy (who seems to have boundless energy). 

Ben is still so much fun.  He cracks us up.  Yesterday he turned 15 months.  B took him to the doctor a week ago (sinus infection) and they weighed him.  27 lbs of love!  He loves to watch baseball “bay-ball” and stand in the bathtub.  B taught him how to take the cup in the bath and splash/pour all the water ON THE FLOOR!  Thanks, babe!  He’s a pain with food.  He’ll eat anything at school, but at home still won’t eat anything with protein.  Just wants fruit.  He loves drinking water out of B’s cup and always wants “bup” on the couch.  He runs everywhere.  In general he’s a very happy boy, except when he’s hungry.  He doesn’t know how to say or sign hungry, but instead says “more.”  I swear he wakes up saying it and goes to bed saying it.  The kid could always eat, but right before dinner is a little stink.  He’s just so hungry lately around that time, even after a snack.  Right now his back gums are twice their normal size just waiting on the teeth to pop through.  He dances whenever he hears music or if you just say “dance.”  He’s started stomping his feet in addition to moving his arms and head.  Speaking of stomping, the other day he threw a huge fit and stomped his feet and cried when I wouldn’t let him do something he wanted to.  I can hardly wait for the kid to turn 2.  Wish I could blame that on B, but I think he’s going to have his Momma’s poutiness.

So I titled the post after our sweet Bailey girl, or “Bayeee” as Ben calls her.  We had a little scare Thursday night and came very close to having to say goodbye to her sooner than we want to.  We came home to a house COVERED and I mean covered in doggy vomit.  We weren’t sure which one it was, but after I got Ben down and cleaned it up we let them in and she got sick again.  Lethargic and just not herself, it was so sad.  We went to bed and I couldn’t handle knowing she was so sick so I took her to the emergency vet.  A bazillion dollars later they’re not totally sure what happened.  They told me to expect the worse based on her symptoms.  They kept asking if she got into something or ate some of Ben’s food.  I tried to explain that we have Bruiser at home who is the dog who gets into EVERYTHING and has tummy issues.  Bailey is our perfect dog.  I think I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve gotten mad at her in 5 years.  We’re pretty sure Ben will start calling Bruiser “no” based on how often we get on to him.  Poor Bailey girl was on her way to organ failure from being so dehydrated.  They pumped her full of iv fluid and electrolytes and gave her pain meds and antibiotics.  Not one cry from her as they poked her a million times.  They even had trouble drawing blood because her veins were so weak due to a lack of fluid.  She’s doing so much better now and tonight we let Ben play with her for the first time and he was so happy to have his girl back.  They just snuggled.  My heart was happy.

My camera has been resting lately, but I got a few pictures today and had a few from a couple weeks ago. 

Someone fell at school and got an boo-boo.  They said he didn’t even cry.

 

He takes all his toys off the shelves.

This is what he does when you ask him, “How tough is Ben?”  And he’s holding part of a nacho-like father like son :)  The dust pan is his shovel.  He’ll use it to pick things up.  The other day he helped B with laundry by shoveling the dirty laundry out of the basket and into the washer.

 

Ben’s favorite book.  It’s starting to fall apart now.  He has us read it probably 50 times a day.  He’s pointing to the bee and saying “buzz.”  Do you notice how dirty the couch is.  Thank God for leather.  He thinks it’s fun to wipe his hands on the couch all over it when they’re dirty.  We can’t keep up with wiping it down.

 

I promise to try to be better at blogging.  He changes so much each day and I need to capture it!

Blueberries for Ben

Oh sweet Ben!  Thank you for the most wonderful summer EVER!  I have loved, loved, loved the past ten weeks with you.  Before summer started, a little part of me hoped I wouldn’t like staying home with you so that it would be easier to go back to work.  NOPE, not even a little bit.  Everyday was full of smiles, giggles, laughs and love.  You grew and learned so much.  I’m so glad I was able to be home to be a part of it.  I just love you to pieces!!!  Tonight was a little hard for mommy putting you to bed.  As you gave me kiss after kiss and hug after hug, tears fell from my eyes because I know that tomorrow we’re both off to school again for another year.  I hate that we pay someone to play with you and experience all your fun while we’re missing you.  But that is what God’s plan is for us right now so we will accept it and love every second we have together outside of school.  I hope you have a happy year at school.  I am looking forward to telling another group of 1st graders all about my absolute favorite little person in the entire world each and every day!  I love you sweet boy!

 

While tomorrow might be my first day back, we were smart enough to start Ben back last week to ease into the routine again.  Monday was HORRIBLE.  So many tears on both our parts.  After a summer with Mommy, Ben wasn’t quite ready to let me leave.  It got better each day and Grams still calls and checks on him each day for me.  I kept him home Friday so we could have our last Mommy and Ben day together.  I took him to the mall playground and the kid was in awe!  We left after 10 minutes because there were just too many big kids there and I was scared he’d get hurt, but he LOVED it.  I mean LOVED it!

The director emailed me these pictures on Monday to ease my heart.  Everyday when I pick him up I watch him for a few minutes in the window and he’s happy and running around.

They can tell me a million times he’s fine, but a picture does help SO much.  The other little boy in this picture started on Monday.  I wonder what his mom thought as I walked out SOBBING?

He loves this silly old kitchen.  Pretends to turn on the water and rubs his hands under the faucet.

A little fun after school on Monday.

On Friday Daddy made nachos.  He makes them then puts the piping hot tray on a lap tray and eats in front of the tv.  After Ben was done with his dinner, he crawled up next to B and started LICKING the nacho tray (it had cooled by then).  I’m very worried about his table manners. 

Off the subject of nachos, but I was SO happy to have B home on Friday night.  He bought season tickets for the Rangers for the rest of the year with Jonathan and although they’ve only gone to games this week, I HATE him being gone.  He goes straight from work so I don’t see him until after midnight and the only time Ben sees him is when B takes him to school.  I begged him to give away his ticket Friday and come home and he surprised me and did.  He does watch the games on tv now and Ben will sit there and watch them too.  He shouts, “BALL” and claps and cheers when the batter hits the ball.  Pops would love it!  The Rangers are away all this week-I’m one happy Momma!

 

Have you met our horse, Bailey?

And before I leave you with one final picture of my favorite 14 1/2 month old, let me explain the title to this post.  Ben has found a favorite food.  Blueberries are his absolute favorite food.  He eats a pint a day if we let him.  He even knows they’re coming and will eat about 5 bites of a meal and then starting signing for more and by more, he means blueberries.  It might as well be the sign for blueberries now.  We try to give him more of whatever it is he’s eating and he hit our arms out of the way.  When we put the blueberries on his plate he lets out a squeal of delight.  He was with me when we bought some and just about flipped himself over the seat of the cart to grab them.  Now I have to hide them behind something else.  And we make trips to the store just for blueberries.  I was in my classroom organizing my class library and came across the book, Blueberries for Sal.  I stopped and read it and it reminded me so much of Ben.  I could just see him walking up Blueberry Hill, finding a spot full of blueberries and sitting down and eating all them instead of filling his bucket with them.  And yes I cried as I read it in my room because it made me miss my best buddy.  I took the book home though to read to Ben.

Today we went out to eat for lunch.  We had a long wait before we were seated and stayed outside so Ben could walk around without being trampled.  This kid is all boy and loves to play.  His face was bright red and sweaty when we were paged.  He chowed down on a taco and left no crumbs.  He fell sound asleep as we pulled into the neighborhood so Daddy let him sleep on his belly when they came in.  I was a little jealous Daddy got some cuddle time.  The monkey is always on the go now and doesn’t cuddle anymore.

 

Do you think I could go wake him up and love on him a little???  I already miss him so much.

Oh August, must you be here already?

Have I ever mentioned that I love this kid soooo much?  I do.  Today we spent at least an hour just laughing and tickling on the couch until Daddy came home.  Maybe the best part of our day and we had a really good day.  Ben is such a character.  Today is also his 14th month birthday!  I swear we’re going to blink and he’ll be 14 years old.  He doesn’t have a checkup until next month.  Ashley asked how much he weighed today.  I don’t know-A LOT! He is all boy!  He learned please this week and I love it when he signs it and says the word banana (“nana”).  He also knows where his belly is (hard to miss) and his head.  And he loves, loves, loves the book, 10 Little Ladybugs right now.  I try to read his Bible stories and he squirms and reaches for Ladybugs instead.  We’ve spent the last week doing the same fun summer stuff:  having fun!  Lots of playing, some pool time with Mayson and Ashley and making a mess of my classroom (but shhh, we can’t talk about that yet).

And on with the pictures:

I think he was looking for some coupons.  Already learning to save money.

 

Where did my little baby go???

 

One of my favorite pictures.  We went swimming at Ashley’s sister-in-law’s house Friday and Monday.  Ben only likes his baby float for so long and then wants out.  I love that Mayson’s hand is on his leg and his arm is behind her back.  Young love ♥

Ben liked the foosball table at their house.

 

He hates when I brush his teeth with his toothbrush, but loved to use a travel toothbrush he found in our bathroom.  He spent forever with this in his mouth.  It was cute until he brushed Bailey when she walked by.

 

My boys…I love them!

 

We stopped at the pet store to get a new leash and Ben LOVED the birds.  Why didn’t I think of taking him here earlier in the summer?  We spent at least 20 minutes just walking around all the birds.  Ben really likes birds and can say it (sounds like “bur”).  He loves to look up in the sky and spot them.  He has always loved to look up so I think his love for birds is fitting.  It’s too bad birds are not easy pets like fish or we’d have one.

 

Enjoying his first ride on the carrousel at the mall!  Can you see his tan line on his arm?  The bottom half of his arms are really tan.

The good life

Since I go bonkers just sitting around doing nothing, we have tried to keep ourselves busy this past week. And oh what fun we had! Ben is just my favorite little buddy! It’s ridiculously hot outside right now, therefore water is a must! We even hit the neighborhood pool filled with kiddos who go to my school, but they were sweet so it was okay :) We had planned to drive down to Austin on Friday, but Daddy called Thursday around 3 and asked if I wanted to go after dinner. I had a million things to do before we left, but agreed and I’m so glad we got there Thursday night. It was like having a whole extra day. Ben was amazing down there. He is continuing his quest of having all his family members tied around his fingers. B and I were able to sneak away alone to see a movie and have lunch one day and later go to dinner with Tommy & Kristin and Tina & her boyfriend followed by a comedy club with the rest of the ‘cousins.’ While we were off having fun, Ben soaked up some one on one with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma loves how he signs for “more” and gives him food just so he’ll do it, even when I tell her not to!!! She pulls the grandma card on me so I guess she can since that’s her job to spoil him. Sweet Ben now likes donuts… thanks! We finally got to have dinner Saturday at Flores (their FAVORITE little restaurant) and Ben looked like a little boy in a 3rd world country shoveling rice and beans into his mouth. It’s embarrassing to take him to restaurants sometimes. This was followed by ‘Family Game Night’ which we introduced to Tina’s boyfriend. Poor guy, maybe it was too soon??? B and I were still laughing about it tonight :) We had such a fabulous time and totally blew our diet. Thank you Tina, Grandma and Grandpa for a super fun weekend! Ben loved peeing on your floor and playing with your cup holders.

The camera came back from it’s vacation on the shelf. Woohoo!

We tried to meet Addie & Michelle and Mayson & Ashley at the library for story time on Wednesday, but arrived too late so to lunch we went followed by a stop at Dimples for some cupcakes. They have little kid furniture and Ben walked right over and waited for his TWO dates to join him. My little stud.

Thursday we met Ashlee and Wyatt at the Splash Park for some fun. Wyatt gets the idea of a splash park. Ben, on the other hand, walked around trying to steal cups that belonged to other kids. An old, dirty cup caught his eye and that is all he wanted. A little girl pushed him down and made him cry when he bent down to see her bucket and the Mama Bear in me kicked in. NO ONE hurts my baby! I’m well aware that Ben beats other kids up (just ask Mayson), but this girl was at least 3 or 4 and he’s just a curious baby. She did apologize, but still!!!

Enjoying the hammock with Daddy in Austin

Jim-Jims! Jim-Jims has to be one of our favorite desserts. Once you have it, you can never have a snowcone again- it’s FAR superior! After a visit to the UT co-op (Ben needed some UT gear for the upcoming season) we made a little detour for some water ice. Ben is doing the sign for more here. He went nuts for Jim Jims just like his parents, that’s our boy :)

Playing at Zilker Park

We took him on the Zilker Zephyr train around Barton Springs. He was bored with it after 5 minutes and started playing with the screws on the seat instead. Typical boy.

This is how Ben rides.

Yes this is a picture of a picture and yes I realize we used to be quite skinny…BUT, we showed this family reunion picture from ‘02 to Ben and asked him where Daddy was and he got it every time! He would study the picture and start at the top and look all around and then put his finger right on B’s head each time. I’m sure this is nothing special, but I like to think he’s a genius!

On our way home we stopped at Nick and Sheri’s to pick up a grill they no longer wanted. They’ve just put in a pool and outdoor kitchen and their house is like a seriously like a resort. The infinity pool has bar stools IN IT. Who needs to go on vacation when that’s in your back yard? Anyways, they have a little boy, Nicholas, who is Daddy’s youngest cousin (3 years old). Ben liked his swing and convinced Sheri to push him over and over and over while they watched the golfers.

cute cousins

Ben lucked out and had fast food for lunch. Poor baby was so tired he fell asleep with part of a chicken strip in his hand. He has crumbs all over his face and shirt.

To continue our fast food habit we stopped at Bush’s for a potty break and some ice tea and rolls. Too yummy for words :)

Why not continue to eat junk for dinner? Tonight Ben had pizza for the first time. I think it might replace mac n’ cheese as his favorite. We let him eat on the couch and he looked like he was in a state of pure bliss at one point with a huge smile on his face and his head leaning back. Such a goofy kid :)

Gotta love those dog days of summer

This post is for Grams who does not feel that my last novel length post is sufficient and wants more of Ben.  Who can blame, don’t we all love that little stink?!?!  We’ve spent the past week doing a lot of nothing…and it’s been GREAT!  Lunch with daddy a couple times, swimming, a couple play dates with friends and LOTS of play dates with Mommy and Ben :)

The sweet boy is growing and changing every day.  Here are some tidbits about the little man as of late:

• Daddy, or “Dada” is his HERO.  Ben worships this guy.  He calls his name all day long.  Grocery store, playroom, bathtub and crib-all I hear is “dada…dada…DADA.”  When he walks in the door after work it’s like it’s Christmas.  I woke Ben up to meet Daddy for lunch and he started to get fussy, all I had to do was tell him who we were going to see and he perked right up with a smile.
• Totally enjoys baths.  We’ve always bathed Ben in our bathroom, but just recently I moved him up to his bathroom and am finally letting him take a bath without his seat.  He thinks baths are the neatest thing.  He’ll walk into the bathroom, point to the toys and try to throw his leg across the tub to get in.  He’s not great about sitting (hence the seat being part of bath time for so long). He is fascinated with his reflection in the metal cap under the faucet.
• Not a fan of meat or poultry.  It’s such a beating to get him to eat protein.  He’ll take his chicken breaded in nugget form, but that’s about it.  There are some days when he’ll devour it, but for the most part he feeds it to the dogs.  He just doesn’t get that mac n cheese is not an acceptable lunch or dinner EVERY day.
• Gets the drive through thing.  Now if we go through one, you better have something to give him to munch on or else!
• Doesn’t mind the heat.  He was the park and it was probably at least 100 out and he just wanted to continue playing even with sweat pouring down his face.  He threw a huge fit when I put him in the car to leave (mommy was HOT).
• Can open doors-eeek!  I was on the phone in the study with the door closed and all the sudden the door pops open and there he is, HUGE smile and so proud of himself. 
• Barks when he hears the dogs barking outside.  Not really a bark, more like an “oooohhhhh.”
• Blanket, oh blanket.  I’ve always been paranoid about putting a blanket in his crib, but this summer started.  He loves when I cover him up with it.  He likes to cover his head with it while he sleeps which freaks me out a little.  I still take it away when he’s down for the night before I go to bed.  He also still has to have Baby Tad.  The lullabies still sooth him.
• Pretends to talk on the phone with remotes, wii controllers and our phones.  So cute, puts it near his ear and says “hi.”But if you give him the phone when someone has called, he wants nothing to do with it. 
• Helps with the laundry.  Puts clothes in the basket and takes them out.  Also investigates the dishwasher and vacuum.
• Dancing King.  This child loves to dance.  Anytime music comes on he starts bouncing and shaking.  So funny that he likes dancing and music so much since his Daddy and I are so not the dancing type.
• Will mimic anything we do.  Daddy has been practicing throwing a little football with him and he’s showing some progress. 
• Bye-bye bottles.  As of the other day he is a bottle free kid.  No more nighttime bottle, now it’s a nighttime sippy cup.
• Still not into tv, but we’re noticing he’ll watch a minute or two every now and then.

We are just so in love and in awe of Ben.  Daddy made fun of me the other day because all I ever say is either “I love him” or “he’s just so cute.”  I can’t help it.  He cracks us up all the time and his smile and laugh are heartwarming.  We are blessed!

 

The camera has been on vacation recently, but I got a couple of pictures the last couple of days.  He doesn’t really always go around in just a diaper, but when it comes to afternoon naptime, I normally let the pants slide and just do the diaper thing.

Tried on my tank top the other morning.

We had chili last night for dinner (I know-just the thing you eat when it’s blazing hot outside, but it was simple and quick).  Poor baby was sleepy and rubbed his dirty hands all over his face.

 

All hail the great and mighty Ben

 

 

Ben and Bailey-best friends.  Bailey lets him do ANYTHING to her.  He stands, jumps and sits on her all the time and she just lays there.  She’s such a good dog.  Unfortunately he thinks he can do this to all dogs and cats and this has caused some worries.  Other animals (including Bruiser) just don’t get it. 

***In an attempt to save money, Daddy switched satellite providers and I no longer have my 90210 reruns.  Unacceptable doesn’t even begin to explain this.  It is the ONE show I watch during the day when I’m not working.  I do not care at all that I have seen each episode at least 20 times.  So let’s all make him feel very bad about this.  And had I known the channel wasn’t on the list, I never would have agreed to switch!!!