Tiny Tidbits III

As I'm trying to rock Ben back to sleep after he woke up early from a nap, Owen sneaks in:

Owen: I got to give Ben a hug and kiss. He does so, then leans near Ben's ear.
Owen: (Whispering) I tell you secret. Your birthday coming up. It tomorrow!

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Owen walks into the bathroom where I am brushing my hair.

Owen: I drink some of yours orange juice Mom, so you no spill it. 

The glass was half empty.

**********

I'm at the kitchen sink, dumping some hot pasta into a colander. Owen comes running up to me.

Owen: Be careful, Mom! You will burn yours finger!

He's always looking out for me. 

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Me: (After hanging up the phone): Owen, I just signed you up for a playgroup. Do you want to go play with a bunch of other kids one day?

Owen: Yeah. That a good idea. Today?

Me: No, it doesn't start until September. But it's without Mommy. Mommy would have to leave you there by yourself. Is that okay?

Owen: Yeah. That okay. 

Me: It's with a bunch of other kids your age. They would probably be the same kids you will go to Kindergarten with. It's over at the college.There will be some college kids who will stay with you. Does that sound like fun?

Owen: Yeah. I go to college, I drink beer. Daddy telled me that.

Oh, good heavens. My son is going to be the child who walks into playgroup on the first day and asks, "So, where's the beer?"

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Wordless Wednesday: Let them eat cake!

Tasty Tuesday: Dinosaur Cake

I was having a very difficult time deciding what theme to choose for Ben's first birthday, (but technically his second party). I asked the boys what I should do for his (second) cake and Sam said a dinosaur, while Owen said a house (which is what we did for his first cake). Sam won and for whatever reason, I was feeling very adventurous and decided to make the cake myself. I found some directions and templates online at two different sites (here and here) and sort of did a mix of the two. Here is a step-by-step of what I did:

What you will need (for MY version):

*Two different cake mixes
*Two 8-inch round cake pans
*Four cupcakes
*Frosting
*Food coloring
*Decorator's frosting in a tube
*Graham cracker crumbs
*Patience

Step 1. Prepare cakes according to package directions. (I used 1 dark chocolate and 1 classic yellow mix, but this is completely optional, as you can make this same cake with just one mix, but I chose to be complicated by having more than one flavor cake). Pour half of each mix into lightly greased cake pans. (I used the rest of the cake batter to make cupcakes to freeze for another time). Bake according to package directions.

Yin and Yang

Step 2. Allow cakes to cool completely. (There may be a SLIGHT chance that I put more chocolate batter in the pan than yellow. But no biggie; everyone knows chocolate is better anyway.)

Step 3. Cut each cake in half. Use frosting (I used a can of classic white frosting) to join the two cakes together, round sides facing out. Frost the flat side before placing on a tray to ensure the cakes stay firmly in place. Seal both cakes together with frosting, (See photo in Step 4) to even out any inconsistencies in cake size. (This is especially important if your chocolate cake turned out twice the size of your yellow cake). This will also help to seal in any lose crumbs before applying the final layer of frosting.

"Two players, two sides-one is light, one is dark."

We're Outta Here!

Today we are off to Grandma's house! (Otherwise known as the mountains of the Adirondacks. Also known as the Land-of-Dial-Up, or Hell).

Home, Sweet, Home

Therefore, I will most likely NOT be signing online at all while we are there. This means that I will not be able to approve any comments until I return. Speaking of which, not sure when we will be back; it depends on how long I can stand being away from my computer! The plan is Sunday, but you never know!

Because I Haven't Been Nostalgic Enough Already...

While I was looking back through all of my old photos for Ben's first birthday post, I was struck by how much Owen and Ben actually DO look alike. (All along we have been saying that Ben doesn't really look like Owen at his age; I guess we were wrong). Check out the side-by-side comparison below and you be the judge.

Owen is on the left. Ben is on the right. Baby quilts made by Grandma.

One month old:

 

Two months old:

 

Three months old:

 

Four months old:

 

Five months old:

 

Six months old:

 

Seven months old:

 

Eight months old:

 

Nine months old:

 

Ten months old:

 

Eleven months old:

Twelve months old:

A Conversation with Ben

Ben: Ma!

Me: Ben.

Ben: Ma!

Me: Ben.

Ben: Ma!

Me: Ben.

Ben: Ma!

Me: What?

Ben: Wha.

Ben: Then and Now

Since yesterday's birthday post for Ben was slightly on the long side, here is a continuation...

Ben has changed so much in one year! His hair has grown a million times lighter! He has 5 teeth (with another one ready to poke through) and obviously he's bigger.

Then

Now

In fact, he doesn't even look like the same child! (He was also slightly jaundice in the "Then" photo, but his skin was still darker than Owen's.

But Ben is not the only one who has changed in a year. Thankfully, Mommy has changed too!

    

 Then                                                           Now

Although my "Now" photo does not show my entire body (it's the most recent one I have-I'm usually the one behind the camera, not in front), you will have to take my word for it that I no longer look like the big whale that I do in my "Then" photo.

Our "Mommy and the Boys" moments have changed as well:

   

Then                                                               Now

Here are some of the other accomplishments that Ben has had before his first birthday:

*He is walking, and running, and trying to do somersaults
*He can say the following words: "O-wah" (Owen), "Hi", "Ma/Mama", "n-n-n-n-no", "tay-tay" (thank you), and "wah" (what)
*He can feed himself with a fork, but still more successfully with his hands.
*He climbs up and down the stairs, and up and down the stairs, and up and....
*He sleeps through the night! (At least until 5:30).
*He drinks out of a sippy cup.
*He tries to put on his clothes.
*He can take off his diaper and be running around naked before you can say, "Skippyjon Jones"!
*He tries to sing "E-I-E-I-O"
*He flies Buzz and drives his cars around while saying, "Brrrrrroooom!"

All-in-all, I think he's doing pretty well! Now if I can only get him potty trained soon...

One Year Ago Today....

I was sitting laying down watching a Law & Order: SVU marathon on USA. I was in the hospital. And I was in labor. Daddio was with me, but I was more focused on Elliot (Christopher Meloni), than anything else around me. (And truth be told, Daddio was really helpless anyway. He just sat in his chair, watching TV all day).

We had arrived at the hospital that morning around 8 AM. I was scheduled to be induced, on my due date, although I probably would have gone into labor naturally later that night or the next morning. Why were they inducing me? Really the only reason was because my doctor only delivered in a hospital (near my hometown) two hours away, and since my labor with Owen went so quickly, (we arrived at the hospital at 1 AM, I was ready to go around 4 AM), they weren't taking any risks with this one.

I'll spare you all the details of my labor, (it was really rather uneventful anyway, completely different than my experience with Owen). But I was thoroughly impressed with myself at how calm and relaxed I stayed through the entire thing. I kept saying to myself over and over again in my mind, "This won't last forever. It will be over soon. This won't last forever. It will....". Since I had already experienced this once, this time around, I KNEW that it would in fact NOT last forever. It also helped to have something to focus on, other than Elliot, I mean. Directly in front of my line of sight was an orange circle on a cabinet. I can only assume that they put it there for the sole purpose of giving the women something to focus on (because the men are so useless anyway and will only laugh at you if you try to use their eyes to focus on).

In the beginning stages of labor.

But seriously, I was super proud of myself, especially since my first experience involved tears and screaming and yelling. (I have no love for the hospital in Texas where I gave birth to Owen. They did not offer epidurals, only spinal blocks, and not only did mine slow down my labor, but it also wore off before he was born, and they refused to give me more). And holy crow, I was in LOVE with the epidural that they gave me. The only problem was that after having my lean on my side, they didn't sit me up straight quick enough, resulting in my entire right side being pain-free, but parts of my left-side still having feeling.

Anyway, I said I would spare the details. Long story short, ("Too late!") little Benjamin Ryan was born at 3:12 PM! He weighed 7lbs. 15 oz and was 20 inches long.

Which means that he is now a whole year old! (For those of you who hadn't already figured that one out by now). Here are some of my favorite pics from this past year (click to enlarge):

1. Me and my boys.           2. Heading home.

3. & 4.Yes, his hair was that dark. Who would've thought with two blondies for parents.

5. & 6. Owen has his moments. He now openly expresses his love for Ben. When he was first born, he claimed not to even like Ben.

7. Ben's first Halloween.              8. Mommy and the Goobers

9. Reading already. Start 'em young, I say!   10.You lookin' at me?

11. Happy face! (Owen is feeding him).       12. Look at those cheeks!

13. I can do tippy-toe push-ups. Can you? 14.Don't you carry your kids around like this?

15. Silly face.          16.Ben's first boo-boo at the hand's of his brother.

17.Such a little Cabbage Patch.             18. He loves swimming!

19. Little Adventurer.       20.Ben's first Fourth of July

And now I have to go clean up my kitchen and put away Ben's birthday cake, because this post seriously took me two hours to do!