Best Toy

This is still one of the best toys Ben has ever gotten.  Thanks again Meo, Omi, Gramma, and Grampa.  

-Kim

Quiet weekend

This weekend we got to spend some wonderful time at home.  We had to venture out twice, but overall we got to stay happily, peacefully at home.  We haven't done that in a long time.  Neither Pat nor I had to tutor, and we didn't have any outings to attend.  Not only that, but I didn't have any major projects I wanted to accomplish.  A few minor things, sure.  But nothing huge.  We got to just hang out, and it was glorious.

We did have two brief activities.  Friday night I went to my mother's group resale.  That was fun because I was shopping, and because it was with a bunch of other moms who I enjoy talking to.  I was able to get pretty much Ben's winter wardrobe, plus a couple of toys.  Sunday we had church.  We sadly don't go to church nearly often enough.  I am in the bell choir though, so we make it on those once a month occasions the bells play.  This was the first time we put Ben in the nursery for the service.  He did so well!  I checked on him midway through and he didn't even look up, he was playing so hard.  He was a little fussy when we picked him up, but it was very close to nap time.  And this was the first time he had been with non-family.  I think an hour was long enough for him.  I missed him during the service, but I am also so proud of how well he did!  I know as he gets older it is more and more important for him to experience things without me or Pat around.  He has to learn to navigate his life on his own.  Don't worry, we aren't going to start leaving him places any time soon.  This will be a long, 18+ year process.  The church nursery for an hour every so often is a great starting point.

As I said the rest of the weekend we just played.  We had gotten the cleaning done earlier in the week.  I did the laundry and cooking pretty quickly on Saturday.  So the rest of the time it was just the three of us, down on the floor playing.  It was a good weekend.

Sadly this is a normal destruction level when playing with Ben.

So happy to be standing!

Peeking around the chair.

Letter and numbers are fun and comfy. :)

My sweet boy!

-Kim

Shape Sorter

I enjoy trying to fashion toys for Ben from things around the house.  One thing I learned how to make was a shape sorter out of a coffee can.  It isn't really a shape sorter, because any shape object can get through the slits in the lid, but it does the job.  It's actually a little better for small children because it is a little easier.  Ben has enjoyed me playing with the toy by popping plastic golf balls through the lid of the can, and he has enjoyed rattling the can around to hear the balls shake.  Recently though, he has been able to get the balls in himself!  It is so sweet to see how proud of himself he is when he gets the balls in.  He loves when I take the lid out and spread the balls around for him to get.

Ben is learning something new every day.  It is so fun and exciting to be a part of his growth and development.  You can watch Ben with his shape sorter here.

-Kim

Dancing!

There is little cuter than a baby dancing.  Ben has always been a busy boy, and I think he enjoys music.  But he hasn't really danced yet.  This morning he was in his pack and play while I was getting ready.  He is able to get music to play in it, and he started swaying to the sounds!  I of course grabbed my phone to record it.  So here is Ben dancing.

He's got some pretty sweet moves.

He's a confidant little guy. :)

-Kim

Busy Ben

Ben just keeps getting better and better at pulling up on things.  While it is so much fun to watch him learn and explore, it is keeping us busy!  Here are a few examples of the busy times we've been having.

Hi Mom. Whatcha doin?

What's in this cabinet?

What is this camera thing you always have?

I'll empty this drawer for you!!

We have a lot of joyful messes these days.  I think Pat and I might have a bit more toddler proofing to do... :)

-Kim

Mega Block Bath

On a lazy Sunday morning, it's always fun to see what you can put the kid into.  Today Ben decided he had to dump every mega block out onto the floor.  Pat and I thought we had to show him how much fun it is to play with the blocks in the box.  He wasn't sure about it at first, but he came to love his mega block bath.

This feels funny!

Maybe I can eat my way out....

This is pretty fun.

Don't worry, we put Ben in the box first and then added the blocks, so he isn't sitting on anything too uncomfortable.  And he still had to take a real bath later. :)

-Kim

Coffee table drumming

Happy, drumming, noisy Ben.  Typical weekend stuff. :)

-Kim

Art Class

Ben went to his first art class!  A women in my mother's group teaches art classes, and she hosted an open house class for ages 5 months to 5 years.  I thought this was the perfect chance to try out an art class with Ben.

It was great!  It turned out while we were there we were the only ones.  Score, private class!  The project was to paint fabric.  The fabric has a tree drawn on it in glue.  Once it was painted and dry, the glue can be scrubbed off to leave just the design.  Pretty neat.  We added Ben's hand print in glue as well.  He didn't really like that part.  I think he didn't like having something spread all over his hand.  He was great with everything else though!  He kept trying to eat the brushes, so I had to be pretty hands on with the painting part.  Also to keep him from throwing the brushes.  He really enjoyed watching me paint and make sounds while we did it.  It held his attention for a decent amount of time.

Ben did eventually get tired of painting.  He did the sign for all done, so we let him get down.  The teacher had a bunch of toys ready to go, knowing that the kids wouldn't want to sit still for too long.  Ben got to play while we finished up the painting.  I enjoyed that part as well.

Now Ben has created his first art project!  I still have to remove the glue, but then I think we are going to frame it for his room.  It looks pretty good for a first timer.  I am so happy we got to do this tester class first.  While Ben had fun, I don't think it is something he is ready to do every week.  There are more drop in classes in the coming months, and I know we will try another.  Overall, it was a great experience!

Picking out fabric to paint

Learning what we are going to do

What are you putting on my hand?

I don't like this!

Painting!

(Almost) Finished Product! (I still need to was the glue off)

Cutest artist ever!

-Kim

Dr. Evil and His Associate

On the evenings that I tutor right after work, Pat comes to pick up Ben.  I was picking up Ben's stuff and getting him all packed up when I went to go let Ben and Pat know he was ready to go.  I walk into the conference room to see Pat sitting in a chair facing away from the door.  He slowly turns around and this is what I see.

My own Dr. Evil and his giggling away associate.  Never a dull moment with my boys.

-Kim

Fruit Salad Take Down

Ben loves to eat.  Well, most of the time he loves to eat.  Occasionally it is more fun to throw food than eat it.  Every time I try to give him vegetables this seems to be the case.  Like all little kids, give him something he likes and he will go to town.  Recently Meo brought in some fruit salad she had leftover from a party.  It had blackberries, raspberries, grapes, and honeydew in it.  At the time those were all fruits that Ben wasn't that into.  He might eat a bite or two, but generally he didn't eat much.  The salad had a dressing with ginger, a bit of honey, and a few other things.  Oh my, it was so good.  Ben agreed.  He hoovered practically all the fruit we gave him.  (No honeydew though, that one is still on the outs with Ben.) We took the leftovers home to have with dinner and Ben finished it off.  Since then, he has loved grapes and raspberries, even without the dressing on them.  Score for liking more fruit!

Of course the fruit salad was quite red.  This made for a wonderful photo op.

What am I eating?

Hey, I think I like this

Yes, this is wonderful

Can I have some more?

Post lunch walk

As you can see, Ben cleaned up nicely afterwards.  There was still a cute kid under that mess.  :)
-Kim

A Morning

A few days ago, Ben and I had A Morning.  You know the kind.  Everything seems rushed.  Unexpected obstacles pop up.  Things just don't go right.

Let's back up to Thursday morning.  School has been in session a couple of weeks now, so Pat is starting to get calls to substitute.  With the system the schools have in place, he usually knows where he is going the night before.  However, every so often he gets an early morning call.  This day, he got one of those calls.  That wouldn't be a huge deal, but after the summer off we are a little out of practice with the hurry and get ready routine.  We recently go new phones as well, meaning there was some confusion on what was ringing, who should answer,etc.  I was (okay, I still am) still figuring out the alarms on my phone, so I was a little late getting up.

So we wake up to Pat getting a phone call. I hear his end of the conversation and realize he is getting a call for the day.  Being the ever helpful wife that I am, I hurry and jump in the shower before he can.  I know, I'm awesome. ;)  In my defense getting into the shower a few minutes late sets Pat back about two minutes that he can easily make up.  I get set back, well, things just get moved further and further back.  Especially since I have Ben.  I get out of the shower and Pat dives into the bathroom.  Now I take a moment to actually be a good wife.  I run downstairs and put Pat's lunch together.  (Luckily I make a sandwich for him just in case these early calls happen.)  I also make him a to-go breakfast, and get his coffee ready.

With all the excitement and hustling around, Ben has woken up.  Normally we don't get him out of his crib until 7.  Well, sometimes there is really no point in keeping him in there.  He knew we were up, we knew he was up, and he was letting us know he was not pleased with missing out on the action.  So I get him up.  However, I still have to get myself ready.  That takes two hands.  I plop Ben into the pack and play in our bedroom.

Pat gets himself ready (nice and quick, totally justifying my showering first), grabs his things and takes off.  I am finally getting myself ready.  Of course since I am behind schedule I am doing this with Ben next to me.  I am talking and singing songs to him while I put on my makeup.  I know he likes being read to, but the only book nearby is one I am reading.  No big deal, I start reading that to him to keep  up a soothing monologue while I blow-dry my hair.  Later in the day I will wonder if my choice of books, a study on the reasons breast cancer is on the rise, was the best choice for a one year old.  Oh well, it was educational, right?

I am ready and get Ben ready.  This particular day was one of the first that have been cooler out.  That means that Ben has to wear pants AND socks.  Now, this might not seem like anything.  But to Ben, it is  Big Deal.  He is not happy about the pants and socks.  Sigh, so a fit is thrown.  However, when it comes to safety and health, I don't care if Ben is unhappy.  He may not like having pants and socks on, but the weather dictated that needed to happen, and so it did.

Whew, Ben and I finish getting ready, get breakfast, and head out to work.  This particular day I planned to stop by Target on the way to work.  I have to pick up a few things to finish a project for a client.  Plus, despite not wearing pants for a few months, Ben insisted on still growing.  He needs new pants.  He has a couple of pairs that work, but a one year old can go through a couple of pairs in a single day.  Pants, and office needs.  We got this.

I decided to go to the store before work because it actually would take less time than going in the middle of the day.  We were already out and about and the store should be less crowded.  These were all good theories.  Another note on having new phones- I was super pumped because I now had Cartwheel and could get extra savings.  I had done my homework, and using the app got me the best price on my purchases.  We hustle through the store and get everything on our list.  I pull up my app and- nothing.  Nothing is happening.  The app isn't working.  Ben chooses this moment to try to kneel facing backwards in the cart.  Not safe.  I don't always strap Ben into that little seat in the cart.  Yes, I know the strap is safer.  But it is usually pretty high up and cuts across Ben right in the armpits.  It is super uncomfortable and he hates it.  If he sits properly in the seat everything is fine.  If he decides to try to crawl all over, the strap goes on.  That is the natural consequence and frankly the safe thing to do.  Predictably, Ben freaks out over the strap.  He does what one year olds do when they are unhappy, screams and goes limp.

So there we are.  Standing in the aisle at Target.  My kid is freaking out and screaming in the cart.  I am desperately punching away at my phone trying to get my app to work.  Oh, I got a side eye from a lady.  I'm sure it looked pretty terrible.  It looked like I was completely neglecting my crying child while playing angry birds or texting or something.  This is so not what was happening.  My child was crying because I insisted he be safe, and I was trying to get my app to work to save money (perhaps to spend on diapers later) and get out of there!  Of course I didn't take the time to explain that, I just continued about my business.  I have to say though, those couple of minutes stretched forever.

Luckily a few moments later Ben accepted the fact that he was strapped in, my app started working, and we were able to pay and leave.  We made it to the office in one piece.  Miraculously we even made it by nap time.

It was A Morning.  To an outsider I was totally That Mom who obviously didn't care about her baby.  But in reality I was that mom who rushed to get her husband off on his day, take care of her child, and get to work to support her family all before 9:30 am.   Despite the hustle and bustle, I think those reasons put that morning in the win column.  I also think I totally earned those Hershey kisses I downed after Ben went down for his nap. ;)

-Kim

Ben vs the apple

Lately Ben has been expressing his toddler prerogative and only wanting fruit that is cut into small pieces.  He is fully capable of eating large pieces of apples or pears, but he only eats them if they are raisin sized.  (This does not hold true for strawberries.  Strawberries are amazing and will be eaten in any way, shape, or form.)

Well, today at lunch I was cutting up the apple Ben and I share into small pieces for him to eat.  He reached down and grabbed half the apple I hadn't started cutting yet.  I thought he would play with it, then put it down.  Okay, I thought he would play with it and then throw it, but putting it down sounds better.  Oh, no, this didn't happen.  Ben bit right in and starting eating.  He went at that apple with gusto and finished the whole half!  He also ate most of his little pieces too.  I knew eventually that we wouldn't be able to share apples, Ben would want more.  I didn't think it would happen so soon!

This much apple needs two hands.

This is pretty good.

Post-lunch cuddle

That was good.

-Kim

World's Meanest Mom

Ben is charging full steam ahead into the wonderful world of being a toddler.  Along with this comes a lot of frustrations, both on my part and his.  I understand Ben is trying hard to learn about the world and his place in it.  He doesn't know how most things work, and he has no idea what dangers can lurk, well, everywhere.  I am responsible for pointing out these dangers to him, or at least keeping him away from them.   It is my job to keep him safe and start him out on the road to healthy living.

Well, Ben doesn't always like this.  I am quite sure he often thinks I am the world's meanest mom who won't let him have any fun.  I thought I was pretty reasonable with my expectations for Ben, but his reactions to some situations suggest otherwise.

Here are a few ways I was currently the world's meanest mom today:
1) I put socks on Ben.
2) I wouldn't let Ben pull hair out of the kitty.
3) I wouldn't let Ben lay on the kitty. (The kitty is about 9 pounds, Ben is about 24 pounds.)
4) I wouldn't let Ben eat kibble.
5) I didn't get dinner ready fast enough.
6) Once dinner was ready I made Ben sit down to eat it.
7) I wouldn't let  him survive on only strawberries and bread.
8) We ran out of strawberries. (A nicer mom would have planned ahead better.)
9) I wouldn't let him play with the outlet covers.
10) I wouldn't let him chew on or play with electric cords.

As you can see, I am obviously being unreasonable.  Sadly for Ben, I just don't think I can change my ways.  Lucky for me, Ben is a sweetie and I have so much fun with him.  Well, when I'm not being the world's meanest mom that is. :)

-Kim

Saturday Morning, before and after Ben

Saturday Morning, before Ben.

Before Ben was born, Saturday mornings were pretty quiet.  I would get up around 6:30.  Early yes, but not too early.  I could sleep in anytime, so waking early was no big deal.  Plus I got to sleep through the night every night, so I was rested.  I would hit the gym for a nice long workout, I didn't have any reason to rush home.  When I did make it home, I would think about what I wanted for breakfast.  I'd make my breakfast, and eat said breakfast, often while reading a book.  I'd shower up and get ready, only worrying about what to wear based on weather and comfort.  I'd get all this wrapped up and be ready for my day by about 10:00 am.  I'd feel good that I was ready so early on a Saturday.

After Ben was born, Saturdays got a little different.  I won't go into detail, but here is my house this past Saturday morning.

This level of destruction was achieved by 8:15 am.

Yeah, life's a little different now.  But I wouldn't want it any other way.
-Kim

Football Season

Team Cartwright is super into football.  Okay, Pat is super into football.  I enjoy the occasional game.  I really want my team to win, but I don't feel that they need me to watch the game in order for that to happen.  Pat on the other hand must watch as many games as possible.  So for the next few months our Sundays will be as full of football as Pat can manage and I will allow.  I am actually pretty in favor of this plan, because it means Pat plays with Ben while I get stuff done around the house.  No, that might not seem 'fair' to everyone.  But hey, it works for us.  Plus I do think it is nice that Ben gets to spend time with Pat learning about one of his favorite interests.

Pat enjoys college football too, so in truth for the next few months it isn't just Sundays that are full of football, it's pretty much any time Pat can find a game.  At least I have a cute little fan to cheer along with him.

Steelers Touchdown!

I'd like to add that Ben is a Bears fan too.  :)

-Kim

Busy Boy

Ben loves crawling around.  In fact, he has been getting faster and busier every day.  Last night, after he took a bath, he decided to explore.  Normally after a bath, we put a diaper on him right away,  then Pat takes Ben to put on pajamas.  This time Pat was tutoring, so I diapered Ben, then wrapped him in his towel to sit a moment while I emptied his tub and tidied up the bathroom a bit.  Well, I left the bathroom door open and off Ben went.

My favorite part is that normally, Ben doesn't like things being on his head.  He takes off hats, and he quickly removes anything else placed on him to play peek-a-boo.  This time he was so interested in crawling around he couldn't be bothered to get the towel off.  He just giggled and crawled around.  I, of course, grabbed a camera to take some pictures.  It was hard to get good ones since he was moving so much.  But here is what I got to chase around.

I hope these pictures don't embarrass Ben too much when he is older, but they are just so cute!  And he does have a diaper on under that towel, so everything is appropriate.  I want to remember these precious moments forever.

First realizing he can make a break for it.

He's off!

He's getting away!

"Oh, hi Mommy.  What's up?"

He thought this was an amazing game.  Looks like we have a lot of chasing in our future.:)  I love my busy little boy.

-Kim

More Labor Day Fun

We managed to do more with the family than just sit around and talk.  Although that is really what we had the most fun doing.  It's hard to find activities for a group of people including a bunch of adults, an almost thirteen year old, and a one year old.  Pat and I decided to take the crew to indoor golf for an afternoon of fun.  If you've never been indoor golfing, I recommend it.  Basically, there is a giant screen that shows the course, and you hit your ball into it.  Sensors measure it and let you know how far you've gone.  The place we go is really nice for a family outing.  Each booth with a screen has a little living room setup in front of it.  It is easy to take turns golfing and relaxing with your friends.  Plus in the summer it isn't very crowded.  This meant that Ben could crawl around and play without getting in the way.  It is easy to share clubs, as everyone is in one place.  The only real drawback is no golf carts.  I think half the fun of the game is riding in the cart.

Everyone thought indoor golfing would be fun.  It sounds pretty easy, right?  Like a big Wii game or something.  Or something is more like it.  We were all pretty terrible.  I take that back.  Pat was decent, but he is good at video games.  Kit and Ellen never really golf, and Wayne hasn't in years.  I had no excuse.  I had actually golfed in real life back in June!  But for some reason, those abilities do not translate to video golf.  Yes, I was terrible!!!  I won't even say how bad it was.  After the first hole of everyone getting a feel for how it all worked, the gentleman who runs the place took pity on us and put it into scramble mode.  That helped a bit.  Not a ton though.  I won't get into too much detail, but let's just say it took us over 2 hours to play 3 holes.  Yes, it was that bad.  At least we had a lot of fun.

After the golf experience, we met up with Meo and Omi who had their own golf tournament that day.  Their neighborhood does an outing every year.  Despite their foursome coming in last place, I think they did better than our group did.  It was fun to meet up and have dinner with them while discussing our different golf experiences.  I think the best part of it was Ben though.  I didn't think about discussing our plans with him, and just told him we were going to dinner.  I forgot to mention we would be seeing Meo and Omi. Oh my goodness, the giant smile on his face when we saw them.  He just lit up!!  I love seeing how excited he is to see the people he loves.  He was wonderful while we were out too.  It was getting quite late, (almost 8 pm!) but he was a trooper!  He tried to fall asleep in his bucket seat, but it just wasn't working for him.  Pat and I had to head home, but he didn't really fuss at all!  Go Ben!

Ben knows how to relax

Kit and Ellen

Peek a boo with Daddy!

Ellen golfing

Ben and Aunt Chris at golf

Omi with the 'prize' from their golf outing

Ben so excited to see Meo!

Omi playing with Ben

The crew at dinner!

We had such a great visit with everyone.  Thanks for coming to see us!!
-Kim