BFBN Blog week: Monday

It's another BFBN post!  This week the whole group is dedicated to sharing each others tips on sleep.  I know I value my own sleep.  (Don't we all?)  And I think Ben's sleep is super important.  I am looking forward to reading what everyone has to say on what can seem like such a simple topic.  But when we don't have sleep, everything else is life gets harder.

All week I'll be highlighting different posts for you to check out.

Today Valerie is posting at http://www.babywisemom.com/ about how an emphasis on sleep extends beyond the baby years.  She has some really good points about how good sleep effects us all, no matter how old we are.

Check out her blog for some good information, and check back all week for more links to post from these lovely ladies.

Monday: Valerie at Chronicles of a Babywise Mom

Tuesday: Shea at The Moses Home

Tuesday: Stephanie at Giving It Grace

Wednesday: Brooke at Apffel a Day

Wednesday: Kimberly at Team Cartwright

Thursday: Carrie at Wiley Adventures

Thursday: Emily at The Journey of Parenthood

Friday: Claire at My Devising

Friday: Elaine at Faithfully Infertile

-Kim

I wish

I was this cool.  I love that he wears his sunglasses now.

Looking good, Ben!

-Kim

Fun Mom

Last week, there were a couple of evenings where Pat had to tutor all evening.  That left Ben and me on our own.  The weather was lovely, and we had some time.  So I decided to take a spur of the moment visit to the river to hang out after work.  We didn't have a ton of time to spend before getting home for dinner.  But it was a nice little outing where Ben and I got to hang out and have some fun.  It wasn't anything thrilling.  We just walked around by the river and basically threw rocks into the water.  But Ben seemed really happy with our midweek field trip, and I was happy seeing him have fun.  

Every once in a while I'm a fun mom. ;)

So many rocks to throw!

Pick a good one :)

Such a cutie!

My sweet boy!

I love fun bonding moments with my little man.  It's great to get to do things outside of our normal routine.  I know the time will come when Ben doesn't want to hang out with his mommy, so I am enjoying every chance we get!

-Kim

Eating cherries with Daddy

Ben adores fruit.  This past weekend he learned the fine art of eating cherries from Pat.  Pat was eating them, and Ben wanted to sit and have some too.  So the two of them shared a sweet moment of enjoying some cherries.

Step 1- Pull off the stem.

Step 2- Pull out the seed

Step 3- Eat!

Yummy!

It was such a sweet, simple moment.  It is a joy to be your mom, Ben!

-Kim

Lazy parents kiddie pool

This past weekend was a busy one.  On the 4th we celebrated with Meo and Omi, plus some of their friends.  That was also the day we announced the babies to them and most of the family.  Sunday, after all the excitement, we were kind of tired and just laying low.  We knew Ben was wanting to play outside, but the thought of getting out his pool and filling it up with water was just too much.  Instead, we thought we would pull out the hose.  He likes that.  We also have a big bucket.  So what did we do?  Filled up the bucket and let Ben go to town.  Yep- the lazy parents kiddie pool.

Fortunately for us- Ben loved it.  He enjoyed running around the yard and getting all wet.  The only downside was that since he wasn't just in a pool, he got pieces of grass on his feet.  Well, anyone with a toddler knows this can be tragic.  Luckily he didn't let it get him down too much.

It went over pretty well.  This weekend we are hoping to take Ben to the real pool, but it is nice to know he is still happy with the simple version.  After the water play and a nap, we did Ben's Big Brother photo shoot.  He is such a cutie!

This kid had a fun day!

-Kim

Big News

He's been Batman, Superman, and Captain America.  This February, Ben takes on his biggest mission yet- Big Brother!

We have already announced on Facebook, but now it is blog confirmed, Ben is becoming a big brother!  And not just to one little sibling, but two!  Yes, we were very surprised to learn late last week that it appears that we are expecting twins.  We did not see that coming, but luckily for us we have Aunt Lindsay to guide us through preparing for twins.  I am so grateful that we have our own expert in the family.  Thank you in advance for all your wisdom, Aunt Lindsay!

We are very excited for this new addition to our family.  The new little ones are due in early February.  There will be a lot of big changes around here to get ready, but we are excited for the challenges ahead.  Despite what I think is the normal freaking out over the idea of two babies at once, we are embracing the excitement and joy that two babies will bring.  I am sure they will bring more happiness and love than we can imagine now.

I think Ben is going to be an amazing big brother, and I am so excited to be going on this journey with him.  You are wonderful, Ben!

-Kim

Bigger little pool

Last year Gramma and Grampa got Ben a pool to swim at home.  This year we finally got around to setting it up.  And yes of course, Ben loved it.  We are only pulling it out when we can use it both weekend days.  The thing is quite big and takes a lot of water to fill up.  This means it is a lot of water to dump out to put away.  But Ben had a blast.  He gets in and doesn't want to get out.  He doesn't want to just play alone, he keeps pointing at Pat and me until we get in the pool too.  

I managed to get some pictures when Pat was in with him.  I don't trust myself to have the camera too close to the water.  Get used to these swimming pictures, I'll be taking them every weekend for the foreseeable future. :)

-Kim