Stall Tactics

Like any child, Ben often doesn't want to go to sleep, and has developed numerous stalling techniques designed to keep him from the indignity of having to go to bed. Most of the time he is satisfied with a few extra hugs but sometimes he pulls out all the stops. This little boy doesn't just ask for things like a drink of water. No, no. This little boy asks for precisely the things he knows we will be most likely to allow. Like, "Hug Dada," and "More, more, more God!" (Wanting to extend his bedtime prayer.)

One night after he was all tucked in he asked for the potty. Not wanting to squelch his recent potty progress, I grudgingly led him out of his bedroom and helped him go. Then we went back to his bed. As soon as he lay down he asked for the potty again. Surely he doesn't really need to go again, I thought to myself. But he had indeed gone the last time, so I thought I would give him the benefit of the doubt. We traipsed back out to the potty and sure enough, he did go... but barely enough to wet a stamp. We made our way back to bed and he asked for the potty yet again. We made the potty pilgrimage more than four times that night. (Okay, it doesn't sound like much, but when you are already sleep deprived and yearning for bed yourself it's hard to be patient with a 2 -year- old who insists on making 4 trips to the potty for 10 drops of pee!) As much as I wanted to tell him to forget about the potty and just go to bed, I knew it would lead to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Also, Colin and I figured he was surely learning something about bladder control if he was actually trying to hold it in just so he could make more trips.

Last night he added a couple more rituals to his nightly routine. He insisted on washing his hands and applying chapstick. Again, he chose things that are difficult to refuse... I mean, do you know all the places 2 -year -olds put their hands?

Izzie after her bath

Don't you just want to kiss her!

Just some pictures I like...

Apparently not too happy about the fact that I had my camera out again!Izzie doesn't mind - she mostly sleeps through it.I had to be fast because I didn't know how long Ben could (would) hold Izzie for.

Izzie's Passport Photo

We just applied to get an American passport for Izzie. Colin suggested that I take the passport photo myself and I refused, not wanting to bother with trying to meet all the U.S. government's specifications as far as size etc. Instead we went to a CVS (similar to Shopper's Drugmart) to get them done, but discovered they were ill-equipped for taking pictures of babies. First we tried putting a white T-shirt on a table, but Izzie cried. Then we tried holding her up in front of a white wall, but my fingers got in the picture. The little digital camera they were using wasn't fast enough to get a clear picture of a squirming target. We gave up after a third attempt in which we placed Izzie on a cart with more padding under the T-shirt. We didn't get the pictures that day, but the trip was useful because I found out that the instant photo machine has guidelines to correctly size the head. Then all I had to do was get a clear picture of Izzie with a white or off-white background. Here is the result.

Future Architect?

Ben has been having fun with the wooden blocks Grandpa John gave him for his birthday. I thought this was an impressive structure for a two-year-old to build - I didn't help him with a single block!

Smiles

Daddy's Shinguards

Ben loves to wear our accessories: sunglasses, hats, shoes, the oven mitts... Here he is trying on Daddy's shinguards.

Indoor Soccer

Colin is going to participate in an indoor soccer league this winter. While his mom was here we all went to the field so he could play in a pick-up game and register for the season. Benjamin had fun watching Daddy kick the ball around. He didn't know the word kick so he made up his own onomatopoeia: jook!He also had lots of fun walking along the bleacher benches - even after he fell off and skinned his chin.

Smiling

Izzie started smiling just about the time Colin's mom came to visit, but it's rather difficult to catch the smiles on camera. This is the best we've captured so far.

Gaining Weight

At our 6 week appointment with the midwife Izzie weighed in at 11 pounds, 7 ounces. She has gained 4 pounds in 6 weeks! The midwife said babies are expected to gain about 1 ounce a day, which would be 42 ounces over 6 weeks... Izzie gained 64 ounces. Over- achiever!

The Royal Order of Diaper-Heads

Oh the silly things we do to keep our kids happy! We frequently have to catch Ben before we can change his diaper - he is far too busy playing to stop for things like poopy pants. One day while Mom and Karen were visiting I plopped a diaper on Ben's head in an effort to distract him from the distressing fact that he was about to get changed. This led to him indicating we should all do the same, and of course we obeyed His Majesty's wishes.

Big Mosh

Ben is talking more and more. Everyday we hear him using a word we didn't think he knew. He has known the word big for a long time, but recently added the word small to his vocabulary. Like any good language student he concientiously practices his new words. We often hear him repeating to himself, "Big, small." Then he uses his words in context. I first heard him making this comparison and holding up two blocks: "Big, small." Then he moved on to more complex items - he compared two chairs of various sizes. A few days ago he was in the kitchen and pointed to the doorknob of our cleaning closet and declared it to be big. Then he pointed to the handle on our cupboards and informed me that it was small. Unforunately he doesn't quite have the pronunciation of small down yet, so it alternately sounds like he is saying "big mosh," "big malls," or big moss!"
Ben's favorite thing to ask is, "What's that?" We answer that question seemingly hundreds of times each day, particularly when Ben is looking at books. I don't think it's a coincidence that his vocabulary explosion came after he learned that particular phrase - although for him it's all one word. We respond in our ever-so- tolerant-and-patient parental voices, "That's a wrench, that's a hammer, that's a blue furry monster, I have no idea what that is..." We failed to prepare a response for the day when Ben let forth a blast of air from his hind quarters and then pointed to his offending body parts and asked in a surprised voice, "What's that?"

Fall Excursions

Now that the leaves have started to change colours (colors, if you prefer), and the oppressive heat is slightly less oppressive, we have been taking the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the fall beauty. In the third picture the white blaze marks the Appalachian Trail. Ben still likes for Dad to carry him in the backpack and now Izzie enjoys riding in the carrier. I don't have a picture of me carrying Izzie, but if you click on the picture of Ben below and look at the reflection in the sunglasses you can make out Colin's head on one side and me with Izzie on the other.

Brotherly Love

Ben seems to be getting used to having a little sister. It has been a big adjustment and it is far from over, but he is making progress and might even be getting emotionally attached to her! Last week for one of his classes Colin and three other group members had to conduct a chapel service. I went along to play piano for them, so of course we had Ben and Izzie with us too. Some ladies helpfully offered to take Ben out for us, but he didn't want to go - until Izzie started fussing and left with one of them. Then he worriedly starting repeating, "Baby! Baby!" When I offered to take him out to see the baby he went with no protests and didn't even fuss to come back in with me.
He likes to help out with Izzie. Sometimes he's a little too helpful, giving me handfuls of wet wipes instead of one, or rocking the baby's car seat just a little too enthusiastically, but he is very well-intentioned. He likes to give her kisses, pat her on the back and will usually bring me a diaper and take the dirty one to the garbage. When Izzie is nursing sometimes he suggests that she is all done with one side and should move to the other. And, whenever she spits up he informs us by saying, "Oh, mess!"

More Baby Pictures

When Ben was born I felt like I took a lot of pictures of him, but looking back now, it seems like we only have a few. Don't get me wrong, we have a tonne of pictures of him, but not so many from those first six weeks when he was really small. So this time I have resolved to take more pictures during the first six weeks - and share them with you whether you like them or not!We obviously set this picture up. Don't worry, Karen's hands were just out of the frame, and as evidenced by the birth, she's pretty good at catching babies. Izzie is surrounded by some of the books Colin has been studying for school.I think these are Karen's hands holding Izzie.As you can see, her cheeks are getting chubby, and she's got a nice double chin!

Our Kids Being Cute

Ben has this funny smile that he does where he squinches up his eyes. He'll often do it in response to you smiling at him, which is how I caught this one on camera. I can't decide if it's a real smile or a fake one.And here's Izzie lounging in the crib.

Daddies Make Good Pillows

Ben...

Izzie...

Ben's Second Birthday

It's hard to believe but as of September 16th, our little boy is two years old! I think he's had a growth spurt recently, or maybe it's because Izzie is so small in comparison, but he turned two and suddenly looks to me like he's three! At his 2-year check-up the nurse said he is in the 50th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for height, and 90th percentile for head circumference.

We celebrated his birthday with Grandpa, (Colin's dad) Grandma Val and Aunt Karen. This year Ben helped open his own presents and blow out the candle on his cake. Grandma and Karen not only made the cake but did all the other preparations as well, which was wonderful, as I was still pretty tired and sore.

Ben checking out the kitchen set from Colin's parents.

I believe the box said "Requires some assembly."

Ben enjoying the assembled product. He loves to cook things in the "beep beep."Izzie, 4 days old, conked out in her party dress. (This dress was the dress I came home from the hospital in 32 years ago!)

Two Weeks

I can't believe she is two weeks old! The time has just flown by. She is still peeling, but has lost her umbilical cord and is already looking less newborn to us.

Induction

Colin's father visited us this past weekend and was able to see the new baby, celebrate Ben's second birthday and also swear in Colin as a second lieutenant in the army! Ben thought the best part of the ceremony was trying on Grandpa's hat.

Isadora Nicole!

Here she is...

Born at 8:27 on September 12, 2007. She weighs 7 pounds, 7 ounces and is 21.5 inches long!

Baby update... no, not here yet!

For anyone who might be wondering if we've had the baby yet, the answer is no. But it shouldn't be too long now. My official due date is September 13th. Yesterday afternoon and evening I had quite a lot of contractions so we called the midwife and she came and checked things out. I'm dilated to 3cm, but the contractions waned overnight and nothing much is happening at the moment. My mom and sister (Karen) are arriving this evening so they'll get to be here for the birth whenever it finally takes place!

Obviously there are no pictures of the new baby, but here are yet more pictures of Ben. Last weekend I picked up a couple of puzzles, five books and a toy car at a yard sale. (All for $1!) Ben has already mastered one of the puzzles (shapes), but the other one is trickier. It's a puzzle of a right and left foot and toes numbered one through ten. More so than putting the puzzle together, Ben seems to enjoy stuffing the pieces under the hood of the toy car. He then gets frustrated when he can't get the pieces back out! Here are a couple of pictures of him with the car.

Ben's Scared Face

This is the face Ben makes when he's scared. At this particular moment he heard a motorcycle suddenly roar up the street, but at other times the things he chooses to be scared of are pretty random. The FBI warning at the beginning of movies, for example, or a cartoon with a hippo and dog speaking French!

Funny Face

Just liked this picture and wanted to share.