Welcome to 4 months of this great, big world. I always make a comment here about OMG how in the HECK are you already "XX" amount of months old so I am just going to refrain and go to a corner and smack myself so that time will seemingly slow down. OR, actually, BETTER IDEA! I will grab you and your two year old brother and I will board the longest flight ever (Australia?) Alone. Or even with your poppy. No matter. And then, time will officially slow down. It is amazing... a three hour flight felt like 3 weeks. My point in saying this is that I have finally discovered the key in making time appear to slow. FLY WITH TWO KIDS. Actually, now that I think about it, I'll keep things as they are. Without flights... unless necessary. Like to see grandparents. That is necessary for our sanity. Maybe not theirs.
Pictures:
A photo with big brother the day we left for Kansas City for Christmas. Owen had his new monkey backpack that we got him specifically for the flight out.
Whoops! Falling.
Side by side of B and O (Owen on left at 4 months, Bennett on right).
And the four month spread. Growing little boy!
I guess if I could have one thing that would define this month it would be the above picture. You and the boobie. Your BFF. In fact, so your BFF that you have absolutely VETOED the bottle. You took one fine at 5 weeks, no problem, and now? NADA. There is no chance, no hope, no way in bloody hell you will take that blasted thing. Well, I take that back. You drank about an ounce one day for your poppy. But the other days? You've starved yourself. For hours. But, let's be honest here: you have quite a few stores so it's not like you were STARVING but the way you latched on to me when I got home and for the subsequent hours? You might as well have been.
Since you don't drink your bottles, your older brother does. It is one of those moments where we have tried everything and I just throw up my hands and say to hell with it. You won't be nursing when you're 18, hell, you won't be nursing when you're 5. You're 3ish+ months old, still tiny by all accounts, and if I can work it out so that I can be there to nurse you for a while, I will do so. (Thank god your poppy and I have flexible enough schedules to allow us to cater to you in this regard... not like you'd die otherwise, but I have to say this option makes me feel a little bit better).
Other than the dang bottle axe, you've remained quite the complacent baby. You smile, you coo, you talk to us. You are so easy going and mellow. Really pretty content and happy to just be.
Of course one of the places that you frequented a lot this month is the gym. Your mama is on a mission to try to get back in to shape from carrying you for 9ish months. It's convenient because your poppy happens to work at a gym, so I really have no excuse not to go. Especially since you are also so happy there and your brother would prefer to be at the nanny's 24-7.
You even have little friends at the gym who sometimes join you for your parties!
Although sometimes, you don't wake up at all...
One day you got to help your poppy train his group of 10 year old girls. I have to say watching him hold you and then watching the girls, I was blown away by the fact that in just 10 short years, you will be in their shoes to some extent. It does not seem really possible so I just excuse that thought out of my head.
You've also continued to love your baths, including the baths you get to take with older brother. He can't wait until you can sit up so that you can bathe with him better.
You are the BIGGEST kicker in the world when you get going and there isn't a bath time where you don't leave half the kitchen dry. (Sidenote: you look like your brother's identical twin in the above picture. In fact, I will probably confuse the two of you if I ever were to look at this picture in 10-15 years. You know, once I am old and most likely more senile).
Sometimes you are quite the grumpy pants to come out of your bath.
And often times when poppy is working we juggle yours and Owen's bath time. Makes for some cute photo ops especially when Owen is having a loving moment (like above).
You've continued to remain cute as can be this month... and full of smiles and coos. And, to make it even better, you started to laugh. This was an unexpected surprise as your brother didn't give us a laugh until Christmas day when he was your age. You just seem a little bit more carefree and full of belly laughs for us.
You also accompanied us to your brother's first dentist appointment. You seemed a little curious the whole time.
Of course, you continued to cuddle with your brother and poppy as well.
During this month you also celebrated your first thanksgiving! We had family over to our house and you got to play with your cousin Dylan, who is 2 months older than you but is a little nuggest compared to your size.
A picture of Owen (on left) on his first Thanksgiving as ocmpared to you (on right).
Floor time with cousin Dylan!
After Thanksgiving we started to get in to the holiday spirit (complete with Christmas PJ's... though to be truthful, the above were only worn out because you blew out your diaper at poppy's work).
We also took you and your brother up to the santa train to get in to the holiday spirit.
More Christmas jammies!
In mid December, we also celebrated Christmas with poppy's family at our house. The three boys on "Christmas day."
You were a little unimpressed by all the events... give it a few years.
On December 15, we had a Santa party at Miss Collette's house where you got to sit on Santa's lap. Again, fairly unimpressed by the whole deal.
Speaking of Miss Collette, you did play with her a lot this month. But didn't stay for too long each time... we need you to start taking a dang bottle turbo!
Let's talk about sleep, shall we? With your brother, I was petrified to say anything about sleep. Pretty sure I would jinx any good that COULD have been happening. But you? You've always been an amazing sleeper and continue to be. I keep saying that I earned you as my sleeper. Sleep is just a non-issue in our house this time around, which has been so incredible. If you do wake up during the night, you only wake up once. But usually you are content to sleep 8-11 hours a night no problem. And you nap pretty well too, although you prefer to nap ON people. Sometimes it is not totally convenient, but I have a really hard time turning down baby cuddles so I usually oblige. And while we are on the topic of sleep, THANK YOU.
You have also grown quite fond of your older brother, and I think the feeling is mutual. He's been so good this month about giving you loves and cuddles with the occassional truck or ball flying into your head (truthfully, even in those moments, I think he is just trying to play with you versus trying to hurt you).
There is truly nothing more heart warming than seeing the two of you together.
While I am missing the little newborn stage a bit, and am flabbergasted by how fast time seems to go, I am loving to get to know your little personality more and more by the day.
I can't wait until you can run after your brother, start talking to tell us what's in that little head of yours (even if it's "Gross, MOM!" when I try to kiss you... too bad, buddy, always going to get kisses from mom).
You've already added a new dimension to our little family and it wouldn't seem right if you weren't a part of it on a daily basis. Even Owen would be lost without you. If I come in the door and you aren't with me, his first question is always "B?" At the beginning, I think he may have been happy if you had disappeared, but now, I think he would be utterly heartbroken. He is going to lose his marbles once you are able to chase after him and play with him. I'm sure we will have our share of fights and wrestling matches, but when it comes down to it, I think you both are going to have a pretty strong bond.
We love your playful, easygoing spirit, and the way that you light up the room whenever you are in it. While Owen was our observer, you are our carefree spirit who just loves to smile and laugh at anyone who is around and will pay attention to you.
I've been thinking a lot about how when I was pregnant, I had all of these fears and simply hated the process of BEING pregnant. I wasn't one when I was pregnant to really feel "connected" to you, or your brother (I guess I am weird) and I wasn't someone who walked around with a glow because I loved the baby inside of me so much. I DID of course love you, but I always felt a little disconnect until you and Owen were born and I truly met you. When I was pregnant, I mostly worried about you, I worried about labor, I hated how I felt when I was pregnant, and I didn't really feel like I "knew" you. But, my current thought is that I would do it over and over again to have you and the pleasure of now getting to know who you are. The second you were placed in to my arms, all of that yucky stuff simply vanished, and the utter joy of YOU took over and it has only expanded a million-fold since then as we get to know you more and more. There is nothing quite like it. I'm so humbled to be your mama, and to have the honor of sharing your smiles, cuddles, and laughter with you. Thank you for blessing our little family by being such a big part of it.
Love,
Mama.
