Pictures:
My not-so-little leprechaun on St. Patrick's day- the 7 month mark.
And with brother- the real redheaded Irish leprechaun man!
Owen at 7 months on the left, Bennett on the right. Coloring is a little off but it's amazing how much more B is looking like Owen the older he gets.
The 6 month progression... 7 months not included. 1-3 on left, 4-6 on right.
This month we did a lot! Including time with poppy at the gym (of course).
One thing we did this month with your poppy (kind of) was to try to go to one of his bike races. In the pouring down rain. At about 45 degrees. Note: this was a HORRIBLE idea. We got soaked. It was miserable. You and your brother didn't seem to mind much, but, trust me, it was not fun.
Your brother at the same race. Good times!
You also had the chance to play with Miss Collette a few times this month. You still won't take a dang bottle. But, you are old enough for food, so we thought, great! This is the turning point! Who cares about the bottle, now he can eat! So, we started that whole process as instructed. One food at a time over 3 days, then introduce another. Avocado first, nope, hated it. Carrots next, nope, hated it. Sweet potatoes next, nope hated it. AND THEN. THEN. We had an EPIC night one night with sweet potatoes. Basically barf o rama 2015 (except as I write this we are having barf o rama for reals with your brother...) Anyhow, your tummy is NOT a fan of sweet potatoes. Noted. Maybe next time, we can just figure that out on bite one versus eating a crap ton and puking violently for 4 hours straight? As much as I love changing sheets and clothes about 3-4 times, I REALLY hate barf. So, yeah. Other than that fun experience with food, you haven't reacted to anything else but you hate everything else like I already mentioned. Bananas, nope. Apples, nope. Cereal, nope. Vegetables, fruits, you name it. NOT A FAN. You SORT OF tolerate peas (whose kid are you??) but that's about it. It's basically no bottle, no food, only boobs for you. I am a little worried that you might end up being our stubborn child after all. Please don't prove me wrong when I've spent months saying how mellow you are!
You also got to play with your buddy Eddie, who is about 4 months younger than you are. Too cute.
AND, you started swim lessons! You get to be in the same class with Owen, and poppy swims with you. You LOVE it. You kick and kick (like the butterfly kick), so that your whole body just wriggles all over. And you splash and splash. There's only been one time when you weren't a happy camper and that was only because you were exhausted so you would have screamed no matter what we were doing. Apparently you are also a very unusual baby in that when we dunk you under water, you blow bubbles out. I guess most babies suck the water in. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but hey, way to be different!
Grandma and Grandpa also came to visit you this month. You aren't as enamored yet as your brother is, but give it a while and you're going to be going just as nuts when they come to visit you. We did a lot of fun things that week, like go to the park, play outside, play inside, and just spend time together.
We also visited the zoo for your first time. You really couldn't have cared less, but, again, one day you'll love it, too. The giant white tiger yawned in front of you which made the whole crowd jump and you just kinda looked around like, what? Whatever, it's a tiger. DON'T CARE.
You also learned to jump jump in your little jumper thing. You've played in this a lot before but now you really go after the whole jumping thing. Owen of course tries to "help" which usually means that someone ends up in tears.
One day this month, poppy had a helper when we were doing yardwork. You're pretty happy and content when you're strapped on to one of us. Again, with the leech thing... come on buddy! Let's try to cut the cord just a bit.
You continued to build a relationship with Lukey. He is very protective of you, and you're curious about him. It's a good thing he's a good dog to take the abuse he gets from your brother, and is guaranteed to get from you someday.
We also went on several family walks this month which was HUGE as I was actually able to walk without a ton of pain in my foot due to the neuroma I developed after being pregnant with you. It was super exciting as I couldn't walk for MONTHS and missed that time outdoors with you, your poppy, your brother, and now the crazy doggie too.
And, we got to experience some warmer weather this month, so you got to try out your swing on the swing set. You were a bigger fan now than you were 6 months ago.
OH. What does this picture signify? Do you really want to know? LET ME JUST SAY. If you are reading this at 40 years old (ok, your a man, so that might not happen...), but anyway, YOU ARE WELCOME (and if you have kids of your own someday that develop teeth neener neener... at that point your mama better be sleeping through the night!) And also, I take issue with anyone who says that teething is "easy." I would really like to talk to whoever thinks it is amusing to give me the SEVEN MONTH OLD who grows SIX TEETH in 4 weeks. NOT FUN. The end. (Also: you now have six teeth. Also: WHAT THE HELL?!) Ok. I feel better now. But seriously, dude? Six teeth in 4 weeks. No more. For a long while.
Kind of related to teething- you discovered your tongue. We see it a lot. The cuteness never gets old. Apparently I make this exact same face whenever I work out or do anything exerting. Apparently it is genetic?? Who knew.
Yeah. So. Let's talk about sleeping. Ha. Ha. Ha. See above regarding six teeth. Yeah.
So we haven't slept in a very long time. At least not more than 2 hours at a time. Remember when you were like 2 months old and I said that I finally had my child that sleeps? I retract that statement. Your mama is tired Beepers, VERY TIRED.
Ok, so I kind of lied. It's not that you really AREN'T sleeping. You are sleeping, you just wake up a lot OR you still sleep on us. I truly love the cuddles, but phew. Even just a 4 hour stretch right now and I'm sure I'd feel like a brand new person.
Recognize the theme here?? I am going to miss my little B Bo someday snuggled on my chest... especially when you tower over me. But I do not think I will miss feeling sleep deprived. Essentially I feel like I am on drugs every day. And I don't know what being on drugs feels like, other than, I imagine, something like this: IE: fuzzy head, can't form a coherent thought... it's like the world is in slow motion and you're trying to reach out to catch on to life to jump in, but you can't quite get everything coordinated enough to do so.
One rare day this happend. And this? This is our goal. Sleeping. Independently. And preferably for more than an hour at a time. Pretty please?
You still love your older brother Owen so much. He makes you laugh more than any of the rest of us are able to. I'm not sure why, as he also torments you more than any of the rest of us do. His newest thing is "assisting" you when you roll over. It's really not so much of an assist, however, as it is a downright push and shove. And then "Look mama, B rolled!" Um. Yeah. You actually don't seem to mind too much except for when you get the occasional bonk on the head, or Owen takes your arms and drags you across the floor (which by the way, is not ok)... but then you laugh and I'm like, what?! I guess it's just the beginning of that brotherly relationship, that I might not understand ever.
The two of you love to play with poppy more than anyone and he provides you endless fun between wrestling and just playing around.. and flying (which gives mama a heart attack). You all are best buds and it warms my heart more than anything else to see all of my boys together...laughing, playing, and creating a home than is nothing short of LOUD.
Sometimes in moments of quiet (if there is such a thing?) when I see your smile, or hear you and your brother laugh, or watch all of you play together, I can't help but feel exceptionally blessed. Like how could I get so lucky? It's almost as if I feel like someone should slap me and wake me up from this dream, because there is just no way that this is my life. No way that I should be entrusted with such beautiful boys. No way that I should get to experience such amazing moments. It's as if I feel whole, complete. In awe of this life your dad and I have created. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, but despite the sleep deprivation, besides the fact that our house is often so loud between your squeals and your brother, and the dog, that I can't hear myself think, I feel like my whole life was made for this family. There is so much love, and a love that I never knew existed before. It's as if now everything just MAKES SENSE. I won't lie to you ever, and in this vein I will not tell you that it is easy. In fact, somedays, it's anything but. You are grouchy, Owen's grouchy, your poppy and I are tired and stressed. In those days, I have seriously debated a glass (bottle?) of wine in the closet while simultaneously hiding from everyone and pulling my hair out one by one as a better alternative (KIDDING... you'll see, sometimes humor is the only answer). BUT, despite the lows, the highs are above and beyond them, and are SO worth it.
I guess all of this sappy stuff is to say that I don't know that I have an answer as to why I am so lucky, but I do know one thing: I will never stop telling you until the day that I die: how lucky and privileged I am to be your mama and to experience this life with you.
Love,
Mama.
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