While Bram has been away

Bram is on his last submarine trip for the year...thank God...and there have been a few funny (and one scary) incidents in his absence. Benjamin, Christopher and I have been staying with Ryan and Jenny James. They graciously opened their home to us to both help me take care of the little guys and keep me company. The change of scenery has been welcome and the help has been a blessing, indeed!

First, the scary incident. On Sunday evening Jenny and I were preparing Gluten-Free Three Bean and Turkey Chili (which was fabulous, by the way and not just for us gluten-free-ers) when my first real kitchen accident occurred. I was chopping the onion when the ceramic knife I was using slipped and caught the side of my left hand. I very calmly pulled the knife out and put pressure on the wound. After 10 minutes I checked to see if it had stopped bleeding and saw that there was a very nasty cut under there - it was time to go the emergency room! The cut wasn't deep, it just cut a good size flap of skin that no band-aid will hold. No stitches, thankfully. They closed the wound with something called "Dermabond" and gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way. Ryan very kindly drove me to Shady Grove Hospital - he is a very good brother-in-law! Jenny watched the boys and cared for Benjamin as he was very concerned when I told him "Momma has an owie!" He actually started crying and holding his hand in sympathy. He is a very compassionate little boy, but I digress :) I am still pretty soar, but am healing quickly!

Now for the fun stuff.

Benjamin has made a rather long over-due milestone. He has not been in the habit of actually saying "Momma" but after months of prodding, he now says my name. Well, something like my name. He calls me "Mommop" and it is appropriate since he calls Bram "Daddat." Who knows how long this will last, still I think it's the cutest thing ever! Since Bram has been away, Benjamin will every once in awhile look at me questioningly and say "Daddat?" and I will say, Dadda is on a big boat right now, but he will be home soon." That seems to satisfy his curiosity for now. We all miss Bram very much right now.

Christopher has learned to belly-laugh. This morning I was playing peek-a-boo with Benjamin and even though I wasn't even looking in his direction, every time I peeked my head out and said "boo" Christopher laughed hysterically! He is such a responsive little boy, and not even 3 months old yet! He loves to be held and talked to, tickled and made faces at. He is a joy to be around, except when he insists on being held and talked to while I am trying to make dinner. Then he can be very whiny :)

Bram returns home, barring any unforeseen problems, on Thursday. Please pray that his return home will not be delayed at all. He will take a few days off of work and we will enjoy the long holiday weekend together!