Life as we knew it...

...has changed forever!

Snapshots of life around here...

The last few weeks around here have been interesting. Between first trimester sickness for me and snifflies for all of my guys, we have been fighting cabin fever! I have felt a little more like a human being today than I have in the last 6 weeks, so I guess that's why I felt like blogging :)

Christopher is 7 months old today. He is making a lot of developmental changes of late. I wager he is about 2 weeks away from crawling. He gets up on all fours whenever he's on the floor and now lifts one hand to reach for things without falling to the floor. He is realizing he can communicate with us. The last few days he has mastered the art of laughing to get attention. He also exerts his will in eating. If he doesn't like what I'm feeding him, he will say "rah, rah" with a very disdainful look on his face, then refuse to open his mouth. I shouldn't laugh, but I do :) He also continues to grow in his love for Benjamin. Whenever B comes around, Christopher lights up with a smile and has a ready laugh for the simplest effort on Benjamin's part.

Benjamin also continues to grow in kindness towards his little brother. He now tries to make Christopher laugh and if Christopher drops something, B will run over to give it back to him. I am encouraged by even the smallest form of affection that Benjamin shows to Christopher...this is an answer to prayer! Benjamin has been making many developmental changes, as well. He talks up a storm, though only about 50% is intelligible to anyone other than Bram or I :) His first 3-syllable word was "upside-down" which comes out more like "ut-side-doon." He is still working on saying the "k" sound, so words like come and cup are pronounced pum and pup, respectively :) He is able to identify about half the alphabet by saying the sounds of the letters thanks to the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics toy. But if you ask him to find any given letter he almost always can pick it out. He is learning how to jump and one of his favorite activities is to run around the house and announce "I fast!"

I have to pass on one funny story. The other day Bram came home early from work to help me with the boys and make dinner. He arrived before Benjamin woke from his nap. We usually have to wake him up - he is a prolific sleeper! - at 4:30. Bram went up and called to me, saying, "Sarah, you have to come and see this. Bring the camera!" I went up and this is what I found:

Yes, that is Benjamin in his crib stripped down to his diaper with his PJs on the floor. 

At least he kept his diaper on...Thank God!

Christopher's 4-month check up!

Here are Small Fry's stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 9 oz. (75th percentile)

Height: 25.5 inches (90th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (50th percentile)

He is growing beautifully and developing a little ahead of schedule on some things :) This child wants to sit up so badly that he will try to do a sit up anytime I lay him on his back. He is almost rolling over, so I have to keep an eye on him all the time. We are going to try some rice cereal tomorrow, so I will post photos soon!

The past month

The blog has been the last thing I have thought about all month. Between two teething children and my own health issues, it's been very difficult to get even the most important work done around the house. It hasn't been all whining and grumpiness, though :) Here are a few highlights!

This videos is my favorite from the month:

Here is Christopher (or Small Fry, as he is known around here) having a deep conversation with Aunt Jenny and Auntie Chloe!

We also took the boys to the Harvest Party (our church's Halloween alternative) and had a good time despite the tears at the beginning of the evening :) Benjamin was a little freaked-out by seeing the kids he knows in weird costumes...hehe! Here are some pictures:

(Our little Puppy!)

(Playing the matching duckie game!)

(Trying to climb into the game!)

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!

Montgomery County Fair time!

In August we took the boys to the Montgomery County Fair. Benjamin was in heaven with all the animals and farm equipment. Abe Lillard, Bram's dad, and Jenny James, my sister, came along for the fun. Jenny took all the pictures, so you know they are magic!

Benjamin and Abe entering the fair.

Benjamin taking in all the sights on the midway.

Fire Department exhibit - Benjamin loves fire engines!

Benjamin attempting to kiss a baby goat!

Farm Equipment exhibit - The Boy was loving it!

Tractors! Another of Benjamin's favorites.

It was a lovely afternoon to visit the fair. We had a wonderful time and next year Christopher will be able to enjoy it, too! As it was, he slept the whole time this year :)

Benjamin's 18 month and Christopher's 2 month check-ups

Today we took the boys for their check-ups with the pediatrician. Here are their stats:

Benjamin

Weight: 24 lbs. 8 ozs. (25th percentile)

Height: 33.25 inches (75th percentile)

Head circumference: 19.75 (97th percentile)

Christopher
Weight: 12 lbs. 2 ozs. (75th percentile)

Height: 23.5 inches (90th percentile)

Head circumference: 15.5 inches (50th percentile)

They are both growing and developing right on target. We were a little concerned about how many words Benjamin has mastered, but evidently animal sounds count at this age, so he's solid ;)

I went back and looked at Benjamin's 2 month stats, and he was just a little bigger than Christopher on all the stats. But hopefully Christopher will cope much better with his first round of shots then his big brother. I was a little better prepared this time and gave Christopher some tylenol before we went to the appointment. Maybe that will save us from  dealing with an excessively fussy baby tonight! Your prayers for grace and comfort for both the boys would be very much appreciated!

I will be posting in the days to come about our recent activities - so check back soon!

Christopher already doing push-ups

Here's Christopher showing off his amazing new skills: