Hello Old Friend...

Ok, I deeply apologize for my long long long absence.  Turns out, two kids + job + dog + house= busy life.  Who knew? (every single parent in the world).

I'll try to be better.  Some major milestones so I don't forget and Benny doesn't get the "second child no one really notices what you do shaft" below:

• Seven months old: Benny got two little teeth below! Turns out he is not a late teether like Max.  Somehow I'm always surprised that he isn't following the exact same trajectory in every way.  I.e. NOT sleeping through the night (Max did by six months).  
• 7.5 months old: Benny decided to crawl...and he is moving faster and faster everyday.  Favorite toys/things to crawl to include the clicker (literally cries if I take it away...he is Mama's son!), paper (his favorite food), wires & plugs, wooden "foods", and Max toys.  But never, not ever, does he want the baby/teether/safe/light up stuff I have so much of.
• Basically, he is the happiest most mellow guy ever.  I thought Max was mellow - this guy is a whole different level of happy mellow dude.  More goofy, I think.  All smiles and laughs. Max was a bit more serious. 
• The one exception is night time.  He isn't his best behaved self...

Max updates...Max is the funniest, kindest, most hard-thinking and interesting 3 year old I've ever met (no bias whatsoever).  Sometimes he tries to be "bad" because he seems to know he is supposed to.  He really only does this to me (lucky me).  But he definitely enjoys testing his limits - seeing what prompts a response.  And he is VERY stubborn and independent.  I don't know many kids his age who have the patience to get themselves dressed head to toe including difficult socks and shoes. But he does this every day and does NOT want any help. 

I keep a list of funny things he says in my phone.  Some of my recent favorite include when he started using the phrase "no chance", as in "Erika has no chance of picking me up from school, NO CHANCE.  It has to be you."  Or how he refers to the Yankees as "Jeter and the other Jeters".  Or when I say someone got hurt and he asks "Did he hurt his feelings or his head?".  

Unfortunately, much like his Mom, Max has some anxieties.  We're hoping these aren't abnormal and kind of par for the course since he is so smart.  He just thinks A LOT.  Everytime I ask what he is thinking about, I get a truly interesting answer.  Not just a canned response like "nothing", but things like "I'm thinking about why its sunny during the day and 'moony' at night."  Maybe he'll be a poet..

We just returned from the most marvelous trip up north where we saw lots of friends, stayed at Rancho Relaxo and had the pleasure of being part of a big, busy house (like my childhood), got to spend days and sleepovers with Grammy & Tom (which afforded me & Charlie two nights away...yahoo!), and spent five glorious days with the whole Randel family together under one roof including The San Diego clan.  Swimming, Baseball, eating eating eating, sparklers, swings, arts & crafts, it was endless fun 24/7.  Watching Max & Ben play and bond with Thea & Helen was truly heartwarming, and something I'll never forget and can't wait to do more of!!

Some pix...

Maxin and relaxin...

The other night, Charlie and I were running around doing the post-dinner crazy dance (get two baths ready, put away food/clean dishes as much as possible, calm Ben who is end of day tired, take Bobo out, put two to bed, etc) and I look over to see the below...
Max sees Charlie do this often, and he quietly copies it. I'm glad I finally got a pic. The best part is that I know he isn't doing this for a laugh because no one is watching. He just wants to be a big guy like dad. Cracks me up.

And in Benny land, I think he is looking more and more like Max these days. Nice to see the little chubster looking like the rest of family! He is smiling, cooing, laughing, and becoming his own little person. He is such a joy.

Rolling, Growing, Peeing and More...

Ben is growing and changing so fast. He had two milestones pretty early - smiling (on purpose) and rolling. Both happened around six weeks and I thought they were just a fluke and we wouldn't see them again for a while. But he smiles all the time now - especially when Charlie yells "BEANO" which Max is now imitating. And rolling is regular as well (unless I'm trying to video tape) from front to back. This one took me about six days to capture.



He is also growing FAST. We went to his two-month appt and he jumped from the 25th percentile to the 50-75th. He is now 12.6 lbs and 23.5 inches. Amazing to me how fast they can grow in height. Wish I could get an extra 3 inches in two months!! I'm so proud that he is now a big chubby baby...it just wasn't very "me" to have a skinny guy ha.

And in Max news...


The potty training has officially begun. They're putting him in big boy underwear at school which is nice because he is learning the process, but it is also creating some anxiety (he is my kid after all) and he has started telling me the potty isn't comfortable (or his new description of things he doesnt like, "it feels cold"). So we'll see how it all plays out. I keep thinking the potty training will just "happen" without much forcing or negotiating but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Xmas and Beyond

We had such a wonderful holiday season with visits from both families.
First, we got Grammy & the Manuel clan for Xmas. This year was really fun because Max was into it - he had been learning the songs of the season and singing them and began to sort of understand the concept of Santa. He wasn't at the point of hysteria yet, which was nice - he would actually appreciate and play with a toy before opening the next one! And we all had such a wonderful few days with tons of help (and fun playtime for Max) from all the girls!! Including his new hobby of "surfing", which we'll never hear the end of. And major props to Charlie for cooking an amazing FEAST for everyone.
That visit was soon followed by one with Mom and Phoebe, thank gosh. We've been so lucky to have so many visitors and so much help. This trip can be summed up by the night Charlie and I were laughing because we were sitting at home (with Ben) eating leftover pizza while Max was on a fancy date at BLT Steak with two lovely ladies! He is such the prince when people are in town, taking over South Beach :) He really loved having sleepovers at Grandma's in his "chaise" and waking up Phoebe every morning to play!
We miss everyone so much now, I just keep counting the days until the next visits...

The Witching Hour

The only time Benny seems "Cranky" is during the cliched witching hour - around 6/630, just before last feeding and bedtime. It doesn't happen every night, but we've had a few lately.

So, in true Max form, I've decided to start dancing with him and he enjoys it just as much as his brother did. This time, though, I have a companion - and Max has some seriously good moves. Charlie caught us all jamming out to Van Morrison the other night.

Newest Member

Well, it took me seven weeks but Benjamin Joseph Manuel, born November 16th at 11:31 am weighing 7lbs 7 ozs and measuring 20 inches, is now officially part of the blog!

Too much to catch up on...I'll start with the Benny birth recap and the next blog post can be about the holidays and visits :)

Benny's birth was much easier than Max's - C Section minus the labor - but the recovery not so easy. For the sake of historical remembrance, let's just say mom's system had a hard time kicking back into gear. I'll never forget my hero, Charlie, and how he took care of me, not to mention my parents and how they alleviated the "Max issue" entirely (he couldn't have had more fun)! Mom and Dad - a million THANK YOUs. And Jimbo, you really rose to the occasion doing it all on your own for a few days!

We were so lucky to have the whole family come to town for Thanksgiving so we could celebrate together. I don't remember much of it, but I'm so glad Uncle David, and Phoebs and Shaun made the visit (luckily Uncle E was already here)! Mom somehow managed to pull off an enormous feast almost entirely on her own and everything was delicious. I spent most of the time nursing in the bedroom - thanks for keeping me company, Phoebs :)

And of course, the following week, Julie took care of us all. I don't know how she does it, but somehow she cooked, cleaned, nursed me, and cared for/drove/ entertained Max. AMAZING.

Thus far, Ben has been such a wonderful baby - pretty much only cries when he is hungry and seems genuinely at peace with his place in this scary world. Charlie keeps commenting that I seem a to be getting a lot more joy out of it this time around. I would agree that I'm a lot less stressed (minus hormonal + exhaustion mood swings) - the little things don't bother me as much (crying, sleep habits, eating habits, etc) as I know they'll change fast. The LEVEL of joy is the same (no slights to Max), but its certainly present more often . And I know to enjoy this time with Benny and how much I get to cuddle and coo at him and just gaze into his eyes, because soon enough I'll go to kiss him and his hand will automatically raise in protest (Max's latest trick). So, yes, I kiss and nuzzle him basically 24-7 (for the most part, that's not an exaggeration). Charlie calls him my boyfriend...

Max has been so wonderful with Ben - loves to pet his head and kiss him and say "It's OK Benny, I'm here" (even when he isn't crying). In fact, he wants to touch him so much he runs in from playing outside and immediately shouts "I washed my hands!" (so he can touch Benny) when he quite obviously has not. Every night when I ask for my good night kiss from Max, he goes right to Benny first. He hasn't seemed to mind the new addition too much either, just has to tell us once in a while that he's a baby too and he really likes to steal Benny's blankets; even when he is using them.

So that's the first intro - much more to come when I can get on the computer again (which is tough, considering the whole 24-7 holding thing).

Some first Pics below...