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...