Benjamin continues to love his role as a big brother! Chris and I are so proud of him. We do have the occasional struggle of sharing toys or Benjamin wanting our attention, but overall I truly couldn't ask for the brothers to be getting along any better. Andrew absolutely adores his big bro. He will get fussy some afternoons while Benjamin is napping, and then instantly perks up when his brother wakes up and is in sight again! It is the sweetest thing. They make each other laugh constantly, especially when riding in the car, sitting in their stroller where the seats face each other, or while playing in the playroom. I hope their bond continues to grow with each passing month.
We had the best time celebrating Benjamin's 2nd birthday. He truly seemed to understand that the festivities were all about him this year! His party was scheduled to be on his actual birthday (Saturday), but extremely high winds, cold temperatures, and rain forced us to reschedule for Sunday instead. It ended up being a really nice change. Chris and I were able to spend his birthday doing all the fun things he enjoys, and then we continued the celebration the next day with our friends and family! On his actual birthday he woke up to balloons all around his crib (the birthday tradition my mom started when I was a kid!), had a German Pancake birthday breakfast, went to Petsmart to see all the animals (he loves doing that!), played at gymnastics open gym, and went to see his first movie at the movie theater. We saw the Pixar movie Inside Out with Stella and Abbie. It was very cute, and the birthday boy was perfect through the whole thing! He really seemed to enjoy both the movie and the popcorn! :) His party was a Jake and the Neverland Pirates theme, one of his favorite shows on the Disney channel. Tons of his friends came to play, and even though it was too cold to have the party on the beach like we originally planned, it was still a perfect day! Grandma Fletcher made the most amazing cake and helped me make every detail of the party over the top!
Benjamin wore a special Monsters shirt to school and took in Monsters cupcakes for his friends on the Friday before his special day!
Andrew is really starting to get his own fun little personality now that he is almost 6 months old! He is happy and smiling ALL the time. If all my babies were like him, I don't think I would ever want to stop having them! :)
Onto the stats...
Benjamin
Age : 26 months
Weight : Around 30 pounds
Clothing and Diaper Size : 90 in Hanna Andersson and between a 2T and 3T in other brands
Milestones : Benjamin amazes us with how much he is talking everyday! It seems like his speech takes off more and more each week. He is putting together short sentences, and can usually tell us what he wants/needs for the most part. One of our favorite phrases is: "Come on, Mama/Dada - it's time!" :) He can come up with his own topics of conversation now rather than just responding to our questions or repeating after us. He also will nod his head "yes" in his crib when we ask him if he liked different parts of the day, which melts my heart! He can count to 14, sing the ABCs (and other songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), name several colors and shapes, and "read" books that are familiar.
Sleep : Benjamin takes one nap each day at around 1 or 2:00. It lasts for about 2-3 hours. Around 2 years old he stopped taking naps for 2 weeks or so (yikes!), but he is back to taking them at least 5-6 days a week. He goes to bed between 8 and 9:00pm and wakes up around 7:30am. He lays down on his own after having a bottle and reading some stories. The doctor says we need to stop the bottle soon, but we make sure to carefully brush his teeth after he finishes drinking it and before he lays down, so we aren't in a big rush!
Eating : Benjamin isn't much of an eater! He is going through a little growth spurt right now so he is eating more than usual, but overall he doesn't eat much. Some of his favorites are Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Loops, french toast sticks, pancakes, sausage, oatmeal, grilled cheese, french fries, chicken nuggets, apple slices, mac and cheese, spaghetti, broccoli cheese soup, and rolls with butter.
Favorites : Bubble baths, playing in his sand box, going down the slide off the porch, swinging on the swing (and saying "To the moon!") :), his animal figurines, his dinosaur figurines, treats, snuggling with his blankets, Monsters Inc and Monsters University, Winnie the Pooh, and The Lion King.
Doesn't like : Being told no :), time outs, when Mommy can't hold him, and diaper changes.
Andrew
Age : 5 months, 3 weeks
Weight : Was about 19 pounds when I weighed him on our scale at home, but I am anxious to see his official weight at the doctor next week! He is a big boy!!
Clothing and Diaper Size : 70 in Hanna Andersson, 9 month in Carters, and size 3 diaper (but he is quickly outgrowing these sizes and will be in the next size up within a few weeks!)
Milestones : Andrew smiles and laughs up a storm! He is such a happy boy! He was having some trouble with gas when he was 3-4 months old, but it seems like he is doing better with that now. He started rolling from tummy to back when he was only about 6 weeks old, and started rolling from back to tummy at 4 1/2 months old! Now that he is 5 months, he can scoot along the floor on his tummy and really make some ground! He also holds himself up with his arms straight in the baby push up position. The other day he was up on his back knees, too, looking like he might be ready to crawl! Whoa! :) Just in the last 2-3 weeks he is really interested in grabbing things. He wants whatever you are eating or holding, and it goes directly into his mouth! He loves checking out everything around his brother. We call him our little monkey when he is "perched" up on our hip, looking all around. :) We are curious to see what color eyes he will have - they are still changing every day from gray to green to brownish! He sucks his thumb every so often, which Mommy thinks is so sweet.
Sleep : Andrew takes a pretty consistent nap around 10am, and the rest of his naps vary from day to day. Usually he still sleeps about every 3-4 hours. Sometimes his naps are only 20 minutes, and other times they are 2 hours! He started waking up in the night again almost every night. I bring him into bed to nurse him back to sleep because I am too exhausted to sit up in his room and feed him! He ends up sleeping in our bed until morning and snacks on and off. I know this is probably not the best habit to be getting into, but it gets us through the days/nights for now!
Eating : Andrew eats about every 3 hours. He loves to nurse to sleep. We tried to give him some rice cereal and some sweet potatoes at about 5 1/2 months, but he doesn't seem too interested yet! He spit it out and made a face of disgust. :) We keep trying every so often, but for now it definitely is ok that he is just content with breastfeeding!
Favorites : Watching his big brother play, sleeping in his Fisher Price swing, his Fisher Price jumper-oo, Sophie the giraffe, his Lamaze moose, taking baths in the big boy tub, looking at himself in the mirror, looking at pictures of Mommy, Daddy, & Benjamin, and when Mommy blows raspberries!
Doesn't like : Having gas, being hungry, riding in the car, and laying on his back if he can't roll over.
