All done or more?

We've been teaching Benjamin baby signs since 6 months old. At first it was silly, making the signs for milk, all done, more, mommy, daddy and sleep but then he totally got milk and so when he wants a bottle, he makes the sign and all is well. Our next step was teaching him more and all done and this week he's been using them and it's been hilarious because I don't think he gets when he's supposed to use them. Here are some examples:

Super cute, huh? I love that he's trying to communicate.

Oh, he only cried for 20 mins tonight. WOO HOO. Progress!

Sleep training ... again

Back in October, we gave the Ferber Method a whirl. It was tough but we got through it and it worked like a charm until I stopped breastfeeding. The past few months we've rocked Ben to sleep. Most of the time, he has sleep through the night (4 a.m. is through the night for us) until he gets another bottle. Then we started to notice he was getting pretty attached. He started waking up at midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m. and most of the time he wouldn't go in his crib. SO, we knew what to do. The most awful thing in the world ... time for the old cold hearted cry it out method.

Last night he went down, not problem but at 11 p.m. he woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep without laying on Brian. So, we decided, it was time. And for an hour I laid there listening to the crying while Brian snored away. When he awoke again at 4 a.m. for his bottle, drank it and went fast asleep and then woke up at 5 a.m. crying. After about 2 mins, he was fast asleep again until 6 a.m.

Tonight, the same thing -- bath, lots of cuddling, books, rocking and then down in his crib. This time, it took 10 mins and he was out. Granted, he had 4 binkies in his crib because he has a tendency to get more upset about his lone binky he dropped on the outside of his crib. I'm happy to report, he knocked two of them out of the bed. One was at this foot, the other in his mouth.

They say the second time around it goes fast because they've been through it before. Some say they don't believe in this method but it's works for us and that's all that matters.

11 months!

Dear Benjamin,
Today you're 11 months old. You're babbling! You're standing and cruising around! You have 4 teeth. One thing we've realized is you're no longer a baby. You're a little boy.



You have your dad's eyes and double colic. You love to travel as we went on two road trips and you didn't complain much. On Easter, you got a taste of chocolate and you were instantly in love. You're also in love with your blankey as you have to clutch it in your hands while sleeping.



Your sleep is all over the place. The only constant is you go to bed at 7 p.m. and wake up between 5-6 am. Sometimes you sleep all night. Sometimes you wake up every hour.

The month, you experienced another ear ache and the croup with was pretty scary. The croup then turned into a mild cold but you're still as happy as can be.

You'll be walking soon which is scary because you're super fast at crawling. I love you little man. I'm amazed at how fast this first year is going.

Running, the croup. Just a normal week in our house

Well, there is no photographic evidence but I'm running. I have been scared to write about it in case I wimped out. A few weeks ago, I was inspired by Jen's efforts to get off the couch and get running a 5K in 9 weeks. So, three times a week, we meet up or if I can't I hit the dreadmill at work.

At first, we were really winded after running one min. Friday, we ran 20 mins straight around Farewell Bend Park and only felt winded after 18 mins. Today, at week 5, we ran our first 5K where we ran 5 mins, walked 3 mins, ran 8 mins, walked 8 and ran another 5. The most rewarding thing is that we finished and did I mention, the baby weight is coming off?

I feel horrible if I miss a day of running because I feel so great after. It's helping my mood and sleep (unless interrupted by the baby). Eventually, I will have to switch my running to the morning when it's cooker which is OK since I get up at 5 a.m. anyway with Ben.

Did I mention that Benjamin has croup? Seriously, it's pretty scary to hear your baby wheezing in the middle of the night. It's also pretty scary when you have no idea what croup is and two days later you're being told he has it. He was his smiley, giggly self the whole time too. He's on the mend and was out of day care all last week. Now he has a nasty cold and is popping three more teeth I think.

Thursday he will be 11 months old. Where has the time gone??

Busy bees

Wow, I haven't posted since March. How did that happen? Oh yea, we've been busy.



Ben has started swim lessons. I've started training for a 5K and my husband enjoying being a stay at home dad (for now).

We started the month off by heading to the Oregon Coast for a few days. It happened to be in the 70s and gorgeous out. Plenty of seafood and Rogue Ales we consumed and we learned that Benjamin is a good little traveler. He was great on the four hour ride there and back. He hung out in the Kid's Kelty and just went with the flow. He did great sleeping out of his element -- all while busting out his two front teeth. Oh and to top it off, the motel had a heated pool so Brian and Benjamin did a lot of swimming.



The evening we got home I noticed Ben was really warm and I took his temperature and sure enough, he was running a 102.5 degree temp. He stayed home the next day from day care but we had no idea why he was running the temperature. Our good ole friends at BMC Peds (disclaimer: I work for BMC) got us in and an ear infection was diagnosed.

Ben is fast. He crawls across the room so fast I'm amazed. He's also cruising pretty good and becoming a good eater though I can't get him to eat papayas. He now signs milk and all done. He is talking though I had no idea what he is saying.

The cutest ... when he is tired, he crawls to him blanket and drags it over signaling nap time.

I love this stage. All the learning and communicating. The hugs and kisses. The cuddling.

I'm sure that I'll love the next stage just as much.