Oh we're having some fun with our 'Lil Man and our Sweetie pie. Mia and Ben interact more and more and Mia's favorite thing to do is to make Ben laugh. She can do it better than any of us and she prides herself in a good Ben belly chuckle. How does she do it? Well... it's kind of a combo of jumping spastically and making some sort of loud noise with a twist of falling down.
The shirt says it all- he is a super strong little guy. He loves to grab at toys, food, and Mia and Mommy's hair. He also tries to sit up in his bouncer chair and swing. Ben is actively trying to sit up on his own and can do so for a second or two before he face plants onto the ground- always in the opposite direction of what makes sense to the laws of gravity.
Hook 'Em Horns! Yes, maybe we should change our last name from Brown to Burnt Orange. Mia really likes the new cheerleader outfit that Daddy got her and Ben inherited her old sun hat. Mia has perfected the Hook 'Em sign with her fingers as well as showing us numbers 1-5. It sure takes some coordination to manipulate those little hands.
We are seriously enjoying our National Aquarium membership (thanks Abi and Tata). Every time we go, there is something new and exciting to look at. This visit was particularly enjoyable because there were hardly any people and we had so much room to see the aquariums up close. Mia was fond of the giant sea turtle. Ben stared wide-eyed at everything that swam by his face and he kicked with delight.
We managed to keep the kids up long enough to see the dolphin show and it was clear that they both were watching the amazing animals as they flew and flipped through the air. What an exciting day! It's no wonder that they both passed out on the way back home. We look forward to our next visit soon.
Congratulations to Allen, Elaine and Owen on their newest addition to their family: Nora Atchison Fawcett. Baby Nora arrived on September 1st and is such a sweetie. Benjamin is so excited to finally have someone his own age to play with. We also look forward to getting to spend some time with her once she's a little older. Daddy had some fun brewing beer with some neighborhood friends and Mommy, Ben and Mia played with Jean, Leah, Charlotte and Rae. The girls had lunch and played with tons of toys while Ben watched and squealed with delight. Mommy got some help from Mia and Luke with blowing out her birthday candles. Luke and his parents decided to give Mommy and Daddy a break and babysat for us. We had a lovely night out and even got to see a movie.
What's new with the kiddos:
Benjamin: -rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy -loves his teachers at daycare -digs his bouncer and can bounce away for long periods of time -has added peas, green beans, prunes, peaches, and crackers to his menu
Mia: -works hard to do things on her own- shoes and socks, buttons her jammies, brushes her teeth -making some progress on going on the big potty (# 2 mostly) -continues to say funny things like "Mommy, I probably want milk for dinner" or "Where's my zackally?" (code word for anything that helps daddy measure and hang up pictures in the house so they are exactly straight-measuring tape or level pretty much) -now knows that Bob Marley is a man even though she still has to ask if we are listening to the "lady" (hey mon- he has dreads, it's confusing!) -knows all of the chorus of Bob Marley's "Judge Not" and continues to ask for Rush music
We attended a Nationals Game on Labor Day weekend that started off a little unsteady and ended up just about the same. As we arrived some crazy intoxicated guy got sick all over the steps by our seats during the National Anthem. When we got to our seats, we found out that Mommy was lucky enough to sit right next to him. He ended up being well behaved (probably because he felt better) and the entire group of guys he was with loved how cute Ben and Mia were. Somehow we managed to eat one of the messiest meals two people with two kids (each on our laps) could eat! We all ended up with ketchup and strained pears on our clothes. Mia had her first Cracker Jacks box and wholeheartedly helped Daddy polish off a bag of peanuts. Finally as we were leaving Mia wiped out on the stairs so we took a jaunt over to the First Aid office where she charmed the lady working the desk. What a fun game... who did the Nats play? Who won? Who knows? We simply were too busy to watch (mostly).
We got to spend some time at Norwood Park with Andrew, Claire and Luke to celebrate Claire's birthday. Mia loved the swings and pulling grass out of the ground and throwing it with Luke. Ben enjoyed his sweet potato lunch and people watching as always. Luke came over later and he and Mia sure had fun playing air guitar and air drums! Later we found them upstairs with Mia's door closed, giggling and jumping all around. Ben is starting to interact with them more and more and watched them run around the house. Someday sooner than we know- he'll be chasing them and getting into their stuff.
This week was busy, busy, busy as we all went back to work and school.
Ben News: Ben started his first week at SSPC and welcomed the transition better than we could have hoped! His teacher Ms. Mary loves how easy going he is and that he loves to smile, snuggle, laugh and cuddle. One thing we've noticed he likes doing at "school" is eat, eat, eat! The boy simply can't get enough and while one day he was nicknamed "Ben Bear", the next was "Mr. Eating Machine".
Here's what he's been eating (and not just one meal... 3 meals a day!) rice cereal oatmeal multi-grain cereal pears apples sweet potatoes bananas
Daycare also has helped Ben to sleep longer because he's more active and social there. Also, with the cooler evenings, we've been dressing him in long pajamas which has helped him to sleep 10-11 hours at a time...way to go Ben!!!
Mia News: Mia had a very smooth transition back to daycare. She absolutely insists that she helps drop off her baby brother first before she goes to Mrs. GG's room. Now that a new year has started, many of her friends moved on to the 3's classroom, making her one of the older kids. She seems to like being a leader and we're finding at home that she's becoming more independent with letting us know when she has to go potty!
Mia got two of her 2-year molars sometime in the last week and... It finally happened. She learned how to ask, "Why?" While it was cute at first, we are noticing that she says it just about all the time now (still cute but is there an end to the asking?)
Oh we're having some fun with our 'Lil Man and our Sweetie pie. Mia and Ben interact more and more and Mia's favorite thing to do is to make Ben laugh. She can do it better than any of us and she prides herself in a good Ben belly chuckle. How does she do it? Well... it's kind of a combo of jumping spastically and making some sort of loud noise with a twist of falling down.
