Tiny Weeny Halloweeny

Benjamin had his 4 month checkup with Dr. Paul on Wednesday. He is still in the 25th percentile for weight (13lb 5oz) and head circumference, and 25-30% on height (24 1/2 inches).
Dr. Paul said that he would like to see Benjamin put on a little more weight, but told the Dr that I don't think I can feed him anymore often than every 1.5 hrs all night!
Benjamin has slept a little better the last few nights, and took a whopping 3 hr nap this morning! I am hoping that it was just a growth spurt, and it will continue to get better.


House:
Sheet rock is in, and if it ever dries up, we may get a driveway!

Busy Weekend!

Benjamin's Aunt Sarah's visited, so we decided to try knitting:

Assessment: easier without baby on lap.

Benjamin has started to grab everything. It is fun now, but I'm sure in the near future, we were going to wish for that quiet little baby that would sit in our laps. Although, we are finding out that he can entertain himself for at least 10 minutes with a magazine. Cheap toys! (no paper cuts yet, either).
Benjamin got his 4 month shots (well, the ones I wanted him to get since I'm doing an alternate vaccination schedule), and he did pretty well with them. Of course, we got the loud scream after the injection, but he calmed down quickly. And they weighed him. With clothes and his big diaper on, he weighed 13 lbs 7 oz. We go to see Dr. Paul on Wednesday for Benjamin's 4 month check up, so we will give you his official stats then.

Sleeping is slightly better. He did have a stretch of 3.5 hrs last night.....it felt like an eternity! And while he is waking up quite a bit, he was really easy to get back to sleep. I have started to log his sleeping, napping, and pre-bedtime routine in my attempt to encourage him to sleep longer stretches. He slept about 9.5 hrs last night. I'll keep you all posted.

House:
It has now been insulated, and the dry wall is starting to go up! Hopefully we will be in sometime in December or January!

Our bedroom

Blowing in the insulation
Staircase to upstairs

What a week!

Benjamin: (batting his beautiful eyelashes) "Mom and Dad, if I wake up every hour two nights in a row, and then the next night want to play from 3-4:30am, will you still love me?"
Mom and Dad: "Yes dear, though we just may have a mental breakdown."

*Hubby and I are exhausted*

Each night after bathtime, I have a talk with Benjamin about how he needs to sleep because mommy and daddy need their rest. He must not be a very good listener: )

The upside...it makes waking up every 2 hours seem like we get a good nights rest. I have decided that some babies are sleepers and some aren't. Benjamin apparently didn't get Gma Cow's sleeping gene! I just hope, for her sanity, that my sister's baby sleeps better.


The other good thing. When Benjamin awakens in the morning and flashes me a huge grin, it makes it all worth it.

"What are you talking about mom, I'm innocent, I swear!"

Other than no sleep, Hubby has been super busy. We are doing flu shots at our pharmacy for the first time this year, and since the Health Department and Evil-greens are out of vaccine...we have a steady stream of people in our store. I guess other health department's are out as well because we had 5 ladies travel from an hour away to get a shot! It has been a really great service to provide this year. Hubby has even been able to go to businesses to vaccinate all the employees (with the help of one of the owners/tech/nurse that we work with). We also started administering the shingles vaccine (Zostavax). As long as a doc writes "pharmacist to administer", we can administer just about anything to adults!

More pictures

Benjamin and I missed church today : (
He was very fussy early this morning, and fell asleep 30 minutes before church started. I couldn't bear waking him up, shocking him with the cold air, then walking around the church with him in my arms trying to get him back asleep. Unfortunately, no one got to see his cute overalls!
Anyways, here are a few picture of when Daddy-o got home.

As posted below, Benjamin is quite fond of standing. He was particularly "high-maintenance" today, and once again, didn't want to lay down, but wanted to stand. He also slept a lot, so I hope he is feeling alright. (no fever, I checked)

Another funny thing about our little guy...he loves to have his clothes changed. Every time we put on, or take off a shirt, it makes him laugh, alot. Here is a one of the many smiles we get when changing him. I think he is going to be like his mama....very ticklish!

We now have ...

• a spitter/drooler...and the need to wear a bib
• a talker... a really loud talker!
• a stander.... Benjamin will fuss if you lay him down, and smile if you hold him to "stand"
• a creature of habit. We have been implementing a nighttime routine for the last two weeks. last night we deviated, and boy oh boy, it was not good.
• a cuddler. He loves to be held, and I'm more than willing to oblige him when I'm home...it just makes it a little harder on Gma Cow when I'm not around : (
• a sleep fighter. Benjamin is not easy to get to sleep. It now involves giving him a pacifier, turning on the fan for him to stare at, turning on a lullaby cd, holding him horizantal and letting him nestle in between your elbow and body, walking and bouncing, or deep knee bends, which ever he prefers the most (deep knee bends for lots of crying) and this must be done for a minimum of 10 minutes, and then he must be held a while longer before you an even think about putting him down in the crib.

here's what happens when I get bored!

AAAAHHHHH!!!! I don't think I could handle this!

House update

The house still generally looks the same. Recently, it got wired for electricity/cable, etc, garage floors poured, plumbing, HVAC, and a little inside work. In the next few weeks, the siding will show up.

The house now has a front door, but I guess we haven't taken a picture since it was put in.Benjamin is sleeping where the master bathtub will reside one day.

Here is the garage floor in the single-car garage

Things I still have to decide:
Countertop surfaces (everywhere)
backsplash tile
fireplace tile
finalize cabinetry to order
house color
kitchen sinks
order appliances
lighting
how to not go way over budget, etc : 0

I love playing "airplane" at Gma Cow's house!

I'm getting exceptionally good at tummy time.
Look how tall I am
My new house is coming along. I love going to visit it.
Great Aunt Brenda made me a really nice blanket! I love the colors.