Annika lately

Her first time on the big kid swing (almost 2 1/2). We were so happy to go to Pam's Playground this week. It was in the mid 50's and the sun was shining. We can't wait for spring!

I was packing to go to Debbie's house and she decided to pack for herself. This was her pile of essentials. We didn't end up going to Debbie's for mid-winter break because Benson was sick. I took him to the Dr. and he was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection. 2 days into antibiotics and he is almost back to his normal self. He has also been teething though so he is still uncomfortable. And the abx give him diarrhea all day long. Poor little bum.

She has been playing outside a little bit this week. We have had some days in the low 50's and she has loved being outside again. After she had been playing outside for several minutes, she came to the door and asked for her sunglasses. :) I love this stylin' girl!

She also added the pink ear warmer that is around her neck. She pulled it out of the winter stuff and put it on herself. I never wear them myself so it was funny to see her so confident in adding it to her outfit.

Nursing her baby. She was insistent that the nursing cover go over her feet too. Very modest.

She put these giant boots on (probably 4 sizes too big) and said she was going out in the rain. It's been fun to watch her observe the weather and talk about it. She is a cutie smartie pants.

She loves building towers. We haven't used the blocks for awhile.  She got them out tonight and built this tower all by herself. I love the look of concentration on her face. She wasn't very happy to stop this activity when bedtime rolled around. I love that she enjoys playing with learning toys like this.

January

Our Benson boy is 8 months old! We love our happy, loud, solid, jumper, Annika-loving boy! I just weighed him on our bathroom scale and he came in at 18 pounds. Annika weighed 17 when she was one. He isn't really that fat or rolly.  But, he is definitely solid. My dad calls him "tank."
On a daily basis, we make comments about how loud he is. Even Annika will say "youd" (loud) when he yells in her face. He is often pretty content when he is yelling. But, usually it's because he wants attention. He is very much a people person. He is also very bouncy. He loves to bend his knees and jump when we're holding him or when he is in his exersaucer jumper thing. He has recently decided that he loves to stand on the ground or our laps while we're holding him.
He still loves to cuddle, especially with me. I love this cookie boy! He is so sweet and fun. Annika has started calling him cookie a few months ago and now she usually calls him cookie boy. It is most often used when he is touching her toys. She says "aye, cookie boy!" It cracks me up. She loves to get in his face and let him grab her hair or touch her face. When she wakes up from her nap, he is usually already up with me. I tell him we're going to go get Annika and he starts bouncing and flapping his arms. When we go in her room, he lets out a shriek and does this throat clearing sound over and over again. We will have to get it on video. He makes the same sound when daddy comes home from work. He is so expressive and it always makes us smile. It's often a little much for Annika when she's first waking up. She sometimes isn't very happy to see us and wants us to go out of her room. So we leave and come back a few minutes later. It works:)
Benson's big news of the month is that he ROLLED OVER! I know. He's 8 months old. He is always so happy sitting up that I rarely put him on his back or tummy. But, we put him on his tummy a few days before 8 months and he finally did it, with a little help of moving his elbow in. He still gets really frustrated on his tummy and he doesn't make rolling over look very easy or natural. But, he can do it.
He is also cutting his first 2 teeth right now (bottom center). I don't remember teething affecting Annika this much. He has been waking up for an extra feeding at night, taking short naps, skipping his late afternoon nap, and wanting his binky for a lot of the day. I got some natural teething tablets for him. Who knows if they're helping. But, it makes me feel better. I gave him ibuprofen for the first few nights. I think it's been over a week and it seems like the teeth have been SO close to pushing through for a few days now. Hopefully, they will break through and give him (and me) some relief tomorrow.
Right before he started teething he went two nights in a row from 8-4:30 or 5. I hope he gets back to that soon! He has also been waking up with a poopy diaper every morning. ugh. I always think, he would have slept in longer if he didn't feel the urge to poop at 7 am. I also started putting a size 4 diaper on at night because he kept wetting out of a 3 and needing a pj change in the middle of the night. not fun. Oh the joys of night time with a baby. Annika hasn't been helping the cause of sleep. She has been waking up at 5:30 am every day for over a week. We leave her in her crib until 6:15 or 6:30. But, most mornings, that means we hear her yelling for us every few minutes until David gets her. We keep thinking she will eventually just sleep until 6:30 if we just leave her, instead of waking at 5:30. It doesn't seem to be working. Oh well. Someday we will sleep again. :)

Annika's favorite thing to do when Daddy gets home! "Money!" Papi Pass gave her a bunch of nickels and she likes to dump them out and put them back in as often as David will help her. I established David as the sole "money guy" early on so I don't have to deal with nickels all over the house every day.

our sweet and smart girl decided she was going to "clean" while we had company over a few days ago. She put all of the toys up on the desk and then used her popper, which she considers a vacuum, to vacuum the floor. She has been pretty into cleaning up lately. I find baby wipes all over the house from her cleaning escapades. When I ask her to help me pick up her toys, she is pretty good at staying focused. She says "clean up" in a sing-songy way over and over again as we clean. I love this cute girl! She makes me smile.

handsome daddy. David got glasses in December. He soon decided he wanted contacts because they were uncomfortable and he can't wear them for basketball. He has contacts now and loves them.

He has recently decided he is in to screen time and wants my phone whenever he sees it. yikes, already?

Some of my favorite pictures are of these two in the morning. This is Annika's spot every morning. She usually watches Elf, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, or Baby TV in the morning while David gets ready. I sleep in until he leaves or BEnson wakes up. It's not always very restful sleep after she is up though:)

not posed, holding hands :)

watching football with daddy. David loves to let Benson pulls his hair and scratch his head. And Benson loves it too.

Almost every day, she puts her jacket or shoes on (or sometimes a whole get up, like above) and tells me she is going somewhere. It's usually to someone's house- Rose, Jessica ("Jessy"), Debbie. But, yesterday, she told me she was going to work, with the boys. She always talks about Daddy working with the boys at school, so I'm guessing that's the connection. She often asks me to watch her baby while she is gone. We talk about what I will do if the baby is hungry, sad, sleepy, poopy, etc. I think it's a good learning opportunity for her and it's an entertaining conversation for me. :)

These are the things she had packed in her purse for her trip she was taking above.

in her hat that Papi brought her from Belize. She is so cute in hats!

At Pam' s Playground. I think we have been twice since like October. It's just too cold, sadly. I'm really looking forward to going for walks and playing outside again. It will be so fun this Spring, now that Benson is more interactive and aware of his surroundings more.

There is something magical about a balloon when you're a kid. I still think they're fun!

Annika's first ice cream cone... at 10:30 AM

our silly girl

Benson boy after church