Detroit Zoo

Dane had one day off this weekend so we made the most of it and traveled to Detroit to its zoo.  Eben had a great time identifying each animal he knew and Bode just took naps and looked around at whatever (insisting to be in the Bjorn therefor making my back sore, but it's worth it to have a happy baby). The weather was perfect...warm in the sun with a very cool breeze...a wonderful family day. Oh and look at Eben's eye! MUCH better.










Looking at the animals.

























Both reading about the animals.







Eben really liked the Buffalo.

Eben and Daddy hanging out with the prairie dogs.  I laughed out loud by myself when they popped up into these holes.  Eben enjoyed it.





This was the sign that it was time to go home after about 4 hours at the zoo. Both boys crashed hard almost immediately on the drive home.

Our Little Quasimodo :(

Poor little Eben has something funky going on with the skin below his eye.  Yes, we went into the doctor and they hope it's just a bug bite gone awry, but they were also concerned it is cellulitis, which could turn into something bad.  He's on antibiotics right now and it hasn't gotten better yet, but HOPEFULLY by tomorrow morning we will see improvement otherwise we will be going back in.  Luckily it doesn't bother him at all...he just resembles Quasimodo a bit - minus the hunchback.








It looks especially bad when he smiles :(

Five Months Old

Size: A little bigger than at his 4 month check up - who knows though, right?  BTW, I forgot to put up his 4 month stats, so here they were - 14lbs (34%), 25in (49%), head 17.1in (79%)

Sleep: Eh...let's just say I have lost all hope of having one of those babies who just start sleeping through the night all on their own.  It probably doesn't help that he is still in a cosleeper next to me though - if only we had a third bedroom, he would have been in that a long time ago.  But anyway, he is working on going to bed at a decent time at night, still feeds around 11pm, then around 3-4am, and then around 7:30am.  MUCH too much if you ask me.  Looks like the dreaded sleep training might be right around the corner...

Development: He's rolling from his tummy to his back with ease now and working on the back to tummy direction - although I wish he would have mastered them the other way around as he is a tummy sleeper.  He's still not a huge giggler, but we get a few little ones out a couple of times a day.  He is starting to love his Jumperoo, is grabbing at everything, and is getting closer and closer to sitting up on his own.  He has also mastered the art of putting the paci in his mouth, which is pretty exciting!

Personality: His little personality grows more and more every day.  He is really starting to turn into a little person with the looks he gives and the way he expresses what he wants. 

Sibling Relationship: I feel confident in saying that Eben loves having Bode around now.  It has taken 5 months, but I really think that Eben appreciates the joy Bode brings into our family.  The first thing Eben says in the morning is, "Bode awake!" and he is always laughing at him, saying, "Bode funny," and letting me know if Bode is happy or sad.  The "toddler behaviors" that developed when Bode came into our home have relatively been gone for the past couple of weeks as well. 

Other: Bode still doesn't like the car much.  We drove to Chicago last weekend and on the way there he cried for about an hour straight...not our idea of a fun time.  But to be fair, he was having a tough time at home during the same hours, so maybe it was related to that. Oh, and we definitely think Bode looks more like Dane.

2 Years Old

Eben is two years old!  Although he can be a typical, difficult toddler, he is honestly the best little boy we could ever ask for.  He is caring, so lovable, adorable, and has a wonderful giggly personality. Watching him develop from a baby into a little boy has been a blast.  His speech is now progressing at lightening speed as it feels like I have a little parrot in the room with me all day long.  He says small phrases at all times now, sometimes even forming sentences. He identifies all letters and knows most of their sounds (thanks to Leap Frogs Letter Factory DVD)...and he counts...well sort of - 3, 4, 5, 9, 8, 3, 4, 5, 9, 8 - always in this order. He runs, jumps, leaps, spins, wrestles, flies (with Daddy), and does somersaults (sort of).  He is the best big brother to Bode and loves him dearly.  He also loves his extended family and talks about each and every one of them throughout his day.  I wish he could understand better where they all are and why we can't see them very often.

Eben loves anything with wheels and putting them on ramps, in the windowsill, on the dishwasher door, on Bode's belly, and anywhere else he can think of.  He reads book after book with us and loves finding things he can name on each page.  Any type of ball provides much entertainment and he is just starting to show signs of imagination play (which the child therapist inside of me gets very excited about!). 

He is still the best sleeper in the planet and LOVES his crib - so much so that he gets so upset when we take him out of it.  Also, before he falls asleep, he sits in his crib, talking, laughing, rolling around, and playing with his stuffed animals sometimes for up to 90 minutes, totally content. Same thing once he wakes up - he doesn't care how long I take to get him up.  Can you see why I am in no rush to get him in his twin bed?! 

Eben is still a tall boy, in the 99th percentile in height.  This is great, but also tough because people expect him to act like a three year old.  He's a great eater as always and loves his juice.  He wouldn't drink any milk for the longest time, but now we finally got him on diluted "chocolate drink," which makes me happy.

The past two years have been the best two years of my life.  Tough at times, but worth every frustrating/annoying/exhausting moment.  Parenthood has brought an amazing amount of joy to our lives that we wouldn't give up for anything.  I love you, little buddy.



And now for MANY pics, some that I didn't put up on Facebook:

I set this up in our "backyard" as a surprise for Eben...he thought it was pretty great.





The only picture I got of him in the basket.  Soon after this picture, it tipped over with him in it...and let's just say he was terrified of it after that.














Dane trying to convince Eben that the basket won't tip over again...Eben didn't believe him.













































So proud of his balloons.

















He thought it was hilarious letting the balloons go and then watching us catch them.





He did, however, start getting upset when we would catch them, wanting to see what would happen if we didn't.  I love this shot of "Nana" catching the balloons.


And this is what a 2-year-old looks like when his balloons are taken away because it's time to go eat.