Sleep

March 5, 2011

June 15, 2013

When did Helena get so big?  She'll be two and a half in a week!

One Month Today

According to La Leche League International, a baby is a newborn for the first 28 days.  That means Benjamin has moved on to a new stage of life.  How can time go by that quickly?

He definitely doesn't have the typical newborn look anymore.  He's big!  We went and met a 2 week-old today, and it just showed me how big he is.  But he still has his newborn cry, his newborn jerks when he's startled and his wonderful newborn expressions.  How can you not love his finger placement above?

Helena's interest in Benjamin is growing every day. She told us (without any prompting!) that she loves him a few days ago.  Yes, our parent hearts melted.  Benjamin seems to enjoy it when she lies down next to him but he's not showing a lot of interest in the toys she gives him.

If you'd asked me four days ago, I would have said he is a very mellow baby.  When he's comfortable, I'd still say that.  But now we're dealing with heat rash and a poor baby who plain and simple has a lot of gas.  It makes him so uncomfortable!  

But he's still a sweetheart.  What little blue he had to begin with has almost completely left his eyes, and they're a nice brown.  People say he has his mommy's skin complexion and her eyes but otherwise they don't know who he looks like.  Any thoughts?

More with Nani and Papa

A few more photos from our last visitors' stay:

Watching Curious George together - Mom & Dad watched Helena more than the screen!

Three Generations

The adults read lots of books - and took some naps!

Three Generations Again :)

Walking with Nani & Papa

As Papa liked to say, he and Benjamin became friends.

A grandmother who lets her 2 1/2 year old granddaughter paint her toenails is very special.

One thing we did that we hadn't done before was rent a Bixi bike for my dad.  Bixi is a company that has bikes locked up in various spots in Toronto.  You pay $5 to have access to a bike for as many 30-minute stints as you like over a period of 24 hours.  Despite it currently facing bankruptcy in Toronto, it has done really well in many large cities in the world.  My dad definitely enjoyed it!

Our Anniversary

7 years of marriage

13 countries

15 places of employment

6 apartments

5 years living abroad (which now feels like home)

2 kids

When we said our vows to each other, we had no idea so much was in store for us in the next 7 years.  It's been a whirlwind of activity, that's for sure, but I've loved it.  Thank you John for all the excitement and adventure.  I can't wait to find out what's going to happen in the next 7 years!

Life continues, that's for sure.

It's funny how life works - so not how you plan it.  See, with this pregnancy I had a good bit of nesting going on.  So our place was clean before Benjamin was born.  There'd be no extra housework to be done after his birth.  BUT we happened to bring one bed bug home with us from either the hospital or the taxi...which meant 30+ loads of laundry to do before the exterminators came in.

Like I said, not at all what I had planned.  Thank the Lord for my mom's presence and all her time spent in the laundry room.  Thank the Lord for our living in an apartment building so we had multiple washers and dryers available to us.  Thank the Lord that we don't have to pay for the exterminators.  And, while I absolutely hate the one, thank the Lord there was only one bed bug.

When I look back on the last 2 weeks, it's so easy for me to be negative about the time lost during my mom's visit and during Benjamin's first few weeks, and how much work had to be done because of one stupid bug. But last night I spent an hour putting pictures on our computer and I realized how much fun we've had since my mom and my dad AND OF COURSE BENJAMIN arrived!

We've all fallen in love with our little man.  He loves looking towards light, whether it be from a lamp we leave on in the middle of the night so he'll be calm and we can sleep or whether it's just coming through the window.  His first nickname is the King of Poop - this man is going through lots of diapers.  He is a charmer - smiles so regularly that we're convinced they can't all be from gas.  He is such a good eater that he was only 68 grams away from his birth weight at 4 days old.  Since he eats well, he's already getting big!

His big sister goes in and out with her interest in him.  She likes to read books to him and tell people his name and sometimes even share her most precious possession (her napping blanket).

Benjamin has already found his thumb (only took him 3 days to do so).  This does not thrill his parents, despite their love for his thumb-sucking sister, but it is cute.  Still, we are doing soother research!

We've used our new "mini-van" multiple times, a necessity when you have 2 kids in the city.

We gave Helena her own baby carrier, and it's been getting some good use...

 

...sometimes with a doll and other times with a crayfish.  My mom brought this twenty-nine cent toy from the south in order to show us how they ate them.  She had no idea it would be Helena's best bud for a week.

Benjamin is our little pod, sleeping all zipped up in his Swaddlepod.

 

 The bed bug-related work was mostly done by the time Papa arrived, so there was lots of time for fun and naps.

My dad loves little kids' feet.  He's always checking them to make sure there are no calluses yet.

I love every body part on my kids - big surprise, huh?  I'm so glad we can take pictures and videos but I wish there was a way to keep the little lip kisses, the softness of Benjamin's skin, his wonderful smell, and the snuggles we get from him.

A few hours after we put my parents on the subway for the airport, Helena said "I want Nani to be back."  We had such a wonderful time with you Mom/Nani and Dad/Papa.  Thank you for coming!