Camera Woes

I'm not the bad blogger that I appear to be. Really. It's not my fault that the last post was so long ago. I have wanted to put up new things. In fact, I've made several attempts to take cute, endearing, and entertaining photos of Benjamin that I could post. However, my camera has heard the awful things I've been saying about it and grown tired of the constant beatings it sustains at the hands of my 1 year old and decided to go on strike until working conditions improve. I have not been able to take a single picture since Thanksgiving. In fact, I can't even see anything in the screen anymore. It looks like satellite reception in a bad snowstorm. I've been very depressed about it. I check in on it every few days, promise to speak kindly and to protect it from being thrown across the room in the future, but it continues to glare at me with its fuzzy screen and staunchly refuses to capture any of my special moments. Alas. So, today in desperation, I called in a strike breaker - the PDA. It has a marginally decent camera that served to record at least a few cute moments of Benjamin's first real experience with snow. It was so much fun. We bundled him up in his snowsuit and took him outside in the back yard. The snow was up to his knees and at first he was hesitant. But being the adventurer that he is, with a little help from dad, he was more than willing to play...until his gloves fell off and the cold snow touched his warm wrists. Then the party was over.

With gloves...




Without gloves...

Even after they were back on, he wanted nothing more to do with the snow. It was okay though because the PDA battery was dead by then. :)

Other than furious snowstorms that shut down church, school, and everything but shopping at Target, there's not much going on around here (what a crazy crowd there was today - never shop on a snowday before Christmas!!). We're heading to Utah for Christmas in two days and are very excited about it.

Oh! And it's been confirmed - the next baby Dalton is a girl. I had my 20 week ultrasound today and a different tech agreed with the first that this baby was indeed a girl. So, now the second half of my pregnancy begins and we anxiously await little Isabella Katherine Dalton's arrival. We'll see if that'll still be her name when she gets here. It's all still negotiable. We're up for suggestions.

In closing, here's a little video of what keeps Benjamin entertained every morning. He's discovered that the bottom dishwasher rack can be removed and serves as a very fun bumper car. (I took this a while ago, before the camera strike, but never remembered to post it.)

Water and Dumptrucks - the Perfect Vacation

We spent the last few days in Toronto and Niagara Falls. We really wanted to spend some time away from everything and just be together and being the city girl that I am, I wanted to see Toronto. I'd never been there and I had heard lots of good things. So we loaded up the car and off we went. We had a wonderful time. We went all over the city - downtown, China Town, University of Toronto, Indian Town, rich neighborhoods, and poor neighborhoods. It was great. I loved all the active city life. It felt good to be there. We also found our new favorite Indian restaurant - the Sidhartha on Gerrard Street. Fabulous! My mouth waters as I think about it. We've been to 6 or 7 different places around here and none compares. We'll definitely be making more trips to Toronto, even if just for that food. On the way home we went through Niagara Falls - the highlight for Benjamin. There he got to see his favorite things - water and dumptrucks. He was mezmerized by all the water rushing. For some reason this kid loves playing with water! Then as we were leaving the falls, we passed a construction site which he watched in rapt attention for nearly 15 minutes as they shoveled huge mounds of dirt and dumped them elsewhere. He just couldn't get enough. Had it not been pouring rain we probably would have let him stay longer, but we were all getting soaked.



It was a great vacation and we had a wonderful time just being together and we still made it back in time for a fun Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Halloween...a little late

So, everyone else I know posted their Halloween pics long ago, but I was too busy with the birthday aspect of Halloween until now. Here's a few cute ones of General Benjamin of the US Army with his plastic jack-o-lantern and moon boots. :)






Halloween and my birthday were great. Benjamin got a ton of candy (for us) and did quite well walking from house to house by himself until suffering from complete bone-melt and flopping down on the sidewalk. No amount of coercing got him walking again, so we carried him to a couple more houses for my sake and then called it a night.

As for my party, I had a great time with all my friends and had so much food left-over that I didn't have to cook dinner for 3 nights. That was the best present of all. I meant to take pictures of my party, but as is always my way, I didn't remember to take a single one. C'mon, I'm too busy living it to photograph it! If I were rich, I'd hire a cook and a photographer. So now I'm 30 and feeling great. Can't wait to see what the next decade brings.

It's a girl???

I got another ultrasound today and it was for diagnostic purposes (down syndrome check, etc.) but I was so curious if we could tell what the baby is. So I asked and she said she could tell with 70% certainty. That was good enough for me, so we checked. Within seconds she had that perfect angle - legs strait out, bottom facing us. She and I both said at the same time, "That's a girl!" I will spare you the anatomical details of the image, but it was pretty obvious, baring radial future growth. I am a bit torn emotionally about it. It sure explains the many differences between this pregnancy and my first. Also, the strange feeling that I was making a mistake each time I referred to her as 'he' or 'your little brother' (to Benjamin). However, I really wanted a boy. Mostly because that's what I already have and what I'm used to and what comes naturally now. I'm not a prissy girly kind of person. That stuff really turns me off. But I also really hate dirt, so maybe a girl is really what I need. :) In any case, time will tell if it's correct, but in the mean time, I'll be looking for non-prissy girl clothes and imagining my little blonde-haired cutie - Maya/Isabella/? - suddenly I'm not so sure about names either.

Also, Happy Halloween everyone and a happy birthday to me tomorrow!!!! 30 years old! I'm excited. My party is on Friday and I've invited a lot of people so I think it will be tons of fun. I'll post pics of cutie Benjamin in his costume tomorrow, but in the mean time, here's a couple cute photos from a week or two ago.

Benjamin, Laura (from Utah), and I went to a cider mill to give Laura a Michigan experience (in addition to getting lost in Detroit) and Benjamin entertained himself on the train.


I let Benjamin put the rice and water into the rice cooker for dinner, but once that was done, he decided there was much more fun to be had. I'm still finding stray rice kernals every so often.

First Trimester Blues

Life with an active toddler can be stressful. Add to that raging hormones, fatigue, and frequent nausea and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. These last few weeks have been...interesting. I've had to put myself in time-out a few times in order to regain composure before I attempted to control whatever he was doing. I'm not regretting the decision to have another child, but certainly adding a nanny to the mix these last few weeks wouldn't have hurt. Alas, we're surviving and Benjamin still seems happy and fairly well adjusted. :)

It seems with this pregnancy (in addition to mood swings and bone crushing fatigue) I'm overly sensitive to smells. I've heard this from women before but it wasn't a problem with Benjamin. This time I can't stand the smell of garlic, dirty diapers (more so than usual), and my fridge. I have to hold my breath each time I open my fridge and leave the room afterwards until the residual smell clears. I've cleaned it out and washed it twice already and no one else smells anything in it, but it makes me so sick that anything I get out of it can be put right back because I can no longer eat it. Luckily I can tell these symptoms are fading each week, so hopefully I'll be better in a little while.

To lighten some of the load, I've been taking advantage of Benjamin's curiosity by allowing him to help me in the kitchen. He stands next to me on a chair at the counter and watches me every night as I prepare dinner. He used to stand/lay at my feet whining because I wouldn't play with him. Now that he's old enough that I'm not worried he'll fall or grab the knife out of my hand, I've found the current situation much more appealing. Luckily he loves it too. He'll watch me mix, chop, fry, etc. for as long as it takes. It's been such a relief. However, there have been a couple times when his attention waned and I turned around to find he'd moved his chair and found new sources of entertainment.

The first was our medicine cabinet. (It's now locked.) I thought he was moving the chair to look at the radio (another favorite diversion). I never even saw him climb onto the counter, just suddenly he was there.


He also found the rice cooker, with it's various lights, fascinating. That night nothing I did compared.


And nothing beats emptying out all the pans and climbing in a drawer. Especially if you've stashed Mom's cell phone there earlier. (I have found my phone in the strangest of places, including the fridge - probably knew I wouldn't be looking there anytime soon. I'm so glad I can always call it and follow the ring.)

Who's Next?

For those who haven't heard through other means, we're expecting! Our second baby is due May 10th. Not sure if it's a boy or girl yet, obviously, but he/she definitely seems more mellow that Benjamin already. Benjamin's ultrasound at 9 weeks was a flutter of activity. This baby's ultrasound was the picture of calm. Just floating in the warmth, content to stay put. I was going to post the ultrasound picture, but thanks so his/her mellow nature, there was no chance to get the cute little teddy bear pose we got with Benjamin, just a little curled up blob, only slightly representing a human. In the motion of the ultrasound I could make out the limbs, but no still photo captured them very well. So, you'll just have to take my word for it that my bulging midline isn't due to all the bratwurst I consumed on my vacation. Just thought I'd share the good news! :)

Watch him like a hawk!

Benjamin requires constant supervision, I'm discovering more and more each day. If I can't watch him, I need to make sure to clear the area before going away. When I forget to do that, less desirable events occur. For example, yesterday I was cleaning on top of the fridge, which required me to move a chair up to it. Unfortunately, I ignored my rule and didn't Benji-proof the kitchen before moving onto the living room. The chair stood there in front of the fridge just calling to him. So while I was vacuuming I was wondering what Benjamin was doing. Usually he loves the vacuum and is all around me while I'm using it. After I'd been vacuuming for a couple minutes and he hadn't joined me yet, I began to worry. I turned off the vacuum and heard....water running! Not a good sign. Where was there water that he could reach on his own? Answer: the fridge door. I went running into the kitchen and found him standing on the chair that I'd so kindly placed for him. He was pushing on the water dispenser in the fridge door, staring with rapt attention at the stream that was gushing out all over him, the chair, and our wood floor. There was a puddle over half the kitchen floor and growing by the second. My first thought was, do I get the camera or do I stop him immediately? I decided that the puddle wouldn't show up well on the camera anyway, and I really needed to put a stop to this before it became unmanageable, so I grabbed him, instructed him to stay put in the dry area and grabbed all the towels I could. To his credit, he obediently stayed in that same spot the whole 15 minutes it took me to sop up the water. It's an adventure a minute with this kid!

Here's a harmless amusement he adores - grab my drawer organizer and wear it as a hat all day while playing with the kitchen utensils. He does this several times a week.



One last Benji-adventure: Today I patiently folded all the laundry while he was sleeping but then didn't have time to put it away before he woke up. So, stupidly I left it on the floor for a minute thinking I'd be sure to get back to it before he found it. Wrong. Here's what I found after literally, no less than 60 seconds unsupervised:



This time I made sure to get the camera before making him help me clean it up. He sure is a cutie, though. We all went to the golf course tonight and I played with Benjamin on the putting green. We had so much fun. Whenever my ball didn't go in, he'd run over and drop it in the hole for me. Then he'd grab one end of the putter and I'd grab the other and he'd run in a circle around me, laughing the whole time (until he'd face-plant) :) Then he'd just jump up and keep going. Trying though he is, I'd never trade my active, inquisitive boy for anything.

What a trip!

We're back from Germany. It wasn't exactly the trip we'd expected. My grandmother's birthday party (the reason we went) never happened because she broke her arm, needed surgery, and was in the hospital the day her party was to take place. However, despite not seeing the extended family or eating the delicious pastries, we tried to make the best of our trip anyway. I think Benjamin still managed to have a good taste of German life and especially of German food. As do I, he loves bratwurst.


My favorite place in my grandma's village is up the hill behind her house. From there you can see over the fields all around. There are often horses and cows nearby and it's probably the most peaceful spot I know.


My second favorite place is anywhere in the surrounding forests. Benjamin had a lot of fun here too.



I love the old German villages with their old homes and cobblestone streets. Benjamin loved the fountain in a town we went to for lunch. It depicts a wolf and a lamb. Benjamin found them both perfect for riding.


That wasn't all he found to ride, though. In one of the department stores we went into there was a carousel just perfect for him. We couldn't pass up the photo op.



Benjamin found these cars fascinating - especially the little decals people often put on their front grills.


Other ways Benjamin found to entertain himself was by following Grandma around while she mowed the lawn. Of course, great-Grandma had to come along too. :)


And by jumping in the puddles after the rain.


But his favorite diversion of all was carrying around the basket that holds the empty water bottles for recycling. All other toys were forgotten when the basket was around.


So, in summary, despite it not being what we'd planned, it was a fun trip. We got be with friends and enjoy the outdoors and Benjamin got to hear nothing but German for 3 weeks, which was great. I can really tell he understands, even if he doesn't speak back yet. It's really exciting to start communicating.

Off We Go!

We're leaving for Germany tomorrow, so there won't be any posts until the end of September. We're really excited and I think Benjamin will have a lot of fun over there meeting all the family. In the meantime, enjoy a few photos we've taken in the last few days.

Benjamin loves to climb in our cupboard. It used to the cereal cupboard but that only lasted a few days until way too much cereal ended up on the floor. The child lock also proved worthless as he learned how to open it after watching me a few times. So now it's empty except for the phone he put in there for his entertainment. It turns out it's good for my entertainment too.




We decided to take advantage of the remaining beautiful days of Summer and rent a rowboat in Kensington Park. Benjamin didn't seem scared at all and had a great time playing around and helping to row. It was so distracting for him that he even forgot about his hat and I finally succeeded in keeping it on him the entire time.

Happy Anniversary!

Kelly and I have been married 6 years today!! Time flies when you're having fun. It's been the best six years of my life. May we have an eternity more! :)

Making the Most of our New House

We have been having a blast with Benjamin in our new place. The big kitchen, big basement, pool table, and back yard have been such an incredible source of entertainment for our little explorer. Starting with the kitchen floor that needs cleaning daily. Benjamin is always ready and willing to help.




Every pool shark needs someone like Benjamin on their side. He loves to either sit on the table or stand next to it on a stool and fish the balls back out of the pockets (hopefully Kelly's balls, not mine!) He's also dropped one in for me on occasion.



Thanks to the mild Michigan summer, we've spent a lot of time in the backyard. Benjamin's favorite things are blowing soap bubbles and playing with the hose. He'll splash around in the water all day if we'd let him.




We also bought a new grill and have been cooking and eating outside all week. Tonight we had chicken wings and Benjamin just couldn't get enough of them or the squash kabobs we had with them. It made me so happy he was eating meat and veggies again because for weeks now he's refused both. He would only eat bread or dairy products. I guess everything's a phase for kids this age. Yes, I know, the white onesie probably wasn't the best attire for this meal. :)



Otherwise we've been just amazed at how quick Benjamin is to imitate us. He's been folding his arms by himself each time he sits down to eat, as if he were going to pray. He'll come lounge on the couch whenever Kelly is. And he'll stick my pen in his mouth and pull faces, just to get me to laugh. He's such a joy. I wish these days would never end.




I still haven't posted any pictures of the house itself yet because we're getting new carpet. We hope by next week we'll have it in. This carpet is making us sick, literally. The previous owners had 2 dogs and a cat and you can smell them throughout the house. We all have daily allergy attacks and I can't stand the idea that I'm walking on this:


That's after a professional steam cleaning and 30 passes with the vacuum. It's high time for new carpet. I just wish we'd decided this before we brought in the furniture!