The past couple of weeks

Here are a few things from our adventures over the past couple of weeks.
Bennett has always been a pretty picky eater.  He will consistently eat yogurt and pretty much any fruit, but that's about it.  Over the past couple of weeks he's surprised us with how well he's eaten some new (to him) foods.  Granted most of these aren't the healthiest, but at least he's eating.  And a couple of them he had previously rejected, so this is progress.  We can now say that he eats:

• Pizza
• Tacos,
• Salad
• Sour cream
• Cheeseburgers

What would have been Bennett's second skaing lesson was a bust.  The boy has a bit of OCD and he didn't like the fact that his helmet was in the skating bag and not on the shelf where it has lived for the entire summer/fall.  Unbeknownst to us, he took it out of the bag and put it on the shelf.  We only realized this after we got to the rink and had skates on.  We checked at the rental desk and in the lost and found box to see if there was a spare we could use, but no such luck.  And for kids, no helmet means no skating. So Mummy stayed off the ice with Bennett while Daddy skated.  Which was probably a good thing because Daddy needs more practice.  :) The following week we made sure we had the helmet and we think Bennett had a good class.  I asked one of the teachers how he did, and she said, "he can't get up, and he can't move on his own, but he was smiling."  Well, I guess if he's smiling he must have been having fun, right?  And we certainly aren't expecting him to be able to stand or skate on his own after only a couple of lessons.  It's just tough to see how he's doing since Chris and I have our lessons down at the other end of the rink.  Since none of the other parents of the Tot class are skating, they get to stand and watch and have a better idea of how the lesson went.

We came up with an idea for our holiday cards this year!  I really like the idea, but now I just need to find the time to execute it.  Making the necessary costume shouldn't be too difficult (I hope) but I need to get another big craft project finished up before I can begin.  However, we did pick up a necessary clothing item.  Hopefully Bennett won't be traumatized when he gets older and he realizes that I put him in girl's clothing.  :)

Mummy had a haircut on Saturday.  Bennett and Daddy tagged along because we were headed out afterwards and it was easier than me running home first to get them.  So Bennett did what everyone else in the waiting area was doing- reading magazines.  I didn't get a picture, but he selected Wine Officianado as his reading selection.  

When we got home later in the day, Bennett helped with some chores.  I think he needs a little more practice wrapping the cord on the vacuum cleaner.

We went and had our annual family pictures taken.  I'll share those pictures in a month or so after people get them for Christmas gifts.  While we were getting ready that morning Bennett lay down on our bed and had Daddy read him a book.  He'd never sat like this for a book before it came in handy when we wanted him to do a similar pose when we went in for our pictures.

Over the past couple of weeks we've had a number of chances for Bennett to visit Santa.  Given what a disaster meeting Sir Topham Hatt was, we were hoping that multiple exposures to Santa would be good.  We've lucked out that there haven't been any lines for Santa and he's now had 3 visits.  Unfortunately our plan isn't working.  He does NOT want to sit with Santa.  He'll tolerate sitting in one of our laps and giving Santa high-fives, but he's eager to get away.  When we do leave, he energetically yells "bye Santa" and waves.  This weekend we go for the "official" Santa pictures.  I'm not expecting them to be good at all.

Mummy's birthday was on the 18th.  Bennett helped open her cards and presents. Daddy helped Bennett make a card for me and Bennett traced his own hand for card.  I guess they do that a lot at school?  Not the most perfect looking, but nice to know what he was trying to do rather than the normal scribbles that don't look like much.


And that brings us to Thanksgiving!  He did really well in the car.  I'm sure he was getting antsy, but we brought a bunch of things with us to keep him busy.  And he took a nap for a little while, so that was nice.  He was pretty shy when we first arrived, but that was understandable given there were 22 adults and 3 kids and he only really knew 4 of the adults (Mummy, Daddy, Mimi, and Uncle "An-dew").  Shortly after arriving it was time to eat.  He was back to his normal eating habbits.  He ate cranberry sauce and a crescent roll, but that might have been it.  Maybe a little corn?

After eating we went outside for a little while to run around and burn off some energy- perfect after all that sitting!   Bennett loved being thrown around by Uncle Andrew and doing some chasing around. 

Then it was time to go inside for dessert.  At this point Bennett was a bit sweaty, hence the spiked hair. 

As I mentioned earlier, there were 3 children this year.  Bennett was the oldest at 2 years, R was 13 months, and T was 6 months.  Of the 3, Bennett had the least amount of hair and T had the most.  Not fair!  Not the best picture, but here are Bennett and R.  It was later in the afternoon at this point and they had both woken up from naps not long before, which I think is why they weren't much interested in having their pictures taken.

Speaking of picture taking, here are a couple of family shots.





Uncle Andrew, Bennett, Mummy, Daddy





The Smeals





Everyone who was there, minus 3 of the Smeals who left to go to another family gathering.



On the 24th I realized I had forgotten to take Bennett's monthly photo.  Understandable since he turned 26 months on Thanksgiving.  Although if I had remembered I probably would have brought along Paddington and the sign and taken the photo while we were in NJ.

On Sunday we went to Sturbridge with Uncle Andrew.  Daddy stayed home to work on some items for the store he sells at (wooden puzzles, ornaments, etc.)  It was COLD!  There also weren't many people there, probably due to traveling home and the temperature.  We saw them stuffing the root cellar with hay to insulate against the cold and we went into many more buildings than normal.  I guess that's understandable since we needed to warm up (any building with plaster, original wallpaper, or historic artifacts has artificial heat).  Plus with it being so cold we didn't really want to stand around and stare at animals too much.  But Bennett did get to see his beloved beep (sheep) and ocken (oxen) as well as neighs (horses) and cows.  I also learned that he knows one of our traditions- stopping at the general store to buy cookies.  As we walked along the common in that direction he said "cookie".  Hmm, too bad we were actually headed for the oxen.  But then we did go get cookies, which meant mittens had to come off to eat them, which meant freezy cold hands.

Over the past couple of weeks we've also noticed a bit of a language explosion for Bennett.  We can't wait until he becomes even more verval, but we've recently hear his variations of Andrew, mall, Santa, Patty, cookie, and numerous others.  Plus, he started saying "Mommy" rather than pronouncing it "mimi" which created a little confusion when around Mimi (grandma Breecher's name).  I'd rather that he pronounce it the British way with a U, but I guess for now I'll take it.  It did sound very weird to me at first though, having heard him pronounce it with Is for so long.

And in other family news unrelated to Bennett, one of the puzzles that Chris makes was featured on Apartment Therapy!  Unfortunately Chris was sold out of this particular puzzle at the time.  It's been relisted as a custom order, but so far we haven't seen any sales as a result.  Lots of increased traffic though, so that's good.

Until next time... stay warm!

Skating Lessons

I've been taking figure skating lessons for a number of years.  I've been trying to convince Chris that he should also take them, but he's been resistant.  And then when we were at the skating party a couple of weeks ago, he agreed that he would be up for taking lessons.  Woo hoo!  But what do we do with Bennett if we're both on the ice? They have tot lessons, but they are meant for age 3 and up.  I had heard that sometimes they will take younger kids, so at my last lesson I asked the director if we could sign (2 year old) Bennett up.  She said we could try.  Yay!!!

The other problem is that the Tot lessons are only 25 minutes and the adult lessons are 50 minutes.  Assuming he does ok, I figure Chris and I will just take turns with who gets a short lesson.  Hopefully it won't be too bad.  So last weekend while Bennett was with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry Chris and I went out to get him (Chris) skates.  The shop I normally go to is closed on Sundays, but there was another store that has been recommended to me so we gave them a try.  Hopefully the skates will help- Chris has been convinced that part of his skating difficulties has been due to poor rental skates, which is likely partly true.

Saturday morning we tried to get Bennett psyched up about skating.  We went and checked in and then I went to get him rental skates.  This was the only hiccup in our plans.  I hadn't checked to see if they had skates in his size.  Normally Bennett is a 6.5, but 7s are ok.  The smallest they had was an 8.  We gave them a whirl.  Not sure if they impacted his abilities or not, but it's what they had so we went with it.  And seeing how his feet are constantly growing, I'm not about to buy him skates for only a month or two of use.

When it was time for the lesson to start, Bennett was very resistant to go out on the ice.  I had been holding him, and I tried passing him off at the doorway like all of the other parents.  He did NOT want to be put down.  This is where I had the advantage over the other parents since I've been skating at this rink for a number of years.  Plus I needed to talk to his teacher since they had his name wrong on the class list (he was on the list with my name).  So I just carried him on.  He still didn't want to be put down, but I handed him off to his teacher and left him as he was fussing.  I've heard other kids screaming through their whole lesson, but he must have only fussed for a minute since I didn't hear him for very long.

During my lesson I kept looking across the ice to check out how he was doing.  At this age the purpose is mostly to just get used to the ice, try to stand, and maybe do some skating.  I think most of the time Bennett was sitting on the ice.  :)  At one point I saw him standing but then fell down, or so I thought.  When his class was over and I was talking to his teacher she said that he could stand (unclear if this meant he was able to get up and stand on his own or if it meant he would stand after she helped him up) but that he chose to sit back down because it was more fun to just crawl and slide around.  She reassured me that even this was good because he was getting used to the ice, and I agree.  As long as he was having fun, that's all that matters.  Although if he learned to skate that would be awesome, because I'm not really sure how to teach those skills.)

After we got our skates off Bennett and I went to watch Daddy.  Daddy seems to have my problem of not being able to stop.  :)  He reports he only fell once, but he did crash into the boards numerous times.  I remember doing that for quite some time! 

What was interesting is that for the rest of the weekend Bennett was VERY clingy.  We had errands to run and Bennett wouldn't walk and didn't want to sit in the shopping cart.  Carrying 26+ pounds around is very tiring though!  Chris and I are wondering if this clingyness is due to "abandoning" Bennett on the ice for his class.  I hope not. 

Happy Birthday, Bennett!

Huh?  Wasn't his birthday over a month ago?  Yes, it was.  But Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry had given him an I.O.U. for a trip with them to the Boston Children's Museum.  After a bit of planning, we got schedules worked out and yesterday they took him.

And what's even better, is they decided to get a membership, which means he'll be back at least 3 more times so that they break even on cost.  :)

 

Riding the T.
He liked holding on to the bar.  :)

Bennett had ridden the T (the subway in Boston) once before, but it was back in June.  He liked holding on to the grab bar and flirting with one of the other riders.  (Although he was flirting with her reflection in the window.) 

Building with blocks (and having them fall down)
is lots of fun!


It was interesting to hear which rooms of the museum they had gone into.  Some of them were the same as where we've gone, but they also went into some different rooms.  It will be nice for him to get different experiences with everyone! 

One thing about the Children's Museum though is that they have a GIANT (3 story) climbing structure.  We think that Bennett would love it and probably could climb in it without problems, but that convincing him to get out of it could be a problem.  Luckily they came to that same conclusion, so it will likely be a while before he can try that out.

Uncle Andrew & Aunt Gentry also seem to understand
that it's necessary to always have pictures taken in cut-outs such as these.



Same costume, 3 babies

Shortly after a good friend of mine gave birth I came across a book with a super adorable cow outfit in it.  When we were in high school she and I had both really liked cows, so I knew I wanted to knit it for her son.  I gave it to him as an early 1st birthday present, and he wore it for Halloween in 2010.


T- the original recipient, in 2010.

 Then Bennett came along, and also having a fall birthday, the cow outfit ended up being his Halloween costume as well.




Bennett, in 2011- I get a kick out of the fact that the cow
is drinking a bottle of milk.  :)

And now we have another recipient of the cow costume!  My cousin's daughter just turned 1 so I offered it up to her.


R- the 2012 recipient.

So who will be next in 2013?  Anyone just have or about to have a baby who might appreciate a hand knit cow costume next year?  I love seeing this worn by so many little ones!  And not only has it been worn by three babies, it's also been to three states- Maine, Massachusetts, and Florida!

Halloween Wrap-up

You wouldn't expect Sir Topham Hatt to walk, would you?  Nope, he drives around in style.

We had big hopes of making his car out of wood, but Chris got busy with work and making scarf display racks (a crazy side project he never should have agreed to do).  So last Tuesday night I drew up a pattern and started cutting and taping cardboard.  It went together pretty well.  I would have preferred to be able to tape on the outside, but I knew that wouldn't look good when I painted.

I had a bit of a time crunch.  Friday night our town had an event where kids can go trick or treating downtown, and then there's a parade.  Of course we want his car ready for that.  So with major construction done on Tuesday, that left time for blue paint on Wednesday and then accent paint on Thursday.

In hindsight, it was kind of a pain.  (Although it did help some people identify what his costume was.)  There were lots of people downtown, so it was difficult to maneuver between people, and also it was having some steering problems.  Note to self- next year don't bring a wagon!

Here are a couple of other pictures from Friday.



Watching the parade.

 But that's not all!  Two more opportunities on Saturday to don his costume!  First was a birthday party at an ice rink.  So much fun!

We weren't sure if the rink would have skates in his size, but they did!  He was really wobbly when we first put them on, and kept falling down in the lounge area.

One nice thing about this rink is that they had "walkers" for people to use to help with balance.  It wasn't quite enough for Bennett, but between us holding him up and the walker, he did marginally better.  He really liked it when I took him for a spin around the ice, but then he didn't want to go back to Daddy and the walker.



What was interesting though is when he got off the ice he had no problems walking in his skates anymore and was able to walk the entire length of the rink.  After skating there was some trick or treating around the rink, getting a few treats from some of the other parents who were there.  Then cake and ice cream.  He's never really been a big fan of ice cream before, but he loved it!

After the party we went to Sturbridge for an event they were holding called, Things That Go Bump In the Night. 

They had TONS of carved pumpkins along the roads and in a field at the entrance.  At the end of the night they were encouraging people to choose a pumpkin to bring home, but we opted not to do so.

There also was trick or treating around the village, and for the older kids, there was a spooky walk they could go on.  What was neat was that at each spot where they were giving out candy the people were dressed in a theme.  Unfortunately I think it took us until about the 3rd or 4th one (if not more) to realize that they were all storybook themes.  Mother Goose was the 2nd person we saw, but we never made the connection until we saw Mary (and her Little Lamb).  Then we figured out that the scary looking pigs we had seen were the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.  Another fun spot was Alice in Wonderland where Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the March Hare were all sitting around drinking tea.

No one knew who Bennett was, but they all commented about how dapper he looked.

In addition to the trick or treating, they also had a juggler who we watched.  Unfortunately the barn he was in was packed to overflowing, so visibility was a bit difficult.

As we were leaving we stopped at a sleigh that they had set up as an advertisement for a future event to be held in December-Christmas by Candlelight.  They also had some cloaks and other costume pieces that you could put on for a picture, but Bennett's costume was perfect just the way it was.

Sunday was yet another chance to wear his costume!  We took him to J.C. Penney to have pictures taken. That's where we go for all our other portraits (I think this may have been our 8th time going there now.)  They had a great deal running for the month of October plus we had a coupon for $25 off.  I ordered 3 8x10s, 6 5x7s, and 16 wallets and after all of my coupons it only cost $3.19.  Score!  It almost was going to be free, but at the end I added an extra sheet of wallets, so that's pretty much all we had to pay for.  I have another $25 coupon to use in November, so that will be used for our family pictures.

Phew.  That's a lot of costume wearing!  But wait, there's more!

On Halloween there was a party at school.  Bennett's daycare (or school, as we call it) is located in a nursing home and the kids got to go trick or treating to get candy from the "grandmas and grandpas".  They all LOVED his costume!  There's one resident who is especially fond of Bennett, so they made sure that he got to see Bennett all dressed up.  The director is also good about making sure that there are non-candy items for the kids, so he also got playdough, a peg game, bracelets, stickers, etc.

And last but not least, Bennett got to go Trick or Treating at West Street, Nana and Grandpa's neighborhood.  We stopped by after school for pizza (he wasn't interested) and then got changed and went out.  To us, even though he's had all these other experiences, this was his first "real" time trick or treating.  I don't know, I suppose the other times could have counted, but this was the first time we've taken him out on Halloween night, the first time he's gone up to houses, etc.

With Cowboy Grandpa

 He had a blast.  He knew exactly what to do.  He might have been a little timid at first, but I think after the first house he was a pro.  We brought the wagon with us again this time, but after the first block or so he was ready to walk.  Sure riding around was cute, but that required getting in and out of the wagon at every house.  And again, we reaffirmed that we don't want to mess with the wagon again in future years.

Trick or Treat!

So there you have it!  That's a summary of all of Bennett's Halloween adventures.  And unlike our experience at Day Out with Thomas, he now loves his costume!  In fact, last week I brought out the hat for him to wear and then he wanted to put on his spats and jacket.   And then he started vacuuming.  :)

Museum Memberships

We have memberships to two different museums: Old Sturbridge Village and the Boston Children's Museum.  In the 6 months we've had the OSV membership, we've gone 9 times.  The Children's museum we've had since the end of July and we've gone twice.  The latter was a good idea in theory, but seems to take more planning on our part.  Plus we have to pay for parking, which is also a deterrent.  It will pay for itself in 2 more visits, and we're confident we'll do that (especially over the winter), but I don't think we'll be renewing that membership.

But we definitely love OSV.  My family had a membership for a while when I was younger and I fondly remember our visits.  Then Chris and I got a membership a couple of years ago (while I was pregnant with Bennett, actually).  I know we got our money's worth with that membership, but it was nothing like now!



Hanging out with Mumma in the Boba

 What's nice about the membership is that we don't feel bad if we're there for only a short amount of time.  And we mostly look at the animals, check out the gardens, etc.  Occassionally we go into a building, but not usually.  It's also interesting to see how our visits have evolved from Bennett being mostly in the stroller to mostly in the Boba (baby carrier), to mostly walking/riding on shoulders.  We went last weekend and he pretty much refused the Boba, but was happy as a clam riding on Daddy's shoulders.

 

The new waterwheel, officially in action for the first time
since being replaced.  (They had tested it earlier in the week.)



On our most recent visit, this past weekend, they were celebrating "Harvest Days".  It was a chance to help harvest corn, potatoes, beets, etc.  Plus they gave tours of the root cellar, smoke house, and barns.  Unfortunately we had to miss that since it was in the middle of nap time.  But an added bonus of our visit on Saturday was the rededication of the gristmill.  It's been out of operation for a number of years as it needed a new waterwheel as well as some other repairs.  It was finally done!  We happened to be in the area of the mills when the ceremony was coming to an end.  We stopped by, and as we were standing there, someone vaguely familiar looking walked by.  He had a name tag on because he was a trustee of the museum.  It was none other than Norm Abram, host of This Old House and The New Yankee Workshop.





Norm Abram watching the rededication ceremony

After the ceremony Norm went to talk with the master craftsmen who had worked on the project. Chris wanted to take a picture and talk with him, but he also didn't want to interrupt. We waited around for a little while, but they were having a nice long conversation. So in the end, this is the only photo I have- taken on the sly with my phone as we all stood watching the ceremony.



I think at this time of year things are going to quiet down a bit at the village.  Most of our other visits had been on weekends where special events were going on, but the calendar looks a bit sparce for the next few months.  Makes sense, since there's really no farming to do over the winter.  Plus with the chillier weather, I imagine fewer people will want to visit.  Maybe now we'll make a point of going into all of the buildings to check them out.

Also, as a random aside, I got stung by a yellow jacket while we were there on Saturday.  4 days later and it still hurts!



A medical update

I realize I haven't updated on Bennett's medical condition lately.  (Ok, I haven't really updated on anything lately.)  So here goes.



At the cardiologist- August 2011

August 2011 he saw the cardiologist.  It had been a few months since he had last been in.  The cardiologist he had been seeing had left to go to another hospital.  We considered staying with him, but in the end figured we'd rather stay with Children's. 

The ECHO was challenging.  Bennett did not like lying still.  They got some images, but not great ones.

We met (very briefly) with the new cardiologist and were told that everything looked good.  Come back in a year.

Fast forward to 2012.  When we left last year, they had mentioned the possibility of doing a sedated ECHO next time, but that they would let us know.  After a horrible experience with a kidney/bladder ultrasound back in February, Chris and I knew sedated was the way to go.  So I called and made it known that we thought it would be best if Bennett were sedated.  Finally we heard back that yes, they thought so to.  And then the appointment ended up being rescheduled a couple of times.

Finally at the end of September we were able to get in.  Being sedated meant nothing to eat after 2:30am the night before, and only clear liquids until 8:30am.  (Appointment scheduled for 9:30.)  Surprisingly he did well with nothing to eat, and didn't fuss about no milk.  He was more annoyed with the 2 hour drive to Children's in the morning.  Under "normal" circumstances it would take maybe 45-60 minutes, but it was rush hour.  Chris found some Thomas videos on his phone for Bennett to watch, and that kept him happy for a little while.

Then began the waiting.  At this point we're used to appointments at Children's taking excessive amounts of time with lots of time waiting.  In this case, we were told 9:30, they had us down for 10:00.  They got a height and weight and then brought us back.  Interestingly, our little pipsqueak, was pretty much right on the upper range of being able to take the sedation medicine. 



Passing time while waiting to be sedated. 

They had a play doctor kit in the exam room that Bennett liked playing with while we waited.  Finally they were ready!  The nurse came back in and gave him the medicine.  And then we had to wait for him to fall asleep.  Bennett does not like being told to go to sleep, especially a couple of hours before his normal nap time!  Daddy and I took turns holding him and trying to keep him still.  We couldn't put him down because he would likely fall and hurt himself.  Plus I think he would have been really confused about what was happening.  In the end Chris lay down on the exam table and held him.  All in all, this took maybe 15 minutes.

Then it was time to transfer him to the room where they do the ECHOs.  He woke up slightly when he was transferred but he went right back to sleep.  The nurse stayed with him and Chris and I went to get some food.



He also did some coloring with his new Aquadoodle
that he got for his birthday.



Some people have commented that they wouldn't be able to/ wouldn't want to leave their child there, but with our experience at Children's, we've learned that when you get an opportunity to eat, take it.  Doesn't matter that it's only 11:00.  Go. Eat. 

When we got back to the room the person doing the ECHO was just wrapping up.  They had been able to get great pictures and a very thorough look at his heart.  Bennett was still sleeping, so they went ahead and did an EKG.  Then the cardiologist came in to talk to us.

It was awesome being able to talk and be able to give our full attention to the doctor rather than only have listening while we're trying to entertain Bennett and keep him from getting into everything.  And the news is... He's doing awesome!  The cardiologist commented that Bennett now has "mild regurgitation".  Wow!  Such a change from what we were hearing just before he was born.  They may not do an ECHO again next year, but that's ok because they were able to get such a thorough look this time.  And everything is looking great.  No reasons why he should be prevented from doing sports or other activities.  Future surgeries?  Maybe, but likely not until he's a teen/young adult, and possibly won't ever need anything else.

When we were done talking, and Bennett had been asleep a decent amount of nap time, the nurse removed the EKG stickers.  This woke Bennett up.  The nurse commented that coming out of sedation was similar to being drunk.  And that like with alcohol there are happy drunks and angry drunks, there was a similar range of outcomes when coming out of sedation.

Bennett is a happy drunk!  But  he also thought he could act like his normal self.  Um, sorry buddy.  We had to hold him to keep him from falling down or crashing in to things.  After he drank some milk we were free to go.

He also had his 2 year appointment with the pediatrician that afternoon.  We had time to kill between appointments so we stopped by Brandeis to visit Chris' co-workers.  The effects of the sedation hadn't worn off yet.  It was a struggle to restrain him!  This is a boy who doesn't like sitting still for very long!  But it was entertaining watching him try to walk.  But also a little scary since we had to keep such a close eye on him.



Asleep in the waiting room.



Then it was off to the pediatrician.  Bennett fell asleep again in the car.  He must have still been feeling the effects of the sedation because he didn't wake up when we took him out of the car.  Plus he slept in my arms while hanging in the (noisy) waiting room.  It was awesome!  I haven't been able to hold a sleeping Bennett in almost a year.  I hadn't realized how much I missed that.



Asleep in the exam room.



Then when we took him into the exam room he was still sleeping.  The nurses kept asking if he was ok- was there anything wrong with him?  Nope, just the after-effects of the sedation medication.  Understandable though, because I can imagine if I saw him lying on the table like this I would probably freak out a little as well.

When the doctor came in, we woke him up since we had to get an updated height.  They didn't like the measurement that we had gotten at Children's because it was very different from the last measurement that they had.

And then it was a pretty basic appointment, except we had to keep a closer eye on Bennett to keep him from falling from chairs and crashing into things.  But he was good about sitting still when he needed to be examined.  Pediatrician didn't express any concerns to us.  Yeah, Bennett has a speech delay, but he is making progress.  (We'll be so happy when he learns to communicate more!)