How Big is Benjamin?

Benjamin is now doing the classic baby, "Sooooo big!" and raising his arms above his head. :)

I'd Be Eliminated from America's Top Chef

On Friday night, I made sausage links and scrambled eggs with onion, bacon, and Swiss cheese. Jacob loved it. Throughout the dinner, he kept saying things like, "Wow, this is really good!" "Great job with dinner, Mom!" "This tastes soooo yummy!" "I hope we have this dinner again!" "You are such a good cook!" "Thank you so much for making such a good dinner, Mom!"

He was just piling on the compliments.

On Saturday night, Grandma Mimi came over to babysit. I asked what Jacob wanted to have for dinner. His answer? "The same dinner as last night!" So... I made the same thing, casserole-style.

On Sunday night, I made a pasta bake with homemade spaghetti sauce with ground sausage and cheese. Jacob doesn't like red sauces, so I made a special white sauce for him with melted cheese. It was pretty tasty! Bowtie pasta, diced ham, broccoli bits, and a cheesy white sauce. Yum!

Jacob: Mom, you did a really BAD job with dinner tonight!

Me: Jake, you can't say things like that. If someone cooks for you, you can't say that. It could really hurt someone's feelings.

Jacob: But it just tastes so bad!

Me: You have to eat it. It's just part of being a kid. You eat what your mom cooks for you.

Jacob: But it doesn't taste good at all! It's really bad! It just tastes so bad!

(I think I might have gotten this reaction with anything other than scrambled eggs and sausage.)

Home Repairs and Jumparoos

Greg's been doing some updates around the house. He added a new light over the kitchen sink. Jacob was very proud to be helping out.
Pulling the wire through the wall for Dad.

Jacob. Yes, there is food on his face, but he's actually willing to just pose for a photo - I'll take it!

Benjamin playing with my favorite blanket. He was busy playing peek-a-boo. He plays peek-a-boo with anything. Water bottles, paper, toys, whatever. It is hilarious!

My sweet, sweet baby boy. We'll probably go for his first (official) haircut soon.

Watching Jacob.

And many, many photos in the Jumparoo.

The Beauty of Having Children

I have never really liked my jawline much. There are days when I don't like much about my appearance at all. But... Jacob and Benjamin both have my jawline. They both look so much like Greg, but there's still a good amount of me in them. I see a nose that has always seemed strange in the mirror, but when I see it on my kids, it's pretty cute! How could I not love something that's a part of those precious faces?

I never imagined that seeing parts of myself in my boys' faces would make me accept myself more.

Cell Phone Photos

So they're not all high quality, but here are some photos from our time outside today. :)

An Oldie But Goodie

Well, not that old. We were at the mall and Benjamin looked so cute all bundled up!

Talking Baby

According to various baby sites, Benjamin should be saying, "mama" and "dada" now... even if he doesn't actually use it for a specific parent. He hasn't said, "mama" or "dada" yet. He barely does any repetitive babbling. Most of his babbling is just random sounds and noises.

About a week ago, Jacob told Benjamin to say, "Water." He did. Or at least, we think he did, but that sounds crazy, doesn't it? Water? Really? If I had been in the kitchen alone, I would have assumed I was just hearing things. I said to Greg, "I know it's weird, but it really sounded like he said, 'water.'" Greg said, "I thought that, too." So, did he?

Yesterday I was changing his diaper and I kept saying, "Ew, poopy! Poopy diaper. Poopy, poopy, poopy!" He said, "Oopy."

A few weeks ago, Greg and I both thought he was trying to say, "Jakey."

Weird.

Today he actually repeated, "Dah-die" when I was saying, "Daddy" over and over again. So maybe he's going to skip the "mama" and "dada" phase and just go straight for the fun words like "water" and "poopy."