Picnic

After I finally got Ben up from that nap the other day, I was trying to get him out of his grumpy mood. So I suggested we eat dinner like a picnic.

Once the sleep wore off, he decided that was a great idea.

He picked this spot himself. "Under the beautiful tree" he explained.

I'd brought home Chipotle for dinner after running errands, so that is what he took to our "picnic."

Good times. Perhaps I need to plan a real picnic soon.

Naps

This is about 10 minutes after Ben threw a fit, telling us he didn't need a nap and wasn't tired.

I especially like the goldfish spilled on his shirt and how it looks like his teddy bear is trying to eat them.

I'm sad to say Ben gave up scheduled naps not long after we took his binkie away. Sad day, indeed. Now he will usually fall asleep on the couch at some point during the day, but it is usually pretty late and then we have to wake him up because it is dinnertime and too close to bedtime and he is GRUMPY. :-(

I miss that binkie.

Can I tell you how awesome it was on Sunday when Mike went golfing from 8:30 - 2:30, Ben wouldn't nap but was tired and cranky, and Liv wouldn't nap more than her usual cat naps (maybe 2 naps for about 30 minutes). Yeah. Long day. I was so desperate to entertain, I found a coupon for a free car wash and we headed out, then went through the drive-thru for ice cream cones. That killed a good hour, but neither kid fell asleep like I was hoping. Well, at least the ice cream cones were tasty.

Cool Customers

I think these pictures speak for themselves.

This Can't Be Comfortable

Olivia likes to contort herself into what I'd consider to be uncomfortable positions when she sleeps. The other morning she fell asleep in our bed after having one of her 4:30 a.m. bottles and eventually worked herself into this position.

The back of her head is almost touching her back. I didn't know that was physically possible, let alone a preferred sleeping position. I assume she likes these crazy positions due to her laryngomalacia, but she might just be weird. :-)

Once she was up, I got a few pictures of her in her crib, just because. She was so smiley and cuddly and happy. I love this kid!

Here I'm trying to pry her fist out of her mouth, and she's fighting me for it. That tounge is trying hard to keep contact.

Projects

I don't usually post about stuff other than the kids, but this project is kid-related so I'm blogging about it.

When Mom, Liv, and I went to IKEA, I almost bought a chalkboard/white board for the kids. I look at it every time I'm there, put it in the cart, then put it back. It is not expensive, maybe $12, but I am never sure if Ben will enjoy using it or if it will just be one more thing taking up space.

Well, fast-forward a week or so later, and Mom was out garage saling when she came across this:

For only $4, she figured it was worth a shot. It definitely needed some love, and I finally got around to giving it some.

I painted it with some leftover apple green paint, covered the beat up green chalk board with some chalk board paint I already had, and added storage for the chalk and markers using some S hooks and an IKEA basket that I bought years ago and never used.

When we got home from school, Ben spotted it right away and quickly got to work.

Mike helped him write his and Liv's names.

Then he drew his own "fish."

The fish is that green squiggle at the top, if you weren't sure.

I'm really happy to finally have this project finished up and I'm thrilled that Ben actually seems to really like it. Thanks again, Mom. Good find!

Happy 4 Months, Livvie Lu!

Olivia was 4 months old on Sunday. The time is flying by. Here are some pictures of her on her "birthday."

Gangsta Baby

Ben decided to dress her up in his hat for a photo.

Think she likes it?

I guess not.

Kisses!

Tonight was her 4 month well-baby visit with her pediatrician, Dr. Kern. I made the appointment for the end of the day (6 p.m.) but Mike is on late shift, so even with the late appointment time I had to take Ben along too.

Olivia is doing very well. She is 24.8 inches (75%) and 13 lbs 5 oz (50%). She got an oral medicine and two shots. She handled the first one alright, but the second one apparently hurts worse and she was NOT happy. I've never seen a face that red or heard her cry so loud. Poor thing. By the time we got home, she was back to her happy self though.

Her two little band-aids were they gave her the shots.

She is grabbing objects and holding onto them. She constantly takes her binkie out of her mouth and stares at it in amazement. She is always shoving her hands in her mouth. She still adores Ben and gives him a big smile each time he talks to her. She drinks about 5 oz at a time and is mostly sleeping through the night, though she was waking up in the middle of the night to eat the last week or so. We think it was a growth spurt. She is a happy, mellow little love bug. And we love our Livvie Lu!

Wrapping Up the 4th

Cheryl and Jay hosted their annual 4th of July BBQ over the weekend.

There was no lack of people willing to hold Olivia and cuddle. She was happy to go anyone who wanted her and didn't cry the entire time we were there.

Ben happily ran around with the other kids and played on the swing set. I guess he decided to help himself to a beer at this point. ;-)

And that concludes our very busy 4th of July holiday!