December Catch-Up

I figured I needed to post one more time (at least) before the new year. I apologize about the lack of blogs, but it's too hard to post with as much stuff as I have going on. And next semester is going to be even worse because I have to take an Arkansas history class on top of another assessment class for grad school. It's going to be expensive, too.

Okay, lets play catchup....

Chris has a new job. He's currently in training for Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. He's going to be a claims specialist. It's less pay than what he was making before, which will put us in a bind, but it also allows him to have a normal schedule in which he can spend the evenings and EVERY weekend with Ben and I. I LOVE having him at home more. Ben loves it, too. He was tired of his Rineco schedule.

Ben has been through a rough few months. Civitan is a great place, but the kids (as with all daycares) are sick this time of year and it's almost impossible to keep them from contaminating each other. About a month ago Ben had Roseola, and a week or so ago, we found out he had RSV. He had to go on antibiotics and an inhaler for the RSV, which I hate. He's going to have a cough that lasts for about 3 weeks as an after-effect (affect?). He's been in the BEST mood since he's feeling better now. He chatters constantly, talking to everyone and every thing that moves. Or doesn't move. He can say "bye bye" (in context!), mama, dada, baba, and hi. Diane says he says thank you, but I haven't heard that one yet. He still only has two bottom teeth, but they're big enough to see when he smiles now. And he smiles all the time. This weekend things just clicked with him. He started crawling on his knees and can go from belly to sitting with no problem at all. He's usually sitting in his crib when he wakes up from a nap, playing with his crib toys. We keep them stock piled since Ben is prone to waking up in the middle of the night. I will sometimes hear him over the baby monitor, playing with his toys and talking to his dinosaurs at 3am. He pulled himself up to standing using our coffee table today. That's the first time he's done that without help. We're in trouble, now. He managed to pull off papers and knock a candle holder down before I could get to him, and he was only about 4 feet away from me at the time, so...yeah. We're going to have a very bare coffee table here soon.

Alright, I just got back from an 'emergency' bottle spillage on Ben. The bottom of his bottle managed to open (Chris filled it up last...that's all I'm saying) and spilled all over Ben. We had to give him a bath. I think the smell of Johnson's baby shampoo is one of the most addictive smells ever. Ben loves his baths. Hates the getting diapered and dressed afterwards. He's only 10 months old, but he can throw a fit equivalent to a 2 year old in the peak of their terrible twos. He SCREAMS, kicks his legs, throws his head back to head butt, and swings his arms when he's in full brat mode. Things that cause this to happen? Walking past him with a bottle in your hands on your way to fill it up, getting him dressed, and changing his diaper when he wants to play instead. He must get that from Chris. I shouldn't make it seem like he's a brat all the time. 90% of the time he's a sweetheart.

My little 'angel' went and saw Santa yesterday. Ben has a thing about hats. He doesn't like them. Anyone who wears a hat around him gets sad faces and long stares in their direction. So Santa wasn't any different. It made for cute pictures, though!