Benjamin Turns 3!

Benjamin had an exciting 3rd birthday to say the least! Aunt Tami flew down from NY for his birthday party, and let him pick out his 1st pet- something neither he or his Dad will have an allergic reaction to....2 pet frogs whose names seem to change daily! Tyler has been continuing to smile away and adores his Big Brother as much as Benjamin adores him.......Benjamin had a blast at his Backyard Birthday Bash on the 4th that many family and friends turned out for, including Memere and Charlie who flew down from the Cape and Uncle Pete/Cousin Kevin who drove up from Myrtle Beach. Benjamin was thrilled with the planned surprise visit from Brrrgin's IceCream Truck- this year's obsession! Last year it was buses, this year it is popscicles and the icecream truck!

Upon coming home from our whirlwind visit in NY, we have been working dilligently in the potty training dept. in preparation of Benjamin beginning preschool in his 3year-old class where the children are required to be potty trained.....Benjamin has been a trooper and with the help of Aunt Tami and Memere while they were in town, has pretty much mastered going on the potty- number 1 that is, so there has been lots to celebrate at our house this past week! As you can see, Tyler even donned his "party" hat for Benjamin's birthday festivities!

Since Memere was in town and available to help out with Tyler, Benjamin had the sty that he has had on his eye since Tyler was born surgically drained on his actual birthday- Again- Benjamin was a trooper and being 3 seems to agree with him!

17 Hour Ride

A couple of weeks ago we went on a family adventure and drove to NY to visit with some of Sara's family. Although the ride was long (17 hours) and stay was short (2 days) the boys did great riding in the car for such a long time. Tyler was able to meet lots of family and friends during our visit, including his Papa who we were happy to see is continuing to improve at home. Benjamin enjoyed playing with his cousins, Anna and Lauren and meeting baby Michael for the first time.

9 Weeks

Tyler had his two-month check-up today, he now weights 12 lbs 4 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. He did receive 4 shots today, but Daddy was there for support of both Tyler and Mommy! Benjamin finished his two weeks of summer camp at preschool today, he really seems to be warming up to the change of classrooms and teachers which hopefully will make his return in September easier.

Sunday night Tyler gave us a wonderful gift of 7 1/2 hours of sleep (9:30PM to 5:00AM) at 7 1/2 weeks. Tyler continues each day to show more and more of his personality. Benjamin is starting a two week summer program at his preschool, which will give him some time with some of his school friends. As you can see he and Tyler had some fun last week playing with stickers!

7 Weeks

A couple of weeks ago, my Mom and sister Amy came to visit for a week. As you can see from the photo, it was love at first sight, just as it had been when Benjamin was born! While they were here, Tyler had his one month check-up where he weighed in at 10lbs.2oz. and measured 22.5in.
I am proud to say his doctor referred to my milk as "liquid gold" seeing that he had gained 3lbs. 1oz.from his lowest weight, and grew 3inches in one months time!

Following the last of our visitors for a while, the boys and I have begun to get into somewhat of a routine. I have found that it is all about finding the balance, although it can feel like a juggling act at times, which can sometimes be frustrating, othertimes almost comical! For the most part, we have found a groove of our own that is working so far, and that's all that matters! Needless to say, we cherish our morning time with Jason prior to him leaving for work at 8:30am, and always look forward to his return home from work at 7pm.

Jason is slowly but surely healing from his run-in and severe reaction to poison oak following a golf outing, and Benjamin is enjoying activities with Mommy while Tyler is sleeping, such as baking cookies in the photo shown. As you can see from the most recent photo of Tyler taken today, he is smiling more often and cooing which we are all loving, and it brings back some of our most favorite memories of Benjamin at this stage.

Nicknames

Benjamin has developed some interesting nicknames for Tyler lately. Sara and I figure that we would call him Ty, notibly after Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) from Caddyshack. Sara calls him Ty-Man and Benjamin has called him Ty-Lo (like J-Lo) and Ty-Lowey. The most interesting name came yesterday when Benjamin called him Donkey after the character from Shrek. The boys adore each other, when Benjamin is in the room Tyler always seems to follow his big brother around the room. As you can see they have started having tummy time together!

Visitors

The past two weekends we have had family visitors. First, Uncle Pete and Cousin Kevin stopped by to meet Tyler on their way back to Myrtle Beach. Then Grampa flew in and spent the past weekend visiting with everyone! Tyler is doing well, he has his one month check-up next Tuesday. We continue to try to help him sleep better and longer at night, thankfully Benjamin has not gotten up when we change and feed during the night. Benjamin had an ear infection which is clear but now has a virus, we are trying to limit the touching and kissing of Tyler by his big brother. Unfortunately I head back to work next week, but Gaga and Amy are arriving on Sunday to visit for the week.